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More GOP lawmakers slam cannabis rescheduling (Newsletter: July 29, 2024)
EPA funds hempcrete project; Study: Marijuana aids opioid withdrawal; MO investigates equity cannabis license contracts; ND cops on legalization
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are demanding an explanation from the Biden administration for what they said is the “unusual” marijuana review that led to a rescheduling recommendation.
Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) claimed in a House floor speech that rescheduling marijuana and passing a cannabis banking bill would “prop up this immoral industry” and give a “green light to the evil that comes from drug use.”
The Environmental Protection Agency awarded $6.2 million to the Hemp Building Institute to support the development of hempcrete, a concrete alternative that provides a “unique opportunity to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the built environment.”
A new federally funded study found that “using cannabis to provide rapid and ongoing relief from opioid withdrawal symptoms led to less frequent opioid use.”
- “Participants emphasized low barrier access due to legalization and numerous dispensaries as a resource that facilitates co-using cannabis for reduced opioid use.”
North Dakota police officials are divided over the marijuana legalization initiative that may appear on the state’s November ballot.
The Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation is investigating whether marijuana microbusiness licenses connected to the leader of the state’s successful legalization campaign “continue to be majority owned and operated by eligible individuals” amid accusations that the contracts used were “predatory.”
/ FEDERAL
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy appointed members to its Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board.
Rep;. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) spoke in a House floor speech about immigrants being “forced to work at gunpoint in illegal marijuana farms.”
/ STATES
U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. (D) nominated four people for positions on the Cannabis Advisory Board.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochlul (D) sent a press release celebrating the opening of the state’s 150th licensed marijuana dispensary. Separately, at least four key Office of Cannabis Management staffers have recently resigned.
Massachusetts’s treasurer has paid a private law firm hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of an effort to suspend and potentially remove the chair of the Cannabis Control Commission.
Florida’s marijuana legalization campaign received another $5 million contribution from Trulieve.
Missouri officials are being sued by a woman who says she was improperly found to be in violation of the terms of her probation due to medical cannabis use.
Michigan regulators published marijuana business break-in data.
California regulators are recruiting people to serve on the Cannabis Advisory Committee.
Vermont regulators launching new marijuana inventory tracking forms.
Connecticut officials touted enforcement actions involving the seizure of potentially illegal cannabis products.
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/ LOCAL
The Littleton, Colorado City Council is considering putting a marijuana tax question on the November ballot.
Colorado Springs, Colorado voters are likely to see competing measures on the November ballot to allow or ban recreational marijuana businesses.
/ INTERNATIONAL
The leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union said marijuana legalization would most likely be reversed if his party takes power.
The leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel was arrested in the U.S.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study suggested “a growing interest in CBD as a potential adjunctive therapy for individuals in substance use treatment,” noting that “some patients are already using CBD for anxiety, pain, sleep, depression, or as a harm reduction intervention to control their addiction or for opioid withdrawal symptoms.”
A study of mice found that “treatment with high CBG hemp extract reduces the severity of symptoms associated with colitis.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
A poll of Miami, Florida residents found that they support the marijuana legalization initiative on the state’s November ballot, 55 percent to 37 percent, though the measure needs at least 60 percent support statewide to pass.
The Los Angeles Times editorial board said California marijuana regulators are “failing consumers and the legal market by allowing contaminated weed to be certified and sold as safe.”
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