Monday February 1, 2021
In today's report:
Biden’s USDA Takes First Meeting With Hemp Industry To Learn About Market Needs
click here for the link to the video on youtube
During the meeting, National Industrial Hemp Council (NIHC) board chair Patrick Atagi talked to Acting Agriculture Secretary Kevin Shea about key areas of interest for hemp businesses, especially as they concern testing and certification labs.
They also covered issues such as regulatory enforcement, a hemp checkoff program that’s in the works, trade standards and increasing research and development for the crop.
Atagi told Marijuana Moment in a phone interview that a primary purpose of the meeting was “just to make sure that USDA is working on hemp issues currently, which they are, but also we have incoming political folks—some who know the hemp industry and some who don’t,” and so the conversation was partly for education.
The talk “went extremely well,” Atagi, who was appointed by USDA and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) last month to serve on a federal trade advisory committee, said. He added that the meeting was meant to make sure that the agency is up to speed as Biden’s pick for agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, moves through the confirmation process.
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Newly Published Study Further Discredits Theory That Cannabis Is A #gatewaydrug
The research, published in the March issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, examined data on “adolescents” (ages 12-17), “early emerging adults” (18-20), and “late emerging adults” (21-24) living in Colorado and Washington, where voters in 2012 passed measures legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults.
“A public health concern stemming from recreational marijuana legalization (RML) is the idea that marijuana may act as a ‘gateway’ drug among youth and young adults, where growing marijuana use will lead to increasing substance use disorder (SUD) for ‘harder’ illicit drugs,” the authors of the study wrote. “This study investigates whether SUD #treatment admissions for cocaine, opioids, and methamphetamines increased following RML enactment in Colorado and Washington for adolescents and emerging adults.”
https://hightimes.com/news/newly-published-study-further-discredits-theory-cannabis-gateway-drug/
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USDA coronavirus relief to hemp farmers on hold – for now
The latest round of coronavirus relief for farmers went live Jan. 15. Like the previous rounds, it was designed to provide additional direct assistance for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs.
The payments are on hold under a directive from the White House to pause Trump-era programs for review. USDA said that help is on the way but did not elaborate.
“In the coming days, USDA and the Biden Administration intend to take additional steps to bring relief and support to all parts of food and #agriculture during the coronavirus pandemic, including by ensuring producers have access to the capital, #risk management tools, disaster assistance, and other federal resources,” the note said.
https://hempindustrydaily.com/usda-coronavirus-relief-to-hemp-farmers-on-hold-for-now/