News of unregulated THC and e-cigarette vapes suspected to be causing illnesses and deaths are sweeping the nation, with a CDC report claiming that ​up to 530 possible cases of severe lung disease, and eight fatalities, may have been caused by vaping in at least 33 states. The majority of patients reported purchasing products from the black market.

While the investigation​ is still ongoing, as officials have not yet identified any single substance or product with ties to all cases, the news creates urgency for the legalization and regulation of the cannabis market nationwide.

How The Federal Ban Hurts The Country

Similar to the ​Prohibition Period​ with alcohol, the cannabis industry is struggling to fight issues caused by an unregulated black market. As of 2019, 33 states have legalized cannabis for medicinal use, and 11 are legal for recreational use — yet, marijuana is still considered a Schedule 1 drug (the same classification for heroin and LSD), which makes it federally illegal.

Without marijuana legalized federally, states scramble to create and enforce regulations within the fast-growing market, often leading to confusion surrounding laws and health standards. In return, officials on both state and federal levels are left uneducated about the ​plant​, hurting the economy when resources are misused.

The economy also suffers from the banking issues created. Due to its classification as Schedule 1, U.S. banks and credit unions refuse to approve loans from hopeful cannabis businesses for fear they could lose their federal backing and FDIC insurance. This makes it extremely difficult for legitimate cannabis companies to access capital and operate safely. If businesses were allowed access to banking — which they are in Colorado — it’s proven to boost the economy when taxed in a regulated market.

Perhaps the most dangerous outcome the federal ban has created is a thriving black market — one that is now suspected to be responsible for illnesses and deaths across the country.

No Proper Testing Means High Potential For Unsafe Products

Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have the authority to regulate cannabis products due to its federal standing, it makes it easy for black market vendors to mass-produce products that look legit. However, many of these products are never officially tested and, therefore, usually contain cheap and harmful additives or contaminants.

These products thrive from both online sales and illegal storefronts, making black market vendors lots of money for selling illicit products. For instance, counties in California with tax rates as high as 40 percent, these products can be less than half the cost of legal counterparts. As for states where legalization is slow to occur, the black market seems to be the only option.

A Legal Market Could Decrease Crime, While Increasing Profits And Public Safety

Federal legalization of marijuan is one clear solution, but, while many think it will happen at some point, how many lives may be lost from illicit products before that happens? There must be a regulation policy in place in order to provide the framework necessary for consumer safety and product testing, which, in essence, would help to avoid public health outbreaks in the future. In addition, removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances list would allow for more reliable banking for hopeful marijuana businesses, helping to refocus police resources towards preventing crime rather than enforcing drug laws.

Another reason for the urgent push towards federal legalization is the need to increase profits nationwide. States like Oregon, which has small legal markets, struggle with a massive ​surplus of product​, which causes an inability to legally distribute products across state lines. The oversupply has driven retail prices down to $5/gram, and farmers are struggling to stay afloat. If states like Oregon were legally allowed to export products across state lines, profits would not only increase, but the market price of cannabis would become much more stabilized nationwide.

In states like Nevada and Florida, where the retail cost of a legal gram of premium indoor cannabis can top $20 before tax, the inability to export products legally to other states and regions have led to an inefficient production process.

“You have people using water in the desert in Nevada to grow mediocre cannabis, or in Florida, where they have to dehumidify giant spaces, consuming twice the energy,” Said Adam Smith, founder of the Craft Cannabis Alliance, in an ​article​ from the Los Angeles Times. “Oregon wouldn’t have an oversupply problem if we could access legal markets like these.”

What The Industry Is Doing About It

In Oregon, the ​Craft Cannabis Alliance​ was created to work with legislators to allow Oregon to start exporting pot to other legal-weed states by 2021.

“It just doesn’t make sense, that states legalizing weed are forced to create their own self-contained industry.” Said Smith in the Los Angeles Times.

Other groups, like the ​United Cannabis Business Association​ (UCBA) — a trade association representing licensed dispensary owners, cultivators and other cannabis businesses — work to educate and advocate various states to create a robust and sustainable regulated market in California.

There is even a banking bill that is currently being discussed by the Senate. The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act would allow banks to lend money to hopeful cannabis business without fear of federal prosecution, so long as the company they work with are compliant with the laws in the state in which they operate.

What Consumers Can Do Right Now

The figurative ball is in the federal government’s court.

For now, however, it is critical for consumers to support legal cannabis and only buy products from compliant and licensed dispensaries. Sticking with reliable brands — such as ​The Bloom Brand​, which never adds cutting agents (such as Vitamin E acetate) to oil, while being transparent about ingredients and testing — will help ease many health concerns about what might be in products.

For Canada’s recreational cannabis consumers, a long-awaited day is just on the horizon. On October 17, 2019 one full year after Canada’s world-historic legalization of cannabis went into effect, licensed companies will finally be able to produce and sell edibles and other cannabis derivatives, such as extracts and topicals. So far, consumers on the non-medical retail market have only had access to flower. As a result, many consumers have continued to turn to unregulated, illicit retailers for edibles, vape cartridges, and other non-flower products.

Regulations for Edibles and Derivatives Take Effect

Postponing the production and sale of cannabis edibles and other derivatives has always been part of Health Canada’s plan for rolling out the Cannabis Act of 2018. National and provincial regulators wanted extra time to develop specific rules and regulations for non-flower products. They also wanted time to solicit feedback from Canadian consumers and stakeholders. At issue has been the question of THC limits for edibles and derivatives, rules for product ingredients, packaging and labeling and restrictions on anything that might appeal to children.

Health Canada finalized those regulations in mid-June this year and published them shortly after. And in a press release, the agency stated that the new and amended regulations would come into force on October 17, 2019. “However,” the release continues, “it will take time, after that date, before new cannabis products become available for purchase.”

In other words, even though edibles and other cannabis derivatives become legal in Canada this week, it will still take, at minimum, 60 days before consumers can actually purchase them from licensed retailers. So that puts edibles and derivatives on shelves, at the earliest, by mid-December. At least that’s just in time for holiday celebrations.

The reason for the delay, according to Health Canada, is a requirement mandating federal cannabis license holders to provide a 60-day notice to Health Canada of their intent to sell new products. Health Canada also says the lag is needed to give give regulators time to familiarize themselves with the new rules. But regulators have had access to the amended product rules since June.

Quick Rundown of New Product Categories and Their Restrictions

Soon enough, however, Canada’s cannabis consumers will be able to buy cannabis extracts across four categories. There will be edibles, including both foods and beverages, ingestible extracts like oils and capsules, extracts for inhaling, like vape cartridges and dabs, and topicals for applying to skin, hair and nails.

All of the product categories have many rules in common. There can be no added vitamins or minerals, no nicotine or added alcohol and strict limits on levels of caffeine. All products must come in packages that are plain, child-resistant and provide detailed, comprehensive labeling about ingredients, allergens and intended use.

Interestingly, Health Canada is also requiring companies to label their extract and derivatives products with their “equivalency to dried cannabis.” The purpose of that metric is so law enforcement can determine whether someone possesses more cannabis in public than the legal limit, which is set in grams of dried flower. That rule could prove tricky, since extract products often contain very high levels of THC, which means possessing a small amount of concentrate could equate to a very large and thus unlawful amount of dried flower.

Then, there are the THC limits on new products. THC limits were one of the most contentious and criticized issues around the amended regulations. Eatable and drinkable cannabis products will have a 10 mg THC per package limit, which is not very high. Ingestible extracts like tinctures, however, can have 1000 mg THC per package, with individual units (like a capsule) capped at 10 mg.

Extracts for inhaling also have a 1000 mg THC limit per package, so vape cartridges are good to go. Topicals can also have up to 1000 mg THC per package.

Retail Edibles and Cannabis Derivatives Could Shake Up Canada’s Industry

So far, edibles, concentrates and other extract and derivatives products have only been available for medical cannabis patients in Canada. The impending introduction of those products to Canada’s young legal retail market, which is still battling with an entrenched illicit marketplace, could have a dramatic impact on Canadian cannabis companies like Aurora Cannabis and Cronos Group.

While cannabis-infused salves, rubs, lotions and oils are still powerhouses when it comes to reducing inflammation, healing dry, patchy skin and going deep into tissue to soothe pain or irritations, a new batch of beauty products has also cropped up, most of them infused with CBD.

Why do they work so well on the skin?

Aside from most companies using high-quality carrier oils to deliver the cannabinoids, the skin itself is riddled with our body’s endocannabinoid system, meaning that there are CB2 receptors all over our epidermis just waiting to be filled.

“Apparently most, if not all, skin functions are controlled to a certain extent by the local skin endocannabinoid system,” Tamás Bíró, Ph.D., said to Elle. Bíró is an adviser for Phytecs, a biotech company researching and developing products targeting the endocannabinoid system for medical, nutraceutical and cosmetic industries.

You put it directly where the pain is

Most people using topicals are using them for aches, pains, arthritis and other sore spots. The beauty of a topical is that you massage it into your skin right where the pain is affecting you most. Different carrier oils go deeper than others, but most topicals seem to have the miraculous property of getting in there and addressing what hurts.

Speaking of massage…

Take your massage to the next level by going to one of the many CBD-themed massage parlours cropping up (in the U.S.). Or, if you’d rather be frugal, have a loved one give you one of the best rubdowns of your life. The soothing cannabinoids don’t just alleviate sore muscles and stress, they also keep the masseuse’s hands from getting sore and keeps them well hydrated.

Topicals treat skin psoriasis

The itchy, irritated, red skin that happens with psoriasis is painful, as anyone with the disorder will tell you. Psoriasis affects 7.5 million Americans, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation, and the disease can be associated with more serious health conditions like heart disease, diabetes and depression. Topicals can help relieve the inflammation caused by psoriasis while the moisturizing properties can combat the scaly build-up.

How to tell if you’re getting the right rub…

To begin with, make sure that the ingredients are from sustainable sources and are of the highest quality. Companies that care about what they’re putting into their products care even more about the patients who are using them.

As stated earlier, having some activated THC in the lotion is most effective due to marijuana’s entourage effect. However, CBD topicals are little miracle-workers, too, so don’t be down if you’re living in a THC-dry state.

CBD cosmetics are the big thing right now!

From Renew Pure Radiance Oil to Crème de la Mer facial moisturizing cream, a new, high-end market of CBD beauty products has hit the shelves and online stores. They absorb quickly and use concoctions that won’t clog pores and will keep skin tones even and soothed. Milk Makeup’s KUSH High Volume mascara is another recent and trendy addition to the CBD beauty world.

All the benefits add up

Topicals are a natural way to slow or halt the use of synthetic pain relievers, which wreak havoc on the liver and other organs.

Topicals, of course, address inflammation and the other previously mentioned afflictions and with so many applications, the vast appeal has not only provided relief to hundreds of thousands of patients, it’s further legitimized cannabis use among unlikely demographics. Lotions, balms, and rubs offer relief for the growing amount of seniors who want to mitigate aches and pains with weed.

Topicals are discrete and non-psychoactive

Even if other herbs or essences like menthol are being utilized in the cream, once it absorbs, there is no visible or sensory giveaways that you’ve just used marijuana. Creams and such are perfect before or during work, especially if you’re on your feet all day, and they won’t show a positive result on a drug test or get you high, making topicals the work accessory that should always be at the ready. You can even use it on a paper cut. The possibilities are endless.

Food and drink are still being sold with CBD in New York City, months after health officials banned restaurants and cafes from selling edibles spiked with or accompanied by the trendy cannabis derivative because of safety concerns.

The city’s health department surprised bakeries, restaurants, coffee shops, and other food sellers in February by telling them they were not permitted to put cannabidiol, or CBD, in prepared foods because it hadn’t been approved as a food additive by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They also can’t provide CBD to customers to add it themselves.

City health inspectors started seizing CBD-laced products, then backed off and gave food establishments until Oct. 1 to comply with the rules or face a fine of up to $650.

Yet on a recent spin around Manhattan in the days after that deadline passed, an Associated Press reporter was able to find CBD-infused coffee, cookies and other food items still for sale.

In the coffee bar at Le District, a fancy grocery near the World Trade Center, a sign read: “Add an extra dose of CBD oil to any drink for $5.”

At the Fat Cat Kitchen cafe in Manhattan’s East Village, freshly baked CBD cookies and brownies sat on display in a glass case.

CBD-infused drinks — including lavender matcha latte and white peach iced tea — were also on sale at the Forever Coffee Bar, near Columbia University’s new satellite campus in upper Manhattan. Customers could get 10 milligrams added to their beverage for $2.50.

Owner Artem Arnopulo said he was aware the ban was in place. Health inspectors, in fact, had already visited another one of his Manhattan cafes in September and asked it to stop serving CBD-laced items.

“That was before the Oct. 1 deadline, and they said, no violation, no tickets. But it was a warning,” Arnopulo said.

Still, he said he plans to keep serving CBD drinks until the inspectors show up at his other location and tell them to stop, too.

“We’re waiting for them,” he says with a grin. “I’m really a bit upset about it. If we cannot sell this anymore because CBD is kind of special and people are so excited about it.”

The Fat Cat Kitchen’s co-owner, C.J. Holm, declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Le District initially denied any CBD beverages were still for sale, then stopped responding to inquiries after being told an Associated Press reporter had been able to purchase a coffee with a packet of CBD that afternoon.

Products with CBD, a chemical in cannabis that doesn’t cause a high, have become a fad across the country. The chemical is touted by sellers as being able to relieve pain, anxiety, sleeplessness and other conditions. Those claims are unproven, and questions remain about its safety.

The FDA has approved CBD as a treatment for rare, severe forms of epilepsy. The substance’s status as a potential medicine, however, has triggered restrictions on its use as a food additive or dietary supplement. The agency is now exploring regulations that might allow it to be added to food at a later date. In the meantime, though, restaurants aren’t allowed to add it to food, just like they wouldn’t be allowed to add doses of painkillers or other medications.

Michael Lanza, a spokesman for the New York City Department of Health, told The Associated Press that no violations had yet been registered in the days after the October deadline. In the future, he said, health officials will confront owners of establishments about any CBD sales while conducting routine inspections of restaurants, delis and coffee shops.

The crackdown only applies to prepared food, not CBD oil sold by itself in shops and pharmacies.