Newsletter
FDA exploring options for CBD regulation (Newsletter: Feb. 27, 2019)
Fed chair wants marijuana banking clarity; Vermont legal cannabis bill advances to floor vote; NY gov & NYC mayor want marijuana money for subways
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said his agency is investigating “possible alternative approaches” to regulating CBD products.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell called for clarity on marijuana businesses’ access to banks during a Senate hearing.
The Vermont Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill to legalize marijuana sales, with a vote in the full chamber now expected on Thursday.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) are proposing setting aside some marijuana legalization tax revenue to fund subways and other transit projects.
Legislative committees in four states have voted to advance marijuana legalization bills over the course of February.
/ FEDERAL
Federal prosecutors charged three people with allegedly conspiring with a Los Angeles, California sheriff’s deputy to steal more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana.
The House bill to require the Department of Justice to license more growers of marijuana for research got one new cosponsor, for a total of eight.
/ STATES
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) said he is working to pass hemp legislation.
Florida’s new financial regulation commissioner said that marijuana businesses should be able to access banks.
California’s attorney general spoke about the challenges of marijuana enforcement. Separately, a judge ruled against a licensed marijuana distributor’s request for an injunction against the California Highway Patrol from involving federal agencies in cash seizures.
New Jersey’s health commissioner spoke about federal barriers to marijuana research.
Virginia lawmakers sent Gov. Ralph Northam (D) a bill to let prosecutors charge drug distributors and manufacturers with felony homicide if their customers fatally overdose.
The South Dakota House of Representatives voted to set aside money to create a hemp licensing system.
The Georgia House of Representatives approved a bill to legalize syringe exchange programs.
Iowa’s House speaker spoke about support for expanding the state’s limited CBD medical cannabis law.
The New Hampshire House Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee approved a bill to allow medical cannabis patients to grow their own medicine.
An Oklahoma House committee approved a bill to make penalties for low-level marijuana possession uniform across the state. And a Senate committee advances legislation to prevent state officials from denying gun licenses to medical cannabis patients.
The West Virginia House of Delegates is expected to vote on a bill on Wednesday that would allow vertical integration for medical cannabis companies and add requirements for doctors who recommend the drug, among other changes.
The South Carolina Medical Affairs Subcommittee will hold a hearing on medical cannabis legislation on Wednesday.
A North Dakota representative who sponsored a marijuana decriminalization bill that was recently narrowly defeated by the House says she is working to attach its language to separate legislation. Separately, the state Supreme Court opted not to take up a case on the legality of hemp-derived CBD.
Arkansas senators filed a bill to restrict medical cannabis advertising.
Michigan regulators recalled additional medical cannabis products.
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/ ADVOCACY
The Democratic Party of Arkansas criticized a Republican senator’s bill to ban medical cannabis edibles.
The Republican Party of New York tweeted, “There are more fatal car crashes in states that have legalized recreational marijuana but Albany Democrats are more focused on appeasing their liberal base than the safety of New Yorkers.”
Prohibitionist author Alex Berenson seemed to suggest that filmmaker Spike Jonze could be held legally liable for his involvement in a commercial on the history of marijuana prohibition that he directed for MedMen.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review of studies on chronic kidney disease concluded that “those treated with nonsynthetic cannabinoids were 43% to 300% more likely to report a ≥30% reduction in chronic neuropathic pain compared with placebo.”
A study of mice found that “cannabinoids can provide long-term relief of chronic pain states.”
A study found that “seeking and scanning for information about medical cannabis from online sources, but not from mass media sources, were associated with positive attitudes toward medical cannabis” and that “engagement with medical cannabis information from online sources was also indirectly associated with greater support for cannabis legalization, through positive attitudes related to medical cannabis.”
A study on extracting compounds from hemp using a continuous steam treatment found that “compounds with potentially useful applications, such as in medicine and in the chemical industry, were also identified in the extracts.”
/ OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Agweek editorial board is “more than a bit disappointed” in South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) for opposing hemp legalization.
/ BUSINESS
Aurora Cannabis Inc. is acquiring a 51% ownership stake in Portuguese company Gaia Pharm Lda.
GW Pharmaceuticals’s stock jumped after the company reported quarterly results including the first sales of its CBD drug Epidiolex.
/ CULTURE
Actress Melissa McCarthy used CBD oil on her toes to deal with pain caused by high heels she wore to the Oscars.
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