In this week’s “Cannabuzz”:
NEW NEIGHBORS— The City of Portland’s Office of Neighborhood Involvement has not been a friend to the cannabis industry. Absurdly high fees, inexplicably long delays, and what can charitably be called “abundant overregulation” have all been major roadblocks to supporting and growing the economic engine of the cannabis industry. Mayor Ted Wheeler has brought new hope with his announcement that the bureau will change hands, from Commissioner Amanda Fritz to newly elected Commissioner Chloe Eudaly.
GREEN MONEY—Arcview Market Research has released some statistics on cannabis sales, and they’re jaw-droppers. While the full, 200-page report won’t be out until February, we take an early look at those numbers.
CBD IN THE UK—The UK has determined that CBD is—gasp—a medicine. Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, mercifully known as the MHRA, made an announcement over New Year’s weekend, stating, in a most British manner, “We have come to the opinion that products containing cannabidiol (CBD) used for medical purposes are a medicine,” and “MHRA will now work with individual companies and trade bodies in relation to making sure products containing CBD, used for a medical purpose, which can be classified as medicines, satisfy the legal requirements of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.” Meanwhile, back in the Colonies, in December the DEA added CBD to the list of Schedule I drugs such as heroin.
