Vermont House approves expansion of medical marijuana, including option to both grow and buy

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By The Associated Press

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont lawmakers have approved a modest expansion to the state’s medical marijuana program, giving people access to the drug for a wider range of diseases and allowing more dispensary locations.

The House gave the bill preliminary approval on a voice vote Monday. The Senate has already approved the bill.

Vermont has four licensed dispensaries. The approved measure would allow each existing dispensary to open two more locations.

People suffering from Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and post-traumatic stress disorder will also be able to access marijuana under the measure, and patients will be able to grow marijuana and purchase it if they wish. In the previous version of the bill, patients had to choose between growing it themselves or buying it from a dispensary.

Yoga and cannabis: New philosophy melds plant medicine and an ancient tradition

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By , The Cannabist Staff

Cannabis and yoga are very trendy at the moment and it’s not hard to find a yoga class in marijuana-legal states that in some way incorporates cannabis use.

But the tradition of cannabis and yoga actually goes back centuries, according to Rachael Carlevale, founder of the Colorado-based Ganjasana yoga system.

“If we look at the roots of yoga practice you can see that ganja was a part of that,” she says during a telephone interview with The Cannabist. “In India you see the Sadhus (Hindu holy men) sitting in meditation; they are smoking ganja. And if you look at the ancient Vedic texts there is evidence that they used a (cannabis) drink called bhang, for example.”

Ganjasana is a combination of ganja, a word with Sanskrit roots that’s now universally used for cannabis, with asana, another Sanskrit word that describes yoga postures. Carlevale describes her system as a blending as well; what she calls a “conscious pairing of regenerative cannabis plant medicine with the practices of yoga, meditation and mindfulness.”

The 29-year-old Carlevale has been involved with both cannabis and yoga for more than half her life. And those two passions ended up combining in unexpected ways.

“When I started practicing yoga as a teen, I was also using cannabis,” she says. “It was really something that came together for me, gave me a sense of purpose in this world.”

And her world at the time was disciplined and purpose-driven. A native of coastal Massachusetts, Carlevale performed with the Boston Ballet and while at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst was pre-med with a biology concentration, studying plant and soil sciences. “It was all about getting good grades, serving the world, wanting to become a good doctor,” she recalls.

But then she decided to go on a different path. She spent part her senior year doing plant studies with the Shipibo, an indigenous tribe of the Peruvian Amazon. During that time she was introduced by local shamen to another psychoactive plant, ayahuasca, although she didn’t try it personally until later.

After returning to Massachusetts and graduating in 2010, Carlevale decided to obtain her yoga certification instead of going forward with a medical degree.

“I saw that to be my path as a healer,” she said in an email from Costa Rica, where she was teaching at a yoga retreat.

Rachael-Carlevale-Ayahuasca-PreparationRachael Carlevale studied plant medicine in Peru with the Shipibo, an indigenous tribe. (Courtesy of Rachael Carlevale)

She soon moved West with the man who would become her husband and settled in southwest Colorado, “where the laws suited our needs” to legally grow organic cannabis, she says.

Around that time she was also diagnosed with uterine cancer. Living at altitude in Colorado’s high country, she became severely anemic and ended up in a hospital emergency room. It took several months of tests with traditional doctors, she says, before they came up with the proper diagnosis.

But rather than proceed with a doctor-recommended hysterectomy, Carlevale chose to forego conventional treatments.

“I worked with a naturopathic doctor in Durango, who supported natural plant medicine,” she said.

Along with that doctor she developed a health plan with a team of specialists in acupuncture, kinesiology and nutrition.

“I also worked with my professor who brought me back to Peru for an ayahuasca ceremony,” she adds. “I had quite the dream team of support, and am forever grateful that I canceled that surgery appointment.”

Her tumor, she says, has shrunk down to a fraction of its original size.

During the time she spent working to heal herself, she also began to put together what would become Ganjasana.

“I ran two years of pilot studies,” she says. “With my educational background I always like to make sure that the programs are actually being effective and efficient. I did clinical studies; tested different cultivars and strains to see what would really work for one and doesn’t work for another.”

Ganjasana, she says, became part of a mission: “to help people build a relationship with the plant medicine.”

Before her Colorado classes, or “ceremonies” as she calls them, Carlevale requires her students to show up sober and with clear, open minds. For the class she supplies the cannabis, which she says is pesticide-free and grown as part of a philosophy of a regenerative, living soil system. She favors two particular strains: The White, a “heavy indica that I like to use in ceremonies,” and a hybrid called Holy Headband.

The class begins with some breath-work. Students then consume cannabis before going through different asanas. But rather than cannabis elevating the yoga, Rachael says it’s the yoga that creates an elevated experience: one that expands concentration and develops “mindfulness,” the mental state of being aware of the present moment in a non-judgmental way.

“What we’ve seen as cannabis legalizes around the U.S. is a big understanding of how to use plant medicine mindfully,” she says.

Carlevale is working to expand access to her Ganjasana program outside of her home state, via a series of online classes, hosted by Green Flower. She also has plans to set up a school to train people in her system.

Carlevale says she’s used to skepticism when it comes to the concept of cannabis yoga. But she wants the skeptics to know that “there is science behind this, in that cannabis is a true medicine. I like to admit that this plant has literally saved my life. So we’re really passionate about letting everyone know that. No matter what you think, this plant heals.”

“I definitely don’t take credit for combining the practice of yoga with cannabis,” she adds, “but I would say that it’s an ancient practice that’s just starting to come back to modern times.”

Bruce Kennedy is a veteran communications professional and multi-media journalist who has years of experience in international and business news. He started covering Colorado’s cannabis industry in…

California regulators release first draft of revised medical marijuana rules

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By Brooke Edwards Staggs, The Cannifornian

California on Friday published detailed plans to regulate its multibillion-dollar medical marijuana industry for the first time since the Golden State legalized cannabis as medicine more than 20 years ago.

The proposed plan — drafted in three parts by three different state agencies — lays out standards for any marijuana business that wants to get licensed by the state, with rules for everything from how late pot shops can stay open to how big farms can be to how much weed shops will be allowed to sell to patients in a single day.

The 211 pages of regulations aren’t law yet. They’re now open for public comment. The state plans to take feedback in writing and through a series of public hearings over the next 45 days before getting a final set of rules in place in time to start issuing licenses by Jan. 1, 2018.

“The proposed licensing regulations for medical cannabis are the result of countless hours of research, stakeholder outreach, informational sessions and pre-regulatory meetings all across the state,” said Lori Ajax, chief of the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation. “And while we have done quite a bit of work and heard from thousands of people, there is still so much more to do.”

A call to finally rein in the state’s unchecked marijuana market was set in motion in 2015, when Gov. Jerry Brown authorized a trio of bills known as the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act.

The bills mandate comprehensive regulations on medical marijuana, with requirements for all marijuana businesses to be licensed under strict criteria by the start of 2018. Those bills also created the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation and the state’s first so-called “pot czar” — a position now held by former alcohol industry regulator Ajax — to oversee crafting specific regulations on the industry.

Ajax and her team have been working on detailed medical marijuana regulations for distributors, transporters, laboratories and retailers for roughly a year, gathering input from stakeholders at meetings held throughout the state to produce the 58-page document released Friday.

Meanwhile, the Department of Public Health has been crafting 95 pages of rules for companies that manufacture cannabis products, such as edibles and concentrates. And the Department of Food and Agriculture has been drafting regulations for the state’s thousands of marijuana cultivators.

The already tough task got more complicated in November, when Californians voted to legalize recreational marijuana under Proposition 64.

The state agencies now must also develop detailed regulations for that side of the market. Those plans are due out this fall.

Prop. 64 was shaped around the state’s new medical marijuana laws, so the two systems are largely similar. But there are some key distinctions, which have been causing turmoil in Sacramento between big unions, small business owners and entrepreneurs with big plans for the industry.

In April, Brown’s office released a 92-page plan for reconciling differences between the medical marijuana and recreational cannabis laws. In the budget trailer bill, he sided largely with free-market policies dictated by Prop. 64, drawing praise from trade groups such as the California Cannabis Industry Association and criticism from law enforcement and the League of California Cities.

The state agencies used Brown’s recommendations as a guide in developing the regulations released Friday, though discrepancies remain. The proposed medical marijuana rules still call for having a third-party distributor take cannabis from growers and manufacturers to retailers, for example, and they still require anyone applying for a state license to prove they first have a local license — neither of which is included in Prop. 64 or recommendations from Brown.

If Brown’s budget trailer bill gets passed by the legislature, the state agencies will likely have to come back and tweak their medical marijuana regulations so they comply.

The three sets of proposed regulations include detailed rules for businesses to track all marijuana products from seed to sale, for how marijuana can be transported, for the type of security measures dispensaries must take and more.

Some of the regulations included in the proposals:

  • Dispensaries could only be open and deliveries could only take place from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Shops could only sell up to 8 ounces of cannabis to one patient or caregiver on any single day.
  • Businesses would have to be at least 600 feet away from schools.
  • Edible products would have to be produced in serving sizes that have no more than 10 milligrams of THC and no more than 100 milligrams of THC for the total package.
  • Other manufactured products, such as tinctures and waxes, could have up to 1,000 milligrams of THC per package.
  • Shops could no longer give out free samples of weed or cannabis products.
  • Cannabis cultivators couldn’t farm on more than 4 total acres.
  • All products would have to leave shops in packaging that’s child resistant
  • The state would prioritize license applications for veterans and for businesses that were open in good standing with their local city or county by Jan. 1, 2016.
  • Applicants would have to list any past criminal convictions, plus provide a statement of rehabilitation for each one telling the bureau why they should still be considered for a license.
  • Businesses would get a six-month grace period. Anyone operating by Jan. 2, 2018 could continue to operate until July 2, 2018 if they’ve applied for a license and not been turned down. After that, they would need a license to stay open.
  • Shops could sell untested inventory for 180 after they get a license or until Dec. 31, 2018, whichever comes first, if they put a label on it saying that it hasn’t been tested in compliance with new state laws.

“We give them some time to get up and running,” Ajax said in a conference call Friday with reporters.

The bureau is also in charge of overseeing laboratory testing for all cannabis products. Detailed requirements for that process weren’t released Friday, but Ajax said they should be out May 5.

“The draft regulations represent a starting point for the state to begin to clean up what has become a highly unruly multi-billion-dollar unlicensed industry that is not subject to any regulations at all whatsoever,” said attorney Aaron Herzberg, who runs Santa Ana-based CalCann Holdings. He said more details are needed, but that the draft regulations “go a long way towards clarifying many issues that will be helpful for investors and the marijuana industry to better plan how to take advantage of the licensing opportunity that is now unfolding.”

The bureau also is in the process of putting together a cannabis advisory committee, which will help craft final regulations for both sides of the market.

Some lawmakers and industry insiders have expressed doubt that the bureau will get all of that done in time to start handing out licenses come Jan. 1. But Ajax insists they’ll meet that deadline, though she said they may have to issue temporary licenses in those early days while they wait to get background check results and to finalize other details.

“One of the big concerns was will the state be ready for this when we’re ready?” Nathan Whittington, secretary for the California Growers Association and a medical cannabis farmer just outside Ferndale, said after a quick review of the draft cultivation regulations Friday.

“We have a time to provide comment and really align those [regulations] with our county ordinance,” Whittington said. “It gives us a good opportunities to move forward as an industry, and I’m happy to see the state’s progress on this.”

Have an opinion?

The public can submit written comments on the draft medical marijuana regulations for the next 45 days. They can also attend public hearings that will be held throughout the state in coming weeks.

For distributors, transporters, lab testers and retailers

  • 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 1 at the Adorni Center, 1011 Waterfront Drive in Eureka
  • 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 8 in the Junipero Serra Building at 320 W. Fourth Street, Los Angeles
  • 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 9 in the Department of Consumer Affairs hearing room S-102 at 1625 North Market Boulevard, Sacramento
  • 1 to 4 p.m. June 13 in the King Library at 150 E. San Fernando Street in San Jose

For cultivators

  • 1 to 3 p.m. May 16 at the Delhi Center, 505 East Central Ave., Santa Ana
  • 1 to 3 p.m. May 18 at the Visalia Convention Center, 303 East Acequia Ave., Visalia
  • 1 to 3 p.m. May 25 at the Ukiah Convention Center, 200 South School St., Ukiah
  • 1 to 3 p.m. June 14 at the California Department of Food and Agriculture Auditorium, 1220 N St., Sacramento

For manufacturers

  • 10 a.m. June 8 at 50 D Street, room 410A/410B, in Santa Rosa
  • 10 a.m. June 13 at 1350 Front St. in San Diego

Staff writer Will Houston contributed to this report.

Medical marijuana, hemp protections included in federal spending bill

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By , The Cannabist Staff

The congressional spending bill that would fund the U.S. government through September includes the continuation of provisions to protect industrial hemp and state-based medical marijuana programs.

The $1 trillion omnibus bill, likely headed for a vote this week, includes an amendment previously known as “Rohrabacher-Farr” that prevents the Justice Department from using funds to hinder the implementation of medical marijuana laws in U.S. states and territories.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 also includes provisions that restrict the Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Justice from using federal funds to prohibit the transportation, processing and sale of industrial hemp as outlined in the 2014 Farm Bill.

The extension of the provisions was applauded by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, who has supported the medical marijuana amendment alongside Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-California.

“Medical marijuana patients and the businesses that support them now have a measure of certainty,” Blumenauer said in a statement. “But this annual challenge must end. We need permanent protections for state-legal medical marijuana programs, as well as adult-use.”

If approved, the spending bill would provide funding through September, the end of the government’s fiscal year.

Lawmakers have started to mobilize to include a comparable provision–now called Rohrabacher-Blumenauer–for medical marijuana states in the 2018 fiscal year spending bill.

A similar amendment protecting state-based recreational marijuana laws was previously sponsored by Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colorado. He recently told The Cannabist he will back the inclusion of the so-called McClintock-Polis amendment in the coming fiscal year’s spending bill.

Alicia Wallace joined The Cannabist in July 2016, covering national marijuana policy and business. She contributes to the Denver Post’s beer industry coverage. In her 13 years as a business news reporter, her coverage has spanned the economy, Sports…

More researchers say teens should lay off the weed while they build their brains

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By Lisa M. Krieger, Bay Area News Group

Therapist Jennifer Golick has one piece of advice for young people who want to try marijuana:

“Just wait.”

The teen brain isn’t just an adult brain with fewer miles on it, doctors and scientists say. It’s a beta version — different, and still under construction.

So external influences — say, daily bong hits — can have a much greater long-term impact on a teen brain than they would on the brain of a 25-year-old grad student, 45-year-old professional or 65-year-old retiree.

In Marin County, where weed is as easy to find as a glass of good Cabernet, Golick has treated about 180 boys and girls who are dependent on cannabis.  She knows that the Reagan-era “Just Say No” message doesn’t work. But Golick, who works for Muir Wood Adolescent and Family Services, also knows that teens need to think ahead about the consequences of what they do.

“You should know what you’re getting into.  You should know what will happen,” she said. “Be an informed consumer — you make the choice.”

Research has shown that smoking cannabis is 114 times less lethal than drinking alcohol. The next most deadly substances after alcohol are heroin and cocaine,  followed by tobacco, Ecstasy and methamphetamine, according to the journal Scientific Reports.

But just because it’s less deadly doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous, researchers say.

Teens who engage in heavy marijuana use often show disadvantages in neurocognitive performance and brain development, said Sion Kim Harris, a research scientist with the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research at Boston Children’s Hospital, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.

Why is that so?

THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, suppresses the activity of neurons in a part of the brain called the hippocampus — the “command center” for memory and learning, Harris explained. So over time, with continued suppression, chronic users may end up with a smaller hippocampus.

That’s because THC occupies the same receptors on neurons as a natural brain chemical called anandamide. In essence, THC is acting as an imposter of this natural chemical.

The brain’s electrical pathways and the insulation process aren’t complete until the mid-20s, so teen brains are vulnerable to outside influences. In addition, teen brains are more “plastic.” They adapt and learn faster than adult brains — suggesting that teens are more vulnerable to developing an addiction.

Because these neurons are less active, the teen brain prunes away these neurons and their critical connections — reducing the ability to form memories.

“That is one of the biggest issues for teens — the ‘opportunity cost,’ ” Harris said. “Learning is the number one job for teens, and if they are having problems with learning, that will impact their ability to grow into adulthood.”

Scientists have seen another effect of early chronic cannabis use: faulty insulation of the brain’s wiring, she said. This insulation, called myelin, shows signs of structural problems in people who regularly used cannabis as teens, Harris said.

“So the implication is your brain is slower.” she said. “There’s a problem with cognitive processing. It’s not as sharp or as strong. It’s harder to maintain focus.”

An early age of initiation tends to be connected to greater differences in brain function during adulthood, concluded a major report in January by the National Academy of Sciences. “The brain does not complete development until approximately age 25, and data from the field of alcohol use reflect that substance use exposure during this period when the brain undergoes rapid transformation could have a more lasting impact on cognitive performance,” the report said.

While the academy found that it is difficult to document a direct link between cannabis use and educational outcomes — because so many variables play a role — it concluded that “this interference in cognitive function during the adolescent and emerging adult years, which overlap with the critical period in which many youth and young adults’ primary responsibility is to be receiving their education, could very well interfere with these individuals’ ability to optimally perform in school and other educational settings.”

Finally, teens are more vulnerable to developing mental illness as a result of using marijuana early in life, particularly if their families have a history of mental illness. “We are seeing these kids develop schizophrenia at a younger age than their parents or other family members developed it,” Harris said. “Marijuana use seems to be a precipitating factor.

“I don’t care who uses, or how often, if you’re over age 30,” she added. “But we’re seeing these critical developmental issues in people up to their mid-20s.”

Cody, a 23-year-old artist who grew up in the East Bay, felt a shift in his talents and ambitions after a casual habit grew into a dependency.

He tried it after watching “Weeds,” Showtime’s dark comedy, when he was 14.  “Something clicked, and I thought: ‘I want to smoke.’ It represented the creative aspect. I had never been high or anything before, save for the dentists’ office,” said Cody, who requested that the Cannifornian not use his real name to protect his privacy. “I was curious. I think for a lot of my friends there was that feeling of reckless abandonment — and wanting to see what it is all about.

“At first, it was good. It was fun. It did help with the creative stuff,” he said. “I remember drawing and feeling like it loosened me up.”

But over time, his artistic ambitions faded. “After a while you get so high that you can’t or won’t draw anymore.  It excises that drive,” he said. “And the whole time I was smoking weed, I never had a real intimate relationship. Weed filled that desire. I wasn’t put together enough to follow through with anything — and 99 percent of a relationship is effort.”

Then, suddenly, he wasn’t  drawing at all. “That upset me,” he said. “And that was the initial reason to stop,” said Cody, who now attends Marijuana Anonymous meetings and is a straight-A student at an East Bay community college, studying animation and art. He hasn’t use cannabis for two years.

Cody said he’s met people who started at age 12 or 13, younger than he did, “and they don’t have the full capacity for memory. The earlier you start, the worse it is for you.”

Golick, the Marin County therapist, compares growing teen brains to the construction of a Ferris Wheel.

“If you’re at a carnival and a guy is putting together a Ferris Wheel, you want him to use every bolt available. You don’t want him to toss out a few,” Golick said.

“Same with your brain. You want to make sure all the bolts are in, and secure, before you start mucking with it,” she said. “Just wait — so you’re not the person who’s missing a few bolts.”

This story was first published on TheCannifornian.com

Marijuana saves little town on Colorado’s Eastern Plains

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By Matt Steiner, Colorado Springs Gazette

SEDGWICK — Residents of this sleepy little town in far northeast Colorado smile optimistically when talking about the turn their municipality has taken over the past few years.

Town officials, business owners and residents paint a picture of a community on the brink of death in the early 2000s. Town officials even started discussions in 2010 about unincorporating their little town less than 10 miles from the Nebraska state line.

Instead, the town passed an ordinance to allow a medical marijuana dispensary to open in 2012. When state voters approved Colorado Amendment 64, making it legal to possess and grow pot for recreational use, the town allowed Sedgwick Alternative Relief to expand into the recreational trade.

What happened next gave Sedgwick hope.

Read the full story on Gazette.com.

This story was first published on gazette.com