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Medical cannabis entrepreneurs are looking for answers after the Texas Department of Public Safety unexpectedly shut down its application process for new dispensary permits on Wednesday. The window was originally intended to last through November 1.

No reason was given for the abrupt termination of the application window, which had been announced as a month-long period, and was pulled after only a week. “The department will continue to assess dispensing capacity requirements, along with the need for any additional licenses, as we work through recent legislative changes to the program,” a spokesperson from the department commented to a local news site.

The closure of the application process is of particular concern because the geographically enormous state’s access to medical marijuana is fairly limited. Last year, only three dispensaries (Surterra Texas, Cansortium Texas, and Compassionate Cultivation) saw their applications approved—the minimum number that the state was required to authorize. 43 businesses submitted applications to the agency.

The dearth of licensed dispensaries means that Texan patients have little options when it comes to where they can get their cannabis. Supply is so low that law enforcement officials have expressed concern that residents may cross state lines to get their meds illegally. That worry was multiplied when a New Mexico judge ruled that out of state individuals could qualify to buy medical cannabis at local dispensaries.

Executive director of the Texas chapter of NORML, Jax Finkel was caught off guard by the news of the closure of the application process. “I find it concerning that a week into the application process it’s suspended with no notice and no clear communication with doctors, patients or the general public,” he said.

Medical Marijuana in Texas

In June, Governor Greg Abbot signed into effect House Bill 3703, which expanded qualifying conditions for the state medical cannabis program past its previous limitation to individuals with intractable epilepsy. Now, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, terminal cancer, autism, and certain seizure disorders are included as qualifiers.

The state representative who sponsored that legislation, Republican Stephanie Klick of Fort Worth, told reporters that she expected the moratorium on applications to be lifted soon, and that its causes were due to the change in qualifying conditions spurred by the department’s fact-finding sessions on which incurable neurodegenerative disorders should qualify for medical cannabis treatment in the state.

“Hang tight for now,” Klick commented. “This is likely just a temporary delay until we know which of the incurable neurodegenerative conditions are appropriate to be included on the list.”

Though medical access has expanded incrementally, Texas continues to have an uneasy relationship with its marijuana policy. Many lawmakers—among them Governor Greg Abbott — were dismayed when a recent bill authorizing the cultivation and sale of hemp made it untenable to prosecute many marijuana possession cases. At issue is the state’s ability to do lab tests distinguishing between non-psychoactive hemp and marijuana. Lacking the necessary technology, many county prosecutors have announced that they will not be pursuing many marijuana possession cases.

Earlier this year, a cannabis decriminalization bill passed the Texas House of Representatives, but withered on the vine when it arrived at the state Senate.

A major U.S. insurance company is planning to increase life insurance premiums for its customers who vape. The move by Prudential will bring rates for customers who use e-cigarettes into alignment with those charged smokers, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

“Prudential will reclassify users of e-cigarettes to treat them as smokers and in line with our cigarette smoking guidelines,” a company spokesman said. “Smokers typically will have higher-priced policies.”

The change will go into effect for customers applying for individual life insurance policies. Smokers typically pay about 50% more per year than nonsmokers, according to quotes from online insurance sites. The difference could add up to an additional $350 to $800 per year, depending on the health of the applicant and other factors.

The move by Prudential, a Fortune 500 company that provides insurance and other financial services in more than 40 countries, comes in the midst of the ongoing bout of serious lung injuries that have been linked to the use of e-cigarettes and other vaping devices. As of this week, at least 1,100 cases of the severe lung illnesses associated with vaping and 23 deaths have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Increased attention on vaping over the past few months and linkages to a few deaths and multiple illnesses, have resulted in warnings from the FDA, federal government and some states banning the use of flavored e-cigarettes,” the spokesman said.

Risks of Vaping Unknown

Loretta Worters, the vice president of the Insurance Information Institute, said that the risks of vaping are not yet known.

“There hasn’t been enough statistical data to say whether or not they’re as bad as traditional cigarettes. Let’s not forget that it took 20 or 30 years before that connection was made,” said Worters. 

“Before you pick up that e-cigarette, people should ask themselves, ‘Is it worth the risk?’ “she added.

The federal government and several states have announced that they will ban flavored e-cigarettes while Massachusetts has gone even further, banning all vaping devices.

But Gregory Conley, the president of the American Vaping Association, an industry trade group, said that the rash of lung illnesses is being unfairly attributed to legal nicotine e-cigarettes, leading to headlines critical of the industry.

“They are the result of so many governmental officials spreading misinformation and doubt about nicotine vaping products,” he said. “Those illnesses and deaths are almost exclusively caused by the use of illicit and contaminated THC (marijuana) cartridges.”

Although the lung illnesses have been associated with vaping, the exact cause continues to elude health officials. Many patients who have been treated have reported that they had vaped cannabis, although some have said their use of vaping devices was limited to nicotine products.

Efforts to determine a cause continue, and have so far focused on the use of vitamin E acetate and other additives in vape carts, potential chemical contamination, and the cartridges themselves.

Between the start of 2016 and the end of the first quarter in 2019, cannabis stocks were practically unstoppable. Early investors who had the wherewithal to buy and hold pot stocks often found themselves up by triple- or even quadruple-digit percentages in a relatively short amount of time.

However, the past six and a half months haven't been pretty. You could rightly say that the rug has been pulled out from underneath the feet of pot stock investors, with most marijuana stocks shedding 30%, 40%, or perhaps more than 50% of their value since the second quarter began.

While there are clear hurdles the industry needs to overcome, this precipitous decline in marijuana stocks has led to some arguably intriguing valuations. Right now, you won't find cheaper pot stocks on the planet, based on their forward price-to-earnings ratios, than the following five marijuana stocks.

Supreme Cannabis Company: 8.8 times forward-year earnings per share (EPS)

For the time being, the crown of "cheapest pot stock in the world" goes to niche Canadian cannabis grower Supreme Cannabis (OTC:SPRWF) at less than nine times Wall Street's consensus EPS for the upcoming year.

What makes Supreme Cannabis different from many of its peers is that it's focused on quality, rather than quantity. The company's 7Acres campus is only expected to produce about 50,000 kilos of marijuana annually, which places Supreme Cannabis well outside the top 10 or even top 15 producers in Canada. But the company is focused solely on premium and ultra-premium weed, which is a category that most of its peers offer little or no supply. This suggests that Supreme Cannabis should have little competition within its niche, and its pricing power, even on dried cannabis, should be strong.

Furthermore, the 7Acres facility is likely to produce at above-industry-average rates. Admittedly, peak production figures are a little difficult to pinpoint at the moment, but based on rough estimates from major growers, there are only a small number that look to offer a higher yield per square foot than Supreme Cannabis.

Valens GroWorks: 9.1 times forward-year EPS

An exceptionally hot trend right now is extraction services, which Valens GroWorks (OTC:VGWCF) is looking to ride to a forward price-to-earnings ratio of just over 9.

Next week, on Oct. 17, Canada will officially legalize cannabis derivatives, such as edibles, vapes, infused beverages, topicals, and concentrates, with these products expected to hit dispensary shelves by mid-December. To produce derivatives, growers often need third-party processors like Valens GroWorks to take cannabis and hemp biomass to yield concentrates, resins, distillates, or targeted cannabinoids. Since derivatives are a much higher-margin product than traditional dried cannabis flower, third-party extraction service companies like Valens should be busy for the foreseeable future.

In addition, these extraction providers sign intermediate-term contracts with their clients for fee-based services. That's a fancy way of saying that a company like Valens should have very predictable sales and cash flow. With significant deals with Tilray and HEXO under its belt, Valens is well under way to maximizing its annual extraction capacity.

Sundial Growers: 9.3 times forward-year EPS

Although it's a relatively new initial public offering, Alberta-based Sundial Growers (NASDAQ:SNDL) has slid right in as one of the cheapest pot stocks in the world, with a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 9.3.

The beauty of Sundial's business model is that it approaches growth from both sides of the aisle. The company has three grow farms that should, at peak capacity, produce as much as 95,000 kilos of weed per year. That places Sundial on the verge of being a major grower. Sundial is currently producing at an annual run rate of about 60,000 kilos but should end the calendar year at closer to 75,000 kilos of annual run-rate production.

On the other side of the aisle, Sundial has 3.6 million square feet at Bridge Farm in the U.K. that'll be devoted to hemp and/or processing. Note that nearly 2 million square feet of this space is still under or awaiting construction. Hemp is a considerably easier-to-grow plant than cannabis, and it's often rich with cannabidiol (CBD), the nonpsychoactive cannabinoid that's best known for its medical benefits and is regularly used in high-margin derivatives. 

Village Farms International: 11.6 times forward-year EPS

British Columbia-based Village Farms International (NASDAQ:VFF) is the fourth cheapest pot stock in the world.

Like Sundial, Village Farms approaches growth from a variety of ways. It formed a cannabis-growing joint venture with Emerald Health Therapeutics, known as Pure Sunfarms, in 2017. Since then, Pure Sunfarms has acquired two 1.1 million-square-foot greenhouses from Village Farms that had been used for growing vegetables. The Delta 3 facility is already fully operational and projected to produce at least 75,000 kilos per year, with the Delta 2 facility expected to be fully online and generating 75,000 kilos of yearly run-rate production by the second half of 2020.

This is a company that's also been very active on the hemp production front. Village Farms has formed two hemp-focused joint ventures that have combined to plant more than 700 acres of hemp in the U.S. thus far in 2019. Next year, this figure should climb to more than 900 acres. Plus, Village Farms has more than 5 million square feet of greenhouses in West Texas that could be retrofit for hemp production, should it choose to do so. CBD-rich hemp is a hot commodity, and Village Farms aims to take advantage of that demand.

Trulieve Cannabis: 13.2 times forward-year EPS

Lastly, vertically integrated multistate dispensary operator Trulieve Cannabis (OTC:TCNNF) clocks in with a forward price-to-earnings ratio of just over 13. Of the five marijuana stocks listed here, it's the only one that's been consistently profitable for a number of quarters now.

Although Trulieve Cannabis has a presence in four U.S. states, its success is built on the fact that it's focused its efforts on its home market of Florida. Even though only medical marijuana is legal in the Sunshine State, Trulieve has generated plenty of growth and gobbled up significant market share. The company recently opened its 37th store in Florida, and by doing so has been able to effectively build up its brand and image, all while keeping its expenses reasonably low. 

Beyond Florida, Trulieve Cannabis is aiming to build its brand in California, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, all of which are billion-dollar potential markets by 2024, save for Connecticut. If Trulieve can use its Florida success as a blueprint for expansion into other states, the sky is the limit.

Use this list to make sure your knowledge is up to speed as a marijuana chef so you can avoid any crucial and potentially money-wasting mistakes.

Baking, cooking, and mixing food and drink with cannabis extracts and concentrates is a fine art that can take a really long time to perfect. It’s science, after all. With the right techniques, you can skate by even as a beginner. Use this list to make sure your knowledge is up to speed as a marijuana chef so you can avoid any crucial and potentially money-wasting mistakes.

Clean Your Cannabis

Some plants, especially outdoor plants, can be contaminated with dirt, bacteria, and even bird poop. Avoid this first off by purchasing clean nuggets from a reliable source. Fix a bad situation by gently boiling the nuggets, since boiling water is not hot enough to mess with the cannabinoids that you’re targeting with any infusion.

Decarboxylate

This step converts the active ingredients into tissue-penetrating THC from THC-A in the raw plant. Skip this step and your edibles may hit you hours later in your liver, rather than in your mouth, stomach, esophagus, etc where they will work faster.

Strain With Gloves

DO NOT press or strain with your bare hands. Not only is it unsanitary, you will get stoned. The sheer amount will definitely make you feel something. People say that’s not true, but it has happened to me a few times when breaking this essential rule. Plus you can use a spatula to salvage the last drops of your brew from gloved fingers, you can’t do that with your bare hands, ew.

Use Devices Where Possible

Devices can be helpful in that they do a lot of the tricky work for you. Temperature regulation, stirring, and timing are all things you can screw up no matter how great of a chef you are. When I tried the Magical Butter, I realized that technology is about to run wild in the cannabis world.

Use A Good Saturation Ratio

Try not to overpack any infusion with nugs; you need to have enough liquid to actually strain out. The less liquid you use, the harder it will be to recoup liquid filled with goodies. A good starter ratio is 1g material per 1oz of medium, be it alcohol or glycerin.

Invest In A Sodastream

If you like mixing up mocktails and cocktails with your creations, buying seltzer in cans and bottles is not only bad for the environment, it’s bad for your wallet. A Sodastream pays for itself in months and you will always have bubbles on hand.

Freezer Is Your Friend

Save anything you don’t eat right away in the freezer, where it’s shelf life will be greatly increased. Even a bottle with a few drops of olive oil left can dress a salad when the time comes. Same goes for the brownie you smartly cut in half, stash it in the freezer where it won’t start to go bad. Top it with ice cream another day!

Don’t Go Overboard With The Heat

One reason you don’t see a lot of sautéed or deep fried cannabis items is for the simple reason that direct heat like that in a pan or grill could burn off those party vibes and leave you with sleepy CBN. You can grill and fry things, but try to leave it to things that cook quickly, or add the cannabis after the fact. Ovens are such a common application because of the steady and controlled heat. Staying under 350 degrees is the smart plan.

With these tips you can now avoid most major ganja goofs. Now you can do your best while waiting to be able to purchase cannabis cooking aids in the store like we should have been able to get all along.

It’s surprising, if you think about it: Some cannabis products have been legal for almost a full year now, but so far neither the sellers, the buyers, nor the government regulators have a firm grasp on the plant’s chemistry or its effects.

Every store, regulated or not, has a similar setup: a multitude of jars categorized by three types, indica, sativa and hybrid strains. Shoppers are told that indica strains are generally good for relaxing activities or to sleep; sativa plants are energizing; and hybrids — a genetic mix of indica and sativa — will deliver effects that are, well, somewhere in between.

A higher percentage of THC will, presumably, impact the strength of those effects, and a higher percentage of CBD will weaken them. Government retailers have this information on all of their websites, and so do licensed cultivators — after all, it’s a start for choosing among hundreds of cultivators, and even more strains.

“You’ll often hear people say, ‘I smoke indicas to fall asleep and sativas to get excited,’” says Nick Jikomes, principal research scientist at cannabis website Leafly.com.

“But you’ll also hear the opposite type of story, right? People go in and say, ‘I got the indica, but I was up all night.’ ”

Even the roughest attempt to categorize cannabis cultivars and their effects is ineffective, because different humans respond differently to types. But there’s more muddying up the waters: in addition to THC and CBD, we are beginning to learn about more cannabinoids in the plant, such as CBN.

Then there are terpenes — the aromatic substance that gives different cannabis varieties their unique scents and flavours. Terpenes have long been suspected of having more impact on the effects than we have so far understood.

And to make it all really hazy, cannabis strains were originally produced underground and illicitly, so when one person sells “Blue Dream,” how does a consumer know that it’s grown from a similar seed or in a similar way as another plant labelled “Blue Dream”? Do strains have integrity across cultivators?

That’s why Leafly’s latest attempt to help consumers make good choices from such a complex (and expensive) marketplace is exciting for the cannabis nerd, and hopefully simple enough to unpack for new or casual consumers. Until now, startups like Leafly, Strainprint and Lift & Co. (disclosure: I have worked for Leafly and Lift) aggregated consumer reviews of strains to track and report their effects.

Now, Jikomes and his team have added another layer of data to the story. For the past two years, he’s been collecting samples and lab-testing strains from all over North America and cross-referencing those lab results with Leafly’s millions of consumer reviews.

The result? Visual guideposts illustrating the chemical make-ups of strains and patterns of how consumers are reporting the effects of those chemicals.

Terpenes are being used to help determine how various cannabis products might affect users.

In these guideposts, each strain looks like a snowflake, which is a fitting simile for this complex plant. Circles indicate CBD, diamonds indicate THC, and colours connote one of the five main terpenoid profiles consumers encounter: myrcene is blue; pinene is green; caryophyllene is pink; limonene is yellow and terpinolene is orange.

According to Leafly’s latest research, consumers are reporting that strains high in myrcene and pinene tend to have more relaxing effects; those high in limonene and terpinolene have energizing effects; caryophyllene is somewhere in between. Leafly has plans to partner with retail outlets across the country to place their visual guides alongside offerings to give consumers more insight before they buy. They’ve also launched a few tools on their site that allow consumers to track strains and their terpene/cannabinoid content so that they can look beyond branding.

So where does this leave the indica/sativa/hybrid breakdown?

As it turns out, people aren’t completely susceptible to suggestibility—limonene and terpinolene, the energizing terps, do appear more frequently in strains labelled “sativa.” It’s also interesting that terpinolene is the rarest terpene among Canadian licensed cultivator strains.

For consumers, the implications are huge: for the first time, when you try something you like, you can try to find something similar again not just by strain names or aroma—you can actually see its chemical content in a form of label.

A warning label on ONE gram of cannabis is seen at Up’s cannabis factory in Lincoln, Ontario.

And if you try something you dislike? Now you might be able to avoid it. The challenge will be for consumers to grasp the new vocabulary and actually use it.

“When considering how and why consumers choose products, we found in our recent joint report with EY Canada that, even for connoisseurs, terpenes are not a primary purchase driver yet,” says Nikki Laoutaris, communications manager at Lift & Co.

“Most current consumers are knowledgeable about cannabinoids (THC and CBD), but even that knowledge drops as we get farther away from the ‘connoisseur’ group. Non-consumers said in the report that the lack of basic knowledge is a key barrier to consuming cannabis.”

Retailers will have a choice: keep information simple, inconsistent and very flawed. Or attempt to educate consumers about the latest insights into chemical compounds on a very steep learning curve.

 If it catches on, will strain names become a thing of the past?

Jikomes can’t be certain, and says consumers may not start requesting percentages of terpenes when they go to the shop, but might associate colours with effects. But he’s already eyeing more layers of data to the tool.

“There’s more dimensions to this data, including things like freshness, that we’re not even touching on yet,” he says. “Things like moisture content really matter. We’ll be incorporating these as we can build in more information with data.”

Electricity drives many legal grow operations and could irrevocably damage marijuana plants during harvest season.

Following massive, deadly wildfires a year ago, while also dealing with bankruptcy negotiations, California utility company Pacific Gas & Electric decided to shut off power this week to avoid any more potential damage. Five out of the 10 most destructive wildfires in California history have been connected with PG&E’s electrical network, according to the New York Times. That’s why, when conditions ripe for wildfires began this week, PG&E decided to turn off power for more than 800,000 of its Northern Californian customers.

Count cannabis producers among those affected. Humboldt County, home to some of America’s most famous marijuana grow, was the only county to completely lose power during the blackouts. That included many newly licensed farmers with cannabis crops intended for both the medical and recreational markets, some of whom need success this year to kick their operations off the ground.

This blackout then couldn’t come at a worst time for the cannabis industry. October is harvest season, the time when many cannabis plants are cut down and enter the processing phase. Without undergoing proper drying and curing, fresh-cut marijuana plants can start to rot after just two days, reports Leafly. As Martin O’Brien, the Foxworthy Farms founder and CEO, told the publication, “Mold can slaughter a crop in a day.”

Inside grow operations feel the pain as well. Plants left in the ground still suffer damage if electricity goes away for an extended period of time. These indoor crops require lights, fans, humidifiers, water filtration systems, and more to run smoothly. Just 48 hours of no indoor light, and the finnicky plants will revolt, pollinating and mutating in undesirable ways.

Extraction facilities will also be hit hard. Separating cannabis oils from plants to create concentrate products like dabs and vape cartridges is process dependent upon electricity. Many of these facilities “flash-freeze” cannabis flower so that when they extract the oils, it produces little to no degradation of cannabinoids. But even short-term shutoffs could prove wholly detrimental to these products.

“In less than 24 hours that stuff can get damaged,” O’Brien said. “Water pools in the bags and in the top of the freezer—there goes all your high-quality dabs.”

Revenue generated from legal cannabis sales in California have already fallen short of the state’s projections this year. BDS Analytics projects that legal cannabis should exceed $3 billion in sales this year and reach $7.2 billion in 2024. However, the analytics firm also believes black market will retain at least 50% of all marijuana sales in California.

Cannabis has a positive effect in taming inflammation and a myriad of ailments associated with swelling.

While inflammation is the cause of many maladies, it’s also sometimes the remedy. It accounts for back pain, arthritis flare ups, headaches, bowel disorders and even an increase in heart disease. Alzheimer’s is yet another affliction associated with inflammation. And cannabis? It’s a known anti-inflammatory.

As studies show, not only does cannabis have a positive effect in taming inflammation and a myriad of ailments associated with inflammation, the entourage effect created by the combination of cannabinoids, including THC, gives a person an even better result. When this synergy takes place, inflammation is greatly relieved, and thus so are the diseases and pains that go with it.

Quality and longevity of life are sincere goals of most human beings, and accomplishing those goals takes a level of fitness that is somewhat lacking in the average American lifestyle. Many people unable to exercise or stretch for their health aren’t capable because of inflamed joints or other painful inflammations that hinder activity.

Because cannabis works as an anti-inflammatory, it could very easily be the ticket to better health and wellness all around. If the joint pain isn’t in the way and the mindset is elevated to a can-do level, the world opens up a bit and the first steps toward holistic health have been taken.

Cannabis has been studied for the relief of inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s and one study showed that the anti-inflammation properties are to be thanked. Although the initial purpose of the study to seek complete Crohn’s remission wasn’t achieved, it was found that 10 out of 11 patients treated had “clinical, steroid free benefits.”

Steroids and other anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals have many side effects. For steroids, immune system efficiency can go down and muscle weakness may occur among other problematic possibilities. For NSAIDs, the most common over the counter anti-inflammatory, prolonged use can result in stomach pain and eventually to ulcers.

One thing cannabis is short on is side effects. Sure there’s dry mouth, increased hunger, an enhancement of the senses and, oh yeah, a substantial reduction in inflammation, but aren’t most of those things part of the point? It’s no wonder that so many patients use cannabis for chronic pain, inflammatory bowel disease and even Alzheimer’s. It’s truly a miracle plant.

Indiana is a very conservative state that’s traditionally been eons behind when it comes to cannabis regulations, however, small changes in different localities may trickle down and have a statewide impact – for the better.

Just to quickly get it out of the way – no, cannabis is NOT legal in the Hoosier state yet, neither for recreational nor medical purposes. Under current law, possession of 1 ounce or less is a misdemeanor offense that carries a penalty of up to 180 days in jail and up to $1,000 in fines.

But of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some grey areas here and there. And while these exceptions are currently limited to 1, maybe 2, counties, they’re creating an environment that’s conducive to progressive legal change; and the rest of the state won’t be able to hold out much longer.

Enter, Marion county.

No Longer Prosecuting Cannabis Cases

Marion county is home to the largest city in Indiana, as well as the 17th largest city in the United States: Indianapolis.

Last week, Marion County’s acting prosecutor Ryan Mears abruptly announced that his office would no longer be prosecuting people charged with possessing small amounts of cannabis. He said that cannabis cases are blocking up Indiana courts and overcrowding jails, and he believes the county’s resources would be better spent trying to curb violent crime.

His decision was sudden and unprecedented, and needless to say, was met with a quite a bit of backlash. Mears, however, says this isn’t a matter of politics – but rather, of morality. “I don’t think doing the right thing is a bold thing to do,” he told the IndyStar. “I’ve been a prosecutor for 12 years, I have the experience of seeing what causes violent crime. And over the course of 12 years, I can tell you, small amounts of marijuana is not our problem.”

“This is not a political decision,” he continued. “This is a moral decision. And I have a moral responsibility to make sure everybody is treated fairly under the law. And the continuing enforcement of marijuana laws is unjust and unfair to people of color. So I’m not going to do it.” 

Mears’ office will also look into the 400+ pending possession cases and dismiss as many as possible, granted they meet a certain set of criteria.  

But before you get too excited, know that just because you won’t actually be charged with cannabis possession, that doesn’t mean you’re completely in the clear. Police officers can still confiscate your buds, cite and even arrest you, but the charges will be dropped once they reach the prosecutor’s office.

“Lawrence police officers, like most Indiana law enforcement officers, are able to use their discretion in taking misdemeanor enforcement action, just like the Marion County prosecutor can use prosecutorial discretion when making final charging decisions,” Lawrence Deputy Chief Gary Woodruff said in a statement. “We’re continuing business as usual for the officers patrolling the streets and neighborhoods of Lawrence.” 

So it’ll still be lost buds, lost money, and a whole lot of hassle; but it likely won’t continue much longer. The police departments are holding strong for now, but they’ll eventually get tired to making arrests and doing paperwork for an offender who will just be released anyway.

Now, if you step outside of Marion county, that’s a different story entirely. Even if you’re a Marion county resident, if you’re caught with cannabis in Hancock county for example, you WILL be prosecuted there. And such is the case throughout the whole state, so, be careful.

The CBD Conundrum

Many would argue that Mitch McConnell accidentally legalized cannabis with his push for hemp reform. Let me explain. Last year, the 2018 Farm Bill came with a provision to legalize hemp farming and products containing 0.3% THC or less, which includes Hemp Flowers, or CBD Buds.

THC Buds on the left, CBD Buds on the right. Can you tell the difference?

These CBD Buds look, smell, and taste just like regular, THC-dominant cannabis buds, but because they’re under the threshold for THC content, they’re legal. They contain all the same terpenes, flavonoids, and cannabinoids as regular cannabis, but only trace amounts of THC. Sounds pretty simple right? Well, when it comes to enforcing this law, the situation gets a bit hazy.

Because CBD Buds look, smell, and taste the same as their psychoactive counterpart, there is only one way to determine which one a suspect is in possession of – with a lab test. It’s a loophole like no other.

Sending each and every sample out for lab testing, at a lab that may or may not even be in the same state (in the case of Indiana, not), is expensive and time consuming, pushing many law enforcement agencies to give up on policing cannabis altogether.

Looking Forward

As it stands, Indiana is the lone prohibited state surrounded by a sea of legal cannabis. Their neighbors on all sides have some sort of cannabis legislation on the books; Cannabis is completely legal for adults in Illinois and Michigan, Ohio has medical with talk of passing recreational, and Kentucky is in the process of approving a bill to legalize medical cannabis as we speak (or write), plus, they are on the forefront of hemp production.

Indiana is the only state in that region that has yet to make any forward moves, but many believe that this anti-cannabis era will soon come to an end. Just take a look at Terre Haute, a small city near the border of Illinois. Vigo County Sheriff John Plasse told the local newspaper that, “faced with recreational weed next door in Illinois, possession cases would likely result in just a ticket.”

And it’s not only local authorities who are coming around on the idea of cannabis. Former Indiana State Police Superintendent Paul Whitesell has this to say about the subject: “It’s here, it’s going to stay, there’s an awful lot of victimization that goes with it. If it were up to me, I do believe I would legalize it and tax it, particularly in sight of the fact that several other states have now come to that part of their legal system as well.”

At this point, it makes no sense to continue enforcing archaic cannabis laws that benefit no one. Aside from the huge burden these regulations have on citizens, how do they impact the community and state as a whole? What are the costs associated with prosecution, incarceration, and probation? How does the criminal records of the thousands of Hoosiers convicted each year influence the labor force? What kind of effects does this have on productivity in the state?

These questions aren’t easy to answer, but here’s one thing we know for sure; cannabis = money, which can be used to make much-needed improvements in Indiana. Since legalization in 2014, Colorado has collected over $1 billion in cannabis tax revenue. This money has been used mostly for education improvements, but also for additional cannabis research, addiction treatment, affordable housing, and numerous other public programs.

When you look at it like that, cannabis legalization definitely seems a lot brighter, and hopefully the powers that be in Indiana see it the same way.