Author: Matthew

“he past couple of months have seen some of Wall Street’s top cannabis stocks fall from grace. Perhaps the first company to come to mind is Canopy Growth, the world’s biggest pot stock by market cap, which saw its shares decline substantially when it reported a surprising $1 billion financial loss in its recent quarterly results. Investors quickly began to fear that other well-established cannabis stocks could witness a similar decline in the weeks to come.

That’s exactly what has happened with Aurora Cannabis. In its recent financial results, the company not only failed to see a profit once again but also warned investors that it likely won’t be profitable until 2020, which was a major disappointment to analysts and investors alike.

Looking at the financials

Despite selling more cannabis in Canada than its rival Canopy did during the quarter and growing its revenues by 52% from the previous quarter, Aurora Cannabis ended up embarrassing itself when its revenue figures still missed its own unaudited guidance it had released just a month prior. The company sold $43 million worth of cannabis in the adult market compared to the $30 million reported last quarter. However, Aurora Cannabis wasn’t able to sell all of this pot through direct distribution channels, instead of having to dump $20 million worth of marijuana into the wholesale market at a lower margin. Overall, earnings came in at a loss of $11 million for the quarter.

Analyst opinions

Aurora Cannabis used to be one of Wall Street’s favorite marijuana stocks, with Cowen & Co. analyst Vivien Azer singling the company out as her top sector pick earlier in 2019. Now that the stock has fallen by 50.4% since reaching its 2019 high point in mid-March, financial experts are starting to change their tune.

Another major sell-off came last week when Stifel Nicolaus analyst Andrew Carter issued a sell rating for Aurora Cannabis just months after he started covering the company. Assigning a new price target of just 5 Canadian dollars, or 30% lower than its current price, Carter argued that this recent financial disappointment will be the beginning of a larger, much more worrying trend. Eventually, he expects Aurora will need to return to the capital markets in order to drum up more financing.

Read more at The Motley Fool

“Anna Symonds, education manager for East Fork Cultivars, has been a rugby player for 18 years and attributes a lot of her longevity as a professional athlete to cannabis.

While she experimented with cannabis as a teenager, she discontinued this practice when she got more serious about sports. After she smoked with some teammates after a game, she experienced immediate healing and muscle relaxation. “I started to have this mental shift to seeing cannabis as medicine.” After a back injury five years ago, cannabis proved to be the only thing that would provide her with pain relief and muscle relaxation while increasing her functionality without the side effects of other medications.

By microdosing before practice with a 1.1 full spectrum chocolate edible containing 1 mg THC, Symonds found the sweet spot where her pain would reduce and her mind gets into a flow state where she was fully present and performing fully optimally.

Cannabis as an aid for performance and recovery

While Antonio DeRose, head of Green House Healthy, has used cannabis recreationally for more than 15 years, he didn’t begin using this plant to help with his performance and recovery as a trail runner until about five to six years ago. He describes himself as a “wake and bakes” person. “When I wake up in the morning, I use cannabis to recharge my endocannabinoid system. Then I do some sort of physical activity.”

DeRose prefers a high-dose edible followed by some flower before he runs. “Cannabis is a bronchodilator, so it allows me to absorb more oxygen with each breath.” He finds cannabis aids in recovery in calming down his nervous system and reducing inflammation. Topicals work well for isolated areas where he has specific pain. Also, he uses hemp as a nutritional supplement, noting that as the body regenerates bones every 10 years, technically he’s made of hemp.

Chicago Tribune

“The rise of new holistic treatments and remedies in popular culture are, unfortunately, typically accompanied by snake oil salesmen pitches and an emerging market rife of false advertising and capricious product origins. Welcome to the contemporary demand for CBD-infused products.

Cannabidiol (CBD), the natural oil cannabinoid extract of the cannabis plant, a molecule of the plant that has shown therapeutic promise without the “high,” has been at the center of an unprecedented race among competing startups offering a “panacea” to everything from anxiety to arthritis pain. Fueling a reported market for CBD oil products projected to reach $3.86 billion by 2025, growing by a CAGR of 39.5 percent since 2018, it is easy to see why there is so much hype around the once overlooked component of the cannabis plant famous for its sister constituent — THC.

However, despite the early warning signs that the CBD mania is on a trajectory for too much speculation followed by underperformance, there are some intriguing signs that tangible applications of the extract may make their way into modern medical pathways.

“There is an overall lack of formalized studies and clinical pathways to the actualization of legitimate CBD products in the commercial market,” details Layne Beal, CEO of Viridian Pharmaceuticals, a firm focused on developing safe and effective delivery of natural therapeutics through the skin using topical creams. “To help legitimize the science of this molecule, we are investigating how our proprietary delivery technology coupled with CBD works for specific indications in our planned clinical trials.”

Imbuing Credibility Into The World of CBD & Beyond

It may appear that CBD has gained sufficient credibility with the likes of Walgreens, Rite Aid, and CVS announcing the sale of CBD products in their retail locations earlier this year, but the truth is much more nuanced. The FDA has come under growing pressure to regulate CBD products, which came on the heels of a liver damage scare following some studies into the potential adverse side effects of the extract.

Viridian’s topical cream, called Notion, is based on the company’s proprietary technology that has been funneled through efficacy tests in pharmacokinetics and bioavailability studies to optimize its delivery impact. Importantly, they have laid the groundwork for a formalized clinical roadmap, including treatments for chronic migraine and osteoarthritis based on existing medical literature using CBD.

“The science is evolving in the CBD space, and there aren’t a lot of specific dosing guidelines aside from the first FDA-approved drug, Epidiolex,” says Beal. “We spent a significant amount of time learning from our in-home trial users about the amount of CBD that seems to have positive results for most, which brought us to the CBD concentration in our first product, which is 750mg per 30mL jar.”

Read more at Forbes

“You probably don’t have to look farther than your local drugstore or beauty product supplier to know CBD has taken a starring role in everything from sparkling water and gummies to tincture oils and lotions. Some may even say that CBD is the “it” ingredient of this day and age.

You’ve probably also heard that CBD — which is an abbreviation for cannabidiol — can help with stress, anxiety, and pain. “When people are in pain, they have a stress response, which causes an increase in cortisol and an increase in blood sugar,” says Veronica J. Brady, Ph.D., CDE, a registered nurse and an assistant professor at the Cizik School of Nursing at the University of Texas in Houston. Relieving pain can help alleviate the stress response and improve blood sugar levels, as well as improve sleep, she adds.

If you’re managing type 2 diabetes, it’s natural to be curious about whether CBD might help you manage those symptoms, too, to help stabilize your blood sugar. Some healthcare professionals say CBD may play a role in treating diabetes, but it’s important to understand that the only health condition CBD has proved effective for is epilepsy in kids. The jury is unfortunately still out, because of a lack of comprehensive research on CBD and type 2 diabetes.

Scientific Studies on CBD and Type 2 Diabetes, and Barriers to Research

Despite interest among people with type 2 diabetes, large, rigorous studies showing how CBD may affect type 2 diabetes are lacking, says Y. Tony Yang, MPH, a doctor of science in health policy and management and a professor at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Specifically absent are randomized controlled trials, which are the gold standard of medical research, per a June 2016 article in the New England Journal of Medicine.

But early research may suggest the two are worth studying further. For example, a small study published in October 2016 in Diabetes Care in the United Kingdom of 62 people with type 2 diabetes found that CBD did not lower blood glucose. Participants were not on insulin, nor were they on any diabetes drugs, and they were randomly assigned to five different treatment groups for 15 weeks: 100 milligrams (mg) of CBD twice daily; 5 mg of THCV (another chemical in cannabis) twice daily; 5 mg CBD and 5 mg THCV together twice daily; 100 mg CBD and 5 mg of THCV together twice daily; or placebo. According to the authors, THCV (but not CBD) significantly improved blood glucose control.

A Canadian study published in Pain of 37 people with diabetes found that a synthetic cannabinoid called nabilone improved nerve pain. “We also found patients had better sleep measures, so their sleep was more complete. Anxiety levels improved to a smaller amount,” says Dr. Toth, who led the study.

Historically, cannabinoids (a group of chemicals in the cannabis plant) have been lumped together, including CBD, THC, and more than 100 others. In the past decade, growers and manufacturers have been able to isolate CBD, mainly by cultivating industrial hemp that is high in CBD and very low in THC, says Jackson. The 2018 Farm Bill removed industrial hemp from the controlled substances list, clearing the way for more production and research of hemp and thus CBD.

Continue reading at Everyday Health

“Federally, cannabis legalization saw daylight in Canada in 2018. The Cannabis Act legalized recreational marijuana in October 2018. Now, the country is all set for the second wave of legalization, Cannabis 2.0, which includes cannabis edibles, cannabis-infused beverages, extracts, and various other products. Let’s dig into this more.

Canada’s second wave of legalization

Next month, Canada will legalize cannabis-infused edibles for recreational use. The Canadian market will see a limited selection of products in retail outlets and online stores after the legalization, but not earlier than mid-December.

Canada legalized medical and recreational marijuana. However, the country has been very careful to ensure that public health safety is also taken into account. Keeping in mind how the edibles market could attract young people, Health Canada implemented a strict legal framework for cannabis. The amendments to Canada’s regulations in June will ensure legal production and sale of edible cannabis, cannabis extracts, and cannabis topicals.

Why regulations are important

Gummies look like the favorite choice in edibles. However, Health Canada will be careful with product labels and marketing. Since gummies are a popular product among children and youth, officials want to ensure that marketing strategies don’t influence them.

Health Canada ensured that there are stricter regulations and guideline for the products. Notably, Health Canada released a new set of guidelines on June 14 for edible cannabis, cannabis extracts, and cannabis topicals. The regulations include marijuana and industrial hemp regulations.

Canada’s cannabis industry

What fascinates me about Canada’s approach to legalization is its model. The Canadian government made efforts to pass legislation. Notably, the legislation controls marijuana use and sales even though it’s legalized. By allowing marijuana to be sold only by government-licensed retailers and grown only by licensed producers, Canada can keep illicit activities in check. Illicit activities are a major concern in the cannabis industry.

Recently, I discussed how California is on the path to become marijuana’s biggest black market. Read Marijuana Policy: Can California Shape It for the US? to learn more.

More black market sales would impact cannabis companies with exposure to the California market. A Forbes article in March discussed how higher taxes, opposition from local officials, and clumsy regulations are making the black market popular. Also, getting a license, renewing licenses annually, and other operating costs make dealing with legal cannabis expensive.

Read the full article at Market Realist

“It’s no longer surprising that CBD is gaining popularity, as its purported health benefits are almost mind-blowing, with some derivatives even thought to help ease cancer-related symptoms.

But just because tinctures are gaining popularity doesn’t mean you should rush to the store and get a bottle for yourself. There are some key things you need to know before considering them, starting with these five essentials.

1. CBD tincture is not CBD oil.

In simple terms, a tincture is derived by soaking the cannabis plant in an alcohol and water solution, while to concoct CBD oil, plant extracts are infused in a carrier oil, like coconut, olive or hemp seed.

2. Always check the label before purchasing a CBD tincture.

An interesting study by the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that only 30 percent of CBD products are accurately labeled. That means you need to be extra careful when buying your tincture. One of the things to look out for is the Certificate of Analysis, or COA, which indicates the tincture’s level of cannabinoid and its overall purity.

3. Tinctures need to be taken in small doses.

Tinctures are extremely concentrated, so it’s vital that you take them in small doses. Although you can’t overdose on a tincture, it’s better to stay safe and restrict yourself.

4. Potent tinctures contain terpenes.

The cannabis plant contains medicinal constituents called terpenes that provide the tincture’s aroma and flavor. To boost its medicinal value, terpenes from other plants or herbs are often added to it. Since tinctures are usually taken to help ease a specific ailment, the kind of terpenes added is targeted to those particular symptoms.

5. Don’t be misled by the cheaper price.

Without a doubt, CBD tinctures have powerful benefits but don’t be seduced by lower price points. Higher-quality CBD tinctures are necessarily expensive.

Entrepreneur

“Cannabidiol (CBD) oil has become a multi-billion dollar industry, with recreational athletes dishing out a large chunk of that change for the promise of pain relief, faster recovery, better sleep, and more.

Some people claim remarkable benefits from CBD, while others find effects elusive at best. Myriad factors influence how well (or not) you respond to CBD, including the type you take, how much you take, and even your genes.

Now, research published in the journal Epilepsia shows that the food you eat along with your CBD supplement may have a dramatic effect on how much of the compound your body absorbs—and that may play a role in how effective it is.

The small study included eight adults who were prescribed CBD for seizures related to epilepsy (a condition which CBD has been FDA-approved for). For the first part of the study, half the volunteers took their CBD first thing in the morning before eating and had breakfast four hours later, while the other half ate a high-fat breakfast burrito, containing about 850 calories and 52 percent fat, within 30 minutes of taking their CBD oil. After two weeks, they switched groups.

The researchers concluded that CBD should be taken with food to maximize absorption and that a low-fat meal may not have the same absorption boosting the effect as one that is higher in fat.

“The type of food can make a large difference in the amount of CBD that gets absorbed into the body. Although fatty foods can increase the absorption of CBD, it can also increase the variability as not all meals contain the same amount of fat,” said Angela Birnbaum, Ph.D., a professor in the College of Pharmacy and study co-author, in a press release.

Full article at Bicycling

“Arizona-based researcher Dr. Sue Sisley is spearheading an extraordinary lawsuit against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), demanding that the agency stop dragging its feet on a years-old promise to end the federal government’s monopoly on growing cannabis for clinical research.

Sisley is a medical doctor who recently made history with her federally-approved studies regarding the effects of cannabis on military veterans with PTSD. The results of those PTSD studies are expected to be released later this year.

Her next scheduled study will look at how late-stage cancer patients can perhaps use cannabis for pain relief.

With the help of two Texas attorneys who are working pro bono, Sisley’s Scottsdale Research Institute (SRI) is calling on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to order the federal government to follow through on the DEA’s 2016 announcement in the Federal Register.

In that announcement, DEA officials said they would permit other facilities to grow and manufacture cannabis for clinical trials and research.

Demanding an Explanation

DEA officials have declined to comment on the litigation. “We are still working through the process and those applications remain under review,” an agency spokesperson told the Associated Press last month.

Matt Zorn, one of the attorneys at the Houston-based Yetter Coleman law firm working on the SRI lawsuit, declined to comment on that speculation. Instead, he’s focusing on the damage done by the government’s inaction.

“They’re not saying yes, they’re not saying no,” Zorn told Leafly. “Until the agency says something, there’s nothing to go to a court with, nothing to appeal. It’s stuck in purgatory. So what we’re trying to do is get the agency to explain why they’re not processing these applications. It’s gotten to the point where we think a court needs to step in and do something about it.”

Read the complete article at Leafly

“The growing popularity of cannabis oil is leading to more positive tests for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component in marijuana.

But what exactly is cannabis oil? Can workers get high from it? Why would they use it? Is it illegal?

Experts weigh in to keep HR professionals and managers up-to-date on the ever-changing reality of drug use in the workplace.

Cannabis Oil, CBD Oil, Hemp-Derived CBD

Cannabis oil refers to concentrated extracts from cannabis and could be pure THC, pure cannabidiol (CBD) oil, or a combination of these and other chemicals, said Sara Jane Ward, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology with the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia.

People who use cannabis oil or CBD oil sometimes have disabilities, and their use of the product is understandable: to reduce pain or anxiety, help with sleep, treat tremors or symptoms of epilepsy, and alleviate multiple sclerosis symptoms, for example.

“There’s no high from CBD oil made only from CBD,” said Amy Epstein Gluck, an attorney with FisherBroyles in Washington, D.C.

A product labeled as hemp-derived CBD is extracted from the hemp variety of cannabis, which is typically low in THC. CBD can be produced in a spray, lozenge or cream. These products must have less than 0.3 percent THC to be legal under federal law, but “regulation of these products is currently very loose,” Ward said.

Evolving CBD Marketplace and Regulation

“Many of the CBD oils on the market are unregulated, and while a buyer may think the product has no THC or very little THC, there is no way to know for sure,” said Kathryn Russo, an attorney with Jackson Lewis in Melville, N.Y. Research published by the Journal of the American Medical Association has shown that 43 percent of CBD oils tested contained more THC than was labeled on the bottle. “This means that a person using these products might test positive on a workplace drug test for marijuana, particularly if they are using it in large quantities on a regular basis,” Russo stated.

While cannabis oil can contain any range of constituents, including THC, hemp-derived CBD products are supposed to contain only up to 0.3 percent THC, and some contain no THC. But some products are labeled as containing less than 0.3 percent THC when they have more.

“In a product that does contain 0.3 percent THC, there is still a potential to test positive for THC, depending on the amount consumed, the frequency of use and individual metabolism of the product,” Ward said. “There is also a chance that pure CBD tests positive for THC, depending on the type of drug screen used, but this is much less likely to happen.”

Continue reading at SHRM

“It seems everywhere we turn these days there is a big, flashing sign that reads “CBD Sold Here.” But instead of seeing these circus-style advertisements around legitimate medical facilities dedicated to creating a healthier population, they are appearing in front of smoke shops, convenience stores, and malls. America has gone buck wild for this non-intoxicating cannabis-hemp derivative. So much, in fact, they have failed to take into consideration that some of these products might be fake.

Not all CBD is the therapeutic heal-all you’ve been reading about for the past few years. Some of it is junk, containing only trace amounts of the cannabinoid. Reports abound of counterfeit CBD oil sold in parts of the country. So, yes, if you purchase CBD oil the last time you filled up your vehicle with gasoline or bought a blacklight poster from Spencer’s Gifts, there’s a good chance the CBD you’ve been taking is just a load of bull.

Research published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that around 40 percent of CBD products purchased online do not contain as much of the compound as printed on the labels. About 26 percent included higher concentrations than they were supposed to. Some of these products even tested positive for enough THC (the stoner compound) to cause a person to fail a drug test. Reports of CBD users testing positive for marijuana have become more prevalent as of late because of these kinds of manufacturing discrepancies.

Getting your hands on quality CBD products is relatively simple. It’s always a good idea to buy from a reputable dealer in a legal marijuana state where these products are held to testing standards. But if a legal state isn’t an option, consumers shouldn’t just rely on Amazon or their local truck stop for help. You just can’t be sure about the quality when buying CBD from these retailers. Ultimately, consumers should do some research and find cannabis companies that employ strict testing standards as though they were under the thumb of the FDA. Sniffing out those firms can sometimes be tricky. But this list from the U.S. Hemp Authority is an excellent place to start.

The Growth Shop

Medical cannabis can reach new heights – as long as the researchers and policymakers keep their feet on the ground.

Dr. Delon Human, Head of Innovation and Medical Affairs of PharmaCielo Ltd., a global medical cannabis company headquartered in Toronto has decades of experience as a health consultant. This experience includes high-ranking appointments with both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Medical Association (WMA), Dr. Human has seen trends come and go. However, medical cannabis, he says, will only keep growing.

Having shaken off its counterculture mantle and taken root in health care, cannabis offers opportunities to a range of stakeholders – from innovators and investors to suffering individuals. As the industry matures, Dr. Human wants to ensure the benefits continue to outpace the risks.

As it happens, Dr. Human comes from a background of harm reduction and has spent much of his career fighting the excesses of tobacco, alcohol, and substance use. Which raises the question: why would a man who has devoted years to helping people ‘say no’ step into a leadership position at a cannabis company?

Dr. Human also explains what sets PharmaCielo apart—like the fact that the company grows its cannabis under open skies in Colombia (hence the word “Cielo,” or sky, in the name) and partners with a combination of professional flower growers, rural farmers and indigenous peoples with centuries-old expertise to support its farming operations; or why PharmaCielo has placed its bets on cannabis oils and extracts, rather than dried flowers, for its finished products.

How does the public perception of cannabis products match up with reality?

There is still a lot of ignorance around this plant. Part of it has to do with the product’s legacy. As a symbol of so-called hippie culture in the sixties, cannabis still wears the ‘stoner’ hat in some people’s minds. However, if you strip away this historical association, cannabis is just a plant, just like basil or tomato. It happens to be a fascinating and multidimensional plant, with the potential to reduce human suffering.

The connotation of cannabis with smoking has also damaged public perception, though this knee-jerk image is fading as people become aware of the different ways of ingesting the product. Currently, about 70% of cannabis sold in Canada is dried, milled and smoked, but I believe the proportion will get a lot smaller.

How is medical cannabis disrupting the traditional pharmaceutical industry?

In the traditional pharmaceutical industry, innovation and access are always pulling against each other. Broadly speaking, the more innovative the molecule, the more it costs and the greater the barriers to access. Poorer countries and poorer people don’t usually have the same level of access as richer ones. When you consider that most pharmaceutical products treat noncommunicable chronic diseases such as diabetes, arthritis or cancer, the traditional pharma model leaves a lot of people out.

Organisations such as the WHO spend a lot of energy trying to balance innovation and access, but the tension and unfairness persist.

In contrast, cannabis offers the possibility of both high innovation and high access. It is inexpensive to produce, and the right policies can ensure widespread access to those in need, disrupting the traditional marketplace.

Continue reading at Health Europe