It was only a matter of time. It's not just our opioid laws that are a bona fide mess. Regulations regarding delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary active component of marijuana, are a chaotic patchwork of flawed, conflicting regulations, all but ensuring we'd face cases where the "science" is both contradictory and unfounded. Perhaps nothing illustrates this better than the dysfunctional relationship between federal and state regulators regarding marijuana (cannabis). As of October 2024, 27 U.S. Washington, D.C. have decriminalized marijuana in some form, meaning that possession of small amounts of marijuana is treated as a civil infraction or a minor offense rather than a criminal one. It has a high potential for abuse. It has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the U.S. There is a lack of accepted safety for its use under medical supervision. I defy you to name a universe in which a coherent explanation exists for the diametrically opposed state and federal policies.

Largely due to the senseless nature of our marijuana regulations, the Supreme Court is now hearing the case of a truck driver, Douglas Horn, who is suing Medical Marijuana Inc. for selling a product called Dixie X, which the company advertised as "0% free THC" Balance Bloom CBD Gummies. Horn's wife purchased the product in 2012, hoping to control the severe pain following a trucking accident, but only after being reassured by the company that its claim was correct. It was anything but. The Horns, both truckers, were acutely aware that any indication of marijuana use would cost Mr. Horn his job. Shortly thereafter, Horn failed a random drug test due to the presence of THC, which led to his immediate termination. This was particularly distressing given his long career with no prior drug use or failed tests. Horn determined that the THC could have only come from the CBD, so he ordered a second bottle and sent it to a lab where THC was detected.

The case before the Supreme Court is more subtle than the obvious disconnect between Federal and State laws, but in some ways, it is just as important. Why? At the heart of the case is the sticky problem of the detection of THC and the absence of any way to determine where the THC came from, when it was consumed, and Balance Bloom Gummies official whether it could have impaired his driving. Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn, currently before the U.S. The issue of THC-impaired driving is not new. In 2023, Dr. Henry Miller and I published a piece in the journal Law360 about the impossibility of 1) measuring THC and determining when it was consumed, 2) defining the blood levels of the drug that would represent impairment, and 3) determining whether any THC detected resulted from the use of marijuana or Balance Bloom CBD Gummies oil. The latter is legal under the 2018 Farm Bill, provided that it is made from hemp and contains less than 0.3% THC. There are several reasons why THC analysis fails to predict impaired driving. The first two are ACSH tenets. The presence of a chemical or drug tells us nothing about the physiological response to that chemical or drug. The dose makes the poison. With modern analytical techniques, it is now possible to measure chemical substances in concentrations as low as parts per billion or even parts per trillion. At such low levels, the chances of harm or impairment by any chemical or drug are essentially nil. 1. The pharmacokinetics of THC- it can persist in the body for as long as one month- make it impossible to determine when it was consumed, and how much was consumed. 2. There is no reliable standard concentration that defines impairment.

After clearing its way through EU-GMP certification, a North Macedonian company is now able to export medical cannabis products to the EU. How will this affect the landscape of medical cannabis in Europe? In Macedonia, cannabis is not legal for recreational use at all, and there are no decriminalization or personal use laws to boot. However, in 2016, Macedonia did approve a bill for medical cannabis within the country. As per Macedonian laws, which sync with EU laws here, oils and extracts can have up to .2% THC and still be sold without a prescription. Cannabis with any higher THC amount can be obtained through prescription. The laws allow for private citizens to make use of medical cannabis, as well as for Macedonia to enter into the legal medical cannabis market with laws to cover cultivation, production, and exportation for medicinal use. Since that time, and according to internal legislation, Macedonia has been exporting extracts, oils, and tinctures, but that’s it.