Cannabis Pollen Travels A Very Long Way
A recent study published in Scientific Reports reveals that cannabis pollen can travel significant distances via wind, raising concerns about unintended cross-pollination between hemp and cannabis crops.
Researchers from Virginia Tech used simulations across the U.S. to analyze how seasonal and diurnal variations impact pollen dispersal.
They found that pollen spreads farther during the daytime due to increased convective activity and during autumn compared to summer. At night, pollen tends to settle closer to its source.
This widespread dispersal creates significant risks for hemp farmers. Cross-pollination with cannabis plants can cause hemp crops to exceed the legal THC limit, rendering them non-compliant and potentially leading to crop destruction.
Additionally, it can disrupt hemp strains bred for specific traits, reducing seed purity and affecting product quality.
The study highlights that setting uniform isolation distances between hemp and cannabis fields is challenging due to variability in factors like weather, geography, and time of year.
Instead of rigid rules, researchers recommend adaptive management strategies tailored to specific environmental conditions. Suggestions include cross-pollination insurance, dynamic farm zoning, and policies that consider seasonal weather patterns.
Lead researcher Manu Nimmala emphasized the complexity of predicting pollen movement accurately due to these varying factors. Co-author Shane Ross noted that the lightweight nature of cannabis pollen makes it highly susceptible to wind dispersal, increasing the chances of unintentional cross-pollination.
The findings stress the importance of collaboration between policymakers, scientists, and farmers to develop flexible, region-specific solutions.
Adaptive approaches, such as monitoring weather patterns and implementing zoning regulations, are essential to minimize cross-pollination risks, protect hemp crop integrity, and ensure compliance with legal THC standards.
This research offers a foundation for refining agricultural practices in regions where hemp and cannabis farming coexist.
Source: Marijuana Moment
Novel Cannabis-Based Drug Could Transform Cancer Patient Care
British biotech company Artelo Biosciences is bringing a new medicine that leverages cannabis’s appetite-increasing properties sans psychoactive effects.
This newest treatment targets cancer and all its treatments that cause severe and debilitating weight and muscle wasting associated with cachexia, a condition which up to 80% of people with advanced cancer develop.
This drug crosses the blood-brain barrier only to a minimal extent and will thereby have a preferential action on peripheral cannabinoid receptors throughout the body to avoid cognitive effects that are commonly produced by cannabis.
It’s a new era in the application of therapeutic cannabis, and such a drug allows patients to have the beneficial effects of cannabis-based treatments without losing mental clarity or daily function.
Results from clinical trials appear promising, with weight gain, improved appetite, and better quality of life shown in patients. In particular, the development team behind the drug has focused on muscles, he says, long recognized as a key determinant in cancer survival and tolerance to cancer treatments.
Early studies indicate that patients on the medication have more energy and can be more active, which contributes to even better outcomes.
This new medicine, expected to be available latest by 2028, is now in the final stages of testing.
The development team members underlined the fact that the drug will satisfy an unmet need in oncology, in a niche for which present-day cachexia medications are either quite inefficient or come with serious side effects.
According to specialists, this is a potential breakthrough in dealing with weight loss due to cancer, hopefully synchronized with an increase in survival rates and improvement in the quality of life of those receiving treatment.
Source: The Times
Cannabis Poses No Genotoxic Risk, Easing Long-Term Health Concerns
Another new study has found that cannabis use does not lead to a process known as genotoxicity, wherein an individual’s genetic information may be altered or damaged.
A finding of this nature is great in that it cuts to long-term genetic concerns with cannabis use.
The researchers studied a range of different studies and datasets and analyzed them for the potential of cannabis compounds to induce genetic mutation or DNA damage.
They uncovered no significant evidence that cannabis use leads to genotoxicity, thus showing that cannabis, unlike some substances known to cause genetic harm, does not pose a similar risk in this regard.
Of note, though this study alleviates fears about potential genetic damage, it doesn’t mean that cannabis use is free from all risk.
This research provides further contribution to the discourse that will continue in the larger public sphere, especially as legalization and use of cannabis increase.
Source: Forbes
Italy Pioneers Environmental Recovery Through Cannabis Phytoremediation
Italy is leading the way in environmental restoration with its innovative approach using hemp cultivation.
This latest effort uses cannabis plants as purifiers to clean up contaminated soil, especially those from industrial contamination.
The project, focusing on the area around the Ilva steel plant near Taranto, gives a glimpse into the great potential that phytoremediation could have for environmental recovery.
Hemp plants are amazingly capable of absorbing and processing heavy metals and other pollutants in contaminated soil.
Their strong root systems and natural biological functions make them very good at drawing out toxic substances, storing them either in their tissues or breaking them down into less injurious forms.
In the case of cleaning contaminated soil, this process, called phytoremediation, assumes an altogether different dimension, which can be applied in an economically viable and eco-friendly manner.
The initiative appears to be producing especially promising results in lands contaminated by heavy metals from industrial sources.
Hemp plants are capable of holding large amounts of lead, cadmium, and heavy metals. At the same time, it reduces the level of contamination within the ground. This process not only cleans the soil but also prevents those kinds of pollutants from reaching the groundwater system.
The especial value of this approach is derived from its dual benefit: while cleansing the soil, the hemp plants can still be industrially utilized-for fibers or as building material-provided contamination levels are within acceptable limits.
This is an economically viable model of environmental rejuvenation that can easily be emulated in other similarly contaminated regions.
Source: Wikipedia
France Extends Medical Cannabis Program
France has extended a two-year pilot program for medical cannabis, an estimated 3,000 participants-by six months to enable the continuity of treatment for patients while the government assesses and completes future legislation on the effectiveness of the program.
The pilot was initiated in March 2021, when the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products-an independent body-then gave a mandate to run for two years in order to assess the real therapeutic benefit from cannabis for patients with a number of defined medical conditions.
It has recently been extended to ensure continuity of patient care, and to extend the period of data collection and analysis.
About 3,000 patients are enrolled in the program, which covers conditions such as chronic pain, certain forms of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and chemotherapy side effects.
Participants under very strict medical supervision take the drug in a variety of forms, from oils to dried flowers.
The data will be on the safety and efficacy of cannabis-based treatments, as well as logistics in a controlled distribution system.
This is a demonstration of the government’s commitment to an even more serious evaluation of medical cannabis as a treatment.
Heath chiefs say they need more time to gather data that could lead to legislative change, and the extension means that patients who currently benefit from the program will not face a disruption in their treatment.
Patient activist groups have welcomed the extension underlining the beneficial influence of medical cannabis on patients’ quality of life.
They call upon the government to use this period to set up a permanent framework for accessing medical cannabis.
Those medical practitioners who were involved in the program welcomed the fact that substantial amounts of data were collected because that provided guidelines for future treatment and ensured safety for patients.
This extension gives the policy framers an opportunity to iron out the various flaws that had crept into the pilot run of the scheme, including supply chain problems and regulatory hurdles.
This also gives an opportunity to consider patients’ and healthcare providers’ feedback in order to make the system more effective.
This extensive evaluation period could very well result in a settled medical cannabis program in France, positioning France with those countries in Europe that have already integrated cannabis into their healthcare.
Source: Ganjapreneur
