Newsletter
Denver voters reject psychedelic mushroom decrim measure (Newsletter: May 8, 2019)
Congress cancels marijuana votes; Feds send memo on CBD & hemp trademarks; Lawmakers push DEA on cannabis research; 1,000-year-old drug stash found
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
Voters in Denver, Colorado narrowly defeated a ballot measure that would have made the city the first in the U.S. to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms.
The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee canceled planned votes on two marijuana bills scheduled for Wednesday and will instead hold a hearing on the issue on an unspecified date in the future.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a memo clarifying that it will approve applications to register certain CBD and hemp products in light of the Farm Bill’s legalization of the crop.
Thirty members of Congress—including three presidential candidates—sent a letter urging the Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration to stop stalling on expanding the supply of research-grade marijuana.
Researchers uncovered a 1,000-year-old psychedelic drug stash in a pouch made out of three fox snouts.
/ FEDERAL
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), a presidential candidate, spoke about how legalizing marijuana can help keep it away from kids, and pledged to work to expunge past cannabis convictions.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said the chances of passing marijuana banking legislation in the Senate are increasing.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) tweeted, “No one should go to jail for possession of marijuana.”
Rep. Max Rose (D-NY) said that marijuana should be rescheduled, in part so that Department of Veterans Affairs doctors can prescribe it.
/ STATES
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed a bill broadening the pool of physicians that can recommend medical cannabis.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) said he is “concerned” about the implications of a marijuana decriminalization bill that’s on his desk.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) wants to use $80 million in marijuana tax revenue to pay for child care programs.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) has some concerns about the legalization of CBD through a hemp bill, a senator said during an Agriculture Committee hearing on the House-passed legislation. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives gave third-reading approval to a bill to expand the state’s limited medical cannabis law and advanced similar legislation on second reading.
Michigan’s attorney general created a legal marijuana workgroup.
Illinois’s treasurer tweeted, “Updates to Illinois’ banking laws are overdue because laws written decades ago to squeeze illegal drug cartels don’t reflect today’s reality that 33 states and the District of Columbia have now legalized cannabis in some form.”
The Louisiana House of Representatives approved a hemp legalization bill that includes a framework for legal CBD sales. Meanwhile, the House Health and Welfare Committee approved legislation to move oversight of the state’s medical cannabis program from the Department of Agriculture and Forestry to the Department of Health.
The Vermont House Ways and Means Committee began considering a Senate-passed bill to legalize marijuana sales.
The New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee held a second hearing on a House-passed marijuana legalization bill, and former White House Drug Czar John Walters testified in opposition.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture is being “swamped” with applications to grow hemp.
Alaska regulators will meet on May 15 to consider marijuana licenses.
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/LOCAL
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s district attorney said he is “very close” to implementing a policy of not prosecuting low-level drug possession.
Macon-Bibb County, Georgia commissioners are expected to vote on a marijuana decriminalization proposal on May 21.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania City Council candidates supported decriminalizing marijuana during a forum.
/ INTERNATIONAL
A court in Myanmar approved the extended detention of an American accused of illegally growing marijuana.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study of mice found that “CBD may be therapeutically useful to treat aggressive behaviors that are usually associated with psychiatric disorders.”
A study concluded that CBD “reduced anxiety-like behaviour” in mice.
A study found that “MDMA-assisted psychotherapy was efficacious and well tolerated in a large sample of adults with PTSD.”
Researchers investigated “a brand new method for successful conversion of biodiesel derived through alkali-catalyzed transesterification of Cannabis sativa L. oil using a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor.”
/ OPINION & ANALYSIS
A poll found that likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters support legalizing marijuana, 86%-11%.
A poll of likely Virginia Democratic primary voters found that 97% support marijuana decriminalization legislation, with 7% opposed.
/ BUSINESS
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is selling CBD products.
The New York Times looks at how designers are approaching marijuana products and dispensaries.
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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia/Workman.
