Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at a CBD cream said to provide relief from back pain, concerns about accurate testing of cannabis products, a snapshot of cannabis use during the pandemic, six ways to use cannabis to add some spice to leftovers and more. Enjoy.
Spotlight on Legalization
In a move that some characterize as historic, the U.S. House of Representatives is poised to take up legislation that would legalize marijuana federally.
According to Jeff Smith, writing for Marijuana Business Daily, this could mark the first time a full congressional chamber has voted to end the federal government’s policy of prohibiting marijuana.
Smith reported that lawmakers are scheduled to debate and possibly vote either Thursday or Friday on the MORE Act, according to a schedule released by the office of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland.
As it is currently configured, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act would remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act and open up the industry to multibillion-dollar business opportunities and interstate commerce over time.
However, even if the House voted yes on the legislation it would probably have a difficult road before becoming the law of the land unless Democrats win control of the U.S. Senate through two runoff Senate races in Georgia on Jan. 5.
To learn more you can read Jeff Smith’s informative article in the November 30, 2020 issue of Marijuana Business Daily.
mjbizdaily.com/us-house-poised-to-act-this-week-on-landmark-marijuana-legalization-bill/?
CBD and Pain Management
Many mature consumers think chronic back pain is just part of getting older. However, a new study suggests using a CBD “wellness” cream may offer mature consumers and others some relief.
The study, “Cannabidiol (CBD) as a treatment of acute and chronic back pain: A case series and literature review,” recently appeared in the Journal of Opioid Management. The authors of the study specifically looked at whether or not a topical rub containing CBD was effective at treating chronic back pain.
They concluded that consumers with back pain who used a Hemp-derived CBD transdermal cream, specifically a product called Baskin Essentials Body Wellness Cream, experienced “significant symptoms and pain relief.”
Based on the results the investigators said they believed further investigation is warranted, particularly to see if products that contain CBD should have a more prominent role in the treatment of acute and chronic pain.
Johnny Green, who reported on the study for Cannabis & Tech Today, suggested in his article that this and other CBD products may eventually be seen as an alternative to opioids and other forms of pharmaceutical pain management.
To learn more you can visit the article “CBD Skin Cream Mitigates Chronic Back Pain Says New Study“. It appears in the November 18, 2020 issue of Cannabis & Tech Today.
cannatechtoday.com/cbd-skin-cream-mitigates-chronic-back-pain-says-new-study/
Consumer Corner
Rigorous testing of products is an essential part of any regulated industry that produces consumer goods, including the cannabis industry.
Mature consumers, particularly those who use cannabis for medical reasons, need to know they are getting what they pay for, particularly when it comes to THC content. Key to that is the accurate testing of cannabis in all its forms. However, concerns are growing that certificates of analysis that often accompany cannabis products may not be as accurate as they should be.
That’s the word from Ben Hartman, writing for The Cannigma and Benzinga. He reports there are concerns in the industry that the popularity of various potent strains may be influencing labs to inflate the THC levels in their reports. Given current consumer trends, the higher the THC content, the more profitable the strain.
However, Ben Armstrong, PhD, Lab Director for Juniper Analytics in Bend, Oregon, pointed out that the issue may be more complex than that. For starters, testing cannabis can be a complicated process, Said Armstrong, “Cannabis is not homogenous. Within just one plant, the flower from the bottom and that at the top can have 3 percent to 5 percent variation in THC right there. You can have a nug from the bottom come out at 17 percent THC and one from the top come out at 22 percent.”
Another problem, according to Dr. Linda Klumpers, founder of a company called Cannify, is that while in many states there are solid chemical analytical testing requirements in place, “there is typically no comparison between labs by an official body, especially not on a national level.” In other words labs might be performing different — and possibly incorrect — tests.
So, you may ask, what is to be done? One thing that can address the issue at the state level is making standardized testing procedures part of the regulatory process.
Until then, mature consumers and others need to monitor their experience when using various cannabis products to determine if there is sufficient consistency in the quality of the experience from one time to the next to encourage continued use of a product. Having a budtender whose judgement and guidance you trust is another way to address the issue.
You can learn more by reading Ben Hartman’s article for the Cannigma. It also appeared in the November 30, 2020 issue of Benzinga.
www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/20/11/18538532/how-accurate-is-cannabis-testing?
Quote of the Week
“There is already a thriving marijuana market in Pennsylvania.
Why not make it legal? Why not make it safe? Why not make it taxable to help Pennsylvania get back on its feet?”
When it comes to all things cannabis, Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman is a regular quote machine and an entertaining follow on Twitter. Here he expresses an opinion held by many advocates, that legalization of cannabis can help states fuel a post-pandemic economic rebound.
twitter.com/FettermanLt/status/1332297368859934721
Stats of the Week
The magic numbers this week are 28 percent and 22 percent. They come from another study by the wizards at New Frontier Data and offer another interesting snapshot of cannabis-related behavior during the current pandemic. For some, cannabis use continues to be a coping mechanism, for others, not so much.
The first number, 28 percent, is the percentage of cannabis users who told researchers that their cannabis habits have not changed due to the pandemic and they continue to share joints with others in their household or social pod.
The second number, 22 percent, is the percentage of respondents who told researchers that they have stopped sharing cannabis with others because of the pandemic. Ten percent said they have stopped using it all together.
New Frontier Data’s deep dive into cannabis trends during the pandemic can be found in the November 29, 2020 issue of Cannabyte, a publication of New Frontier Data. For more information you can click on the link that follows.
newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/cannabis-consumers-covid-19/?
Leveraging Leftovers
If you are looking for a way to add some spice to your remaining Thanksgiving leftovers, Sarah Dilley and the folks at Leafly have put together six recipes for infusing leftovers with cannabis.
Dilley’s article, which originally appeared in 2015, has directions for making a fried stuffing hash with cannabutter, a cobb salad with canna oil vinaigrette, an infused snickerdoodle apple crisp, and more.
Sarah Dilley’s entertaining and helpful article appeared in the November 19, 2015 issue of Leafly, but thanks to the magic of the Internet it lives on forever.
www.leafly.com/news/lifestyle/infuse-your-thanksgiving-leftovers-6-cannabis-recipes-to-try-this?
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-528-8753.
