Jamaican scientists close to creating affordable hepatitis C drug from cannabis

BY VERNON DAVIDSON


Dr. Wayne McLaughlin
 
Research scientists, led by Dr Henry Lowe, say they have discovered properties in Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the major bioactive compounds in the cannabis (ganja) plant, that have the potential to provide affordable treatment as nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals for hepatitis C.
 
Full Article: 
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/J-can-scientists-close-to-creating-affordable-hepatitis-C-drug-from-ganja_89260

How and where to attend cannabis-infused dinners (and a cooking class) in Los Angeles

Esther Tseng
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A cinnamon-basil pear tart infused with cannabis from the PopCultivate pop-up dinners. (Lillian Lin)
 
There are more reasons than ever for Angelenos to explore marijuana. In November, California passed Proposition 64, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults, and the sale of recreational marijuana in retail locations in 2018. While most are more familiar with smoking marijuana, some like to eat cannabis as well.
Recently, eating cannabis has evolved beyond brownies and gummy bears, into tasting menus. Enter the pop-up dinner party. It is in these temporary spaces that chefs are not only infusing but also accentuating and pairing food with weed — even down to the strain of the plant. These chefs are using tinctures, oils, butters and terpenes (aromatic cannabis agents extracted via vaporization). Diners are provided a certain dosage, typically 50 mg, designed to give people a desired high and allow them to be sated over a two- to three-hour meal. The pop-up dinners take place on private property, with waiver signage, pre-event ticketing and on-site marijuana card verification.
 
Full Article: 
http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-weed-cannabis-dinner-class-20170217-story.html

Texas Cops Hit State Capitol in Support of Pot Decrim

By
Texas Law Enforcement Marijuana Cannabis Now
 
Thursday saw a coalition of police officers and judges head to the Texas State Capitol in support of House Bill 81, which would would remove the threat of arrest, jail time, and a criminal record for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and replace them with a civil fine of up to $250.
Currently in Texas, individuals found in possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana can be arrested and given a criminal record, and they face up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
Joining the officers today was retired Texas District Court Judge John Delaney.
“Every year we arrest about 60,000 people in Texas for possession of tiny amounts of marijuana,” Delaney said. “Each arrest takes about two hours of police time, not to mention the added burden on jails and courts. This diverts resources that could be spent helping victims of violence and serious property crimes.”
Delaney went on to note that issuing citations makes more sense due to the long term repercussions faced by those found guilty of simple possession.
“What’s more, a marijuana conviction affects a person’s ability to work and support a family for the rest of their life,” he said. “No one wins; all of us lose.”
 
Full Article: 
https://cannabisnow.com/texas-cops-hit-state-capitol-support-pot-decrim/

Tiny house builder branches out his hemp-crete business

By: Olivia Bako

Dion Lefebvre poses in front of his hempcrete home which he completed last summer. Hempcrete is a concrete-like block made of hemp and lime mix.
WN File
An area man behind a tiny house built out of hemp is seeing his idea grow.
Since completing a 350-square-foot home south of Westlock last year using hempcrete — concrete-like blocks made from a mixture of hemp and lime — Dion Lefebvre’s prototype house has gotten traction in B.C. where builders are working with him on creating a tiny hempcrete house in Bowen Island.
“It’s been designed and built following my prototype and it’s going to have CSA (Canadian Standards Association) approval so it’ll be available to the general public,” he said. “That’s actually going to be built with the first precast panel in North America.”
 

Full Article:
http://www.westlocknews.com/article/Tiny-house-builder-branches-out-his-hempcrete-business-20170207

In California’s ‘Pot Alley,’ Agriculture Pivots to Marijuana

Image result for In California's 'Pot Alley,' Agriculture Pivots to Marijuana
 

California’s Salinas Valley is referred to as the “salad bowl of the nation,” best described in iconic pages when John Steinbeck, American author and son of the Monterey County community, put pen to paper in most of his classic writings.

It’s here in this region of sprawling fields about 100 miles south of San Francisco where Japanese immigrants found their American dream after World War II in the cut flowers business, evident even today.

“A lot of these houses are Japanese-style houses,” said Alicia, a cannabis properties realtor.

With California’s law legalizing marijuana poised to go into effect next year, Salinas enters a new chapter in its agricultural history. It could become the cannabis capital of the state.

Full Article: 

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/Growers-Gear-Up-for-Legal-Weed-in-California-413876003.html

Students and faculty at Penn State Behrend are doing research on using hemp as an additive to plastic.

By Jim Martin

In the plastics lab at Penn State Behrend, professor Brian Young is leading a small group of students who are exploring ways to use hemp fibers as an additive to plastic.
It’s a project that would have seemed unlikely just a few years ago.

That was before February 2014, when President Barack Obama signed the U.S. Farm Bill, which established industrial hemp as a legal crop, distinct from marijuana, clearing the way for universities and state departments of agriculture to conduct research projects into the use of hemp.
 
Full Article: 
http://www.goerie.com/news/20170216/uses-for-hemp-explored-at-behrend-plastics-lab

George Clinton: Doctor Funkenstein’s New Prescription (Cannabis)

Nate Jackson
Image result for GEORGE CLINTON Doctor Funkenstein's New Prescription
Photo: Bridget Arias
 
Decades after the Mothership landed on Earth, opening its shiny metallic hatch to reveal the smoky silhouette of the man nicknamed Dr. Funkenstein, George Clinton continues to be a man ahead of his time. The extraterrestrial groovemaster of Parliament Funkadelic drafted the musical blueprint for generations of musicians, rappers and producers that followed him. But not even Clinton himself could’ve imagined the everlasting glory of the house that funk built, or that he’d still be around to see it over 40 years later.
 
Full Article: 
http://www.dopemagazine.com/george-clinton/

Cannabis products heading to Middlemore Hospital

NZ Herald
Middlemore Hospital will receive cannabis products from medical marijuana company Tilray, it was revealed today. Photo / fileMiddlemore Hospital will receive cannabis products from medical marijuana company Tilray, it was revealed today. Photo / file
 
Middlemore Hospital will receive cannabis products from medical marijuana company Tilray, it was revealed today.
The Canadian company, which describes itself as a global leader in medical cannabis research and production, released a statement saying it had received necessary approvals in Canada and New Zealand to export medical cannabis to this country.
Tilray would supply Middlemore Hospital in south Auckland with medical cannabis oil containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
 
Full Article: 
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11801095

Cannabis Legislation 2017: We’re Tracking All Legalization Bills

LISA ROUGH
Image result for United States House of Representatives
 
Most state legislatures reconvene in early January, and by February they’re in full swing, moving some bills forward and killing others in committee. This year 27 state legislatures are considering bills pertaining to cannabis in some form. (Well, okay: 26. Mississippi had two medical marijuana bills, but they’re already dead.) Some states are pushing full adult-use legalization. Others are pulling back on medical legalization measures adopted by voters last November. We’ll keep tracking them as they live and die. Most state legislatures adjourn by early June.
 
Full Article: 
https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/cannabis-legislation-2017-tracking-legalization-bills