Newsletter
DEA will finally act on cannabis growing apps, agency says (Newsletter: August 27, 2019)
Minnesota gov directs state to prep for legal marijuana; Poll: Americans say cannabis much safer than alcohol or tobacco; Study: MDMA helps PTSD
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The Drug Enforcement Administration announced it is finally going to process long-delayed applications to grow marijuana to be used in research.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) directed state agencies to start preparing for the legalization of marijuana.
- “My agencies have been tasked to put all of the building blocks in place, from Revenue to the Department of Public Safety to the Department of Health. We will have everything ready to go, and we will be able to implement it in Minnesota the minute the Legislature moves this.”
A poll found that Americans view marijuana—which the federal government still classifies as an illegal Schedule I substance—as far less harmful than alcohol or tobacco, which adults can buy at stores in almost any neighborhood.
A scientific review concluded that “MDMA-assisted psychotherapy appears to be a potentially safe, effective, and durable treatment for individuals with chronic, treatment-refractory PTSD.”
/ FEDERAL
The director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System said that the issue of medical cannabis is a “tough one.”
The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs attempted to distance itself from Colombia’s coca eradication efforts in a tweet responding to the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added questions on marijuana use during pregnancy to a birth defects study.
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), a presidential candidate, tweeted about a court ruling ordering Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for its role in the opioid crisis, saying, “About damn time. We can’t accept living in a country where Americans are in jail for possessing marijuana—but not a single Pharma exec has spent even a night behind bars for the opioid crisis. The least they can do is pay up.”
Presidential candidate Andrew Yang (D) launched an online petition in support of marijuana legalization.
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) tweeted, “I’m glad to see this decision from the DEA. Allowing for more #cannabis research is past due and this is only one step in the right direction. This allows for better research to inform future regulation.”
Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) met with farmers to discuss hemp.
/ STATES
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) marijuana legalization working group will hold its next meeting on August 28.
The California Assembly approved a bill to let school boards decide whether parents can give medical cannabis to students at schools.
An Ohio judge ruled that regulators must award an operating license to a medical cannabis dispensary even while the legality of its ownership change is being challenged.
West Virginia regulators selected Element Federal Credit Union to handle banking for the state’s medical cannabis program.
A Rhode Island judge blocked Acreage Holdings from buying a medical cannabis dispensary amid accusations of violating a no-compete contract provision.
Colorado regulators announced that marijuana products will have to be tested for mycotoxin contamination starting next month.
Washington State regulators sent an update on pending marijuana packaging and labeling rules.
Michigan regulators published a fact sheet about health and safety hazards in the marijuana industry.
Guam regulators issued a new fact sheet on the territory’s marijuana laws.
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/ LOCAL
Vermillion, Ohio police said they will no longer pursue misdemeanor marijuana cases in light of hemp-related confusion.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly offered to take steps to legalize marijuana if the Zehut party leader drops out of next month’s elections.
The Canadian government is in talks with First Nations leaders about jurisdiction over marijuana businesses on their territories.
The head of Syria’s Anti-Narcotics Department has been arrested on suspicion of facilitating drug trafficking.
/ ADVOCACY
A prohibitionist group called Cannabis Industry Victims Educating Litigators is aiming to influence lawyers to sue the marijuana industry.
Trial lawyer John Morgan, who funded Florida’s 2016 medical cannabis ballot measure, tweeted this about competing marijuana legalization initiatives being floated for 2020: “I support #homegrow 100%. But @RegulateFlorida has ZERO chance in 2020. If recreational passes what cop is ever going to be looking for homegrown? Would you rather have recreational #cannabis or not? It’s easy. Let’s not fight, let’s unite.”
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review concluded that “research and development of agonists or antagonists of CB1 and CB2 receptors may become a promising direction of treatment in [Parkinson’s disease].”
A study found that “relative to adolescent cannabis users who had not used concentrates, adolescent concentrate users were more likely to use other substances and to experience more risk factors, and fewer protective factors, for substance use problems across numerous life domains.”
/ OPINION & ANALYSIS
A poll found that Florida likely voters support legalizing marijuana, 67%-29%.
The Rapid City Journal editorial board and the Argus Leader editorial board are criticizing South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) for opposing hemp legalization.
/ BUSINESS
Monroe Capital LLC provided a $50 million senior secured credit facility to KushCo Holdings Inc.
Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. signed a sale-leaseback agreement worth $28.3 million for six of its properties in Florida, Massachusetts and New Jersey.
Canopy Growth Corp. walked back a plan to partner on a cannabis facility with the Kahnawake Mohawk nation.
United Food and Commercial Workers announced that it unionized employees at five California marijuana dispensaries in the past month.
/ CULTURE
Musician Everlast told podcaster Joe Rogan about the time he inadvertently smuggled marijuana into Japan.
Comedian Chelsea Handler tweeted, “A shipment of jalapenos from Mexico to the US had 4 tons of marijuana hidden in the cargo. In completely unrelated news, my weed line comes out this fall.”
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