“I never thought that taking my medicine could lead to homelessness. But here we are.”
– Mary Cease, Veteran and MMJ patient

Welcome To The Weekly Roll Up – A Compendium of The Week’s Cannabis News

Vermont

 S.54: Interview with Laura Subin, Vermont Coalition to Regulate Marijuana

 Gearing Up for Town Meeting Day: Tradition, Tips and Talking Points 
 Taxes, energy and pot: Voters face diverse issues on Town Meeting Day ballots
 House gives preliminary approval to retail cannabis market
 Vermont House Approves Selling Weed — But Not Advertising It
 Londonderry Weighs In On Pot
 Q & A: UVM agronomist Heather Darby on Vermont’s hemp gold rush

New England

 Connecticut 

• Public gets chance to testify on legalized marijuana bill
• Hearing on Recreational Cannabis Draws Dozens
• Lamont administration makes its push for pot
• Republicans find flaws in long-shot cannabis legalization

 Maine

• Officials Expect Delay in Opening of Recreational Pot Market

 Massachusetts

• Regs ask legislators to consider loan fund to benefit marginalized
• Minority-Owned Business Owners Being Crushed By Wait For Licenses
• Candid conversation needed to address the illicit cannabis market
• Worcester to allow MMJ dispensaries to open same hours as adult-use stores
• Boston mayor appointed five members to Cannabis Board
• Boston Globe ed board calling on lawmakers to ensure equity in industry
• Committee on Cannabis create loan fund for social equity biz owners

 New Jersey

• Kennedy in NJ 2nd Claims to Support 420 Reform
• Getting Hemp Started in NJ 
• 2019 Medical Cannabis Symposium
• Real Cannabis Entrepreneur Conference 2019
• First Member of NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission Finally Appointed
• Harrison forum sees legal cannabis as economic, social justice driver

 New York

• The Faces in NYC Cannabis: Kristin Jordan
• For state, it’s about more than just saying it’s OK
• State should allow pot to be home grown
• Cannabis regulators ask lawmakers to create new fund for equity operators
• Ali Cala: Helping New York state hemp growers manage plant pathogens
• Those Effected By Bloomberg’s canna-crusade need action on legalization
• Legalized cannabis will be ‘huge’ for the local economy, executive says
• Why is New York’s MMJ program insanely expensive?
• Local hemp farmer brings CBD to Troy Farmers Market

 Rhode Island

• Lawmakers to make MMJ more affordable for patients

National

 Advocacy/Activism

• Drug Policy Alliance has hired new executive director

 Books

• Review: “Cannabis: A Big Sisters’ Guide” Brings Readers Back to Basics

 Business

• Getting Into Cannabis As a CRE Career Path
• Canopy Growth cuts 500 jobs, shuts down facilities

 Cannabis

• 5 cannabis strains for people who love vanilla

 CBD

• The Science Behind a CBD Product

 Crises

• Coronavirus Outbreak Impacts Cannabis Industry
• Cannabis and Coronavirus: Here’s What You Need to Know

 Events

• Altruistic Vision, And Candid Rationality At Benzinga Cannabis 2020

 Federal

• 11 Words That Should Terrify the U.S. cannabis Industry
• IRS tripped up by cash-only pot industry, Mnuchin says
• Banning CBD Products Would Be ‘A Fool’s Game,’ FDA Chief Admits

• DOT weighs in on CBD products: Workers in safety-sensitive jobs be cautious
• Mnuchin details IRS challenges with cash-only cannabis businesses
• Govt research if CBD can “help treat addiction, including opioid addiction.”

 Food and Bev

• Raw Hemp Seed Energy Balls with Cacao & Dates
• Cannabis Drinkables – Are They More Popular than Edibles?
• Say ‘Hi’ to the New Sparkling Cannabis Drinks
• Morning CBD Mocktail
• Federal Government Nips America’s First Hemp Wine in the Bud

 Happiness and Joy

• Reader: Being Baked Has Prevented Me From Doing Risky Things

 Hash

• All About Hashish And Its Awesome Comeback

 Health and Wellness

• CBD skincare for beginners
• How Cannabis Can Help With The Many Symptoms Of Menopause

 Hemp

• Economic Viability of Industrial Hemp in the United States
• USDA, DEA provide options for labs, disposal of non-compliant hemp plants
• Hemp Boot Camp: Tap into America’s Growing Hemp and CBD Industry
• Hemp growers, processors face continuing challenges
• USDA: ‘Difficult to Imagine Hemp Matching Corn or Soybeans’
• USDA broadens who can test hemp for THC
• Cannabis giant band together to build out U.S. hemp supply chain
• Farmer-engineers take on hemp harvest
• Agriculture in favor of extending the 2014 Farm Bill’s hemp pilot project

 History

• Ancient cannabis queens: 5 legendary cannabis-loving women

 Law Enforcement 

• Can police really smell cannabis in your car?
• Smell sufficient evidence “to search entire house…including locked boxes.”
• Dept of Ag making changes to insurance program for hemp crop eligibility

 Legalization

• Demand for Smuggled Cannabis Plummets as Legal Markets Grow
• States turn to unenforced federal law to slow medical cannabis legalization

 Medical

• Do Any Medications Help Ease Cannabis Dependence?

 Military/Veterans

• Navy vet on MMJ fights over subsidized housing
• IAVA urges Congress to work toward veteran MMJ access in 2020

 People

• Filmmaker Louis Theroux spoke about his enjoyment of cannabis and support for legalization

 Podcasts

• Inside Pitch Podcast: Rays Thump Strasburg And Manfred Talks Pot Use
• Green Rush Podcast: ELLO’s Hershel Gerson 
• Conscious Cannabis Capitalism With Roger Volodarsky, Puffco CEO 
• Cash Is Again King In Cannabis Industry 
• TI Introduces The New Cannabis Hub For Information And Entertainment

 Presidential Campaign

• Super Tuesday results: What they mean for cannabis
• Minority Cannabiz Group Defends Sanders’ Comments On Legalization And Race

 Seniors

• Cannabis use up 75% among older Americans

  Social Justice

• Social Equity In Cannabis: ‘This Is The Way That Our Industry Is Expanding’
• Cannabis And Social Equity: Challenges And Opportunities
• Sarah Silverman To Host Fundraiser Promoting Gender Equality In Cannabis
• Viola Launches Viola Cares with National Nonprofit Organization

 Sports

• NBA News: Kevin Durant Speaks on the Consumption of Cannabis
• MLB: Players still subject to penalty for using pot
• Al Harrington believes 80% of NBA players consume cannabis
• Baseball Players Can Smoke Cannabis But Can’t Be Sponsored By Cannabiz

 Studies/Surveys

• Drug interactions with cannabinoids
• Understanding THC levels in edibles
• Research critical for MMJ
• Cannabis Found to Combat Deadly Superbug
• Impact of pot use on decision-making
• Pregnant women w/depression 3x more likely to use cannabis
• Want to seal cannabis odor? Pack it in double vacuum-sealed bags
• MMJ helps fibromyalgia] patients with sleep dysfunctions
• CBD helps Alzheimer’s disease treatment

 Stuff

• New ‘cannabis amnesty’ packing containers are environmentally friendly

 Weird

• Pot-smoker had ‘erections lasting 12 HOURS’ caused by ‘frequent cannabis use’

 Women

• Restoring Balance To The Lives Of Women In Five Questions
• Emily Whitmire: from waitress to cannabis advocate & UFC fighter
• Cannabis Products Make List At Cosmetic Executive Women Awards
• Meet Mary Jane Rathbun, mother of the pot brownie
• Women CEOs in Cannabis
• Jamie Evans Wants Us to Think About Cannabis Like Wine
• Sarah Silverman: White males should not have monopoly on cannabis space

States

 Alabama

• Message to Potential Hemp Growers: Know What You’re Getting Into

 Arizona

• Mom fights for new MMJ laws for her daughter with autism