Last Week In Weed Issue 53
Published April 3rd 2023
In this issue of Last Week in Weed, we’ll be taking a look at Germany ‘scaling-back’ cannabis ‘legalisation’ proposals due to EU pressure, the Indiana University study that claims several chemicals based on CBD can prevent and reverse Fentanyl overdoses, and the arrest of TV personality and famous chef Gino D’Acampo.
Germany tentatively continues with ‘scaled-back’ ‘legalisation’ plans
The first story we’ll be looking at this week is no surprise to those whose ears have been trained to the whispers of the cannabis underground. Germany has abandoned its initial plans to ‘legalise’ cannabis in Europe’s largest economy in favour of a scaled-back pilot proposal.
The German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach had previously committed to unveiling the government's national legislation model by the end of the first quarter of 2023. A press conference had been scheduled for last Friday (March 31st) however it was cancelled last minute allegedly due to prior scheduling conflicts and illness.
The newly elected German coalition pledged to ‘legalise’ cannabis for adult use but has since hit a roadblock in the form of the European Union. Although the EU supports member nations ‘decriminalising’ cannabis-related offences and the ‘legalisation’ of ‘medicinal cannabis’ it won’t support so-called ‘recreational cannabis’
Health Minister Lauterbach commented on Friday that “We are on the right track. We have revised the proposals a bit.” Translation of his comments suggests that the minister will “soon” return to the EU with a “good proposal”.
Despite the press event being scrapped, the German newspaper Zeit has been detailing the rehashed government plans. The main change in the coalition’s approach is the u-turn on the ubiquitous lawful access and sale of cannabis across the country.
The new proposal which is specifically designed to appease the EU, now more closely resembles the recently rolled out Swiss pilot scheme than the ubiquitous ‘legalisation’ of Canada or several US states. The EU’s hesitance to support adult-use ‘legalisation’ or you know actually ending cannabis prohibition entirely, isn’t that unexpected given current international conventions and continental legislation.
The United Nations (UN) International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) published its annual report in March. In its paper, the INCB strengthened its position by stating that the US government violates the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs by not enforcing federal prohibition.
One of the so-called ‘traffic light coalition’, the German Social Democratic Party expressed doubt about the coalition's proposal. Last Friday the party said it believed that “comprehensive legislation is not feasible in the short term for reasons of European Law.”
The revised pilot scheme will now take place in a limited number of locations throughout Germany over four years. The impact of the scheme will be observed and if deemed successful the government will seek to roll it out to other cities and regions. Well, if it wins the country’s next general election.
German lawmakers expect further details to be released by the end of April. We currently do not know if the coalition will keep home growing as part of its proposal. In the previous plan German adults would be lawfully allowed to cultivate 3 plants at home, possess between 20 - 30 grams of flower, and the creation and operation of private cannabis social clubs.
Indiana University claims several chemicals based on CBD can prevent and reverse fentanyl overdoses
A new study conducted by a team of researchers at Bloomington University in Indiana has discovered that compounds based on the structure and function of CBD can reduce the binding affinity of Fentanyl and improve the efficacy of the overdose reversal drug Naloxone.
The researchers presented their findings last week to The American Chemical Society’s ACS Spring conference (26-30 March), an in-person/online multi-day event featuring over 10,000 scientific presentations encompassing a range of concepts and topics.
Naloxone is an intravenous and intramuscular injection medication used to reverse opioid overdoses. It works by blocking the binding of opioids with opioid receptors for 30 - 90 minutes. Once injected it can reverse over 90% of overdoses within a few minutes. Unfortunately in recent years the growing prevalence of Fentanyl and now Carfentanil means that it has become less efficacious in practice.
Fentanyl is over 50 times stronger than Heroin and over 100 times stronger than opium. Carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl or over 10,000 times more potent than its relatively benign botanical brethren opium. This makes them possibly the deadliest synthetic drugs humanity has ever seen, well, so far.
“Fentanyl-class compounds account for more than 80% of opioid overdose deaths, and these compounds aren’t going anywhere — it’s just too much of an economic temptation for dealers,” the project’s co-principal investigator. Given that naloxone is the only drug available to reverse overdoses, I think it makes sense to look at alternatives” - Alex Straiker, Ph.D. Co-principle on the project
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CBC) estimates that there have been over 500,000 overdose deaths in the US between 1999 and 2020. The US White House announced in January 2023 that it predicted 107,477 overdose deaths in the 12-month period leading up to August 2022.
A previous German study conducted in 2006 discovered that CBD accelerated the onset of Naloxone and indirectly reduced opioid binding by altering the shape of the receptor. This new study took that idea one step further by producing a series of compounds based on the molecular structure and function of Cannabidiol (CBD).
The team then tested its synthetic compounds designed to mimic the molecular structure of the low-psychoactive cannabinoid with the lab opioid DAMGO. By monitoring and measuring a molecule signal that diminishes as it bonds, they were able to narrow the group of compounds down to 15.
The 15 successful compounds were further tested against fentanyl with and without naloxone. Several of the artificial compounds were found to reduce the binding of fentanyl to the raptor while also ‘outperforming naloxone's opioid-blocking performance’. Two of the compounds were shown to have a synergistic effect when combined with the overdose medication.
“Ideally, we would like to discover a more potent replacement for naloxone. However, finding something that works synergistically with it, reducing the amount needed to treat an overdose, would also be a success.” -Michael VanNieuwenhze Ph.D. co-principal on the project
The consumption of cannabinoids has been previously shown to reduce overall opioid consumption in regions with lawful commercial access to cannabis. A recent joint study from the New York State Department of Health and New York University at Albany has also shown a statistically meaningful long-term reduction in those consuming opioids for the treatment of chronic pain when given access to consume cannabis medicinally.
Fentanyl and other dangerous and deadly synthetic copycat compounds are entirely a direct result of the monopolistic supremacy of the ‘pharmaceutical industrial complex’ and the ongoing draconian, inhumane, and classist war on drugs.
One of the graduates involved in the study Taryn Bosquez-Berger said that “We hope our approach leads to the birth of new therapeutics, which, in the hands of emergency personnel, could save even more lives.”
The research team has since begun testing the most promising compounds in mice to assess their impact on behaviours related to the consumption of fentanyl and other opioids.
TV chef personality Gino D’Acampo found with cannabis at a UK airport
The final story that we’ll be looking at this week is the recent disclosure that TV chef personality Gino D’Acampo, real name Gennaro Sheffield D’Acampo, was found with cannabis in his luggage at a UK airport. The chef came to the attention of uniformed officers with a sniffer dog at the small airport last November shortly after disembarking fellow TV chef Gordon Ramsey’s private jet at Farnborough airport in Hampshire.
“Farnborough Airport takes a zero tolerance approach to any illegal activity relating to flights arriving into or departing from the Airport. We work closely with UK Border Force, who are based on-site at Farnborough Airport, to ensure we maintain the safety and welfare of all passengers, crew, visitors, and staff at all times” - Farnborough Airport spokesperson
The Italian chef best known for his work on ‘This Morning’ was flying back from Spain with fellow chef Gordon Ramsey and TV maître d'hôtel Fred Sirieix where they had been filming a new series of the ITV show ‘Gordon, Gino, and Fred: Road Trip’. Perhaps he joined one of the country’s many cannabis social clubs while they were in the country filming for the show.
Initially, all three were detained after being targeted by a sniffer dog and handler that ‘came out of nowhere’ and indicated that one of them was unlawfully in possession of drugs. It quickly became clear that it was Gino who was the one the dog was interested in. A subsequent investigation of his possessions resulted in the discovery of ‘a small box of cannabis' in his bag. The others from the flight were free to leave and Gino was taken away by uniformed officers.
After allegedly reassuring the officers that the cannabis was for personal medicinal use and that he smoked it to help treat a bad back the TV chef was released. The Family Fortune host was issued a fine and given a warning. This leniency is likely a result of him being charged with the offence of unlawful cannabis possession alone.
Still, though, I cannot help but feel the fact that he is a celebrity that just walked off a private jet played a large part in this incident resulting in a simple warning and not an arrest. Although saying that we do not know how much was in that ‘small box’ so we cannot speculate about the amount he was caught with.
This isn’t the first time the famous chef has publicly been linked to consuming cannabis in 2020 he consumed cannabis-infused tea and a salmon mousse in California for the Gordon, Gino, and Fred: Road Trip TV series. This could potentially have been his first introduction to the healing potential of cannabis.
The story came to light last week and only a few weeks after Gino D’Acampo announced on social media that he was quitting the Trios TV food travel series. In an Instagram post the TV personality explained his decision stating that; “The reason is simple — nothing to do with Gordon and Fred, the friendship is very strong. It’s just because we can’t get the dates together. When contracts start to get very complicated, then it becomes very stressful.”
Even though he has provided an explanation I still cannot help but wonder if his bad back and subsequent criminalisation for consuming a plant that helps reduce his pain has anything to do with that decision. It is evident from the warning he received that he didn’t have a private prescription from one of the for-profit ‘medicinal cannabis’ clinics, but I wonder if he had a Cancard?
Written By Simpa For The Simpa Life
Last Week In Weed Special Mention
This photo cerculating in the UK Press last week of an Albanian national hiding on a roof from UK police during a raid on an unlicensed cannabis cultivation facility in Liverpool perfectly embodies the absurdity, futility, and insanity of the failed war on drugs.
