More and more people are getting their COVID-19 vaccines, meaning that this summer will be different than last (thankfully!).
When the pandemic started last year, the conversations we used to have with our friends and coworkers centered around when things would return to normal, giving it a month or two before we were back in our offices and restaurants. A year later, we know better.
Despite the relatively slow progression of the pandemic, a lot has happened in a year. Now that an increasing number of people are getting vaccinated, what does that mean for the summer?
Summer 2021 will be different than the previous summer, even if the virus is still around. Experts predict more movement and traveling along with more activities at your disposal. Here are 5 predictions of how this summer will look like:
Less restrictions
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With vaccines in circulation and large percentages of the population having immunizations, you can expect much more opportunities for activities than the ones we had the past summer. You can expect more outdoor gatherings with increased sizes, even if these might not reach stadium-sizes.
More traveling
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Thanks to vaccines, traveling has increased incrementally with each passing week. This will likely continue through summer, with warm weather usually resulting in more and longer trips — even if people, especially those who are not vaccinated, should remain careful.
Some communities might reach herd immunity
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Herd immunity has been heavily discussed, even since the start of the pandemic, where many people hoped to reach immunity naturally. Now we know this will only happen once around 70% of the population is immunized. While this means that herd immunity across the entire country might take some time, small communities should begin experiencing this change by the summer. Areas that have been hard hit by the virus might experience this sooner, likely due to the amount of people who’ve contracted the disease and the amount of immunizations that are administered.
More outdoor options
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City festivals, pools, drive-in theaters and concerts will experience a resurgence this year. While the number of attendees might not be the same as it was years past, it’s likely these events will be held with some degree of success now that people know how to handle the virus and the weather allows for outdoor gatherings in open spaces.
There might be more variants
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While summer predictions are mostly positive, it’s likely there will be more variants and risk of transmission in the coming months. New COVID variants are more transmissible and might be more resistant to the vaccine, which is why experts continue to monitor them very closely. Still, no matter how contagious these variants are, if people continue to wear face masks, wash their hands, and keep up with social distancing guidelines, their spread will be curbed.
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Medical marijuana is already legal in New York, but this legislation would legalize recreational cannabis use for adults 21-years-old and up.
Word came out of Albany, NY late Wednesday afternoon that legislators had reached an agreement on the language of legislation regarding the legalization of adult-use cannabis.
There are two competing bills for the law — the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act (CRTA) and the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA). The word is that the bill that was agreed upon included the contentious home grow issue, delivery, social consumption, and the removal of the license auction. However, there is no confirmation on the actual language that was included, which could receive a vote next week. It is expected that it will take at least one year before sales can take place.
“I believe New York is the progressive capital of the nation—not just because we say it is but because we perform that way. And legalizing cannabis is this year’s priority to be the progressive capital of the nation,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a briefing with reporters on Wednesday. “We won’t be the first, but our program will be the best.”
The legislation will still need to be written into the budget and it could still be changed and be rewritten. “It is my understanding that the three-way agreement has been reached and that bill drafting is in the process of finishing a bill that we all have said we support,” state Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger told Bloomberg Government on Wednesday.
Medical marijuana is already legal in New York, but this legislation would legalize recreational cannabis use for adults 21-years-old and up. Krueger said that there would be a 13% sales tax, 9% of which would go to the state and 4% to the localities. Distributors additionally would collect an excise tax of as much as 3 cents per milligram of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, with a sliding scale based on the type of product and its potency.
One of the biggest issues holding back negotiations was the ability to grow cannabis in the home. The rumor was that six plants per person would be allowed with 12 plants per household. Home grow wouldn’t begin until 2024. Another issue is that localities would be able to deny delivery, retail and home grow.
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Krueger also said that there would be no changes would be made to the taxes already imposed on marijuana sold for medical purposes. Some of the additional discussed aspects of the law included:
The state Health Department would be required to study devices that are supposed to test saliva to determine if a person is impaired from marijuana, though there’s skepticism among lawmakers about the effectiveness of such technology.
Police would be allowed to use the odor of cannabis to identify impairment, though they could not use it to justify a search a vehicle.
Driving while impaired from marijuana would result in a violation, rather than a misdemeanor. However, that component may be further revised before the final bill is released.
The state’s existing medical cannabis program would also be changed to expand the list of qualifying conditions and allow patients to smoke marijuana products. Patients could also obtain a 60-day, rather than 30-day, supply.
The governor’s office estimates that a legal cannabis program could pull in about $350 million a year once fully implemented. Existing medical dispensaries could add four additional sites under the proposal, two of which would have to be in underserved areas, she said. Registered medical marijuana organizations would be able to add two adult-use dispensaries, Krueger said.
Matt Hawkins, Founder and Managing Partner of cannabis-focused PE firm, Entourage Effect Capital said, “Great news that a three-way agreement for adult-use cannabis has been reached in the state of New York. This potential $2.5B marketplace will have a similar monumental impact on the industry as California’s adult-use passage in 2016. We at Entourage Effect Capital look forward to investing in the state upon legalization.”
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Many believed that the language from the MRTA was the predominant language in the negotiated bill. The social equity issue looks to be addressed in the creation of a fund versus specific licenses, but that could still be changed.
The MRTA:
Under the MRTA there are still two arrestable offenses: sale to a person under the age of 21 and the unlicensed sale of over a pound of marijuana.
The MRTA establishes 21 as the legal age of use for marijuana and marijuana products.
The MRTA establishes the Bureau of Marijuana Policy to assume regulatory responsibility of the marijuana industry. The Bureau will be housed within the existing State Liquor Authority and will undertake the similar purpose of providing oversight, promulgating regulations, and issuing licenses.
Under the MRTA, individuals over the age of 21 are allowed to cultivate up to 6 plants at home and retain the fruits of those plants.
People who have been convicted of low-level possession (including possession in public view) and low-level sale will have that conviction vacated from their record.
Under the MRTA, the Bureau of Marijuana Policy will award licenses to produce, process, test, dispense, distribute, and deliver marijuana.
The MRTA restricts vertical integration to provide the maximum amount of space for new companies to develop and contribute to a New York-focused market.
Tax revenue will be used to conduct studies analyzing the impacts of marijuana legalization on public health, public safety, youth use, the state economy, the environment, and on the criminal justice system. Additional funds will be distributed to study the efficacy of New York’s regulations and their success in ensuring diversity and inclusion in licensing
The MRTA does not touch the Compassionate Care Act and the medical marijuana program that it established
The CRTA:
The CRTA would establish the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) within the Division of Alcohol Beverage Control. The OCM would be governed by a five-member Cannabis Control Board, appointed by the governor, to oversee the adult-use, medical, and cannabinoid (CBD) hemp industries. Under the governor’s proposal, the governor would appoint all five members and the chair, who would also serve as the board’s executive director.
The CRTA removes delivery licenses and mandates that cultivators and/or processors wholesale adult-use products through licensed distributors.
The CRTA mandates the OCM to establish a Social and Economic Equity Plan (the Equity Plan) that “actively promotes racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in the adult-use cannabis industry and prioritizes applicants who qualify as a minority and women-owned business, social equity applicant, or disadvantaged farmer and which positively impacts areas that have been harmed through disproportionate enforcement of the war on drugs.”
The CRTA sets forth a local opt-out provision whereby all counties and cities with a population of 100,000 or more residents would have the opportunity to pass a local law, ordinance, or resolution by a majority vote of their governing body to opt out of the adult-use cannabis program. Local governments that participate in the adult-use cannabis program will be able to further regulate the time, place, and manner of cannabis operations through zoning powers.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is awaiting U.S. approval, but different controversies keep halting its progress.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is one of the most promising vaccines waiting for approval in the U.S. If it’s approved, it would become the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to earn distribution across the country, speeding along the vaccination process and our way back to normalcy.
Early Tuesday, however, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a panel that oversees U.S. clinical trial safety, released a statement saying that AstraZeneca’s vaccine results may include “outdated and potentially misleading data.” Not reassuring stuff when talking about a vaccine that will be injected to millions of people.
On Wednesday, AstraZeneca provided a follow-up, explaining that, “The numbers published yesterday were based on a pre-specified interim analysis with a data cut-off of 17 February” and that it had “reviewed the preliminary assessment of the primary analysis and the results were consistent with the interim analysis.” They expected to release updated results within 48 hours.
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The AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved in different parts of the world, prized for its low price and easy storage capabilities. According to the company’s reports, it has a 79% of efficacy. But despite this encouraging data, the vaccine has been plagued by controversy, with several countries in Europe halting its distribution due to reports of blood clots in 30 patients. Still, European regulators vouched for the vaccine’s safety.
The New York Times explains that a vaccine with 69% of efficacy would be helpful in curbing the spread of the virus all over the world. They say that the main problem with this scandal lies in its publicity, shattering the public’s trust and creating more space for conspiracies and anti-vaxxer misinformation that would result in less people getting their shots.
“Any type of thing like this could unfortunately contribute to a lack of confidence in the process,” said infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The AstraZeneca U.S. vaccine trial had over 32,000 participants and it received funding from the National Institutes of Health, becoming one of the largest trials of its kind. It wasn’t associated with blood clots or any other health conditions. Despite the controversy, the message from experts remain the same: No matter what vaccine is offered, if you get an appointment for a shot, take it.
With CBD shampoo, you get an effective yet gentle product that repairs your hair and revives your skin follicles.
There’s so much to say about cannabis; from being a great treatment option for pain relief to its mood relaxation properties and lots more. Cannabis has been described as the “new gold” in the health and wellness sector because of its endless potentials. The potential has now extended to the prevention of hair loss and treatment of psoriasis.
Why do people experience hair loss?
Before getting to the solutions, we must talk about the problem and try to understand why it happens. For anyone to fully appreciate the value of CBD shampoo and other CBD products, one must understand the problem.
When people grow older, they experience a natural change with their hair that leads to hair loss. While some lose hair at a slower pace, others lose hair much faster (this happens for different reasons).
Hair loss cab also be hereditary, if older members of your family also lose hair, there is a greater chance that the same will happen to you. Stress and hormonal deficiencies are also major causes of hair loss. If you are experiencing hair loss you will agree that it is the most worrisome experience. If you haven’t experienced hair loss, you should actively think about how to prevent it from happening.
CBD shampoo for hair loss
While there are numerous solutions for hair loss, CBD shampoo is taking the lead for many reasons. Firstly, due to the anti-anxiety properties in CBD, you will learn to relax your mind and body thus reducing stress that can cause hair loss.
CBD shampoo also contains anti-inflammatory properties that protects the base of your hair from hair loss. Now there are numerous remedies for hair loss available on the market but some of them are proven to be ineffective.
However with CBD shampoo you have a tested product that offers consistent hair treatment which protects your hair from the scalp to the tips. You can trust CBD shampoo because of its natural components which nourish the hair elements and strengthens it.
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CBD contains different amino and fatty acids which are crucial nutrients for hair protection. With the shampoo made from CBD you will also get other minerals in large quantities that keep your hair healthy, lush and strong. But please remember that shampoo products are not meant to be used on a one-off basis as it is important that your hair feeds on CBD regularly. You want the hair to get used to the CBD nutrients and you want to use just enough to ensure that there are no subsequent breakages which will lead to hair loss again.
Psoriasis is referred to as an autoimmune disease that causes a person’s skin to appear red, dry and scaly. You will find these red patches mostly on the elbows, knees and scalp (your hair region).
Some of the symptoms of psoriasis includes uncomfortable itchy sensations caused by skin irritation and a burning feeling on the skin that degenerates into sores. If left untreated, these issues may worsen and cause a bigger problem for the individual that leads to unpleasant looking skin.
The CBD shampoo works effectively by renewing your scalp and restoring balance to your skin’s life cycle. Once the life cycle of your skin is balanced, you will start to observe improvements and healing from the scalp to the hair.
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While there is no cure for psoriasis, CBD shampoo does help to minimize the severe effects it has on your skin. You will see symptoms reduce and with support from CBD, your immune system will receive a boost thus preventing further outbreak.
CBD shampoo for the treatment of psoriasis
If you have been diagnosed with psoriasis on your scalp then you need CBD shampoo for relief. But it is not enough just to have CBD shampoo as there are some things to consider which can either improve the CBD usage or impede it.
If you have a lot of thick hair on your head, it might cause the shampoo to settle on the hair and not get to the scalp (which is your skin area). This fact is the reason why those with little or no hair tend to enjoy the benefits of CBD shampoo for psoriasis more than those with full and thick hair.
Now if you have a thick hair, all hope is not lost. You just need to ensure that when applying the shampoo, it gets to the scalp and settles in there for a while.
If you are worried that the CBD shampoo will not be enough for the hair volume you’ve got then it’s okay to mix the shampoo with coconut oil. A mix of CBD shampoo and coconut oil is a viable treatment for psoriasis on the scalp.
You can also achieve greater results with CBD shampoo for psoriasis or hair loss by taking additional CBD supplements so the healing also starts from the inside out.
Bottom line
CBD shampoo is packed with anti-inflammatory properties that strengthens and revitalizes damaged hair. With this shampoo your hair gets all the necessary vitamins, proteins and amino acids needed to make your scalp stronger thus stimulating hair growth.
It should be noted that CBD shampoo also offers a wide range of benefits for those who suffer from psoriasis. The application of CBD shampoo on the skin gives the user an invigorating feeling that makes both hair and skin come alive again.
Traditional shampoo contains additives and fragrances that leaves your skin feeling dry and damaged. However with CBD shampoo, you get an effective yet gentle product that repairs your hair and revives your skin follicles. If you desire that supple moisturizing effect that comes with using a good shampoo, get CBD shampoo today!
A new study shows some of the impact lockdown had on American adults, and how much weight they gained throughout the past year.
The “Quarantine 15” (aka COVID-15) was once a a joke that started when the pandemic hit forcing the U.S. to into lockdown. While people fluctuated with their weight throughout 2020, not much was known about the pervasiveness of these fluctuations, because, you know, we had bigger things to be worried about. And while you may not know when you’ll be eligible to get vaccinated, at least you can say you now know how much the average American gained during the pandemic, thanks to a new study.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) were able to measure these changes with the use of Bluetooth connected smart scales. Their study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, indicates that the weight gain experienced by many U.S. adults is a bit concerning and significant. Adults under lockdown gained more than a half pound every 10 days, or about two pounds a month.
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“We know that weight gain is a public health problem in the U.S. already, so anything making it worse is definitely concerning, and shelter-in-place orders are so ubiquitous that the sheer number of people affected by this makes it extremely relevant,” Dr. Gregory Marcus, the senior author and cardiologist at UCSF, told The New York Times.
But there are some caveats. Marcus and his team conducted research with the data of less than 300 people spread throughout the U.S., making it very difficult to make assumptions about the rest of the American adult population. The group was mostly made up of white people, evenly split between men and women, with an average age of 51-years old. Weight measurements were taken between February 1 to June 1, 2020.
While larger studies will need to be conducted in order to get a clear picture of the amount of weight people gained over this past year and whether that will affect their future health, it is true that the pandemic makes it very difficult to remain active, promoting a more sedentary lifestyle even if people are trying hard to eat healthy and work out every couple of days. A lot of calories are burned doing everyday, non-pandemic activities, such as commuting to work, going to a store, or hanging out with friends.
Even if people want to make changes in their lives and be more active, it’s no easy feat. The world during the pandemic requires us to make changes if we want to burn the same amount of calories we used to back when we had more things to do.
Sellers who do no register or comply with new regulations, which are set to take effect 90 days from passage, would be subject to severe penalties, including up to three years in prison.
Monday was an important day for the vape industry, marking the comment period deadline for revisions to the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, which were included in the 2021 omnibus spending bill recently passed by Congress.
The amended bill, known as the PACT Act (Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking), modifies the definition of “cigarettes” to include any vaping product, whether it contain nicotine or not. These changes prohibit Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) from being sent to consumers through the United States Postal Service, influencing other common carriers such as FedEx, which announced it would ban the delivery of vaping products as of March 1, 2021.
The impacts of this revamped bill on the vaping industry would be seismic, with groups like the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA) rallying consumers to make their voices heard before the comment period ended on the 22nd.
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The USPS Rule on Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail in the pending bill includes products that are legal under many states’ laws, including California’s. In a template letter provided to those who wish to speak out against the revisions, CCIA states that while “the undersigned businesses and organizations unambiguously support restricting the sale of tobacco and nicotine to minors”, the proposed changes to USPS “could unintentionally regulate products that Congress had no original intent of capturing” to the extreme detriment of small businesses across the country.
“This blanket limitation on mailing nicotine products,” the letter continues, “will completely cripple entire industries, including manufacturers of hemp-derived and botanical aromatic products and services.”
Should the federal government overrule these objections, opponents argue that the impacts would be felt beyond vaping, nicotine, and cannabis consumers. The beleaguered USPS, which is already floundering in the face of falling revenues, would suffer from the decline in mail volume as well as the cost of implementing more comprehensive restrictions. Users of botanical medicines like hemp-derived CBD who rely on vaping as a delivery system would struggle with access, and companies that have shifted to reliance on mail order models, particularly during the pandemic, would lose a primary source of revenue during an especially tenuous time.
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Sellers who do no register or comply with these new regulations, which are set to take effect 90 days from passage, would be subject to severe penalties, including up to three years in prison. The revised bill will require companies to take on more administrative costs, as well as the aid of legal counsel in many cases, to ensure compliance and ascertain if they will even be able to function within the new regulations.
With the comment deadline now passed, it remains to be seen whether the vaping industry will manage to turn the tide on the latest version of the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act. It’s a law that, according to American Vaping Association President Gregory Conley, “is not a law designed to regulate the mail-order sale of vaping product to adults; it’s an attempt to eliminate it.”
Unfortunately, the results of the latest study do not bode well for the immediate future of cannabis medicine.
Cannabis advocates have been screeching and screaming for the past decade about how marijuana is more effective in taming post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than any other drug known to man. But, a long-awaited, FDA-approved study dedicated to learning more about the efficacy of cannabis against this affliction shows that isn’t necessarily true. It finds that while weed is a safe and commonly used treatment option for those marred by this condition, it isn’t as effective as initially believed.
Now, before you go off the deep end and start drumming up wild conspiracy theories about how the federal government’s health agencies are holding back the truth concerning the power of cannabis, you should know that this study was overseen by Dr. Sue Sisley of the Scottsdale Research Institute. Sisley has been a massive proponent of medical marijuana for years, doing everything in her power to fight for answers to whether cannabis can help military veterans suffering from PTSD. She fought for nearly a decade to get permission from Uncle Sam to launch this research, and her team spent the past three years in the trenches digging for answers.
All for unimpressive results.
The $2 million study, funded by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), was as legit as they come. Researchers selected 76 vets with PTSD, giving them a mix of cannabis with THC levels between 8-12%.
Some of the participants were given a placebo.
In the end, researchers didn’t find any evidence that the vets who got THC were any better off than the placebo group. In fact, the ones who got the placebo thought they had actually been given the real thing. “The study did not find a significant difference in change in PTSD symptom severity between the active cannabis concentrations and placebo by the end of Stage 1,” the study authors wrote. “All three active concentrations of smoked cannabis were generally well tolerated.”
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Researchers believe the quality of cannabis had something to do with the lackluster results. Researchers have complained since day one that they couldn’t get their hands on better weed. Which is true. All of the research marijuana grown for the federal government is done at the University of Mississippi. It has long been argued that the quality and potency of this product is subpar for research purposes. Especially considering the higher standard of cannabis being sold in legal states.
“This study took seven years to obtain approval and three years to conduct at a cost of $2.2 million. The difference between anecdotal reports and these results may be the quality of the marijuana,” said Rick Doblin, Ph.D, Executive Director of MAPS, “which highlights the need for further well-controlled clinical trials that more closely represent currently available marijuana products. Higher quality cannabis flower suitable for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval is currently unavailable domestically due to restrictions on production imposed by the U.S. Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration and must be imported.”
Dr. Sisley insists that her team will move on and try to conduct more comprehensive cannabis studies. “Despite the absurd restrictions federal prohibitionists have placed on research for more than 50 years, we are squarely focused on launching further Phase 2 trials with imported cannabis of tested, higher potency, fresher flowers that will provide a valid comparison for the millions of Veterans and others with PTSD who are looking for new options,” Sisley said in a statement.
Unfortunately, the results of the latest study do not bode well for the immediate future of cannabis medicine. Although cannabis advocates and some lawmakers are constantly pushing for vets to be given legal access to medical marijuana, a failed $2 million study doesn’t exactly support their argument. Rest assured, the medical community will use this data in the coming years as a reason to keep PTSD patients on pharmaceuticals. We’re sure the anti-depressant companies are pleased.
Workers in cannabis businesses struggle to obtain health and life insurance, and in general are treated as a separate, unfavored class, subject to vicissitudes unique to this industry.
“Dozens of young White House staffers have been suspended, asked to resign or placed in a remote work program due to past marijuana use, frustrating staffers who were pleased by initial indications from the Biden administration that recreational use of cannabis would not be immediately disqualifying for would-be personnel, according to three people familiar with the situation.
The policy has even affected staffers whose marijuana use was exclusive to one of the 14 states—and the District of Columbia—where cannabis is legal. Sources familiar with the matter also said a number of young staffers were either put on probation or canned because they revealed they had used marijuana in the past in an official document they filled out for the position in the Biden White House during a lengthy background check.”
These talented young people are now getting a taste of the cannabigotry people in our industry — and “out” cannabis users in general — experience on a daily basis.
Workers in cannabis businesses struggle to obtain health and life insurance, and in general are treated as a separate, unfavored class, subject to vicissitudes unique to this industry. As just one example, the State of Oregon allows the Department of Revenue, at its discretion, to go after the mere employees of a cannabis business for all of the business’s unpaid cannabis taxes. What other workers have to fear liability for their employer’s taxes?
Imagine the surreal and hideous experience of opening up the mail and getting a notice from the Department of Revenue that you owe millions of dollars, just because you worked in a store that didn’t pay its taxes. Unfortunately, some people here in Oregon have actually had that experience and are living through it right now.
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Cannabis businesses must deal solely in cash, and when they are robbed, law enforcement treats the victims like criminals. This year, Portland dispensaries were hit with a rash of armed, violent robberies, resulting in at least one shooting death, (Michael Arthur RIP), and hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.
Most banks won’t give a cannabis worker a mortgage. Banks won’t give cannabis businesses loans. Banks won’t even give non-cannabis businesses that primarily serve cannabis businesses loans. When a cannabis or cannabis-adjacent business does manage to get a bank account, random account shutdowns are commonplace, even for those cannabis businesses which deal exclusively in federally legal hemp, or are ancillary businesses that don’t touch the plant at all.
Cannabis businesses pay grossly inflated income taxes: they pay not on their net income, like all other businesses, but rather on their gross income, because the government still does not allow them to take normal business deductions. That’s right — the federal government may treat you like a subhuman because you use cannabis, but the IRS is happy to take billions of dollars in unfairly high-income taxes from people in the cannabis industry. As always, the hypocritical United States government is the primary financial beneficiary of the drug war.
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Cannabigotry shows up everywhere. Doctors at the Veterans Administration take men and women who have bled and suffered for this country off their pain meds because they test positive for cannabis. Use cannabis and need an organ transplant? Forget it, you’ll be taken off the donation list. Live in a non-legal state and your child needs cannabis with THC for a medical condition? Uproot your family to a legal state or you will be imprisoned for child abuse.
Here is what cannabigotry means, and what it continues to mean in Biden’s America:
It means that if you use cannabis, you cannot be trusted to participate in the running of our country’s executive branch.
It means that if you use cannabis, you cannot be trusted with a security clearance.
It means that if you use cannabis, you are more likely to betray our country.
It means that if you use cannabis, you are less of a person.
Here is the truth: Cannabis prohibition and cannabigotry have always been part of a white supremacist project, its oligarchic architects and supporters seeking to turn working people of different colors against each other to the great and lasting advantage of capital. The Biden Administration sustains and invigorates this white supremacist project by breaking its word to its staff.
As we march on towards legalization, we must also achieve normalization. We should condemn the Biden Administration’s betrayal and stand in solidarity with people wronged by cannabigotry.
Andrew founded the Oregon Cannabis Law Group in 2014 and merged with Green Light Law Group in 2019. He has long been on the forefront of the novel legal issues concerning the emerging cannabis industry. You can contact him at andrew@gl-lg.com or 503-488-5424.
This article originally appeared on Green Light Law Group and has been reposted with permission.
Airplanes are the riskiest form of travel during the pandemic, but it can be safer if people follow some safety and distancing guidelines.
As the pandemic progresses and more and more people get vaccinated, airlines and airports have started reporting a consistent increase in traffic. It’s inevitable; the more the vaccine is within reach, the more excitement is felt throughout the country, with people disregarding their previously held safety measures due to a combination of pandemic fatigue and positivism.
With states loosening up on restrictions and allowing for more gatherings of people, is it safe to travel on an airplane? Answers depend on your individual circumstances.
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While a lot has been said about airplanes and airports, what truly matters is what people do once they get to their destination. While it’s safer to travel by car (with members of your household), airlines have adopted different safety measures in order to keep the risk of exposure to the minimum. If you wear the correct face masks and try your best to maintain six feet of distance from others, you’ll be following the CDC’s guidelines. Still, there’s no way of eliminating the risk when exposed to different people.
The ideal scenario for air travel is if people quarantine before traveling, test themselves, and, once they arrive at their destination, stay in one place.
“That’s low risk, and there are ways for unvaccinated people to still do that safely. For example, they can quarantine and get tested prior to the trip,” said CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen.
The big risk for traveling occurs during this time of the year, spring break, where people are traveling for tourism. High risk activities like hanging out in bars and restaurants with friends and strangers are what results in super spreader events, especially if you were to take this indoors; the fact that all of these bars, clubs and restaurants are open doesn’t mean they’re safe.
While hanging out at the beach following safety guidelines is low risk, the problem starts once people get comfortable, take off their masks, have a drink or two and start interacting with others, which is a common occurrence when traveling for tourism.
People who’ve had their vaccines are the safest options for traveling, especially if they’re traveling or gathering with people who’ve also been vaccinated. Regardless, no matter whether you’re vaccinated or not, it’s important to follow the CDC’s guidelines and to try your best to stay informed and to have some common sense. It’s one thing to have a drink in a bar with almost no people, and another to have a drink in a bar mid-spring break.
The FDA said in a statement that the products that are the subject of the warning letters have not gone through the FDA drug approval process and are considered unapproved new drugs.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued warning letters to two companies for selling products labeled as containing cannabidiol (CBD) in ways that violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). Specifically, the warning letters address the illegal marketing of unapproved drugs labeled as containing CBD. The companies are Honest Globe and BioLyte Laboratories.
The letter sent to Honest Globe referenced the products “ELIXICURE ORIGINAL PAIN RELIEF with CBD” (roll-on and pump versions) and “ELIXICURE LAVENDER PAIN RELIEF with CBD” (roll-on and pump versions) (hereinafter referred to as “ELIXICURE PAIN RELIEF with CBD” products). The “ELIXICURE PAIN RELIEF with CBD” products were labeled as containing cannabidiol (CBD) and require no prescription.
The letter reads, “Your “ELIXICURE PAIN RELIEF with CBD” products are unapproved new drugs introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce in violation of sections 505(a) and 301(d) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. 355(a) and 331(d). Furthermore, your “ELIXICURE PAIN RELIEF” products are misbranded drugs introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce in violation of sections 502(a), 502(ee), and 301(a) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. 352(a), 352(ee), and 331(a).” The FDA also said that although CBD was listed as an inactive ingredient in the labels of the “ELIXICURE PAIN RELIEF with CBD” products, the product labeling clearly represented CBD as an active ingredient, which is a component of a drug intended to furnish pharmacological activity or other direct effects in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or to affect the structure or function of the body. Ultimately an inactive ingredient should not exert pharmacological effects.
In addition to the marketing, Honest Globe was cited for production issues. The letter stated, “Your Quality Unit (QU) lacked control over your topical over-the-counter drug manufacturing operations and failed to ensure that you had adequate procedures. In your response, you committed to working with your contract laboratory to investigate the cited OOS results and future OOS results. Your response is inadequate because you did not address your responsibilities to investigate potential manufacturing deficiencies that may have led to the OOS results. Your response also failed to evaluate batches with OOS test results that had been distributed and were still within expiry.”
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Honest Globe also got itself in trouble with claiming its products to be registered with the FDA. “To state that any drug product is “FDA registered” is inaccurate; drugs are subject to listing with FDA, not registration. Moreover, registration of an establishment or listing of a drug does not denote approval of the establishment, the drug, or any other drugs of the establishment, nor does it mean that a product may be legally marketed.”
Biolyte Laboratories LLC was the other company that received a letter. The company made medical claims about its products. Examples given were “Silver Gel,” – used as an antimicrobial to help treat minor skin wounds, burns, infections . . .” “Silver Gel” – “USEFUL FOR WOUNDS, BURNS, BANDAGES, AND MORE . . . TOPICALLY USED AGAINST INFECTIONS . . . TOPICALLY USED AGAINST SEVERAL SKIN CONDITIONS (Hives, Rashes, eczema, diaper rash).”
“Based on the above labeling claims, your products “(b)(4) Therapeutic Pain Gel,” “(b)(4) Pain Relief Cream,” and “(b)(4) Magnesium Oil Spray” are drugs intended for use as external analgesics. We are not aware of any adequate and well-controlled clinical studies in the published literature that support a determination that “(b)(4) Therapeutic Pain Gel,” “(b)(4) Pain Relief Cream”, or “(b)(4) Magnesium Oil Spray” are generally recognized as safe and effective (GRASE) for use under the conditions suggested, recommended, or prescribed in their labeling.”
The FDA has not approved any over-the-counter (OTC) drugs containing CBD, and none of these products meet the requirements to be legally marketed without an approved new drug application. The letters explain that, as CBD has known pharmacological effects on humans, with demonstrated risks, it cannot be legally marketed as an inactive ingredient in OTC drug products that are not reviewed and approved by the FDA. Additionally, the letters cite substandard manufacturing practices, including failure to comply with current good manufacturing practices.
The FDA said in a statement that the products that are the subject of the warning letters issued today have not gone through the FDA drug approval process and are considered unapproved new drugs. There have been no FDA evaluation of whether these unapproved drug products are effective for the uses manufacturers to claim, what an appropriate dose might be, how they could interact with FDA-approved drugs or other products, or whether they have dangerous side effects or other safety concerns.
