New Hampshire Lawmakers Advance Cannabis Legalization Bill

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on H.B. 1648 in early February.

January 28, 2020

Legislation and regulation News Politics State by State: New Hampshire

CONCORD, N.H. — PRESS RELEASE — The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee approved a bill Jan. 28 (13-7) that would legalize possession and limited cultivation of cannabis for adults 21 and older in New Hampshire. A full House vote on H.B. 1648 is expected to take place on Thursday, Feb. 6.

H.B. 1648 would allow adults 21 and over to possess up to three-quarters of an ounce of cannabis, five grams of hashish, and up to 300 mg of cannabis-infused products (currently a violation punishable by a civil fine). It would also permit cultivation of up to six plants (including up to three mature ones) at home in a secure location that is not visible from other properties. A summary of H.B. 1648 is available here.

The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in 2019, H.B. 481, that would have legalized cannabis in the state. That bill, which unlike H.B. 1648 would have created a regulated and taxed market, ultimately died in the Senate after being referred for “interim study” by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Polls published by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center in 2019 found that an overwhelming amount (68%) of Granite Staters are in favor of legalizing cannabis. Notably, support for legalization is more popular than any elected official in the state.

Matt Simon, New England political director at the Marijuana Policy Project, said, “Like most Granite Staters, this committee understands that it’s time for New Hampshire to stop prohibiting cannabis. Adults in the 'Live Free or Die' state should not be punished for their choice to use a substance that is objectively less harmful than alcohol. Now that New Hampshire is literally surrounded by jurisdictions where cannabis is legal for adults, our current policies can no longer be justified in any way. It’s time for the House, Senate and Gov. Chris Sununu to work together and move cannabis policies into the 21st century.”

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Hemp Business Sues Carson City, Nev., After City Denies Its Permit

Tahoe Hemp LLC is accusing the city of breaching a contract with the property’s former owner.

January 28, 2020

Melissa Schiller

Grower/Agriculture Hemp News State by State: Nevada

Tahoe Hemp LLC has filed a lawsuit against Carson City, Nev., after the city attempted to block the company from growing hemp on property owned by the city, according to a Washington Times report.

Tahoe Hemp filed the lawsuit in state court Jan. 15 and is accusing Carson City of breaching a contract with the property’s former owner, according to the news outlet.

The company wants to grow hemp on a portion of the former Buzzy’s Ranch property, which used to be a public outdoor recreation area.

The Carson City Board of Supervisors has argued that when the city purchased some of the property in 2010, it used, in part, money it had received from a state land grant, which prohibits any use of the land aside from preserving the open space or its cultural or wildlife resources, Washington Times reported.

Tahoe Hemp has argued that the previous owner of the property, Jarrad Trust, maintained agricultural rights on the land when the city purchased it, according to the news outlet. Trust entered into a leasing agreement with Tahoe Hemp, and the company then applied with the Nevada Department of Agriculture to grow hemp on 100 acres of the property.

When the state agriculture department requested approval from Carson City to move forward in the licensing process, the city sent Tahoe Hemp a cease and desist order, Washington Times reported.

The company is now seeking up to $15 million in damages and lawyer fees, according to the news outlet.

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Hawaii Lawmakers Propose New Cannabis-Related Bills for 2020

The deadline to introduce new legislation passed last week, and 21 new cannabis-related measures have been proposed in the House and Senate.

January 28, 2020

Melissa Schiller

Hemp Legislation and regulation Medical Cannabis News Politics State by State: Hawaii

Dozens of cannabis-related bills have been introduced in Hawaii’s legislature this year, after the deadline to introduce new legislation passed last week.

Twenty-one new measures have been proposed, with ten introduced in the House and 11 in the Senate, according to a West Hawaii Today report. Eighteen bills in the House, and another 18 in the Senate, have been carried over from the 2019 legislative session after stalling or being deferred, the news outlet reported.

Two of the House bills aim to extend the state’s current industrial hemp pilot program to create a permanent program in the state, a proposal that passed the legislature last year before being vetoed by Gov. Davie Ige, West Hawaii Today reported. Hawaii’s current hemp program will expire in 2021.

Another hemp-related measure in the House would require labeling for hemp products and would clarify that cannabis dispensaries in the state can sell these products, according to West Hawaii Today.

Other legislation in the House would make minor adjustments to the state’s medical cannabis dispensary system, the news outlet reported, such as allowing dispensaries to sell cannabis cuttings, seeds and edible products. Another bill would allow naturopathic physicians to certify patients for Hawaii’s medical cannabis program.

Adult-use legalization is also back on the table this year; one bill in the House would add a cannabis legalization question to the state’s 2020 ballot, West Hawaii Today reported.

In the Senate, lawmakers have introduced companion bills to the House’s industrial hemp legislation, as well as the measures that would legalize edibles and authorize naturopathic physicians to certify patients for the medical cannabis program, according to the news outlet.

Other legislation in the Senate aims to broaden Hawaii’s medical program by updating the definition of “usable cannabis” to include dried leaves and flowers, and by asking the Drug Enforcement Administration to grant a federal Schedule 1 exemption for the use of medical cannabis in Hawaii, West Hawaii Today reported.

Some of the other Senate bills would allow dispensaries to deliver to patients, as well as allow patients to be reimbursed by insurance companies for medical cannabis.

Two bills in the Senate would legalize adult-use cannabis, allowing it for personal use and repealing all criminal penalties associated with it, according to West Hawaii Today.

Last year, an adult-use legalization bill cleared a Senate committee, but ultimately stalled when time ran out at the end of the legislative session.

Hawaii did successfully decriminalize cannabis and ease some of its restrictions on medical cannabis dispensaries during last year’s session, and the state also unveiled a process to allow out-of-state visitors to access medical cannabis at Hawaii’s dispensaries during their stay.

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Cherokee Nation Forms Work Group to Study Benefits of Cannabis

The tribe, one of the largest in the nation, wants to create a ‘well-informed policy’ regarding the use and cultivation of cannabis and hemp.

January 28, 2020

Theresa Bennett

Hemp Legislation and regulation State by State: Oklahoma

The Cherokee Nation, one of the largest tribes in the U.S., has formed a work group to study various facets and potential benefits of hemp and cannabis.

Under Cherokee law, it is currently illegal to use or possess cannabis on all tribally owned properties. The tribe, based in Tahlequah, Okla., recently revised its workplace drug use policy to protect employees and applicants who possess a valid medical marijuana patient license. Oklahoma legalized medical cannabis in 2018.

“As chief, I want well-informed policy, and the team we have assembled will be a great asset in that regard. I believe there are opportunities for Cherokee Nation, our businesses and our citizens to benefit from this emerging industry. But we need to move forward carefully and responsibly and in absolute strict adherence to the law in order to ensure success and sustainability,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. in a press release.

The new group, called the “Executive Work Group on Hemp, Cannabis and Related Opportunities,” will explore opportunities for cannabis in commerce, health care and agriculture. The group plans to study legal and ethical implications of hemp and cannabis use and growth, as well as the role they may play in the tribe’s health services system.

The group will also study the opportunities for Cherokee citizens to raise, process and sell hemp and cannabis.

Ultimately, the group will make recommendations on updating internal Cherokee Nation policies and statutes regarding the growth and use of the crops.The work group will report its recommendations to the principal chief and council of the Cherokee Nation no later than May 31.

The Cherokee Nation has more than 380,000 tribal citizens, making it one of, if not the largest, in the country.

If the tribe legalizes any form of cannabis, it will join a growing number of tribes embracing the crop for its economic and health benefits. Tribes create and follow their own jurisdictions, so several across the country have already begun cultivating cannabis for medical and recreational use.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) website, 23 different tribes so far plan on taking part in their own hemp programs. Three have already been approved, including in South Dakota, where hemp cultivation is currently illegal.

Members of the Cherokee work group include:

Chad Harsha, Cherokee Nation secretary of natural resources (chairman)
Tina Glory-Jordan, secretary of state
Todd Enlow, chief of staff
Paden Qualls, assistant attorney general
Andy McMillan, Cherokee Nation businesses
Kim Teehee, executive director of government relations
Dr. Roger Montgomery, Cherokee Nation health services

“The work group established by Chief Hoskin is a substantial step for the Cherokee Nation [to] evaluate the changing regulatory environment surrounding hemp and cannabis in areas of commerce, agriculture and health care,” Harsha said. “I look forward to working with this team to bring clarity on these issues and to present policy recommendations that will advance the Cherokee Nation in these emerging areas.”

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CBG and CBC Kill Gastrointestinal Cancer Cells in Preliminary Study

Funded by U.S. company Cannabics Pharmaceuticals, a firm focused on the development of cannabinoid therapies for cancer treatment, Israeli researchers have demonstrated the anti-tumor efficacy of CBG and CBC against human gastrointestinal cancer cell lines.

January 27, 2020

Posted by Andrea Sparr-Jaswa

International Medical Cannabis News

TEL AVIV, Israel and BETHESDA, Maryland, Jan. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/PRESS RELEASE -- Cannabics Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OTCQB: CNBX), a leader in personalized cannabinoid medicine focused on cancer and its side effects, announced today that in a series of tests conducted at the company's High Through-put Screening (HTS) facility in Israel, it has been shown that the cannabinoids CBC (cannabichromene) and CBG (cannabigerol) both exhibit anti-tumor properties, tested on human gastrointestinal cancer cells.

CBC is an additional non-intoxicating cannabinoid and is one of the naturally occurring phytocannabinoids. It bears a host of potential positive therapeutic qualities and may promote antimicrobial, anti‐inflammatory, analgesic, and neurogenesis activity. It is particularly found in younger cannabis plants, albeit in small quantities.

In these tests, the HTS platform was utilized to screen the necrotic effects of a variety of cannabinoids on human gastrointestinal cancer cells, in addition to other cancer types previously tested. CBC and CBG were both shown to induce significantly higher rates of necrosis in these cancer cells compared to other cannabinoids, thus strengthening previously obtained results.

Cannabinoid extract causing necrosis in gastrointestinal cancer cell line. The Yellow color is a marker for necrosis. On the right - control, on the left – after treatment with cannabinoids

Dr. Yaakov Waksman, the company's head of cannabinoid research, said, "My working assumption is that these results show that a correlation may exist between a cannabinoid's Topological Polar Surface Area (TPSA) value and its ability to induce anti-tumor activity, diminishing cancer cell's viability rates. CBC and CBG, as neutral cannabinoids, were both found to have a TPSA value which allows the cannabinoid molecule to penetrate a cancer cell's membrane, whereas their acidic form (CBCA and CBGA) - do not. This could explain the difference in anti-tumor activity rates demonstrated".

Dr. Eyal Ballan, CTO and Co-Founder, commented, "Gastrointestinal cancers are amongst the leading and most wide-spread causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. We are intrigued by the results we have obtained in the lab, and our aim is to consider placing an emphasis on this organ system, and to further explore the differential anti-tumor properties of cannabinoids. We believe that these preliminary results vindicate our vision; which is to bring personalization into cannabinoid-based cancer treatments."

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