By Patrick Doyle

 
Jeff Sessions recently said that pot is “only slightly less awful” than heroin.
I wonder if he’s tried both of them. I don’t think you can really make a statement like that unless you tried it all. So I’d like to suggest to Jeff to try it and then let me know later if he thinks he’s still telling the truth.
 
Full Interview: 
http://www.rollingstone.com/country/features/willie-nelson-to-jeff-sessions-smoke-some-pot-w482579

by MADISON MARGOLIN

 
By spring, New York farmers may be able to grow hemp legally for the first time in decades.
The Hemp Research Bill, introduced in Albany by Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo and Senator Tom O’Mara, was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo last year. As its title suggests, the bill allows researchers to grow and study “industrial hemp” — that is, cannabis with less than .03 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (or THC, the chemical that causes cannabis users to feel high).

New York’s bill follows the Agriculture Act of 2014, a federal law that legalizes growing hemp for research by state departments of agriculture and universities under the guidance of individual state laws.
Once the regulations are finalized by the end of this month, ten hemp growing licenses will be awarded by the Department of Agriculture. Universities or colleges can apply for a license and do research on their own or partner with a farmer. Already Cornell University and Morrisville State College have expressed interest in participating in the research.
 
Full Article: 
http://www.villagevoice.com/2015/12/11/get-ready-to-see-hemp-fields-cropping-up-in-new-york/

WHAS11.com staff , WHAS

 
The University of Louisville is trying something new by planting industrial hemp with an end game in mind, energy.
It’s part of the JB Speed School of Engineering looking at crops for developing chemicals and fuels.
The school says the crops can fulfill energy needs and possibly aid in future chemical productions.
 
Full Article: 
http://www.whas11.com/news/local/uofl-plants-industrial-hemp-for-energy-possibilities/440556301

BY SEAN COCKERHAM scockerham@mcclatchydc.com

 
Sen. Kamala Harris of California used the year’s first big 2020 presidential spotlight Tuesday to rail against Trump administration drug policies and call for easing laws governing marijuana.
“Let me tell you what California needs, Jeff Sessions. We need support in dealing with transnational criminal organizations and dealing with human trafficking – not in going after grandma’s medicinal marijuana,” she said, referring to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
 
Full Article: 
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article150834332.html

by Nena Perry-Brown

A Tiny Hemp House
 
As various states around the country reconsider their approach to the controversial cannabis plant, its non-psychoactive variety is also gaining recognition for its many uses. Hemp, which typically has less than 0.3 percent THC, is somewhat of a super-crop, with uses from nutrition to clothing to construction materials.
One of the companies showing the practical applications of hemp as a construction material is Colorado’s Tiny Hemp Houses. As The Cannabist reports, Tiny Hemp Houses is a consulting company that assists clients in assembling their own tiny houses using “hempcrete” as a concrete substitute.
 
Full Article: 
http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/hempcrete_building_material_of_the_future/12570
 

BY ANGELA HART ahart@sacbee.com

 
The grapevines that line rolling hillsides and sweeping valleys in Northern California’s wine country have become iconic – a symbol of the region’s rustic charm that helped California earn its reputation as a world-class wine and food destination.
But winegrapes have new competition: weed.
California’s legalization of recreational marijuana has led to the beginning of a major transformation of wine country. It’s been just seven months, but already investors are snapping up property where wine was once produced. Vineyard operators are developing expertise in cannabis cultivation. New, specialty marijuana businesses are sprouting up in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. And farmers who have long made a good living by growing and harvesting winegrapes are expressing interest in diversifying with marijuana.
 
Full Article: 
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article149815769.html

CBC News

 
In a bid to discourage opioid prescriptions and to give workers a healthier alternative to the highly addictive drugs, an Ontario union is now offering medical cannabis products through its benefits plan.
LIUNA Local 625 in Windsor announced the change to its plan Tuesday after two years of widespread consultation with pharmacies and cannabis suppliers.
 
Full Article: 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/liuna-offers-medical-cannabis-coverage-to-battle-opioid-crisis-1.4106228

Photo: Friends, neighbours and strangers put hempcrete on the walls of the house being built for the Read family at Canowindra. (Supplied: David Bullock)
 
Bucket by bucket, a hempcrete house is being constructed by volunteer labour in a small New South Wales town to provide an accessible and clean-air environment for triplets with muscular dystrophy.
Putting the hempcrete on the walls is a labour-intensive process and therefore could be very expensive, but the Read family of Canowindra in central-west New South Wales has been overwhelmed by help from friends, community members and complete strangers.
“It’s pretty humbling and pretty exciting at the same time,” said Jemimah Read, mother of the triplets and with her husband Ben, owner of the project dubbed the ‘Miracle’ house.
 
Full Article: 
http://oianews.com/community-effort-builds-hempcrete-miracle-house

 
Can it really be true that so many older people nowadays will “Just Say Yes”? Yes to using marijuana, that is? Our Cover Story is reported by Barry Petersen:
Sue Taylor works hard to stay fit, and stay healthy. This 68-year-old is a regular at the gym, eats kale to keep her cholesterol down, and at home, “homemade” is her motto.
But there’s one thing in her healthy lifestyle that may come as a surprise: she includes MARIJUANA in her quest to stay youthful.
She showed Petersen her Gummi Cares: “It has the consistency of a gummi, and I use it for sleep and pain when I need to.”
Taylor was a high school principal, preaching the dangers of drugs. But after her son got into the pot business, and as she began to learn more about marijuana, she changed her mind. Now she is a convert — make that an ADVOCATE — for aging Americans using marijuana.
She speaks at community meetings, explaining why pot may be good for them.
 
Full Article: 
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/seniors-and-marijuana/
 
 

 
Researchers report low doses of THC can help restore memory and reverse some of the effects of brain aging in mice. The findings could open new avenues for treating dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases.
 
Full Article: 
http://neurosciencenews.com/aging-reversal-cannabis-6608/