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It’s a new era of cannabis realpolitik in Thailand “There Can’t Be Middle Ground For Recreational Use” Business Times Singapore reports THAILAND’S new prime minister vowed to restrict the use of marijuana for medical purposes after thousands of weed shops opened across the country since the nation became the first in Asia to decriminalise cannabis […]
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An international cannabis dispensary and its Arizona-based subsidiaries told a judge Friday that its use of cashless ATMs did not directly violate the rules of or deceive credit card companies that still prohibit cannabis purchases.
Fighting against fraud and racketeering claims in Arizona state court, Trulieve Cannabis Corp argued that fines imposed by Visa onto a Colorado bank, Pueblo Bank and Trust, should not be passed onto the dispensaries, and are instead the responsibility of the bank and the payment processing company that approved the cashless ATM transactions. The payment processor, Switch Commerce, claims that Trulieve deceived the institutions by masking the card payments as cash withdrawals.
“Trulieve knew the cashless ATMs were not proper,” Switch attorney Marcus Fettinger said in opposition to the defendants’ motion to dismiss. “They knew it was for point of sale transactions and not cash withdrawals and that’s the fraud.”
Because cannabis is still federally illegal, major credit card companies like Visa prohibit their customers from purchasing cannabis with their cards. To get around the potential loss of business, dispensaries use cashless ATMS that disguise point of sale transactions as simple cash withdrawals, transmitting a code to payment processors and sponsor banks that are indistinguishable from regular cash withdrawals.
To Read The Rest Of This Article On Tucson Sentinel, Click Here
The post Dispensaries Defend Cashless ATM Smokescreen From Fraud Claims appeared first on Marijuana Retail Report – News and Information for Cannabis Retailers.
Stress hits fast—your heart races, thoughts spiral, and focus disappears. When life feels overwhelming, it’s easy to reach for quick fixes like caffeine, alcohol, or scrolling. But nature offers a gentler way to regain control. Meet Reishi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum), a time-honored remedy for relaxation that’s earning new attention for its ability to bring a sense of instant calm.
Reishi grows on hardwood trees and is known in Chinese medicine as Lingzhi, meaning “mushroom of spiritual power.” For more than two thousand years, healers have turned to Reishi to ease tension, settle the mind, and support long-term vitality. Its glossy red cap isn’t just beautiful—it’s packed with bioactive compounds that interact with your nervous system in surprisingly fast ways.
Modern research shows that Reishi contains triterpenes and polysaccharides, natural molecules that help the body’s stress circuits reset. Here’s how they may deliver calm you can feel:
While no natural remedy works like a switch, many Reishi users report noticing a subtle calm even after the first cup of tea or tincture.
For a fast sense of calm, choose forms that deliver active compounds efficiently:
Start with a low dose—around 300–500 mg of a standardized extract or one cup of tea—and pay attention to how your body responds.
Reishi is generally well tolerated, but mild digestive upset or dry mouth can occur. If you have low blood pressure, take blood-thinning medication, or are pregnant or breastfeeding, consult a healthcare professional first.
For adults 35 and beyond, chronic stress strains the heart, brain, and immune system. Adding Reishi to your routine can offer a natural pause button—a way to settle the mind without sedatives or stimulants. Pair it with mindful breathing or a quiet evening ritual and you create a fast, restorative moment in your day.
Final Thought
Chaos in your head? Start with one cup of Reishi tea, a slow breath, and a quiet moment. Instant calm doesn’t have to come from a pill—it can come from the wisdom of a single mushroom.
Medical Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before starting any new supplement or treatment.
The post Reishi Mushroom: The Natural Path to Instant Calm first appeared on Cannadelics.
If you resolved to look and feel your very fittest in 2017 definitely hit the gym… but first consider consuming cannabis.
Experts say getting stoned pre-workout helps:
Seibo Shen, co-founder and CEO at VapeXhale brings intention to his workouts and is eager to share that using cannabis accentuates this mindset.
“Cannabis promotes homeostasis. When I’m amped up it calms me down, when I’m drowsy it gives me energy. No matter what strain I consume getting high will bring me to the perfect baseline.”
A pre-workout combination of breathing exercises and cannabis leaves Shen feeling physically loose with a sharp state of mind allowing him to perform at a higher level.
Jim McAlpine, president and founder of The 420 Games also attributes improved performance to cannabis. When he goes for a long swim without cannabis he frequently gets too bored to finish.
“THC allows for me to push myself harder because without it I lose my motivation.”
Ask any fitness geek, body awareness improves performance. Shen has found that cannabis helps him to better feel specific muscle groups. This attention to detail improves Shen’s exercise form which both prevents injury and increases effectiveness. Shen also finds that consuming CBD pre-workout reduces joint inflammation.
“After I consume cannabis I feel like the Tin Man and I just oiled my joints.”
According to the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology there are there are anti-inflammatory benefits to CBD proving Shen isn’t just so stoned he thinks he’s in Oz.
A 2013 study performed by The American Journal of Medicine found cannabis lowers insulin resistance, improves fasting insulin levels and facilitates metabolic function. In layman’s terms your body will actually burn those extra holiday calories more efficiently than those friends who voted no on Prop 64 — especially if you are working out! Bonus? They also found cannabis users have significantly smaller average waist circumferences than those who abstain.
McAlpine loves the feeling he gets after a workout.
“When I get out of the pool I feel better than after any bong rip. My heart is beating hard and I just feel amazing, regardless of whether or not I’ve smoked.”
Turns out, this sensation, commonly termed “runner’s high,” actually is akin to getting stoned. A 2003 study from the Georgia Institute of Technology found that as we reach the peak of our workouts our body releases its own natural cannabinoids.
The natural activation of the body’s endocannabinoid system late in a workout, promoting athletes to push through explains why toking up pre-workout helps Shen and McAlpine get in the right headspace for fitness and maintain their motivational peak throughout.
Originally published in Issue 24 of Cannabis Now. LEARN MORE
TELL US, how do you incorporate cannabis into your workout routine?
The post All Strains for Awesome Gains appeared first on Cannabis Now.
The UK’s medical cannabis industry is now the second largest in Europe, second only to Germany, thanks to consistent and sustained growth over the last seven years.
While this has seen thousands of new patients gain access to medical cannabis, it still represents just a fraction of the addressable market in the UK.
According to Prohibition Partners, the UK’s current patient count (estimated at between 50k -60k) represents less than 10% of the total medical market, compared to Germany’s 65.4%.
This chasm between active patients and those who could potentially benefit from medical cannabis treatment is in large part due to glaring gaps in education among medical professionals, hindering both medical cannabis acceptance and prescription numbers since it was legalised in 2018.
Now, the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society (MCCS) and Curaleaf Laboratories have formed a new partnership aimed at addressing this critical knowledge gap.
Jonathan Hodgson, UK Managing Director of Curaleaf International, believes the company’s longstanding involvement and proven expertise in unlicensed medicines provide the perfect foundation for clinician training.
“A lot of the staff who have been involved since the original specials and unlicensed medicines route are still here, which gives us an advantage from a quality and a regulatory perspective,’ he said.
“We’ve helped patients and clinicians alike address unmet clinical needs through unlicensed medicines for a long time. While the adoption of medical cannabis is only in its infancy, we want to help widen access to this option.”
Curaleaf’s strategy has placed clinician engagement at its core, reflecting the central role doctors play in ensuring appropriate use.
“Providing education has always been hugely important to us,’ Hodgson continued.
“In order for us as a medical community to adequately support patients, it is important that healthcare professionals are able to access much-needed education on cannabis-based medicines so they can help their patients through guiding access or prescribing directly.”
Curaleaf already runs workshops, in-practice support and tailored educational programmes for private providers, including clinics not yet prescribing cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs).
Its in-house training covers Care Quality Commission (CQC) registration, insurance, dosing and formulary advice, and prescription support. It also engages directly with clinicians through events such as the British Pain Society’s annual conference.
Through the new partnership, Curaleaf will support the MCCS in delivering CPD-accredited education programmes and serve as a central source of information for prescribers.
Professor Mike Barnes, Chair of the MCCS, welcomed the collaboration: “The Society is very grateful to have the support of Curaleaf Laboratories.
“We believe the shared values and vision of the team will enable us to continue our work empowering professionals with evidence-based CPD-accredited cannabis education, and we look forward to working together with the ultimate goal of enabling more patients to benefit from these therapies.”
Hodgson added: “Our partnership with MCCS solidifies our commitment to providing further education to prescribers and the wider HCP network in the UK. We have already made big waves in HCP education, and we look forward to further improving our programme with the help of the expertise of the MCCS.”
The post Curaleaf Partners with Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society to Strengthen UK Prescriber Education appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
“The lesson is clear: Placing marijuana products behind the counter keeps cannabis out of the hands of young people and it reduces the public’s appetite for these unregulated novel intoxicants.”
The post Analysis: Consumers Are Twice as Likely To Use Unregulated Delta-8 THC Products in Jurisdictions Without Adult-Use Cannabis Markets appeared first on NORML.
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) is again highlighting the potential benefits of the powerful psychedelic ibogaine for people with serious mental and physical health conditions.
In an episode of his podcast Newt’s World, the former speaker spoke with the co-founders of Ambio Life Sciences, a company providing ibogaine treatment in Mexico.
Gingrich said the therapy option is at the “absolute cutting edge of science,” while inquiring about what makes ibogaine “such a uniquely powerful intervention” in the treatment of conditions like addiction.
He also noted that, while ibogaine is currently a Schedule I drug in the U.S. and cannot be accessed by most patients due to its lack of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, aspirin is widely available even though it didn’t go through the rigorous regulatory approval process.
“We’ve grandfathered it in—and we can produce aspirin, and billions of people have taken it—but we literally could never meet the FDA standard,” he said.
“To what degree is the very complexity of ibogaine, when measured against what clearly is its impact, put in a kind of similar situation where we could spend so many years trying to figure out what the underlying mechanisms are—and we’re losing people
The post Former GOP House Speaker Promotes ‘Cutting-Edge’ Science Of The Psychedelic Ibogaine appeared first on GrowCola.com.
Bipartisan House lawmakers are pushing back against attempts to ban hemp THC products, arguing that it would “deal a fatal blow” to the industry and, as currently included in a spending bill, violates congressional rules. To that end, the members say there are plans in the works to introduce an alternative measure to regulate the market.
In a letter sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Friday, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and 26 other members said the appropriations legislation that’s advancing in the House with the hemp ban provisions intact would upend the industry that’s emerged since the crop was legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill.
While the Senate ultimately stripped similar language from its version of the agriculture spending measure following a procedural protest from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), there’s still concern among stakeholders that it could wind up in the final package delivered to the president following bicameral negotiations.
If that were to happen, the lawmakers wrote that “it would deal a fatal blow to American farmers supplying the regulated hemp industry and small businesses, and jeopardize tens of billions of dollars in economic activity around the country.”
“Additionally, there are
The post Bipartisan Lawmakers Say Hemp THC Ban In Spending Bill Violates Congressional Rules, As They Prepare New Measure To Regulate Market appeared first on GrowCola.com.
Telemedicine and access to medical cannabis via online platforms have become a central issue in Germany’s cannabis sector, drawing scrutiny from policymakers and healthcare professionals.
As medical cannabis imports have risen sharply, critics argue that recreational users may be exploiting online prescription services intended for patients. Although the increase in imports does not directly prove misuse, it has prompted Health Minister Nina Warken to introduce a draft bill ahead of the scheduled evaluation of the Cannabis Act (CanG) in 2025–26. The proposal seeks to limit online prescriptions of cannabis and prohibit the shipment of cannabis flowers.
The plan has sparked strong opposition from patients, healthcare professionals and industry groups, who argue it would restrict access to treatment. Legal experts also warn that the measures may conflict with European law, which protects both patients’ rights and doctors’ freedom to practise. Lawyers note that restricting online medical consultations could infringe on the professional freedom of doctors in Germany.
According to Franziska Katterbach, partner at law firm Oppenhoff, the proposal could significantly curtail the professional autonomy of doctors. The bill would require patients to attend in-person consultations every quarter and collect cannabis flowers directly from pharmacies.
This could create a competitive imbalance across Europe: while German doctors would face tighter restrictions, doctors in neighbouring EU states could still issue prescriptions via telemedicine.
German patients could legally use such prescriptions at domestic pharmacies, giving foreign providers an advantage.
This, Katterbach argues in LTO.de, would contravene the principles of the EU single market and the freedom to provide services under Article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Such restrictions would only be lawful if justified by overriding public interest.
The Ministry has argued that the Cannabis Act’s scheduled evaluation relates only to recreational use, necessitating earlier action on medical cannabis.
However, the CDU-SPD coalition agreement already mandates an initial evidence-based review later this year. Critics suggest the draft law represents an attempt by the minister to impose stricter rules in advance, aligned with the CDU’s political stance.
From a legal standpoint, questions remain over whether a blanket ban on telemedicine and mail-order prescriptions is proportionate, especially when based solely on rising import volumes.
The Ministry’s position implies a general suspicion of prescribing doctors, despite their already stringent legal and professional obligations.
Katterbach contends that current law already prohibits automated prescription systems without physician involvement, minimising abuse risks.
She argues that further restrictions would unduly harm immobile patients and undermine doctors’ professional freedom under Article 12 of Germany’s Basic Law.
Instead of a blanket ban, more targeted safeguards—such as stricter documentation requirements, greater oversight by statutory health insurance associations or random audits—could better address concerns.
Ultimately, she argues, telemedicine should be promoted as a modern model of care, not restricted.
To strengthen confidence, Katterbach recommends that industry players establish a voluntary code of conduct, similar to the pharmaceutical industry’s self-regulation framework.
Such standards, exceeding legal minimums, would demonstrate responsibility, improve quality and ensure transparency. She emphasises that policymakers should give the sector time to implement such measures, rather than imposing abrupt restrictions.
The draft bill, initially scheduled for cabinet discussion on 10 September, was postponed and withdrawn. It is now expected to be reconsidered at the cabinet meeting on 8 October 2025.
Coalition partner SPD has reiterated its commitment to ‘reliable, local and barrier-free care’ for patients, while signalling openness to balanced regulation that addresses both patient access and potential misuse.
The post European Law Could Block German Health Ministry’s Plan to Ban Telemedicine for Cannabis Prescriptions appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
