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On this special edition episode, we are joined by Bill Nichols, the Technical Director at Biotrax Testing Laboratory in New York

Podcast Ep 19: Rebuttal to NY Cannabis Testing Article

Read our latest blog on ensuring the safety and efficacy of cannabis products

Elevating the Green: The Crucial Role of Quality Control and Testing in the Cannabis Industry

Check Out the Cannabis Science and Technology October Issue!

In a study published earlier this month, researchers aimed to examine the influence of cannabis use on the connectivity of areas in the brain associated with empathy and that also contain many CB1 receptors (1). The study, titled “Empathy-related differences in the anterior cingulate functional connectivity of regular cannabis users when compared to controls,” was published in the 

 on November 8, 2023 (1). Citing negative associations between cannabis and mental health, the researchers for this study stated that the results demonstrated some potential therapeutic benefits of cannabis and its positive effects on relationships (1).

Researchers studied a total of 136 participants, 85 of whom used cannabis regularly, using the Cognitive and Affective Empathy Test to analyze their ability to empathize with others (1). They also examined MRI images taken from a smaller sample, 46 regular cannabis users and 34 controls, of the original population (1). According to the study’s results, the participants who used cannabis showed greater connectivity in areas of the brain associated with empathy (1).

“The greater FC [functional connectivity] showed by the users is associated with emotional representational areas and empathy-related regions,” stated the researchers in the abstract (1). “In addition, the differences in psychometric scores suggest that users have more empathic comprehension. These findings suggest a potential association between cannabis use, a greater comprehension of the other's affective state and the functional brain organization of the users. However, further research is needed to explore such association, since many other factors may be at play.”

One of the study’s authors Sarael Solórzano, senior researcher at the Instituto de Neurobiología at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, explained to 

 some of the factors to take into consideration when examining the results (2). These included the low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) potency of the cannabis used in the study, the narrow representation of all cannabis users, and the need to still take into account results from studies that demonstrate the negative effects of cannabis use (2).

Olalde‐Mathieu, V. E.; Atilano‐Barbosa, D.; Angulo‐Perkins, A.; Licea‐Haquet, G. L.; Dominguez‐Frausto, C. A.; Barrios, F. A.; Alcauter, S. Empathy‐related differences in the anterior cingulate functional connectivity of regular cannabis users when compared to controls. Journal of Neuroscience Research 

Adams, B. Do cannabis users feel more empathy? A new study aims to find out 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/benjaminadams/2023/11/22/do-cannabis-users-feel-more-empathy-a-new-study-aims-to-find-out/?sh=37540052243a

Articles

Researchers found an association between cannabis use and the ability to empathize. 

Study Finds Increased Brain Connectivity in Regular Cannabis Users

According to a recent article in the Minnesota-based newspaper the 

(1), state officials are trying to figure out how to help enforce cannabis safety and will begin instructing law enforcement officers on how to use different testing devices to detect cannabis-impaired drivers on the road. Police officers will reportedly soon begin using saliva-based test to test for cannabis.

Minnesota, known as the North Star State, will debut the pilot project, which is a requirement in their recreational cannabis law that states that although recreational cannabis is now legal, it is still considered illegal to drive while being “high” on tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (1,2). This new project will sift through different saliva-based testing devices to see which ones are able to distinguish cannabis use. Minnesota plans to utilize two testing tools which will be administered in 2024 by drug recognition experts.

"These are by far and away the most commonly used [testing] units across the country," said Mike Hanson, director of Minnesota's Office of Traffic Safety (1). "I would expect that by this time next month, the units will be in the field and will be in use."

 reported (1), other states that have legalized cannabis have used these test methods with their law enforcement to find “probable cause.” In these instances, it is not much different from using a breathalyzer when trying to detect alcohol.

One very important thing to note, however, is that Minnesota law enforcement are not able to operate the saliva-based devices and use those test results as evidence in court or to arrest an individual (1). The 

 mentioned (1) that as listed in the statute, roadside tests may only be used for “the purpose of analyzing the practicality, accuracy, and efficacy of the instrument.”

To launch this program, Minnesota will buy an estimated 100 tests which will cost them around $5000 per test (1). By February 2025, the public safety commissioner will be required to disclose the results from the pilot program to the state’s Legislature.

The state will be utilizing their drug recognition experts (DREs) to spot suspected drivers that might be driving a vehicle while high. Minnesota has more than 300 DREs with plans to increase their numbers before early 2025, when retail cannabis dispensaries are slated to open (1).

"Our goal is to put enough DREs on the road where a street cop, anywhere in the state of Minnesota, within 20 or 30 minutes … can either have a DRE on scene or at the very least have a phone consultation," Hanson explained (1). "We're being very proactive as we come up on legalization and when the dispensaries will actually open."

Faircloth, R. Minnesota to Launch Roadside Impairment Test for Marijuana 

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-set-to-launch-roadside-impairment-test-for-marijuana/600321260/

Cummings, C. Law Enforcement on Alert for Impaired Drivers as Marijuana Becomes Legal, Plan to Boost Drug Experts 

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/marijuana-driving-while-high/

Minnesota will begin performing roadside impairment tests for cannabis in their state.

Minnesota to Begin Performing Cannabis Roadside Impairment Tests

A study published November 20, 2023 in the journal 

closely examined the links between genetics and cannabis use disorder (CanUD). The study titled “Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of cannabis use disorder yields insight into disease biology and public health implications,” cited a need to better understand the risk factors for CanUD as more US states and countries are increasingly allowing for cannabis use for medical and recreational purposes (1).

Researchers from Yale University and the Department of Veterans Affairs studied genotype data from over a million individuals around the world and from a wide array of ancestry, sourced from genetic databases such as the Million Veteran Program (MVP) (1,2,3). One finding from the study was the discovery of genetic markers specific to ancestry that indicated a risk of CanUD (1,4). Another finding was a bidirectional relationship—when two conditions can influence each other— between CanUD and schizophrenia, and a unidirectional causal effect of chronic pain on CanUD (1,3).

"Our research represents a significant step forward in our understanding of genetic architecture underlying cannabis use disorders, their relationship to psychopathology, and their potential health consequences,” stated Daniel Levey, PhD, one of the authors of the study (2). “For example, we were able to compare self-reported cannabis use to diagnosed cannabis use disorder. We found diagnosed cannabis use disorders are positively associated with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, while cannabis use was not. Schizophrenia on the other hand was found to be positively associated with both cannabis use and cannabis use disorder. "

The study also noted the possibility of a connection between CanUD and lung cancer. “A genetically informed causal relationship analysis indicated a possible effect of genetic liability for CanUD on lung cancer risk, suggesting potential unanticipated future medical and psychiatric public health consequences that require further study to disentangle from other known risk factors such as cigarette smoking,” stated the abstract (1).

According to another of the study’s authors, Joel Gelertner, MD, the study was “the largest genome-wide study of cannabis use disorder ever conducted” (5).

Levey, D. F.; Galimberti, M.; Deak, J. D.; Wendt, F. R.; Bhattacharya, A.; Koller, D.; Harrington, K. M.; Quaden, R.; Johnson, E. C.; Gupta, P.; et al. Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of cannabis use disorder yields insight into disease biology and Public Health Implications. Nature Genetics 2023 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-023-01563-z.

Gardner, C. Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of cannabis use disorder yields insight into disease biology and Public Health Implications 

https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/multi-ancestry-genome-wide-association-study-of-cannabis-use-disorder-yields-insight-into-disease-biology-and-public-health-implications/

Tozer, L. Massive genetic study finds genes linked to cannabis addiction 

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03629-8

Sabaghi, D. Study finds genetic link to cannabis use disorder 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dariosabaghi/2023/11/21/study-finds-genetic-link-to-cannabis-use-disorder/?sh=11a20feb3925

Hathaway, B. Genomic study links cannabis abuse to multiple health problems 

https://news.yale.edu/2023/11/20/genomic-study-links-cannabis-abuse-multiple-health-problems

The study resulted in several findings on cannabis use and connections to physical and mental health conditions.

Large Study Explores Cannabis Use Disorder and its Complex Genetic Links to Mental and Physical Health

Cannabis Patients Pacific Northwest (CPPNW)

 co-founders, Jeremy Robbins and David Benedicktus, sit down with us for Part II of their educational series where they discuss disability accessibility, cannabis for spinal cord injuries, and how they got into cannabis education.

Cannabis Patients Pacific Northwest co-founders, Jeremy Robbins discuss disability accessibility, cannabis for spinal cord injuries, and cannabis education.

Empowerment through Education: 'It's a Big World of Cannabis Out There'

Read a transcription of the interview below.

What have you found to be the biggest misconception with spinal cord injuries?

 I thought this was a really good question and I spent some time last night pondering like, you know, in the general public, I would have to say the biggest misconception is that people with spinal cord injuries want to walk again. I knew when I was laying on the street next to my dog, bleeding, paralyzed that I would never walk again and I've never struggled with that thought. Walking is great. It's a little bit overrated. But, if we can figure out accessibility, you can get around the world just fine in a wheelchair. So that's probably the biggest thing. I would say the second thing and probably more innocuous and complicated is the fact that the medical system has a tendency to think that people that are paralyzed, don't experience pain and this is nonsense. Not only do we experience pain, but we actually experience increased pain because our systems are totally wacky.

And this makes it challenging. You know, I was in the ER about a month ago with a urinary tract infection (UTI) and the doctor’s like, “Are you in pain?” and I'm like, “How can I not be in pain?” You know, I have a fever. My bladder is spasming constantly.




It causes another condition that is really pretty medically fragile. It's called autonomic dysreflexia or autonomic hyperreflexia and so because you know, there's two systems, you have a peripheral nervous system and you have an autonomic nervous system and because my nervous system doesn't work correctly, when there's something that's going on, that's below the level of injury which for me, my neck is the level zone basically anything with my body. It will respond in very kind of strange ways and so dysreflexia starts out, like, I'll feel like pins and needles kind of going up and down my back.


You know, I'll get shivery, I'll have goose pimples which I never really have and I'll start to sweat and I don't normally sweat as it continues to ramp up.

If I don't figure out what the source of it is, it will turn into a blood pressure issue and I've had one really, really bad episode. It was like somebody walked up behind me and hit me in the back of the head with a brick. It blinded me. It deafened me. My body spasmed into like a little raisin and then I spent the next 10 days in the hospital that I'm trying to figure out what was going on. And they never really did. It probably was related to a UTI or a kidney infection or something like that. But it's all it's a little strange.

Trying to diagnose issues as well because again, I can't feel a large part of my body. So, you know, those are those are some of the biggest, biggest things that I deal with, that I think all of us in the community deal with.

As far as like what the world doesn't offer, and that is accessibility, and it just is really challenging for people that are that have mobility impairments, just to navigate spaces to be able to go from point A to point B without, so Portland, Oregon is a great example. Unfortunately, there are a lot of homeless populations. A lot of people that are homeless are on the sidewalks and I unfortunately, people with mobility impairments and wheelchairs they have to use sidewalks to get around. All of these homeless folks are blocking the sidewalks. It literally it took an ADA lawsuit against the city of Portland, which just got settled for them to figure out how to clear the paths so that disabled people going to the store to get their medication don't have to be in the street with traffic in downtown Portland. Yeah, it's dangerous. So anyway, I would say these are the banes of the disabled existence.


They're issues that have existed for a long time and I am sure they will exist for a long time to come. And so, you know, my whole goal is just to kind of work a little bit here and there to make it so that accessibility is a little bit better. You know, in this particular case, I've spent a lot of time trying to make sure that the recreational and medical dispensaries that exist in Oregon, Washington are places and spaces that people with disabilities can get into.


It's been a mixed bag. Portland has a lot of old homes. That was cheap real estate and that's where dispensaries moved it. The ADA is a little more elusive as far as coverage for those sorts of places and so it's been a give and take experience.


Yeah, the best thing that I saw was a friend of mine, he owns the third largest chain of stores. There was a location that he had, where I went one time and like I literally couldn't get anybody to come to help me out.


He just demolished it, tore it down, and built a brand new one that was fully accessible.


Yeah, really, really impressive. I felt like that said a lot about his ethics and the way that his business was going to be. Honestly, that was kind of the blueprint and he's put these little accessible dispensaries in quite a few places. I thought that was really cool.


Yeah, those are I would say those are the big things that we that we experience and deal with.


Change is slow. You got to be patient, but you also have to be persistent. You can't give up and that's my thing is I just I want to be nice, but I also I want to be able to live and experience the world, just like everybody else. So yeah, that's it.



Are you starting to see a little bit more accessibility for you now. Are you still kind of experiencing those roadblocks?



: Pleasantly enough, I feel like we are on an upswing with accessibility, with accessibility knowledge, with just trying to level the playing fields, and so it is getting better but like I said, it's a very slow, very slow process and it sucks when you have to as a disabled person, you know the ADA exists supposedly so that these accessible options come about but it really you know, the ADA is like 33 years old and it sucks because what I have to do is I have to then file a suit with the Department of Justice, I have to find an attorney that's willing to take on the case. Not only am I disabled but then I have to get involved in a legal system which I have very limited knowledge about and honestly isn't really catered to the public. It's a very cumbersome system to get the laws changed and ultimately that's what it is, is the laws.

The big thing right now is air travel. Like figuring out how to make air travel better for people particularly with power wheelchairs, the big bulky wheelchairs. What we're seeing is that, plane designers, the people that are building the airplanes, are now building space into the planes where you can just wheel your power chair in and just sit in it for the duration of the flight.


This is radical. I have to get in what they call an aisle chair and you have to drag me halfway down, and people have to help me get over the bulkhead in my seat. It's a lot more work than it needs to be. This is the hope these are the things that we continue to work towards.


The real issue with I think all disabilities is having a voice, having folks that are visible, or are well known that have these conditions that can advocate for it. We don't anymore. We had Christopher Reeves, we had Superman for a while and once he went away, I think we've kind of struggled with an identity crisis.


Research and research money that's always a big deal and there's the focus I think is lessening on, like how to fix spinal cord injuries and it is increasing into how to make things just more accessible. So it's good change.

David, can you tell us a little bit about your background in nursing and how you became a cannabis educator? I know mentioned a little bit in your story, but maybe you can expand a little bit further.



 I mentioned my brief experience working in inpatient oncology. Seeing that the system was kind of flirting with the idea, you know, in terms of managing some of the side effects of the chemotherapy and looking at the benefit of cannabis products for that. What really opened it up to me was and I, again, drawing on my experience, working in both direct patient care and clinical settings and then looking at our health care policy and how it is set up to help mental health and chemical dependency patients. So how it really came into focus was in teaching community education classes in the Lifelong Learning Program at Clark College here in Vancouver, Washington. Two of my students, husband and wife, Jay and Helen Elder took the class, my series of classes that I was doing, and they were early retirees. They were in their late 50s and they were saying, “holy crap, we don't have to die like our parents! We don’t have to experience cognitive decline, dementia, we can even reverse a lot of the chronic disease syndromes; we discovered inflammatory process are the cause.” So, I continued teaching at Clark and I hadn't heard from them for about a year, they came back to me and said, “We've organized all the complementary medicine practitioners in southwest Washington. We're creating a nonprofit called Complementary Medicine Practitioners of Southwest Washington and we'd like you to be on the board and help us develop educational programming for the community so people can understand there's prevention, wellness and alternative and complementary care that can help supplement the allopathic medicine approaches, which are legitimate in both acute care, and chronic care settings, and can reduce the amount of pharmaceuticals that people use and use lifestyle modalities instead.”

In fact, Kaiser Permanente has a whole complementary medicine research group. I found out about the research group and I used to go and attend for a couple of years. They had their quarterly meetings over and in Portland and they would talk about the studies being done on complementary medicine approaches like acupuncture, biofeedback, meditation, electric eye movement desensitization (EMDR) therapy. So, I was saying, “Oh, my goodness, they're researching this.” So, we took that and we did outreach talks in the community.

We had the Clark College classes, health care classes that I had about 30 to 55 people attending those. That was great. We made a relationship with the library system, and I would set up to have talks at the library all throughout the Southwest Washington area, on the topics of inflammatory lifestyle, and I said, “You know what, I'm just going to start including cannabis in that because the research is right there.” A lot of people come to these talks and they want to know about how to prevent chronic disease and also to prevent themselves from getting dementia which is a big, that's a big bad Baba Yaga kind of experience that people have about getting dementia, or seeing their parents die from it. So, I started teaching and the library said, “Fine, we're all about education and evidence-based science,” and we began teaching them throughout the library system.

The city of Vancouver said, “we'd like to have you guys come out and do that for our employees because we have a wellness program,” and we said, “we'll do it for free and we'll come out and do that.” For three or four years, we did talks, and I organized just like I did in the classes at Clark College. I did a kind of introductory talk about prevention and wellness, preventing cognitive decline, inflammatory lifestyles. Then we'd have naturopaths and physicians and nurse practitioners come in and give specific talks in certain areas. People are pretty interested about memory and how to how to protect their memory. I'm going to do a class on memory and in the class on memory, I mentioned cannabis and I said to the employees there, “now you can't take cannabis yourselves because you're a city employee, but maybe your relatives who are retired can use this information or when you retire, you might be able to use this information about cannabis and how it’s neuro protective and an anti-inflammatory along with all these other anti-inflammatory lifestyles.” Well at that class there was a retired police officer and he came up to me afterwards he says, “I knew there was something more than just getting high with that.” He then contacted me and invited Jeremy and I to a policy meeting of the retired city of Vancouver police officers and firemen to talk with them about how they can lower their health care prescription cost by educating their retirees about medical cannabis, and that was in like 2018.

We were little Johnny Appleseeds, going to spreading this information everywhere and landed up in that place, which was really very fun to do. So, how I really got into teaching cannabis was by learning that there was evidence-base, there was science on it. Even Sanjay Gupta was one on one of the top talk shows. Can't remember which one he was on, but I saw him on there and he was talking about Charlotte Figi in Colorado and how that was the only thing that helped her with her seven seizures that she had every hour or something like that. She had a pediatric seizures disorder. When I started looking into that, I saw that it was helpful, this was Sanjay Gupta, for this list of things for MS, for cancer symptoms, for irritable bowel syndrome. He's saying that it’s harm reduction in terms of opiate use and sometimes this is the only thing that works for people and it is. He said this and I said “well, I got permission now.” He said it is immoral not to tell people about this. So, when he said that, I said right there, I'll sign up.

Then Jeremy and I started realizing that the five-week, 10-hour class that we teach here at Clark College, about 10-12 students came to each one. People would keep calling us up afterwards or emailing us asking questions and stuff. We started a support group where we met in Jeremy's living room at his house here in Vancouver and we had, you know, five or 6-10 people show up for that and they were talking about growing, different products that they were using. People were concerned of course, because the high prices of cannabis especially in Washington with the excise tax on to it. Patients said, some things worked, some things didn't. Sometimes dispensaries ran out of products that worked and so they were trying to deal with all these issues as a medical cannabis patient. We thought “well, that would be a good thing to be able to offer the people consistent information on taking medical cannabis. We wanted to educate patients and the dispensary owners about what patients need, policy makers, and health care providers, as to what info to provide to patients.”

That then evolved into us finding a space in a cannabidiol (CBD) store here in Vancouver, an American Shaman store that was run by a person who was open to having educational talks. For almost three years we did that. And that gained a lot of energy. We thought well, maybe we should start a nonprofit and pull this together and organize it. On the board we'll have all these people that have been coming in and classes and specialists and talking Jeremy and myself. Carol Stiff, who was the first person in 2017 in the class that told me about all other experts in the area. And then we got Tom Laureman on the board and we got connected with people like Victoria Star who was a pharmacist, and she was getting her secondary degree at the University of Maryland, in cannabis pharmacology. She's not on the board but she was a consultant for us. Then people like Megan Marchetti, who was one of the original founders of NORML in Oregon and ran a dispensary, she managed Oregon's Finest. We had this wealth of knowledge that we could use to educate the public and health care providers about medical cannabis.

We’ve been doing that for about three years now and been teaching classes and writing blogs and a monthly newsletter and things like that. Again, with the purpose of to help people decrease their suffering, right. It's to provide alternatives to the traditional medicine approaches that have limited benefit for chronic diseases as we know. Cannabinoids can be a mono therapy, can replace, in many cases, a lot of the medications, pharmaceutical that patients are taking. There's documentary on Prime Video called “Unprescribed” about veterans I just saw, that was just stunning. We've been giving talks to veteran’s groups for a while. We'll talk about that later, but the fact that veterans can replace 9 to 15 pharmaceutical medications by taking regular doses of different types of cannabis, is just stunning. Sanjay Gupta said it doesn't work for everybody but when it does it’s great, and it’s harm reduction, it saves people's lives. In the words of the veterans’ families in this documentary called “Unprescribed,” highly recommend it, it turned them from zombies into regular human beings. As Jeremy was talking about, all the medications that he was taking that were prescribed, had some benefit during the early part of recovery, eventually turns people into walking side effect factories and they can't think clearly. The personal testimony was just stunning. And then of course, Sue Sisley’s talking about her research. She reports that only two drugs have been approved for post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) and they only have 20% efficacy. So, all that gives us scientific and ethical grounds to go out and do outreach reach, talk with people, teach classes. And people are stunned by the information. They say, well, no one ever told us this.




 Can you share a little bit on how you use cannabis now to treat your symptoms?



 The big thing that I've been prescribed cannabis for over time is for spasms. For spinal cord injuries, depending on the type of injury that you have, most folks that have what they call an incomplete injury, so that means the spinal vertebrae isn't completely severed, but probably just damaged. They still have some messages that get through. The problem though is that those messages get kind of jumbled up and they don't quite know how to read those messages. What happens in the body is it kind of gets short circuited and it causes muscle spasms, and the spasms can be really debilitating. I experience them in my legs, which aren't too bad. But I experience them in my abdomen and my arms, my forearms in particular. If they are severe, depending on – there's a bunch of different factors that can go into the severity of them, but if they're really bad, I can't move, I can't do anything and so cannabis helps to calm those spasms down. Logically as a result of having muscle spasms all the time, it leads to pain. Cannabis also helps with pain on some level or another. And then, for me sleep is always an issue and so getting enough cannabis in me, so that it calms my body down so that I could sleep is a really big thing.

I used concentrates pretty exclusively for the last seven years and by that, I mean BHO or butane hash oil. I smoked a gram a day I was able to produce it myself. I bought a closed loop system and got training from Skunk Farms in 2013, so a decade ago, a long time ago when it was actually still legal, there were no laws that said they couldn’t do the stuff, I on my back porch, started making cannabis oil. I also learned how to do alcohol extraction on the part of that and so those alcohol extracts are what they call RSO or FECO, full extract cannabis oil. About a half a gram of FECO a night is what really helps to keep my spasms at bay and help me sleep and then during the day I vaporize cannabis.

Up until this last year I was using hash oil or dabs. It's complicated to make them now. I'm not a fan of rosin and so I harvested this last year, I just decided that I was going to smoke flower and so I smoked flower every day. I smoke about four grams of flower every day. So about an ounce a week or four ounces to a quarter pound of flower a month.

I would say that this is really like it's taken me a while to kind of figure out this protocol and really like what works. There are some specific terpenes that I look for in the flowers that I either produce for myself or I procure, and the biggest one is humulene. Humulene is related to hops and that really just helps to calm things down, particularly the spasms, and so that's really what I focus on doing, either finding cultivars that have that or growing cultivars that have that.

Cannabis works really well for most people with spinal cord injuries. I would say probably like 95% of the people that are paralyzed and have spinal cord injuries. When they use cannabis in one form or another, really experience the benefits from that. Because we live on the West Coast and there's so many novel forms of consumption that you can access, it's really great. I really like transdermal patches and I would use transdermal patches every day if I could find them wholesale or cheap enough to make it worthwhile. I think most patients would do that as well. Especially being paralyzed you can just put one of these things on and basically forget about it. You're not having to smoke something. That's also a real challenge for people that have high levels of injuries, like they literally can't light a lighter, they literally can't pack a bowl and so the alternatives for them were pretty bleak for a while again, technology has caught up. There are these awesome things that are called disposable vape pens, and you literally just suck on it and you get that cannabis oil and it helps tremendously. I use a vape pen at night and whenever I'm traveling or something like that. I've used all sorts of products, I've used pretty much everything with the exception of suppositories and the reason for that is because they give people with spinal cord injury suppositories to go to the bathroom, and so it wouldn't make a lot of sense if I was using that as just to get medical relief. However, I have at least three friends that I know of that use suppositories on a regular basis, cannabis suppositories, and I have consulted on how to make it for them. It's a big world of cannabis out there and so what I encourage people to do is to slowly but surely figure out what works for them. What last the longest, of course, are edible and/or oral products like FECO, but what is most convenient and what works the fastest are vaporized products like dabs and flower and vape pens. So that's it. That's what we use all day every day.

Videos

Join us for part II of this multipart interview series as we go in-depth into the accomplishments and goals of the non-profit, Cannabis Patients Pacific Northwest.

 (CSC), the premier cannabis science conference event focusing on analytical science, medical cannabis, and cultivation, announced today the addition of a new track focused on compliance. The track will be chaired by Kim Stuck, founder and CEO of Allay Consulting, a compliance strategy and services provider serving the hemp and cannabis industries nationwide.

Kim Stuck, founder and CEO of Allay Consulting.

Stuck’s background on compliance makes her uniquely qualified to run this new track. She brings a regulator’s keen eye and wide-reaching knowledge on evolving compliance and safety mandates to support businesses in tightly regulated industries. Previously, Ms. Stuck held a pioneering role as the nation’s first cannabis and hemp specialist for a major metropolitan public health authority. During her tenure with the City of Denver, home to hundreds of cannabis businesses, she worked as an investigator covering cultivation, manufacturing, and retail. Her duties included facility inspections; conducting investigations into improper pesticide use and worker safety; creating regulations; instituting recalls; and public outreach. In addition to serving on several industry advisory boards, she has been a member of ASTM International’s cannabis standards committee since its 2017 inception. Stuck is also a regular writer for 

“Kim Stuck was a natural choice for this track and we are thrilled to have her on board,” said Meg L’Heureux, spokesperson for CSC, and the group editorial director of 

magazines. “Kansas City is in a great position as an emerging market in the cannabis space, but with that comes the need for education and lessons from experienced professionals—that’s what our conference brings to the table and what sets it apart from the rest!”

CSC is also excited to announce that several program chairs from 2023 will be returning for the 2024 events: Analytical chair Dr. Julie Kowalski, a technical consultant serving the cannabis and hemp testing markets; Cultivation chair Dr. Zacariah L. Hildenbrand, who sits on the Editorial Advisory Board of 

; and Medical chair Cherissa Jackson, who served 23 years of active-duty military service with 10 years as a US Air Force Nurse.

The conference is accepting abstract submissions for both 

 submissions through January 10, 2024. Please visit the 

Cannabis Science Conference Spring 2024 will take place May 7-9, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri and feature four dedicated tracks–analytical science, medical cannabis, cultivation, and compliance. 

Cannabis Science Conference Spring Heads to Kansas City, Missouri in 2024 Along with New Compliance Track

On November 21, 2023, The Cannabist Company, which is one of the biggest retailers, cultivators, and manufacturers located within the US, disclosed that they have formed a new partnership with Airo, a company that specializes in vaporizer products (1).

With this new partnership, The Cannabist Company will begin selling Airo’s inhalation brand products in their three Columbia Care dispensaries located in Delaware (1). According to a recent press release, The Cannabist Company will begin to list Airo’s products in their wholesale channels “in the coming weeks” (1). The Cannabist Company will also offer their new partner’s merchandise in their dispensary network within the next few months. This includes locations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia, pending regulatory approval (1).

“Airo is one of the most recognized and innovative vaporization brands, and we are thrilled to bring their high-performance vaporizers and unique oils into our dispensaries. Their products, which offer a consistent and intuitive experience, align perfectly with our mission to provide unmatched, superior quality for anyone who walks into our dispensaries,” Jesse Channon, The Cannabist Company’s Chief Commercial Officer, commented (1). “We are excited to bring these amazing products to additional markets as we continue to meet the expanding needs of our patients and customers as the cannabis industry grows and evolves.”

“We’re excited to be able to provide Delaware with our quality products and couldn’t have found a better partner than The Cannabist Company. The quality experience provided by their dispensaries are a great match with Airo,” said Richard Yost, CEO, Airo Brands (1).

Among their current merchandise line, Airo will be launching their new premium vapor systems and AiroPod cartridge oil formulations (1). The vapor systems will include the AiroSport, AiroX Disposable, and AiroPro. In regard to their cartridge oil formulations, Airo will be debuting Live Flower Series, Artisan Series, and their Strain Series. The company’s press release mentioned that the Strain Series will comprise of Northern Lights Indica, Cherry AK Sativa, and Blue Dream Hybrid (1). For Airo’s Artisan Series, they will carry Mystical Melody Hybrid, Midnight Moon Indica, and Black Mamba Sativa. Lastly, Airo’s Live Flower Series will include Lemon Jet Fuel Gelato Indica, Jack Fruit Sativa, and Gelonade Hybrid (1).

The Cannabist Company Announces New Multi-State Retail and Wholesale Partnership with Leading Vaporizer Brand, Airo 

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231121731537/en/The-Cannabist-Company-Announces-New-Multi-State-Retail-and-Wholesale-Partnership-with-Leading-Vaporizer-Brand-Airo

Airo and The Cannabist Company have announced their new multi-state retail and wholesale partnership.

The Cannabist Company Reports New Partnership with Airo

Historical references to the use of cannabis to treat animals tend to focus on horses. In a recent paper in 

by De Briyne and colleagues (1), they state: “[Ancient] Greek writers reported the use of cannabis for dressing sores and wounds in humans and horses,” and “until relatively recently, cannabis was found in a large number of veterinary medications designed to treat colic, spasmodic colon, and other ailments in equine patients.”

In more recent times, clinical studies of the pharmacology, safety, and efficacy of cannabis for animals tend to be conducted mostly on dogs. The research in this area shows that when compared to studies of other animal species, dogs have a higher density of CB1 receptors in their cerebellum. This makes dogs more sensitive to the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Furthermore, dogs metabolize cannabinoids differently than humans, and researchers still don’t know which cannabis metabolites are active for dogs. As a result, most cannabis therapeutics for pets focus on cannabinol (CBD) rather than THC. Finally, the few clinical studies that have been performed on dogs generally examine the use of CBD to treat osteoarthritis or epilepsy, and the studies tend to find CBD to be effective in treating these conditions (1,2).

More generally, CBD may provide benefits for dogs and other animals in the treatment of, for example (3):

When it comes to cannabis and animals, the European Union (EU), Canada, and the United States (US) all distinguish between two primary uses of cannabis for animals, either as a source of nutritional benefits or as a source of therapeutic benefits. Let’s take a closer look at each of those uses.

On the one hand, hemp seed products provide nutritional benefits when used in animal food and livestock feed.

The EU, Canada, and the US all recognize this potential. At the same time, however, an overriding concern is the potential for people to become “unintentionally exposed” to cannabinoids used for animals “through meat, milk and eggs”(4). Consequently, both Canada (1) and the US (4) prohibit using hemp products in livestock feed. In contrast, the EU does allow the use of hemp seed products in animal feed as a source of “crude protein and essential fats” (1).

On the other hand, cannabinoids (such as CBD and THC) have the potential to provide therapeutic benefits when used in health and wellness products.

In the EU, despite a lack of government approval of any cannabis animal products for therapeutic uses, many companies are currently selling such products with wellness claims (1):

There are many companies in the EU marketplace today selling ‘nutritional supplement’ cannabis-derived products for dogs, cats, and horses, some of which make what clearly appear to be therapeutic feed claims. These products are being promoted as aids for itching, anxiety, nausea, poor appetite, seizures, cancer, digestive problems, inflammation, immune disease, and reduced mobility due to joint pain in animals. It is against the law to make therapeutic feed claims about nutritional products.

None of these products are approved for therapeutic use; so, legally, veterinarians cannot “offer scientific advice on the effectiveness of a nutritional product to treat a disease” (1). Presumably, the government is simply not enforcing the laws regarding wellness claims in marketing. It’s not clear whether or not the government is enforcing laws against veterinarian advocacy for these products either.

Canada allows cannabis-derived veterinary health products (VHPs) only when derived from the seeds of the plant and when containing minimal amounts (< 10 ppm (mg/kg)) of THC (1). Notably, by precluding use of hemp flower products, the Canadian government is also limiting the amount of CBD that can be cost effectively included in cannabis VHPs.

Regardless of the recognized potential for cannabis’s therapeutic benefits, the fear that human food products may be contaminated through animal consumption of cannabis has led to a ban on their use in the US (1): “Accordingly, as of this writing [2021], there are no hemp- or marijuana-derived foods, drugs, or supplements approved for use in animals in the US.” Furthermore, the position of the American Veterinary Medical Association (2) is that there is not enough scientific evidence to support any therapeutic benefits of CBD for dogs (3). Nevertheless, some US states have passed laws loosening the federal restrictions on cannabis pet products (1).

Veterinarian laws in the US ban veterinarians from prescribing cannabis products for animals. At the same time, however, “veterinarians may be permitted to discuss cannabis with pet owners or recommend cannabis to companion animals, depending on state law.” Yet, laws vary dramatically by state, “and there could be real consequences for veterinarians who run afoul of these laws, including a loss of their DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] registration. Before discussing cannabis with clients, veterinarians should ensure they are aware of all relevant information in the state where they practice.” As a point of clarification, cannabis-derived products for pets are illegal, which means veterinarians cannot sell these products. Yet, recommending cannabis products for pets is not against the law (4) (see 

Despite tight international laws on the use of cannabis products for animals, the market for CBD products for pets is relatively large and quickly growing. Grand View Research reported (5) that in 2022 global CBD pet products generated $196 million in sales, and the market “is expected to grow at a lucrative compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.8% from 2023 to 2030.” The report further indicates that the largest market segments were as follows (5):

The largest revenue share by pet type was that for dogs, since they have a larger pet population and a larger number of medical applications, including osteoarthritis, hip dysplasia, and chronic diseases.

The largest revenue share by indication was joint pain, accounting for more than 20% of the market. At the same time, the fastest growth rate (more than 31%) is expected for anxiety and stress.

The largest purchase venue (more than 42%) was online.

The largest purchase region (more than 40%) was North America.

Surveys of pet owners and veterinarians indicate that CBD use in pets has largely been driven by pet owners and CBD companies (6–8). Notably, most pet owners who use CBD for their pets also use CBD themselves (8), and their motivations for using CBD products rather than more traditional veterinary products is that they believe CBD is more natural and more effective (9). Most users are using CBD products to treat veterinarian-diagnosed problems, but they did not generally start using CBD products on the recommendations of their veterinarians, and they’re not necessarily discussing their use of CBD products on their pets with their veterinarians (6–8). The most common conditions being treated with CBD include seizures, cancer, anxiety, and arthritis(7).

In short, these surveys are showing that therapeutic cannabis use by pets is similar to therapeutic cannabis use by people in that:

Cannabis use for both people and pets is not uncommon even when it’s not legal

Cannabis is being used to treat similar types of health problems in both people and pets

Cannabis use for both people and pets is often not being discussed with doctors

Finally, most pet owners purchase their pet products online, or alternatively in pet stores, and most pet owners feel they lack sufficient information on appropriate CBD usage and dosing for their pets (6).

In 2019, Lori Kogan and Regina Schoenfeld-Tacher published an insightful survey of US veterinarians on their experiences with cannabis for pets (10). In states that have legalized recreational cannabis use, more than 60% of veterinarians receive daily or weekly inquiries from pet owners about CBD for pets. In non-legal states, that frequency drops to less than 25%. The most common condition for which pet owners seek advice is pain, but inquiries about CBD for anxiety and seizures are also common.

Of course, over time veterinarians have become more comfortable—relatively speaking—in discussing cannabis use for pets. Yet, while a larger majority of veterinarians (roughly 70%) feel comfortable discussing CBD for pets with other veterinarians, a smaller minority (roughly 55%) feel comfortable discussing it with patients. In fact, only about one in four of veterinarians will “advise” clients about CBD use for their pets, less than one in five veterinarians will recommend CBD, and less than one in 10 will prescribe CBD. The reasons given for not advising, recommending, or prescribing cannabis was (in decreasing frequency): lack of knowledge by veterinarians, lack of CBD efficacy, lack of legality, and potential toxicity.

While most veterinarians have little clinical experience with CBD products for pets, most perceive it as being very or somewhat helpful for a variety of conditions, including pain, anxiety, seizures, storm or firework phobia, motion sickness, and vomiting. Yet, a majority of veterinarians feel their state veterinary organizations have not provided them with sufficient guidance on the use of CBD or cannabis for pets for them to feel comfortable practicing within state or federal laws.

In 2022 cannabis products were listed on the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (ASPCA’s) top 10 list of pet toxins for the first time, coming in at number 10 (11). Importantly, it was noted by Brutlag and Hommerding (12) that “ingestion or inhalation of THC carries a high morbidity but low mortality rate.” As we might expect, two-thirds (66%) of calls to the Pet Poison Helpline involve pets eating edibles (12).

Nancy De Briyne and colleagues provide a wealth of information regarding marijuana toxicosis in pets (1): In addition to THC, other ingredients in cannabis products, including chocolate, raisins, or xylitol, may cause problems for pets. At the same time, CBD products may also be toxic, especially if they contain products other than CBD. The onset of signs of cannabis toxicosis in dogs typically occurs within 30–90 minutes of exposure and can last up to 96 hours. The most common signs of excess cannabis exposure in dogs and cats include:

The authors state (1): “Because no antidote has been described to date, the treatment of cannabis toxicosis consists of supportive care. Because of the wide margin of safety of most known cannabinoids, toxicosis is rarely fatal.” And finally, “Recovery may take 24 to 72 h, or longer (up to 5 days), depending on the ingested dose.”

Documented early historical use, together with more recently established mechanisms of action, support clear applications for using cannabis to treat pets. And given the prevalence of pets in society (more than half of Americans own cats or dogs) and the devotion of owners towards their pets (in 2022 owners spent roughly $125 billion on their pets) (13), it’s no surprise that owners are preempting both the laws and their doctors’ ability to guide them in treating pets with CBD. It’s also no surprise that early users of CBD for pets are owners who have used CBD for themselves.

The biggest threat cannabis poses for pets appears to be the same as that for children: unwitting consumption of THC products, which may cause cannabis toxicosis. The good news, though, is that most accidental overdoses are temporary in nature, with no long-lasting effects. Similarly, the biggest challenge cannabis poses for pet patients appears to be the same as that for human patients: having the laws and doctor education catch up to human and pet use.

De Briyne, N., et al, Cannabis, Cannabidiol Oils and Tetrahydrocannabinol—What Do Veterinarians Need to Know? 

https://www.avma.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/APH-CannabisResources-Report-20201207.pdf

Morrison, B.J., CBD Oil for Dogs: What You Need to Know. 

https://www.petmd.com/dog/general-health/CBD-for-dogs-what-you-need-to-know

Wightman, C., Recommending CBD and Hemp Products for Pets: Legal Considerations for Veterinarians. 

https://vicentellp.com/insights/recommending-cbd-and-hemp-products-for-pets-legal-considerations-for-veterinarians/

CBD Pet Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Animal Type (Dogs, Cats), By Indication (Joint Pain, Anxiety/Stress, General Health/Wellness), By Distribution Channel, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 – 2030. 

https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/cannabidiol-pet-market

Alvarenga, I.C., et al, Assessment of cannabidiol use in pets according to a national survey in the USA. 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jsap.13619

Kogan, L.R., et al, Consumers’ Perceptions of Hemp Products for Animals. 

https://calmhorseacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/CBD-fuer-Pferde-Pferdepellets-erfahrungen.pdf

Dorbian, I., Pet CBD Product Sales Estimated to Rack Up $629 Million This Year, Says New Report. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/irisdorbian/2021/05/05/pet-cbd-product-...ed-to-rack-up-629-million-this-year-says-new-report/?sh=41a8ed12298e

Wallace, J.E., et al, Motivations and expectations for using cannabis products to treat pain in humans and dogs: a mixed methods study. 

https://jcannabisresearch.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42238-020-00045-x

Kogan, L., et al, US Veterinarians’ Knowledge, Experience, and Perception Regarding the Use of Cannabidiol for Canine Medical Conditions. 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330288361

https://www.aspca.org/news/official-top-10-pet-toxins-2022

Brutlag, A., and Hommerding, H., Toxicology of Marijuana, Synthetic Cannabinoids, and Cannabidiol in Dogs and Cats. 

https://mybestbudca.com/wp-content/uploads/1-s2.0-S0195561618300871-main.pdf

Sprinkle, D., The US pet market: an update. 

https://globalpetindustry.com/article/us-pet-market-update

, is a systems design researcher and analyst. She analyzes markets to determine how environments shape outcomes. She is co-founder of CannDynamics, and author of The Medical Cannabis Primer and Winning the Hardware-Software Game: Using Game Theory to Optimize the Pace of New Technology Adoption. Dr. Fisher has worked in the technology and healthcare sectors on behalf of technology companies, early-stage researchers, physicians, and technology start-ups.

This blog installment looks at the use of cannabis for pets. Topics covered include the history of cannabis use in veterinary medicine, current laws on cannabis for pets, market size and segment, reported experiences from both pet owners and veterinarians, and pet toxicology. 

Overview of Cannabis for Pets

Medical cannabis research and cultivation company, Organic Remedies, located in south central Pennsylvania, raised $62,250 for the Pennsylvania Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (PA CASA) (1). To help grow and link local CASA programs, PA CASA was formed as a state-wide nonprofit (1). The organization’s goal is to provide forever homes, safety, and well-being to children that have been affected by neglect and abuse in the state of Pennsylvania (1).

According to a recent press release (1), Organic Remedies held their second annual golf tournament on September 15, 2023 at the Carlisle Country Club. The funds were raised via registrations and various other golf activities. The event was attended by over 100 golfers (1). Attendees included representatives from the medical cannabis industry and business partners who took part in the golf tournament. Organic Remedies raised triple of the amount given in the previous year. PA CASA received Organic Remedies donation on November 3, 2023 at the Carlisle Country Club located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania (1).

“No child living on this earth should ever have to fear their life at home, questioning whether they will eat that day and/or be abused by family members. We are proud to support PA CASA in aiding children and giving them the chance to have a better life. We hope that our contribution can advance training and create new programs to help children secure a safe and permanent home,” said Mark Toigo, CEO, Organic Remedies (1).

"We are more than grateful for Organic Remedies and their significant contribution to support our mission ‘to grow, strengthen, and unite local CASA programs so they can ensure the safety, well-being, and forever home for every abused and/or neglected child in Pa.’ With 21 local programs serving 28 counties across the state, there is still much work to be done, and this donation will go a long way in advancing our training and creating new programs in Pennsylvania,” Jennifer DeBalko, CEO and President, PA Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (PA CASA), commented (1). “Thank you, Organic Remedies.”

Organic Remedies. Organic Remedies Donates $62,250 to Support Pennsylvania Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children 

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/11/21/2783967/0/en/Organic-Remedies-Donates-62-250-to-Support-Pennsylvania-Court-Appointed-Special-Advocates-for-Children.html#:~:text=CARLISLE%2C%20Pa.%2C%20Nov.,Appointed%20Special%20Advocates%20for%20Children

Organic Remedies held their second annual Pennsylvania Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (PA CASA) golf tournament where the donations raised went to the state-wide nonprofit.

Pennsylvania Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children Receive Donation from Organic Remedies

Based on data collected in August 2023, a recently published report from the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) revealed the types of contaminants found in a sample of medical cannabis products (1). The 49-page report, titled “Harmful Contaminants in Maine’s Medical Cannabis Program,” was the first time the OCP assessed Maine’s medical cannabis supply in this manner, and in addition to providing data to the ongoing discussions around mandatory cannabis testing, it also aimed to explain some of the challenges in Maine’s medical program (1). Medical cannabis became legal in Maine in 1999 (1).

“The information and findings in OCP’s report will help to inform policy discussions involving medical cannabis testing by bringing data and science to this discussion,” stated John Hudak, Director of the OCP (2). “Our primary goal is to protect and empower patients, and we remain concerned that the lack of mandatory testing in Maine’s medical cannabis program puts the state’s 106,000 medical cannabis patients at risk each day of complicating their medical conditions and experiencing symptoms of contamination that can be mistaken for symptoms associated with their condition. This data indicate that Maine’s medical cannabis program needs a comprehensive solution to reform and modernize the system in order to protect Maine’s patients.”

For the report, OCP field investigators collected a total of 120 samples, which were tested at certified and licensed state testing facilities for potency, heavy metals, microbials, and yeast and mold (1). The fail rate for the 101 flower samples was 44.6%, while 42% of all samples contained at least one contaminant (1). Some products failed multiple categories or multiple analytes within a category (1). The findings also included (1):

30 individual samples failed for yeast and mold (25.0% of all samples)

21 individual samples failed for pesticides (17.5% of all samples)

3 individual samples failed for heavy metals (2.5% of all samples)

1 individual sample failed for filth and foreign materials (0.8% of all samples)

The analyte categories for these medical cannabis product tests were the same ones used for adult use products (1). Testing of medical cannabis products in Maine is voluntary, though it is mandatory for the state’s adult use cannabis products (1). The OCP does not have the authority to seize contaminated medical cannabis (1).

, including health effects of contaminants, certificate of analysis examples from the tests, and recommended policy changes from the OCP.

Harmful contaminants in Maine’s medical cannabis program 

https://www.maine.gov/dafs/ocp/sites/maine.gov.dafs.ocp/files/inline-files/OCP%20Fall%202023%20Medical%20Testing%20Report.pdf

Office of Cannabis Policy Report Identifies Harmful Contaminants in 42% of Samples Collected from Maine’s Medical Cannabis Program. 

A new report highlights the occurrence of contaminants in medical cannabis products within the state.

The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy Publishes Report on Contaminants in Medical Cannabis 

Hawaii is looking to add themselves to the map and become one of the next states to legalize recreational cannabis in the US. Anne Lopez, the Attorney General of Hawaii, is looking to create a path for the legalization of recreational cannabis which will help “overcome hurdles that have blocked legalization for years,” according to 

At this current time, medical cannabis is legal in the state of Hawaii and can only be purchased at a medical cannabis dispensary (1). With Lopez’s plan, it would help to inspire a retail cannabis industry and still help to protect medical dispensaries (1). House Judiciary Chair David Tarnas, is intrigued and supportive of Lopez’s endeavor. “The attorney general has done a really good job pulling together all of the different input and providing a comprehensive bill,” Tarnas commented (1).

Previously the Attorney General’s office has not supported recreational cannabis legalization, as seen in the last legistlative session (1). Lawmakers have encouraged Anne Lopez and her office to finally support the medicinal plant. 

 described Lopez’s recreational cannabis legalization proposal, which is 294 pages, mentioning that it, “includes a 10% tax surcharge on top of the 4.25% excise tax on adult use marijuana, offers currently Illegal growers a path to joining the legal industry while beefing up law enforcement, and bolsters health education programs to protect young people,” (1).

According to State Senator Jarrett Keohokalole, Consumer Protection chair, he described Lopez’s proposal as, “the best version to date. And part of it is the efforts to try and address a lot of the issues that came up along the way,” (1).

“The most important thing we can do is we can bring the people who have been growing and selling marijuana illegally into the legal market,” Lopez explained (1).

Hawaii’s proposed program resembles the framework seen in Massachusetts (1). For example, in Massachusetts, the state offers a “social equity program” which provides illegal growers in the industry a support system to join a retail model that would include items such as, taxes and regulation, and lastly the state would be able to offer them grants (1).

If recreational cannabis becomes legalized, it will be regulated and overseen by the Hawaii Cannabis Authority (1).

Huff, D. Hawaii Attorney General Issues Clear Roadmap for Legalizing Recreational Marijuana 

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/11/18/hawaii-attorney-general-issues-clear-roadmap-legalizing-recreational-marijuana/

Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez is working to organize a pathway towards recreational cannabis legalization.

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