Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at a new way to measure the cannabis crop in the U.S., a new CBD product for dogs, a task force charged with developing protocols for using cannabis to treat chronic pain and more. Enjoy.
Stats of the Week
So if you are still wondering if this cannabis thing is really a thing, consider this. Analysts figure that in 2020, when valued as a wholesale crop, cannabis posted an annual wholesale value of $6.2 billion. That makes it the fifth most valuable wholesale crop in the land, putting it just under wheat and just above cotton, which sounds pretty comfortable.
That’s the word from David Downes and Bruce Barcott writing for Leafly. They were reporting on the first Leafly Cannabis Harvest Report. Downes and Barcott joined forces with Beau Whitney of Whitney Economics to aggregate annual crop data from the 11 states with active, legal adult-use cannabis sales—both recreational and medical sales.
These intrepid researchers used the USDA’s method of computing crop value for everything from peanuts to corn and everything in between. They found the average wholesale price of cannabis, per pound, in a state, and multiplied that figure by the amount of cannabis each state produced.
The report counted 13,042 cannabis farm licenses in the 11 states where retail stores operate legally. Here are a few of the nuggets of information they mined.
• For starters, farmers in those 11 states grew 2,278 metric tons last year. As they put it, it’s “enough to fill 57 Olympic-size swimming pools, or more than 11,000 dump trucks stretching more than 36 miles.”
• Downes, Barcott and Whitney calculated that legal cannabis is the single most valuable crop in Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Oregon.
• Only corn, soybeans, hay, and wheat had a higher wholesale value to American farmers in 2020. Cannabis at $6.2 billion posted twice the wholesale value of rice.
Yeah, we think it’s a thing.
To learn more, and we mean a lot more, we urge you to read the article by David Downes and Bruce Barcott that appeared in the November 3, 2021 issue of Leafly. Plus, if you read the article you get access to the entire report where you can glean any number of interesting factoids you can use to impress your friends and confound your enemies.
www.leafly.com/news/industry/cannabis-harvest-report-2021?
Investor News and Notes
On the off chance you are still basking in a post- Halloween, candy corn induced sugar high, get ready for your buzzkill.
MJBizDaily reports that J.P. Morgan sent an internal letter to brokers that said, in part, “J.P. Morgan (JPMS) has introduced a framework that is designed to comply with U.S. money laundering laws and regulations by restricting certain activities in the securities of U.S. Marijuana Related Businesses.”
In plain English, that means that as of November 8, J.P. Morgan brokerage clients will no longer be allowed to purchase cannabis-related stocks and securities.
However, as the letter states, after Nov. 8, J.P. Morgan clients with positions in marijuana companies will be allowed to liquidate those positions.
The article goes on to explain that this move by J.P. Morgan follows a similar change earlier this year by the firm Credit Suisse Group. That company told clients it was eliminating all transactions involving marijuana-related companies in the United States. It’s believed that the decision by Credit Suisse Group led to a large selloff of cannabis stocks.
Now that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find other places that will “take your action,” as it were. What it does suggest, however, is if you should see a sell off of cannabis stocks around November 8, that ripple may be tied to J.P. Morgan clients unwinding their positions.
We imagine this is not a moral position for these two companies. Rather they’re waiting for the dust to settle on proposed changes to banking restrictions on cannabis transactions and how cannabis companies have to handle their revenue. Once there is a clear way forward on that, and possibly legalization at the federal level, we suspect they will be back in the game.
We’ve now told you more than we know for certain.
To learn more, we suggest you read the article “JPMorgan Chase to restrict purchases of cannabis-related stocks, report says.” It appeared in the November 2, 2021 issue of MJBizDaily.
mjbizdaily.com/jpmorgan-chase-to-restrict-purchases-of-cannabis-related-stocks-securities/?
Cannabis and Insomnia
A new study may bring welcome news for older adults who are plagued by insomnia. A group of researchers at McMaster University in Toronto, Canada examined 991 medicinal cannabis users with insomnia. The study tracked 24,189 cannabis use sessions by this group to examine use patterns and the perceived effectiveness of cannabis as a treatment for insomnia.
The researchers concluded medicinal cannabis users who participated in the study perceived what the researchers described as a significant improvement in insomnia with cannabinoid use.
The study also suggested that there may be a possible advantage to using indica strains of cannabis to treat insomnia compared to using sativa strains and or CBD alone. It should be noted there is currently a mild controversy underway in the cannabis community about real differences and distinctions between the Indica and Sativa designations. Some are of the opinion that the differences attributed to the strains are really rooted in the terpenes the plants contain, while others contend it has to do with the ratio of the cannabinoids THC and CBD found in each plant.
We don’t mean to distract from the perceived benefit the users reported. We only mention the debate to suggest that the indica and sativa distinction is seen by some as fluid and the definition may change in the future. In this case if the participants reported that sativa is more effective it may suggest cannabis with a high THC content is more effective when treating insomnia, but we will leave a more detailed report on that discussion for another day.
As might be expected, the researchers said that this study, which was based on self reporting by subjects, emphasized the need for randomized placebo-controlled trials assessing the efficacy and safety profile of cannabinoids for the treatment of insomnia.
To learn more, we suggest you read the abstract of the study, “The Use of Cannabinoids for Insomnia in Daily Life: Naturalistic Study.” It appeared in Vol 23, No 10 (2021) of The Journal of Medical Internet Research. The article was published on October 27, 2021. A link to the article follows.
CBD For Dogs
There may be good news for dog owners whose canine companions are struggling with sensitive skin due to seasonal allergies.
According to Nina Zdinjak, reporting for Benzinga, the development team at Charlotte’s Web has crafted new products using the company’s proprietary full-spectrum hemp extract and other beneficial botanicals, such as Biotin, Nettle Leaf, Burdock Root and Marshmallow Root, in an effort to maintain healthy skin in dogs. Zdinjak says these new chews are said to allow dogs to maintain the normal moisture content of their skin, while also supporting their normal detoxification process.
Said Dr. Jen Palmer, the company’s director of education, “A full-spectrum hemp extract can support a dogs’ skin health as they go through allergy season. CBD has been determined to be safe for canines based on research conducted at Colorado State University.”
The chicken flavored dog chews are non-GMO and grain-free.
To learn more, we suggest you read Nina Zdinjak‘s informative article. It appeared in the October 27, 2021 issue of Benzinga.
Cannabis and Pain Management
For many mature consumers, anxiety, pain, and stress are considered the “holy trinity” when asked why they use medical cannabis.
As Javier Hasse noted in a recent article, “The use of medical cannabis to help alleviate the symptoms of chronic pain is increasing rapidly, aided not only by legalization but also by positive trial outcomes, improved quality of life, daily function and opioid-sparing.”
However, he also noted in the same article that there is still limited scientific data to guide the administration of cannabis-based medicines, particularly when it comes to dosing.
Hopefully, that situation may be about to change for the better. According to Hasse, Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth has recruited a group of 20 physicians to develop three practical protocols for the oral administration of medical cannabis to treat chronic pain. It’s thought their recommendations will help clinicians and patients achieve safer and more effective dosing.
The protocols appeared in detail in an article that was published in the July, 2021 issue of the Journal of Cannabis Research.
It was the consensus of the group of physicians that the protocols would be crafted with an eye toward treating patients experiencing neuropathic, inflammatory, nociplastic, and mixed pain. The group also concluded that when treating a patient with chronic pain, the size of the dose and the administration of cannabis-based medicine should be individualized for each patient based on their “goals, side effect profile, drug interactions and affordability.”
Dr. Alan Bell, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto and one of the lead experts in the task force told Hasse, “As a task force, we believe it’s incredibly important to bring medical cannabis to patients looking to treat chronic pain and the gap that exists around dosing and administration guidance is a barrier to physicians adopting this pathway as a viable treatment for their patients.”
Bell added, “These dosing recommendations and guidelines will function as the backbone for treatment regimens, allowing physicians to suggest medical cannabis as an ongoing, safer alternative to opioids.”
You can learn much more by reading Javier Hasse’s detailed and insightful article in the November 1, 2021 issue of Benzinga.
To read the journal article that contains the protocols and conclusions of the task force, just click on the link that follows.
jcannabisresearch.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42238-021-00073-1
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.
