In the days of the Armada, a fleet of warships, the scuttlebutt was the rumor or gossip that would spread throughout the ship. Today, Armada Law Corp presents The Scuttlebutt, a daily summery of news articles that people within the cannabis, hemp and plant medicine industries are chatting about along with links to the full articles.
In today’s news:
#californiacannabis – “Two Los Angeles cannabis companies behind the Stiiizy brand have deceived consumers by overstating the amount of THC contained in its prerolled cigarettes, violating California state law, according to a proposed class action filed in State Superior Court in Los Angeles County.
Consumers struck Ironworks Collective Inc. and Stiiizy LLC with the lawsuit on Tuesday, saying the companies knew their products didn’t contain the levels of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, that the packaging claimed and inflated the numbers understanding that buyers would pay more for higher concentrations of the drug to obtain its “psychological and medicinal” effects.
“Moreover, as one of the largest players in California’s cannabis industry, [the] defendants are aware of industry trends, aware of the rampant testing fraud in the cannabis market, and know which labs participate in the fraud,” the complaint said. Accordingly, the companies “are intentionally and knowingly causing the THC content declared on the label of their products to be substantially, and systematically, overstated, either by misstating the results themselves or by intentionally and knowingly causing testing labs, which are their agents, to report fraudulently high THC content results.””
#cannabisindustry – “In a new report, Whitney Economics assesses that the total output of cannabis cultivated in the U.S. exceeds 48.8 million pounds.
The figure from the 2022 U.S. Cannabis Supply Report includes cannabis in both the legal and illicit markets and covers all product types, such as flower, concentrates and edibles.
Beau Whitney, founder and chief economist at Whitney Economics, said total supply is up slightly from 2021. This year’s supply pretty closely matches the demand, he said.”
#cannabispolitics – “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) took to the Senate floor on Wednesday, gloating about how Republicans managed to keep marijuana banking reform out of a large-scale defense bill that was released on Tuesday night. And he said the “lesson must carry over” to forthcoming omnibus appropriations legislation that some lawmakers are now looking at as an alternative way to enact the cannabis reform.
Separately, a Democratic House member said on Wednesday that the fact that cannabis banking wasn’t included in NDAA meant that “at least” one Democratic senator “had a problem” with the reform as well.
Advocates and pro-reform lawmakers have expressed serious disappointment about the setback, as there were strong hopes that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would serve as the legislative vehicle to finally enact the SAFE Banking Act, which has passed in the House seven times.”
#psychedelics – “Psychedelics are reported to have rapid-onset and long-lasting therapeutic benefits after a single or few doses. Sustained (1 year or more) clinical benefits have been reported in depression and smoking cessation studies after just two or three doses of psilocybin combined with psychotherapy (1, 2). By contrast, conventional medications for neuropsychiatric disorders take days to weeks to begin working and need to be taken daily over prolonged periods and sometimes indefinitely. Other potential applications for psychedelics include treatment of cancer-related anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, headache disorders, and phantom limb syndrome. Although arguably paradigm shifting, a number of unanswered questions remain about psychedelics as medicines, including the definition of a psychedelic drug, the mechanism of therapeutic effects, optimizing clinical benefit, and verifying safety.”
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn5486
#psychedelics – “The push to legalize psychedelic drugs is gaining momentum in states across the country, with a sevenfold increase in the number of decriminalization bills since 2019, new research shows.
Researchers identified 74 bills and referendums in 25 states introduced during the study period that either sought to reform existing laws and expand access to psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin (psychedelic mushrooms) and 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or proposed further research into decriminalization.”
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/985200
#californiacannabis – “Unlike what happened in New York, a U.S district judge in Los Angeles refused to halt a scheduled lottery for social equity cannabis licenses in the city.
Kenneth Gay, the owner of Variscite Inc., filed suit against the city of Los Angeles claiming that the city’s regulatory scheme violates the U.S. Constitution’s dormant commerce clause. The L.A. social equity program – and most of its marijuana business licensing to date – has focused on those with cannabis criminal convictions, but it also excludes anyone who doesn’t have such a record from within California and specific “disproportionately impacted areas” in the state.
In her opinion on Thursday, Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett noted that Gay’s request for an injunction did not meet the standard of preventing “irreparable harm” if the lottery were to proceed.
“Plaintiffs’ argument that they will suffer irreparable harm are based on their speculation that they would be able to successfully enter the commercial retail cannabis market, establish a loyal customer base, and make a profit,” Garnett wrote. “Thus … the Plaintiffs’ monetary losses associated with the challenged provisions are purely speculative and insufficient.””
https://www.greenmarketreport.com/judge-declines-to-stop-l-a-social-equity-lottery/