A young French person who smokes cannabis before the age of 16 is twice as likely to be unemployed at least once in his career, compared to a young person who does not use it. He would even be three times more likely to be unemployed several times, compared to a person who has never smoked cannabis.

This is the conclusion of a French study, published by epidemiologist Maria Melchior, research director at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), one of the best research establishments in the world. about health.

“We had a hypothesis at the beginning: the consumption of cannabis in adolescence can have effects on professional trajectory. We know that young people are cerebrally vulnerable up to the age of 25, and that cannabis has effects on memory and concentration, so we wanted to check ”, explains Maria Melchior to Newsweed.

To achieve this result, the scientist drew from the TEMPO database, a file essentially made up of former employees of EDF-GDF and their children. His team sent them a questionnaire, often by mail, and they volunteered to answer it. This lasted for over nine years. A total of 1,500 people participated.

The scientist divided them into three groups: those who have never used cannabis (548 people), those who tried before 16 (332 people), those who tried after 16 (607 people). “Compared to those who have never used cannabis, the odds of being repeatedly unemployed are particularly high among those who used cannabis before age 16 (3x more risk) and those after 16 (2x more risk) “, notes the study.

“Workshops to express your emotions” to distract young people from cannabis

However, can we make a direct link between cannabis and unemployment? Do EDF-GDF employees, mainly made up of workers, represent France? As we know, it is easier to find yourself unemployed when you come from a modest background. Moreover, those who start smoking before the age of 16 are not always cut out for the school system; so they might have trouble finding a job afterwards.

“There are a lot of factors that explain why some people start smoking before the age of 16. These factors have been identified and corrected. In addition, theThe study is not representative of the French population, and is not intended to be, shade Maria Melchior. Corn The links between cannabis use and unemployment are thought to be valid in other populations as well. “

The research director assures us that she does not want “To blame or stigmatize” cannabis users, but rather inform them about the dangerousness. Several studies point to the danger of cannabis in young people, in particular because the brain is in full development until the age of 25.

The epidemiologist therefore calls on the public authorities to try to delay the consumption of cannabis as much as possible. But forget about prevention campaigns that aim directly at demonizing drugs: they are ineffective. “What works best to distract young people from cannabis are workshops to learn how to express emotions, build self-esteem, communicate in a non-violent way, manage relationships within the group. “

Patients treated with cannabis in Louisiana will now be able to purchase cannabis flowers. This novelty of the beginning of the year is delighting cannabis users. As proof: a large queue forms in front of dispensaries in large cities in this southern state of the United States, such as New Orleans or Baton Rouge, according to local media.

Until then, Louisiana patients had a choice between ‘edibles’ (cannabis food) and sublingual oils. But many complained about this limited choice. First, ‘edibles’ and oils take longer to work. It often takes an hour or two before you feel the effects. While it only takes a few minutes to be stone after a joint.

Then the price was too high according to them. The authorities have therefore made the choice to expand the medical cannabis program, by adding flowers. The argument was this: these will be cheaper because there is no need for industrial processing.

14 euros per gram, “double the black market”

The flowers therefore landed on the shelves on January 1. But the account is still not there, according to the patients. The main complaint: the price, again. “They told us it would be cheaper, but it’s not!, complains a resident suffering from pain linked to a car accident, encountered by the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. I’ve been waiting a long time to be able to buy flowers, but it’s almost double the black market price. “

Indeed, dispensaries offer patients flowers for around 16 dollars (14 euros) per gram. This price can be explained by the strict health standards imposed on producers of medical cannabis. But research shows that if the legal market price is more than 20% higher than the black market, consumers continue to buy on the street. “When there are more patients and more products, the prices will become more affordable” , promises a store manager.

The deputy behind the authorization for the sale of the flower to patients is also worried. “Granted, this is only the first day of flower sales, but I will be monitoring the situation closely to see if there is a need for adjustments.”Tanner Magee told the local newspaper.

Gone are the appalling cannabis cultivated by the US government. The American anti-drug agency has just authorized two private companies to cultivate the plant, in order to provide it to scientists for their research. Groff North America Hemplex and Biopharmaceutical Research Company (BRC) have both started harvesting.

In the United States, scientists cannot study just any cannabis flower: it must be provided to them by the government, via the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This agency goes through a public institute to cultivate cannabis. Problem: We have hardly ever seen cannabis of such poor quality.

The DEA is therefore putting an end to 50 years of public monopoly on cannabis research. In recent years, many scientists have been calling for it. “These advances are there thanks to all the noise that the world of cannabis has made for several decades”, greet George Hodgin, BRC boss, joined by Marijuana Moment. His company just completed its very first harvest in November. It is currently in the control phase. If all goes well, the harvest can be sold to the DEA, who will then distribute it to researchers.

“The goal of this first harvest is to prove to the DEA that it is quite feasible. We want to become one of their suppliers, once the cruising speed is found ”, hopes the boss of a company commissioned by Groff to cultivate cannabis.

The United States wants to catch up with Israel’s lead

The DEA also allows an increase in production quotas. In 2022, it will grow up to 3.2 tonnes of cannabis. This is almost twice as much as in 2021, when it set the limit at 2 tonnes.

When the photo of “government” cannabis leaked in 2017, it caused a lot of laughter – Newsweed understood. But it was a yellow laugh, since this same “cannabis” ends up on the researchers’ desks so that they can find new treatments. Sue Sisley, one of the scientists, is studying the role of cannabis for war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Handsome player, the public institute that grew this semblance of cannabis called “Positive” this openness to private companies. This will allow researchers to work in better conditions. And, in fine, this should give a boost to American cannabis research. In recent years, Israel has taken a big step forward in this area.

The US state of Illinois, which includes Chicago, more than doubled its sales between 2020 and 2021. In one year, recreational cannabis sales have grown from $ 670 million to $ 1.4 billion, according to the latest figures from the local finance ministry. The market therefore begins in 2022 in great shape. And that’s all the more impressive, since cannabis has only been legal in Illinois for two years.

As this table shows, sales could become even more stratospheric in 2022. Indeed, they are constantly increasing during the year 2021, going from 88 million in January to 137 in December.

When it comes to shopping, the people of Illinois set their sights on cannabis flowers. In fiscal year 2021, from July 2020 to June 2021, they spent over $ 500 million on buds, directly to smoke.

The other big success is the “inhalation extracts”. Translation: products to “dab”, such as oils, shatter or budder. It sold for over $ 350 million. Almost non-existent in France, these products are very popular in the United States, even if they raise some concerns for their potency or their dangerousness.

$ 100 million donated for social justice

The state, governed by a Democrat, has chosen to heavily tax cannabis. For every dollar spent on weed, more than 40 cents can go to the state. Result: 390 million in tax revenue in 2021. This is much more than Massachusetts for example, where taxes only bring in $ 50 million per year.

In Illinois, a quarter of that money will go to the ‘R3’ social justice program, aimed at the less advantaged classes. “The regions eligible for this program are places with a high rate of gunshot wounds, child poverty, unemployment, imprisonment, and also areas affected by the war on drugs”, said the office of Democratic Governor JB Pritzker. This program will therefore receive almost $ 100 million for the year 2021, thanks to cannabis sales.

The rest of the tax revenues will feed the state budget (for a quarter), the police (a tenth), and drug prevention programs (about 2%). The windfall of taxes brought by cannabis is now one of the main revenues for the State of Illinois. In any case, green gold already brings in more money than tobacco.

Londoners under 25 arrested with cannabis may soon be simply escorted home, rather than taken into custody. According to the British daily The Daily Telegraph, this measure should be announced at the end of January. It should start with a test phase, in the boroughs of Greenwhich, Lewisham and Bexley. These neighborhoods in the south of the capital are rather multi-ethnic.

Always according to the Telegraph, the police agreed to no longer initiate criminal proceedings against young people arrested with category B drugs. This includes cannabis, therefore, but also ketamine and ‘speed ‘. These three substances would remain illegal, but would be decriminalized de facto for those under 25. London would join Scotland, which decriminalized cannabis in September.

Instead of a stay at the police station, the police will offer young people a course on the dangers of drugs. A bit like the license point recovery courses. A process called “diversion”, to divert young people from drugs. If necessary, the police can also refer young people to care structures.

“We are working on devices that provide education and support to young people, rather than pushing them into the criminal justice system. With this, we try to divert them away from drugs and crime for good ”, pleads a spokesperson for the mayor of London.

Black youth are twice as likely to be searched

It is the young mayor of the district of Lewisham, Damien Egan (34) who will supervise this trial phase. The elected official had already taken a stand for a relaxation of the rules around cannabis. For example, in March 2020, he asked for legalization in the columns of theEvening Standard.

According to statistics from his borough, cannabis represents 90% of legal proceedings against young people. In addition, black youth in Lewisham are 2.4 times more likely to be searched by law enforcement officers. Met, London police.

This policy is part of a more flexible will of the Mayor of London. In the spring, during the campaign, Sadiq Khan had drawn the contours of this decriminalization of cannabis. However, at the time, he had not spoken of a stop of the prosecution only for the youngest.

The UK Conservative government is furious. the Home Office, the equivalent of the Home Office, recently promised to “Stop drug use” and “To ensure that those who break the law pay the consequences”.

It didn’t take long. The day after the ban on CBD flowers, the sector seized the Council of State, the highest administrative court, with an interim relief. This emergency procedure makes it possible to quickly suspend a text that jeopardizes freedoms. In this case, the CBD sector complains of an obstacle to the freedom to undertake, since flowers represent more than half of sales.

“We spent our New Years Eve there on December 31, then we lodged our appeal with the Council of State on January 1. It was well registered on January 3, and was not rejected. So we hope that the judge will rule this week “, says Yann Bisiou. This teacher-researcher, specialist in drug law, is also a legal consultant to the Union des Professionals du CBD (UPCBD).

“Flowers represent 70% of the turnover of our stores. So we can fear layoffs, closures … All this, in addition to the criminal risk for traders, and the stock that they can no longer sell “, alarmed Charles Moral, president of the UPCBD.

They can also count on the political support of Julien Bayou. The president of the Europe-Ecology-Les Verts (EELV) party is also a lawyer. And so he worked on this summary-freedom.

“Are we banning tobacco? “

Further legal attacks will follow. “The authorities say you cannot differentiate CBD hemp from THC. Of course it’s possible ! Except that we do not give ourselves the means. There are quick tests to differentiate CBD / THC. So that will be one of the many arguments that will be held ”, announces Aurélien Delecroix. The president of the Professional Hemp Trade Union (SPC) is therefore also preparing an interim relief before the Council of State.

He will highlight the government’s contradictions. Indeed, the executive recalls that “Many carcinogenic elements come from the combustion of organic substances”, when consumers smoke the CBD flowers. “Certainly the products can be smoked, but do we ban tobacco for all that?, responds Delecroix. In Belgium and Luxembourg, CBD flowers are classified as a smoking plant, like tobacco. Everything is standardized: there is taxation, a health message, a ban on sale to minors, etc. “

For the Council of State to suspend the decree, it is necessary to prove the economic emergency. And this is especially the case for farmers. “The flower represents 80 to 85% of our sales. The impact is radical. Are companies going to resist this? No, it is improbable. We could not quantify the total, but at least 80% of our 280 members want to give up ”, alert François-Guillaume Piotrowski, the president of the Association of French Cannabinoid Producers (AFPC).

He too will file an appeal with justice. But before that, he hopes that the Constitutional Council will prove him right. His association seized the guarantor of the Constitution, hoping to be able to have the decree annulled. The answer should arrive this Friday, January 7.

Several deputies from the left and from the center want “Decriminalize and legalize cannabis under strict state supervision”. With this bill n ° 4746, the deputy (La France Insoumise, LFI) Eric Coquerel attracts the support of the other LFI deputies. He also relies on a few macronists like Caroline Janvier or Jean-Baptiste Moreau, and also independents like the ecologist Matthieu Orphelin or the Corsican autonomist Jean-Félix Acquaviva.

Concretely, this text envisages creating a public cannabis monopoly, like La Poste for mail. This “Authority of‘supervision of production and‘exploitation of cannabis ”(AEPEC)” will control “The production and distribution, as well as the licenses granted for the retail sale of cannabis and cannabis products”. It is more or less the same model that Quebec has chosen.

Regarding products, Eric Coquerel plans to rely on “Agricultural regions today‘hui the most in difficulty “. We recognize here the paw of Jean-Baptiste Moreau. The deputy for Creuse is one of those elected officials who lobby intensely for his department to cultivate “green gold”.

The THC level should be “Set by the State […] knowing that this THC level should not be too low in order not to maintain the‘attractiveness of the black market. ” The packaging in which the flowers, oils or concentrates will be contained must be “Neutral”, like the cigarette pack.

Proposal torpedoed by the macronists

But this proposal already seems to be in bad shape. The text is currently being examined by the Social Affairs Committee, a preliminary step in the process of a law. And, already, the deputies La République en Marche (LREM, Emmanuel Macron’s party) are opposed to it. An amendment carried by the former Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner purely and simply tries to make ” to delete ” this text.

“The LREM group believes that legalization of recreational cannabis is premature to date. The Government is not in favor of its legalization. As of July 2020, the Minister of the Interior placed the fight against drug trafficking among his three priorities. He believes that legalizing the recreational use of cannabis would not lead to a reduction in the level of trafficking but an adaptation of criminal organizations to new drugs ”, explain the Macronist parliamentarians.

MPs in favor of legalization will now refine their arguments. Objective: to convince the government and LREM parliamentarians. MEPs will discuss this text in plenary session on Monday, January 13. Given the importance of the social subject, it will certainly be broadcast live on television.

It was -16 ° C on January 1 in the state of Montana. Despite the polar cold in this mountainous region of the northern United States, legal sales of cannabis have officially started. Anyone 21 and over will be able to purchase up to 28 grams of the flower, limited to 35% THC. Consumers will also be able to purchase up to 8 grams of concentrate. At home, they can grow two mature cannabis plants, and two young plants.

” It’s crazy, we already had people queuing an hour before opening! People call me since 6 a.m., enthuses a dispensary boss met by a journalist from Leafly. There has been a line of 20 people since 9am, and it hasn’t stopped since. “

A high tax of 20% will apply to each sale. Communities may also add a 3% supplement. These revenues will be used to fill the coffers of the provincial state. For example, Yellowstone County – famous for its natural park – expects $ 60,000 in annual revenue from one million tourists. Overall the state expects to exceed $ 1 billion in tax revenue.

“Green” counties which authorize, “red” which ban

Montana will now be separated into two colors: green and red. There is indeed a specificity in legalization: it does not apply everywhere. Montana residents will only be able to purchase cannabis in counties where a majority of voters have voted for Proposal I-190, legalizing recreational cannabis. This map from local TV MTN News provides an update:

About half of the counties voted in favor, the other half said “no”. But green communities represent more than 80% of the population. The more rural, outlying, and therefore more conservative counties voted against I-190.

But this map is not immutable: a “red” county can turn green. To do so, a citizen must circulate a petition; it will have to collect enough votes to trigger a vote in the local assembly. And this is also possible in the reverse direction. If a Green County wants to ban cannabis sales, it will just have to put in place a vote and then garner a majority. This will be the case in June, in Yellowstone County.

After eight months of consultation, the government publishes a new decree in the Official Journal to update the law around CBD. In exchange for full legalization of the molecule – no more searches and police custody for traders – France strictly regulates its use. The executive chose to take it the hard way, emphasizing “The operational capacity of the internal security forces to fight against narcotics”.

On the negative side: it will now be impossible to buy CBD flowers, like Newsweed revealed it to you in May. This measure is included in article 1.II of the decree: “The flowers and the leaves […] may only be harvested, imported or used for the industrial production of hemp extracts. In particular, the sale to consumers of raw flowers or leaves in all their forms, alone or in a mixture with other ingredients, their possession by consumers and their consumption is prohibited. “

In a speech making the after-sales service of the measure, the MILDECA justifies this ban by a health reason, since the flowers are consumed almost exclusively in joints smoked with tobacco. And “Many carcinogenic elements come from the combustion of organic substances”, points out the anti-drugs office of the government.

But the MILDECA also puts forward “Reasons of public order, insofar as, in order to preserve the operational capacity of the internal security forces to fight against narcotics, they must be able to simply discriminate between products, in order to determine whether or not they fall within the scope of the penal policy against narcotics ”.

Flowers represent 50 to 70% of sales

But for many lawyers, this provision is inapplicable. Notably because there are quick and inexpensive tests to differentiate CBD and THC, as shown in this video from The Obs.

The flower ban is making the CBD world scream. Indeed, these products represent between 50 and 70% of sales in specialized stores. Traders therefore fear seeing their turnover melt like snow in the sun. To prevent it, the legal response is already ready. ” NOTWe will formulate an action for annulment before the administrative jurisdiction ” Lawyer Charles Morel, president of the Union of CBD Professionals, announced to us in June. The Professional Hemp Union is also planning a legal attack.

The flowers will therefore be prohibited for sale… but authorized for harvest. Which was not the case before. They can be used to “Industrial production of hemp extracts”. Translation: CBD can be extracted from flowers to make oil, cosmetics or isolate. This is a small victory for the farmers, who will be able to sell their plants legally. But above all, it is a great leap forward for the hemp extract industry, represented by the UIVEC union.

Positive point: the maximum THC level rises to 0.3%

Even if this decree is much criticized by the CBD industry, a provision will surely find favor in their eyes. Article 1.III provides: “The content of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol [le nom scientifique du THC] hemp extracts, as well as the products which incorporate them, is not more than 0.3% ”. Until then, the maximum rate was 0.2%.

And this change is not anecdotal. The THC and CBD levels being linked, the more we increase the rate of the first, the higher the second will be. So with 0.2% THC you could get around 6% CBD. With 0.3%, we go up to 9-10% CBD. This makes it possible to have a more highly dosed product, potentially useful for those who use it to calm their pain.

Precisely, concerning the care of pain, the MILDECA recalls that “Products containing CBD cannot, under penalty of criminal penalties, claim therapeutic claims”. That is, a label cannot promise to cure pain, or calm anxiety, for example. But this provision does not appear in the new decree.