Kornacki cares
MSNBC ’ s Steve Kornacki was offered a year ’ s supply of CBD to help calm him down during the election . The reporter whipped up a social media storm for his tireless performance , with # TrackingKornacki trending on social media . Columbia Care ’ s Jesse Channon wrote in a public letter addressed to Kornacki : “ We at Columbia Care want to thank you for your incredible work and unwavering dedication to the American people . As a gift of gratitude , Columbia Care would like to offer you a yearlong supply of our high-quality CBD products , so you can relax and take the break you truly deserve .”
Booze buster
Almost half of people prescribed Tilray medical cannabis reduced or discontinued alcohol within 30 days of starting their prescription , a Canadian survey found . Overall , 973 participants reported past or current alcohol use , with 419 ( 44 %) cutting down and 76 ( 8 %) quitting altogether . Philippe Lucas , a Graduate Researcher at the University of Victoria and VP Global Patient Research and Access at Tilray , said : “ The results of CCPS 2019 add to a growing body of evidence that medical cannabis use is often associated with reductions in the use of other substances , including alcohol , opioids , tobacco and illicit drugs .”
Hemp game changer
A new genetic test can predict whether a cannabis plant will produce mostly CBD or THC . Researchers at the University of Minnesota studied three different varieties of cannabis plants from industrial hemp growers and compared their genetic markers with their CBD vs THC ratios . The researchers concluded that the markers were a good predictor of the ratio . George Weiblen of the College of Biological Sciences said : “ We hope this new test can assist in new seed certification for the hemp industry . For hemp to take off in Minnesota and elsewhere , there must be ways to assure growers they won ’ t have to destroy their crops at the end of the season .”
On the up
The global CBD oil market will have grown by $ 3.52 bn by the end of 2020 , according to market research company Technavio . The figure represents an annual growth of just over 30 %. The company predicts that the impact of Covid-19 on the CBD market will normalize in the third quarter of 2021 in the best case scenario or the first quarter of 2022 in the worst case scenario .
Epidiolex rival ?
Argentina may have its first locally-made cannabis medicine by early 2021 , four years after medical cannabis was legalized . An official document shared by local newspaper Pharmabiz shows that government drugs head Manuel Limeres authorized the registration of Laboratorio Alef Medical Argentina ’ s Convupidiol as a medicine . The 35ml bottle contains 10 % CBD and is designed to treat seizures in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome like FDA-approved Epidiolex .
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