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NFL announces $1 million toward cannabis and pain studies.
The National Football League announced this week that it would put $1 million toward two research efforts on cannabis and pain. One study, at the University of California San Diego, will look at “the effects of cannabinoids on pain management,” while the other study, at the University of Regina, will look at “neuroprotection from concussion in elite football players.”
In June, the NFL-NFLPA Joint Pain Management Committee put out a call for proposals on “alternative pain management treatments” for players, and 106 came in.
“While the burden of proof is high for NFL players who want to understand the impact of any medical decision on their performance, we are grateful that we have the opportunity to fund these scientifically-sound studies on the use of cannabinoids that may lead to the discovery of data-based evidence that could impact the pain management of our players,” said Allen Sills, NFL Chief Medical Officer, in the announcement.
Scotts Miracle-Gro offshoot invests in Congressional Black Caucus Social Justice fellows.
The Hawthorne Gardening Company, under the umbrella of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, announced the Hawthorne Social Justice Fund will fund sponsorship of the John R. Lewis Social Justice Fellows program within the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation for two years.
The Hawthorne Social Justice Fund will give $600,000 to fund four John R. Lewis Social Justice Fellows to “focus on research related to cannabis policy and social justice reforms and propose solutions to Congress.”
“We’re delighted to partner with the Hawthorne Social Justice Fund in support of the John R. Lewis Social Justice Fellowship as we cultivate and equip early-career policy professionals and create a pipeline of young Black leaders,” Paul Dumars, co-interim president and CEO, CFO and COO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, said in the announcement.
The Hawthorne Social Justice Fund has allocated roughly half of its $2.5 million fund to various nonprofits.
About that PepsiCo hemp drink announcement.
At first, it looked pretty basic: this week, PepsiCo announced that Rockstar Energy Drink would roll out a new product called Rockstar Unplugged, which “focuses less on providing a big hit of energy and more focus on enhancing good vibes with ingredients like hemp seed oil and B vitamins.”
But while hemp seed oil has been used in mainstream products for a long time, and these drinks don’t contain CBD, PepsiCo made this move with the guidance of the Perkins Coie Cannabis Law Industry Group.
Further, as Cannabis Wire has reported, PepsiCo is a member of the Consumer Brands Association, and the Association has long been pushing, on behalf of its members, though it hasn’t named which, that CBD be allowed, albeit tightly regulated, in mainstream products.
“Ninety-one percent of our consumers told us they wanted a beverage that lifts their mood. Rockstar Unplugged delivers the ingredients consumers have been asking for,” Fabiola Torres, PepsiCo’s Chief Marketing Officer of the Energy Category, said in the announcement.