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Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
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- Tue, 27 Feb 2018 04:20:21 PST

Canada: Timeline For Start Of Retail Cannabis Sales Delayed

Ottawa, Canada: Retailers will be unable to begin legally selling marijuana products to consumers until late summer or early fall, according to Canadian news reports. Lawmakers had initially sought to begin regulating the adult use marijuana market by July 1.

In November, members of the House of Commons voted 200 to 82 in favor of Bill C-45 (The Cannabis Act), which amends the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act so that those over the age of 18 may legally possess, purchase, and grow personal use quantities of cannabis. It also establishes rules and regulations governing the commercial production of retail cannabis products.

Members of the Senate are now set to vote on the measure on June 7. If passed, retail sales would be expected to begin within eight to twelve weeks.


Study: Cannabis Use Associated With Delayed Progression To Injection Drug Use

Vancouver, Canada: Cannabis use is associated with slower rates of injection initiation among at-risk youth, according to longitudinal data published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review.

Canadian researchers assessed drug use progression in a cohort of 481 street-involved youth over a ten-year period.

Authors reported: "[W]e observed a high rate of injection initiation among at-risk street-involved youth. Our results indicate that periods of frequent cannabis use were associated with slower rates of initiation: daily cannabis use was associated with a 34 percent decrease in the hazard rate of injection initiation."

They concluded: "[F]requent cannabis use was negatively associated with injection initiation. ... Given the expansion of cannabis legalization throughout North America, it is encouraging that cannabis use was associated with slower time to initiation of injection drug use in this cohort. This finding challenges the view of cannabis as a gateway substance that precipitates the progression to using harder and more addictive drugs."

A 2017 study published by several of the same researchers previously reported that cannabis use was associated with reduced consumption of crack cocaine in a cohort of polydrug users.

Full text of the study, "Cannabis use is associated with lower rates of initiation of injection drug use among street-involved youth: A longitudinal analysis," appears in Drug and Alcohol Review.


Study: Artisanal CBD Preparations Associated With Reduced Seizure Activity In Epileptic Children

Nashville, TN: Cannabidiol administration is associated with a significant reduction in seizure frequency in patients with drug-resistant pediatric epilepsy, according to data published in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior.

Vanderbilt University researchers retrospectively assessed the impact of the adjunctive use of grey-market CBD products in a cohort of 108 children with refractory epilepsy.

Authors reported: "The addition of CBD resulted in 39 percent of patients having a greater than 50 percent reduction in seizures, with 10 percent becoming seizure-free. ... No patients achieved CBD monotherapy, although the weaning of other antiepileptic drugs became possible in 22 percent of patients. ... Increased alertness and improved verbal interactions were reported in 14 percent of patients in the CBD group."

They concluded: "These data add additional support for the use of artisanal CBD in the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy. ... [O]utside of seizure control, CBD use was also associated with increased alertness, improved verbal communication, better social interactions, and better mood, suggesting additional benefits to use of CBD. ... In summary, these findings support efficacy of artisanal CBD preparations in seizure reduction with few significant side effects."

Phase III clinical trials have previously demonstrated the safety and efficacy of standardized, herbal CBD extracts (Epidiolex) in pediatric patients with uncontrollable seizures. Later this year, regulators at the US Food and Drug Administration will undertake a 'priority review' of this data to determine whether to grant Epidiolex market approval.

Full text of the study, "Efficacy of artisanal preparations of cannabidiol for the treatment of epilepsy: Practical experiences of a tertiary medical center," appear in Epilepsy & Behavior.


Philadelphia: District Attorney To Cease Prosecuting Marijuana Possession Offenders

Philadelphia, PA: Newly elected District Attorney Larry Krasner has announced that his office will no longer prosecute marijuana possession offense violations.

Although city policy has already decriminalized most minor marijuana possession offenses, police have continued to make several hundred possession arrests annually. Going forward, the DA's office will drop these charges. Krasner said that the change in policy is "the right thing to do."

His actions come days after Seattle city officials announced their intentions to vacate the criminal convictions of minor marijuana possession offenders. In recent days, city officials in both San Francisco and in Alameda County, California have also announced plans to automatically reduce or expunge thousands of past marijuana convictions.


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