Forbes • 3rd August 2022

How The 2023 Farm Bill May Reshape The Hemp Industry

Since former U.S. President Donald J. Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp at the federal level, the hemp industry seems to have flourished all over the country. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that the total value of hemp production is worth $824 million in 2021. The demand for CBD-based products has driven the industry's production and sales, despite the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet allowed CBD in foods, beverages, or dietary

CBD-Intel • 1st August 2022

Swiss CBD company takes issue with EFSA’s delay of novel food applications

A Swiss CBD company has questioned the approach of European authorities in demanding further data in order to advance novel food applications, describing it as an issue that might signal the end of hemp-extracted cannabinoids as a viable sector in the EU. Linnea, a Swiss provider of ingredients for the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and dietary supplement industries, has two applications now on hold with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). ... Do you want to read more? The data or analysis

Forbes • 27th July 2022

Switzerland Fully Legalizes Medical Cannabis And Allows Export

Switzerland is to join other European countries that have legalized cannabis for medical purposes. From August 1, patients can get medical cannabis through a medical prescription. Before the new legislation, medical cannabis patients had to request a request to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the Swiss federal government’s center for public health. The legalization also allows the export of medical cannabis for commercial purposes through the authorization companies need to reques

Forbes • 25th July 2022

JuicyFields’ Alleged Ponzi Scheme May Be The Biggest Scam In The Cannabis Industry

A cannabis investment platform operating worldwide promised high returns to invest in cannabis plants cultivated by top cannabis industry giants. Many so-called “e-growers” joined the company and invested in the cannabis crowdfunding platform. But recent investigations suggest the company may have scammed hundreds of thousands of investors, running off with millions of dollars deposited in the company’s bank accounts through bank deposits and cryptocurrencies. Here is what you need to know ab

Forbes • 16th July 2022

Former NBA Star Al Harrington Partners With NBPA To Launch CBD Product Line To Be Sold By Amazon And Walmart

The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced on July 12 a multi-year partnership with Re+Play, a performance-based CBD wellness brand launched in 2021 by Harrington Wellness, a company founded by former NBA player Al Harrington, in partnership with Avicanna, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of plant-derived cannabinoid-based products. The first product release from this new partnership will be a line of proprietarily formulated recovery creams developed in

DW.COM • 14th July 2022

Lebanon's dollarization of university tuition worsens students' lives | DW | 13.07.2022

In 2018, Manar Sleiman moved from Baalbek to Beirut to study architecture at Notre Dame University there, thanks to a scholarship that covered 85% of her expenses. Although the university where she chose to study wasn't the most expensive institution in Lebanon, keeping up financially was a challenge. "I already struggled to pay tuition fees and expenses, and I had to sleep in the university dorm," the 22-year-old told DW. But the economic crisis that began in late 2019 put her career as a st

Forbes • 11th July 2022

Albania May Legalize Export-Only Medical Cannabis And Industrial Hemp

Albania may join the list of European countries that legalized the cultivation of medical cannabis and industrial. However, cultivation, production, and trade will be destined to export only. The Albanian government announced on Thursday, June 30, the plan to legalize the cultivation of medical cannabis and industrial hemp for companies that have such experience in European countries. The draft law establishes a national agency for the control and monitoring of the cultivation and processing o

Forbes • 11th July 2022

New York Regulators' Battle On Shutting Down Recreational Cannabis Unlicensed Retailers

New York cannabis regulators came back to crack down on unlicensed retailers, sending on Thursday, July 7, cease-and-desist warning letters to 52 unlawful businesses across the state. According to New York's Office Cannabis Management (OCM), the unlicensed merchants falsely depict their operations as legal cannabis dispensaries. However, they are not licensed by New York State and are selling untested products that put public health at risk. In a press statement, Tremaine Wright, Chair of New

Forbes • 27th June 2022

Inside The Process To Legalize Recreational Cannabis In Germany

When the German government announced in late 2021 its plan to legalize recreational cannabis sales in Germany, experts and cannabis enthusiasts put great expectations on the so-called "traffic light" government's plan to regulate the industry. Although Germany and other European countries focused in recent months on the war in Ukraine following the Russian invasion in February and the resulting efforts to detach themselves from Russian energy dependence, German officials had time to speed up th

24th June 2022

How Republicans Want to Legalize Cannabis

In the United States, Democrats won't be more alone in legalizing cannabis at the federal level. As more states are regulating recreational and medical cannabis, also Republicans have come up with a proposal to regulate the market. Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace introduced to the House of Representatives in November 2021 the first Republicans' cannabis bill to regulate cannabis at the federal level. Entitled "State Reform Act," the bill aims to end federal cannabis prohibition while ensur

Forbes • 22nd June 2022

Cannabis May Treat Fatigue, Study Suggests

Fatigue is a feeling of constant tiredness or weakness. It can affect our body or mind or a combination of both. Fatigue can affect anyone and for the most different reasons. A study conducted in 2011 says that the prevalence of fatigue in the general population has been reported to range from 7% to 45%, and another study found that 38% of US workers reported being fatigued. Several factors that work in combination can cause fatigue, including medical conditions, unhealthy lifestyle choices, w

Forbes • 13th June 2022

Spain May Legalize Medical Cannabis, But It Won't Relieve Patients' Suffering

Spain may soon legalize cannabis for medical purposes, but associations and experts claim it won't change the current situation. On May 30, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) introduced a bill to legalize medical cannabis in the country. According to the bill, patients can access medical cannabis in hospitals' pharmacies to treat chronic pain from multiple sclerosis, some forms of epilepsy, and chronic non-cancer pain through medical prescriptions from specialists. Although the bill

Middle East Eye • 11th June 2022

Explained: Renewed Israel-Lebanon maritime border dispute

Tensions are rising between Israel and Lebanon over their maritime border after arrival of Israeli-contracted exploration vessel in disputed area.

Forbes • 8th June 2022

Ukraine May Legalize Medical Cannabis

Ukraine's Health Minister Viktor Liashko announced on June 7 that the government had backed the bill that would legalize medical cannabis amid the war with Russia. "We understand the negative effects of war on mental health. We understand the number of people who will need medical treatment due to this exposure. And we understand that there is no time to wait," he wrote on a Facebook post. He also stressed those who campaign against the legalization of medical cannabis in Ukraine deliberately

Forbes • 4th June 2022

High Doses Of CBD Don’t Affect Driving, New Study Shows

Researchers of the University of Sydney, Australia, found that high doses of CBD don't impair driving. Published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology on May 30, the study says that oral CBD treatment, even if taken at a high dosage, doesn't "appear to induce feelings of intoxication and is unlikely to impair cognitive function or driving performance." Researchers analyzed the simulated driving performance of 17 participants who undertook driving tasks after consuming a placebo and three differ

DAWN • 2nd June 2022

The ‘Nightmare’ of Being Gay in Tunisia

The fragile, two-month truce in Yemen that was just extended for another two months has been welcomed by all...

The New Arab • 30th May 2022

Lebanon's first test: Will Nabih Berri be re-elected?

For the first time since the economic crisis in 2019, Lebanese citizens voted on 15 May to elect a new parliament. The election set into motion two significant changes in the legislative branch of the government. On one hand, voters elected thirteen candidates inspired by the Lebanese uprising (or Thawra), a series of anti-establishment protests that started on 17 October 2019 to protest against the ruling class. On the other, Hezbollah and its allies lost their parliament majority. Although t

Forbes • 25th May 2022

Marijuana Legalization Has Reshaped Cannabis Marketing On Instagram, Study Finds

According to a recent study, marijuana legalization has drastically changed cannabis marketing on Instagram. In the study entitled "From dealing to influencing: Online marketing of cannabis on Instagram" and published in the international journal Crime, Media, Culture last month, researchers Silje Anderdal Bakken and Sidsel Kirstine Harder from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, compared 60 Instagram profiles belonging to illegal Swedish drug dealers to 70 cannabis influencers' profiles bas

Middle East Eye • 23rd May 2022

Lebanon's opposition MPs now need to prove their victory not only symbolic

Thirteen candidates inspired by the 2019 protest movement have been elected, making them the fifth largest bloc in parliament.

Forbes • 23rd May 2022

Thailand To Give Away One Million Cannabis Plants To Households Across The Country

Thai people may soon receive a cannabis plant at home gifted by their government. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced in a Facebook post on May 7 that he wants to distribute one million cannabis plants with a THC level below 0.2% to households across the country for medical purposes only. The plant giveaway coincides with the new law on cannabis growing, which will enter into force on June 9, and a recent government decision to remove cannabis from the list of drugs considered illega