Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at a legal cannabis exhibit at a State Fair, legalization and safe driving concerns, the important role played by terpenes and more. Enjoy.
Travel Tips
If they move quickly, mature consumers and others who like to blend travel opportunities with an interest in cannabis still have time to take advantage of an event that might have been considered highly unlikely even a few years ago.
The California (CA) Cannabis Exhibit, which is designed to celebrate California’s award-winning cultivators and honor the history, craft and story of California cannabis today, will remain open to the public at the CA State Fair & Food in Sacramento, California, through Sunday, July 31.
That’s right, a cannabis exhibit at the state fair, right along with the giant pumpkins, the deep fried Oreos and the tractor pull.
According to the Fair, this first-of-its-kind exhibit will take fairgoers 21 and older on an educational journey about the cannabis plant as well as the history and pioneers of cannabis in California. Exhibitors, speakers, and farmers will be on hand to bring this industry display to life.
Exhibit features include:
- A Chance to Learn About the Plant – Large format infographics and monitors, and award-winning cultivators will be on display so attendees can discover and learn about the cannabis plant, its history, and its community.
- Historic Awards – A centerpiece will showcase the 60 award winners of the first-ever CA State Fair Cannabis Competition. More than 300 entries were evaluated for this science-based competition. Farmers will be on hand to discuss how genetics, cultivation terroir, and more come together to create a “Best in California” winner.
- Educational Opportunities – More than 50 expert speakers, panel discussions, and documentaries to educate attendees on topics including aging with cannabis; equity and inclusion; and more. For a full schedule of programming, please click here.
- Relax and Browse – Visitors can kick back in the KOLAS Lounge and learn from experts, browse books in the cannabis and hemp bookstore and enjoy a refreshing Lehua Brands (THC-free) slushie or tonic water made with plant-based terpenes from some of the award-winning flowers.
It should be noted that the exhibit prohibits the consumption and sale of commercial cannabis products on site.
To learn more, simply click on the link that follows.
www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220715005420/en
Financial News and Notes
Cannabis stocks continue to be a volatile sector of the market and so far investing in them is not for the faint hearted. However, as savvy investors know, there is more than one way to post a gain.That’s where short selling comes in.
If an investor believes a cannabis stock is likely to go down in price before moving higher, he or she can “go short.” Simply put, short selling involves selling a stock at its existing price—believing it will move even lower—and then buying it back later at that lower price, often with the intent of acquiring an even larger position in the stock—you sell high and then buy low before benefiting from a rebound in the stock’s price.
While for some, short selling is a viable investment strategy, others see it as an early indicator of where market trends are headed, particularly when institutional investors short or stop shorting a particular segment of the market.
For example, Stefanie Marotta,reporting for Bloomberg, recently noted that “short interest” in cannabis stocks has dropped to $632 million from $3.14 billion. Without searching for meaning amongst these tea leaves, the simple assessment is that institutional investors may no longer be convinced that cannabis stocks will continue to crater in price indefinitely.
She noted that while analysts remain skeptical that the federal government will approve a legal cannabis market soon, Congress is about to consider some cannabis legislation, which could lead to a rally in the sector.
Marotta contends that even if the U.S. fails to legalize cannabis this year, “experts say that it will happen eventually, and that investors will be ready to flood the market when it does.”
Said Canaccord Genuity analyst Matt Bottomley, “We believe that large pools of institutional capital are still sitting on the sidelines waiting for additional clarity at the federal level prior to being able to commit capital to the sector, and although ultimate timing is still uncertain, we believe headlines continue to trend in the right direction.”
You can learn much more by reading Stefanie Marotta’s insightful and informative article in the July 18, 2022 issue of Bloomberg.com.
Public Safety
When Eleanor Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan noted—at different times—”With freedom comes responsibility,” they could have been speaking directly to mature consumers who now find themselves with a great number of freedoms and responsibilities when it comes to legal access to cannabis.
For example, a new study suggests that mature cannabis consumers and others need to acknowledge that legalizing cannabis can come with legitimate public safety concerns—particularly when it comes to driving.
According to Tony Ho Tran, writing for The Daily Beast, the study, which appeared in The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, found that states that legalized recreational cannabis saw increases in traffic crashes and fatalities. For example, there was a 5.8 percent increase in traffic crash injuries and a 4.1 percent increase in fatal crashes in states that legalized recreational marijuana for adults age 21 and older.
While these increases may not be large enough to cripple the march toward legalization, they cannot be dismissed and are large enough to acknowledge that something may be going on here.
Said Charles Farmer, a researcher for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and lead author of the study, “The legalization of marijuana doesn’t come without cost.” He added that while legalization increased access to cannabis, it’s still easily attained “even in places without retail sales.” What legalization might be doing, the authors speculate, is allowing users who would otherwise not drive high, “feel that it’s okay after legalization.”
According to Tran, the study examined traffic data from the Federal Highway Administration from 2009 to 2019 from 11 states—five that had legalized recreational marijuana during the study period (Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada), and five that had not (Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming).
The investigators found that traffic injury rates varied broadly, with Colorado experiencing the biggest spike at 17.8 percent and California experiencing the smallest at 5.7 percent.
According to Tran, Farmer stressed that it’s likely that increased use of cannabis isn’t the only reason for the increase in traffic casualties.
Said Farmer, “Studies looking for a direct causal link between marijuana use and crash risk have been inconclusive. Unlike alcohol, there is no good objective measure of just how impaired a marijuana user has become. Until we can actively measure marijuana impairment, we won’t be able to link it to crash risk.”
Tran also noted that the study’s authors now hope that states that are considering legalization of cannabis also take steps to ensure that there are laws and regulations that prohibit driving under the influence of cannabis and that those sanctions are strictly enforced.
The study also acknowledged, “There also has been work developing more effective public service announcements about responsible use of marijuana (Davis et al., 2016; Governors Highway Safety Association, 2018).”
As we said earlier, with increased freedom comes increased responsibility, particularly when you slide behind the wheel.
To learn more, you can read Tony Ho Tran’s article—which does have a particularly snarky headline—in the July 19, 2022 issue of The Daily Beast.
www.thedailybeast.com/legalized-marijuana-linked-to-more-car-crashes-and-injuries?
If you care to go directly to the study itself, which appeared in the July 19, 2022 issue of The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, simply click on the link that follows.
www.jsad.com/doi/10.15288/jsad.2022.83.494
Career and Educational Opportunities
Opportunities continue to grow for mature consumers and others who want to get the education and training they need to pursue a second career in the cannabis industry.
Here are two examples, both described by TG Branfalt, reporting for Ganjapreneur.com.
In the first case, the University of New Haven in Connecticut has announced it will offer four online-only cannabis certificate programs developed by board-certified doctors and lawyers.
According to Branfalt, the University will partner with cannabis education firm Green Flower to develop four online-only cannabis certificate programs that will cover business, healthcare and medicine, law and policy, and agriculture and horticulture.
Branfalt noted that each certificate program consists of three eight-week courses and students will receive online instruction in their chosen area of study from expert faculty members vetted and selected by Green Flower. The education programs are developed by board-certified doctors and lawyers along with experts in engineering and agriculture.
According to the University, the program costs $2,950 and students who sign up for multiple programs will be eligible for a 33 percent discount on each additional program. The programs begin on September 5. The college is the first in the state to collaborate with Green Flower for a cannabis education program.
Said Danielle Wozniak, MSW, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Haven, “Students will receive cutting-edge preparation in these certificate programs to prepare them to excel in this emerging and highly competitive growth market while applying ethical business practices and quality standards to the Connecticut cannabis industry.”
In a second article, Mr. Branfalt reported on an announcement by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) that three State University of New York (SUNY) colleges and one City University of New York (CUNY) school will split $5 million in funding to support cannabis-related credential programs or course offerings that provide pathways to the cannabis industry.
Governor Hochul said the funding will help “ensure that New Yorkers who want careers in this growing sector have the quality training they need to be successful.”
According to Branfalt, the funding will create or enhance non-degree and degree-eligible courses and programs, stackable credentials, and micro-credentials that address local employer skill needs within the cannabis sector. Campuses must also partner with local cannabis industry businesses for input on curriculum development.
SUNY Interim Chancellor Deborah F. Stanley noted that the program “is an exciting new field of study for those seeking a competitive edge when applying for careers in dispensaries, grow labs, or CBD and THC sales.”
To learn more about the University of New Haven program, we suggest you read TG Branfalt’s article in the July 15, 2022 issue of Ganjapreneur.com.
www.ganjapreneur.com/university-of-new-haven-launches-cannabis-certificate-program/?
To learn more about the New York State program, we urge you to read Mr. Branfalt’s article in the July 20, 2022 issue of Ganjapreneur.com. Mr. Branfalt does good work and we like to highlight his reporting whenever we can.
www.ganjapreneur.com/new-york-public-colleges-to-split-5m-in-funding-to-launch-cannabis-courses/?
Cannabis Quote of the Week
“It’s time to put the Sativa-Indica classification system to bed. Terpene profiles can offer a more accurate classification system for cannabis and a more consistent consumer experience. By testing for terpenes and sharing that information with consumers, a brand can differentiate itself and lead the way in the cannabis industry.”—Roger Brown.
Mr. Brown co-founded the first cannabis testing lab in Florida, ACS Laboratory. His comment is taken from an article he penned for the website GreenEntrepreneur.
In his article, Mr. Brown noted that a 2021 study concluded that identifying a particular batch of cannabis as either Indica or Sativa, particularly when it comes to marketing the supposed attributes of the plant, doesn’t really correspond to genetic similarities in plants.
Instead, said Brown, researchers found that Sativa strains were just as closely related to Indica strains as to other Sativas–and vice versa. The study also discovered that cannabis strains with the same name bore more genetic resemblance to different strains than each other.
He also points out that the same study found that the terpene content was more indicative of a strain’s overall genetic profile.
Therein, he believes, lies the key to successful cannabis marketing: it’s all about the terpenes.
Experts describe terpenes as the organic compounds that provide the aroma and flavor in cannabis and a variety of other organisms.
According to Brown, researchers have recognized more than 100 terpenes in cannabis. Each terpene, he contends, works with cannabinoids and flavonoids to make up a strain’s unique identity. Terpenes also work in tandem with cannabinoids such as THC and CBD to heighten the therapeutic properties and minimize adverse effects. This synergetic process is described as the “Entourage Effect.”
To learn much more, we suggest you read Roger Brown’s informative article in the June 9, 2022 issue of GreenEntrepreneur.com.
www.greenentrepreneur.com/article/428588
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.
