New York officials deployed researchers to sample products from illegal bodegas and pop-up dispensaries selling cannabis on the street, and tested them for harmful contaminants. If it’s safe, clean flower that you want—the findings were dismal at best.

According to a report led by the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association published on November 30, around 40% of illegal cannabis products sampled in New York City were found to contain harmful contaminants like E. coli, salmonella, and lead. The cannabis products were purchased from only about 20 illegal sites, but spanning across all five boroughs.

Salmonella, E. coli, and other contaminants in weed pose serious threats to your health, and are controlled under typical state regulations. Smoking weed with bacteria like E. coli provides a direct path for the infectant into the lungs, where it can potentially do a lot of damage.

“E. Coli, Heavy Metals, Copyright Infringement, and

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The Minnesota Department of Health announced on Wednesday that the agency will add irritable bowel syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder to the list of qualifying medical conditions for participation in the state’s medical cannabis program. Under state law, the addition of the new qualifying conditions will become effective beginning on August 1, 2023, according to state officials.

“We are adding the new qualifying conditions to allow patients more therapy options for conditions that can be debilitating,” Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm said in a statement from the health department.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a disorder characterized by abdominal pain or discomfort, as well as irregular bowel movements that can result in diarrhea, constipation, both diarrhea and constipation, or bloating. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by recurring, intrusive thoughts that often cause significant emotional distress and anxiety in those living with the disorder. This can lead to repetitive actions or

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Regulators in Arkansas on Monday revoked a medical marijuana cultivator’s license to operate after a judge ruled earlier this month that the state erred when it granted the license two years ago. Doralee Chandler, the director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration and the head regulator of the state Medical Marijuana Commission (MMC), revoked the license from medicinal cannabis cultivator River Valley Relief (RVR) on November 28 at a hearing that lasted nearly an hour.

The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission granted RVR a license to cultivate medicinal cannabis in July 2020, making the company the last of eight growers authorized by the state. But another company, 2600 Holdings, filed a lawsuit in January 2021, arguing that RVR should not have been granted the cultivation license. The plaintiff asked the court to disqualify River Valley Relief and award the license to 2600 or provide other relief under the Arkansas Administrative Procedures

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Certain low-income senior citizens in Pennsylvania will receive financial assistance for their medical cannabis treatment thanks to a newly launched pilot program in the state. 

According to Capitol Wire, the state’s Department of Health launched the program “to offer $50 a month in financial assistance to help almost 1,400 senior citizens afford the cost of medical marijuana.”

“The payments are the first step toward establishing a third phase for the financial assistance program authorized to help low-income medical marijuana patients afford the drug. Because insurance companies don’t include medical marijuana in their prescription drug coverage, medical marijuana patients are left to pony up the full cost of medical marijuana when they visit the state’s dispensaries,” Capitol Wire reported.

Even so, that’s a small portion of the pool of patients who are potentially eligible for the discount, with Capitol Wire reporting that the state “doesn’t have sufficient funding to provide meaningful

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The recent California state law provides a legal pathway for licensed cannabis operators to donate excess and expiring products at no cost to eligible patients.

From the onset of this new legislation, one of the longest-standing chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Los Angeles NORML, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, began working alongside the Veterans Cannabis Coalition to affect change through SB-34. Los Angeles NORML Executive Director, Ian Rassman, and Veterans Cannabis Coalition CEO and Founder, Eric Goepel, made it their organization’s mission to focus on developing programs surrounding this unique legislation. 

Their program is based on a model developed by Goepel and Shelly McKay, the Co-Founder of Kannabis Works where the program was pioneered. She launched the first day the new SB-34 legislation came into effect on March 1st, 2020. Kannabis Works has maintained a consistent monthly donation since that time.

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