Oregon Leaf — Mar. 2020

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local news

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OREGON COMPANY CREATES PSILOCYBIN MICRO-DELIVERY SYSTEM

HEMP EXTRACT THC LIMIT RAISED

CURA CANNABIS FINED FOR “DISHONEST CONDUCT”

Springfield company Silo Wellness has developed a micro-delivery system for a psilocybin nasal spray. Founder Mike Arnold teamed up with Michael Hartman of Mystabis (a hemp-based inhaler) to create MycoDose.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has increased the limit for THC in hemp extracts, concentrates and tinctures sold within dispensaries. The new rule allows hemp products of up to 50 milligrams per container (a number previously capped at 10), and is aimed at easing the production burden on Oregon’s growing hemp industry. In an interview with The Register-Guard, Oregon State University’s Global Hemp Innovation Center Director Jay Noller said the change provides an “out” for growers exceeding federal limits. Brie Malarkey, CEO of Sun God Medicinals, told the newspaper that the company has spent a year lobbying for this. “What it allows us to do is stay true to whole plant herbalism,” said Malarkey. “We can maintain being certified organic because the naturally occurring levels of THC that are present in the hemp plant would still be allowed in there.”

Cura Cannabis has settled a record-breaking fine. The $110,000 penalty came after the Oregon Liquor Control Commission found more than 186,000 mislabeled vapes and cartridges in circulation.

The news comes from a press release on the company site, where they reveal that the system was previously formulated in Jamaica (where psilocybin is not illegal). “I love our product and can’t wait until it’s legal in the United States, so we can share it with crime victims and first responders,” Arnold said in the December release. For Arnold, the leap into psychedelics is just one more stop in an intricate career path. The former attorney is known for his representation of Ammon Bundy, leader of the 2016 Malheur National Wildlife the leap into Refuge takeover. In the Cannabis psychedelics community, Arnold is co-founder is just one of One Gro, an Oregon company more stop in that he told The Register-Guard an intricate includes, “four marijuana grows career path. totaling 40,000 plants.” Arnold attributes his recent shift into psychedelics to a particular personal experience from 2018. While traveling, he met a doctor that introduced him to research and an enlightening experience. “Mushrooms have been life-changing and I want to share this healing opportunity with the world, with a purpose-driven company mindful of consumer access to these gifts of nature.”

MAR. 2020

The settlement indicates a misrepresentation of Cura’s “Select Elite” line of products, claiming that they were marketed as 100% Cannabis-derived. In an interview with the Oregonian, the OLCC’s manager of technical operations revealed their findings: After some miscommunication within the company, the products were sent out containing “botanically derived terpenes and/or medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil as an ingredient.” The original settlement recommended a fine and 34-day suspension. Instead, regulators negotiated a $110,000 penalty for “dishonest conduct” and the company has been allowed to continue operations. But the OLCC isn’t the only entity looking for compensation. Just two days after Cura Cannabis agreed to pay fines, a Portland couple filed a class-action lawsuit. The Willamette Week first reported on the case, explaining that Tom and Elena Powers demand the company turn over any profits from the mislabeled goods. Their lawyer, Michael Fuller, told the paper that he expects the case to move forward in the next year. Fuller estimates that the final judgment could exceed $37 million after statutory damages.

STORIES by AMANDA DAY @TERPODACTYL_MEDIA


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