In the days of the Armada, a fleet of warships, the scuttlebutt was the rumor or gossip that would spread throughout the ship. Today, Armada Law Corp presents The Scuttlebutt, a daily summery of news articles that people within the cannabis, hemp and plant medicine industries are chatting about along with links to the full articles.
In today’s news:
California Psilocybin Initiative Won’t Be On 2024 Ballot After Activists Fall Short In Signatures For Third Cycle In A Row
#psychedelics – “A California campaign to put psilocybin legalization on the state’s November ballot says it did not secure enough signature to qualify in time for a deadline last week.
This is the third election cycle that Decriminalize California has made a play for the ballot, only to fall short amid what organizers say is a variety of complicating factors, including voter confusion over a failed legislative push for psychedelics decriminalization and separate reform campaigns also seeking to put their measures before voters…”
Bonta joins push to reclassify cannabis as safe for medical use
#cannabispolitics – “The big picture: Bonta joined a letter to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) supporting the federal government’s efforts to evaluate and reclassify cannabis.
- The letter requests that the DEA reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I controlled substance to a Schedule III substance.
- Schedule 1 is reserved for substances with no accepted medical use which are considered highly addictive, while Schedule III recognizes legitimate medical use and lower potential for abuse.
- The reclassification would allow cannabis businesses to take certain federal tax exemptions, as well as allow for broader testing on the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis…..”
Ontario’s new cannabis store ownership cap expected to boost M&A
#cannabisindustry – “A new regulatory change allowing one company to operate up to 150 recreational cannabis stores in Ontario – a twofold increase from the previous cap of 75 – is expected to benefit large retail chains and drive more consolidation in Canada’s most valuable adult-use market.
The increase also could bring new opportunities for smaller retail operators looking to sell their stores, although some Ontario cannabis retail insiders caution that buyers’ offers might not meet sellers’ expectations…..”
Read More: https://mjbizdaily.com/ontario-cannabis-store-ownership-cap-expected-to-boost-consolidation/
Washington Bill Aims to Raise Legal Cannabis Age to 25
#cannabisregulation – “Washington state Reps. Lauren Davis, D-Shoreline, and Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, introduced House Bill 2320, legislation concerning “high-THC cannabis products,” on Jan. 11 in the House Committee on Regulated Substances and Gaming, where it is scheduled for a public hearing at 4 p.m. Jan. 16.
Specifically, this bill would increase the minimum legal age of sale of cannabis products with a THC concentration greater than 35%—to 25 years—with an exception for qualifying patients and designated medical providers…..”
Read More: https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/news/washington-bill-raise-legal-cannabis-age-25/
Psilocybin reduces depression severity, improves symptoms in bipolar II disorder
#psychedelics – “A single, 25 mg dose of synthetic psilocybin along with psychotherapy was safe and effective among individuals with bipolar II disorder depression, supporting further study of psychedelics for these patients, according to research.
“The 15 participants in this trial had well-documented, treatment-resistant BDII depression of marked severity and a lengthy duration of the current depressive episode,” Scott T. Aaronson, MD, of Sheppard Pratt Health System in Baltimore, and colleagues wrote in JAMA Psychiatry. “Individuals in this study displayed strong and persistent antidepressant effects, with no signal of worsening mood instability or increased suicidality.””
How Margaret Mead’s research into utopias helped usher in the psychedelic era
#psychedelics – “Pioneering anthropologist Margaret Mead came of age in a time of enormous change and uncertainty. In the aftermath of World War I, as technologies like the radio and automobile began to take hold, Mead and her husband Gregory Bateson began to formulate a vision for utopia that relied upon plant-based psychedelics.
“They saw science as something which was responsible for some of the bad things in the world,” historian Benjamin Breen says, “but also [as] something which could be a tool for fixing the world or healing a sick society.”
Breen is an associate professor of history at the University of California Santa Cruz. He says Mead’s research began as an effort to understand the science of expanded consciousness and hypnosis. Her specific interest in psychedelics took hold in 1930 when, while doing fieldwork on the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska, she noticed that people of the reservation were using peyote….”
Virginia Lawmakers Make Renewed Push to Launch Commercial Adult-Use Cannabis Market
#cannabispolitics – “It’s been nearly three years since former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed an adult-use cannabis legalization bill into law, and the state’s lawmakers are still fighting to establish a commercial market with regulated sales.
Northam signed legislation in April 2021 that allows adults 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of cannabis and grow up to four plants at home for personal use. The bill set a 2024 target date to launch commercial adult-use sales but included a reenactment clause that required the General Assembly to reauthorize certain provisions and establish a regulatory framework for a commercial market….”
Maryland recreational marijuana sales soar, but medical transactions stagnate
#cannabisindustry – “There’s not much to be crabby about in Maryland’s marijuana market.
Since launching in July 2023, the recreational marijuana market in Maryland has grown month-over-month, ending 2023 at $331.8 million in sales, according to data from the Maryland Cannabis Administration.
That’s a monthly average of roughly $55.3 million in recreational sales in the six months since the program’s launch.
Those gains have come at the expense of the state’s medical marijuana program, however.
MMJ sales in Maryland hit $46.3 million in June 2023, the month before recreational sales launched in Maryland, but declined four of the final six months of the year….”
Recalls increase for tainted marijuana, as the industry calls for a study
#cannabisregulation – “Last year, there was a sharp increase in health and safety advisories from the state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division. The sweeping recall of products over the last year has led to frustration in an industry that has fallen on difficult economic times, as sales and prices have fallen. Growers believe the contamination thresholds are too low.
Recalls were rising before last year, but expanded when the state began testing for a fungus called Aspergillus, which in rare cases can lead to death in immunocompromised marijuana users. Regulators said they were unaware of any deaths in Colorado.
Colorado’s regulators believe the danger of these contaminants outweigh the inconvenience to growers and stores….”
Read More: https://www.cpr.org/2024/01/16/tained-marijuana-recalls-increase-for-colorado-cannabis-industry/
Munchies Mystery Solved: Cannabis Activates Brain’s Appetite Neurons
#cannabisresearch – “Summary: Researchers uncovered how cannabis triggers appetite in the brain. Using calcium imaging technology to observe brain cells in mice exposed to vaporized cannabis sativa, the team discovered that cannabis activates specific cells in the hypothalamus associated with the anticipation and consumption of food.
This finding could lead to novel treatments for appetite disorders in cancer patients, anorexia, and potentially obesity. The study highlights the cannabinoid-1 receptor’s role in controlling Agouti Related Protein neurons, essential for appetite, and demonstrates that disabling these neurons negates cannabis’s appetite-stimulating effects….”
Read More: https://neurosciencenews.com/appetite-neurons-cannabis-35466/