Newsletter
Cannabis “DOOBIE Act” filed in Senate (Newsletter: July 17, 2024)
Delta-8 THC warnings; Biden talks marijuana at NAACP; NIDA head: decrim; Fed cannabis standards vote; PA 280E error; Psilocybin & consciousness study
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
President Joe Biden said at the NAACP National Convention that his administration is “making sure” people are not incarcerated over marijuana possession, while arguing that prior cannabis convictions should also be expunged.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) filed a bill to protect people from being denied federal employment or security clearances over past marijuana use. It’s called the Dismantling Outdated Obstacles and Barriers to Individual Employment (DOOBIE) Act.
The Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission sent warning letters to companies that allegedly sold delta-8 THC products “in packaging deceptively similar to many foods children eat such as Froot Loops and Chips Ahoy! chocolate chip cookies.”
The National Conference of Weights and Measures will vote this week on adding new provisions on acceptable moisture loss in marijuana and hemp plant material to a federal handbook on packaged goods.
National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow said that “moving away from criminalization of substance use disorders toward a public-health approach would remove a key structural practice that perpetuates inequalities” and argued that it is “inaccurate and dangerous” to claim that “simply stopping someone from taking drugs while in jail or prison is an effective approach to treatment.”
Pennsylvania medical cannabis dispensaries were inadvertently left out of a provision providing 280E tax relief to the industry in a bill signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro (D). It’s not clear if the error can be fixed without passing additional legislation.
A new scientific review says that “psilocybin mushrooms may have intervened as a factor in the evolution of human consciousness”—proposing that the psychedelic “could have contributed to the improvement in visual abilities and the reproductive success of” of pre-human hominids that ingested it.
Missouri marijuana manufacturer Delta Extraction, which faced a massive product recall in the state, is being sued by a former contractor over $20 million in allegedly unpaid invoices and loss of revenue.
/ FEDERAL
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) cited a case involving Curaleaf in a letter accusing the National Labor Relations Board of a “troubling pattern of politically-motivated decision making.”
Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA) spoke about his marijuana expungements bill.
/ STATES
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) touted enforcement actions against illicit marijuana grow sites.
The North Carolina Supreme Court is being asked to take up a case about police using the smell of marijuana as justification for searches.
Oklahoma regulators adopted revisions to medical cannabis rules.
Oregon regulators are threatening to revoke approval of a psilocybin services facilitator training program that says it is a religious practice.
Vermont regulators published guidance about cannabis packaging container sanitation.
Utah regulators sent updates about changes to the state’s medical cannabis verification system, the implications of federal marijuana rescheduling and petitioning the Compassionate Use Board.
Missouri regulators are promoting a Minority Cannabis Business Association workshop on Saturday.
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/ LOCAL
The Charleston, West Virginia City Council is continuing to consider a marijuana decriminalization proposal.
Former Jersey City, New Jersey police officers who were fired for off-duty marijuana use are asking a federal judge to dismiss the city’s lawsuit against a state policy that says they should have been able to keep their jobs.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Bahamian Prime Minister Phillip Davis said he is supporting legislation to legalize medical and religious use of cannabis and to decriminalize marijuana use more broadly.
Malta’s top marijuana regulator said the government is not looking to impose a cap on the number of cannabis associations that can be created.
The Isle of Man’s health minister said a medicinal cannabis dispensing service should give patients “more choice” and “lower prices.”
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study found “an increase in the frequency of marijuana use and a decrease in driving under the influence of marijuana in states with legalized medical marijuana use relative to those states where it remained illegal.”
A study found that “there was no evidence that prenatal cannabis exposure increases the risk for” autism spectrum disorder.
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
The NAACP’s president and CEO said the organization looks forward to continuing to work with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) on cannabis reform and other issues.
/ BUSINESS
SNDL Inc. announced a restructuring project.
Michigan retailers sold $278.8 million worth of legal marijuana products in June.
Colorado retailers sold $113.2 million worth of legal marijuana products in May.
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