The Cannabis Chemistry Subdivision (CANN) of the American Chemical Society (ACS) held a parade to raise awareness about the subdivision and its mission during the society’s meeting in New Orleans. The parade, which took place on 20 March and travelled with a police escort, also aimed to encourage ACS members to sign a petition to make CANN a fully-fledged ACS division.

‘We’re here today for the conference, of course […] but also to get the message across that we are trying to get professionals to do this correctly […] spreading outreach and good practices within the cannabis community,’ CANN’s scholarship chair Kyle Boyer tells Chemistry World. Boyer, who is affiliated with Medicinal Genomics in Massachusetts, says federal efforts to clampdown on the US cannabis industry complicate CANN’s agenda.

Nevertheless, he remains hopeful. ‘Getting people the knowledge that they need in order to make informed decisions, we’ll be able to move this forward in the right direction.’