Author: paul_moyer

Controversy over cannabis policy originates from the 1970 federal decision to classify cannabis as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).  Schedule I drugs are deemed to have high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. The current status of cannabis legalization in the United States rests upon a chasm between …

Read more “If Cannabis is illegal under U.S. Federal Law, how can people buy it?”

Cannabis is the botanical name of a genus within the Cannabaceae, the same plant family that contains hops. The genus includes three species: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis ruderalis and Cannabis indica. However, the three species interbreed and species boundaries are fluid — therefore, it has been suggested that only a single Cannabis species, C. sativa, be …

Read more “The difference between hemp and cannabis”

Cannabis (the word we’ll use instead of marijuana) is possibly one of the oldest plants cultivated by man.  This most versatile botanical has provided a mirror to medicine and has pointed the way in the last two decades toward a host of medical challenges from analgesia to weight loss through the discovery of its myriad …

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Rohit Sharma, President, Indian Industrial Hemp Association (IIHA); Image: Madhu Kapparath  After eight long years of being a voice for hemp in India, Elston Menezes, 31, one of the founders of B.E Hemp, decided to shut the shop last year before the pandemic due to miniscule returns and very limited market reach.The startup started out by educating the …

Read more “Cannabis startups chase opportunities despite low awareness and legal challenges”

The movement to recognize the therapeutic benefits of hemp and cannabis form a template for the exploration of other substances used  to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety.  Today’s opioid epidemic and the failure of many medicines to treat depression, post traumatic disorders and other maladies have …

Read more “Changing Your Mind”

The fight against cannabis in the United States has a sinister subplot (hemp was a less expensive alternative that threatened newspaper mogul William Randolph Heart’s cotton newsprint empire).  Politics were also in play when the Nixon justice department noted that harsh treatment toward cannabis offenders were a potent tool against Nixon’s college students leaders and …

Read more “Gateway or Off Ramp?”

Controversy over cannabis policy originates from the 1970 federal decision to classify cannabis as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).  Schedule I drugs are deemed to have high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. The current status of cannabis legalization in the United States rests upon a chasm between …

Read more “If Cannabis is illegal under U.S. Federal Law, how can people buy it?”

As early as the year 1938, the magazine Popular Mechanics identified over 25,000 uses for the hemp plant.  Indeed, hemp’s origins dates back thousands of years.  Hemp’s likely interactions with humans began as our species moved from living in roving hunter-gatherer clans to settled agrarian societies.  Traditionally, hempseed oil was used in a number of …

Read more “The history of hemp”