Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week you’ll find travel tips for visiting national parks, answers to that age-old question, ”Am I a stoner?,” restrictions on advertising CBD as a cure for COVID-19 and more. Enjoy.
Travel Tips: Know Before You Go
Mature consumers whose summer travel plans include touring various parts of the U.S. need to remember that if they are traveling through states where cannabis is legal, those state laws do not apply when on land that is under the control of the federal government.
For example, the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service recently issued a press release warning tourists and campers who plan to visit the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico that the possession of marijuana on federal lands is still illegal and subject to federal enforcement.
Recreational cannabis was legalized in New Mexico in April of 2021.
The press release cites what it called a current closure order, which was enacted on June 5, 2018 and is in effect until Dec. 31, 2023. This order authorizes Forest Service law enforcement officers to issue citations to violators.
Make no mistake, under the federal Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I drug. That means possessing, storing or transporting marijuana while on federal land, such as the forest, is punishable as a Class B misdemeanor by a fine of no more than $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for organizations and/or imprisonment for not more than six months.
The release does not distinguish between recreational cannabis and medical marijuana, so if you are authorized to use medical cannabis, it’s wise to call ahead to the Forest Service managing the federal park you intend to visit to learn how the law applies to you. We suspect that when on federal land, no means no.
To learn more, you can visit the USDA press release.
www.fs.usda.gov/detail/santafe/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD1009735
The Forest Service also posted a tweet reminding travelers that restrictions are still in effect on park lands. To see the tweet, just click on the link below.
twitter.com/SantafeNF/status/1511109554372677634
O Tempora, O Mores
So, if you’re a mature consumer of cannabis, for either medical or recreational purposes, does that necessarily make you a “stoner?” How about consuming an edible and then asking, “Dude, where’s my walker?” Does that make you a stoner? If you are, is that a bad thing? And what about those tie-dyed shirts in your closet?
The answer, it seems, like so many questions involving cannabis is, it depends. Fortunately, to help, Jessica Reilly tackles the question in an article for The Cannigma. She untangles the complicated and somewhat amorphous issue of what makes someone a stoner.
She starts by noting that heavy cannabis use, something often attributed to stoners, usually refers to daily use while frequent use usually refers to using it weekly.
So, if you use medical cannabis on a daily basis to manage pain, does that mean you are ready to ride shotgun for Cheech and Chong? Not necessarily.
That’s because she contends that being a stoner involves more than just using the cannabis plant, in its many forms. Said Reilly, “Stoner culture has its own aesthetic, movies, TV shows, and even music that can bring people together. Of course, you can use cannabis regularly without considering yourself a stoner if stoner culture doesn’t resonate with you.”
In her article, Reilly also deflates a number of the pop culture stereotypes associated with being a stoner. For instance, while in movies stoners are often depicted as men, women are quickly catching up to the percentage of men who use cannabis. In fact, in 2021, women made up 59 percent of new cannabis users.
Another stereotype, that stoners tend to be lazy, does not seem to be supported by research. She points to a 2021 study that found frequent cannabis users were actually more active than their non-consuming peers. These findings supported a 2019 study that reported cannabis users regularly exceeded the recommended amount of physical exercise.
While she doesn’t state it specifically, Reilly seems to imply that the key question is how using cannabis fits into your lifestyle. If everything you do is built around being able to use cannabis, then you may be a stoner. If you use it medically so you can go about your life, doing what’s really important to you, then probably not.
As far as those tie-dyed shirts, it’s up to you.
To learn more about what might make a mature consumer a stoner, we suggest you read Jessica Reilly’s article. It appeared in the April 3, 2022 issue of The Cannigma.
cannigma.com/plant/what-is-a-stoner/?
Cannabis Corner
Talk about doing things the Rocky Mountain way. The state of Colorado has authorized another round of cannabis-themed license plates. The license plates are auctioned off by the state to raise money to support programs for people with disabilities.
According to Kyle Jaeger, writing for Marijuana Moment, people are able to bid on 22 different license plates that carry cannabis-related terms, such as “WEED,” “420,” “BONGWTR,” “HASH” and “THC.”
The bidding is open until April 20. It closes at 4:20pm MT, that day. If you are keeping score at home, that’s 4:20 on 4/20. So much for being subtle.
Jaeger notes that the state generated more than $45,000 from last year’s inaugural marijuana license plate auction for the Colorado Disability Funding Committee (CDFC).
Said Gov. Jared Polis (D), “For over a decade, Colorado has been a leader in the cannabis space, bringing bold, innovative and creative businesses to the state. This effort allows us to celebrate Colorado’s mile-high reputation and fund critical projects and programs in our disability community.”
Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera (D) added that the new initiative is a “fantastic opportunity to provide grant funding to not-for-profit and for-profit organizations that serve people with disabilities.”
If you don’t reside in Colorado and want to bid on a plate don’t worry. Colorado does allow people who don’t live in the state to participate in the auction. However, if they win, nonresidents will receive a novelty plate without the security features that are found on a standard state-issued license plate.
Colorado brought in a record $423 million in marijuana tax dollars last year.
To learn more about the auction—and the program’s shout out to the TV show South Park—we suggest you read Kyle Jaeger’s article in the April 4, 2022 issue of Marijuana Moment.
Consumer Education
A new website launched by the State of New York demonstrates how a robust approach to consumer education can enhance the implementation of an adult use cannabis program.
On March 31, 2021, the State of New York made it legal for adults 21 and older to possess and use cannabis. To make sure all consumers of cannabis have access to useful and accurate information, the state created a website called Cannabis Conversations.
The site covers a wide range of topics and is part of a broad strategy designed by the State’s Cannabis Control Board and the Office of Cannabis Management to enhance consumer safety. Other elements of the strategy include establishing quality assurance and product manufacturing standards, laboratory testing standards, and packaging and labeling requirements for cannabis and cannabis products.
Topics covered on the website include what’s legal and what’s illegal, safe storage tips and child safety, impaired driving, public use, medical use, health impacts and more.
Governor Kathy Hochul recently tweeted, “After adult-use cannabis was legalized, we promised to provide New Yorkers with the tools to stay healthy. That’s why we’ve started Cannabis Conversations, to share information on who can consume, where to consume, & how to consume safely.”
To learn more, visit visitcannabis.ny.gov/cannabis-conversations
CBD and COVID-19
Selling false hope is a dangerous practice. For instance, during the most-troubling days of the pandemic a number of unscrupulous businesses ran ads that promoted the notion that CBD products could either cure or prevent COVID-19. There is no evidence such products can do either.
To prevent companies from continuing down this path, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission recently issued a record seven warning letters in one day to companies that make CBD and promote their products by making coronavirus-related claims.
According to an article that appeared in MJBizDaily, the USDA and FTC said they were alarmed to see cannabinoid companies “using research studies to claim or imply misleadingly that their CBD products will cure, mitigate, treat or prevent COVID-19.”
The article reported that the companies were given 48 hours apiece to scrub their websites and social media posts of product listings that “misleadingly represent them as safe and/or effective for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19.”
These steps by the FDA and FTC, which were taken to protect consumers, reinforce the point that research, no matter how promising, does not automatically translate to an effective drug or course of treatment.
If you care to learn more, you can read the article that appeared in the March 30, 2022 issue of MJBizDaily.
mjbizdaily.com/us-regulators-hit-7-cbd-companies-with-warning-letters-over-covid-19-claims/?
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.
