By Monterey Bud (AP)

 

This Weed in News is Monterey Bud’s weekly column offering his thoughts on the crucial stories of the week. Each Saturday, Monterey Bud recaps the news and tells us why he cares — and why we should, too.

It was an interesting week with mistaken identities and near-behind-the-scenes collusion. And no, we’re not talking about Russia.

CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta disavows any relationship between himself and a new line of CBD products, Utah’s governor rejects prohibitionist pressure to undermine a medical marijuana legalization measure, and California’s new survey indicates fewer teens are using marijuana after legalization.

CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta: ‘I report on medical marijuana. I don’t sell it.’

When a publicly traded CBD manufacturer announced on Aug. 17, 2018, that a distribution agreement had been arranged with “Dr. Sanjay Gupta,” more than a few skeptics assumed that American neurosurgeon and medical reporter Sanjay Gupta had sold out and had begun endorsing the hemp-based CBD products produced by Tree of Knowledge. Misidentified by at least one online source as CNN’s chief medical correspondent, it turns out that the Dr. Gupta working with the CBD manufacturer is actually on the board of directors for the American Pain Association.

Concerned by the confusion, CNN’s Dr. Gupta addressed the issue that same day with a statement posted on Facebook:

“Hey there,  I want to address a press release you may have recently seen from the Tree of Knowledge Corporation. It is about a distribution agreement they have entered into with a Dr. Sanjay Gupta for a line of cannabis-based products. But here’s the thing: that Dr. Sanjay Gupta is not me. While we are both Indian and share the same name, we live in different states, practice different specialties and look nothing alike. Despite that, there have now been several news articles connecting me to this agreement.”

“I report on medical marijuana. I don’t sell it,” Dr. Gupta wrote on the Facebook post.

While both physicians are of Indian descent, CNN’s Dr. Gupta was a reluctant but early proponent of the medicinal value of cannabis — and his name carries marketable credibility within both the medical and cannabis communities. The other Dr. Gupta isn’t as widely recognized and doesn’t have the same influence. Aside from the editorial slip up and the obvious need to fact check, it is important for those in the industry and especially for those who report on the industry to clearly distinguish facts and personalities as the cannabis industry matures through legalization and the growth of the marketplace.

In conjunction with CNN, Dr. Gupta released a documentary in 2013 called “Weed.” Changing the conversation for the medical marijuana argument, the inquisitive neurosurgeon has helped open the hearts and minds of America to the medicinal efficacy of the CBD cannabinoid. #ThanksDrGupta

Utah Governor Says No Thanks to Anti-drug Group’s Request For Help

For the past several months, Republican Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has been clear about his opposition to Proposition 2, an initiative to legalize medical marijuana for individuals suffering from qualifying illnesses, on the November 2018 ballot. Despite that opposition, on Aug. 20, 2018, Herbert turned down a request for help from Drug Safe Utah, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The anti-medical marijuana group requested access to the governor’s email list as a means of opposing the popular ballot initiative. Additionally, the group requested Herbert provide supportive statements from agencies in the executive branch, which the governor found “a little concerning,” the Salt Lake Tribune also reported.

The owner of Utah-based pharmaceutical company Pharmics, Inc., and friend to Republican US Sen. Orrin Hatch, Walter J. Plumb III seeks to undermine the will of the voters with the help of the Utah Medical Association and Drug Safe Utah. Plumb is purportedly opposing Proposition 2 because he thinks the initiative is a de facto attempt to legalize recreational marijuana in the Beehive State. But unlike several medical marijuana states, Utah’s initiative would prohibit the smoking or cultivation of medical marijuana by the state’s patients.

A poll conducted in March by UtahPolicy.com indicated that 77 percent of Utah’s voters overwhelmingly support legalizing medicinal cannabis. Tired of waiting for Utah to legalize medical marijuana, voters have continually rejected the “No on Prop 2” guidance provided by the Church of Latter-day Saints, Herbert, and the Utah Medical Association. Per the March poll, 66 percent of “very active” Mormons support legalizing medical marijuana. Apparently, concerned by the overwhelming support, Plumb and Drug Safe Utah have now given up on trying to persuade the voters and are instead focusing their misguided efforts on political tricks by leveraging the governor’s executive influence.

Utahns were one “little concerning” request away from the governor and a group of lobbyists coordinating together behind the scenes.

California Health Survey Finds Fewer Teens Use Marijuana After Legalization

The 16th biennial  California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) finds that marijuana use among students has declined since the last tally. Conducted every two years to examine the needs of the students, the survey’s authors called the precipitous decline in both marijuana and alcohol use among ninth- and 10th-graders “striking.” Published this week, the latest survey spans the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years.

• Grade 9: Current use dropped nearly four points from 13.4 percent in 2013-2015 to 9.5 percent in 2015-2017.
• Grade 11: Current use dropped more than three points from 20.1 percent in 2013-2015 to 16.7 percent in 2015-2017
• Grade 9: Lifetime use dropped by nearly 6 points from 23.1 percent in 2013-2015 to 17.4 percent in 2015-2017.
• Grade 11: Lifetime use dropped by 6 points from 37.9 percent in 2013-2015 to 31.9 percent in 2015-2017.

The results from the CHKS are similar to studies from other states that have also legalized recreational cannabis and have not witnessed a spike in use for those between the ages of 12 and 17. In Colorado, a study published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction found “legalization did not noticeably impact marijuana use rates among adolescents or young adults.” Also, results from the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicated, “Marijuana use among adolescents aged 12 to 17 was lower in 2016 than in most years from 2009 to 2014.”

Coast to coast, America’s supporters and opponents of marijuana legalization agree that preventing underage marijuana use is a high priority. In 2013, the now-rescinded Cole memorandum identified the prevention and “distribution of marijuana to minors” as one of eight guidelines that states needed to adhere to in order to avoid federal enforcement.

I believe that as more senior tokers turn on to the medicinal value of cannabis, these law-abiding adults will be an inadvertent deterrent to greater teen use. After all, what self-respecting teen wants to act or look like their parents? If teens rejecting their parents’ use of weed as “uncool,” there’s a good chance that watching mom and dad use cannabis for medicinal purposes will, if anything, pump the brakes on future underage use.