Cannabis News

Nascent medical cannabis industry aims for growth

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1 hour ago

April 18, 2026

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The medicinal cannabis sector is struggling to take root, and another specialist processing plant is set to close. But with current regulations and a new collective industry in mind, New Zealanders are promising to reduce their reliance on imported medicinals.

There was great excitement when medicinal cannabis was legalized and then regulated in 2020, with the hope of growing the domestic sector and serving patients here and abroad. However, since then, several companies have closed their doors, including Greenfern Industries, Cannasouth and, most recently, Helius Therapeutics.

The latter plans to close the East Tāmaki plant, affecting 65 workers. It is one of the few medicinal cannabis factories in the entire nation that has a specialized processing certificate called “Good Manufacturing Practice” (GMP).

Medical Cannabis Council executive director Sally King said that under current rules, most growers did not have such certification, and could only sell raw ingredients, not processed products such as more profitable cannabis capsules.

Cannabis News

Medical Marijuana Helps People Stop Using Opioids, Sleeping Aids And Other Prescription Drugs, Study Shows

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1 hour ago

April 17, 2026

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Using medical marijuana appears to help reduce the use of other medications, including opioids, sleep aids and antidepressants, according to a new study of more than 3,500 patients. They experience far fewer negative side effects after switching from prescription drugs to cannabis.

The survey results show that across all medication categories, patients were able to reduce their use of other prescription drugs by an average of 84.5 percent after starting to use medical cannabis.

More than half of the patients (58.9 percent) completely stopped using other prescription drugs.

The study, conducted and published by medical cannabis and telehealth company Bloomwell, conducted an online survey of 3,528 patients in Germany last month.

“Through the use of medical cannabis, patients were able to reduce their use of other prescription medications by an average of 84.5% across all categories.”

93.4 percent of patients taking sleeping pills were able to cut their use in half after starting medical marijuana, and 75.5 percent were able to get off the medication completely.

For methylphenidate, an ADHD drug sold under the name Ritalin, 77.3 percent of medical marijuana patients stopped completely.

61 percent of patients who were previously dependent on opioids were able to stop completely with the help of medical marijuana.

Stopping the use of prescription drugs led to a significant reduction in drug-related side effects, with 60.7 percent reporting no longer experiencing them.

“These patient reports demonstrate that in many cases, in addition to the treatment of the actual symptoms, one of the key reasons for an individual therapeutic trial with medical cannabis is the absence or reduction of medication-related side effects,” the study concluded.

“60.7% of patients reported no longer experiencing medication-related side effects from using medical cannabis.”

There were positive side effects, however, with 67.8 percent saying medical cannabis helped them concentrate better, 61.9 percent said it helped them foster more social relationships, and 53.9 percent experienced fewer sick days from work.

“The primary reason for prescribing medicinal cannabis, in addition to treating symptoms, is to reduce or avoid the side effects of other medications,” Julian Wichmann, Bloomwell’s founder and CEO, said in a press release. “For example, anyone who can completely stop opioids using medical cannabis has a good chance of going about their daily lives and working without side effects.”

“So we shouldn’t demand restrictions on access to medical cannabis, but rather make sure doctors are willing to do an individual therapeutic trial with medical cannabis, or at least recommend it and refer patients to their colleagues,” he said. “At the same time, our survey shows that we should finally discuss the great benefits of medical cannabis more openly, instead of only warning about the empirically unproven risks and discrediting the flower.”

This is not the first study to position medical cannabis as a safer alternative to opioids and other prescription drugs.

About One in three Americans who use CBD say they take it as an alternative or supplement to at least one medication—especially painful ones—according to a federally funded study published in February.

Also, a recent federally funded study, published by the American Medical Association (AMA), added further evidence Marijuana can be an effective substitute for opioids in the treatment of chronic pain.

Other studies published by the AMA have found legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational purposes “Significantly associated with reduced opioid use among patients diagnosed with cancer.”

A separate paper published in October also found that Legalizing medical marijuana “is associated with a significant reduction in opioid prescriptions.”

In August, however, Australian researchers published a study that shows this Marijuana can be an effective substitute for opioids in pain management treatment.

Another study published last year in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review found that daily drug users with chronic pain cannabis use was associated with greater likelihood of opioid cessation-Especially among men.

Other studies also found this legalizing medical cannabis appears to have significantly reduced payments to doctors from opioid manufacturers who specialize in pain, the authors found that “this reduction is a consequence of the availability of medical marijuana as a substitute” for prescription analgesics.

Other recent studies also showed a decline in fatal opioid overdoses in jurisdictions where marijuana was legalized for adults. That research found a ‘consistent negative relationship’ between legalization and fatal overdoses, effects more pronounced in states that legalized cannabis earlier in the opioid crisis. The authors estimated that legalizing recreational marijuana “is associated with a decrease of 3.5 deaths per 100,000 people.”

“Our findings suggest that expanding access to recreational marijuana could help combat the opioid epidemic,” the report said. “Prior studies overwhelmingly indicate that marijuana (especially for medical use) can reduce opioid prescriptions, and we see it successfully reducing overdose deaths as well.”

Another recently published report on prescription opioid use in Utah follows the state legalizing medical marijuana found that the availability of legal cannabis reduced opioid use among chronic pain patients and helped reduce prescription drug overdose deaths across the state. Overall, the study’s results indicated that “cannabis plays a significant role in pain management and reducing opioid use,” he said.

President Donald Trump said in December that marijuana can “make people feel a lot better.” and serves as a “substitute for addictive and potentially deadly opioid painkillers.” issued an executive order to federally regulate cannabis and promote access to CBD for therapeutic purposes. He clarified, however, that he personally has no interest in using marijuana himself.

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Cannabis News

More employees mobilize with UFCW

Published

1 day ago

April 17, 2026

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United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 360 has announced that more cannabis workers in New Jersey are joining its union family. Workers at Hamilton, New Jersey-based cannabis product manufacturer Sun Extractions chose to unionize with Local 360 for the better wages, benefits and benefits that come with a union contract.

Their decision adds to the growing momentum of UFCW Local 360’s Cannabis Workers Rising campaign, which has helped shape statewide labor standards and increase worker, consumer and community safety in New Jersey’s fledgling legal marijuana industry.

“New Jersey’s cannabis industry is stronger today thanks to this vote by Sun Extractions workers,” said Hugh Giordano, UFCW Local 360 Organizing Director. “Sustainable success for companies, workers and communities starts with fair treatment, strong standards and shared commitments. This is how jobs in the cannabis industry become long-term careers, and the future these workers work for.”

“It’s great that this vote is being announced before 4/20,” Giordano added. “4/20 used to be about the plant, but it has become a holiday that celebrates the entire cannabis community and recognizes the workers who grow, cut, pack, package, advise and distribute our cannabis products. Their hard work is why New Jersey’s medical and adult markets are safe and growing, and why sales are on target to exceed $2 billion this year.”

UFCW Local 360 President Sam Ferraino, Jr. emphasized that the Sun Extractions vote is part of a growing push to improve worker protections and benefits in the legal marijuana industry.

“We have more reasons than ever to celebrate 4/20 this year. We welcome the employees of Sun Extractions to the Local 360 family, seeing the hard work of our members move an entire industry forward, and speaking to other states, looking to New Jersey as a model of how to do it,” said Ferraino. “It’s further proof of what we always say: stronger unions mean stronger industries and communities. And that’s worth celebrating.”

For more than a decade, UFCW Local 360 has been at the forefront of efforts to ensure that New Jersey’s cannabis industry offers fair wages, strong job protections and real advancement opportunities. Thousands of cannabis workers, from cultivation to retail, have joined the union since the Cannabis Workers Rising campaign began.

From seed to sale, UFCW is the national leader in organizing workers in the cannabis industry and is the official cannabis union of the AFL-CIO. In the US, UFCW works with workers and business owners to achieve the shared goal of a regulated cannabis industry that provides family-supporting jobs and promotes social equity.

For more information:
UFCW
www.ufcw.org

Cannabis News

Bipartisan Bill To Save Hemp Industry From Renewed Federal Criminalization Could Be Filed This Week, Rand Paul Says

Published

1 day ago

April 16, 2026

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A Republican senator said he hopes to introduce bipartisan legislation in Congress this week to avert what he called the “catastrophe” of the federal recriminalization of THC hemp products set to take effect later this year.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said in an online town hall meeting Tuesday that hemp has “become a billion-dollar industry” since products containing less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by weight of the drug were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill signed by President Donald Trump in his first term.

But late last year, Trump signed new legislation that would redefine hemp in a way that advocates say will destroy the industry, so that only products with a total of 0.4 milligrams of THC per container will remain legal.

“I regret that the government is trying to destroy this industry, but I’m doing everything I can and working with a Democratic senator to ensure that if your state decides to regulate hemp, state law would supersede federal law, which is really the way it should be,” Paul said.

The GOP senator said he and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) plan to introduce legislation “I think will be introduced this week” to address the sweeping federal ban that will take effect in November for states.

I’m standing across the aisle to support HEMP: a legal, multi-billion dollar industry helping Kentucky and America’s farmers. Washington should not destroy what the states manage successfully. Let’s keep this industry strong. pic.twitter.com/hXgTRqHvmj

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) April 16, 2026

“It’s in the Agriculture Committee, and they do the Farm Bill. Our hope is that it can get a vote in committee to try to attach it to the Farm Bill,” Paul said of the upcoming hemp relief bill. “We have our fingers crossed, but it’s difficult for those in the business now, because it’s a crop, it has to be planted, and if it’s going to be illegal in November, farmers are asking if they have to plant it this year.”

The text of the Paul-Klobuchar hemp bill has not yet been made public, but a source told Marijuana Momenti on Thursday that its provisions would allow states to opt out of the federal hemp THC recriminalization policy and allow interstate commerce among themselves.

Paul, for his part, said at this week’s town hall meeting that “Kentucky has a successful hemp industry.”

“There are new startups now. They’ve scaled up to millions of dollars,” he said. “And it’s been good for Kentucky. It’s good for Kentucky farmers. It’s like tobacco, not as big as tobacco, but like tobacco, and I think we should expand it.”

Check out Paul’s full hemp comments starting around 41:50 in the video below:

Paul previously said that in November last year his hemp reform bill could be introduced in daysbut that didn’t happen.

Other members of parliament have introduced legislation delaying the scheduled recriminalization of hemp THC productsbut these efforts have not gained strength with the Congress leadership.

Meanwhile, this month the Trump administration launched a new initiative Cover up to $500 of hemp-derived products annually for eligible Medicare patients. The program being implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) focuses largely on CBD, but also allows a certain amount of THC in products.

Anti-marijuana organizations filed a lawsuit against the Medicare hemp coverage policyand Health and Human Services attorneys. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Director Mehmet Oz recently He submitted a letter requesting the filing of the case.

Meanwhile, the White House Management and Budget Office has held a series of meetings a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) CBD product enforcement policy.

The FDA also issued guidance making it clear that it does not intend to interfere Establish a Medicare coverage plan for hemp-derived products.

CMS finalized a rule that will be adopted separately Coverage of certain hemp products, primarily as specialized health-related benefits, through Medicare Advantage the plans

As hemp products become more popular among consumers, some big brands are trying to get in on the action.

The main retailer Target, for example, is expanding its market share of hemp-derived THC beverages. Last year, the company began a pilot program in 10 stores in Minnesota that sell cannabis drinks. That apparently went well, and now the company has secured licenses from Minnesota regulators to sell lower-potency edible hemp products — including THC drinks — in 72 stores in the state.

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