420 with CNW Archives - Page 196 of 297

TuesdayOct 13, 2020 4:20 am

420 with CNW – Top Arguments for Legalizing Marijuana Sales and Consumption

For the past couple of years, attitudes towards cannabis have been on the mend. Although the controversial plant is still considered illegal at the federal level, over 30 states have legalized it to varying degrees. Renowned for a long time due to its psychoactive abilities, cannabis is increasingly being considered medicinal, with plenty of people using it to help manage conditions like chronic pain in lieu of pharmaceuticals. We are still a long way from federal decriminalization, though. Cannabis reform activists have been working hard to convince the masses of the benefits of legalizing cannabis. The following are some of…

MondayOct 12, 2020 4:20 pm

420 with CNW – Illinois Marijuana Sales Still Surging, Data Shows

Months into the coronavirus pandemic, the state-legal cannabis industry is still going strong. Although the pandemic forced many industries to shut down, resulting in the loss of millions of jobs, the cannabis industry has fared quite well despite the economic crisis. Most states have seen increased cannabis sales month over month, with some even calling the industry ‘recession-proof’. One such state is Illinois, which has seen record-breaking marijuana sales for the fifth time in a row. In September, consumers purchased more than 1.4 million marijuana products worth nearly $67 million, with almost $18 million of those sales coming from out-of-state…

MondayOct 12, 2020 4:20 am

420 with CNW – Mark Zuckerberg Makes Donation in Support of Oregon Drug Decriminalization Campaign

A foundation run by Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan has made a donation in support of a ballot measure to decriminalize all drugs in Oregon. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Advocacy donated $500,000 in support of Measure 110, a ballot measure “designed to establish a more humane and effective approach to drugs.” On top of that, the measure would use a portion of existing legal marijuana tax revenue to pay for expanded substance misuse treatment services, establishing addiction recovery centers throughout the state. According to supporters of Measure 110, it is part of an effort…

FridayOct 09, 2020 4:20 pm

420 with CNW – Highest Court in Florida to Revisit Law Establishing Medical Cannabis Program

Although medical cannabis has been legalized in over 30 states for quite a while now, the industry still has plenty of growing pains. Aside from being denied access to banking services, players in the industry across the country have been at loggerheads with authorities over how licenses are awarded. In Florida, for instance, medical cannabis law requires that licensed companies must be able to handle all aspects of the business, including growing, processing, and distributing products. Referred to as ‘vertical integration,’ the system locks out a large number of cannabis businesses and limits the licenses only to companies that can…

FridayOct 09, 2020 4:20 am

420 with CNW – Tilray, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLRY) Announces Positive Research Results for Cancer Sufferers

Medical cannabis is probably one of the most controversial topics at the moment. Critics of the medical marijuana movement have claimed that there is hardly any evidence of therapeutic benefit and that the hype has far outpaced the science. On the other hand, cannabis reform activists have argued that due to its diverse medicinal properties, medical cannabis can be a great alternative to pharmaceuticals. Quite recently, Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY) announced that Australian researchers have found that medical cannabis has shown promise as a treatment for nausea and vomiting for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in a clinical trial. The trial’s preliminary…

ThursdayOct 08, 2020 4:20 pm

420 with CNW – Congress Again Includes Cannabis Banking Protections in Third Stimulus Bill

Players in the cannabis space are cautiously optimistic after the House of Representatives approved a wide-ranging coronavirus relief bill containing text from the Secure and Fair Enforcement (“SAFE”) Banking Act. For the longest time, players in the cannabis space have been unable to access banking services due to cannabis’ status as a Schedule I drug, forcing them to rely on cash-only transactions. Not only does this put them at risk of theft and burglary, but it also makes social distancing during the pandemic almost impossible. Passed by the House last year but held in limbo in Senate, the SAFE Banking…

ThursdayOct 08, 2020 4:20 am

420 with CNW – FBI Report Indicates That Marijuana Arrests Dropped Nationally

Started by the federal government decades ago, the war on drugs has resulted in the incarceration of millions of Americans. A large number of these arrests have been due to marijuana possession. Over the years, it has become clear that certain communities have been targeted and over-policed due to marijuana prohibition and for many cannabis reform advocates, legalizing cannabis wouldn’t just increase state tax revenue, but it would also help repair the harms done by the war on drugs. Although advocates hoped that marijuana arrests would reduce with the advent of legal cannabis programs, 2016, 2017, and 2018 each saw…

WednesdayOct 07, 2020 4:20 pm

420 with CNW – Tobacco Giant Quietly Establishes Foothold in Marijuana Tech

Back in 2018, Tobacco giant Altria invested $1.8 billion in Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group. The very public investment gave Altria a 45% stake in the Canadian firm with an option to increase its stake to 55% over the next five years. Since then, the company, which is the parent firm for cigarette brands like Malboro and Parliament, has been trying to increase its stake in the nascent marijuana industry behind the scenes by patenting cannabis technology. According to records from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Altria filed two patents for vaporizer devices specifically designed for cannabis in…

WednesdayOct 07, 2020 4:20 am

420 with CNW – Colorado Governor Signs Executive Order Pardoning Thousands of Marijuana Convictions

Back in June, the governor of Colorado signed into law a marijuana bill that would promote social equity in Colorado’s marijuana market. On top of that, the bill would give Gov. Jared Polis the power to unilaterally issue pardons for prior marijuana convictions. Decades after the War on Drugs began, it is crystal clear that it has led to the over-policing of certain communities, and the bill was designed to fix some of these wrongs. On Thursday, one day after the new law took effect, the governor signed an executive order granting nearly 3,000 pardons for people convicted of the…

TuesdayOct 06, 2020 4:20 pm

420 with CNW – Washington State Keeps Tabs on Ongoing Marijuana Research as Officials Consider Reforms

Months into the coronavirus and amidst the biggest economic crisis the state has seen in a century, Washington State’s marijuana industry is going strong. Dispensaries saw a “pretty big spike” in sales in March that is still continuing into September, says David Morgan, co-owner of Lucky Leaf in downtown Spokane. With the legislature adjourned at the moment, a legislative committee that oversees the industry is considering a variety of industry reforms including increasing the amount of information on product labels, as well as keeping track of the growing number of studies supported by marijuana sales tax. During a recent work…