Newsletter
Canadian lawmakers approve legalization bill (Newsletter: Nov. 28, 2017)
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CT governor candidates debate cannabis; V.A. still wrong on marijuana laws; IL legalization hearing
TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The Canadian House of Commons voted 200-82 to approve the government’s marijuana legalization bill on third reading, sending it to the Senate.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cannabis-legalization-legislation-1.4421910
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https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/935311771367227392
Conservative senators are threatening to hold up the legislation.
https://globalnews.ca/news/3884108/tories-marijuana-bill-c-45-senate/
Illinois lawmakers will hold a marijuana legalization hearing on Tuesday.
http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51609/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1365273
A survey found that more Americans think using social media and texting while driving is more dangerous than driving under the influence of marijuana.
https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-11-28/new-poll-shows-americans-consider-texting-more-dangerous-than-marijuana-while-driving
FEDERAL
U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko testified before Congress that there is “no strategy” for countering the nation’s illegal drug trade.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?437618-2/washington-journal-news-headlines-viewer-calls&start=5601
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs continues to incorrectly claim that “federal Law prohibits VA physicians from…completing forms/paperwork necessary for patients to enroll in State marijuana programs.” No such statute exists; only internal department policy blocks its physicians from recommending state-legal medical cannabis.
http://ktvl.com/news/local/medical-consultants-and-the-va-weigh-in-on-medical-marijuana
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) spoke about efforts to reform federal marijuana laws:
- “For years, Big Pharma has played a major role in preventing cannabis research by lobbying Congress for more stringent and outdated cannabis regulation laws, as well as partnering with Tobacco and Alcohol special interest groups to fund anti-legalization campaigns.”
A former Seattle, Washington police officer pleaded guilty to federal charges of trafficking marijuana to the East Coast.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/former-seattle-police-officer-pleads-guilty-role-drug-conspiracy-transporting-large
The U.S. Senate bill to undo the 280E tax penalty on marijuana businesses got one new cosponsor, bringing the total to six.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/777/cosponsors?pageSort=lastToFirst
STATES
In a gubernatorial campaign email, Middletown, Connecticut Mayor Dan Drew (D) wrote about the benefits of legalizing marijuana:
- “By regulating our marijuana markets and ending a lengthy prohibition, Connecticut can create a new agricultural sector in the Connecticut River Valley. The state can protect the tens of thousands of Connecticut cannabis consumers from tainted products and unknown potencies. Our government can stop the destructive drug policies that disproportionately impact both poor and minority communities. Legalizing marijuana will help raise revenue to fix Connecticut’s budget crisis.”
https://patch.com/connecticut/middletown-ct/drew-vows-legalize-marijuana-if-elected-governor
Drew and other candidates will discuss marijuana policy at a debate hosted by pro-legalization groups on Tuesday.
http://www.wfsb.com/story/36932824/first-gubernatorial-debate-to-focus-on-marijuana
Police in Hawaii are asking medical cannabis patients to voluntarily surrender firearms to comply with state and federal gun policies.
https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/surrender-your-guns-police-tell-hawaiian-medical-marijuana-patients
A New Hampshire banking regulator testified about the cannabis industry’s financial services access issues before the state’s marijuana legalization study commission.
http://nhpr.org/post/marijuana-legalization-nh-banks-weigh-reputation-risk
California tax officials will hold a public meeting to “discuss developments in income tax administration relating to the cannabis industry” next Tuesday.
https://www.ftb.ca.gov/professionals/taxnews/Editions/2017/November.shtml
The Florida Legislature’s Joint Administrative Procedures Committee will receive an update on medical cannabis implementation from regulators next Thursday.
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Calendar/2018/Interim_Calendars_2017-11-27_171129.PDF
LOCAL
The Sacramento, California City Council is expected to vote on allowing recreational marijuana businesses on Tuesday.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2017/11/27/sacramento-to-vote-tuesday-on-legalizing-recreational-marijuana/
INTERNATIONAL
The Canadian government launched a public education campaign aimed at reducing marijuana-impaired driving.
https://news.lift.co/federal-government-launches-dont-drive-high-campaign/
ADVOCACY
This article has interesting insight into a split in the Oklahoma activist community resulting in two separate groups, both called Oklahomans for Health, campaigning for a pending medical cannabis ballot measure.
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-election-date-on-medical-marijuana-remains-hazy/article/5573329
Travel writer Rick Steves and Illinois activists will hold a press conference in support of marijuana legalization legislation that lawmakers are hearing on Tuesday.
https://twitter.com/MarijuanaPolicy/status/935202312569671680
A new book examines the the rise and fall of the marijuana law reform movement in the 1970s and 80s.
https://newrepublic.com/article/145979/promise-legal-pot
SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review found “empirical support for the antipsychotic effects of CBD and indicate[d] reduced side effects, high tolerability, and superior cost-effectiveness compared to regular antipsychotic medication.”
http://openjournals.maastrichtuniversity.nl/MSJPN/article/view/278
A Kaiser Permanente survey in Washington State found that one in seven adult primary care patients — and two in five young adult patients — say they’ve used marijuana in the past year.
https://www.kpwashingtonresearch.org/news-and-events/recent-news/news-2017/patient-marijuana-use
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http://www.jabfm.org/content/30/6/795.full
A study of children and adults who inadvertently ingested marijuana products found that “pediatric patients had more severe symptoms and longer hospital length of stay, and, uniquely, a majority presented with leukocytosis and elevated lactic acid levels.”
http://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(17)31657-8/fulltext
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https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/edible-marijuana-products-pose-risks-to-children-annals-of-emergency-medicine-study-finds-300562094.html
A study concluded that “marijuana use appears to be associated with subclinical atherosclerosis, but only among ever tobacco users.”
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.14110/full
A study tried to determine the “optimum sowing rate of industrial hemp.”
http://dspace.emu.ee/xmlui/handle/10492/3498
OPINION & ANALYSIS
A poll found that New York voters support legalizing marijuana, 62% – 28%.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-yorkers-support-legalizing-marijuana-budget-fix-poll-finds/
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https://twitter.com/LizKrueger/status/935263438263275522
BUSINESS
Fourth Corner Credit Union, an aspiring state-chartered Colorado financial services provider, is scaling back its court battle to open and is now pushing only to serve advocacy groups instead of plant-touching marijuana businesses.
https://mjbizdaily.com/denver-credit-union-continues-marijuana-banking-crusade-new-lawsuit-strategy/
The Insurance Information Institute claims that legalizing marijuana could cause New Jersey car insurance premiums to rise.
http://nj1015.com/would-legal-marijuana-mean-higher-auto-insurance-rates-in-nj/
Canadian licensed marijuana producer Beleave partnered with a road safety group to rebrand some products as “consequence strains” to highlight the dangers of driving under the influence.
http://www.adweek.com/creativity/bbdo-made-marijuana-strains-whose-curious-names-will-harsh-your-mellow/
Apple removed from the app store a game that advocates said glorified the bloody Philippine “drug war.”
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/28/1763342/apple-removes-games-imitate-bloody-war-drugs
