September 6th Highlights

• Stigma Eventually Dies - you might be surprised to learn that cannabis use is on the rise among baby boomers in the United States, especially men, according to a study published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The use of cannabis increased in older adults in both the states where cannabis has been legalised for use. The survey itself didn’t offer any insights into why more boomers are using cannabis. I suspect cannabis acceptance is growing due to word of mouth, proliferated by those who have experienced the plant's medicinal benefits. Furthermore, mainstream media, coupled with cannabis stores appearing across the country could naturally lead to an ease in stigma. The findings appear to reflect changing attitudes toward cannabis. To learn more about study you can read here
• Migrating from the Black Market - I read an interesting article this week, it raised a valid point around how one of the biggest challenges the legal market is facing is a functional cannabis infrastructure (akin to the alcohol industry). An adult-use cannabis framework (like the alcohol industry) means high-quality products are produced, distribution is made simple, products are affordable, and for businesses, interstate and international commerce is established to lower prices. All these items need to be harmonize managed in order to migrate consumers from the black 
• CBD in Pharma Realm - CBD has substantial therapeutic potential, but its development as an effective drug by the pharmaceutical industry is hindered by intrinsic characteristics such as low bioavailability, low water solubility, and variable pharmacokinetic profiles. Importantly, lack of patentability of the drug substance also limits the likelihood of an expensive, full development programme in anything other than orphan indications. Potential avenues to overcome these issues with CBD include self-emulsifying drug delivery systems, improved crystal formulations and other solid-state delivery formulations, which are mostly in the pre-clinical or early clinical stages of development. I find this area fascinating as this is how the cannabis pharma space will evolve. To read more about the study - click here 
• Genomic medicine in the field of cannabis - Genomic medicine could have a huge influence on the cannabis industry in the coming years. Genomic medicine - I explored this topic briefly on my talk with Prof. Hinanit Koltai, Ph.D. Genomic medicine is fundamentally altering the way scientists and clinicians understand the disease. Incorporating genomic data into disease research is not a new concept. However, advances in automated sample processing, sequencing, and data analysis now accelerate new insights into the causal drivers of disease. Increasingly, researchers are identifying genomic variants in populations which are low-frequency but high-impact with respect to disease. By coupling these findings to clinical information on disease severity and progression, program leads are then empowered to discover and validate new drug targets. To read more about this topic

A big week for MediPharm Labs, entering into LATM and Denmark

Canada hasn’t imported any commercial medical cannabis, new data shows

In spite of strict cannabis laws, Hong Kong's first CBD cafe is open for business

Indonesia takes away “Medical Plant” designation for cannabis 

Illegal cannabis expenditures at a multiyear low in Canada, data shows

$16.9 million investment for Australian health and medical research

Thousands of Australians are forced to break the cannabis laws. It doesn’t have to be this way

Zenabis announces first shipment to Australia

Medicinal cannabis company Greenfern launches second equity crowdfunding round