Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at a Republican proposal to legalize cannabis, what using cannabis to manage chronic pain really means, research which suggests using extremely potent cannabis concentrates may be a waste of money and more. Enjoy.
Legislative Spotlight
In the words of the late Jimmy Durante, “Everybody wants to get into the act.” While Durante was referring to his nightclub act, we believe his observation can also refer to the latest proposal to legalize cannabis at the federal level.
In this case, the”everybody” attempting to get into the legislative act is Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC). A freshman Congresswoman, she has authored a bill that proposes to federally deschedule marijuana and create a regulatory system that would involve several federal agencies. However, she claims that in her approach, the federal regulatory system would complement existing state markets and not “unduly burden or undermine these markets” with unnecessary rules.
Mace cast the only Republican vote in favor of a cannabis research bill for veterans during a recent committee review of that bill.
That’s the word from Kyle Jaeger who reported on the draft legislation for Marijuana Moment. According to Jaeger, Mace’s draft legislation proposes the following:
-Cannabis would be federally descheduled and treated in a manner similar to alcohol.
-A 3.75 percent excise tax would be imposed on cannabis sales. Revenue would support grant programs for community reentry, law enforcement and Small Business Administration (SBA) aid for newly licensed businesses.
-The Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) would be the chief regulator for marijuana with respect to interstate commerce.
-The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would be limited in its regulatory authority, with the intent being that it would have no more control over cannabis than it does for alcohol except when it comes to medical cannabis. The agency could prescribe serving sizes, certify designated state medical cannabis products and approve and regulate pharmaceuticals derived from marijuana, but could not ban the use of cannabis or its derivates in non-drug applications, like in designated state medical cannabis products, dietary supplements, foods, beverages, non-drug topicals or cosmetics.
-Raw cannabis would be considered an agricultural commodity regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
According to Jaeger, the bill also calls for people with certain federal cannabis convictions that were non-violent to be eligible for expungements, a mandatory 21 age limit for recreational cannabis, the SBA to treat marijuana businesses the same as other regulated markets, such as alcohol companies and would stipulate that veterans would not face discrimination in federal hiring due to cannabis use, and that doctors with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would be specifically authorized to issue recommendations for medical cannabis for veterans.
There are those who contend that Mace’s draft may signal a “sea change” within the Republican party on the cannabis issue. While it may not represent the final legislation proposed on the issue, certain elements of the bill may influence the next round of cannabis-related “sausage making.”
You can learn much more by reading Kyle Jaeger’s article on the topic in the November 5, 2021 issue of Marijuana Moment. As always, his reporting is detailed and insightful.
Cannabis Quote of the Week
“The objective of using medical cannabis for chronic pain is to make the pain more manageable. Sometimes that means lowering the pain level from a 9 to a 2 on a discomfort scale. Totally getting rid of pain may be possible, but not many people want to lose functionality. They have a life, a job, family, friends, and more.
Patients with chronic pain are, on average, not looking to get blitzed or dysfunctionally high. Instead, they want to strike the sweet spot of pain relief without feeling numbed or dumbed down so that they can have a normal day. Like they would if they didn’t suffer from chronic pain.”— Lori Ann Reese.
Ms. Reese’s comment is taken from an article she posted on the website Marijuana Doctors.com entitled “7 Myths About Chronic Pain.” She is a content marketing manager for the website. The medical content in her article was reviewed by Dr. Joseph Rosado, M.D., the website’s chief medical officer.
MarijuanaDoctors.com was founded, in their words, to be a “trusted gateway for patients searching for medical marijuana treatment in legal medical marijuana states.”
You can learn much more by reading Lori Ann Reese’s article. It was posted on November 8, 2021 on the website MarijuanaDoctors.com under the category: pain management.
www.marijuanadoctors.com/blog/7-chronic-pain-myths/
Cannabis Headline of the Week
“HEXO To Close Three Recently-Acquired Facilities In Canada, Will Lay Off 155 Workers”
The headline is taken from an article written by Maureen Meehan that appeared in the November 9, 2021 issue of Benzinga. Meehan was reporting on the decision of Canadian cannabis producer HEXO Corp. to close three production sites in Canada that it had recently acquired by purchasing several smaller companies. It’s estimated that the layoffs will affect up to 155 employees.
We share this headline because we believe it demonstrates that there is nothing necessarily “different” or enlightened about the cannabis industry. Few things say “big business” as clearly as a layoff notice just before the holidays.
To learn more about the decision, you can read Maureen Meehan’s article by clicking on the link that follows.
Cannabis in the Workplace
When it comes to managing the impact of legalizing cannabis on the workplace, it can be a “brave new world” for employers and employees. Employers, for example, may have to put aside their personal assumptions about employees who choose to use cannabis.
That’s the word from Christine Taylor, a partner at Towne Law Firm. Taylor hosts educational seminars where she advises employers on how to proceed in such a rapidly changing regulatory environment. For instance, the NYS Department of Labor outright prohibits employers from marijuana testing either when hiring or on suspicion an employee is impaired.
According to Taylor, “For instance, with marijuana the smell does linger, but that’s not probable cause (for firing) anymore. It was the knee-jerk reaction to be like, ‘you obviously are using, I don’t want to employ you anymore,’ and that can absolutely kind of get you in trouble now.”
Taylor also told NEWS10 ABC’s reporter Mikhaela Singleton that while abstaining from marijuana can’t be a condition of employment—at least in New York State—there can still be rules surrounding what happens on work property.
Said Taylor, “You can’t restrict what people are doing in their personal time.Their breaks and all of that are still considered work time so to speak, so yes you can be like, ‘no you cannot bring marijuana into this office,’ for example.”
Taylor advises employers that using marijuana is no longer a valid reason to take action against an employee.
Taylor added, “You have to have articulable symptoms is what the law says, so that means you have to actually be impaired such that you can no longer perform the duties of your job. The best thing to do is to make a report and have witnesses of that person being incapable of doing their job either to the standards you set such that it doesn’t meet the requirements of the position or such that they are endangering other people.”
If you care to learn more about how to navigate this changing regulatory environment, we suggest you read Mikhaela Singleton’s article. It appeared on the November 7, 2021 edition of PIX 11.com, the website for TV station WPIX. The station serves the New York City market.
Concentrates, Potency and Intoxication
Mature consumers and others who buy expensive and extremely potent cannabis concentrates in an effort to achieve a “higher high,” may be wasting their money and time. After a certain degree of THC consumption, increased potency may make little difference.
That’s according to a study from the University of Colorado, in Boulder Colorado, which suggests that despite their strength, using more potent concentrates does not always lead to increased intoxication. Using blood tests, the researchers did find fifty percent higher levels of THC metabolites in the blood of those who had used the potent concentrate. However, this higher concentration of cannabinoids didn’t necessarily produce a higher degree of intoxication in test subjects.
The study is the focus of an article that appeared in Rxleaf.com. The article reveals that researchers found that when they compared balance and verbal memory scores between participants who had consumed potent concentrates (seventy or ninety percent THC) and those who had used flower (sixteen or twenty-four percent potency), higher potency didn’t mean stronger impairment.
According to L. Cinnamon Bidwell, lead author of the study and assistant professor in the Institute of Cognitive Science, “Surprisingly, we found that potency did not track with intoxication level.” Bidwwell added that, while researchers saw striking differences in (THC) blood levels between the two groups, their levels of impairment were similar.
Bidwell offered two theories that may explain the study results. One is that the body has a finite number of CB1 cannabinoid receptors. These are the primary target of THC molecules that enter the human body when cannabis is used. At some point, THC saturates the body’s CB1 receptors. This means that adding more THC couldn’t create more significant intoxication because there is simply nowhere else to bind.
The second theory is that the results may have to do with THC tolerance. The notion here is that regular exposure to potent concentrates could increase tolerance to THC which may account for the scores in the behavioral tests. In addition, said Bidwell, “There may be genetic or biological differences that make some people metabolize THC more quickly.”
Bidwell told Marijuana Moment that her research, “raises a lot of questions about how quickly the body builds up tolerance to cannabis and whether people might be able to achieve desired results at lower doses.”
Granted, dealing with questions of consciousness and states of awareness can be a murky area and some folks may just prefer the state they achieve when using a concentrate. However, if they are using it to achieve something that they may not necessarily be able to achieve—a higher level of intoxication that’s beyond what other types of cannabis offer—at some point they may have to ask themselves if this trip is really necessary.
To learn much more, we urge you to read the excellent article,”Here’s Why More Potent Concentrates Don’t Increase the High.” It appeared in the November 4, 2021 issue of Rxleaf.com.
www.rxleaf.com/more-potent-concentrates-thc-intoxication/?
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.
