Balanced Health Botanicals Newsletter – April

Feds send record seven warning letters in single day.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission issued the letters to CBD companies making COVID-related claims. In an announcement, the agencies said they were alarmed to see the companies “using research studies to claim or imply misleadingly that their CBD products will cure, mitigate, treat or prevent COVID-19.” Learn more here.

House Votes to Decriminalize Cannabis.

Democrats, with some Republican support, voted 220-204 to remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances, moving to catch up to the states. Supporters of marijuana decriminalization, including some Republicans who voted against the Democratic legislation, said on Friday that the vote was a necessary first step toward building consensus on legislation that can become law. Find out more at The New York Times.

Research: CBD shows promise for shoulder surgery pain.

The placebo-controlled Phase 1/2 clinical trial tested 50 mg of CBD in 99 adults who underwent minimally invasive rotator cuff surgery after they were weaned off the painkiller Percocet. On the first day after surgery, the patients who took the CBD tablet experienced 23% less pain than those given the placebo, according to the study presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Get the details at United Press International.

Longtime marijuana ally Congressman Don Young, dies.

The Alaska Republican, who was 88, introduced the federal marijuana legalization bill, the Common Sense Cannabis Reform for Veterans, Small Businesses and Medical Professionals Act, in May 2021. The 25-term term congressman helped form the Congressional Cannabis Caucus in 2016, whose leaders said Young left behind a “legacy of bipartisanship.” Read more here.

8th Annual NoCo Hemp Expo rallies industry.

More than 120 industry speakers filled four stages and more than 150 exhibitors attended the show over two days in Aurora, Colorado in an event that showed how the industry is “rebuilding and resetting” according to organizers. Dama Bioplastics, maker of hemp-based material for containers in the cannabis industry, won the “Shark Tank”-inspired NoCo Hemp Pitch. Read highlights at Let's Talk Hemp.

Hemp may mellow cattle, study shows.

Eating industrial hemp decreases stress levels and generally increases the welfare of cattle, according to a new study published in Scientific Reports. The high level of CBDA in the hemp may be a natural way to decrease stress and inflammation related to transportation and weaning, wrote the researchers. Feeding hemp seemed to promote happier Holsteins: they were more likely to lie down and more likely to ruminate. Get the scoop at BEEF.