Posted on 12/16/202212/18/2022 by Steven M Smith — Leave a comment

NY Regulators Sign Its First Lease for Recreational Marijuana Store

NY Regulators Sign Its First Lease for Rec Marijuana Store

New York regulators have chosen a Harlem location for the first legal recreational marijuana store in the state, reported The City.

The lease for the shop at 248 W. 125th St. is already signed, according to Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) CEO Reuben McDaniel.

Overview

(The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York provides construction, financing, and allied services which serve the public good of New York State. More specifically, as a New York State public-benefit corporation, DASNY provides services for public and non-proprietary (i.e., nonprofit) private universities in New York State; for not-for-profit healthcare facilities in the State; and for other New York State-related institutions/purposes (such as State court facilities and State pension bonds). Like other public authorities in New York, DASNY has the flexibility to borrow on behalf of the state through legislative authorization, rather than incurring general obligation debt, which requires voter approval.)

“I’m pleased to announce that last night we signed our first lease,” McDaniel said. “For those of you familiar with Harlem, you can stand at the Apollo and throw a baseball right across the street,” he added.

“As we continue to work on identifying sites and finalizing leases with landlords for more than 100 adult-use cannabis dispensaries across the state, we will provide updates on progress when announcements will not impact ongoing lease negotiations,” Gordon told Green Market Report.

Update December 17, 2022

After much anticipation — and concern — about when New York would reveal Wits first locations for cannabis shops, the state authority overseeing the leasing of dispensaries has announced the first site, near the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem.

During the meeting on Monday of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), president and CEO Reuben R. McDaniel III announced the Authority had signed its first lease, for a property located at 248 W. 125th St. McDaniel said the authority hopes to sign more leases by year’s end.

“I’m pleased to announce that last night we signed our first lease,” he told the board. “For those of you familiar with Harlem, you can stand at the Apollo and throw a baseball right across the street.”

McDaniel said the design team had finished preliminary plans for the 2,800-square-foot space, and that construction would start soon after DASNY approves a final plan.

At the meeting, McDaniel did not say who would operate the dispensary. DASNY did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The announcement comes amid doubts about whether the state will meet its goal of opening its first legal dispensaries by the end of this year. The first Office of Cannabis Management-issued permits, known as Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses, are reserved for people who have been impacted by cannabis prohibition and nonprofit groups serving people with past cannabis-related arrests or incarceration.

In October, Gov. Kathy Hochul said that 20 legal dispensaries would be open by the end of the year, a goal that looks unlikely due to all the loose ends, including securing locations for the dispensaries through the Dormitory Authority.

The signing of the first lease, however, comes at a time when unlicensed cannabis vendors have become increasingly visible across New York City, with a little more than three weeks left in the year. While Albany legalized cannabis last year, the CAURD recipients will be the first business to operate dispensaries that are actually licensed.

First of 150

The state’s plan pairs the individual CAURD license holders with ready-to-go retail locations, as well as access to loans — an important component in helping these businesses succeed because of the difficulties cannabis businesses have in securing loans through regular banking means. It is also an effort to ensure that the people who’d been punished by old drug laws not only get a head start, but enough of a foothold that they don’t get pushed out when bigger players enter the market.

In order to pay for the build-out of the dispensaries and help with the loans, the state created a $200 million Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund. DASNY awarded management of the fund to Social Equity Impact Ventures LLC, a private venture team including NBA star Chris Webber, former city Comptroller Bill Thompson and entrepreneur Lavetta Willis. The team is tasked with raising $150 million of the total amount from private investors.

Despite that, the fund has yet to announce whether it has raised any money toward the fund. Syracuse.com reported that Webber and Willis had interests in cannabis brand Cookies, a potential conflict, and that other ventures from the two had failed to produce results.

Similar to liquor licenses, community boards will be able to give positive or negative recommendations for dispensaries within their district. While the Office of Cannabis Management is tasked with approving the licenses, the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) has a mechanism for community boards to weigh in on dispensaries in an advisory role.

However, the MRTA states that for “premises leased from government agencies,” that provision does not apply, creating ambiguity over whether community boards have even an advisory role in considering the properties DASNY is securing. The authority did not respond to questions about the role of community boards.

Manhattan Community Board 10 District Manager Shatic Mitchell said on Wednesday that he hadn’t heard about the dispensary coming to the Central Harlem district before THE CITY inquired about it.

Keshawn Warner, whose business received a CAURD license to operate in Manhattan, said Wednesday that he has not heard from the state about where his dispensary will be located or about relevant regulations, such as the rules for deliveries until he’s able to open a storefront.

“Location, you obviously have your desires,” said Warner, who owns, with his wife, a drugstore called The Pharmacy in Harlem. “Most important to me is the effectiveness of the roll-out.”

He added: “If it is in Harlem, it would be great for Harlem. It’s a moment in history.”

Thank you for consideration.

Inspirational Technologies 2022

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Posted on 12/15/2022 by Steven M Smith — Leave a comment

Wholesale Marijuana Flower Prices Plummet. Michigan subject of new dynamics.

Wholesale marijuana flower prices plummet.

Michigan, in particular, subject to new dynamics.

Prices of wholesale recreational marijuana in Michigan are now as low, or lower, than those in older adult-use states

– underscoring how new markets are ramping up more quickly and, in some cases, becoming glutted.

Industry insiders say cannabis flower in Michigan is readily available for less than $1,000 a pound on the wholesale market – and often for much less – because of oversaturation as more and more cultivation companies come online in a state with no limit on business licenses.

Connie Maxim-Sparrow, a cannabis consultant and marijuana business license holder based in Muskegon, Michigan, characterized the state’s current market conditions as “unstable” – in particular, cannabis growers are spending at least $800 to grow a pound of flower and getting only $600 for it on the wholesale market.

According to Maxim-Sparrow, a year ago a midgrade pound of indoor-grown wholesale flower that tested at around 20% THC potency would sell for $1,800-$2,200.

Now, that same grower is lucky to get $600 a pound, and she’s heard of some selling for as low as $300.

The dynamics playing out in Michigan could offer a harbinger of what’s to come in other new markets.

In particular: As more multistate operators learn how to quickly set up shop in new regions with many producers, the pace of a newly legalized state’s market hitting an oversaturation point is speeding up.

This is more likely to happen in states without licenses caps or that have many growers – unlike limited-license markets that seem more common on the East Coast.

Michigan began marijuana sales at the end of 2019, and the wholesale market prices now more closely resemble those in older markets such as Colorado or Oregon, where wholesale prices have been falling for a year or more.

Colorado’s adult-use sales launched in January 2014, while Oregon’s market launched in October 2015.

Both markets took longer than Michigan’s to experience product saturation and falling prices.

Survival tactics

To survive, cannabis companies across Michigan are tightening their belts, relying on vertical integration and trying to build brand recognition to be more competitive.

Others are limiting their expansion plans or selling out as a wave of consolidation sweeps through the state’s industry.

A few Michigan marijuana retailers have downsized, including major retail chain Lume Cannabis, which closed four of its roughly 30 stores earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Michigan regulators in March implemented new rules, including lower application fees and the removal of licensing tiers, that will further open up the market.

“Everybody’s panicking,” Maxim-Sparrow said.

“Some of us knew this was coming – others are getting caught off guard by the oversupply issue.”

The learning curve for entering the cannabis industry is steep. Start with the fundamentals.

Any cannabis company executive who has been watching what has happened in other mature marijuana market with relatively unlimited licensing, including Colorado and Oregon, should have seen the market headed in this direction, industry insiders aid.

“We’ve seen this movie before,” said Tyson Macdonald, adviser to and former chief financial officer of Cloud Cannabis Co., based in Troy, Michigan.

“It is definitely happening with an accelerated pace in Michigan.”

Macdonald partially attributes that to a regulatory structure that allows for stacking of cultivation licenses, which has created very large facilities, many of which came online around the same time.

Not limiting licensing also sped up the situation.

Cannabis businesses executives “should have absolutely been aware that this market was going in this direction when there was not a single cap on a cultivation or processing license,” Maxim-Sparrow said.

The pricing situation

Over the past year and half, the state has seen a “ton of new capacity come online,” said Ankur Rungta, co-founder and CEO of C3 Industries, a vertically integrated Michigan marijuana company that also has operations in Massachusetts, Missouri and Oregon.

Rungta, who started out in the cannabis industry with a business in Oregon, said he saw a similar market drop there with overproduction in 2017 and again in 2018.

“Our first market was Oregon, so if anybody should have seen it coming, it was us,” he said.

Yet, Rungta said, the speed of how quickly the Michigan market has become saturated has taken him by surprise.

“We’re definitely getting into a fully supplied or even oversupplied marketplace,” he added.

“That’s definitely putting a lot of pressure on the wholesale market. People are buying the same amount of cannabis; it just costs half of what it used to cost before.”

That’s before the coming fall harvest of outdoor-grown flower hits the market.

“A lot of people are looking at this fall and saying, ‘What’s going to happen?’” Rungta said. “I don’t know that we’ve hit the bottom, to be completely honest with you.”

Macdonald said retailers and manufacturers can buy anything they need for less than $1,000 a pound for wholesale flower.

At Michigan stores, ounces of flower sell for as low as $59-$99, according to Macdonald.

“And a lot of that at the $79-$99 price point, it tests pretty well,” he said. “It’s not terrible product.”

Access isn’t the issue

Some municipalities in Michigan have opted out of allowing marijuana retail stores.

One major area that has yet to open a recreational cannabis store is metro Detroit.

The city finally began accepting license applications for adult-use marijuana businesses on April 20.

That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a question of consumer access – despite many municipalities opting out of legal cannabis sales.

Maxim-Sparrow said most customers probably must drive only half an hour at most to find a store.

“If you look at a map of Michigan, there’s very few areas that don’t have access,” Rungta said.

Cities such as Ann Arbor are glutted with retail stores, said Mahja Sulemanjee-Bortocek, CEO and founder of High Haven, which owns cannabis business licenses in Bay City, Michigan.

She would like to see municipalities show a better understanding of the economics of cannabis before licensing too many stores in one place.

“They look at it as a revenue stream for them through taxes, which it certainly is,” Sulemanjee-Bortocek said.

But the towns and cities will lose that revenue stream if the retailers can’t turn a profit and stay open, she added.

“It’s a short win for them. Not a long-term situation,” Sulemanjee-Bortocek said.

Turning to vertical integration

Some companies are banding together to increase their brand power through collaborations and white labeling.

Others are trying to become vertically integrated but are running out of capital as they try to build out their retail or cultivation businesses.

Rungta said that a vertically integrated business structure is becoming more important, so a company can have a “hedge or cushion against some of the wholesale volatility that’s out there.”

He expects more businesses will head in that direction over time.

His strategy is to both move a “sizable chunk” of business through company-owned retail stores while also selling on the wholesale market.

The successful companies are those who saw this coming and built their business model around current pricing, not when the market opened and prices were much higher.

Rungta said the companies that will survive have a clear strategy such as offering a value product or a premium product with a business structured accordingly and a reasonable margin to support their operations.

By “reasonable,” he said a 40% gross margin is a good baseline.

“Those people are having success and, in some cases, continuing to even grab market share,” he said.

But, Rungta said, the branding and quality need to match the product for it to work.

As this all plays out, expect to see more consolidation as business are swallowed up by larger ones and some even go under. The amount of capital a business has could be the deciding factor.

“In this environment, it’s challenging for everybody,” Rungta said. “But it’s most challenging for the smaller businesses.”

Bart Schaneman can be reached at bart.schaneman@mjbizdaily.com.

Thank you for consideration.

Inspirational Technologies 2022

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“Have an older generation 4H Club, where an older community of adults could carry on what the younger 4H Club envisioned.

Our 4H Platform Uses HEMP as an Agricultural Focal Point, deserving of research, development and with the

4 Hemp key points being Health Hope and Happiness, thru Hemp“.

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Story by Bart Schaneman

Posted on 12/14/2022 by Steven M Smith — Leave a comment

Marijuana Companies laying off hundreds of workers, deemed “essential”.

Marijuana companies lay off hundreds, retrench amid economic woes

By Margaret Jackson
September 6, 2022

While business around the world shuttered as COVID-19 spread, the marijuana industry was deemed “essential” in nearly 30 states and stood to gain from the pandemic.

But more than two years later, amid rising inflation and fears of a recession, North American cannabis companies are cutting hundreds of jobs, closing retail outlets and cultivation facilities or shuttering altogether.

The marijuana industry mirrors mainstream companies that saw similar demand and now are struggling to right-size their businesses.

Sales of Peloton bikes spiked when gyms closed and people sought fitness alternatives; but the New York-based company has axed more than 4,000 jobs so far this year.

The pandemic-era e-commerce boom that boosted Shopify’s business also appears to have cooled, and the Canadian company, which makes the technology that powers online stores, has laid off about 1,000 workers.

The cannabis industry layoffs and retrenchment have affected plant-touching companies large and small as well as tech businesses such as Akerna of Colorado, Dutchie of Oregon and delivery operator Eaze of California.

The factors behind the cannabis retrenchment are numerous. They include falling wholesale marijuana prices, cash-strapped consumers and structural changes affecting the industry, experts said.

Among the more notable plant-touching companies that have been caught up in the fallout in recent months:

California-based cannabis advertising giant Weedmaps cut 10% of its roughly 600-member workforce, citing market contractions in California, Colorado and Oklahoma.
Arizona medical marijuana grower Nature AZ Medicine laid off around 100 employees as medical sales drop and recreational sales spike.
Michigan-based Lume Cannabis closed four of its roughly 30 stores in the state but did say it plans to open three additional stores in more populated areas. The realignment, disclosed in July, comes at a time when marijuana prices in Michigan have tumbled because of market saturation.

Corporate turnarounds

In addition to inflation and economic woes, cannabis businesses are grappling with staffing issues.

For one, many public marijuana companies are undergoing turnarounds, which often translate into the shedding of employees.

“The guys who come in to handle turnarounds don’t understand the market and cannabis,” said Avis Bulbulyan, CEO of Siva Enterprises, a California-based marijuana consulting firm.

Edmonton, Alberta-based Aurora Cannabis said in June that it was cutting 12% of its workforce as part of a corporate restructuring.

The company expects the move will save up to 90 million Canadian dollars ($69 million) and put it on the path to profitability. The company’s goal is to turn its first profit next year.

Another Canadian public company, Canopy Growth Corp., disclosed in August it cut 245 employees – or about 8% of its workforce – as part of sweeping changes across the company designed to help stem recent losses and nudge the struggling producer to profitability.

Canopy said it expected the cuts and adjustments to generate up to CA$150 million in savings in 12-18 months.

Canopy also closed its cultivation facilities on 23 acres in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, last year.

Echoes of the dairy industry

“The legal cannabis business is volatile,” said Daniel Sumner, professor of agricultural and resource economics at the University of California, Davis and co-author of “Can Legal Weed Win? The Blunt Realities of Cannabis Economics.”

“It’s a new industry,” he said, “and companies are coming and going and being acquired in all parts of the industry – not just growing and processing and selling.”

Consolidation in the marijuana industry is similar to what happened to Wisconsin’s dairy industry, which lost 10% of its farms in 2019 and 44% over the past 10 years.

“Production went way up, but the number of farms went way down,” Sumner said. “It’s consolidation. A lot of that consolidation means if you’re a manager, you call it labor-saving efficiencies.

“But if you’re a worker, you lost your job.”

Despite the cost of other products rising because of inflation, the price of marijuana has declined, another factor impacting companies’ ability to retain employees.

In Colorado, for example, the wholesale price per pound of marijuana was $709 as of July 1 – an all-time low – and down 46% from $1,309 a year ago and nearly 60% from $1,721 in January 2021, according to Colorado Department of Revenue data.

“Farm-level cannabis costs coming down is the reality of this business,” Sumner said. “It’s partly improved management; some is technology.”

But, Sumner said, like other agricultural crops, price declines in the marijuana industry should be expected.

“Adjusting for inflation, we now spend 10% of our income on food – not 4% like we did two generations ago – and there’s no reason to think cannabis won’t follow that trajectory.”

Structural changes

And just as practices shifted from a customer-focused approach at grocery and liquor stores where someone would tell you about the products, practices at cannabis retail stores also are likely to see changes that result in the need for fewer employees.

“Everybody used to buy their beef or their fish from the person who really knew beef and fish – you walked in and talked to the baker, the butcher or the fish monger about what you want,” Sumner said.

“That’s the way it’s handled in cannabis now. But cannabis is moving away from it. It will be cheaper and more available, but there won’t be the services and employment.”

Like other industries, venture capital funding also has become scarce for cannabis businesses seeking investors to fuel their growth.

Without financing, it’s tough to keep as many employees as possible on staff, said Karson Humiston, founder and CEO of Denver-based cannabis recruiting network Vangst.

“People are really tightening the belt and working to preserve cash because funding is hard to come by,” Humiston said.

“When companies have a harder time raising capital, they need to make sure they have enough cash to weather the storm. The first thing to go is expensive headcount.”

The majority of job cuts are at the senior level – not hourly employees who work in grows or retail shops, Humiston said.

And with many multistate operators using more gig employees than in the past, Vangst is having its busiest summer ever.

“People are still purchasing and consuming cannabis, so these hourly workers are essential,” she said.

“Cannabis still needs to be grown, packaged and delivered to customers. Those are hourly roles.”

Posted on 12/14/2022 by Steven M Smith — Leave a comment

MJBizCon Kicks off in Las Vegas amid economic turmoil, hopes of Marijuana reform

MJBizCon kicks off in Las Vegas amid economic turmoil, hopes of marijuana reform

By Chris Casacchia,

Staff Writer
December 14, 2022.

MJBizCon attendees pick up their badges Tuesday for the 11th edition of the nation’s largest cannabis industry conference. (Photo by Alicia Fresquez)

MJBizCon, the oldest and largest trade show in the cannabis industry, officially opens Wednesday amid growing economic challenges and renewed hope that federal marijuana reform will help the industry in the wake of this month’s midterm elections.

Now in its 11^th year, MJBizCon runs through Friday and features more than 1,400 exhibitors, 70-plus hours of educational content and 180 speakers.

More than 380 exhibiting companies are new to the showcase this year.

The expo hall, the largest in MJBizCon history, spans nearly 280,000 square feet on two floors of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s South Hall.

It’s where tens of thousands of cannabis industry professionals will convene for networking, startup funding, strategic partnerships, insights on regulatory reform and the political landscape and other topics.

This year’s event arrives amid another critical juncture for the industry.

Cannabis companies, like others in mainstream sectors, are laying off workers and implementing other cost-cutting measures as prices for wholesale marijuana fall and recessionary concerns rise.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has set in motion a process that could lead to revolutionary changes for federal marijuana policy.

The midterm elections, which often highlight the nation’s political polarities, provided a mixed bag of results on the marijuana front.

Among the many changes this year at MJBizCon, a new design divides the exhibition floor space into four distinct pavilions to help attendees find what they need:

Cultivation products and services.
Processing, packaging and lab services.
Retail and dispensary.
Business services.

“We can’t wait for everyone to see what’s new at MJBizCon – new exhibitors, a reorganized show floor, an outdoor patio,” said Jess Tyler, MJBiz’s senior vice president for events and sales.

“We really upped the experience this year.”

In a Wednesday highlight,

MJBiz CEO Chris Walsh

delivered his “State of the Industry and Predictions for 2023” in which he outlines the cannabis business environment and opportunities for future growth.

Other topics featured at the conference will include the recent elections, mature and emerging market difficulties and opportunities, strategies to overcome current headwinds and whether federal reform, particularly the passage of SAFE Banking Plus, is gaining momentum.

The main stage on Wednesday will feature in-depth discussions with cannabis industry leaders and successful mainstream executives.

Highlights include:

A fireside chat with Cookies co-founder and CEO Berner, an expert on branding and global expansion in the cannabis industry. The rapper, who recently sat down with MJBizDaily for a Q&A, will discuss how he and his brand have become influential.
Insights from Rhonda Kallman, a trailblazer in the alcoholic beverage industry with decades of business, branding and marketing expertise. Kallman, who was recently the subject of an MJBizDaily Q&A, founded the Boston Beer Co., producer of Sam Adams, and now runs Boston Harbor Distillery.
A “power panel” of cannabis business leaders including Wana Brands co-founder and CEO Nancy Whiteman; Ruben Lindo, founder of Blak Mar Farms; The Parent Co. CEO Troy Datcher; Toi Hutchison, president and CEO of Marijuana Policy Project; and Acreage Holdings CEO Peter Caldini.

Additional experiential exhibits include the return of the Hall of Flowers Experience at MJBizCon, First-Timers Open House, Innovations Product Showcase and the Exhibitor Spotlight Theater.

MJBizCon has also partnered with CannaVest to host the CannaVest Institutional Investment Conference for institutional and accredited industry investors.

Other notable breakout sessions off the main stage include:

Strengthening Social Equity in Cannabis Through Strategic Partnerships.
Deliver on Your Brand: Creating a Sustainable and Competitive Retail Experience.
Old Market, New Revenue: How U.S. Players are Finding Opportunity in Canada’s Cannabis Market.
Cannabis Investing Trends: How to Stay Ahead of the Curve.

MJBizCon also features a new scholarship program, pop-ups from Women Grow and Black Cannabis Magazine

, and networking events focused on women and Black entrepreneurs as well as other people of color. The MJBiz app and signage help attendees find women- and BIPOC-owned businesses on the expo floor.

Attendees can convene at one of two lounges, The Joint (first floor) and Elevation (second floor), to hydrate, plug in or meet up.

They can also visit The Patio at MJBizCon, a newly added outdoor gathering space to unwind, get fresh air or check out some cool experiences, including a 360 photo booth, yard games, DJs, drink options and food trucks.

The conference has a soft kickoff Tuesday with six preshow forums at the Westgate Las Vegas hotel, next to the Convention Center:

MJBizFinance Forum.
MJBiz Hemp + CBD Forum.
MJBiz Marketing Forum.
MJBizScience Symposium.
reMind Psychedelics Business Forum.
Associations Day.

More information, including registration details, speakers and session topics, is available here. Online registration remains open all week.

Chris Casacchia can be reached at chris.casacchia@mjbizdaily.com.

Thank you for consideration.

Inspirational Technologies 2022

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“Have an older generation 4H Club, where an older community of adults could carry on what the younger 4H Club envisioned.

Our 4H Platform Uses HEMP as an Agricultural Focal Point, deserving of research, development and with the

4 Hemp key points being Health Hope and Happiness, thru Hemp“.

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Posted on 12/13/2022 by Steven M Smith — Leave a comment

DEA Announces How Much Marijuana, MDMA, Psilocyn, LSD, Mescaline, 5-MeO-DMT, MDA, 2-CB Can Be Produced For Research In 2023

Story by Lara Goldstein

The DEA has shared its final production quotas for research drugs for 2023 and is now aiming for further manufacturing goals of several psychedelic compounds than the already substantial increases regarding 2022 initially proposed, reported Marijuana Moment.

DEA Announces How Much Marijuana, MDMA, Psilocyn, LSD, Mescaline, 5-MeO-DMT, MDA, 2-CB Can Be Produced For Research In 2023© Provided by Benzinga

The compounds include marijuana, MDMA, psilocyn, LSD, mescaline, 5-MeO-DMT, MDA, and 2-CB.

The agency stated that it is “committed to ensuring an adequate and uninterrupted supply of controlled substances in order to meet the estimated legitimate medical, scientific, research, and industrial needs of the U.S., for lawful export requirements, and for the establishment and maintenance of reserve stocks.”

As such, 2023’s production quota numbers for psilocyn would go from the original 8,000 grams to 12,000 grams, 5-MeO-DMT from 6,000 to 11,000, MDMA from 8,200 to 12,000 grams, MDA from 200 to 12,000 grams, and 2-CB from 25 to 5,100 grams.

In the case of marijuana, the DEA suggested the production of 6.7 million grams -or 14,770 pounds- for medical and scientific purposes, more than double that of 2022. Licensed cultivators can now apply to become federal marijuana suppliers under the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA.)

Several companies have already made recommendations to raise DEA’s 2023 proposed quotas in view of pre-clinical and clinical research particularly for PTSD, TRD, schizophrenia and anxiety.

The proposal also received a comment regarding the creation of “diversified categories” for production and research on psilocybin-containing fungi fruiting bodies/sclerotia/liquid culture similar to cannabis (flower), fruiting body extract (akin to cannabis extract), and psilocybin and psilocyn separately as purified compounds (akin to delta-9-THC), as well as applying that same system for mescaline and other plants, fungi and lifeforms producing these compounds.

But the agency replied stating that the suggestions “do not impact the analysis involved in establishing” the production quotas for each substance.

Nonetheless, the DEA seems to be listening to what is taking place in the psychedelics space, as it has recently backed down on banning two psychedelic compounds claimed to have scientific value as well as a separate project to list five tryptamines as Schedule I substances.

Thank you for consideration.

Inspirational Technologies 2022

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Posted on 12/04/202212/04/2022 by Steven M Smith — Leave a comment

Can Cannabis Prevent Covid Infections? Research Now on POTUS Agenda.

Cannabis News Week: Can Cannabis Prevent Covid Infections?

Story by Tony Owusu

Researchers from Oregon State University are expected to present evidence that cannabis is an even greater miracle drug than previously known.

After decades of suppression, the medical benefits of cannabis are well known and are often used by advocates to push for more freedom for both recreational and medicinal users

But there are new studies being conducted constantly, and the medical community may just be scratching the surface of understanding the benefits of marijuana.

Researchers at Oregon State University are expected to present information on using natural products, including hemp, to treat covid-19 at a virtual event called “Natural Products and Hemp: Under-appreciated Sources for Covid-19 Therapeutic Agents” on Dec. 6.

This event comes about a year after the school published a study that found that compounds in cannabis could prevent the virus that causes covid from infecting human cells.

Richard van Breeman, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Oregon State and a team of researchers found that a pair of cannabinoid acids bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which then blocks a critical step in the infection process

The findings were published in the Journal of Natural products and, according to the university, set records for downloads and online views when it was released.

So, apparently there is an appetite for this type of research.

Righting an SBA Wrong for Cannabis

Access to capital has hampered the cannabis industry immensely even while state’s move to make the drug more legal than it has ever been in the United States.

Capital, especially for potential small business owners looking to get into the business, is nearly impossible to get due to the federally illegal nature of the drug.

But U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) has a plan to right some of those wrongs.

Sen. Rosen introduced legislation that would make regulated cannabis businesses eligible for loans and other programs from the federal Small Business Administration under the Fair Access for Cannabis Small Businesses Act.

The legislation will give proprietors access to the popular SBA 7(a) loans that other small businesses have access to, as well as disaster loans, microloans, and the Small Business Investment Company program.

“The unfair barriers to basic federal support and resources have hurt our state’s legally-operating cannabis small businesses,” said Sen. Rosen.

“This legislation will level the playing field so that cannabis small businesses… have access to the same federal resources and loans that other legal businesses are entitled to.”

Rosen’s legislation, when paired with the oft-discussed SAFE Banking Act, would create a regulatory framework that would ensure a diverse pool of players in the cannabis industry, according to Khadijah Tribble, CEO of the U.S. Cannabis Council.

“Senator Rosen’s landmark legislation would help advance equity and innovation in the cannabis industry by leveling the playing field for independent cannabis operators,” Tribble said.

A Decade of Recreational Cannabis

We all know the tropes. Weed smokers are lazy stoners with little motivation and the constant munchies.

While the tropes have some basis in reality, cannabis can definitely relax a person to the point where they don’t want to move, but new research from the University of Colorado Boulder suggests that the tropes don’t tell the whole story.

Angela Bryan, a professor of psychology, and Brian Keegan, an assistant professor of information science, recently debunked some of the most prevalent misconceptions following the 10-year anniversary of recreational cannabis’ legalization in the Centennial State.

Data suggests, according to the researchers that pot smokers “tend to use cannabis in conjunction with exercise in some form or fashion and that’s either using before exercise or using it after exercise for recovery purposes,” said Bryan, according to CPR.

“We also have larger epidemiological data, not collected by my lab, but where we see patterns such that cannabis users have lower rates of type two diabetes, better waist-to-hip ratios and better insulin function,”

For decades, marijuana has had an image problem — of which the most prominent has been the “lazy stoner.”

Sunken into the couch, the marijuana user only gets up from their comfortable spot between commercial breaks to raid the fridge and pantry in search of munchies. Or so it used to be believed.

Today, liberalization of marijuana laws across the United States and changing attitudes about the drug have also helped to change what the image of a marijuana user looks like.

Furthermore, increasing interest in cannabis from the medical and scientific communities has provided valuable insight about the drug’s potential.

Recent research has consistently indicated that cannabis users are less likely to be obese and have a lower BMITrusted Source than the average American.

As for the munchies, a study published in March of this year found that over a three-year period, marijuana users put on less weight than those who didn’t use marijuana products.

Now, in a new study from the University of Colorado (UC) in Boulder, researchers are asking a bold question: What if instead of making people lazy, marijuana could actually get users to engage in more physical activity than they normally would?

A new kind of runner’s high?

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, looked at self-reported data from more than 600 marijuana users in states where the drug has been legalized.

The average age of users was 37.5 and was split almost down the middle in terms of sex, with slightly more males than females.

The vast majority — more than 80 percent of respondents — endorsed using cannabis in some form either directly before or directly after exercise.

Getting high and exercising also resulted in more physical activity as well.

Even after controlling for demographic factors like age and gender, co-users (those who used marijuana before or after exercise) on average took part in 43 more minutes of aerobic exercise per week and 30 more minutes of anaerobic exercise, such as weightlifting.

And co-users also surpassed the American College of Sports Medicine’s recommendations of a minimum of 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week by nearly 10 minutes.

“The average cannabis user in our study was exercising a lot more than your average American,” said Angela Bryan, PhD, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at UC-Boulder and one of the study’s authors.

“It seemed that not only were cannabis users in general exercising quite a bit, but they were combining cannabis and exercise behavior at pretty high rates,” she said.

While it’s unclear why this association appears, the study does offer some clues.

Co-users frequently cited marijuana as increasing enjoyment of exercise and aiding in workout recovery. Less frequently, they said that it helped with motivation and physical performance.

According to Dr. Bryan, it’s possible that co-users were just having more fun.

“That can help people do it for longer as well. If you’re more motivated and you’re having more fun while you’re doing it, you’re enjoyment is higher. And we know from decades of exercise work that that’s going to be associated with more physical activity,” she said.

Hazy findings

However, the study is far from demonstrating any clear causal relationship between marijuana use and increased physical activity.

Others have weighed in saying that the self-reported nature of the study makes it hard to draw any real conclusions.

“These results may be more reflective of the fact that marijuana is a more significant part of these respondents’ overall lifestyle.” Paul Armentano, the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) told Healthline.

“It would be interesting to know if many of these respondents would similarly report that marijuana provides increased enjoyment with other routine activities, as well, such as eating dinner, watching television, playing video games, etc,” he said. “My presumption is that a similar trend would emerge if these questions were asked.”

Other confounding factors, which the authors point out, include the fact that states where marijuana is legal are “without exception more physically active than the national average.”

In short, there’s plenty of work still to be done on the issue.

But from a public health perspective, if marijuana is in fact helping some users get up off the couch instead of lounge on it, then ultimately that’s something worth investigating.

Inspirational Technologies 2022

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Inspirational Technologies – is Committed to Your Health Wellness Beauty and Enrichment

Reporting on Today’s Internal Botanical and Skin Product Benefits

4 Hemp Club was Inspired by Steven Smith’s vision to

“Have an older generation 4H Club, where an older community of adults could carry on what the younger 4H Club envisioned.

Our 4H Platform Uses HEMP as an Agricultural Focal Point, deserving of research, development and with the

4 Hemp key points being Health Hope and Happiness, thru Hemp“.

Cannabis CBD and Me

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NY Regulators Sign Its First Lease for Rec Marijuana Store

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DEA Announces How Much Marijuana, MDMA, Psilocyn, LSD, Mescaline, 5-MeO-DMT, MDA, 2-CB Can Be Produced For Research In 2023

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Cannabis News Week: Can Cannabis Prevent Covid Infections?

Righting an SBA Wrong for Cannabis

A Decade of Recreational Cannabis

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