420 with CNW Archives - Page 139 of 301

TuesdayJan 18, 2022 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — Top National Intelligence Official Eases Cannabis Restrictions on Federal Employees

In a new memo, Avril Haines, director of National Intelligence, stated that federal employers should be discrete when it comes to individuals with marijuana investments in their stock portfolios and shouldn’t flatly reject security clearance applicants over past use of marijuana. Haines stated that even with more states legalizing cannabis across the country, its use by individuals in positions that required national security clearance remained an area of concern, noting that the herb’s use should be considered in the application process. She explained that the illegal use of the controlled substance could raise security concerns about a person’s trustworthiness and…

TuesdayJan 18, 2022 4:20 am

420 with CNW — California Disburses $100M in Support of Cannabis Business Development

Last week, officials in California announced that the state had allocated $100 million in funding for the development of local cannabis markets, which would initially be used to help marijuana businesses become fully licensed. The California Department of Cannabis Control distributed the funds to 17 counties and cities where there are unequal numbers of provisional cannabis licenses. Some funding was also directed to areas with established social equity programs. This comes months after the department’s announcement that it was accepting applications for the local jurisdiction assistance grant program. The temporary licensing category was scheduled to expire on Jan. 1, 2022,…

FridayJan 14, 2022 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — CPG Trends That Marijuana Businesses Should Consider Implementing

Since the pandemic begun, there have been shifts in consumer purchasing habits with emerging technologies and packaging innovations such as digitization, remote analytics and AI leading to the development of a new level of company efficiencies. While not every packaging innovation can be applied to marijuana firms, some trends transforming the consumer packaged goods sector should be considered, including the following: AI and Digitization Digitization is helping improve product traceability and develop packaging automation efficiencies in the consumer packaged goods sector. The marijuana sector doesn’t have industry software solutions that allow them to collect, organize and analyze their packaging and…

FridayJan 14, 2022 4:20 am

420 with CNW — New Study Finds Cannabis Breathalyzers Provide Inaccurate Results

New research has found that cannabis breathalyzers are inconsistent in measuring THC impairment. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana that induces a high. This compound usually binds with receptors in the brain that control mood and pain, among other feelings. The study was carried out in Australia by University of Sydney researchers. For their research, the investigators conducted an analysis of 28 studies on the concentration of THC in saliva and blood and driving performance. The studies included in the analysis focused on how THC divided attention and impacted an individual’s reaction time. These two skills are…

ThursdayJan 13, 2022 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — Report Finds State-Legal Cannabis Markets Have Generated $10B in Taxes

Cannabis is without a doubt one of the fastest-growing industries in America. Despite being relatively young, America’s state-legal cannabis industry has been quite lucrative, generating billions of dollars in revenue and creating hundreds of thousands of new job opportunities. According to a newly released report on the industry, marijuana has been extremely kind to state coffers; since 2014, cannabis sales have provided states with legal marijuana markets more than $10 billion in tax revenue. The Marijuana Policy Project report states that since Colorado and Washington state sanctioned recreational cannabis sales in 2012, a wave of cannabis reform has swept across…

ThursdayJan 13, 2022 4:20 am

420 with CNW — Illinois Breaks Yet Another Cannabis Sales Record in December

All things considered, 2021 was a pretty good year for cannabis. Unlike most sectors, the state-legal cannabis industry didn’t take much of a beating from the coronavirus pandemic, and when 2021 came to a close, cannabis businesses across the country were doing relatively well. So while businesses in other industries were struggling to recover from the crippling effects of the pandemic, marijuana sellers were making bank. For Illinois, 2021 was probably the best year the state’s cannabis industry had ever seen. Cannabis sellers in Illinois sold cannabis worth a whopping $137.9 million in December 2021, breaking yet another monthly sales…

WednesdayJan 12, 2022 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — Two DEA-Approved Firms Harvest Cannabis Crop, Ending MU Cultivation Monopoly

After more than five decades of being in place, the federal monopoly on marijuana manufacturing ended earlier last week. Before its cessation, only the University of Mississippi was allowed by the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) to grow cannabis for study purposes. The DEA had in the recent past announced that it would take action to end the monopoly and permit additional manufacturers. In May of last year, a number of companies received conditional approvals for their applications. Two of them — the Biopharmaceutical Research Company (“BRC”) and Groff North America Hemplex — revealed that they had recently received official registration…

WednesdayJan 12, 2022 4:20 am

420 with CNW — Eight Marijuana Trends Likely to Play Out in 2022

Marijuana industry executives should pay attention to both positive and negative trends in the industry this year. While some will be a continuation from last year, some will be new to the industry. Below is a list of some trends to be on the lookout for this year. More states will legalize cannabis. More states are expected to legalize cannabis this year, including Delaware, Maryland and Rhode Island, which may legalize the herb for recreational use. States such as North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas and Mississippi are also expected to legalize cannabis for medical use. However, the federal government’s stance…

TuesdayJan 11, 2022 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — Colorado Governor Signs 1,300 Marijuana Pardons

America’s cannabis sector may have generated billions of dollars and created hundreds of thousands of new jobs, but its most significant achievement has been alleviating the effects of the drug war. Ostensibly started to reduce drug abuse rates and hit the criminal enterprises behind the drug trade where it hurts most — their wallets — the war on drugs failed to achieve its objectives and instead ruined plenty of lives. As a wave of drug reform sweeps across the country, several state leaders have been working to mitigate the disproportionate effects of the drug war and give the victims a new…

TuesdayJan 11, 2022 4:20 am

420 with CNW — Study Finds Cannabis Decriminalization Decreases Racial Disparities, Arrests

A new study has found that cannabis decriminalization causes a reduction in arrests for possession as well as decreases racial disparities in other arrests. The University of California-San Diego researchers who conducted the study obtained data from the FBI Uniform Crime Report for their research. The researchers assessed data from 37 states, which was collected between 2000 and 2019, to determine the impact of policies to decriminalize the herb. In their paper, the researchers stated that minorities often bore the burden of the unequal enforcement of laws on drugs, explaining that in the United States, Blacks were more likely to…