In brief
Arkansas moving closer to legal pot sales
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas’ Medical Marijuana Commission has approved a final set of rules on how businesses can cultivate and sell the drug.
The rules approved in late February are now receiving public comment, and lawmakers must adopt them no later than May 8. Commissioners are expected to hold a hearing March 31.
Dr. Ronda Henry-Tillman, the commission’s chairman, said questions remain about who would educate patients and ensure safety.
“People who want it are thinking about the relief that it provides them,” she said. “Others are thinking dollar signs and business plans, but … the safety of that individual has to be considered as well.”
Lawmakers and Gov. Asa Hutchinson approved a bill removing a requirement in the voter-approved Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment that physicians certify “the potential benefits of the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the health risks for the qualifying patient.”
In December, the commission determined to allow for 32 dispensaries and five cultivation facilities.Dispensaries would be able to grow up to 50 “mature” plants.
Dispensaries not growing marijuana would pay an annual licensing fee of $2,500. Dispensaries growing their own plants would pay an annual fee of $25,000.
Source: The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Oregon sees boom in pot sales
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Department of Revenue announced late last month that it received $5.3 million in marijuana tax payments in January. The grand total of $65.4 million received in the year since Oregon started taxing pot sales is exceeding original estimates.
In January 2016, Oregon started collecting a 25 percent tax from medical marijuana dispensaries’ recreational sales. A year later, recreational pot shops — which first opened here last summer — began charging a 17 percent tax.
Even though the tax rate has dropped, money still flows. It is smaller, however, than the state’s expected $1.8 billion budget shortfall, which the Legislature is trying to resolve.
“The (marijuana tax) numbers … suggest very strong collection,” said Mazen Malik, senior economist with the Legislature. “This suggests that the transition is being implemented successfully and consumers are continuing to buy at the rate we saw last year.”
Last May, the Legislative Revenue Office quadrupled its estimate of net marijuana tax revenues that the state was expected to receive through June 30 — from $8.4 million to $35 million.
The actual total pot tax payments are now almost double that revised amount, and five more months of tax collections remain before June 30.
Source: The Associated Press
Brazil OKs pot for MS treatment
RIO — The Brazilian government has authorized pharmacists to fill prescriptions for a hemp-based CBD oil designed to treat multiple sclerosis.
The oil known as Real Scientific Hemp is made by the U.S.-based Medical Marijuana Inc., and the company’s Brazilian subsidiary HempMeds Brasil.
This is the first time that the government’s National Health Surveillance Agency has granted prescriptions for this type of product to treat MS, which affects 1.36-20 per 100,000 Brazilias.
“We commend the Brazilian government for recognizing nationwide health problems that exist, including Multiple Sclerosis and a multitude of other chronic medical conditions, and looking for solutions that can help alleviate those problems,” said Medical Marijuana’s CEO Dr. Stuart Titus.
He said research is indicating that cannabis/hemp can slow the neurodegenerative process of MS and help patients manage symptoms.
“One study showed cannabinoids demonstrated neuroprotective effects during an animal model, reducing the damage to myelin caused from inflammation, while in another study MS patients saw significant improvements in muscle spasticity and reduced sleep disturbances after four weeks,” he said.
The company is working on related products to treat pain and muscle spasticity, including gum and botanical CBD items. It also offers hemp-based products for epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and chronic pain.
Source: The Associated Press
Colorado town offers drive-through service
PARACHUTE, Colo. — The Parachute Board of Trustees approved a business license for Tumbleweed Express in February, believed to be the state’s first drive-through marijuana shop.
“As far as I can tell, we are not aware of this business model,” said Robert Goulding, spokesman for Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division.
The business is expected to open this spring in a former car wash.
The Marijuana Enforcement Division approved the license but said the store cannot allow anyone younger than 21, even in a car’s back seat.
The business must also have security and surveillance, and marijuana may not be visible from outside the dispensary.
Marijuana accounted for nearly 30 percent of the community’s 2016 sales tax revenue of just over $1 million, said Town Manager Stuart McArthur.
“The really good news is that other businesses are benefiting,” he said.
Travelers buying marijuana in Parachute are more likely to stop at restaurants and other shops, he said, helping an economy hit hard by a downturn in natural gas production.
Mayor Roy McClung said the town’s economy would have been in trouble without legalized recreational marijuana.
Statewide, marijuana sales brought in close to $200 million in taxes and fees last year, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Source: Glenwood Springs Post Independent