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Image by SerenityArt from Pixabay ======================================================================== Researchers from the Nanjing Agricultural University (NJAU) Academy of Science say they have found a crucial gene that directly impacts the number of flowering sites on a Cannabis sativa plant. Dubbed CsMIKC1, the gene was found to drive inflorescence development when overexpressed and hinder development when overexpressed. The team also found that adding ethylene increased the gene’s expression. Together, the discoveries could directly impact the commercial Cannabis industry. “Through gene editing and functional analysis, the researchers demonstrated the gene’s impact on flower production, highlighting its potential to transform agricultural practices,” explains the NJAU press...

A study suggests that cannabis, the most commonly used illicit substance worldwide, is associated with an increased occurrence of head and neck cancer. A large, multicenter study revealed that adults with cannabis dependence, known as cannabis use disorder, are 3.5 to 5 times more likely to develop head and neck cancer than those who do not use the substance. Head and neck cancer, the sixth most common cancer in the world, includes several cancers, including cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oropharynx (tongue and tonsils and back wall of the throat) and adjacent salivary glands. The researchers discovered that those...

Former Justice Minister Haim Ramon spoke out against the proposed ceasefire-prisoner swap deal, saying that it is "the worst deal" that Israel could possibly agree to. In an interview with 103 FM Radio, Ramon said, "The deal proposed today is the worst of all worlds. In practice, we will end the war. Anyone who thinks that after 42 days, by pressing a button, we will restart the war - is making a mistake. People will return to the Gaza border area, to the north, and it will be very hard to continue the war." "Because it is this way, and...

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that her administration has shut down hundreds of unlicensed, illegal cannabis stores. This after her May overhaul at the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), which included the launch of the Cannabis Enforcement Task Force. “How do the legal businesses thrive if the illegal ones are locked out of the market?” Hochul asked the crowd at a press conference Tuesday morning. To that end, she said that the task force has already closed 114 stores. A spokesperson from Hochul’s office confirmed that not all were in New York City. Without these...

Choudary: Refuses to discuss his dissolute youth At 39, Anjem Choudary should be a symbol of success for his peers. Born into the working-class family of a market trader in Welling on the outskirts of London, he has risen - thanks to the opportunities offered by the British education system - to become a qualified lawyer. But it is unlikely his old school will be inviting him to be guest speaker on prize-giving day. Their former pupil is not famous for his elegant oratory in court. Instead, the articulate Mr Choudary preaches hatred and murder in the streets of Britain...

Researchers have found an over-the-counter natural health product may help counteract negative effects of heavy cannabis use among adolescents aged 12 to 17, including depression, anxiety and diminished motivation in adulthood. Marta De Felice and Steven Laviolette demonstrated in animal models that interventions using antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) can mitigate the detrimental mental health effects of chronic cannabis use later in life. Sometimes referred to as "amotivational syndrome," chronic cannabis use in adolescents can result in a lack of motivation, diminished enjoyment from daily activities and other depressive effects. Currently, there is no known intervention strategy available. The study found that...

A horrific crash that killed six high school girls in Oklahoma two years ago has the head of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board urging parents to warn teenagers about the risk of driving after using marijuana. Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy made the appeal to parents Thursday as her agency released the final report on the March 22, 2022 collision between a tiny Chevrolet Spark hatchback and a gravel-hauling semi in the small town of Tishomingo. The board, after an investigation by its staff, determined that the crash was caused by the 16-year-old driver slowing for an intersection, then accelerating through...

This is just a glimpse. Want to receive every issue of Cannabis Wire Daily, our newsletter that is sent to subscribers each weekday morning? Subscribe today. Drug Policy Alliance and Human Rights Watch released a new report this week titled “Disrupt and Vilify” The War on Immigrants Inside the US War on Drugs. The report highlights that while state cannabis laws have evolved, federal immigration law as it relates to drugs “stagnates.” “State and federal drug policy is most often overridden by federal immigration law, depriving immigrants of reforms that only benefit citizens. Conviction of even the most minor drug...

HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Drug cartels from Mexico are operating in Hawaii, making and pushing deadly drugs including methamphetamines and fentanyl. New tougher penalties akin to murder charges are aiming to take them down. Authorities told KHON2 that the big cartels are ramping up business not just south of the border but right here in our island state. The top federal law enforcement official in Hawaii warns of the dangers not just to drug users, but to drug pushers once caught. Authorities have seen a big shift in recent years to Hawaii’s most dangerous drugs methamphetamine and fentanyl especially coming mostly...

Hospitalization risk 80% higher versus nonusersCannabis use was significantly associated with a greater risk of severe outcomes following a COVID-19 infection, according to a retrospective study that spanned the first 2 years of the pandemic. Among more than 70,000 patients with a documented case of COVID at a large medical center in the Midwest, use of cannabis was linked with an 80% greater risk of hospitalization and a 27% higher risk for intensive care unit (ICU) admission after an infection, but no difference in all-cause mortality: Hospitalization: OR 1.80 (95% CI 1.68-1.93) ICU admission: OR 1.27 (95% CI 1.14-1.41) Mortality:...

Millions of people in the U.S. report using marijuana daily or nearly every day, according to an analysis of national survey data, and those people now outnumber those who say they are daily or nearly-daily drinkers of alcohol. Alcohol is still more widely used, but 2022 was the first time this intensive level of marijuana use overtook daily and near-daily drinking, said the study’s author, Jonathan Caulkins, a cannabis policy researcher at Carnegie Mellon University. “A good 40% of current cannabis users are using it daily or near daily, a pattern that is more associated with tobacco use than typical...

A streamer on YouTube left broadcasted herself smoking cannabis while driving, before running over a pedestrian in Los Angeles. The woman, who goes by ‘VP‘ on the popular video-sharing platform, frequently live streams, with viewers on Reddit describing her own channel as showcasing consistent drug use and “peeing in alleys.” However, things took a serious turn after VP hit a pedestrian while driving in Los Angeles, the sound of a loud bump heard on stream as the camera rattled. Prior to the hit, she had been smoking cannabis and discussing whether or not she was getting back with an ex-boyfriend....

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is moving toward reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The Justice Department proposal would recognize the medical uses of cannabis, but wouldn't legalize it for recreational use. The proposal would move marijuana from the “Schedule I” group to the less tightly regulated “Schedule III."... ...The proposal must be reviewed by... a potentially lengthy process... ...Schedule I put it on par, legally, with heroin, LSD, quaaludes and ecstasy, among others... Schedule III drugs — which include ketamine, anabolic steroids and some acetaminophen-codeine combinations — are still controlled substances... ...this move from Schedule I to Schedule...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will take a historic step toward easing federal restrictions on cannabis, with plans to announce an interim rule soon reclassifying the drug for the first time since the Controlled Substances Act was enacted more than 50 years ago, four sources with knowledge of the decision said. The Drug Enforcement Administration is expected to approve an opinion by the Department of Health and Human Services that marijuana should be reclassified from the strictest Schedule I to the less stringent Schedule III. It would be the first time that the U.S. government has acknowledged its potential medical...

Hundreds of neighbours left terrified by lawless teenagers running riot in their sleepy Sussex village held an emergency meeting to address the growing crimewave. Villagers in Barnham, West Sussex, say they are scared to leave their homes after shocking footage emerged on social media of a group of teenage girls assaulting an emergency worker after sparking a huge brawl at the station. Within 48 hours, a second clip went viral of another group of young girls appearing to loot the village's local Co-op. The chaos sent shockwaves through the leafy coastal village - so much so, an emergency public meeting...

A Chinese national living in the Guangdong Province, China, became the proud owner of a “fixer upper” in Penobscot County in February thanks, in part, to title transfer services provided by Paul H. Mills, the eldest brother of Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D). Xiling Ou, 44, of Malden, Mass., was the original owner of the ramshackle house and its three-bay garage, along with nine-acres of land, located at 51 Cider Hill in Corinna. But 13 days after the Penobscot Sheriff’s Department and Homeland Security agents raided an illegal marijuana grow just five miles away, she gifted the property to her...

New York weed shops are stocking their shelves with Mike Tyson-branded edibles shaped like an ear with a bite mark – a callback to Iron Mike’s heavyweight showdown with Evander Holyfield. The 57-year-old Brooklyn native — who’s planning a comeback fight against Jake Paul in July — is rolling out his Tyson 2.0 brand “Mike Bites” and he’s planning a promotional blitz at shops next month, including an event in Times Square, a spokesperson told The Post. But the gummies have already appeared at dispensaries Strain Stars in Farmingdale, Housing Works in Greenwich Village, Grow Together in Brooklyn, Flynnstoned in...

A study suggests daily cannabis users have a 25 percent increased risk of a heart attack and a 42 percent increased risk of a stroke. The new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association and funded by the National Institutes of Health showed that cannabis smoke increased the risk of heart attacks similar to tobacco smoke. Abra Jeffers, a data analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and former researcher at the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, said that cannabis use should be considered an increased risk of...

Chinese gangs have set up thousands of illicit weed farms across the US as they begin to challenge Mexican cartels for supremacy as America's cannabis kingpins. Authorities in Oklahoma, Oregon, California, New Mexico and Maine have all been battling a surge in Chinese weed farms, with some thought to be linked to criminal gangs known as 'triads'. The spread is seemingly uncontainable, with police in Penobscot County, Maine, last week arresting three Chinese nationals at a weed farm and seizing 40 pounds of the drug alongside $4,700 in cash. It is thought to be one of around 270 illegal weed...

Mike Tyson calls out Joe Biden.Legendary boxer Mike Tyson has long been an advocate for cannabis and now owns a cannabis company called “Tyson 2.0.” As a result, he’s now calling out United States President Joe Biden for failing to uphold his campaign promise to release incarcerated marijuana offenders. In a recent letter to Joe Bide and the White House, Mike Tyson called on the president to offer clemency to all those incarcerated on charges related to marijuana. “I write in support of granting clemency to marijuana offenders still incarcerated in federal prison and restoring civil rights to those haunted...