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Vermont Attorney General Backs Recreational Marijuana Bill

Attorney General TJ Donovan says he wants a tax and regulated system for cannabis.

February 4, 2019

Legislation and regulation News Politics State by State: Vermont

MONTPELIER, Vt. - Vermont's top law enforcement official says he wants a tax and regulated system for cannabis.

Democratic Attorney General TJ Donovan told the Senate Committee on Judiciary Thursday that the legislation calling for a 10-percent tax on marijuana sales, including edibles, is "about protecting consumers and protecting kids."

"We can't tell Vermonters that they can possess and be silent on how you obtain it," he said.

Donovan cited the arrest of a Burlington head shop owner for selling marijuana from his store to highlight the need for a regulated system to weaken the black market.

"When we are silent, you're going to have an abuse of that system," he said. "Thankfully somebody didn't get hurt but it raises real issues."

Aleafia Health to Accelerate Research Division With Appointment of Product Data Science Fellow

Dr. Graham Merry will lead evidence-based product research.

February 4, 2019

Press Release

Canada Medical Cannabis News

TORONTO, Feb. 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Aleafia Health Inc. has appointed Dr. Graham Merry as the company’s first Product Data Science Fellow. Leveraging the company’s proprietary 10 million point medical cannabis patient dataset, Merry will lead Aleafia Health’s ongoing medical cannabis research. These efforts will be aimed at developing evidence-based, proprietary treatment methods and products for chronic illnesses including pain, insomnia, anxiety and eating disorders.

Aleafia Health generated $0.6 million in research revenue in Q3 2018 alone, fueled primarily by medical cannabis companies subscribing to Aleafia Health’s proprietary medical cannabis patient dataset. Aleafia Health tracks all patient interactions with referring doctors, nurse practitioners and educators from diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and continuous learning. The highly differentiated medical cannabis patient big data leverages an enterprise-wide proprietary platform data set on Amazon AWS with market leading data visualization and business insights tools powered by Google Data Studio. These tools are uniquely configured based on over 50,000 unique patients.

Merry graduated in Medicine from The Royal London Medical College in London, U.K and is the founder of Photospectra Health Sciences Inc. which focuses on the research and development of treatments for Age-Related Dry Macular Degeneration, a common eyesight disorder. He has instigated, been a principal investigator and published clinical trials internationally.

The appointment of the Product Data Science Fellow is part of a global initiative by Aleafia Health to build an integrated, scalable cannabis consumer experience, leveraging the company’s in-house, executive leadership experience at multi-billion dollar eCommerce and IT companies.

“Aleafia Health continues to accelerate our purpose of helping people live better lives through a unique, scalable cannabis consumer experience. We will enable patients to navigate seamlessly through, cannabis education, illness specific questionnaires, medical cannabis script product purchasing, order subscription management and treatment/titration monitoring,” said Aleafia Health CEO Geoffrey Benic. “We look forward to Dr. Merry leading our research efforts and team and making significant contributions to evidence based medicine.”

“The medical and research teams at Aleafia Health are extremely well positioned today with the addition of Dr. Merry. We will continue to make important contributions to the research of medical cannabis treatment best practices and product development,” said Aleafia Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Verbora.

Current Aleafia Health research initiatives include an insomnia study in partnership with Cronos Group, a cannabinoid pharmacogenetics study with Guided 420 Genetics and U.S. based AKESOgen, and a recently published study in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research on cannabis and benzodiazepines.

“I am very excited to be involved in clinical research helping Aleafia realize its goals and ambitions to improve the lives of patients. I have been tremendously impressed with the whole team at Aleafia while working in this field,” said Merry. “This initiative will allow the opportunity to obtain clinical evidence to validate and gain wider acceptance in the medical community realizing the benefits of cannabinoid treatment in serious and debilitating disease. Together we will make a huge difference in addressing the unmet needs of patients in this emerging field of medicine.”

Aleafia Health has also announced the appointment of Dr. Taylor Lougheed as Physician Lead for QI/QA of Clinic Operations. Lougheed has an extensive history in cannabinoid prescribing as the lead physician at the Canabo Medical Clinic in Ottawa, and holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Quality from Queen’s University. Lougheed will help drive efficiencies across a growing clinic network and leverage Aleafia proprietary research data to optimize clinical decision making to maximize cannabinoid therapy outcomes for patients.

Canopy Rivers Announces Completion of $17 Million Financing for Its Italian Hemp Platform, Canapar

Canapar Italy is a Sicily-based manufacturer and processor of CBD oil and isolates.

February 4, 2019

Press Release

Canada International News

TORONTO, Feb. 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Canopy Rivers Inc. has announced that it has completed a subsequent $9.4 million equity investment in its portfolio company Canapar Corp., the Canadian parent corporation of Canapar SrL, an Italy-based organic hemp production and processing platform. The investment aligns with the company’s global-focused growth strategy and is expected to provide the company with the opportunity to capitalize on the rapidly expanding European cannabidiol (CBD) market.

In December 2018, the company committed to an investment of $17,400,000 in Canapar Canada as part of a $25,000,000 non-brokered private placement. The investments in Canapar Canada have increased the company’s ownership position from 35 percent to 49 percent, on a non-diluted basis.

As previously disclosed, Canapar Italy is a Sicily-based manufacturer and processor of CBD oil and isolates, which are increasingly used as an input into new commercial products in the health and wellness industries. Canapar Italy has secured more than 1,000 hectares of hemp through its outsource farming model and entered into an academic partnership with the University of Catania’s Department of Agriculture. The company is also advancing its CBD extraction and processing capabilities through its new facility and is expecting to transform 600 metric tons of hemp biomass annually into CBD isolates and derivative products for distribution in Europe. With demand for products that contain natural active ingredients derived from plant extracts increasing significantly, Canapar Italy plans on developing CBD-infused cosmetics, skincare and beauty products for the Italian cosmetics market, which is the fourth largest such market in Europe, as well as the global market, which provides strong demand for “Made in Italy” brands.

“Canopy Rivers’ investment in Canapar represents a clear validation of our ability to execute on our strategy and the market opportunity in Europe,” said Sergio Martines, CEO of Canapar Italy. “We expect to leverage this financing to enhance value for all stakeholders in Canapar and we look forward to a long-term partnership with Canopy Rivers."

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World Health Organization Recommends Rescheduling Cannabis Under International Drug Treaties

The impending vote could foreshadow future policy reforms in the U.S.

February 4, 2019

Eric Sandy

International Legislation and regulation News Politics

In an unreleased World Health Organization (WHO) internal letter, the global organization is reportedly poised to recommend rescheduling cannabis for the purposes of international drug treaties and trade. Forbes first reported the news.

The move will require a vote from United Nations member countries. If approved, the legal status of cannabis in the U.S. will not be affected. The long-term impact on worldwide cannabis reform, however, could be quite significant.

The U.S. vote on this matter will be particularly instructive for cannabis industry observers and stakeholders. Under President Trump, the federal government’s executive branch has taken a mostly cautious approach to cannabis policy—with the exception of former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was forced to resign in November 2018.

The proposal from the WHO is straightforward: remove cannabis and THC (as an individual chemical compound) from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Schedule IV is the most restrictive classification of drugs under the Single Convention, running counter to the U.S. Controlled Substances list’s arrangement. Schedule IV includes drugs “considered to have particularly dangerous properties and an extremely limited therapeutic value.”

Cannabis and THC are also currently placed in Schedule I, and the recommendation is that WHO maintain that designation, which is the least restrictive classification.

Extracts and tinctures of cannabis would be removed from the list of Schedules entirely.

The letter also includes a recommendation to remove CBD from the list of Schedules, which is a striking move that could raise the pitch of debate in the U.S. over how CBD—as a cannabinoid and as an “active ingredient” in pharmaceutical drugs—should be regulated. The letter specifically calls out low-THC preparations of CBD products: “Preparations containing predominantly [CBD] and not more than 0.2 percent of [THC] are not under international control.”

A vote could come sometime in early 2019, at a future UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs hearing.

Cresco Labs' Dispensary Launches Newly Enacted Illinois Opioid Alternative Pilot Program

The company’s FloraMedex dispensary launched the program, which expanded the population of Illinois patients who can access medical cannabis.

February 1, 2019

Press Release

Dispensary News Medical Cannabis News State by State: Illinois

CHICAGO – February 1, 2019 – PRESS RELEASE – Cresco Labs, one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the United States, has announced that the company’s FloraMedex dispensary launched Illinois’ Opioid Alternative Pilot Program (OAPP) today, vastly expanding the population of Illinois patients who can access medical cannabis in place of pharmaceutical opioid medications. Under this new program, patients with doctor approval can receive near-immediate access to cannabis products from an Illinois licensed dispensary. The OAPP eliminates the previously required red tape – fingerprinting and background checks – that often delay patients' access to medical cannabis by up to three months. Under this act, Medical Cannabis Pilot Program (MCPP) patients with one of the 41 qualifying medical conditions designated by the state of Illinois, and a doctor recommendation can also receive a temporary medical cannabis card online and make immediate cannabis purchases without waiting for their permanent card to be processed.

“The passage of the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program is important legislation for the patients across Illinois that have been looking for an alternative form of relief, and we are very excited to make the first sale of medical cannabis under the program,” said Cresco Labs CEO and Co-Founder Charles Bachtell. “The program will open up access to medical cannabis across the state and eliminate the wait time and red tape previously required. Opioid addiction impacts up to two million citizens across our country, and we are proud that Cresco Labs is now able to offer Illinois patients a better treatment option and much-needed relief.”

The Alternative to Opioids Act was signed into law by then-Gov. Bruce Rauner in August 2018. The Act significantly expands access to Illinois’ medical cannabis program by allowing patients to purchase medical cannabis in place of doctor prescribed opioid medications. In 2017 alone, over two million patients received nearly five million opioid prescriptions in Illinois. Now, under the pilot program, patients with one of 41 qualifying medical conditions and a doctor’s recommendation can choose cannabis over opioid treatment and receive a temporary medical cannabis card online. Cannabis purchases can then be made immediately without waiting for a permanent card to be processed.

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