The New York City Health Department revealed last week that it will begin fining businesses that continue to offer CBD products after September. In an email sent by the department to restauranteurs last week, businesses were informed that the ban on CBD goods would go into effect on July 1. After that date, inspectors who find CBD products at restaurants will embargo them, removing them from sale and forcing the business to return them to the supplier or discard them. Beginning October 1, restaurants still offering CBD products will be “subject to fines,” according to a report from CNBC, which has obtained a copy of the email.

A department spokesman confirmed details of the email sent to New York City business owners in a statement to CNBC.

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has advised that it is unlawful to add cannabidiol (CBD) to food or drink,” the spokesman said. “We are currently informing businesses in New York City that may sell food and drink about this regulation, and have implemented an educational period to help them achieve compliance.”

Under FDA regulations, it is not legal to add drugs to foods and drinks. That rule applies to CBD, which is

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Legislation that would protect banks who provide services to medical marijuana businesses has been passed by the full West Virginia House of Delegates.

House Bill 2538 was overwhelmingly approved by the House, with 89 members voting in favor and just seven voting in opposition. The measure, which was introduced by Delegate Eric Nelson (R), now moves to the Senate. Passage in the Senate would put it before Governor Jim Justice for consideration.

“The Legislature finds and declares that the inability to provide banking services needed to collect and remit the fees, penalties, and taxes authorized under the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act has delayed the implementation and is precluding access by the patients and investment by the persons and entities interested in providing services under the Act”, states the bill’s official text. “The purpose of this section is to provide a solution to the banking problems encountered by the state in connection with the Act.”

To achieve this the state government would no longer be able to “prohibit, penalize, incentivize, or otherwise impair” any financial institution that decides to work with a marijuana-related business that’s legal under state law.

The proposal goes on to state that West Virginia “shall

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A man arrested on marijuana charges by law enforcement officers in North Carolina on Saturday turned out to be a fugitive from California wanted for murder, according to media reports. Boren Lay, 25, was arrested by agents with state Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) at the El Barracho, a bar licensed by the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in Winston-Salem.

The agents had been conducting an investigation at the bar when they discovered cannabis. After obtaining a warrant to search the establishment for drugs, agents confiscated more than 11 pounds of marijuana and 842 vials of THC oil. Lay and two other men, Sovath Yern, 30, one of the owners of El Borracho, and Sovann Yern, 31, who are both of Massachusetts. Police say that they have confirmed that all three men are members of the Southern California street gang known as the Asian Boyz.

After his arrest, Lay reportedly concealed his identity from police for almost nine hours. When he finally revealed his true name, officers discovered that Lay is wanted for a murder that was committed in California in July 2013. Bryan House, ALE branch head, said that officers with the agency have to be prepared to act on any violations that

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Stephen Reid is the mayor of Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. In December 2017, under Mayor Reid’s leadership, Point Pleasant became the first New Jersey city to preemptively ban any cannabis industry operations, should the state legalize them. The Point Pleasant Beach ban kicked off a statewide trend, leading to more than 10 percent of all New Jersey towns, representing nearly every county, passing resolutions restricting, banning or opposing cannabis industry operations and adult-use legalization.

Today, the total number of towns that have opted out has topped 60, and Mayor Reid continues to be a leading voice in the effort to oppose marijuana reform — in fact, he gets paid to do so. Thanks to the investigative efforts of blogger Patrick Duff, we now know that Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Stephen Reid is on the payroll of an influential anti-marijuana lobbying group.

Mayor of First New Jersey Town to Ban Weed Is on the Payroll of an Anti-Cannabis Lobby

In late November 2018, New Jersey lawmakers in both the Assembly and Senate voted to advance an adult-use bill, marking the first official legislative action on the issue since pro-legalization Gov. Phil Murphy assumed office in 2018. But since their 2016

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In hospitals and nursing care facilities across the country, patients are systematically denied access to medical cannabis, even if they are located in states where it is legal. The reason behind this is simple. As long as the vast majority of these institutions rely on funding from Medicare and other federal sources, they opt not to put those funds at risk by allowing a Schedule 1 controlled substance onto their premises.

One courageous trailblazer, however, has challenged this status quo. The Hebrew Home of Riverdale, a 735-bed skilled nursing facility located outside of New York City, developed an ingenious program that enables senior residents to access medical cannabis under New York state law, while the institution itself remains compliant with federal law

– Read the entire article at Forbes.

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CBD cocktails, with or without alcohol, are all the buzz in some East and West Coast cities with relaxed recreational cannabis laws. You don’t have to take a trip to LA to enjoy the flavor and effects of a cannabis-infused beverage, though. If it’s legal in your state, you can make your own cannabidiol (CBD) imbibables at home.

Cannabis Mixology 101: Basic Precautions and Knowledge

One of the most important things to remember about CBD cocktails is that, even though you drink them, they’re an “edible.” That means that your body reacts differently than it does to inhaled CBD. In general, the effects take longer to hit, and last longer. Because of that, Warren Bobrow, who wrote Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails and Tonics, recommends limiting yourself to no more than one CBD cocktail per hour, or to play it safe, one CBD-infused drink per night. Beyond that, Bobrow also suggests that you pay attention to which strain of weed you choose as a base for your infusions or tinctures. It will make a difference in both the effect and the finished flavor of your drink.

– Read the entire article at Civilized.

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According to new reports coming out of California, a key aspect of the state’s original marijuana legalization bill is not being met. Specifically, youth programs are so far not receiving the funding that the original legislation promised they would.

As concern grows over why this is happening, experts have identified a few trends that could be creating this scenario. And on an optimistic note, many in the state expect to see things start improving.

Why Youth Programs Aren’t Receiving Funding

In November 2016, California voters approved Proposition 64. The bill made recreational weed legal in the state. And as is typically the case with legalization bills, one of the primary concerns of the proposition was figuring out how the state would use tax revenues.

Among several uses, the state promised to use a portion of cannabis taxes to fund youth programs. Specifically, youth programs aimed at substance abuse education.

After Prop. 64 passed in 2016, the retail sale of recreational cannabis officially launched Jan. 1, 2018. Now, a full year after that date, the state has failed to fund youth educational programs.

According to the AP, experts say there are two primary reasons for this lack of funding. First, the state’s

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Growing weed is an earthly joy that everyone across the world should experience. But the ability to legally buy the herb makes things even sweeter. As laws begin to relax across the world and a newfound acceptance towards recreational and medicinal-use and culture continues to grow, it’s crucial to know what to look for and how flower should smell and taste– which, most of the time, is easier said than done. Below are three factors to keep in mind the next time you’re legally buying cannabis.

Courtesy of Spliffseeds

Appearance: The First Impression

They say you only get one chance to make a first good impression, and that certainly rings true when it comes to cannabis flower. At a street level, it can be challenging to acquire consistency as well as variety. That’s why going to an established dispensary, coffee shop (we’re looking at you, Amsterdam!), social club, or smoking lounge is ideal because the rigmarole of filtering out the schwag from the good-good is already done for you. That said, there are a few ways to indicate the quality of a flower’s genetics, how apt the grower was, if the trimmers were experienced, how long the bouquet cured

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It has been four months since cannabis became legal in Canada and, in that span of time, the City of Edmonton has only given out three bylaw violation tickets for cannabis smoking.

Numbers from the city reveal there have been 33 warnings about cannabis smoking; the numbers pale when compared to the 73 tickets given out by the city for tobacco smoking and the 847 warnings handed out for tobacco smoking since Oct. 17, 2018, which is the day it became legal to buy and smoke cannabis.

The numbers come months after the city grappled with how to oversee both tobacco and cannabis smoking and passed a new smoking bylaw that limits the public places where smoking, of any sort, is allowed.

– Read the entire article at Global News.

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Last October, the cannabis legalization advocacy group Maryland Marijuana Justice organized a protest outside of state Rep. Andy Harris’s congressional office in Salisbury. Six months earlier, ex-Colorado residents Adam Eidinger and Kris Furnish founded the group to accomplish one primary object: remove Rep. Andy Harris, a politician the group calls “one of the worst concerning cannabis reform laws,” from Maryland’s 1st Congressional District.

20-year-old Jake Burdett, a student at Salisbury University, attended the October protest. It brought him face to face with one of Rep. Harris’s staffers, an encounter the young activist briefly livestreamed on Facebook Live. And on Valentine’s Day, Burdett was charged with multiple felony wiretapping charges for recording and posting that meeting online for a day. The charges brought against Burdett were filed by Rep. Harris’ office.

Maryland Marijuana Justice Demonstrator Faces Felony Charges for Livestreaming a Meeting

These days, members of the cannabis advocacy group Maryland Marijuana Justice (MDMJ) are a regular fixture outside Maryland’s Congressional offices. The group has been organizing demonstrations and protests to support cannabis reform efforts and challenge the lawmakers opposing them. Lawmakers like Republican state Rep. Andy Harris, who in 2014 worked to block the full legalization of marijuana in D.C.

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