Weekend News Recap
Here are some news articles you might have missed over the weekend while you were all out celebrating 420 like good little “stoners.” There is a lot going on in the cannabis-focused world. We sometimes need to look outside the state to ensure we stay ahead of the game to push legalization here in Connecticut.
It would appear our state legislators need some help finding the truths of cannabis. Let’s normalize cannabis, it’s ok to talk about it. Cannabis does not make you a bad person. – Dabbin Dad
April 23, 2018
As we start our work week after a nice 420 weekend, remember some employers still have archaic drug policies that only promote the rhetoric shared in the above video.
It’s disturbing to believe that people actually were led to believe these situations were factual.
Two Cannabis Entrepreneurs Share Their Secrets For Success
Let’s keep the good vibes going strong as we start the week. Are you an aspiring cannabis entrepreneur? See how these two entrepreneurs are making waves.
MeiMei Fox –
Today is April 20, the unofficial cannabis culture holiday. As marijuana gains broader legal status each year (recreational use is currently legal in nine U.S. states plus the District of Columbia; medical marijuana is legal in another 29 states), the cannabis industry is poised for massive growth. Market research shows that North American sales are expected to leap from $9.2 billion in 2017 to close to $50 billion ten years from now.
These two entrepreneurs have found their passion and purpose in building canna-businesses. Here, they share their secrets for success.
Karson Humiston is the founder and CEO of Vangst Talent Network, the cannabis industry’s leading recruiting resource. She started the company in 2015, after attending a cannabis trade show where she recognized the huge need marijuana companies had for employees in every position: chemical engineers, botanists, marketing managers, outside sales representatives, accountants, retail store managers, and so on. Read more.
Cannabis is having its ‘smartphone’ moment
People tend to get so excited about cannabis legalization and automatically start thinking of the act of growing and selling, are people are thinking how tech could assist?
James Trew –
“It’s very similar to having a phone; you wouldn’t want just one or two apps on it. You’d want to be able to have a wide selection,” Bharat Vasan, CEO of PAX, told me in his company’s downtown San Francisco office. He’s referring to the range of “pods” available for the PAX Era weed vaporizer, likening fewer weed options to only having Instagram or Twitter on a phone.
PAX makes some of the best-known cannabis vaporizers in the industry. But during our interview, Vasan doesn’t mention the words “high,” “stoned,” “weed,” “doobie,” “blaze” or “dank” once. Instead, he talks about “platforms,” “apps,” “experience” and “updates.” PAX is one of a handful of technology companies making weed accessible to a generation that doesn’t want to roll their own. A generation that wants, even expects, to customize its experience via an app on their phone. A user that’s more likely to update their firmware than clean out a pipe.
Today is 4/20, the Christmas of cannabis, and PAX is using it to launch a limited-edition Era vaporizer with a celebrity endorsement from weed-friendly electronic duo Thievery Corporation. The Era uses “pods” of cannabis oil, which snap into place on the pen-like device; the user only needs to inhale and enjoy. The launch also includes a new pod from Blue River called “Lebanese Blonde” (a meta reference to a Thievery Corporation track, itself named after a variety of cannabis) and a new album from the duo. Read More.
The FDA supports a cannabis-derived drug, but it’s still too hard to study pot
What the heck can you say???
Angela Chen –
For the first time, the US Food and Drug Administration has recommended approving a drug derived from cannabis. It’s an important step in acknowledging that the plant has a valid medical use, but will mean little without loosening the research restrictions that keep scientists from figuring out the other health effects of cannabis.
The drug in question is Epidiolex, used to treat severe forms of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Epidiolex includes cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical that comes from the cannabis plant but is not psychoactive. Researchers have applauded the move, and it looks likely that the drug will be officially approved soon. “This is a very good development, and it basically underscores that there are medicinal properties to some of the cannabinoids,” Dr. Igor Grant, director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California San Diego told The New York Times.
Still, the recommendation for approval is for “a single compound that comes from the plant and is approved for two very specific forms of epilepsy,” says Daniel Friedman, an associate professor of neurology at NYU Langone’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center who co-authored a study investigating Epidiolex to treat Dravet syndrome. “What that means for other conditions or other cannabinoids, we don’t know yet.” Read More.
H/T: Forbes, Engadget, The Verge