CBD OIL

At first, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey did not commit to signing a medical cannabis bill when the state legislature passed the legislation by a roughly two-to-one ratio in both chambers May 6.

In a statement from Ivey’s office that night, Press Secretary Gina Maiola said the governor looked forward to thoroughly reviewing Senate Bill 46 and providing the diligence it deserves but did not say whether she would sign it.

The Republican executive provided her ink to the bill Monday, making Alabama unofficially the 36th medical cannabis state, joining the likes of nearby Arkansas, Florida and Louisiana, according to reform organization Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). Mississippi dropped from the ranks of medical cannabis states after its Supreme Court ruled May 14 that Initiative 65 was unconstitutional.

When the Alabama Legislature passed its medical cannabis bill earlier this month, MPP Director of State Policies Karen O’Keefe said the legislation will allow seriously ill patients to finally get the relief they deserve and urged Ivey to sign it into law.

Ivey did just that Monday afternoon.

“I would like to thank Sen. Tim Melson and Rep. Mike Ball for their hard work over the last few years and their commitment to continue to work on this to ensure we have a productive, safe and responsible operation in Alabama,” Ivey said in a statement.

Medical cannabis legislation was first introduced in the Alabama House of Representatives two decades ago. Eight years ago, it was the laughingstock of the lower chamber. Now, a medical cannabis bill claimed supermajority support and the governor’s signature.

After a nearly 10-hour filibuster May 4, House lawmakers reconvened May 6 and considered several floor amendments before passing the Senate-originated bill, 68-34, which will allow registered patients diagnosed with qualifying conditions to access cannabis. The legislation returned to the Senate for final consideration later on May 6, when the upper chamber voted, 20-9, to concur with the House changes.

The Alabama Senate has passed medical cannabis bills three years in a row, but this is the first time the House has passed legislation. Last year, pandemic-related circumstances derailed the lower chamber’s possibility of a vote.

Sponsored by Republican Sen. Tim Melson, S.B. 46 proposes implementing a medical program that would open the application process for potential patients by Sept. 1, 2022. Republican Rep. Mike Ball sponsored the bill in the House.

“When we get in politics, we get down here and we focus our attention on what it is we’re after; we tend to tunnel up and we don’t see the other side very well, and there’s so many aspects of this that has been so difficult,” Ball said on the House floor May 6, after bearing the brunt of the filibuster, from opponents on his own side of the aisle, two days earlier.

“And, quite frankly, this has caused me to lose my appetite for politics in this whole process,” he said. “And the people who don’t see it, they’re not bad. They’re just not looking at it.”

Eight years earlier, a Democratic bill for medical cannabis that was introduced by former Rep. Patricia Todd won the 2013 “Shroud Award,” given to the “deadest” bill in the House that session, according to The Associated Press.

“They laughed at me,” Todd said, according to the AP. “I’m glad to see it passed. It’s long overdue.”

Final passage didn’t come without nearly three more hours of floor debate and amendment votes on May 6. Democratic Rep. Laura Hall, 78, said she first introduced medical cannabis legislation to the House two decades ago.

“Twenty years ago, I brought [legislation to the House] in honor of my son, who had just died the year before I was elected, of AIDS,” Hall said. “And I did that with the idea thinking if I could have had access [to medical cannabis]. The only drug that was available to him was a drug called AZT. He could not take that. When he took that medicine, we would have to get up every four hours—that was the regimen to giving him the medication. And he had finally said, ‘Enough is enough. I may get my T cells back and I can function, but I can’t do it on this medication.’”

Azidothymidine (AZT) is an antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS.

Later during the House’s session on May 6, the chamber voted, 87-3, in favor renaming the legislation “Darren Wesley ‘Ato’ Hall Compassion Act,” as a tribute to Rep. Hall’s son.

While HIV/AIDS-related nausea or weight loss is one of more than a dozen qualifying conditions included in Alabama’s medical cannabis bill, two other conditions in the Senate’s original version of the bill were removed during an emending process in the House Health Committee—fibromyalgia and menopause or premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

That specific amendment was grouped with several other committee amendments as one package, which passed as a single vote May 6 on the House floor, 72-26.

“This amendment is so disappointing to me as a woman, that all of the issues that specifically impact women were taken out in the Health Committee, which is why I’m going to vote against this amendment,” Democratic Rep. Merika Coleman said. “I support [Rep. Ball] and support the concept, but this body sometimes is so disappointing.”

When enacted, S.B. 46 will create a 14-member Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, which will determine the maximum daily dosages of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that caregivers can provide patients with each of the qualifying conditions—also including cancer, terminal illness, depression, epilepsy, anxiety or panic disorder, chronic pain, spasticity, autism, Tourette syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder and others.

The new commission will also be responsible for issuing up to five licenses for vertically integrated operators, up to 12 cultivation licenses, no more than four processor licenses and no more than four dispensary licenses. Businesses awarded the dispensary licenses can operate up to three sites in different counties, while vertically integrated operators can have up to five dispensing sites in different counties, according to the bill’s text.

Other housekeeping items the commission will be responsible for include overseeing the patient registry, issuing medical cards and outlining regulations from seed to sale.

Some amendments that were rejected on the House floor were adding a THC dosing cap of 10 milligrams, enacting a zero-tolerance policy for diving under the influence, and revisiting the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission’s authority to provide caregiver’s the right to distribute medical cannabis should the federal government reschedule cannabis, so that patients could instead receive their medical cannabis from pharmacies should federal prohibition end. 

“My concern in this issue, is if we create this large bureaucracy that we’re having, this large board that’s going to be there, that this will never go away,” Republican Rep. Matt Simpson said about the commission’s authoritative arm. “And you could have 49 other states that are going to be able to receive medical marijuana through a licensed pharmacist … but the state of Alabama would be required to go through these dispensaries based on this legislation you have.”

Meanwhile, the bill will prohibit the smoking or vaping of cannabis, as well as processing cannabis into a form that is attractive to or targets children, such as candy or baked goods. Instead, S.B. 46 will limit medical cannabis use to forms such as pills, gelatin cubes, oils, creams and topical patches. Patients can possess up to 70 daily doses of cannabis.

In addition, minors cannot use—or be recommended—more than 3% THC. And employers can still drug test and prohibit employees from using cannabis.

Regarding social equity, depending on the business type, either at least one-fourth or one-fifth of all licenses are to be awarded to businesses with at least 51% ownership by individuals of African American, Native American, Asian or Hispanic descent, according to MPP. 

Things are about to change for cannabis and cannabis-related businesses, as landmark legislation to reform federal cannabis banking and insurance laws is just around the corner with the SAFE and CLAIM Acts now making their way through Congress.

The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which already passed in the House, would allow financial institutions to do business with cannabis companies without facing federal penalties. There are high expectations the proposal will make its way through the Senate and onto President Biden’s desk.

The Clarifying Law Around Insurance of Marijuana (CLAIM) Act was introduced in Congress in March and is in the first stage of the legislative process. If it passed, it would allow insurance companies to service cannabis businesses without the threat of federal penalties.

For years, fear of sanctions kept banks and credit unions from working with the cannabis industry, forcing cannabis businesses to operate on a cash basis which made them targets of crime and created complications for financial regulators. This is a significant first step for cannabis businesses toward conducting more legitimate and safe operations.

The SAFE Banking Act: Providing a Legitimate Avenue to Banking and Loans

With 37 states and D.C. having taken action to legalize cannabis in some way, it is clear the federal cannabis regulatory model has shifted and the path forward for the SAFE Banking Act shows promise.

The bill creates a safe harbor for banks and credit unions to the extent they would not be liable or subject to federal forfeiture action for providing financial services to a cannabis-related business.More competition means greater capacity and lower premiums for all. 

The bill would prohibit a federal banking regulator from:

• Recommending, incentivizing or encouraging a depository institution not to offer financial services to an account holder affiliated with a cannabis-related business or prohibit or otherwise discouraging a depository institution from offering services to such a business
• Terminating or limiting the deposit insurance or share insurance of a depository institution solely because the institution provides services to a cannabis-related business
• Taking any adverse or corrective supervisory action on a loan made to a person solely because the person either owns such a business or owns real estate or equipment leased to such a business. 

The CLAIM Act: Backing Cannabis Businesses with the Right Insurance Coverage

Should the CLAIM Act pass, it will protect insurance companies that provide coverage to a state-sanctioned and regulated cannabis business. It would also prohibit the federal government from terminating an insurance policy issued to a cannabis business and protect employees of an insurer from liability due to backing a cannabis-related business.

The CLAIM Act will be a boost for the insurance market and drive more underwriters to write cannabis policies. More competition means greater capacity and lower premiums for all. The act would also have a notable impact on currently hard-to-source policies like Cyber coverage, Directors & Officers (D&O) insurance, Errors & Omissions (E&O) and other management liability policies that have been extremely limited to cannabis businesses.

Cannabis Sales Still Growing Strong Globally 

The cannabis market is not slowing down in the United States or globally. Recent forecasts have U.S. sales reaching $28 billion in 2022.

As was the case in Canada where cannabis was made federally legal in 2018, there’s going to be a steep learning curve industry-wide for financial services and insurance vendors who don’t yet understand the risks and liabilities of cannabis operations, even if the SAFE and CLAIM Acts pass this year. And yet this is one giant step in the right direction toward the safe and equitable sales of cannabis country-wide.

According to the 2020 “State of the Cannabis Lighting Market” study conducted by Cannabis Business Times and made possible by Fluence by OSRAM, most cannabis cultivators are growing indoors, as 85% of participants said they operated this type of facility. However, an increasing number of growers also are running year-round greenhouses, as nearly a third (29%) indicated they grow in greenhouses with supplemental lighting.

Taylor Kirk, horticulture service specialist with Fluence by OSRAM, says while there are lighting fundamentals that apply no matter what type of facility growers are operating, there are certain strategies that indoor growers must use to be successful that are different than approaches greenhouse growers take.

“When you’re in a greenhouse supplementing with LEDs or another source, you are basically working with what you have from Mother Nature with sunlight, and then figuring out what you could add to offset low light levels at certain times, like cloudy days or certain times of the year where you just don’t get as much sunlight. And that becomes a lot more challenging because you have to take a holistic approach to how much light the plant receives in a given day,” Kirk says. “With sunlight, you have sunrise and sunsets and this natural bell-shape curve of light intensity throughout the day, and there are a lot of different ways to manage it.”

While most growers consider light spectra, or the quality of light, light intensity and photoperiod when planning lighting strategies, Kirk says one of the most important inputs for boosting yield whether growing indoors or in greenhouses is light intensity. Growers who dial up this parameter carefully can see higher yields and other benefits.

Here, Kirk shares seven lighting tips and strategies for cannabis cultivators, whether they are growing indoors or in greenhouses.

1. Optimal lighting spectrum varies by facility type.
While indoor growers rely on lighting fixtures exclusively, greenhouse growers receive some of their power from the sun. Because sunlight provides a wider spectrum naturally, greenhouse growers are often interested in options other than broad-spectrum light-emitting diodes (LEDs), Kirk says.

“There are very efficient fixtures that you can run in a greenhouse that are more red/blue leaning, giving you that pink light source,” he says. “But since you’re supplementing sunlight [in a greenhouse,] that works out. But we know for sure from all of [Fluence’s] research that the best light spectrum for indoor cultivation is a broad spectrum, as white light is the best suited for indoor cannabis growth.”

Broad spectrum lights provide a balance of blue, green and red light, mimicking the sun, with the exception of far red and UV light. “We’ve done some trials on far red and UV as well, and we just haven’t seen the benefit that outweighs some of the downsides of it,” Kirk says.

2. Lighting intensity plays a large role in maximizing production and yields.

As cannabis ages, it can take a higher amount of light, Kirk says. According to a recent light intensity study conducted by Fluence in partnership with Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation, research suggests growers can in some cases double the intensity traditionally used.

“We have some early successful data, and we have ideas of how much light this plant can take. It’s pretty remarkable compared to other crops,” Kirk says. “It’s way more light than anything else can take.”

“If you’re really interested in pushing ultra-high light intensities to see this maximum yield potential from cannabis, you better be ready because everything that you’re doing impacts that performance and that yield potential. It’s not just how much light you’re giving them.” — Taylor Kirk, horticulture service specialist, Fluence by OSRAM

3. When increasing light intensity, take a cautious, steady approach, and remember to factor in genetics.

While some growers keep a constant light level in propagation, Kirk says cultivators can experiment with starting at a low intensity in this stage and increasing light gradually to better acclimate and prepare plants for more intensity in the vegetative and flower phases.

“We recommend 50 micromoles a day of increase in veg and about 100 micromoles a day in flower, but all of this is cultivar-dependent. And I do like to emphasize that because cannabis genetics are so diverse,” Kirk says. “You have to be careful not to do it too fast because you can stress the plant and set yourself back and lower your yields. Some cannabis [cultivars] can handle a higher light intensity than others.”

The Green Organic Dutchman’s (TGOD) cultivation facility. As cannabis ages, it can take a higher amount of light. According to a recent light intensity study conducted by Fluence in partnership with Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation, research suggests growers can in some cases double the intensity traditionally used. Courtesy of Fluence by OSRAM

4. Greenhouse growers must factor in DLI when increasing intensity.

Daily light integral, or DLI, is a measure of how much light plants have received within the entire photoperiod, and it is measured in moles per day. Greenhouse growers use this measurement to supplement cloudy days and account for the natural cycles of the sun.

“The plant doesn’t really care how the light is given, as long as that photoperiod isn’t interrupted too much and they are getting a certain amount of light required for growth,” Kirk says. “Indoor growers don’t focus on DLI as much because typically they will provide the same amount of light for the entire photoperiod.” (Although some growers use controls to mimic sunrises and sunsets, more research is needed to determine the efficacy of this approach, Kirk adds.)

Greenhouse growers need to factor in DLI when dialing up intensity. “If you have the same amount of light intensity given to the plant throughout that entire photo period, they’re going to get more light in veg than they are going to be getting in flower at the same light intensity” because the photoperiod is 12 hours in flower versus 18 in veg, he says. “We typically increase the light intensity day one of flower a little bit, and that way, we’re still decreasing DLI. Using an example here, say you’re leaving the veg room at 500 PPFD, you would need to start at 750 in flower.”

“All of this is cultivar-dependent. And I do like to emphasize that because cannabis genetics are so diverse.”  —Taylor Kirk, horticulture service specialist, Fluence by OSRAM

5. For growers using tiers, veg time is important.

Growers can adjust the time plants spend in the vegetative phase to help control plant size. While cultivators using tiered systems can also increase intensity, they must be careful not to let the plants spend too long in that lifecycle stage, Kirk says..

“You want to keep smaller plants, otherwise they are going to outgrow the space that you provide them,” he says. “If you veg for too long, your plant is going to be pretty large when you initiate flowering and stretch even more. They always go through a growth spurt when the photoperiods change, so you need to keep plants shorter on a rack system.”

While cultivators using tiered systems can still increase intensity, they must be careful not to let the plants spend too long in that lifecycle stage.Courtesy of Fluence by OSRAM

6. Consider growing environment parameters when adjusting light intensity.

When dialing up intensity, growers must account and control for other factors, like temperature, humidity, irrigation and nutrients.

“The last thing we want to do is to tell a grower to use light intensity that’s twice as much as they are historically used to using because we know we can get a lot more yield with that, but we’re going to cause that grower to fail if we don’t guide them through other factors that need to be adjusted, as well,” Kirk cautions. “There are many factors that need to be managed carefully when you push the plant in this way.”

The potential benefits are massive, as Kirk says growers can yield up to twice as much as commercial growers have historically yielded. That’s why he and the horticulture service team at Fluence spend so much time coaching growers through the process of increasing intensity.  

For example, vapor-pressure deficit, or VPD, is a metric they watch closely to be sure that intensity isn’t negatively impacting the relationship between temperature and humidity. He suggests keeping the VPD in the “less stressful” ranges of .9 to 1.3 kPa.

7. There’s a direct correlation between increasing intensity and the need for increased nutrients and water. Be sure to feed and irrigate plants more. 

Growing environment isn’t the only parameter that must be considered when adjusting light intensity, however.

 “The program that [growers] run, all the cultural practices, what kind of media they are using and fertilizer and concentration of fertilizer—all of these things need to be looked at if you’re thinking about increasing light intensity,” Kirk adds.

When growers provide the plant with more energy from light, they must supplement nutrients and water as well. However, each cultivar has different needs.

“I like to compare it to a bodybuilder. Normally, humans need probably 2,000 calories a day, and that’s your average diet, but if you’re a bodybuilder, you’re not going to be able to see the results that you’re after with 2,000 calories a day,” he says. “So you’re going to need to increase your concentration of calories and nutrients.” Kirk says the same goes for plants, as they need increased inputs when receiving more light.

Although the “meat, potatoes and vegetable” nutrients plants need like potassium, magnesium and calcium are key, nonessential plant nutrients also are important to help plants tolerate more intensity.

“Earlier research was done with soilless mix that had quite a bit of organic amendments and biostimulant additions. It wasn’t just fertilizer and water in a sterile environment [but also] the plant and microbial relationship as well, and there’s a lot of benefits in there that reduce stress,” Kirk says. “I definitely encourage the use of biostimulants.”

Amino acid and fulvic acid may be non-essential additives, for example, but they can be beneficial, especially when increasing intensity.

“If you’re really interested in pushing ultra-high light intensities to see this maximum yield potential from cannabis, you better be ready because everything that you’re doing impacts that performance and that yield potential,” he says. “It’s not just how much light you’re giving them.”

A pair of House Republicans aren’t holding their horses on cannabis reform activity in the Senate.

Reps. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, and Don Young, R-Alaska, introduced a bill May 12—the “Common Sense Cannabis Reform for Veterans, Small Businesses and Medical Professionals Act”— that would remove cannabis from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act.

In addition, the legislation would also protect depository institutions that provide financial services to “legitimate” cannabis-related businesses; provide safe harbor for veterans to use, possess or transport medical cannabis in compliance with state laws; and direct two studies on cannabis as it pertains to pain management and impairment through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), according to the bill’s text.

Joyce and Young’s efforts come as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and fellow Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., continue to work on drafting a federal reform bill to end prohibition in the upper chamber. They released a joint statement regarding their comprehensive reform efforts in February but have yet to introduce the measure.

Comprehensive cannabis reform took hold in the House last Congress via the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would have removed cannabis as a Scheduled I controlled substance and eliminated criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes or possesses cannabis. While it passed the House last year, 228-164, the bill never advanced in the Republican-controlled Senate.

The chief sponsor of the MORE Act, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., plans to reintroduce the 87-page legislation this Congress, he said during a House Judiciary Subcommittee meeting in March.

In the meantime, Joyce and Young introduced their bill Wednesday. The 14-page legislation isn’t as long-winded but puts the removal of cannabis as a controlled substance, banking protection, reform for veterans and mandated NIH studies at the forefront. It does not include social justice and equity provisions.

“With more than 40 states taking action on this issue, it’s past time for Congress to recognize that continued cannabis prohibition is neither tenable nor the will of the American electorate,” Joyce said in a press release.

“My legislation answers the American people’s call for change and addresses our states’ need for clarity by creating an effective federal regulatory framework for cannabis that will help veterans, support small businesses and their workers, allow for critical research and tackle the opioid crisis, all while respecting the rights of states to make their own decisions regarding cannabis policies that are best for their constituents,” he said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get this bill signed into law so that we can enact sensible and meaningful cannabis reform that will improve lives and livelihoods.”

Joyce’s advocacy for cannabis reform is not new. He also co-sponsored the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act and was vocal in his support of that legislation on the House floor when it cruised to passage by a 321-101 vote last month.

In 2018, the House Appropriations Committee passed a provision known as the Joyce Amendment (formerly the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment), which prevents the U.S. Department of Justice from spending federal funds on prosecuting state-legal medical cannabis businesses.

A former U.S. House member, Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from California, launched the Congressional Cannabis Caucus in 2017 with fellow Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Young, who now co-chairs the caucus with Joyce.

“For too long, the federal government’s outdated cannabis policies have stood in the way of both individual liberty and a state’s 10th Amendment rights. It is long past time that these archaic laws are updated for the 21st century,” said Young, whose home state of Alaska legalized adult-use cannabis through a ballot measure in 2014. “This bill takes significant steps to modernize our laws by removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and allowing the VA to prescribe medical cannabis to veterans, in addition to finally permitting state-legal cannabis businesses to utilize traditional financial services.”

The bill would also direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to issue rules to regulate cannabis modeled after the alcohol industry within one year of enactment.

Steve Hawkins, the executive director of Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement that he’s encouraged to see Republican leadership to end the federal prohibition and criminalization of cannabis. Reform is a bipartisan matter ripe for immediate solution, he said.

“With an overwhelming majority of Americans supporting the end of cannabis prohibitions, it’s clear that our country has a mandate to create a legal industry that supports both medical and adult-use,” Hawkins said. “It’s a bipartisan issue and the ‘Common Sense Cannabis Reform for Veterans, Small Businesses and Medical Professionals Act’ introduced by Reps. Dave Joyce and Don Young is a promising step forward.”

Tune into Fluence by OSRAM‘s next free webinar, where the team will answer some of the most fundamental questions about what lighting solutions best suit your cultivation goals.

In this presentation, Fluence’s horticulture service experts will discuss the evolution of cannabis lighting technology and share best practices when evaluating the right light for your farm. The team will show you how to optimize your environment when upgrading to an LED lighting strategy and will also share some grower case studies illustrating the benefits achieved by cultivators who have taken these steps. 

Join the free webinar at 11 a.m. CT Thursday, May 20!