Newsletter
Cannabis banking sponsor vows to ‘get that darn thing passed’ (Newsletter: January 18, 2022)
NIDA head: ‘train has left the station’ on psychedelics; KS medical marijuana hearings canceled; Study: Cannabis users have better sexual function
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow said “the train has left the station” when it comes to psychedelics’ popularity. She also spoke about how Schedule I blocks research.
- “People are going to start to use it whether FDA approves or not.”
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), who recently announced he is not running for reelection, said he’s still “pretty irritated” that Senate Democrats have blocked his marijuana banking bill, but vowed that he’s “gonna get that darn thing passed this year while I still serve out my term.”
Kansas’s House-passed medical cannabis bill has encountered a major hurdle as the Senate president rerouted it to a committee he controls and cancelled hearings that were scheduled for this week in a separate panel.
A new study found that “young people who use cannabis frequently, regardless of gender, have better overall sexual function.”
- “This improvement is usually associated with a reduction in anxiety and shame, which facilitates sexual relationships.”
/ FEDERAL
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) tweeted, “Another reason to support my States Reform Act: a study found that ‘compounds found in cannabis are able to prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering healthy human cells and causing infection.'”
California Democratic congressional candidate Roland Ernst works in the cannabis industry as a lab analyst.
/ STATES
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) said during her State of the State address that she’s focused on “making sure South Dakota has the safest, most responsible, and well-run medical cannabis program in the country.”
A Pennsylvania representative said she hopes to be “patient number one” to use therapeutic psilocybin under a bill she is sponsoring.
New Mexico regulators issued an emergency rule that doubles plant count limits for cultivators.
Oklahoma regulators proposed emergency medical cannabis rules.
Utah regulators proposed rules on hemp cultivation licenses and cannabis testing.
New Jersey regulators are considering complaints of alleged price gouging by medical cannabis businesses.
The Montana Legislative Services Division published an analysis of a law that allows federally recognized Indian tribes to sell marijuana across most of the state.
Washington, D.C. regulators are posting responses to questions about the medical cannabis business license application process.
Nebraska’s Criminal Justice Reinvestment Working Group considered, but was divided on, recommending defelonizing drug possession.
South Carolina regulators posted lists of permitted hemp transporters and brokers.
California’s Industrial Hemp Advisory Board will meet on Thursday.
Florida’s Hemp Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday.
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/ LOCAL
The Austin, Texas City Council will consider a marijuana decriminalization proposal on Tuesday.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Costa Rican President President Carlos Alvarado is being asked by another presidential candidate not to veto medical cannabis and hemp legislation.
The UK Labour Party’s leader reiterated his opposition to legalizing marijuana.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review concluded that “available evidence suggests cannabinoids may be effective for the treatment of various inflammatory skin disorders.“
A study demonstrated that “states with higher levels of direct democracy – where voters can more easily initiate policy change by way of initiatives and referenda, and where state legislatures are limited in their capacity to alter voter initiatives – exhibited higher probabilities of legalizing marijuana for recreational use.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Hemp Industries Association announced new members of its board of directors.
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