On Monday, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed several bills related to animal welfare, diversity in courts, and addiction recovery support, and allowed a cannabis bill to pass into law without signature. The bill is designed to improve regulations surrounding cannabis and hemp-derived products.

Scott also allowed H.612 to pass into law without his signature. The bill creates a series of changes to Vermont’s laws on cannabis, most notably, banning psychoactive hemp-derived products. Scott said there are pros and cons, and that the bill takes “some steps forward, and some steps back” in terms of regulations to keep products safe. 

Among the pros include a loophole related to hemp products that are infused with THC. The law “ensures individuals with significant, documented medical needs continue to have access to medical cannabis,” he wrote. It “makes progress toward safeguards” for people under 21 who want access to “more potent medical products,” and the bill is “responsive to municipal concerns regarding setbacks for outdoor cannabis cultivators.”

On the other hand, Scott wrote that he is concerned about “warnings from healthcare providers that the availability of high potency medical cannabis products in more retail stores will increase use among those who do not have a valid medical prescription.”

The bill will codify rules the Vermont Cannabis Control Board already adopted last year, limiting the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived products in the state and regulate them as cannabis products if they contain more than 0.3% of total THC. 

The Brattleboro Reformer reported last May that the bill cleared the Senate. “We finally got it down,” Cannabis Control Board Chairman James Pepper told the Reformer. “The Senate made some changes then the House concurred with the Senate.” 

H.612 passed “very late in the day Friday,” Pepper said at the time. The bill loosened up advertising restrictions slightly from earlier versions and added some working groups and more requirements regarding a patient-provider relationship for people under the age of 21. 

The bill provides a path for municipalities to establish preferred cultivation districts and have some power over where cannabis can be grown. It also creates several more changes. A medical use endorsement option will allow adult-use retailers to serve patients with the same authorizations as medical dispensaries such as curbside delivery pickup and tax-exempt sales to patients. On top of the $10,000 fee retailers pay for their license will be a $250 charge for the endorsement. 

Under the bill, retailers with a medical endorsement will be allowed to sell products that exceed potency caps to medical patients. Sales to medical patients will be exempt from taxes. 

Added to the list of conditions to qualify a person for the medical registry is ulcerative colitis. Renewal terms for patients will extend from one to three years. 

Fees for medical dispensaries would be cheaper, with applications costing $1,000 instead of $2,500, and the annual charge would go from $25,000 to $5,000. An initial $20,000 fee is eliminated by the bill. 

Geoffrey Pizzutillo, executive director of Vermont Growers Association, counted more than a dozen sections in the legislation. “We have yet to see the final version of the bill,” he said. “We have an idea of what’s in the bill.” 

“Though we didn’t manage to stop the cultivation districts, we feel like a compromise was arrived at,” he said of language on zoning. “There’s not going to be immediate setbacks. There’s going to be a working group. We’re part of the working group to assess the outdoor siting issue for next year’s General Assembly.” 

Local leaders also applauded its ban on hemp-derived psychoactive products like those containing delta-8 THC and similar compounds.

“Importantly, H.612 will ban synthetic hemp derived intoxicating products with psychoactive THC that are currently unregulated and appear in gas stations and convenience stores, taking advantage of a federal loophole,” Rep. Matthew Birong, D-Addison-3, said from the floor in March before the bill headed to the Senate. “Another major theme will be adopting the medical cannabis statutes to preserve access to products for patients, as the current model for medical dispensaries is becoming economically unviable alongside adult use retail cannabis stores.”

Current state law caps the THC percentage in smokable cannabis flower products at 30%—which is high but exceeded in certain varieties—and the amount of THC in solid or liquid concentrated cannabis at 60%. Vermont also imposes a 5 mg serving size/dose cap on edibles and 100 mg cap on entire packaged edibles. The edible dosages align with what you’d see in most other states.

The governor wrote that the bill’s pros outweigh the cons as he allowed it to pass into law.

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A woman in Pennsylvania took her dog to get groomed at PetSmart and she claimed her dog was high on THC upon return, however an investigation into the matter found no traces of THC in the dog’s system, and the pet store chain was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Concerned dog parent Kelly Fowler said that when she picked up her dog Teddy on May 31 from the PetSmart in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, he was lethargic and repeatedly fell over. He had been there for four hours.

“He’s always good,” Fowler told Action News. “This was not normal behavior for him, and the vet did say for him to have THC in his system and for him to have a reaction the way he did, it would have been in a 30 to 90 minute window for him to start acting the way he was.” 

According to a veterinarian’s report, the eight-pound dog’s urine was tested and came back negative for THC, but claimed there is a high false-negative rate of tests that are run on pets.

Footage was available, and the dog also wasn’t seen eating anything that could have been an edible. The store’s corporate spokeswoman told Action News that after reviewing video footage from the grooming salon and the store, there is “no evidence whatsoever” that Teddy was exposed to THC while in PetSmart’s care. There are certainly other factors that could lead to strange behaviors from the dog.

The local branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Bucks County SPCA, found no evidence of THC in the dog’s system and closed the investigation. After the SPCA closed the investigation, the woman released a statement Thursday.

“This is the last post I am going to write about my pup,” the woman’s statement reads. The SPCA did not find evidence on the video. And I’m being called a liar all over the internet. Bottom line is I will never know what truly happened to him and I know it happened there. He was fine in the morning and was there for so long and half asleep, falling over when I picked him up. So many people have messaged me on similar situations with their pets at petsmart, even former employees! They never “find the evidence” in these cases. My lesson in life is to never take to social media for help! People will tear you down so quick! All I wanted to know is what happened! I’m so thankful he’s fully recovered! To all the positive people I am truly blessed you all backed me up! We are good people and I would never make up anything. They paid the vet bill and I’m still waiting for reimbursement for the grooming appt.”

Groomers at PetSmart have have been accused of wrongdoing several incidents in the past.

If you suspect your dog ate THC-infused edibles, dog owners are encouraged to immediately contact a veterinarian or animal poison control center. If possible, dog owners should provide details of the incident, including the type of edible, the quantity consumed, THC content, if you know it, and any symptoms.

THC is generally considered to be poisonous to dogs. Concentrates are more of a big deal as they can reach 90% THC. 

CBD, Not THC, Can Help Dogs

THC toxicity is usually reported when a dog accidentally eats an infused edible or oil. THC-infused products are not recommended for pets by most veterinarians and professionals, however CBD is another story.

One study, for instance, found that CBD may benefit dogs dealing with travel anxiety. Dogs who enjoy a daily dose of CBD see “significant reductions” in stress and anxiety related to car travel, according to a recent study. Scientists at Waltham Petcare Science Institute in the United Kingdom looked at both the behavioral and physiological stress response in canines given CBD (THC-free cannabis) and a placebo group who did not ingest CBD. They studied the doggos before, during, and after car trips. For the study, researchers partnered with the pet food and vet company Mars Petcare.

Twenty dogs participated in the study. And these weren’t dogs who jump at the chance to stick their head out the window of a car and eagerly wave their tongue into the wind. To qualify, they all showed symptoms of anxiety and stress regarding car trips. But when given CBD, in this case, two hours before the required drive, every man’s best friend given CBD showed “meaningful improvements” during the 24 weeks the study lasted. 

Knowledge is power and keeping THC away from pets is just as important as keeping them away from children.

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Hallucinogenic compounds that activate multiple receptors, found in Colorado River toads, show “promising transdiagnostic therapeutic with rapid and lasting effects” for conditions such as depression and anxiety, new findings show, and you don’t necessarily need to hallucinate to therapeutically benefit from the compounds. 

While much is known about the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor, this study explored a serotonin receptor called 5-HT1A, which is activated by an altered compound made from toad secretions that’s believed to alleviate depression and anxiety without inducing hallucinations.

A new study, “Structural pharmacology and therapeutic potential of 5-methoxytryptamines,” was published last month in the journal Nature.

When sensing danger, Colorado River toads, sometimes native to the Sonoran Desert (Incilius alvarius or Bufo alvarius) release a hallucinogenic compound bufotenin that’s structurally similar to DMT from glands in their skin. The compound is also similar in structure and effects to psilocybin as well. The marine toad (Bufo marinus) and European green toad (Bufo viridis) release similar toxins that can sometimes be poisonous to the touch, but only the Colorado River toad releases compounds considered a true hallucinogen.

A team of researchers from Mount Sinai Hospital and Columbia University in New York explored the potential health benefits of psychedelic compounds from toad secretions, and created a new compound that doesn’t trigger hallucinations. 

“We became intrigued by numerous reports of powerful, unique and life-changing experiences associated with its ritualistic or experimental clinical use, which made us wonder about its therapeutic potential and the underlying mechanisms,” David Lankri, a neuropharmacologist at Columbia University and a co-author of the study, told Gizmodo.

Since it’s structurally similar to psilocybin, and based on evidence showing that psilocybin can treat depression in some people, researchers believe there is therapeutic potential with toad secretions as well. 

Most psychedelics research has explored the drug’s effects on a particular kind of serotonin receptor called 5-HT2A. But the team behind the new study focused on a more obscure serotonin receptor called 5-HT1A, which past studies suggest interacts with the toad toxin.

A New Compound Made from Toads

Smithsonian reports that by slightly modifying the 5-MeO-DMT compound, the researchers created another compound called 4-F,5-MeO-PyrT. This new compound interacts primarily with 5-HT1A, a pathway that appears to offer the same antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects without inducing hallucinogenic trips.

It turns out there are already pharmaceutical drugs that target the same receptor.

“Given that 5-HT is the primary target of approved anxiolytic and antidepressant medications, such as buspirone (BuSpar)  and vilazodone (Viibryd), this receptor may contribute to the reported therapeutic effects of 5-MeO-DMT.”

The effects from psychedelic toad secretion compounds suggest long-term effects in overcoming depression-like states.

“Recent preliminary clinical data suggest that 5-MeO-DMT is a promising transdiagnostic therapeutic with rapid and lasting effects. Our work and previous studies have shown that 5-MeO-DMT has comparable signaling potency and efficacy at 5-HT and 5-HT in vitro, and both receptors contribute to its in vivo pharmacology. In light of previous work showcasing 5-HT-selective agonists that alleviate anxiety-like and depression-like states in preclinical models, we wanted to investigate the role of 5-HT in both psychedelic and therapeutic effects of 5-MeO-tryptamines. Although 5-HT is a validated therapeutic target for several approved medications, including vilazodone and buspirone, the importance of 5-HT agonism to the therapeutic effects of tryptamine psychedelics has not been conclusively addressed.”

High Times reported on the toad using its other name, the Sonoran Desert toad, with glands secreting a venom rich in the hallucinogens 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin, which invaded Arizona last year when monsoon conditions kicked in for the late summer. They can measure up to 7 inches long and have a low-pitched croak that inevitably serenades the night in multiple states during hot wetter months.

Local news stations in Arizona last year reported a surge in Sonoran Desert toad populations now that the rain has started. 

While some researchers aim to bypass the hallucinogenic effects of the toxin, others are trying to enhance it for recreational use. They are sought after so much, toad secretion harvesting has caused them to be endangered in some areas.

Vice Media’s Hamilton Morris documented the Sonoran Desert toad in detail—calling the toads’ secretion the “most potent psychedelic toad venom on Earth,” which also makes it ideal for medical research. Sonoran Desert toad venom should only be vaped or smoked, InStyle reported. Toad venom is scraped from the glands on the animals and dried into a paste, which is later smoked. “The experience is going to start within 10 to 30 seconds and then you’re going to be physically incapacitated for 20 to 30 minutes,” Alan Davis, a Johns Hopkins psychedelics researcher, previously explained in Johns Hopkins Magazine. 

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Biologists from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany and Universitas Nasional, Indonesia observed a large male orangutan self-medicating—using a paste of chewed up plants topically to heal a large wound on his cheek. It’s essentially a wild animal that appears to intentionally make his own medicinal salve.

A peer-reviewed study was published Thursday in Scientific Reports, demonstrating the first time scientists have observed this specific behavior from an orangutan. The biologists first saw the behavior in 2022 when the orangutan was badly wounded. Rakus is an orangutan that lives in Gunung Leuser National Park in Sumatra, and when he was wounded on his cheek with a gaping hole, he sprung into action, behaving in a way scientists have never seen before in a non-human.

Lead researcher Dr. Isabelle Laumer, a primatologist and behavioral biologist confirmed the findings to High Times. “We observed a male Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) who sustained a facial wound,” researchers wrote. “Three days after the injury he selectively ripped off leaves of a liana with the common name Akar Kuning (Fibraurea tinctoria), chewed on them, and then repeatedly applied the resulting juice onto the facial wound. As a last step, he fully covered the wound with the chewed leaves.”  Watch the orangutan here the first time he was observed behaving this way. (Laumer et al., 2024 Scientific Reports)

The researchers saw no indications of infection and the wound closed within five days. After a month, Rakus’s wound was fully healed.

Fibraurea tinctoria is a plant that demonstrates anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, and it can be used locally to treat malaria and diabetes. Humans have been using medicinal salves for thousands of years, but this behavior is rarely seen in wild animals. 

“The treatment of human wounds was most likely first mentioned in a medical manuscript that dates back to 2200 BC, which included the cleaning, plastering, and bandaging of wounds with certain wound care substances,” Dr Caroline Schuppli, a senior author of the paper, told the Natural History Museum. “As African and Asian great apes have also been seen actively treating wounds, it is possible we share a common underlying mechanism for recognising and applying medical substances to wounds. This might have developed in a common ancestor, which may have already showed similar forms of ointment behaviour.” (Laumer et al., 2024 Scientific Reports)

CBS News reports that gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos swallow certain bitter-tasting leaves whole to get rid of stomach parasites. The rough texture of the leaves can scrape out their digestive systems. The apes appear to only eat those types of bitter leaves when they need help with their digestive tracts.

Researchers said we can learn about ourselves based on these findings. “They are our closest relatives and this again points towards the similarities we share with them. We are more similar than we are different,” biologist Dr Isabella Laumer at the Max Planck institute in Germany told BBC News.

Orangutan Intelligence

Orangutans demonstrate remarkable intelligence, and some researchers believe it may surpass the intelligence of chimps. Psychologist Robert Deaner of Grand Valley State University in Michigan, for instance, scoured hundreds of cognition studies and created “The Hierarchy of Primate Intelligence.” According to Deaner’s hierarchy, orangutans are smarter than chimpanzees, and they are the smartest primates after humans, and spider monkeys are the fourth smartest primates after orangutans and chimps, with gorillas being the fifth smartest.

Orangutans can perform several tasks that most apes cannot do. Researchers in Leipzig Zoo in Germany observed “calculated reciprocity”—meaning they “weigh the costs and benefits of gift exchanges.” They have also been observed creating a distraction in order to steal food from one another, essentially showing them pick-pocketing. They’ve also been seen using leaves to amplify calls, holding them to their mouth when they squeak, enabling them to deceive one another to sound like a larger ape. Scientists argue that these behaviors make them one of the most self-aware wild animals that have ever been observed.

Orangutans can learn up to 40 hand signs to communicate in sign language, and can do the same with their feet.

Medicinal Plants Used by Animals

The Natural History Museum reports that the use of medicinal plants by animals—known as zoopharmacognosy—is believed to be used by a variety of different species to treat their illnesses and injuries to some degree. But in most cases, it’s unclear if it’s prompted by instinct rather than learned behavior. 

Blue-headed parrots, for instance, frequently lick clay which helps them absorb the toxins from unripe fruits they’ve eaten. Galápagos finches have been observed rubbing the leaves of the Galápagos guava tree on their feathers. These are rich in chemicals that repel mosquitoes and fly larvae.

Wild animals have been seen eating cannabis, but it’s unclear why they are attracted to it. In the wild, mice and rats eat germinated hemp seeds, while moles, rabbits, foxes, deer, and dogs have been seen eating hemp leaves and stalks. And this doesn’t include insect pests that regularly chow down on cannabis leaves.

Even insects eat different foods that have medicinal properties. Cordyceps and fungal infections are a nightmare (and the inspiration for The Last of Us video game and series) but ants have been observed eating normally unwanted foods that ward off fungal infections. 

The new findings about orangutan behavior demonstrate how little we know about ape intelligence.

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Police officials in New Orleans this week told a city council committee that rats have taken over the department’s downtown headquarters, saying that the rodents have been eating marijuana stored in an evidence room. Anne Kirkpatrick, the superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department, told the city leaders at a meeting on Monday that the rats are apparently enjoying the food source sitting in an evidence room at police headquarters.

“The rats are eating our marijuana,” Kirkpatrick said, according to a report from online news source NOLA.com. “They’re all high.”

The superintendent was reporting to the council committee on the condition of aging police facilities around New Orleans. In addition to eating drugs in the evidence room, rats are reportedly found throughout the building, spreading feces across the desks of police officers and other department workers. The building is also infested with cockroaches, Kirkpatrick reported.

The department’s problems at police headquarters are not limited to pests. The building also has mold and elevators, HVAC equipment and plumbing that are old and deteriorating. 

An NOPD veteran speaking to a reporter anonymously said that the downtown police headquarters has been infested with rats throughout his almost two decades with the department. He also noted that some officers report coughing or sneezing after visiting the moldy building, which has served the police department since 1968.

“It’s horrible. I don’t think it ever recovered from Katrina, to be honest,” the officer said, referring to the 2005 hurricane that devastated New Orleans. “The basement was full (of flood water). You get a lot of rodents that climb through the walls. Some things you just can’t get to, so there has always been some type of rodent, bugs, rats, mice, whatever.”

New Orleans Police Department’s Five-Year Quest For New Digs

The police department has been asking for a new headquarters since before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, the department asked for $39 million to build a new base of operations, but the project was not funded by the city council. 

Kirkpatrick, who took over as superintendent in October after moving to New Orleans from the West Coast, renewed the push for a new department headquarters, a source told NOLA.com. Kirkpatrick was “adamant” about a new facility for the department’s officers and staff of 400 who work at the aging building. 

At Monday’s meeting, Kirkpatrick described the building as a “turn-off” to prospective employee transfers from other areas as well as the personnel that already work there.

“It’s not OK, and it’s not OK for people to be treated that way and be called valued,” she said.

The superintendent also noted that the poor condition of police facilities goes beyond the department’s downtown home.

“It is not just at police headquarters. It is all the districts. The uncleanliness is off the charts,” Kirkpatrick told the council members on the committee. “The janitorial cleaning [team] deserves an award, trying to clean what is uncleanable.”

Kirkpatrick was at the meeting to ask for the committee’s approval of a proposal to house the department on two floors of a new high-rise in downtown New Orleans for 10 years while a plan for a permanent facility is developed. The committee approved a motion to authorize the move, sending the plan to the full council for a vote.

Gilbert Montaño, the city’s chief administrative officer, described the headquarters move as a “Herculean lift.” Once the headquarters has been temporarily relocated, additional buildings in the downtown justice complex will also be vacated.

“I foresee most of the criminal justice agencies will have to be temporarily housed as we address these old decrepit buildings,” said Montaño, according to a report from The Guardian.

“Right now, we are addressing police headquarters because it is in dire straits.”

Not The First Time

The problem with rodents eating weed being stored as police evidence is not new. In addition to the report from New Orleans, police departments in South America and Asia have reported similar stories of hungry rodents fiending on pot, The Guardian noted.

In 2018, the outlet reported that eight police officers in Argentina were fired after they reported that mice had eaten nearly 1,000 pounds of pot that had disappeared from a police warehouse about 35 miles away from Buenos Aires. 

“Buenos Aires University experts have explained that mice wouldn’t mistake the drug for food, and that if a large group of mice had eaten it, a lot of corpses would have been found in the warehouse,” a spokesperson for a judge who was reviewing the case said at the time.

Four years later, CNN reported a story from northern India, where rats had allegedly eaten more than 1,100 pounds of weed that had been seized from pot dealers and stored in a police warehouse.

“Rats are small animals, and they aren’t scared of the police,” an official told a court in Uttar Pradesh.

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Two male Humpback whales were recently recorded having a homosexual encounter in the wild off the coast of Maui.

According to a new study by the Pacific Whale Foundation published in Marine Mammal Science, humpback whales have been studied extensively but documented instances of reproductive actions have been exceedingly rare. That is until some photographers – Lyle Krannichfeld and Brandi Romano – caught two male humpbacks engaging in sexual contact right below their boat 2 kilometers west of the Molokini crater off the coast of Maui on January 19, 2022. 

They sent their photos to scientists who recently confirmed in a peer-reviewed study that the photos were confirmed to be one of very few documented instances of humpback penis extrusion and the very first documented instance of homosexual interactions between humpbacks.

“The sighting occurred when individuals aboard a private stationary vessel, located approximately two km west of the Molokini crater, saw two humpback whales approaching their boat. One whale was visibly thin and covered in whale lice, displaying signs of poor health and drawing the attention of the photographers,” said the Pacific Whale Foundation on their website. “During the encounter, a second whale engaged in an unexpected behavior—repeatedly approaching the first whale, using its pectoral fins to hold the injured whale in place, and initiating shallow, brief penetrations.”

The whales in question reportedly circled the photographers’ boat for a while, giving them ample opportunity to take their NSFWW (not suitable for whale workplace) photos. Scientists with the Pacific Whale Foundation hypothesized that since one of the whales seemed to be having health issues, this may have contributed to the behavior for whatever reason.

“The two whales circled the boat numerous times, allowing Krannichfeld and Romano the opportunity to carefully document the event by holding their cameras over the side of the stationary vessel (note: it is illegal to swim with or approach humpback whales within 100 yards in Hawaii and the vessel remained in neutral as the whales approached),” the Pacific Whale Foundation said. “The health disparity between the two whales adds a layer of complexity to this unique observation. One whale’s poor condition, possibly caused by a ship strike, may have contributed to the observed behavior.”

The sexual encounter between the whales reportedly took place when one of the whales extruded its penis and penetrated the genital opening of the other whale. The penetrations lasted about two minutes at a time, according to the study, and lasted for about a half hour. When the encounter was over, the whale doing the penetrating took off right away (typical) and the sick whale hung out for a few minutes until swimming away as well.

“Upon reviewing the photographs, it was noticed that Whale A had a significant jaw injury, that likely impaired normal feeding behavior,” the study said. “It was also observed that Whale B had its penis extruded throughout the entire encounter and, at times, would penetrate the genital opening of Whale A, using its pectoral fins to hold Whale A.”

The study said that male humpback whale penis extrusions have been documented in the presence of other male humpbacks, but that this is the first time penetration has been documented. It has been previously theorized that the penis extrusions were acts of aggression towards the other males while competing for females during mating season.

Homosexual behavior is not particularly uncommon among members of the animal kingdom. It has been documented in dolphins, orcas, seals, walruses and several of my neighbors’ dogs. An entire book called Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity was published about the topic in 1999.

“The world is, indeed, teeming with homosexual, bisexual, and transgendered creatures of every stripe and feather. From the Southeastern Blueberry Bee of the United States to more than 130 different bird species worldwide, the ‘birds and the bees,’ literally are queer,” the book said. “On every continent, animals of the same sex seek each other out and have probably been doing so for millions of years. They court each other, using intricate and beautiful mating dances that are the result of eons of evolution.”

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The dehydrated and mummified remains of four monkeys were confiscated by airport security in Boston last month.

According to a press release from United States Customs and Border Protection, a traveler arrived at Boston Logan Airport from The Democratic Republic of the Congo on January 8 of this year. An Airport security dog that goes by the name of K9 Buddey (pictured below) smelled something unusual in the traveler’s bag during routine inspections of Delta flight 225 incoming from Paris and alerted customs officials to the suspicious nature of the luggage, presumably by barking.

The traveler claimed he was only carrying dried fish in his suitcase when asked by customs, but further inspection revealed he was in possession of four dehydrated monkey carcusses. The monkeys are considered to be “bushmeat,” which is a term denoting raw or minimally processed meat from wild animals in Africa often dried, salted or smoked. This includes bats, monkeys, cane rats, antelope and other African animals, none of which are allowed entry into the United States on account of the risk of communicable disease transference.

“The potential dangers posed by bringing bushmeat into the United States are real. Bushmeat can carry germs that can cause illness, including the Ebola virus,” said Julio Caravia, local port director for Customs and Border Protection.

According to Customs and Border Protection, airport authorities immediately contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, because apparently that’s the government agency tasked with regulation of mummified primate materials. The CDC reportedly told Delta Airlines to either seize and destroy the four kilograms of monkey meat or return it to France and thus, the primate mummies were marked for destruction.

Apparently a fair amount of illegal monkey meat, among other unsavory and illicit meat from Africa is routinely smuggled into the United States. One estimate from the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance proposed that roughly 15,000 pounds of illegal wildlife meat are smuggled into the U.S. every month, though this figure is very difficult to verify. 

Another report from United States Customs and Border Protection concerning illegal bushmeat smuggling into the state of Minnesota from 2022, customs officials seized over 104 pounds of bushmeat in the last week of 2021 alone.

“Just last week our agriculture specialists stopped a passenger returning from Liberia,” said Augustine Moore, Area Port Director-Minnesota. When officers asked if he had any bushmeat, he said he had “parts of a monkey; turned out it was two primate arms and primate rib material.”

In the 2022 release Customs and Border Protections attested that much like the recent mummified monkey smuggler accosted in Boston, many travelers attempting to smuggle bushmeat into the United States do so by hiding it amongst dried fish, often wrapped in multiple layers of newspaper, plastic, foil and tape. Travelers would often mark fish on customs forms even when specifically asked about bushmeat.

“The intermingling of fish and bushmeat in the same package is common,” Chief Agriculture Specialist Lauren Lewis said in 2022. 

Customs said in the same release that they had a big problem at the time with travelers coming in with bushmeat from Liberia specifically. A private investigator took reporters from ABC news to an open air market in New York in 2009 where cane rat meat was being sold for $20/pound, but with time passed and post-COVID inflation it presumably costs much more in 2024 though I could was not able to verify current bushmeat prices with any reputable source.

“Minnesota’s CBP agriculture specialists are focused on their mission to prevent entry of prohibited items from entering into the United States,” said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director, Field Operations-Chicago in 2022. “The sheer volume of bushmeat our specialist[s] intercept clearly shows how they play a critical role in preventing diseases from entering the United States.”

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Things are changing fast regarding how hemp is tolerated in agriculture and farming. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s veterinary arm, the FDA-Center for Veterinary Medicine’s (FDA-CVM), is responsible for assuring that animal drugs and medicated feeds are safe and effective. Officials that determine approved chicken feed ingredients recommended hemp seed meal for hens, under a tentative FDA-CVM approval, as evidence mounts showing hemp seed is not only safe but beneficial for healthy hens and eggs.

Hemp Feed Coalition (HFC)—a nonprofit that aims to federal approval for hemp grain products in animal feed—announced a “landmark achievement” with the tentative approval of Hemp Seed Meal (HSM) for Laying Hens at the recent Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) 2024 Mid-Year Meeting. 

“Hemp’s entry into animal feed will catalyze agricultural advancement,” HFC President and COO of Bish Enterprises, Andrew Bish. “It’s an opportunity for farmers to diversify, to develop more sustainable supply chains, and to reap the benefits of a new crop.”

The AAFCO guides state, federal and international feed regulators with ingredient definitions, label standards, and laboratory standards, and has done so for over 110 years. The AAFCO celebrated the recommendation for hemp seed feed during the first day of its Workshop & Board of Directors Meeting held on January 23-25 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Hemp Seed Meal is Healthy for Hens and Eggs

We already know that hemp seeds are packed with essential vitamins, minerals, healthy oils, and an impressive, high-quality protein profile. Now research confirms the nutritional value of hemp feed resembles that of soy and canola, and is believed to be safe. The data also shows the value of hemp seed is growing and could surpass typical feed sources.

Specifically, researchers found that hemp-fed hens lay eggs enriched with essential fatty acids such as ALA, DHA, and GLA, and increased amounts of Lutein. They are all known to promote better human health.

The safety of HSM has been validated after undergoing the FDA-CVM’s rigorous evaluation, and it will provide formulators and feed mills with the assurance they need that HSM is a safe and viable protein and fat source. 

“Data to support this application included the validated method and quantification of cannabinoids in both the ingredient and egg product, and it was verified that any potential cannabinoid contaminants did not transfer over to human food products,” the HFC’s announcement reads.

The Road Here

Federal officials are typically strict about any sort of medical claims on hemp products, including those intended for animals and livestock. 

Keep in mind that just over a year ago in May 2022, the FDA sent out warning letters to four hemp-derived CBD companies that were selling hemp products marketed for animals.

This will go before AAFCO’s Board and members for final approval, and then be adopted into the Official Publication later this year. This “historic milestone” took over three years to achieve and will allow processors to formulate with HSM in the diets of egg-laying hens as a source of protein and fat at an inclusion of no more than 20%. To see the ingredient definition in its entirety, visit the HFC’s website.

Crops like hemp, that are new to the agricultural world, provide benefits to soil, disease control, and farm flexibility. Furthermore, hemp requires lower input needs, resulting in a more sustainable supply chain overall. 

HFC shared their support for a more nutritious ingredient, reducing risk for farmers, and opening up the door to opportunities in the hemp market. 

HFC members are proud to support these efforts and lay the groundwork for hemp grain products in feed across species. Visit the MemberZone page to access additional data and resources, and to learn more about the benefits of HSM for laying hens.

Hemp Seed Feed by State

Late last year, a bill to allow hemp seeds in animal feed in New York was stopped in its tracks. Two New York measures would allow for hemp seeds to be part of animal feed meant for pets, horses and camelids, like llamas and alpacas and got the green light from the state Assembly and Senate earlier this year. 

In early December, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) received the pair of bills, though she effectively stopped them in their tracks via veto, stating that there is a lack of information about using industrial hemp in this way and pushing for the state to study the topics in an “expeditious manner.”

Specifically, the measures would have allowed industrial hemp seed to be added to animal feed that includes seed hulls and seed meal. The bills would not have allowed for hemp seeds and additives to expand to other commercial livestock, most likely because of regulatory complications surrounding certain ingredients for animals used for human consumption.

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A 3D printed chip which mimics human organ systems may allow for drugs to one day be tested without harming animals.

Pharmaceuticals are often if not always tested on animals before ever being administered to humans, though many drugs never make it that far in the process. In fact, when I interviewed Willy Myco the notorious YouTube educator on all things shroom-growing, he told me that he left a high-ranking position with a top pharmaceutical company to pursue YouTube content creation because he saw a room full of animals in cages who were slated to be incinerated after the tests were complete. 

This practice may eventually be a thing of the past thanks to a particular new invention created by in vitro pharmacology p.H.D. student Liam Carr and his fellow researchers at the University of Edinburgh. The 3D-printed device, which loosely resembles a translucent Connect-4 set, is referred to as a “body-on chip” and reportedly is able to replicate the way different medicines move through the human body by utilizing a process known as positron emission tomography or “PET scanning.” This essentially means that small radioactive chemicals are sent into the device which transmit images to small cameras. 

“This device is the first to be designed specifically for measuring drug distribution, with an even flow paired with organ compartments that are large enough to sample drug uptake for mathematical modeling, Carr said to the Guardian. “Essentially, allowing us to see where a new drug goes in the body and how long it stays there, without having to use a human or animal to test it.”

Now while this all may be too fancy of medical language for this humble journalist to fully grasp, Carr said the way the device works almost perfectly matches the rates at which drugs are taken in by different organ systems, allowing for accurate mathematical data to be gathered without the need for humans or animals to actually take the drug. 

“Using mathematic modeling, we have found that the rate of transfer into the organ compartments and the uptake of nutrients in vitro mimics in vivo organ results,” Carr said in a University of Edinburgh press release. “It’s been really exciting to be able to use PET imaging to modify the device and produce even flow through all organ compartments.”

According to PETA, over 110 million animals including “mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish, and birds” are killed every year in pharmaceutical testing. Many of these animals are subjected to barbaric forms of what most humans would consider torture as well including having holes drilled in their skulls, being forced to inhale toxic fumes, being immobilized in restraints for several hours at a time to name a few. Carr’s supervisor said in a press release that this new device could drastically reduce that number of animals over time, especially considering that a very low percentage of drugs actually progress past animal trials. 

“This device shows really strong potential to reduce the large number of animals that are used worldwide for testing drugs and other compounds, particularly in the early stages, where only 2% of compounds progress through the discovery pipeline,” said Carr’s supervisor Dr Adriana Tavares of the University’s Centre for Cardiovascular Science.

Carr and his fellow researchers have received funding in the form of £260,000 (which equates to a little over $287,000 USD) from the Medical Research Council to continue testing the device using sterile materials. The device can also reportedly be used to test other substances beyond pharmaceuticals such as aerosols, food and household products. 

“We’re delighted to be supporting Liam and the CVS team in the development of this ‘body-on-chip’, and we look forward to seeing the impact this novel device has on testing and progression of new compounds and drugs in the future,” said Dr Susan Bodie, Head of Business Development for the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at Edinburgh Innovations.

It was not immediately clear based on the press release when/if the device may be distributed or when, if ever, the number of animals used in experiments may begin to dwindle but as with all things medicine it is safe to assume it will be a little while before use of this device becomes widespread. But for the sake of the animals, consider my fingers crossed. 

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Hemp has a number of uses that we are only now beginning to take advantage of. Two New York measures would allow for hemp seeds to be part of animal feed meant for pets, horses and camelids, like llamas and alpacas and got the green light from the state Assembly and Senate earlier this year. 

In early December, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) received the pair of bills, though she effectively stopped them in their tracks via veto, stating that there is a lack of information about using industrial hemp in this way and pushing for the state to study the topics in an “expeditious manner.”

The New York cannabis industry is steadily taking shape, and Hochul has also advocated for the state’s hemp industry. Still, the governor cited that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to approve hemp seed as part of animal feed, so Hochul believes that “more information is required” before taking the leap.

“To that end, I am directing the Department of Agriculture and Markets to work with Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to research the impacts of the use of hemp seed or hemp seed products in animal feed,” Hochul wrote. “This study is to be completed in an expeditious manner to better inform the industry on the questions raised by the potential for expanded use of hemp products.”

Specifically, the measures would have allowed industrial hemp seed to be added to animal feed that includes seed hulls and seed meal. The bills would not have allowed for hemp seeds and additives to expand to other commercial livestock, most likely because of regulatory complications surrounding certain ingredients for animals used for human consumption.

Supporters cited nutrition as a key factor, namely that hemp seeds are high in protein and fiber. A 2022 study also determined that feeding livestock industrial hemp can have beneficial effects on stress and activity levels in cattle.

This idea isn’t brand new, either. Back in April 2021, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill that allowed for hemp and hemp derivatives to be included in food for pets, horses and livestock. Pennsylvania was looking to enact a similar law, based on Montana’s, though the state’s Department of Agriculture points to a similar concern of Hochul’s, that an ingredient must be Generally Recognized as Safe by the FDA or listed as a”recognized feed ingredient” before it can be sold or distributed as part of animal feed.

“Protecting industrial hemp production in New York will encourage greater production and research into the myriad uses of this plant, including as a renewable building material,” the text reads. “It will also open the door for small, New York-based animal food processors to establish this marketplace before hemp seeds are authorized for use in commercial feed nationally.”

A fiscal note also claims that the legislation could have also led to increased tax revenue for the state due to “increased sales of New York hemp seed product and commercial feed.”

In Hochul’s push for further research, it bears mentioning that some existing studies provide further context on the topic, perhaps prompting more questions.

One German study from last year found that dairy cows fed industrial hemp produced detectable levels of delta-9 THC and other cannabinoids. Co-author Robert Pieper said that cows given the hemp feed also ate less and produced less milk, calling it a “strong” effect on animal health, “not a positive effect.”

However, another 2023 study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that cattle who were fed hempseed cake retained very low concentrations of THC and CBD in their bodies, indicating that meat products from hemp-fed cattle are safe for humans to consume.

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