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Cannabis Professional’s daily roundup of industry news. View archive here.

B.C. to hike tax on vaping hardware, liquid cannabis

British Columbia’s plan to protect youth from health risks around vaping will include a 20-per-cent retail tax on vaping devices and some forms of cannabis. The B.C. government said Thursdays the hike in the PST will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.

The government says vapour products include vaping devices, cartridges, parts and accessories, and vaping substances. Cannabis in a liquid form designed for use in a vaping device will be subject to the 20-per-cent tax, while flower, cannabis extracts not designed for use in a vaping device (e.g. oils designed for oral consumption), edible cannabis products, and topical cannabis products will remain subject to 7 per cent PST. B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said youth vaping rates are increasing, putting young people at risk of serious illness, prompting the government to introduce the most comprehensive vaping plan in Canada. “In a short number of years, vaping has shifted from being a smoking cessation tool for adults to an addictions trap for our youth,” he said.

– Staff, Canadian Press

Rec sales could start Dec. 1 in Michigan, report says

Sales of recreational marijuana could begin in Michigan as soon as Dec. 1, a report Thursday said, after state regulators approved a change that would allow pre-existing medical marijuana products to enter the adult-use supply chain. Leafly says that about a dozen recreational stores might have the ability to offer flower, extracts and edibles starting in December. The report said the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency will allow some licensed medical dispensaries to designate up to half of their inventory for the adult-use market. Leafly says sales are unlikely to begin in Detroit on Dec. 1, and said smaller outlying cities will likely open recreational stores first. Michigan legalized adult-use cannabis in 2018.

- Staff

Two in three Americans support full legalization of marijuana

The case for legalization continues to grow in the United States, with a new poll from the Pew Research Center showing that 67 per cent of Americans support adult-use marijuana. Pew, which has been conducting a legalization survey since 1969 - when support stood at 17 per cent - says the share of U.S. adults against legalization has fallen to 32 per cent from 52 per cent in 2010. Pew noted that support varies depending on political affiliation. Nearly 80 per cent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say marijuana use should be legal. Republicans and those who lean Republican favour legalization by a narrower split of 55 per cent vs. 44 per cent. Millennials, Gen X’ers and Baby Boomers all support legalization in the majority, while those born between 1928 and 1964 are the least-supportive, at 35 per cent.

- Staff

U.S. vaping-related deaths rise to 42, cases of illness to 2,172

U.S. health officials on Thursday reported 2,172 confirmed and probable cases and 3 more deaths from a mysterious respiratory illness tied to vaping, taking the death toll to 42, so far this year.Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,051 confirmed and probable U.S. lung injury cases and 39 deaths associated with use of e-cigarettes, or vaping products. As of Nov. 13, 42 deaths have been confirmed in 24 states and the District of Columbia, the agency said. Health officials last week also dubbed the discovery of Vitamin E acetate — believed to be used as a cutting agent in illicit vaping products containing marijuana components — in all lung samples from 29 patients as a breakthrough in their investigation. Investigators have not linked the cases to any specific product or compound, but have pointed to vaping oils containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, as being especially risky.our.

- Reuters

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