The Trump Cannabis Report

Our friends at MJBizDaily.com have done an exhaustive study on the possible effects the Trump administration might have on the future of the cannabis industry, aka “How Trump Will Affect the $5 Billion Medical Marijuana and Recreational Cannabis Industries.” In the course of putting this together, they interviewed dozens of top industry executives and lawmakers. Multiple possible scenarios are presented in the 88-page report, but in the end they feel it will be business as usual.

Cannabis industry investors and employees were horrified to see Jeff Sessions nominated to be Attorney General and well they should be. Just last year he was quoted as saying, “Good people don’t smoke marijuana.”

I guess he means that the 71 percent who voted for medical marijuana in Florida and the 57 percent who passed our own Prop 64 are not “good people.” Well that kind of attitude might fly in the backwoods of Alabama where Sessions is from, but it doesn’t in the rest of the U.S. any more. Medical marijuana is favored by 80-90 percent of the population, and even recreational legalization is polling better than his boss Trump.

More than likely, Trump’s inner circle, namely his kids, will urge him to leave this issue alone rather than alienate even more voters. Look for the status quo from the new administration with a possible superficial toughening to keep the “alt-right” happy.

High Times Business Summit

Conference season is upon us, and kicks off just down the freeway in L.A. with the High Times Business Summit, January 19-20 at the L.A. Convention Center. Long the leader in cannabis media, High Times is also well known for the many events it puts on such as the Cannabis Cup.

The group has more than 20 top industry leaders scheduled to speak and a host of seminars on all relevant cannabis topics. Going on at the same time in the main hall is the Big Industry Show, now in its 10th year. This B2B show is a chance to see all of the wholesale products in the smoke/vape space. For tickets and complete info visit HighTimesBusiness.com.

For those still wondering about California’s future influence on the industry, please note that High Times has announced it is moving corporate headquarters from New York to Los Angeles. The City of Angels is sure to steal the throne from Colorado as the cannabis capital in the very near future.

Dr. David Bearman

Santa Barbara residents are lucky to have a renowned expert on the history of marijuana right in their own backyard. Dr. David Bearman is a highly sought after speaker and expert witness who has been prescribing medical marijuana for years now. His two volume book set Drugs are not the Devil’s Tools will be combined into one book soon and will surely be used as a textbook in future marijuana history classes.

During our recent conversation, Dr. Bearman reminded me that ”cannabis was widely prescribed by doctors for all sorts of ailments back in the 1920s and ’30s until William Randolph Hearst led a very successful campaign to demonize the drug.”

The condemnation of cannabis led the medical establishment to completely ignore our endocannabinoid system. He hopes that the mainstream media will return to using the name cannabis instead of the slang marijuana, a reference popularized by the Hearst papers. He also sees no need for dispensaries as cannabis should be available and prescribed in pharmacies. He does realize that this may be years off.

Inspirit Hemp Cream

There are many new CBD (cannabidiol) products on the market, and the jury is out on whether or not they help. This is not the case with the rapidly growing Inspirit Hemp Cream. We tested it in our own family for aches and pains, and the results were extraordinary. My wife broke her leg a while back and has continuing pain as a result. She tried Inspirit, and within 30 minutes the pain was gone.

Products like this use CBD, which has healing properties and none of the THC that gives cannabis users their high. Inspirit actually derives its CBD directly from hemp instead of cannabis and as such can be sold today legally in all 50 states.

This Ventura-based company is currently being marketed in dispensaries and health food stores. For complete information visit InspiritHemp.com.