Newsletter
GOP senator demands cannabis rescheduling explanation (Newsletter: August 15, 2024)
FL marijuana polls & official’s questionable claims; Hemp seed approved for hen feed; WA psychedelics decrim; Study on drug researchers’ own drug use
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) sent letters accusing the Department of Justice of bypassing “traditional safeguards in its haste to reschedule marijuana” and claiming that there are “apparent discrepancies” in recent Department of Health and Human Services cannabis reports.
Florida’s corrections secretary claims that if voters approve the marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot, “it is highly likely that we will see an increase in our state’s prison population thanks to increased crime.” Advocates strongly dispute that notion.
Two new Florida polls find that the marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot has majority support—but only one shows it exceeding the 60 percent supermajority needed to be enacted under state law.
The Association of American Feed Control Officials approved a Food and Drug Administration recommendation to allow the use of hemp seed meal as animal feed for egg-laying hens.
The Olympia, Washington City Council passed a psychedelics decriminalization resolution saying that “no City funds or resources should be used for investigation, prosecution, or arrest of individuals possessing or using entheogenic plants or fungi.”
A new study found that 86 percent of drug researchers reported using marijuana or other drugs themselves but that far fewer are comfortable discussing it.
- “There was a belief that while lived experience was important to their work, disclosure could seriously jeopardize careers.”
The North Dakota campaign seeking to pass a marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot is funded almost entirely by two organizations associated with current medical cannabis dispensaries.
/ FEDERAL
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said he will vote against the marijuana legalization initiative on North Dakota’s November ballot.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) tweeted that “illicit stores undermine the legal cannabis market, and we must continue to fight for their expedited closure to fulfill the social justice aims of our state marijuana laws.”
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) tweeted that a study on cannabis users being at increased risk for head and neck cancer is “another medical reason to put the brakes on recreational marijuana.”
/ STATES
Arkansas’s secretary of state claimed that the campaign behind a proposed medical cannabis expansion ballot initiative did not comply with laws for using paid signature gatherers.
A California judge rejected a cannabis testing lab’s request to have its license reinstated after it was revoked by regulators.
Rhode Island regulators posted revised hemp product rules.
Nevada regulators will consider marijuana business issues on Thursday.
Oregon regulators will receive an update from the Cannabis Industry Alliance of Oregon on Thursday.
The New York Cannabis Advisory Board will meet on August 20.
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Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,500 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
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/ LOCAL
A judge ruled that New York City officials improperly padlocked a store accused of selling marijuana without a license.
The Colorado Springs, Colorado City Council voted to place a measure on the November ballot to ban retail marijuana stores.
The San Francisco, California Cannabis Oversight Committee will meet on September 4.
/ INTERNATIONAL
A former New Should Wales, Australia chief prosecutor said drug use should be “respected as a human right.”
Canadian cross-border truck drivers appear to have maintained a consistent rate of positive marijuana drug tests as that county and a growing number of U.S. states have enacted legalization.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review concluded that most cannabis-based medicinal products “show benefit in providing symptomatic benefits in reducing anxiety, nausea, and in improving sleep, but the place of specific products is more subtle, and choice guided by specific circumstances.”
A review concluded that “when used in appropriate doses and under strict clinical control, psilocybin appears as a valuable treatment for” obsessive-compulsive disorder.
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Marijuana Policy Project is selling its office space in Washington, D.C.
/ BUSINESS
atai Life Sciences reported quarterly revenue of $273,000 and a net loss of $57.4 million.
Workers at Apothecarium and Sweetspot in Burtonsville and Olney, Maryland, respectively, voted to unionize with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400.
Aurora Cannabis Inc. shareholders elected board of directors members.
Illinois dispensaries sold $23.4 million worth of medical cannabis products in July.
/ CULTURE
Wiz Khalifa discussed the launch of his cannabis brand in Germany.
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