I hope everybody is having a great, long Freedom Weekend! Holidays are usually slow but we managed to scrounge up some NEWS for ya:
Virginia
The kewlest thing I found this week was an article about Sanyal Biotecnologies, the Virginia lab that scored a license from the DEA to import cannabinoids for general research purposes. Interesting notes from this piece:
- Sanyal can only import cannabinoids, not marijuana flower, so they're limited to testing extracts. Any research is a step in the right direction, but this is a bad limitation considering the plant's benefits come from the interactions of a full spectrum of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds
- Import can only come from countries that have federally legalized cannabis, like Israel and Canada, or from the much-derided NIDA facility at University of Mississippi; they can't use weed from Virginia's medical program for research purposes. That's downright silly.
- they're currently fundraising to build another lab in Norfolk and have already been approached by investors. Which is exactly what I'd be doing if I had an ultra-rare federal weed license. It's a simple equation: license equals money squared. I'll just pick up my Nobel Prize on Tuesday, eh? the course focuses on medical cannabis science, therapeutics, and policy
WTKR has a "what you need to know about VA's weed program" article but it could be presented a little more succinctly and a little less of gLeaf's CEO talking smack about his hemp competitor's products.
Maryland
Now if you want some real crunch, check outthis article from Lancaster Farming about MD's hemp laws. Here's what caught my eye:
- first, MD law HB 1123 (which went into effect 6/1/19) explicitly makes hemp extracts and derivatives legal. So vapes and wax are totes legit now instead of gray area "meh" legit. I'd expect tinctures, too, but not sure about edibles. We'll see what the FDA comes up with there.
- the USDA has still not published the criteria of an acceptable Hemp Production Plan, but should do so later this year
- HB 1123 allows any farmer that meets the state's program criteria (TBD pending fed guidelines) to produce hemp, which I love. FREE MARKET WEED, BABY! That's how it's supposed to be. Limited licensing is Big Gov picking winners, full stop. I think if you're tall enough to ride, you should be allowed to strap in & give her a whirl. Admittedly, I see very little harm in "too much pot being produced."
Oh, is some of it getting diverted to, say, Wisconsin? Sure. Did Wisconsin not have weed before? Of course they did. Are high schoolers getting pot? Well, that's news indeed, I'd have never…
Washington DC
I'm curious about this article from WaPo about a murder near U St that occurred this past Sunday. Let's go step by step:
"Police said they found marijuana in the suspect’s apartment on the same block as the killing." K, here's our weed tie-in. Go on…
"Payne feared he was going to be robbed during the meeting with two men and brought along a friend, who sat in the passenger seat of the vehicle. They were directed to an alley between the 1400 blocks of W and V streets."
Ok, neon sign flashing DRUG DEAL, continue...
"The passenger told police that Payne got out and argued with one of the men. He said it appeared that man tried to grab Payne’s Gucci bag…Police allege Garmany pointed a gun at Payne, who fought back. The passenger told police he got out of the vehicle with his gun."
Two points about the robbery description to point out: the passenger came packing and the victim didn't just bring a bag, he stepped out of the car with it to engage the guy about to rob him.
"The passenger said he heard Payne say “that his child was in the car,” the affidavit says."
This is what I don't get. If you're worried enough to strap and bring your crew, why the H-E-double hockey sticks are you bringing your kid along?
Since the story doesn't mention how much weed the suspect had in his apartment, we can't make a solid guess as to whether it's related to I71. I expect not, however. The details here sound like a private deal gone bad which may have incidentally been for weed but could have been anything.