Last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) shared that marijuana would be rescheduled from a Schedule I, meaning that the plant was classified as a substance with no accepted medical value, such as heroin, to a Schedule III, controlled substances that allow for some medical use, such as ketamine. While cannabis advocates, stoners, and anyone with the ability to reason welcomed this news (although it fell short of actually declassifying or legalizing it), just a day following the DEA announcement, a prominent group opposed to cannabis legalization already sent out an email to its supporters soliciting funds to combat the policy change.
“SAM will oppose this change at every level, including, if necessary, pursuing legal action,” the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana shared in the email sent out on Wednesday, which asked, of course, for money.
The email came with a link to what SAM crowned a “Rescheduling Legal Defense Fund,” which seeks either one-time (or you can make that recurring, of course), monthly donations ranging from $250 to $5,000. Think of all the weed you could buy with that money! Loaded anti-cannabis haters also have the option to donate much, much more.
If you’ve heard of SAM before, it’s because they are very vocal about what they perceive as the dangers of marijuana. The landing page on their website shares that they’re apparently trying to prevent the “next Big Tobacco,” which is just plain silly. As High Times reported, a recent study actually found that tobacco consumption has decreased in states with recreational cannabis legalization. SAM’s “About” section claims to be bipartisan and then links out to The Drudge Report.
“Our new Rescheduling Legal Defense Fund will be used to support our challenges of marijuana laws and regulations, specifically marijuana’s Schedule III recommendation,” reads the donation page.
“Let’s be clear: this does not mean marijuana is legalized—it will remain federally illegal,” the email reads (yes, unfortunately, they are right about this). “But, if implemented, moving marijuana to Schedule III would give Big Marijuana billions in tax write-offs as well as continue the normalization of high-potency THC drugs. SAM will oppose this change at every level, including, if necessary, pursuing legal action.”
They are absolutely right about the tax write-off; it’s one of the biggest wins regarding the descheduling announcement. As business is set up now, it’s incredibly hard for cannabis companies to turn a profit. The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) anticipates that reclassifying cannabis to Schedule III will alleviate some of the harsh effects of tax code 280E on thousands of state-legal cannabis enterprises. The Legal Intelligencer notes that this change would eliminate the current restrictions on tax deductions that 280E imposes.
As for the high THC concern, consuming too much THC can be very uncomfortable, and there are high THC products available for those with high tolerances, but this argument is so tiring. Of course, there’s the obvious comparison to liquor, which leads to blackouts and even death in a way that a big edible just doesn’t. But perhaps more importantly, it’s just so easy to use THC responsibly. One of the benefits of legalization is that products can be clearly labeled so one can purchase the acceptable dose for their tolerance and body weight. There may be 100mg gummies available now, but there are also 2.5mg usually on the same shelf. We know from the failed war on drugs that prohibition doesn’t make things better; in fact, we now know that adult-use cannabis laws and sales were not associated with an overall increase in teen substance abuse. Rather, the researchers found modest drops in alcohol and e-cigarette use occurred. One must use cannabis responsibly, especially when it comes to edibles, but we have to leave that up to individuals and assume that grown-ups can take care of themselves.
SAM’s president, Kevin Sabet, accused the Biden administration of “starting with the decision and working backward to find the supporting materials,” but, in reality, the original decision to classify cannabis as a Schedule I was, as noted by Rep. Earl Blumenauer said in an emailed statement obtained by High Times in our reporting on the descheduling decision, based on stigma rather than science. And, based on the knee-jerk reaction of SAM, a day after the descheduling announcement, we can assume that the modest move to move marijuana to Schedule III will not end this toxic stigma and that the War on Drugs is far from over.
A fruity yet spicy rendition of Permanent Marker from Pleasant Effects is boosting the profile of the Rhode Island-based grower across the East Coast, as is its eye-catching and artistic packaging including a nostalgic take on a Shel Silverstein classic. Sam, one of the co-founders behind the brand, gained non-cannabis know-how at a local hydroponics company that was designing large-scale hydroponic produce farms. There, he was a head grower, putting together hydroponic systems, but for edible plants.
“Growing cannabis is always what I’ve loved to grow the most. I’ve always been passionate about it,” Sam says. “We competed in the East Coast Zalympix in New York City last year, that was definitely one cool moment.”
Recently, Pleasant Effects executed a collaboration with The Book Club, which releases curated cannabis drops, all styled after books and designed by glass artist and illustrator Trevor Johns, aka Trevy Metal. The drop with Pleasant Effects was inspired by the whimsical collection of poems by Silverstein, specifically a play on his classic, Where the Sidewalk Ends. “Where the Sherbwalk Ends” is a collaboration with Pleasant Effects, based off of Sherbanger #22, and lists a fictional author, Sherb Silverstein.
“We’re pretty much showcasing the love for literature,” says Trevy Metal. “Every book that we chose has somewhat of a nostalgic factor to it. Like this one in particular, I was like a huge fan, as I was inspired by all illustrations from Shel Silverstein growing up.”
The homage is fitting given that Silverstein wrote a series of poems and songs about pot, quaaludes, and other drugs. These references can be found in his famous poem “The Smoke-Off” (1978) which describes smoking in San Rafael, California or the song “I Got Stoned and I Missed It” (1972).
This article was originally published in the April 2024 issue of High Times Magazine.
Hop latent viroid (HLVd) is one of the most devastating things ever to hit cannabis, with researchers estimating it could be costing the industry up to $4 billion per year in financial loss. But are the streets safer than the recreational mega-farms that were decimated in the transition to legalization? We reached out to some hitters from both sides of the fence to see if HLVd has had the same impact on the underground cannabis market that it’s had on the recreational market.
For those not in the know, HLVd is one of the worst things to happen to cannabis since the creation of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Currently, the viroid is considered one of the biggest threats to both the global cannabis and hop industries. Viroids are the smallest known infectious agents that can cause diseases in plants. The first viroids were found in potatoes in 1971, and then eventually, HLVd was reported in two out of three varieties of hops in Spain in 1987.
Many plants affected by the disease are also asymptomatic, meaning there are no symptoms or signs of infection early on. Later, the viroid will fully express itself and ruin a plant’s yield and vigor. In the case of cannabis, this prevents a plant from reaching its full potential when producing cannabinoids and all the other good stuff. HLVd’s costs to the cannabis industry have now run well into the billions at this point, and it’s fair to think that the loss may even be over $1 billion on the trap side of the market, too.
High Times Magazine, April 2024
HLVd Takes Off
Last year, researchers in Canada and Japan consolidated all the known data about HLVd to get the clearest picture yet. The research, published in the scientific journal Viruses, cited a 2021 survey conducted by Dark Heart Nursery.
Dark Heart’s founder, Dan Grace, was quick to agree with the idea that HLVd had to come out of the trap.
“All the genetics we have now came out of the illicit market, that stands to reason,” Grace told High Times. “It’s just a matter of historical facts. The virus was all over the place way before 2017. I mean, we learned about it in the Emerald conferences. Maybe like [in] 2013, people were calling it PCIA for ‘Putative Cannabis Infectious Agent.’”
Grace said people at The Emerald Conference—a cannabis science and psychedelics science event put on by MJBiz Science—were presenting qualitative data at that time when no one knew what HLVd was. Dark Heart’s 2021 survey “showed that it had been growing for years at an exponential rate, as one would expect from a virus,” Grace said, noting HLVd is now everywhere. “But to the question about the illicit market or regulated market, I mean, I guess all I can say is that back when all of us operated in the illicit market, none of us knew what it was or had the resources or anything else to figure out what it is. It’s only with transparency and very transparent, honest communication that we can start to solve the problem.”
Dark Heart was one of the first organizations to identify HLVd in 2019. Two years prior, the nursery began working with Dr. Jeremy Warren, who oversaw the study of intentionally infecting healthy plants with HLVd and analyzed the symptoms of sick versus healthy control plants. Warren confirmed that HLVd was the cause of “dudding” symptoms, such as yellowing leaves or stunted growth.
Dark Heart research included an examination of 100 California cannabis cultivation operations between August 2018 and July 2021 and discovered that in 90% of those grows, one-third of the plants were infected with HLVd.
More research would be necessary to truly understand the scope of HLVd across the thousands of licensed cannabis cultivators in California. Still, it became clear that it was, and continues to be, a serious problem.
Many have attempted to cull plants infected with HLVd, but in reality, a grower’s best bet is to start with clean clones from scratch. To do that, companies reach out to specialized nurseries to buy cuttings started from tissue culture that are ultra pristine and free of disease. One of the popular providers of these cuttings is Node Labs in Petaluma, California.
Given their expertise on the issue, we asked Node Labs’s co-founder and Chief Business Officer Dan Adler-Golden if he thought the compartmentalization of the trap scene from the legal market makes it safer from hop latent viroid. He argued the opposite.
“The trap scene is where hop latent initially thrived and was unknowingly proliferated with some legendary strains for years,” Adler-Golden told High Times. “Because infected plants can be asymptomatic, the lack of information on the viroid combined with minimal screening practices led to widespread contamination among truly elite cuts.”
It’s not crazy to think that as California nurseries transitioned to the legal era, the infected mother plants they brought into the newly birthed rec market came from the unregulated market. It’s not like everyone hunted new genetic stock to go legal at the end of 2017. Adler-Golden explained that Sour Diesel was a famed cut known to have been circulated widely after it was infected.
“It is only in the last few years that pathogen testing has become widely available, and stock can readily be screened,” he said.
We also asked Adler-Golden whether he thought the smaller selection of clones available when the market went rec had the biggest impact on the spread to so many cultivation sites.
“When the market initially went rec, there was a brief window of time when many nurseries were operating and even supplying their clones at retail, resulting in lots of great options for consumers,” he replied. “However, pathogen screening was not common practice, so cultivators would inadvertently introduce the viroid into their stock by purchasing clones from different nurseries.”
Adler-Golden closed, noting that while general pathogen screening services have improved, there are fewer operating today than a few years ago. It’s very difficult for a professional operation to survive handing out dirty cuts anymore.
Information & Prevention
Popular NorCal cultivator Paki Grower believes small isolated unlicensed grows like his have a slim chance of getting infected.
“[In] isolated environments such as homes or small personal gardens, you would think that there’s less possibility if you’re taking your own clones and growing from seed,” Paki Grower told High Times. “That’s very situational because it can jump from room to room and grower to grower so easily. It just depends on who is messing with whose cuts.”
Paki Grower noted that a lot of the genetics he works with are sourced directly from Wyeast Farms. Wyeast is testing all of its cuts every few months. In recent years, researchers found that crossing an infected parent with a healthy one can spread HLVd in the seeds. Tests found the viroid on the outer shell of seeds made from infected parents and within the seeds themselves.
“Wyeast is testing everything he takes into quarantine, and with guys like him having a large collection of heirloom cuts that he might not be able to replace, it’s that much more important to him,” Paki Grower said.
He went on to note that even though he believes he is in a more protected situation, the recreational market is starting to take a better course of action. Things like bleaching tools are an important step, given how easy it is to spread HLVd. Imagine that the first clone you take with a fresh razor is infected; how heartbreaking are those trays of cuts going to be?
And part of the problem is just knowing what you’re looking at. It’s difficult to identify HLVd until it’s too late. Testing is cheaper than ever, but you’ll still need a refined eye.
“I mean, I guess from a grower standpoint, you’re just going to have to pay a lot of attention to detail in the room,” Paki Grower said. “Yes, things can slip by. They can maybe fail to have been detected. Maybe they can pass testing and be hiding and come up at a later time. So the best thing that growers can do is to make sure that every plant that he has is healthy, and if anything is looking out of health, you need to analyze to make sure that it’s not a number of things that aren’t related to that virus.”
Just presuming everything is related to HLVd will make your room susceptible to a host of other issues. You should ensure all those other boxes are checked regularly before presuming your weak crop is infected with the viroid. But if all those boxes are checked, and you believe your room to be pest and stress-free, it might be time to get some testing done. At least that’s more affordable than ever.
We asked Paki Grower if he felt there was the same level of fear in the underground economy as the recreational market when it came to HLVd.
“It’s funny you say that because I’ve worried about it for the last couple of years a lot. And every time I see a plant that’s in kind of crappy health, it could be a user error, it could be an environmental disadvantage. I’m always stressing out about that, dude. That it could be the viroid,” he replied.
But it is admittedly a background concern that pops up instead of a feeling of inherent threat given his practices.
“I still don’t feel threatened because I deal with kind of just a very select few cuts, and I haven’t seen it in my area here, but we’re talking about, you know, smaller spaces,” Paki Grower said. “We’re not talking about big facilities with margins.”
Paki Grower went on to make another interesting point about the famous strains we no longer see in the marketplace. He believes many of the genetics that wore out over time were victims of HLVd.
If anything, it’s pretty clear that HLVd has transcended all types of cannabis cultivation operations regardless of their legality or scale. It comes down to sourcing the genetics you’re selecting for your closet, greenhouse, or warehouse from reputable places and implementing the best practices to keep them free of the viroid.
At the very least, it’s cheap enough to quarantine any new cuttings you bring into the mix and get them tested these days. You only need a little tent and an LED panel to keep it away from the rest of the kids. Then, just hope the test is negative for HLVd.
Hopefully, as cultivators continue to learn more about the disease, even more cost-effective solutions will be discovered.
This article was originally published in the April 2024 issue of High Times Magazine.
Hemp clothing is making a comeback, marking the hemp textile industry’s latest resurgence in the clothing sector. Researchers say the reasons for the surge include hemp’s notable sustainable and eco-friendly characteristics, and its return on investment.
According to a March 26 press release, Allied Market Research, the hemp clothing industry is on a trajectory showing steady growth into the next decade. The global hemp clothing market size was valued at $2.29 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $23.02 billion by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.1%
Allied Market Research analysts explained the factors that make hemp an attractive investment in 2024, besides being a breathable and durable fiber.
“Hemp fabric requires less water, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides than other fabrics,” the report reads. “It has a lower carbon footprint than many other crops because it is effective at removing carbon dioxide from the environment. In a growing season, one acre of hemp will absorb 10 to 15 tonnes of CO2, which is equal to the typical annual CO2 output of one person.”
There are more reasons hemp is more eco-friendly than alternative textiles, which includes the beneficial uses of hemp seed as well.
“Hemp is up there on the list of eco-friendly textiles and fibres with jute, organic cotton, flax (linen), and bamboo,” the report continues. “Animal bedding and insulation can be made out of hemp fibre from the stem and hemp seed, respectively. Hemp is also good for the soil. If hemp was originally planted in a field, the production of maize from that field will be higher. Following the harvest of hemp, it’s also a good idea to sow wheat and barley. Some producers are trying to get hemp and cannabis growing certified as organic because of all the potential environmental advantages.”
“According to studies on consumer behaviour, between 2000 and 2014, the average customer purchased 60% more clothing, yet they only maintained each item for half as long,” the report continues. “The sobering facts showing the amount of pollution and harm to our rivers, oceans, and atmosphere the fashion industry is responsible for have been in the spotlight. An estimated truckload of used clothing is burned or dumped every second. Many residents are worried, yet the cost and time commitment of the present sustainable fashion solutions are substantial.”
Allied Market Research was founded in 2013, offering high-quality syndicated and customized market research reports, consulting services, and insights into leading market players, startups, investors, and stakeholders.
The numbers overlap, and are similar to predictions about the hemp fiber industry overall. The Business Research Company’s “Hemp Fiber Global Market Report 2024” was published on March 8 and provides a comprehensive source of information that covers every facet of the market. According to the TBRC’s market forecast, the hemp fiber market size is predicted to reach $50.38 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 35.0%.
The growth in the hemp fiber market is due to increasing legalization to cultivate industrial hemp. Asia-Pacific region is expected to hold the largest hemp fiber market share. Major players in the hemp fiber market include Shenyang beijiang, BaFa Holding BV, Plains Industrial Hemp Processing Ltd., Industrial Hemp Manufacturing LLC, Hemp Oil Canada Inc.
Hemp Fabric Industry Is Nothing New
The hemp fabric industry was alive and well centuries ago, and came in waves. Textile World called hemp “one of the original textile outputs,” where it flourished for centuries. Hemp fabric gained popularity as early as 4,000 BC (or earlier) in Asia. And then it was a staple clothing textile until being dethroned by Indian cotton around the 13th century.
Hemp—despite having no psychoactive effects—got lumped with marijuana as the plant was demonized in the U.S. throughout the past, particularly in the 1930s.
Industrial hemp saw a resurgence when it was formally relegalized in the United States with the signing of the 2018 Farm Bill. The bill removed industrial hemp from the list of banned substances in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The effort to legalize hemp kicked off in 2014 with several bipartisan legislators initiating a push for the legalization of industrial hemp with a series of legislative efforts.
Section 7606 was included in the original 2014 Farm Bill, which allowed the creation of state-led pilot programs and sanctioned the investigation of hemp for varied commercial and industrial applications. Kentucky was the first state to institute a hemp pilot program under this new legislation. The 2018 Farm Bill formally made commercial production of hemp legal.
Hemp as a fiber presents a safer investment versus hemp-derived cannabinoids, which are facing a series of legal challenges state by state, as legal loopholes in the Farm Bill paved the way.
Cannabis advocates, executives and investors are celebrating the Drug Enforcement Administration’s reported decision this week to reclassify marijuana under federal drug laws, a development that spurred rejoicing from coast to coast and a spike in cannabis stock prices. The celebrations were tempered, however, by the reality that the decision falls short of the full marijuana legalization that determined activists have been seeking for decades.
On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that the DEA had decided to follow a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), citing five unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Under the recommendation, marijuana will be changed from Schedule I of the CSA, the most strict classification intended for drugs with no medical value and a high potential for abuse, to Schedule III, a group including the drugs Tylenol with codeine and testosterone.
The groundbreaking decision to reschedule cannabis will facilitate research into the medicinal benefits of the plant that could lead to new treatments for an unknown number of physical and mental health conditions. As a Schedule I drug, cannabis research was subjected to the strictest regulatory conditions under federal law, hampering studies that could result in meaningful medical advances.
Rescheduling cannabis under federal drug laws will also have significant impacts on the regulated cannabis industry. Perhaps most significantly, the change will ease access to banking services and free licensed cannabis companies from IRS rule 280e, which denies most standard business deductions to companies selling Schedule I substances.
Pot Advocates Hail DEA Decision
After the DEA decision to reschedule cannabis was reported by the Associated Press on Tuesday, the move was hailed by policymakers, cannabis activists and entrepreneurs as an historic milestone in U.S. drug policy reform. In Colorado, one of the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012, Democratic Governor Jared Polis hailed the historic moment.
“I am thrilled by the Biden Administration’s decision to begin the process of finally rescheduling cannabis, following the lead of Colorado and 37 other states that have already legalized it for medical or adult use, correcting decades of outdated federal policy,” Polis said in a statement. “This action is good for Colorado businesses and our economy, it will improve public safety, and will support a more just and equitable system for all.”
Chuck Smith, president of the board of directors for Colorado Leads, an alliance of cannabis business leaders created to educate the public and policymakers about the importance of a safe and regulated cannabis industry, said that “reclassification under Schedule III will address the 280e tax issue that has unfairly forced state-legal cannabis businesses to pay a far higher effective tax rate than other legal businesses. Allowing marijuana businesses to start deducting ordinary business expenses will allow Colorado companies to retain more revenue, employ more workers, and further invest in their surrounding communities.”
Ali Garawi, the co-founder and CEO of California independent cannabis operator Muha Meds, said the rescheduling of cannabis will allow funds that are now going to taxes to instead be invested in the growth of the company.
“Like many in cannabis, we have had to really think outside the box in terms of financing. At Muha Meds, we’re entirely self-funded, which has forced us to be incredibly calculated with growth. No longer bound to 280e Tax Regulations leftover from the war on drugs, we will be able to utilize funding that we didn’t have the right to before,” Garawi writes in an email to High Times. “We are looking forward to tremendous growth opportunities and some ease of restrictions in terms of just running a business.”
Bob Groesbeck, co-CEO of Planet 13, a multistate operator that owns what is billed as the world’s largest dispensary in Las Vegas, said that the DEA decision will also result in easier access to traditional banking services for cannabis companies. Advocates of regulated cannabis in Congress have offered legislation to allow banks to serve marijuana businesses over the last 10 years, but so far the Senate has failed to approve the bill.
“Rescheduling cannabis should pave the way for much-needed safe banking solutions. Safe banking in the cannabis industry provides a secure environment for financial transactions, granting access to essential services like checking accounts and loans,” Groesbeck noted. “It ensures transparency, reduces costs associated with cash handling, and offers consumers safe and convenient payment options. Overall, safe banking is crucial for industry growth, regulatory compliance, and enhancing consumer experiences.”
Activists Call for More Siginificant Reform
Although the rescheduling of cannabis was hailed by much of the cannabis community, the DEA decision does not achieve the full legalization of cannabis that has been fought for over decades, leading activists to call for more significant reform. Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said that marijuana should not be regulated by the CSA at all, noting that commonly used but potentially dangerous drugs such as alcohol and tobacco are readily available to adults.
“The goal of any federal cannabis policy reform ought to be to address the existing, untenable divide between federal marijuana policy and the cannabis laws of the majority of US states,” Armentano said in a statement from the group. “Rescheduling the cannabis plant to Schedule III fails to adequately address this conflict, as existing state legalization laws — both adult use and medical — will continue to be in conflict with federal regulations, thereby perpetuating the existing divide between state and federal marijuana policies.”
Sarah Gersten, the executive director of Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit working to secure the release of all individuals incarcerated for cannabis offenses, said that the group will continue advocating for more wide-reaching reform.
“Last Prisoner Project believes that complete descheduling and full legalization of cannabis is a necessary step towards correcting past injustices and creating a fair and equitable criminal legal system,” Gersten said in a statement from the group. “We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that individuals burdened with past cannabis convictions have their records expunged and that all cannabis prisoners are released, regardless of the federal scheduling decision. Despite not achieving full legalization, we must use this historic moment to push the fight for cannabis justice forward, and we intend to do so by leveraging this reclassification for broader criminal legal reforms as outlined here.”
Weed Stocks Rally
Despite falling short of marijuana legalization, the DEA rescheduling decision sent share prices of cannabis stocks to significant gains in Tuesday trading. Multistate operator Trulieve spiked nearly 30% Tuesday afternoon, CNBC reported, while Curaleaf jumped 19% to a 52-week high.
MarketWatch reported that Toronto-based TerrAscend was up more than 25%, while Green Thumb Industries Inc. rose by more than 22% and Cresco Labs Inc. climbed nearly 14%.
Emily Paxhia, co-founder of cannabis investments firm Poseidon Investment Management, said she expects a “surge in liquidity as sidelined capital enters the market, drawn by the potential for legal businesses to thrive” as regulated cannabis companies face off against the entrenched unlicensed cannabis market.
Many brands of rolling papers designed for smoking weed contain elevated levels of potentially dangerous heavy metals, according to the results of a recent study. Rolling papers with dies or metallic tips pose a particular danger, the research determined, with some brands containing enough copper to be harmful to cannabis consumers who use them frequently.
The study, which was conducted by researchers affiliated with Lake Superior State University’s School of Chemistry, examined the heavy metal content of dozens of commercially available rolling papers and preassembled paper cones. The authors note that many of the samples purchased for the research had been colored to make them more appealing to consumers than standard white rolling papers.
The researchers analyzed the various samples for the presence of 26 different compounds that could cause negative health effects, most of which are heavy metals. The team of researchers used standard chemical analysis tests to measure the quantities of the compounds in the rolling papers, including tests that burned the products to determine the amount of heavy metals in the smoke that would enter the user’s lungs.
Studied Detected Copper, Chromium and Vanadium in Some Rolling Papers
The results of the analyses varied widely among the different products tested. Some samples had low levels of heavy metals, while others contained very high levels that could pose a danger to consumers who use them frequently. Elevated levels of copper were found in many colored samples, particularly blue and green cones, presumably from the pigments used to produce the bright hues.
Other samples had elevated levels of the heavy metals chromium and vanadium. Some cones contained high amounts of antimony, which researchers said is likely because the element is used as a catalyst to produce the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in their tips.
The research highlights a potential health risk that many consumers may not be aware of. Derek Wright, an environmental scientist at Lake Superior State University and co-author of the study, said that most people who use rolling papers assume they are safe.
“Most consumers appear to think that someone in the government must regulate this,” Wright told Chemical and Engineering News.
The researchers note that it would not be difficult for rolling paper and cone manufacturers to remove heavy metals during production. Ideally, many of the compounds can be eliminated from the manufacturing process entirely. Doing so, the authors of the study note, would reduce the risks faced by consumers.
“None of these components are necessary,” Wright noted.
Wright added that reducing the risks associated with cannabis use is particularly important for medical marijuana patients.
“We have an at-risk population—so people that are already potentially sick with maybe serious diseases like cancer—using marijuana for pain management, and then potentially exposing themselves to things that could be conceivably hazardous,” said Wright.
The researchers recommended that state lawmakers and other policymakers take note of the study’s findings and implement regulations to compel the manufacturers of rolling papers and cones to reduce the levels of heavy metals in their products.
“Additional efforts by state regulatory agencies to reach a consensus on limits to toxic elements in cannabis and smoking papers are warranted based on our findings, as is additional research to determine exposures based on realistic use patterns,” the authors of the study wrote in their conclusion.
Daniel Curtis, an analytical and atmospheric chemist at California State University, Fullerton, who was not involved in the research, said that the study is valuable because it is the first time that an examination of the heavy metals content of rolling papers specifically designed for cannabis use has been undertaken.
“This is a really important study,” Curtis said, adding that he believes that additional research should be conducted to determine how much of the heavy metals in rolling papers is being incorporated into smoke as they are used.
“We know cannabis use is increasing,” Curtis said. “If we can identify where potentially toxic chemicals are coming from, we can eventually use that information to make a safer product.”
Legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis, as well as an increase in retail sales in Canada and the U.S. did not lead to an overall increase in teen substance abuse, a team of researchers found. They also found that adult-use legislation led to a “modest decrease” in teen alcohol and e-cigarette use.
The research was led by co-principal investigators Lynch School of Education and Human Development professor Rebekah Levine Coley, School of Social Work Professor Summer Sherburne Hawkins, and Economics Department Chair Christopher F. Baum. They believe they are among the first to evaluate associations between adult-use cannabis legislation and recreational cannabis retail sales through 2021, and teen substance abuse. Naoka Carey, a doctoral candidate in the Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology department of the Lynch School, as well as Claudia Kruzik, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Maryland-College Park, also contributed to the study.
The cross-sectional study is entitled “Recreational Cannabis Legalization, Retail Sales, and Adolescent Substance Use Through 2021,” and was published online and in JAMA Pediatrics on April 15. Researchers used survey datasets to evaluate adult-use cannabis legalization and retail sales policies, as well as adolescent substance use through 2021.
Adult-use cannabis legalization was associated with modest decreases in cannabis, alcohol, and e-cigarette use, while retail sales were associated with lower e-cigarette use, and a lower likelihood, but also increased frequency of cannabis use among youth consumers, essentially canceling out and leading to “no overall change in cannabis use.”
They found no evidence suggesting otherwise, as the dust settles from 24 states and Washington, D.C. enacting adult-use cannabis legislation, and 18 states implementing adult-use cannabis sales.
The Findings Show Effects of Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization
Researchers wanted to sort through perceived effects of cannabis legalization to determine if it indeed leads to an increase in substance abuse, but didn’t find a link.
“Although studies of early-enacting states and Canada reported few effects of recreational cannabis legislation on adolescent substance abuse, experts have highlighted the need to further assess policy outcomes in youth as legislation and retail availability spread, and other policies targeting youth substance use shift,” the authors said. “We found limited associations between recreational cannabis legalization and retail sales with adolescent substance use, extending previous findings.”
Overall however, since findings were mixed, with data showing a lower likelihood of cannabis use despite increased frequency, it shows no increase in teen substance use. They also arrived at other conclusions regarding adult-use cannabis’s impact on alcohol use, and e-cigarette use that are worth noting.
“According to the researchers,” an April 18 announcement reads, “recreational cannabis legalization was associated with modest decreases in cannabis, alcohol, and e-cigarette use, while retail sales were associated with lower e-cigarette use, and a lower likelihood, but also increased frequency of cannabis use among youth consumers, leading to no overall change in cannabis use.”
The findings show that there wasn’t a substantial increase in teen substance use overall.
“The results suggest that legalization and greater control over cannabis markets have not facilitated adolescents’ entry into substance use,” noted the study co-authors.
Other Studies Show No Link Between Adult-Use Cannabis and
The study aligns for the most part with previous data showing no link between legalization and increased drug abuse. A previous study also found an increase in cannabis use but lower rates of alcohol abuse, with no overall increase in substance abuse disorders.
Researchers published a study, “Recreational cannabis legalization has had limited effects on a wide range of adult psychiatric and psychosocial outcomes,” via Cambridge University Press on Jan. 5. In it, researchers sought to “quantify possible causal effects of recreational cannabis legalization on substance use, substance use disorder, and psychosocial functioning, and whether vulnerable individuals are more susceptible to the effects of cannabis legalization than others.”
Living in a legal state was “not associated” with substance abuse disorders, although they found it led to higher pot use but lower alcohol use. Living in a legal state was associated, in fact, with lower alcohol use disorder (AUD) rates.
“In the co-twin control design accounting for earlier cannabis frequency and alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms respectively, the twin living in a recreational state used cannabis on average more often, and had fewer AUD symptoms than their co-twin living in an non-recreational state. Cannabis legalization was associated with no other adverse outcome in the co-twin design, including cannabis use disorder. No risk factor significantly interacted with legalization status to predict any outcome.”
The findings mount as experts determine the impact of adult-use cannabis policy, laws, and retail sales on public health in multiple states.
