HEMP RULES
Appeals court rules that delta-8 THC is federally legal
In an opinion published last week, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit wrote that products containing delta-8 THC are “generally legal” because it is derived from hemp, per Marijuana Moment.
According to federal law, “any part of” the hemp plant is legal, including “all derivatives, extracts, [and] cannabinoids,” that contains less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by weight.
In states where marijuana is illegal, delta-8 THC has emerged as a popular alternative to delta-9 THC because it is impairing. “Regardless of the wisdom of legalizing delta-8 THC products, this Court will not substitute its own policy judgment for that of Congress,” Judge D. Michael Fisher wrote. If lawmakers behind the 2018 Farm Bill unknowingly legalized delta-8, “then it is for Congress to fix its mistake.”
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ROOM FOR ONE MORE
Canada still has room for more cannabis stores: Cannabis Benchmarks
Every province except Alberta has room for more cannabis stores, according to Cannabis Benchmarks, per MJBizDaily.
That’s even though so-called “store-clustering” has become an election issue in Ontario, where both the NDP and Liberals say they’d prevent too many stores from opening too closely, per CP24.
Based on Colorado and Oregon markets, the Connecticut-based data firm estimates the optimal number of stores is one per 7,500. That means Canada could use another 5,100 in addition to its existing 3,162 storefronts.
DRESS TO UNIMPRESS
Quebec cannabis store workers go on strike
Approximately 300 employees of the government-run stores in Quebec have gone on strike, per MJBizDaily.
The labour action comes after the Société québécoise du cannabis (SDQC) suspended 75 employees and the president and VP of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) for dress code violations. According to a press release, they had worn Bermuda shorts and dresses as “means of pressure.”
“CUPE members at the SQDC are demanding decent working conditions, while the latter refuses to grant them salaries and benefits similar to those offered in other comparable state corporations, in particular the Société des alcools du Québec,” reads the release. “These SQDC workers barely earn $17/h upon hiring and the majority have no full-time position or job security, which puts them in an untenable precarious position.”
GIRL POWER
How legalization altered cannabis marketing on Instagram
A study published in Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal found that cannabis legalization “drastically changed” cannabis marketing on Instagram, per Marijuana Moment.
The most glaring finding was that illicit cannabis marketing is male-dominated, while legal cannabis influencers on the platform are often women.
“Our findings show that cannabis influencers on Instagram are changing the stereotypical characteristics of illegal cannabis culture as being almost entirely dominated by men, to one where cannabis is represented as a desirable accessory in certain feminine lifestyles,” wrote the study authors.
