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Read it the first time, bud.
She says so herself, Bruce is the major reason hemp is legal in NC. Why does the author regret that?
Let's look at Civitas mission statement...
"The mission of the Civitas Institute is to facilitate the implementation of conservative policy solutions to improve the lives of all North Carolinians."
This is clearly and absolutely a biased source. Susan is mad she isn't getting her way.
"Get-rich-quick schemes are never good business." For her sake, I hope she realizes this has been a multiple year process. Or perhaps she's as crazy-mad as she comes off to be.
And AB? Really? Citing AB is as low as low can be. That alone should be a red flag.
This changes nothing. She says, "Time will tell".
Nice try, sorry.
You attempting to say Hemp is not installing the largest hemp decorticator in America in preparation for legal hemp? Hemp is cannabis. There is good documentation.
Yes. Bruce is head of the company, now, and for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, the cannabis movement marches ahead.
"Allegations". No judgments. I'd expect the proceedings will take longer than the time it will take to hear more news on laws loosening in the ways of cannabis restrictions. And if Bruce is out as CEO, then the next guy comes in and carries the torch.
Until then, it's business as usual.
Many in this sector have taken a beating at the hands of the fed. Hemp is no anomaly.
I would like to see banking open up for cannabis, then Bruce may not have to stretch so far and thin.
Anyway... it's July. DEA news merely a few days away...
Get ready.
One might say the SEC is a barrier to entry. The charges are not judgements or sentencings. Legalization is still the bigger picture.
When decortication is underway, the 'charges' become another business expense. There are real assets on hand.
Again, there have been no judgements and the stock still trades (in high volume to boot)
I'll admit, I'm a bit nervy too. Lots of epic news on the way!
Oh, I figured as much, but perhaps...
At least we know there are benefits to hemp... appears more and more real farmers are agreeing and wanting to get it.
Those here claiming that hemp is a crop to nowhere will continue to get the epic eyeroll.
The fact that hemp is a scheduled substance is an utter shame to humanity. A blatant lie. It's time for that to change and truth ring clear.
For all you REAL farmers out there...
And the DEA still considers hemp to be a schedule I narcotic. Shame. Shame. Shame.
Of course, the DEA has something to say, soon...
Colorado Farmer Shatters Hemp's Fiber Ceiling
June 24, 2016 09:00 AM
Ryan Loflin bet the farm in 2013 and did what no U.S. producer had done for 70 years.
The Springfield, Colo., grower ordered hemp seed by mail from Europe and stockpiled his supply bit by precious bit. When the cache climbed to 1,500 lbs., Loflin, 43, stepped into agriculture’s terra incognita and dotted 60 acres of flat ground in extreme southeastern Colorado with hemp seed. And then he waited for Uncle Sam to come knocking.
No cease and desist letter. No phone call from the feds. No DEA raid. Loflin shattered a fiber ceiling to become the first U.S. farmer since the 1940s to plant and harvest industrial hemp.
Particularly in an agricultural economy with anemic commodity prices, hemp is beckoning to U.S. farmers. Federal prohibition remains in place, but states are moving forward with legalization. Despite a storied crop history lasting until 1937 (Hemp briefly returned to U.S. fields during World War ll), industrial hemp production was banned partly due to marijuana association. Both are part of the Cannabis sativa family, yet hemp is marijuana’s non-intoxicating cousin – distinct in chemical and genetic makeup.
Hemp and hypocrisy are tight bedfellows of U.S. policy: Process, buy, manufacture, or even eat hemp products, but don’t dare to grow. As hemp industries in more than 30 countries benefit from the U.S. agriculture market, American farmers have watched from the sidelines as foreign product boosted the U.S.’s position as the world’s top consumer market for hemp goods. The hemp void is filled by farmers from Canada, China and Europe.
The Hemp Apostle
As a child of the 1980s, Loflin was left with a bitter farming taste from a dire decade of agricultural economics. He left farming for construction, but began researching hemp after reading about big returns gained by producers in Canada. “We made $40 per acre off wheat, but I saw Canadian farmers pulling in $300 per acre from hemp, and it blew me away,” he explains. “I studied it and learned all I could.”
Loflin leased the family farm from his father prior to 2013, pulled back in by the potential of hemp and the promises of diversification. "The family farm is where the blood meets the soil. Americans don’t realize the sacrifices and commitment farmers make to put food on their tables. Industrial hemp farming allows the family farmer to reap more benefits from an extremely dangerous and very different occupation,” he describes.
There was no crying in the wilderness for Loflin. He seized the mantle as a hemp apostle and went straight to the halls of legislation at both the state and federal levels as a hemp farming advocate. Colorado legalized recreational marijuana use with passage of Amendment 64 in 2013, and although cultivation of industrial hemp was included in the last line of the bill, regulatory rules were absent. In essence, hemp farming was almost legal in Colorado, but still illegal at a federal level. Regardless, the door was opened wide enough for Loflin.
From his initial 60 acres, he kept the seed for stock and sold some of the cannabinoids for medicine. He believes the pharmaceutical market will become a major income generator for hemp production. In 2016, Loflin ramped up to 520 acres: 120 for seed and 400 for medicine. He hopes for 600-1,000 lbs. of seed per acre, contingent on cultivar. “Farmers are very curious and want to know the returns from hemp. There’s good money in seed and you can pull $300 per acre right now at a minimum, but the potential is there for $1,800 per acre and even higher,” Loflin says.
From the hemp base to the tip of the leaves, all of the plant has harvest purposes due to its fibrous nature. The seeds can be eaten or pressed for oil extraction. The stalk fiber is used in a multitude of ways: paper, textiles, clothing, construction, health products and much more. Even the root can be processed and ground up as a lotion ingredient. In addition to meeting market demands, hemp is an excellent phytoremediation crop – cleaning soils that have been polluted. “Hemp makes a great rotational crop and may be a great fit between corn and wheat,” he adds. “It also grows tremendously well behind alfalfa from all the nitrogen in the soil.”
Regulatory Logjam
Twenty-nine states have passed legislation allowing hemp cultivation for research or pilot programs. However, political wheels invariably turn slowly, and hemp lacks a federal green light. Eric Steenstra, executive director of the Hemp Industries Association, believes once hemp receives the full legal nod, it will emerge as a niche crop and mature into a major earner for producers. “The hemp seed industry already has momentum. The food and body care markets have grown to several hundred million dollars, entirely based on imports. Manufacturing potential will jump when growers can supply domestic hemp and bypass imports. Add the fiber component and the potential leaps to millions of acres in just 20 years.”
Producers consistently ask Steenstra why hemp cultivation is still illegal in so many states. “It makes no sense to farmers and I tell them to call or send emails to their senators and reps. Online, they can go to votehemp.com and get involved,” he says.
Hemp potential covers the entire corn and soybean region. As a summer annual, it fits very well with corn-soy rotations for hemp purposes, or with corn-soy-wheat as another grain crop, says David Williams, a professor of agronomy with the University of Kentucky.
Producers choose hemp for one of three purposes: seed, fiber, or medicine. With fiber, hemp should bring a minimum yield of 6,000 lbs. per acre, but Williams shoots for 5 tons per acre. He says 5 tons per acre of hemp fiber yield will definitely compete with corn and soybean profits. “Hemp is a great rotation alternative and a producer won’t lose money. For seed and fiber, it’s always going to be competitive with other crops.”
Hemp produces cannabinoid molecules (nicotine from tobacco; cannabinoids from hemp) with strong potential for pharmaceutical or nutraceutical applications. The economics of fiber and seed are relatively firm with established industries in Europe and Canada. On the flip side, the economics of cannabinoids are very poorly understood, Williams says. “Regulation is under evaluation by the federal government. Lots of companies want to market cannabinoids, but that avenue is yet to widen and the potential market is hanging.”
Farming veterans are taking a long look at hemp in Kentucky, Williams says. When he holds educational meetings on hemp, the venues are typically packed with 50 to 150 farmers, regardless of county. And grower interest is not necessarily from the younger generation. In the 1940s, many farmers with large scale corn farms grew hemp as part of the Hemp for Victory campaign during World War ll, according to Williams. Some older growers still remember their grandfathers growing hemp. “I don’t expect hemp to absolutely transform the ag economy. Yet, it definitely has potential as a rotation crop, and the medicinal aspect may bring further opportunity,” he says.
Open-door Crop
In addition to hemp, Loflin farms alfalfa, triticale and grain sorghum on dark, sandy loam across 1,000 acres of level land set against the endless vista of Baca County, a 1930s Dust Bowl epicenter where the mountains have turned to plains. He calls hemp an “open-door” crop, with multiple avenues of opportunity. “It’s a complete economic and agronomic hand-in-hand crop. I think hemp will take off with processing plants. When farmers have a place to go with their hemp, it’s going to make a difference and it will grow almost anywhere. It sounds cliché, but it’s the perfect agriculture time for hemp to arrive.”
In 2013, Loflin planted in the shadow of history, but he’s confident the initial 60 hemp acres will spur a long-term harvest well into the future. “The hemp industry is running a marathon, not a sprint,” Loflin adds. “Hemp is a solution to many long-term problems we face in farming’s future. With time, hemp will be a driving force in agribusiness."
Source: http://www.agweb.com/article/colorado-farmer-shatters-hemps-fiber-ceiling-naa-chris-bennett/
Nope. I do.
One more time: hemp is going to be legal soon. Lawyer up.
The SEC brought forth a complaint... will Hemp complain when hemp is legal?
In case you forgot, the SEC brought charges against toxic traders in 2014... since then, no slowing down Hemp Inc, who has leveraged a multi-million $$$ investment in favor of Cannabis legalization. Even the slightest of legalities in favor of MMJ simply amplify success for industrial hemp.
I'll stay patient for what comes of these 'charges' against Hemp Inc. No doubt.
Are you involved with the case? Do you represent charges against the expressed defendants? Seems your case of these charges sticking holds the candle in the wind. Good luck waiting years for a judgment on the case, well after cannabis is legal.
It is a problem that can be solved or settled. Bruce is no virgin to the judicial system.
But laws can change.
The DEA has something to say. You think what the DEA has to say is not important?
It matters if what is enforced actually has merit. You don't think lawyers will help Hemp navigate through the legalizations?
This is 'cart before horse' logic. Sorry.
Laws are laws. And laws are changing.... very soon.
This is not historical or substantial. Actual 'news' would be better.
I don't see how the SEC lawsuit affects rescheduling or hemp legalities. Can you? Appears to be happenstance and/or COI. Do you have enlightening facts or what?
Santa Monica doubling down?
http://www.smobserved.com/story/2016/06/28/news/us-govt-will-legalize-marijuana-on-august-1/1484.html
Initiative to legalize recreational use of pot in California qualifies for November ballot
by Patrick McGreevy
June 28, 2016, 6:08 PM
An initiative that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in California officially took its place on the Nov. 8 ballot on Tuesday as its campaign took a commanding lead in fundraising to battle the measure’s opponents.
The Secretary of State’s Office certified that a random sample showed sufficient signatures among the 600,000 turned in to qualify the measure. The initiative is backed by a coalition that includes former Facebook President Sean Parker and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“Today marks a fresh start for California as we prepare to replace the costly, harmful and ineffective system of prohibition with a safe, legal and responsible adult-use marijuana system that gets it right and completely pays for itself,” said Jason Kinney, a spokesman for California’s Adult Use of Marijuana Act.
The initiative would allow adults ages 21 and older to possess, transport and use up to an ounce of cannabis for recreational purposes and would allow individuals to grow as many as six plants.
California would join Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon as states that allow recreational use of marijuana. Eight other states also have marijuana measures on their ballots this year.
More than $3.7 million has been raised so far by the leading campaign for the initiative, Californians to Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana While Protecting Children. Leading contributors so far have included former Facebook president Sean Parker, legalization advocacy group Drug Policy Action and a committee funded by the firm Weedmaps, a firm that helps consumers locate pot shops.
Opposition is led by the Coalition for Responsible Drug Policies, made up of law enforcement and health groups including the California Police Chiefs Assn., the California Hospital Assn. and the California State Sheriffs' Assn. The groups warn legalization will lead to more drugged-driving and allow dealers of harder drugs to have a role in the new industry.
The coalition has raised about $125,000 so far from groups including the Assn. of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs State PAC and the Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Assn.
A similar coalition helped defeat the last legalization measure in California, Proposition 19, in 2010.
“This campaign will very be similar to that of Proposition 19. They have the money and we have the facts,” said Tim Rosales, a spokesman for the opposition coalition.
Rosales noted that under current law, convicted methamphetamine and heroin dealers are banned from being involved in the medical marijuana industry, but the initiative overturns that ban and lets those felons obtain licenses to sell recreational marijuana.
“The proponents were specifically advised by numerous law enforcement groups during the comment period about this huge flaw, but they deliberately chose to keep it in, and you have to ask ‘Why?’” Rosales said. “Who is that provision for? They got it wrong. Again.”
At a conference last week hosted by the National Cannabis Industry Assn. in Oakland, business people and activists were upbeat about the chances of the initiative passing, even though a similar measure in 2010 was defeated, with 53% of voters casting “no” ballots.
Advocates say the new measure has a better chance because it adds more regulation at the state level rather than letting locals dictate what happens, and comes after the state has approved a regulatory system for medical marijuana growing, transportation and sales.
In addition, the presidential primary election is expected to draw more young, progressive voters than the 2010 midterm election, according to Taylor West, western deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Assn.
It also helps that recreational use has already been approved in other states, she said.
“This is six years later. We’ve already seen legalization pass and be successful in other states. So it’s a different world in talking about his issue than it was,” said West, one activist attending the Oakland conference.
West said “there needs to be real funding behind [the measure] and there needs to be a lot of work” to overcome opposition from law enforcement groups.
“We think voters in California are ready to end marijuana prohibition and replace it with a more sensible system,” said Mason Tvert, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which has about 200,000 supporters nationwide.
Tvert is confident this year’s measure will do better than past attempts.
He expects activists from all over the country will get involved in the California campaign, either through campaign contributions or working phone banks to get out the vote.
“We are moving to mobilize our supporters,” Tvert said. “There are folks throughout the country who recognize the importance of making marijuana legal in the largest state in the nation. There are a lot of folks who recognize that passage of these laws in other states will make it easier for their state to move forward.”
Source: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-pot-initiative-snap--20160628-snap-story.html
Looks as though things have just begun.
News
Time for historical news.
The FDA told the DEA whether pot is medicine — but it won't tell the public
By Keegan Hamilton
June 27, 2016 | 1:15 pm
Medical marijuana has passed a tipping point in the United States, with some form of cannabis now legal in 25 states and Washington, DC. But despite growing mainstream acceptance, the federal government still maintains that weed has "no currently accepted medical use."
Since 1970, federal authorities have listed marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance, a tightly regulated classification reserved for the most "dangerous" drugs, including heroin. Cocaine and meth are both in the less restrictive Schedule II category with most opioid painkillers, while other medically useful substances like steroids, Xanax, and cough syrup are spread across Schedules III-V.
But weed's Schedule I status may change — and soon.
On April 4, the heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a letter to members of Congress that said a decision would likely be made on rescheduling "in the first half of 2016." With just three days left in June, that deadline is fast approaching.
Removing marijuana from the Schedule I category would have huge ramifications, potentially impacting the future of state-level marijuana laws and making it significantly easier for scientists to study the drug's benefits and harms.
Asked recently for an update, DEA spokesperson Rusty Payne told VICE News, "We don't have a timeline on the decision."
The attorney general and DEA have the final say on rescheduling, but the FDA offered its official stance on the issue at least eight months ago, according to the agencies' joint letter to members Congress, which said the DEA received the FDA's input sometime prior to September 30, 2015. Neither agency, however, is currently willing to reveal what the FDA thinks ought to happen.
The FDA also rejected a public records request from VICE News for documents related to the matter, citing the DEA's pending decision and a provision that allows federal agencies to withhold certain "intra-agency memoranda." The broad and oft-used exemption the FDA cited in its decision is commonly known as the "withhold it because you can clause." It previously allowed such records to be kept secret forever, but Congress just passed a reform that forces disclosure within 25 years.
'People tend to think if FDA were to say something now, that's what the DEA is going to to do, but that might not happen.'
Katherine Uhl, a FOIA official with the Department of Health and Human Services, told VICE News the FDA has received "10 to 20" similar requests. She said the FDA typically releases records that receive that much public interest, but in this case the agency is holding back while the DEA mulls how to proceed.
"People tend to think if FDA were to say something now, that's what the DEA is going to to do, but that might not happen," Uhl said. "We don't put stuff out when it's still preliminary. We don't want people to jump the gun and get the wrong impression. They [the DEA] might not agree with what the FDA told them to do."
Technically, Uhl is right: The DEA is not legally required to follow the FDA's advice, and has significant discretion over whether marijuana remains Schedule I. But the FDA's recommendation carries a lot of weight, especially when it comes to deciding whether or not marijuana has a "currently accepted medical use."
Payne, the DEA spokesperson, said that if the FDA decides a drug is not considered medicine, the DEA is "bound" to keep it in the Schedule I category. But if the FDA calls for moving a drug into a less restrictive category, the DEA is free to ignore that suggestion, though that almost never happens.
"If they recommend a Schedule II-V, we then have the discretion whether or not to reschedule," Payne said. "Aside from a long debate whether to reschedule hydrocodone, we've never gone against the FDA recommendation." In that case, he noted, the two sides ultimately agreed that hydrocodone, the synthetic opioid used in OxyContin and other painkillers, should be in the Schedule II category.
The DEA and FDA have reviewed marijuana's scheduling status several times before, most recently in 2011. In explaining the decision to keep weed in the same category as heroin, then–DEA chief Michele Leonhart noted the lack of "adequate safety studies."
"At this time, the known risks of marijuana use have not been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits in well-controlled clinical trials that scientifically evaluate safety and efficacy," she said, adding that "long-term, regular use of marijuana can lead to physical dependence and withdrawal... as well as psychic addiction or dependence."
Leonhart's explanation hinges on a catch-22: Marijuana's Schedule I status forces researchers to hack through a jungle of red tape in order to study it. Even so, there's now mounting evidence that marijuana is both safe and effective in treating some medical conditions.
The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have both called on the DEA to reclassify the drug, and there's also growing movement among activists to "deschedule" marijuana by removing it from the list of controlled substances entirely, meaning it would be treated like alcohol or tobacco.
Public opinion is also overwhelmingly in favor of changing marijuana's status, with 61 percent of Americans now supporting legalization and a whopping 81 percent favoring legalization strictly for medical use.
A recent analysis by John Hudak, deputy director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institute, concluded that it's unlikely rescheduling would force states to alter their existing medical and recreational marijuana markets. But it would, he said, be an "important step in harmonizing federal and state policy," that would "eventually help millions of patients and families" by facilitating further medical research.
Hudak told VICE News that it's "completely normal" for the FDA to withhold its recommendation from the public until the DEA makes a decision, but he cautioned that even if the FDA rules that marijuana has medical value, the DEA can argue that the risk of abuse is too high to remove it from Schedule I.
"It allows the DEA to have a way out if they disagree with the FDA," he said. "[The DEA] can say 'Thank you for telling us there's medical value here,' but [then] say, 'There's the issue of abuse, so we're going to reject your recommendation and go with the status quo.'"
He also seemed to think the FDA's recommendation would be released only if it turns out the two agencies agree on how to proceed. Otherwise, he speculated, the records might remain locked away indefinitely.
"If the FDA recommends rescheduling and the DEA says no," Hudak said, "that will never see the light of day — unless someone leaks it."
Payne rejected that claim, saying "everything will be made public in the Federal Register" once the DEA's decision is final.
In the meantime, VICE News has appealed the FDA's rejection of our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, arguing that with an estimated 22.2 million monthly marijuana users in the US, there is compelling public interest in knowing what the FDA thinks about the drug.
Source: https://news.vice.com/article/dea-fda-marijuana-schedule-1-status-decision
Marijuana Industry’s Fate In D.E.A. Hands
June 25, 2016 By Sebastian Mc’Mannen
STATES CHRONICLE – $3.1 billion is what the United States would earn in 2016 from sales tax revenue if medical marijuana would be legalized nationwide. Revenue comes from much more than sales taxes, it also comes from licensing fees. Medical marijuana growers, processors, businesses all require permits.
As of now, medical marijuana sales for 2016 will be estimated to sum up close to $6.7 billion. In 2020, this number will go higher than $22 billion. In less than five years, if nothing changes in the world of medical marijuana, sales will triple.
If it were legalized, the economic boom would be exponentially proportionate. The marijuana industry has one of the highest growth potentials in the history of the United States. So why is marijuana not legalized?
Marijuana is not legalized because the federal government still regards it as a schedule 1 drug. A schedule 1 drug is considered to have no beneficial medical qualities. It is also deemed illicit.
Schedule 1 drugs also imply some nasty tax implications, as all business need to pay taxes on gross profits and not net profits.
And if that in itself does not stop any would-be cannabis entrepreneurs in their tracks, banking systems are also not allowed to work well with schedule 1 drugs. Business owners are not allowed to handle their economics through banking, due to cannabis being illicit.
Businesses have the highest difficulty in making and receiving payments in cash invariably. It requires additional accounting, supervising, and security. Also, without the aid of banking transactions, other businesses might find it too much of a hassle to cooperate.
In order to legally demonstrate that cannabis does, in fact, have beneficial medicinal qualities, researchers have been on the case. Currently, several studies prove cannabis can help with reducing the frequency of epilepsy seizures. Cannabis is also being shown to be beneficial, in a medical way, to people suffering from type 2 diabetes, ulcerative colitis, cancer, and those are just the afflictions most people know.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants marijuana to be rescheduled, and the Drug Enforcement Agency now finds itself in the position where they need to make a decision. In the couple of weeks to follow, the DEA will either keep marijuana as a schedule 1 drug, decide current medical research is relevant enough to move it, either to schedule 2 or anywhere else down to schedule 5.
The dream, of course, is that they unschedule it complete, in which case the United States has an overnight economic boom and everybody wanting to partake in legalized recreational marijuana can do so.
Source: http://stateschronicle.com/marijuana-industry-dea-17079.html
Arguably the Most Important Marijuana Decision Ever Is Just Weeks Away
The DEA is just weeks away from deciding the fate of medical cannabis.
You'd be hard-pressed to find an industry with faster growth potential than marijuana.
Since it was first approved in California 20 years ago, medical marijuana has become legalized throughout half the country. Most interestingly, the last two states to legalize medical marijuana -- Pennsylvania and Ohio -- have done so entirely through the legislative process (i.e., without bringing the matter to vote by residents of the state). We've also witnessed four states (Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska), as well as Washington, D.C., legalize recreational cannabis.
The growth figures are huge. ArcView Market Research, a leading cannabis research company, suggests that 30% compound annual growth is possible between 2015 and 2020. This would put the legal-marijuana industry on pace for nearly $22 billion in sales by 2020, based on ArcView's estimated $6.7 billion in legal sales for 2016.
The taxable revenue that could be generated from marijuana is equally impressive. A NerdWallet report from 2014 suggested at the time that a nationwide legalization of marijuana would net states approximately $3.1 billion in tax revenue on an annual basis. Keep in mind that states are often generating revenue from licensing fees for businesses, growers, and processors, too. The revenue currently being generated by legal marijuana sales won't close major budget deficits, but it is providing much-needed funds for education, law enforcement, and drug abuse programs in select states.
The federal government is the cannabis industry's biggest problem
The big problem for the cannabis industry has always been the schedule 1 status of the plant at the federal level. As a schedule 1 drug, cannabis is defined as not having any beneficial medical qualities and deemed to be illicit.
Having the schedule 1 status comes with two major disadvantages for cannabis businesses that we've examined before. First, there are adverse tax implications. Businesses that sell illicit substances aren't allowed to take normal tax deductions, leaving them to pay tax on gross profits instead of net profits. The other issue is that marijuana's schedule 1 status keeps financial institutions mostly on the sidelines. Only 3% of banks are willing to deal with cannabis-based businesses, which means business expansion will be difficult and security is at risk, since cannabis businesses are forced to deal in cash.
Yet times are changing, and select medical studies have suggested that marijuana could indeed have benefits. A liquid cannabidiol-based formulation currently in late-stage studies by GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH), known as Epidiolex, has helped to reduce seizure frequency in patients with Dravet syndrome, a type of childhood-onset epilepsy. Investors are hoping for similar results in two late-stage trials on patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
In addition to epilepsy, cannabinoids (or marijuana itself) have demonstrated positive effects on type 2 diabetes, ulcerative colitis, cancer, and more than a dozen other ailments. These promising studies have given hope that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) may reclassify marijuana sometime soon.
That time could be coming sooner than you think.
This marijuana decision could be a game-changer
Sometime within the next couple of weeks, the U.S DEA is expected to rule on whether or not it will reschedule marijuana away from its current schedule 1 classification. If the regulatory agency were to reclassify marijuana as anything other than a schedule 1 substance, then medical marijuana would immediately become legal throughout the U.S., thus opening the door for medical marijuana businesses to prosper. It would also remove those aforementioned disadvantages holding the industry back.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already submitted its recommendation on marijuana's scheduling to the DEA. However, DEA administrator Chuck Rosenberg has been tight-lipped as to what that recommendation was. The DEA is in the process of conducting its own eight-factor analysis, according to Inc.com, which will help the regulatory agency decipher what sort of abuse potential cannabis may possess.
There are, of course, a variety of options for the DEA to choose. It could completely deschedule marijuana, putting the plant on par with tobacco and alcohol. It could also choose to place a scheduling ranging from 2 through 5 on the substance. Drugs scheduled between 2 and 5 are deemed to have medical benefits, but as you get closer to schedule 2 (moving up the scale from schedule 5), the drug's perceived addictiveness increases. Finally, certain substances within cannabis could be legalized, while the plant itself could remain illegal. The DEA has plenty of options.
A rescheduling isn't necessarily good news
The option the DEA chooses could have wide-ranging implications. If marijuana is descheduled entirely, then the medical marijuana industry would be free to flourish in all 50 states, and investors would have a genuine reason to finally consider these companies as potentially suitable, though still risky, investments.
However, if marijuana is only rescheduled, then chaos could ensue.
Although a schedule 2 classification would legalize cannabis and affirm it has beneficial medical properties, it would also completely transform the marijuana industry. Schedule 2 drugs are considered prone to abuse, meaning the FDA would almost assuredly step in and tightly regulate the industry. This would mean closely regulating the growth and processing of marijuana. More importantly, it would also mean the FDA would get involved in the clinical aspects of its medicinal use. This could mean clinical studies would need to be conducted to prove to the FDA that medical benefits exist on an ailment-by-ailment basis. If cannabis producers continued to sell their product without adhering to FDA guidelines, they could face fines or criminal punishments. Packaging, labeling, and advertising would also need to be approved by the FDA.
All of this regulation means one thing to the marijuana industry: spending money! Transforming into a pharmaceutical-based industry could be very costly, and it could potentially put smaller players out of business. Only huge players with deep pockets would presumably be able to survive and thrive in a tightly regulated schedule 2 market, in my opinion.
Although no specific date has been given as to when the DEA will make its ruling, it's expected within weeks, and it will undoubtedly have major implications for the marijuana industry -- as well as investors.
Source: http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/25/arguably-the-most-important-marijuana-decision-eve.aspx
Democratic Senators Push DEA to Downgrade Marijuana Classification
By
Kate O'Keeffe
Jun 24, 2016 11:45 am ET
3 COMMENTS
A group of Democratic lawmakers is renewing pressure on the Drug Enforcement Administration to remove marijuana from its current position on a list of the most dangerous drugs, a category that includes heroin and ecstasy.
Marijuana’s classification as a “Schedule I” drug is “a main barrier” to research on its potential health benefits and conflicts with a decision by half of the states to approve medical marijuana laws, eight Democratic senators wrote this week in a letter to the DEA and the Department of Justice, its parent agency.
DEA spokesman Russ Baer said in an interview that the agency is in the “final stages” of its deliberation on the issue, and he said a decision on whether to reschedule marijuana is expected “sometime soon.”
Mr. Baer said he did not expect an answer by June 30, however, despite previous guidance from DEA officials that they hoped to make a decision in the first half of the year.
An increasing number of states now allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes, but the drug remains strictly illegal according to U.S. law. The federal government has adopted a practice of not prosecuting those who use marijuana according to their home-state laws.
The senators argued that this “dissonance” between state and federal laws has “wide-ranging implications for legitimate marijuana businesses, including access to banking services, the ability to deduct business expenses from taxes, and access for veterans.”
Signers of the letters are Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Barbara Boxer of California, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, and Cory Booker of New Jersey.
After the Food and Drug Administration determines whether a substance has a medical use, the DEA performs its own analysis and classifies a drug under one of five categories that also take into account their abuse potential.
The DEA received a binding assessment from the FDA about whether marijuana should be considered to have a medical use nine to 12 months ago, Mr. Baer said.
That decision, which neither the DEA nor the FDA would discuss, is the controlling factor in whether the DEA will remove marijuana from Schedule I, said Mr. Baer. But regardless of the FDA’s decision, the DEA is required by law to do its own analysis, he said.
Drugs under Schedule I, which includes marijuana along with heroin, LSD and ecstasy, are considered to have a high potential for abuse without any offsetting medical use.
If marijuana were switched to a Schedule II drug, for example, it would join a group of prescription painkillers including oxycodone and fentanyl, which are considered to have medical benefits despite their high potential for abuse. Cocaine is also on that list.
The DEA’s categories extend to Schedule V, which has the least potential for abuse and includes such substances as cough syrup and anti-diarrhea medication.
Congress recently passed bills to combat the country’s growing problems with painkiller abuse and heroin use, which health officials say are now causing more Americans to die from drug overdoses than traffic accidents.
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/06/24/democratic-senators-push-dea-to-downgrade-marijuana-classification/
DEA news is coming.
***New Sponsor Added to H.R.525 - Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015
Rep. Young, David [R-IA-3]
This brings the total sponsors to 71, up from the original 47. The current sponsors indicate bipartisan support.
The verbiage of the bill is quite simple: 'To amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marihuana'
Sen. McConnell, Mitch [R-KY] is the Senate Majority Leader, one of the original sponsors, and has historically shown support for hemp legalization (Hemp is legal in Kentucky).
President Barack Obama signed the 2013 Farm Bill, showing support for the movement, and has been outspoken that the Fed will not interfere with the emerging Cannabis markets.
Hemp commission receives funding, begins hiring search - http://www.technicianonline.com/news/article_0f4ded6e-1d79-11e6-8e4a-27f766b22d01.html?TNNoMobile
Governor who called legalization 'reckless' now says Colorado's pot industry is working - http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-hickenlooper-marijuana-20160516-20160516-snap-story.html
Farming hemp could provide NC an economic boon in production - http://www.encorepub.com/live-local-live-small-farming-hemp-could-provide-nc-an-economic-boon-in-production/
Indiana could be the next leader in sustainability through hemp - http://www.nuvo.net/indianapolis/lets-get-hemp-notized/Content?oid=3937601
Hemp food and personal care US retail sales estimated at $283 million - http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Regulation/Hemp-food-and-personal-care-retail-sales-estimated-at-283-million
THE NC HEMP COMMISSION HAS BEEN FUNDED - http://www.nchemp.org/farmers-and-investors.html
DEA Plans To Decide Whether To Reschedule Marijuana By Mid-Year - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dea-marijuana-reschedule_us_5704567de4b0537661881644
New DEA Chief, Chuck Rosenberg, claims to focus less on Marijuana - see: http://www.theweedblog.com/new-dea-chief-claims-he-will-focus-less-on-marijuana/
Pot Money Changing Hearts in Washington - http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/10/us/washington-marijuana-70-million-tax-dollars/
Cannabis and Banking:
Colorado Pot Bank Sues the Fed - http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/31/news/marijuana-pot-bank-sues-fed/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom
Colorado senators want cannabis cash in the banks - http://www.coloradoindependent.com/154400/colorado-senators-want-cannabis-cash-in-the-banks
Lawmakers seek to allow federal banking for marijuana industry - http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2015/07/13/lawmakers-seek-to-allow-federal-banking-for-marijuana-industry/
More:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=123350823
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=122805633
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=122257993
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=121896983
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=121405515
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=118623795
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=117881160
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=117881006
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=116927249
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=116873285
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=115869829
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=115781841
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=115425657
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=114509093
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=114431268
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=112731410
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=114221759
Source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/525/cosponsors?pageSort=lastToFirst
Head-fake pre DEA news. Gotta question the timing.
Thanks. Shouldn't be much longer. Less than two weeks till July.
Please tell me this is authentic.... can someone else authenticate?
TIA
ND farmers evaluate hemp crop growth
By Anthony Humes | Posted: Thu 6:58 PM, Jun 16, 2016
Earlier this year five farmers were accepted into the state's industrial hemp pilot program, and earlier this month farmers started planting the seeds to see how viable they would be in North Dakota.
Clarence Laub is out checking his 10-acre hemp field to see how it's grown in the last two weeks.
"Nothing real special but I didn't feel anything. Just like planting another crop I guess. A lot of excitement though," says Laub.
Laub says the crop hasn't grown quite as quickly as he would have liked but he says that's mainly down to the lack of moisture in the area.
"With the field being a little bit drier, we figured the seed being down a little bit further, so we did about an inch to inch and a quarter and that stuff actually seemed to come out the ground a little bit better," says Laub.
Laub is the only hemp farmer west of Bismarck. The other four farmers have seen a lot moisture.
"Growth is really coming along well in places that have moisture and other areas we're hoping for some," says Rachel Seifert-Spilde, North Dakota Department of Agriculture.
Hemp can be found a number of different products including ropes and cooking oils This makes the U.S. the largest consumer of hemp in the world.
"The actual hemp that is needed to create those products has to be brought into the U.S. from other countries," says Seifert-Spilde.
Laub says he hopes the crop will be looking good by the time he comes to harvest in September.
The pilot hemp program will look at how well the crop grows in the state and will hopefully become a viable crop for many farmers.
Source: http://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/ND-farmers-evaluate-hemp-crop-growth-383312481.html
N.C. HB 992 — Amend Industrial Hemp Program
Modifies the Industrial Hemp Research Program by clarifying the definition of research purposes and the responsibilities of licensees, creating civil and criminal penalties for violations of the industrial hemp program, and granting rule making authority to the Industrial Hemp Commission. Introduced by Rep. Mark Brody, R-Union. Adopted 108-4. Sent to the Senate for consideration.
http://openstates.org/nc/bills/2015/HB992/
Yep!
The Union - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1039647/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_84
Always have held an appreciation for cannabis for the majority of my life, but that documentary put it into sharp perspective. My respect for Joe also went ten-fold, while he talked about the legalities blatantly being rigged, and the common folk blatantly being misinformed by our own gov't. Crummy how lives were so negatively impacted from a corrupt policy, especially with a plant that provide thousands of non-psychoactive benefits.
Nice to see the new generations waking up to the truth tho.
Another reason why I'm long.
Thanks for sharing. Good podcast.
Two weeks left in June...
Neat!
LONG HEMP
Allow American Farmers to Grow Industrial Hemp
https://www.change.org/p/allow-american-farmers-to-grow-industrial-hemp?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=600938&alert_id=KyYBRfMDgy_dDZBlMGDrMmY8Nf90RBEoi8dCEAOOr9BtLR%2F2cd4yhU%3D
Take action!!!
***New Sponsor Added to H.R.525 - Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015
Rep. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD-8]
This brings the total sponsors to 70, up from the original 47. The current sponsors indicate bipartisan support.
The verbiage of the bill is quite simple: 'To amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marihuana'
Sen. McConnell, Mitch [R-KY] is the Senate Majority Leader, one of the original sponsors, and has historically shown support for hemp legalization (Hemp is legal in Kentucky).
President Barack Obama signed the 2013 Farm Bill, showing support for the movement, and has been outspoken that the Fed will not interfere with the emerging Cannabis markets.
Hemp commission receives funding, begins hiring search - http://www.technicianonline.com/news/article_0f4ded6e-1d79-11e6-8e4a-27f766b22d01.html?TNNoMobile
Governor who called legalization 'reckless' now says Colorado's pot industry is working - http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-hickenlooper-marijuana-20160516-20160516-snap-story.html
Farming hemp could provide NC an economic boon in production - http://www.encorepub.com/live-local-live-small-farming-hemp-could-provide-nc-an-economic-boon-in-production/
Indiana could be the next leader in sustainability through hemp - http://www.nuvo.net/indianapolis/lets-get-hemp-notized/Content?oid=3937601
Hemp food and personal care US retail sales estimated at $283 million - http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Regulation/Hemp-food-and-personal-care-retail-sales-estimated-at-283-million
THE NC HEMP COMMISSION HAS BEEN FUNDED - http://www.nchemp.org/farmers-and-investors.html
DEA Plans To Decide Whether To Reschedule Marijuana By Mid-Year - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dea-marijuana-reschedule_us_5704567de4b0537661881644
New DEA Chief, Chuck Rosenberg, claims to focus less on Marijuana - see: http://www.theweedblog.com/new-dea-chief-claims-he-will-focus-less-on-marijuana/
Pot Money Changing Hearts in Washington - http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/10/us/washington-marijuana-70-million-tax-dollars/
Cannabis and Banking:
Colorado Pot Bank Sues the Fed - http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/31/news/marijuana-pot-bank-sues-fed/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom
Colorado senators want cannabis cash in the banks - http://www.coloradoindependent.com/154400/colorado-senators-want-cannabis-cash-in-the-banks
Lawmakers seek to allow federal banking for marijuana industry - http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2015/07/13/lawmakers-seek-to-allow-federal-banking-for-marijuana-industry/
More:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=122805633
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=122257993
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=121896983
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=121405515
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=118623795
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=117881160
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=117881006
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=116927249
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=116873285
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=115869829
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=115781841
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=115425657
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=114509093
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=114431268
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=112731410
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=114221759
Source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/525/cosponsors?pageSort=lastToFirst
Our boy Bruce on the front lines. See comments:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article83965332.html
Phil Boyer front and center, too.
News is coming in hot and heavy.
Brace yourself, hemp is coming!
Not huge news
If strong enough, 50 could cross the 200ma. We shall see...
Chart showing EOM should be powerful.
I'm drop'n dimes soon.
See where we end up tomorrow...
LONG