Florida Liceences
According to POLITICO, Florida is poised to double the number of medical marijuana licenses by June 2023 after the state Supreme Court tossed a ruling that has held up the licensing process for years. The marijuana regulatory agency wants to increase the number of licensees from 22 to 49. In addition, the state Department of Health has asked the Legislature to double the budget of its Office of Medical Marijuana Use to bring on 85 new employees that would help process new license applications.
U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION CONSIDERS VAPE COMPLAINT
Dozens of U.S. marijuana and CBD vape companies are violating the intellectual property of Shenzhen Smoore, a complaint filed with the International Trade Commission alleges. Smoore has patented numerous vaping technologies and designs over the years and accuses dozens of companies of making “low-quality copies of Smoore’s technologies, using uncertified raw materials manufactured by unidentified, shady, and uncertified suppliers,” reads a USITC filing in the case.
TILT Holdings (Best Ideal LONG) and Greenlane Holdings are joining Smoore in the case as licensed distributors of its vaping hardware in the U.S. The complaint cites nearly 40 respondents, including O2vape, Glo Extracts, and the Blinc Group. Some of these companies sell vaping hardware, while others sell marijuana or CBD vapes. The public health argument: In a USITC filing, Smoore argues that the allegedly infringing products threaten public health. The company closely monitors its production operations, and its U.S. distributors use third-party testing to ensure quality control of the vaping products. “Respondents appear to do nothing to monitor the quality of [products] and reduce the production costs by cutting corners which put the general public’s health and welfare at great risk,” according to the filing.
Smoore wants the USITC to investigate these violations, conduct a hearing on the matter, and issue an order to prevent the respondents from importing the infringing products. The company is also asking the agency to issue a permanent cease and desist order to the respondents. The USITC is seeking public comment on whether issuing the relief requested would have public health or economic effects. Respondents and other members of the public have until October 21st to submit comments.
VA Under Biden
The VA on Wednesday reiterated its opposition to a proposal by Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) to conduct clinical trials on the effects of cannabis on veterans with PTSD and chronic pain. “VA strongly supports research regarding marijuana for medical purposes, and we have one study already underway regarding PTSD treatment,” the VA’s David Carroll said to the House Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee. However, Carroll argued that Correa’s proposed research is too “prescriptive” and that the VA does not believe the outlined trials “would get approved through the scientific process that we have.” Veterans of Foreign Wars Deputy Legislative Director Tammy Barlet countered that “something that’s forward-looking, as a clinical trial, would be extremely helpful in terms of providing clinicians with the information that they need to do a risk-benefits analysis with a particular veteran.” The Senate version of the bill took a hit in June when VA Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Health for Community Care Mark Upton said the agency opposes the proposal because it is “not consistent with VA’s practice of ensuring scientific merit as the basis for a randomized clinical trial.” Neither the House nor Senate versions of the bill have made it out of committee yet.
