Public health officials are advising that smokers ditch the puff, puff, pass culture associated with smoking weed. Public health officials in states with legal recreational pot are warning residents to be careful how they consume it—and who they consume it with. See the original article at Route Fifty
The Alabama Senate passed SB165 with a vote of 22-11. The bill would be the strictest medical marijuana bill to be passed in the United States, requiring patients to exhaust all other treatments before being prescribed marijuana and require consultation with two doctors. The bill also prohibits any smokeable medicinal products from being sold. See the original […]
Just over two years after commercial cannabis sales became legal in California, the state has collected more than $1 billion in taxes from commercial marijuana activity. The total includes $498.1 million in cannabis excise taxes, $123.4 million in cultivation taxes, and $403.1 million in state sales tax. Most of the money, after regulatory costs, has […]
Under federal law, any consumer of cannabis cannot own or possess firearms; a recent ATF memo, however, seeks to strengthen those restrictions specifically against “habitual marijuana users.” A recent memo from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has rescinded a 2006 allowance for gun dealers in Michigan to accept a state-concealed pistol license […]
Nearly four years after Massachusetts voters legalized recreational marijuana, Boston has its first adult-use cannabis store. Pure Oasis, which opened at 11 a.m. in Dorchester, is also the first marijuana store owned by people in the state’s economic empowerment program, designed to aid those who were targeted by the war on drugs. Its grand opening marked a […]
A study published ahead of print by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. suggests that cannabidiol (CBD) can help to slow the decay of brain cells. Researchers specifically investigated CBD‘s effectiveness against the neurotoxicity of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a molecule that has been considered as a potential culprit in severe pathological conditions such as cancer, strokes, and neurodegenerative diseases. See […]
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the IRS faces “significant problems” due to the cash-only nature of the cannabis industry and urged lawmakers to address the issue “one way or another.” During his testimony to the House Appropriations subcommittee, Mnuchin didn’t take a stance on the issue of cannabis banking at large but said the […]
Bernie Sanders has repeatedly said that, if elected, he’d sign an executive order on his first day in office to legalize cannabis in all 50 US states. But could he really do it? Unfortunately, it’s not so simple. A Sanders administration would almost certainly mean a step forward for cannabis policy in the United States. But it’s virtually […]
MLB officials have announced that, while players are allowed to use cannabis in their personal lives, they are not allowed to partner with or accept sponsorships from cannabis companies. MLB said it plans to address the issue in the future but, “until such guidance is issued, any such investments or commercial arrangements are still considered to […]
The USDA has removed the requirement that hemp crops be tested by DEA-registered laboratories for the upcoming growing season. While the agency had reached an agreement with the DEA for this season, the law enforcement agency still expects states “to work with their laboratories to try to achieve certification for the 2021 crop year. See […]
After weeks of rumors that the Florida House was pushing an amendment that would put a cap on the amount of THC in all medical marijuana at 10% potency, the proposal was finally filed Friday afternoon in the Senate. Current law places a limit on the amount of THC in edible products only, which may […]
The Texas Department of Public Safety said last week that it would not perform testing to distinguish between hemp and marijuana in misdemeanor cases. The situation comes after the Texas Legislature changed the definition of marijuana last year in order to legalize hemp, drawing a new distinction between two substances that can look and smell […]
New research shows that the number of U.S. adults over 65 who reported using cannabis sky-rocketed from 2.4% in 2015 to 4.2% in 2018 — an increase of 75%. “We don’t think increases in use are due to legalization, although increasing social acceptability in general might have helped drive these increases,” co-author Joseph J. Palamar, […]
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is making the rounds as he prepares for the legalization of marijuana in the Empire State. Cuomo has previously stated he wants legalization passed by state officials before April 1, when the state budget must be approved. See the original article at Daily Voice
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren has unveiled her plan to legalize cannabis if she is elected president — the plan includes expungement of past convictions, research funding, medical cannabis access for veterans, and more. Warren unveiled the plan before a campaign stop in Denver, Colorado and said during the rally that the reforms are […]
Asked in a new interview about President Trump’s position on changing federal marijuana laws, a top reelection campaign aide said the administration’s policy is that cannabis and other currently illegal drugs should remain illegal. “I think the president has been pretty clear on his views on marijuana at the federal level,” said Marc Lotter, director […]
A recent study has revealed that the endocannabinoid system may provide a novel treatment for alcoholism. Researchers have found that cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) is able to block the reward pathway for alcohol consumption. Dampening the positive effects felt when consuming alcohol will hopefully lower the need to drink felt by those suffering from alcohol […]
The head of the labor union that represents U.S. Border Patrol agents acknowledged that states that legalize marijuana are disrupting cartel activity. While National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd was attempting to downplay the impact of legalization, he seemed to inadvertently make a case for the regulation all illicit drugs by arguing that cartels […]
Los Angeles County, California is set to expunge 66,000 cannabis-related convictions, including 62,000 felony convictions and 4,000 misdemeanor convictions dating back to the early 1960s. District Attorney Jackie Lacey, who filed the motion to erase the convictions, said her office went above and beyond what current cannabis laws require and dismissed felonies for cultivation, transporting, […]
President Trump’s budget proposal for the fiscal year 2021 would remove a rider containing protections for state-legal medical cannabis programs; congressional lawmakers, however, are expected to override the move. The proposal also includes restrictions to block Washington D.C., where cannabis possession and personal cultivation are legal, from establishing an adult-use marketplace. See the original article […]
Virginia lawmakers have passed legislation that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Those caught with the drug would instead receive a fine of no more than $25. See the original article at WRIC
The USDA created a pilot hemp insurance program that covers against loss of yield for hemp grown for fiber, grain, or CBD; the agency also gave hemp farmers access to the federal Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. To be eligible for the pilot program, hemp producers must have at least one year of production history […]
The Virginia House of Delegates approved a bill to decriminalize marijuana on Monday, and the Senate is expected to pass similar legislation later this week. The House-passed proposal would make simple possession a civil penalty punishable by a maximum $25 fine. Current policy stipulates that a first offense is punishable by a maximum $500 fine […]
A newly filed proposed ballot initiative would repeal the section of the Colorado Constitution that says cannabis “should be legal for persons twenty-one years of age or older and taxed in a manner similar to alcohol.” The measure, submitted to state officials for review last month, would not change Colorado laws concerning medical cannabis or […]
According to a recent poll, 9 out of 10 people living in Kentucky support the legalization of medical cannabis, up from 78% in 2012. 95 percent of Democrats, 92 percent of independents, and 90 percent of Republicans support some form of reform. The poll also found 59 percent support for allowing adults to buy and […]
Washington’s well-publicized “10 percent concentrates bill” has been stopped in committee for the 2020 session. HB 2546, “Concerning the Potency of Marijuana Products,” would have limited cannabis concentrates in the state at just 10 percent potency for THC. See the original article at Ganjapreneur
Illinois cannabis shops brought in nearly $40 million in the first month of legal recreational marijuana sales, the state’s Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced. During the 31-day period, almost 1 million individual marijuana products were sold across the state. Many of those transactions came from out-of-state cannabis tourists, who purchased $8.6 million worth of […]
Former New York City Mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg called efforts to legalize marijuana “perhaps the stupidest thing anybody has ever done.” The position from the billionaire politician would seem to be out of step with Democratic leaders in his state and liberal voters nationwide. See the original article at Newsweek
In 2018, cannabis offenses amounted to 40% of the 1.65 million total drug arrests in the U.S. The second-largest category of drug arrests involved “other” drugs (29%), followed by heroin, cocaine or their derivatives (25%) and synthetic or manufactured drugs (6%). See the original article on Pew Research
Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) campaign is encouraging the candidate to promptly legalize marijuana without waiting for Congress if he is elected to the White House. Directing the Justice Department to reclassify cannabis under federal law is among dozens of executive actions that are under consideration for Sanders’s “first days as president.” See the original article […]
According to a new study, cannabinoids CBC (cannabichromene) and CBG (cannabigerol) both exhibit anti-tumor properties, tested on human gastrointestinal cancer cells. CBC and CBG were both shown to induce significantly higher rates of necrosis in GI cancer cells compared to other cannabinoids, thus strengthening previously obtained results. See the original article on Cannabis Business Times
California officials announced that marijuana vape cartridges seized in illegal shops in Los Angeles contained potentially dangerous additives, including a thickening agent blamed for a national outbreak of deadly lung illnesses tied to vaping. Officials also found that the illegal vapes typically were not as potent as advertised, and sometimes contained just a fraction of the THC claimed […]
President Trump could be heard saying that using marijuana makes people “lose IQ points” in a secretly recorded conversation released on Saturday. “In Colorado they have more accidents,” the president said in the clip captured by Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump attorney Rudolph Giuliani, who is at the center of the Ukraine scandal that […]