NEW YORK, Oct. 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Columbia Care LLC, a medical cannabis company, has announced that it was one of only five applicants to receive conditional approval from the Virginia Board of Pharmacy to cultivate, produce and dispense cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THC-A) oils to qualifying patients in Virginia. Columbia Care will be based in Virginia Health Service Area V, the Hampton Roads/Norfolk region, and will serve patients throughout the Commonwealth.

“After such a competitive process that included detailed vetting of our personnel, business plan and national operations, we are proud and humbled to have been one of only five companies to receive conditional approval from the Virginia Board of Pharmacy to produce and dispense CBD and THC-A oils to patients in Virginia. We intend to develop a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical processing facility capable of surpassing the rigorous processing requirements outlined by the Board of Pharmacy, as we have successfully done in multiple other states,” said Nicholas Vita, chief executive officer of Columbia Care. “Throughout the country, we are servants to our communities, and we believe it is of utmost importance that we act as a positive force to improve lives and patient wellness. This is the mission upon which our company was founded and is reflected in our corporate DNA. We look forward to providing our highly formulated, pharmaceutical-quality cannabinoid-based medicines and improving the lives of patients across the Commonwealth of Virginia beginning in the second half of 2019.”

Marissa Levine, M.D. M.P.H, former Virginia State Health Commissioner and co-chair of the Columbia Care Virginia advisory board, added, “Columbia Care has a proven track record of working effectively with the medical and research communities, providing a superior patient experience and producing products worthy of selection. I am honored to serve on Columbia Care Virginia’s advisory board, and I look forward to helping the Company advance its mission of improving the lives of patients and their families by developing the highest-quality cannabinoid-based medicines and delivering the best care to the community at large.”

In addition to Dr. Levine, Columbia Care Virginia assembled a distinguished group of advisory board members. The board provides Columbia Care with valuable Virginia-specific insights and experience to assure Columbia Care Virginia will be a leader in pharmacist-led care, clinical research and agricultural innovation, not only in the Commonwealth, but nationwide. Additional Columbia Care Virginia advisory board members include:

• Basil Gooden, Ph.D., former Virginia secretary of agriculture
• David Creecy, PharmD, former president of the Virginia Pharmacists Association
• Tim Musselman, PharmD, former executive director of the Virginia Pharmacists Association
• Reverend Tyrone Nelson, Henrico County board of supervisors
• Calvin Butts, Hampton University board of trustee
• Terron Sims II, prominent U.S. veterans advocate
• Lisa Smith, leading Virginia medical cannabis patient advocate

Consistent with the company’s national effort to deliver the highest-quality and most consistent cannabinoid-based medicines to patients with unmet medical needs, Columbia Care’s pharmaceutical processing facility will be designed and operated with patient safety and comfort in mind. The facility will be staffed by a dedicated team trained to provide the highest level of professionalism, compassion, confidentiality and respect for patients. For more information about Columbia Care Virginia, please visit www.col-careva.com.

For more information on the Virginia Medical Cannabidiol and THC-A Oil Program, including information for patients, please visit 
https://www.dhp.virginia.gov/pharmacy/PharmaceuticalProcessing/default.htm.

Democratic state lawmakers Wednesday pressed Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes to explain how voters can have confidence that a medical marijuana bill will be passed if Proposition 2 fails.

Hughes acknowledged that skeptics have questioned the motives of the state leaders and advocates who crafted a legislative answer to the clamor for a Utah medical marijuana program. But he assured legislators that the consensus bill was not a plot to derail this year’s cannabis ballot initiative.

“This is not to interrupt [Proposition 2]. This is to acknowledge it,” Hughes said to lawmakers in the Senate Office Building. “If Proposition 2 were to fail, we’d still want to move forward with a model to provide medical cannabis to patients who need it.”

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NEVADA CITY, Calif. October 24, 2018 – The Nevada County Board of Supervisors (BOS) unanimously approved a resolution establishing a “pre-application conditional process for temporary local authorization in response to State inquiries regarding cannabis cultivation for State temporary licenses.”

The English translation of this mouthful: “It allows growers to check a box on their application to the state.”

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Top photo courtesy of Adobe Stock

W. CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., Oct. 19, 2018 – PRESS RELEASE – Global standards organization ASTM International and the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute (ICCI) have announced a Memorandum of Understanding to work together on standards for the cannabis industry. ICCI is the first Europe-based partner for ASTM International’s cannabis committee, which has grown to more than 500 members worldwide in its first two years.

Under the agreement, the committee will coordinate standards development activities for the global cannabis and hemp industry while ICCI, based in the Czech Republic, will gain benefits such as recognition of its technical contributions and free temporary membership to its members. ASTM International previously signed similar agreements with the Foundation of Cannabis Unified Standards (FOCUS), the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), and the American Trade Association of Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH).

“Many of our stakeholders – universities, companies, associations, governments, and others – are laying the foundation for the safe use and legal commerce of cannabis,” said Martin Masilko, MBA, ICCI chief operation officer. “To meet the pressing need for cannabis standards, we are pleased to be coordinating our resources and efforts with Americans for Safe Access Patient Focused Certification program into one activity under ASTM International, one of the world’s top standards organizations.” 

Stakeholders involved with the two organizations say they are prioritizing a cannabis cultivation standard followed by standards related to cannabis cosmetics as well as food supplements and extracts. ICCI’s involvement will also strengthen the committee’s collaborative efforts in medicinal and laboratory-related standards too.

“ICCI’s global expertise in this fast-growing industry is well known,” said Ralph Paroli, Ph.D., the cannabis committee chairman and the director of R&D in measurement science and standards at the National Research Council of Canada. “ICCI’s engagement in this new committee will strengthen international standards development, identify gaps, prevent duplicative efforts, and more.”

Paroli and others are featured in a brief video about the committee.

After a number of requests from industry, the cannabis committee (designated D37 by ASTM International) formally organized two years ago. The group includes businesses, laboratories, associations, governments and others. 

The next meeting will be Jan. 27-29 in Houston, Texas (USA) at the Hyatt Regency Houston. Anyone interested in participating can contact Bob Morgan (rmorgan@astm.org). ASTM International’s Brussels, Belgium, office contact is Sara Gobbi (sgobbi@astm.org).