Cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical derived from the cannabis plant, can counteract the effects of high strength "skunk" strains and may help to reduce the risk of serious mental health conditions like psychosis, according to a new study. After using scans to study the effects of different strains of cannabis on the brain for the first time, the team from the University College London said boosting levels of CBD could act as a “buffer” to ill effects. They found that strains with the same level of THC, which causes users to get “stoned”, but higher CBD caused less disruption to parts of the brain linked to addiction and psychosis. (See also: "Skunk" cannabis disrupts brain networks – but effects are blocked in other strains | High-strength cannabis increases risk of mental health problems)

A study by neuroscientists at Indiana University finds that a nonpsychoactive compound in cannabis called cannabidiol, or CBD, appears to protect against the long-term negative psychiatric effects of THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. "This is the first study in a rigorously controlled animal model to find that CBD appears to protect the brain against the negative effects of chronic THC," lead author Dr. Ken Mackie, said. "This is especially important since heavy use of cannabis with higher levels of THC poses a serious risk to adolescents." An analysis of cannabis seized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration found that while THC levels rose 300 percent from 1995 to 2014, the levels of CBD have declined 60 percent.

Era cuestión de tiempo que los adeptos a la marihuana buscasen alternativas legales para poder consumir libremente sin sentirse susceptibles de alterar la salud pública, y esa alternativa ya ha llegado. Se llama CBD (Cannabidiol), y aunque posee un porcentaje de THC (Tetrahidrocannabinol) -el principio activo de la planta que es psicoactivo- este es inferior al 0,2%. Es decir, lo permitido por ley. Esta es la novedosa sustancia con propiedades diferentes al tradicional cannabis y que se está convirtiendo en todo un ‘boom’ entre jóvenes y personas con enfermedades crónicas.

China has made your iPhone, your Nikes. Now, it wants to grow your cannabis. Two of China’s 34 regions are quietly leading a boom in cultivating cannabis to produce cannabidiol, or CBD, the nonintoxicating compound that has become a consumer health and beauty craze in the United States and beyond. They are doing so even though cannabidiol has not been authorized for consumption in China, a country with some of the strictest drug-enforcement policies in the world. “It has huge potential,” said Tan Xin, the chairman of Hanma Investment Group, which in 2017 became the first company to receive permission to extract cannabidiol here in southern China. The chemical is marketed abroad.

Preliminary research is emerging out of Canada that certain strains of the psychoactive drug cannabis may also increase resistance to the coronavirus. If the study, which is not yet peer reviewed, can be verified, it would appear that cannabis works in a similar way to nicotine. As with the research into nicotine's effect on the coronavirus, it is thought that some strains of cannabis reduce the virus' ability to enter the lungs, where it takes hold, reproduces and spreads. In a paper on preprints.org,  where scientists can publish non-peer-reviewed results, the researchers write that their specially developed strains of cannabis effectively stop the virus from entering the human body.  

Tourists in Prague may get the impression that the Czech capital is also the cannabis capital of Europe. From stickers to posters, the iconic leaf of the marijuana plant is all over the place. It adorns the windows and facades of plenty of shops offering everything someone might need to grow the plant. But that first impression is misleading. These products contain at most 1% of the psychoactive substance tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and they won't get you high. The possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana, hashish or hemp oil or the growing of up to five cannabis plants is an offense with a fine of up to €500. Around 20,000 Czechs are fined each year. (See also: Czech Republic plans to legalize cannabis in coordination with Germany)

The European Union's highest court ruled today that cannabidiol (CBD) isn't a narcotic drug. The decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is a setback for EU countries that are cracking down on CBD products, arguing they are harmful to people's health. At issue was a French case against a Czech company that sold CBD extracted from the whole cannabis plant to use in electronic cigarette cartridges. France only allows extraction from cannabis seeds and fiber — not the whole plant. The court ruled the law that prompted this legal action against the Czech producers was an unnecessary restriction of the free movement of goods because the substance doesn't pose a threat to human health. 

In advance of the March session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), the European Commission has proposed that EU member nations vote in favor of three of the six World Health Organization (WHO) cannabis scheduling recommendations. The Commission “Proposal for a Council Decision” is meaningful because – if adopted by the Council of Europe – EU countries would vote as a block at the CND session in Vienna and the three motions the Commission supports stand a higher chance of being approved. One of these supported changes would be positive for the cannabis industry: removing cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. (See also: European Commission falls short on WHO cannabis recommendations, experts say)

Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said that his drive to close all of Italy's 'cannabis shops' has started with the closure of three stores in central Italy. These shops sell 'cannabis light' - hemp flowers and products that have an extremely low level of the psychoactive compound that makes people high. At the moment cannabis light' can be sold legally, although, in theory at least, the aromatic hemp flowers must not be smoked or eaten and any eventual seeds must not be cultivated. The issue is the latest to expose differences between Salvini's League and its government coalition partner, the 5-Star Movement (M5S). (See also: League voted for cannabis shops, notes M5S MP | Italy’s interior minister declares war on cannabis, but stakeholders expect limited impact)

Kevin Abraham Sabet-Sharghi, Ph.D., aka Kevin Sabet, has been a headline-grabbing right-winger ever since his U.C. Berkeley days—where he did not study science or medicine despite his current appointment as an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Florida. His most recent incarnation as a co-founder of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) follows a stint in the Obama White House on its drug policy staff from 2009-2011. His personal website claims he is the “quarterback” of a new anti-drug movement, boasting that he’s been “quoted in over 15,000 news stories.”

France's highest administrative judicial body has annulled a Government decree that banned the sale of hemp flower and leaf enriched with CBD, the non-psychotropic molecule found in cannabis. The French Council of State (Conseil d'Etat) decreed that the Government's ban was "disproportionate", and argued that the sale of CBD in the form of leaves and buds does not "create a sufficient risk to public health" to justify prohibition. "As scientific data stand, the harmfulness of other molecules present in cannabis flowers and leaves, in particular CBD, has not been established," the Council ruled.

France's highest appeals court overturned a ruling that stores in the country can't legally sell cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotic compound related to cannabis that is being researched for a variety of medical applications. Based on the free trade of goods within the European Union, the Cour de cassation ruled that judges could not find the sale of CBD in France illegal if it had been legally produced in a member state of the bloc. The Court of Justice of the EU ruled last year that no national law can prohibit the sale of CBD legally produced in a member state, the French court also said.

Standard units for grading the potency of cannabis – similar to those already used for alcohol – would result in significant improvements in the mental health of users, according to addiction experts. Researchers from the Addiction and Mental Health Group at the University of Bath, working with staff from King’s College London, UCL and the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, say more needs to be done to make people aware of the levels of THC – the main psychoactive component – in the cannabis they are consuming. Writing in the journal Addiction, the experts suggest a unit level should be set at 5mg of THC – the amount that would typically be found in a small joint. This is enough to induce intoxication but without psychotic symptoms. (See also: Making cannabis safer)

Howard Marks made his name in the illicit drugs trade but the late drugs baron is making a posthumous comeback to cash in on a booming legal trade in cannabis-related products. Borrowing his most famous alias, the first Mr Nice store opened in London’s Soho district on Thursday, selling everything from upmarket bath bombs and face creams to hoodies inspired by Britain’s best-known drug smuggler. Mr Nice bills itself as a “modern cannabis destination” that sells “carefully curated cannabis accessories from around the world”. Xan Morgan, the chief executive of Equinox International, the international cannabis company behind the venture, plans to launch 10 Mr Nice stores across the UK.

Almost all cannabis seized by police now comprises high-strength varieties, with outdoor-grown herbal strains and hashish barely found, according to a new analysis. In the first study of its kind for 10 years, researchers found 94% of samples seized were varieties with a high psychoactive content, suggesting they dominate the illicit market. The increasing discrepancy between THC and CBD levels in cannabis could increase the number of users at risk of developing psychotic disorders. "It’s certainly worth putting the real risk into context, which this doesn’t," said Jon Liebling of the United Patients Alliance (UPA). "The risk of early onset psychosis due to long-term heavy use of cannabis is one in 26,000." (See also: How hash and weed all but disappeared from Britain's streets, as high-strength ‘skunk’ took over)

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), there are currently at least 144 known cannabinoids that have been isolated from the cannabis plant. The most popular among them is Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound known to provide all the stereotypical effects of getting high. Yet a lesser-known cannabinoid, with more than half of the psychoactive potency of Delta-9-THC, seems poised to challenge its dominance. No, it’s not CBD, CBN, CBG, or CBC – it’s Delta-8 THC, an analog of Delta-9-THC. People often report that due to its reduced potency, Delta-8 provides them with a smoother, more mild high that is less sedative and more functional than Delta-9.

Most people who smoke pot enjoy it, but a smaller proportion experience psychotic-like symptoms, such as feeling suspicious or paranoid. The question that polarises researchers is whether smoking cannabis is associated with a risk of developing psychotic problems, such as schizophrenia, in the long term. Of course, cannabis use is common, while schizophrenia is relatively rare, affecting less than one per cent of the population. Even if cannabis use were to double the risk, over 98% of cannabis users would not develop schizophrenia. Researchers have to tread carefully in evaluating the evidence and avoiding scaremongering. (See also: How we could make cannabis safer for users)

The cumulative number of authorizations for individual patients in Brazil to import nonregistered medical cannabis products reached 18,650 at the end of March, according to data of the country’s health regulator. National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) approvals to import the products have been growing rapidly in the past year, and although this route is intended to be a special access scheme for exceptional cases, Brazil has become the largest market in Latin America. Nonregistered medical cannabis products, regardless of THC content, can be imported only by individual patients after a doctor and ANVISA have signed off. The health agency does not restrict the products to only CBD, but in practice CBD represents the majority of imports.

Italy’s Supreme court banned the sale of many widely sold cannabis derivatives, in a win for Deputy Prime Minister and far-right League leader Matteo Salvini who had declared war on the so-called “legal-weed” shops. Under 2016 legislation, cannabis with a psychotropic active ingredient (THC) level below 0.6 percent can be freely cultivated and sold in Italy. But according to the latest ruling, the sale of cannabis derivatives such as “oil, leaves, inflorescences and resin” does not fall within the scope of the law. The ruling is likely to be a serious blow to the light weed commerce that has thrived in Italy in the last three years.  (See also: Did Italy just make selling 'cannabis light' illegal? | Italy’s top court bans cannabis light sales as sector feels political heat)