Every Monday, Zeweed brings you the best in hemp wellness and cannabis news with this week’s Hemp Today, Hanf Magazine, Marijuana Moments, High Times, El Planteo and The Jerusalem Post.
Poland: THC content in wellness hemp increased from 0.2% to 0.3%.
Poland boosts its hemp industry by authorizing 0.3% THC in CBD and CBG hemp, instead of 0.2%, further standardizing industrial hemp in one of Europe’s largest agricultural countries.
Under new rules issued by the National Center for Agricultural Support (KOWR in Polish), which came into force this month, farmers and buyers are only required to register when setting up a business, as annual permits are no longer required.
Once registered, farmers will no longer need to inform their regional KOWR annex if they change the varieties they grow, increase the total area planted or move their fields. One less administrative headache for growers.
The Hemp Today article is available here
Germany: Government urged to move faster on cannabis legalization.
After the formation of Olaf Scholz’s government, the coalition had made it clear that the legalization of recreational cannabis was not a priority. Since the beginning of the month, however, priorities seem to have shifted in order to respond to a pressing public demand on the subject.
To speed up the timetable, several politicians have put pressure on the Ministry of Health, and more specifically on the holder of this Moroccan Karl Lauterbach. To achieve this, while the Ministry was previously focused on the Covid-19 crisis, a fund of 1 million euros was released.
The Hanf Magazine article is available here
United States: 70% of Biden voters are in favor of legalizing cannabis.
A recent poll indicates that a strong majority of Americans – of all political persuasions – support either nationwide cannabis legalization, or allowing states to set their own cannabis policies. 70% of voters who cast their ballots for Joe Biden support nationwide legalization, despite the President’s opposition to this policy change.
YouGov’s survey highlights just how unpopular prohibition is: no demographic group surveyed showed majority support for maintaining federal cannabis prohibition.
The Marijuana Moments article is available here
United States: $3 billion worth of cannabis sold in three years in Massachusetts.
In Massachusetts, adult-use cannabis sales have surpassed $3 billion since the market launched in 2018. With 216 cannabis retailers and 11 delivery companies operating in the state, total gross sales of recreational “weed” reached $3,001,846,490 as of May 14 this year.
The Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) notes that it’s only been eight months since the state of Massachusetts reported that sales had surpassed $2 billion.
The Marijuana Moments article is available here
Canada: the first cannabis farm with direct on-site sales opens its doors.
Canada celebrates the opening of its first cannabis production facility for sale without intermediaries, from producer to consumer. This is a major step forward for the Indian community, which has been calling for legislation to be relaxed in this direction since 2019. The cuttings are supplied by Life Cycle Botanicals, which transplants and cultivates the plants in five dedicated rooms. Each room contains different flavors, strains, aromas, potencies and pharmaceutical properties for an extensive direct-sales catalog.
The High Times article is available here
Israel: Kosher cannabis soon available.
Seach Medical Group is the first company to obtain kosher (or kashrut) certification.
In practical terms, this means that the cannabis has been prepared according to Jewish dietary standards. Thanks to this certification, more Jews – even Orthodox ones – may be more inclined to consume medical cannabis.
However, in the case of cannabis-based manufactured products, such as jelly beans or oils, the process will be more restrictive. Factories will have to be inspected four to six times a year, infusion oils will have to be kosher-certified and jelly beans gelatin-free (as gelatin is derived from animal bones).
Israel is the most advanced medical cannabis market in the world. In the country, there are over 100,000 registered patients with cannabis licenses.
The El Planteo article is available here
United States: Cannabis officially effective against cancer pain.
According to a study published on May 20 in Frontiers in Pain Research, cannabis is highly effective in the fight against cancer pain.
The study found that for most cancer patients, pain levels improved significantly, while other symptoms also decreased with the use of cannabis for medical purposes. Oncology patients typically suffer from depression, anxiety and insomnia in addition to pain during treatment. Suffering from such symptoms worsens a patient’s quality of life and can even adversely affect prognosis.
The Jerusalem Post article is available here
