Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at a new study on CBD and driving, increased levels of THC in cannabis, spending on cannabis products over the recent Thanksgiving weekend, THC and CBD infused ice cream and more. Enjoy.
CBD Spotlight
A new study has confirmed what many mature consumers who use CBD have known for some time: CBD does not impair driving.
The study was conducted at Maastricht University in the Netherlands and led by a team from the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney in Australia.
According to Stacy Liberatore, reporting on the study for the Daily Mail, participants drove for 62 miles after inhaling cannabis containing different mixes of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and CBD. Cannabis products containing CBD without THC did not impair driving while cannabis containing THC, or a THC and CBD mixture, caused mild impairment when measured 40 minutes after use. However researchers found there was no measurable impairment after four hours.
You can learn more by reading Stacy Liberatore’s article in the December 1, 2020 issue of The Daily Mail.
Quote of the Week
“These findings indicate for the first time that CBD, when given without THC, does not affect a subject’s ability to drive. That’s great news for those using or considering treatment using CBD-based products.“—Dr. Thomas Arkell
Dr. Arkell was the lead author on a study of whether or not CBD use impairs a person’s ability to drive. The study was conducted by the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney and was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Stats of the Week
Two numbers caught our eye this week. The first was $238 million. According to Akerna, considered one of the top cannabis research companies, that’s how much U.S. consumers spent on cannabis products over the Thanksgiving weekend. That’s nearly 14 percent above last year’s sales.
So says a Reuters report that appeared in the December 4, 2020 issue of the New York Post. Akerna’s calculations are based on data collected from dispensaries in 19 U.S. states and adjusted to project the full market.
nypost.com/2020/12/04/us-cannabis-sales-hit-record-over-thanksgiving-weekend/
The second number is $13.7 billion. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), that’s how much the sale of legalized marijuana would generate in net revenue for the U.S. Treasury over the next decade.
Analysts project that most of the new funds—about $8 billion—would come from business taxes on the legal marijuana industry, such as income and payroll taxes. They also estimate a separate excise tax, initially based on the price of cannabis products, could yield another $5.7 billion.
The CBO also projected that legalization would cut federal prison spending by nearly $1 billion.
To learn more we urge you to read Ben Adlin’s article in the December 7, 2020 issue of Marijuana Moment.
Spotlight on New Products
Beverages and baked goods aren’t the only products that are being infused with THC and CBD. Javier Hasse, writing for Benzinga, reports on a new brand of ice cream that contains both THC and CBD.
According to Hasse, when longtime entrepreneurs Jesse Bride and Enrique Gonzalez witnessed the effects of painful cancer treatments in their immediate families, the duo set out to create an edible product that provided a safe and enjoyable way to consume cannabis.
As a result they recently launched Mellow Ice Cream, a line of THC-and-CBD-infused ice creams. Said Bride, “During our research, we noticed that infused ice cream doesn’t actually exist because it is extremely difficult to navigate legally. We feel the many hurdles we had to deal with along the way are the exact reasons why no one has done it yet. We are also aware, however, that these barriers will eventually be taken down, especially once more states legalize marijuana. We want to be ready and fully established nationally by the time that that happens.”
Mellow has started by introducing three non-traditional artisan flavors of infused ice cream in the Los Angeles region: Himalayan Sea Salt & Caramel, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Tahitian Vanilla Peanut Butter Cup.
Hasse reports that the company plans to expand nationally once regulations change and more states legalize cannabis use. According to a report by Arcview Market Research, the cannabis edibles market will hit $4.1 billion in revenue by 2022.
You can learn more by reading Javier Hasse’s article in the December 3, 2020 issue of Benzinga.
Cannabis Trends
We guess this can be filed under O Tempora, O Mores. A different kind of “canary in the coal mine” story comes from Tim Balk, writing for the New York Daily News. Balk reported that according to the San Francisco Chronicle an ordinance passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors bans city residents from smoking tobacco inside their apartments but allows them to smoke pot at home.
Balk says that an earlier version of the ordinance reportedly banned the smoking of marijuana. However, that was changed amid concerns that the legislation would rob pot smokers of the only place they can legally light up.
To learn more you can read Tim Balk’s reporting in the December 2, 2020 issue of the New York Daily News.
Cannabis and THC
If you think the marijuana you purchased down at the local dispensary is a lot stronger than that “lid” of Acapulco Gold you once cleaned on the cover of your Doors album, you are probably right.
Johnny Green, writing for Cannabis & Tech Today, reports that a team of researchers with the Addiction and Mental Health Group at the University of Bath recently examined global testing data results of cannabis that was confiscated during police investigations.
The advantage to testing cannabis collected this way is that they were able to test marijuana that folks were actually smoking. That means researchers probably had a more accurate picture of what kind of cannabis is available to consumers through the “black market.”
According to Green, the data used for the study came from more than 80,000 tests spanning 50 years. All of the cannabis involved in the study came from the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Italy, and New Zealand.
He reports researchers found that THC levels in the cannabis flower test results increased 14 percent between 1970 and 2017. During that same span of time, THC levels in cannabis concentrates increased by 24 percent, according to the study.
Granted, this is but one study and it’s not clear how the samples were cared for prior to testing. While one may wonder how much consistency there was in testing that occurred in different jurisdictions over an 80 year period, the results of this study, in general, confirm a trend noted by consumers, retailers and growers: “This stuff is getting stronger.”
You can learn more by reading Johnny Green’s article in the November 20, 2020 issue of Cannabis & Technology Today.
cannatechtoday.com/is-cannabis-more-potent-now-than-in-decades-past/
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com or at 347-528-8753
