A Weekly Roundup of Stories We Found Interesting – From The Profound To The Profane

The 2018 Farm Bill Could Make Hemp the Next Tobacco
U.S. Congress is expected to pass the 2018 Farm Bill with a provision that would define industrial hemp a regular agricultural crop, clarifying the legal status of extracts and allowing hemp growers to buy federally-subsidized crop insurance. Hemp’s inclusion in the Farm Bill was sponsored by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the chamber’s majority leader.

Medical Cannabis Dispensaries Have Arrived in Iowa
Iowa is now home to five medical marijuana dispensaries. They were approved under a law passed last March, permitting the sale of specific cannabis-derived products to those suffering from qualifying conditions including untreatable pain, side effects of cancer, seizures, ALS, and others. Approximately 500 Iowa residents have received their medical marijuana cards and can now buy three types of medical cannabidiol (CBD): gel capsules, tinctures, and creams.

Will Legal Recreational Weed Kill Off the Medical Cannabis Market?
In Canada, not only are many patients still anxious to involve a physician in their therapeutic use of the drug — the tidal wave of publicity around the recreational change has peaked interest in using it as a treatment. Also, the medical cannabis industry is now also branching out into the recreational market.

5 Reasons Why You Should Keep Your Medical Marijuana Card in Massachusetts
The price-conscious among us might balk at springing for the $100 to $200 in annual fees required to maintain patient status. But consider this: although recreational purchases in Massachusetts will be taxed at a rate of 17 to 20 percent (depending on local regulations), medical marijuana purchases are completely tax free.

Korea Reports 300% Surge in Pot Smuggling from North America
Prior to legalization, Canada’s cannabis market produced around 80,000 kilos per year for around 200,000 medical marijuana patients. In 2017, the Canadian Parliamentary Budget Office issued a report stating that by 2018 Canadians would consume up to 655,000 kilos of cannabis and that by 2021, that figure could rise to 734,000 kilos per year, catering for more than 5 million cannabis users.

Predictions For Cannabis 2019 From Entrepreneurs on The Front Lines
Entrepreneurs in the industry cite new ways to invest, better testing and the continued explosion of CBD products as some of the biggest trends. Still, the industry is fundamentally selling a product that is federally illegal, so the biggest question on everyone’s mind is : will cannabis be taken off the Schedule 1 drug list?