Mayor McGinn, I-502 and the Legalization of Cannabis: let's be good neighbors

The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) held its first educational event in Seattle at the swanky Washington Athletic Club on January 28, 2013 with special guest Mayor Mike McGinn. While the mayor tried to play off as any other meeting with a trade association "like the Realtors or something", the press presence loomed large, making it difficult to ignore the historic nature of the post-prohibition business meeting.

Mayor McGinn: Advocate of the Legal Cannabis Industry and a Neighborly Guy

McGinn's message to the industry was positive, but also reinforced the importance of the industry being good neighbors to everyone else.  After all, 45% of the voters in Washington state voted against I-502. The mayor suggested that the best way to proceed was to be "really thoughtful of the concerns of others." And this would seem to include the concerns of the Federal Government. McGinn was excited - almost exuberant - as he spoke about the possibilities of the legal marijuana industry. He gushed about the local music scene and the new micro-distilleries springing up across the state. But as much as he wanted to share the wealth, he did caution that cannabis tourism touched on interstate tourism (and other stuff squarely in the camp of the Feds) and that avoiding such sensitive areas was the best way to avoid the attention of  the Federal government.

Some of the folks in McGinn's camp seem ready for any such Federal showdown. One such ally, representative Roger Goodman (D, Kirkland), an attorney, stood by during the question and answer session to assist McGinn with questions. He said he was willing to argue the case before the US supreme court, if needed.

McGinn was the first mayor of a major US city to come out in support of full on legalization of marijuana. As he explained it, he didn't even realize the pioneering nature of his stance; while running for office he made some statement about how if everybody who held office that had ever tried marijuana was to vote for legalization it would be legal. It didn't come up again until after he was elected.

A few points were clarified throughout the evening. Vending machines will not be allowed under I-502. Existing medical marijuana vendors will not be grandfathered in and issued retailer's licenses (they won't necessarily be excluded, but they aren't guaranteed a retail license). Existing dispensaries not adhering to the 1000 foot rule specified in I-502 are not exempt from the 1000 foot rule, so the opening of retail 502 stores may bring enforcement to non-compliant medical vendors.

Overall, the tone of the evening was positive and upbeat. McGinn took time to marvel at how quickly legalization of cannabis was progressing. He realized that we have arrived at a "new normal". McGinn, a resident of Greenwood, remarked on the proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries in his own neighborhood. "They're really putting the green in Greenwood."

Crowd at NCIA Meeting with Mike McGinn

During opening remarks, Aaron Smith of the NCIA reminded attendees that "before it was an industry it was a movement". McGinn encouraged attendees to let the progressive values of Seattle help shape the new legal cannabis industry. He called out the traditional values of Seattle - local, crafted, authentic, small provider/not big chains, no GMO, fair trade - and called on the founders of the new industry to use the values that shaped our local heritage as we create the world of legal cannabis.

As the mayor himself said,  "We can't ask for anything else but to be good neighbors".

--------------- (c) 2013  Stoner Living Blog

Cannabinoids and Medical Marijuana - what all those hard to pronounce components in Cannabis do for you

Some of our readers will remember when Cannabis was called grass, you could buy it by the lid, and Thai stick and Panamanian Red were the stuff of connoisseurs. The intervening years have seen a revolution in potency and overall quality as well as consumer awareness of the product itself. The first legitimate forays into contemporary marketing of marijuana have been under the medical model, so it should be no surprise that a plethora of information about the active ingredients in marijuana is available to consumers from medical marijuana dispensaries and seed companies alike. So what do all those difficult to pronounce components do for you?

A plant's cannabinoid profile refers to the specific mixture of the quantity and type of cannabinoids produced by a given plant. Think of it as a window on a strain’s effect and potency.

Table: Cannibinanoids and Their Effects

Over 475 compounds have been identified within the Cannabis sativa plant; of these 66 are classified as ‘cannabinoids’ unique to the Cannabis plant. RaphaelMechoulam (discussed in a previous article) dedicated much of his career to understanding the natural product chemistry of the marijuana plant. The most famous cannabinoid, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), is the substance responsible for the majority of the psychoactive effects of marijuana. Other cannabinoids, including cannabidiol and cannabinol, alter the subjective experience of the ‘high’ by interacting with the way THC impacts the brain.

Much of the cannabis breeding of the past 30 years has focused on increasing the potency (ie. – the % THC) in strains, with considerations such as yield, pest resistance and other qualities getting some secondary attention. Furthermore, for years many in the breeding community held a belief that strains high in CBD had more of a ‘downer’ high and were seen as undesirable. Modern medical research has shown cannabidiol (CBD) to have tremendous potential as an anti-inflammatory compound with pain mitigating and possible anti-cancer effects.

Q. Why would anybody want a low/no THC strain of marijuana?

A. Medical marijuana users may desire a strain high in medically important anti-inflammatory CBD compounds without the psychoactive effects of a high THC strain.

The advent of the medical marijuana movement has seen the development of some high CBD strains, but it remains difficult for consumers to obtain high CBD/low THC strains even in medical contexts. One example of such a strain is The Remedy, available to qualified medical marijuana patients from the Dockside Coop in Seattle, WA.

Commercial interests have invested time in such ventures; GW Pharmaceuticals, the company behind Sativex, has done extensive research on cannabis breeding. Their website is clear they rely on traditional plant breeding techniques and do not use GMO technology. According to GW Pharma, four genetic loci control the cannibinoid profile of cannabis. They have a nifty explanation of their breeding strategy on their website here. They have numerous patents with specific genetic profiles – including high THC strains and 0 % THC strains.

There are a variety of techniques available for obtaining a cannabinoid profile, including specialized labs offering testing services such as Analytical 360. Other firms offer extremely portable thin-layer chromatography techniques, such as the one produced by Cannatest. Cannatest is a Seattle area business that offers home testing kits as well as testing services. The power to bring analytical testing in-house to cannabis breeding operations is critical at a time when shipping samples via USPS is in violation of federal law. The people at Cannatest also offer a mobile testing service in the greater Seattle area.

HPLC Plate of Cannabis Analysis Performed Using Cannatest Kit

The advent of legalization will see technologies for analytical testing of marijuana becoming commonplace – possibly even required – for the benefit of cannabis consumers. Opportunities for research abound and cannabis with a wide range of cannabinoid profiles (especially the hard to find high CBN/low THC strains) will soon be readily available to the public.



----© 2013 – Stoner Living Blog

Genetic Sequence of Cannabis Sativa

The full genome for Cannabis sativa is downloadable here (the cultivar used was 'Chemdawg'). Available to the public since 2011, only time will tell what will be done with this information. The Cannabis plant has been bred to produce a wide array of phenotypes (and chemotypes) with the use of traditional plant breeding techniques alone.

Chemdog - photo from Green House Seeds

Ignoring the issues of ethics for now, an easy to anticipate and creepy use of this information involves splicing the genes responsible for production of say, THC, into another plant. The easiest target would probably be the hop vine - Humulus lupulus - as it is the only other member of the plant family Cannabaceae. Other obvious targets included members of the mint family. The idea of smoking the  fruit of such plants - 'Frankenbuds' - is a little off-putting, but such technology would free the industrial hemp industry: if any plant can be engineered to produce THC, the argument about cannabis/hemp being confusable becomes moot.

About the Strain:
Chemdawg is a rather potent strain of marijuana, with the Green House Seeds version placing 2nd in the IC420 Growers Cup in 2008. 

A website with information on how to download and assemble the data is HERE. The data is provided by Medicinal Genomics with the help of Nimbus Informatics. Academic use is free of charge. For commercial use,  contact Medicinalgenomics@gmail.com for information on obtaining a license.

---------(c) 2012 Stoner Living


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