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New CA & WA cannabis consumer employment protection laws (Newsletter: December 29, 2023)
Top 2023 global marijuana developments; Psychedelics momentum this year; Large federally supported cannabis study
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
A bipartisan group of Wisconsin lawmakers formally filed a marijuana decriminalization bill that they hope can advance in the 2024 session.
New California and Washington State laws taking effect on Monday, January 1 will provide new employment-related protections for marijuana consumers.
John Hopkins University announced a new-large scale study that will track 10,000 medical cannabis patients over a year or more to investigate dosing, delivery methods, chemical composition of products and other issues—supported with a $10 million federal grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Marijuana legalization advancements in countries like Germany, Colombia, Luxembourg and others this year were among the top international cannabis policy developments of 2023.
The psychedelics policy reform movement saw historic wins in 2023—including federal research legislation being signed into law, state-legal psilocybin access rolling out, a first-ever congressional hearing and an FDA application to legalize MDMA.
/ FEDERAL
Senate Banking Committee Democrats included the panel’s passage of a cannabis banking bill on a list of 2023 highlights.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) tweeted, “A historic step by @POTUS in pardoning all federal marijuana possession cases, something I’ve been working towards for years. It’s more than ensuring policy keeps up with reality—it’s about correcting historic injustice, primarily against Black Americans.”
/ STATES
Ohio’s lieutenant governor is calling on lawmakers to put “safeguards” on legal recreational marijuana. Separately, regulators issued a recall of medical cannabis edibles over defective tamper-evident seals.
A New Hampshire representative tweeted, “Spent the day chatting with some cannabis farmers in Maine in preparation to defend my therapeutic home-grown bill. Fascinating discussion, learned so much. Therapeutic cannabis is medicine. Let’s make sure the program is protected in NH.”
Mississippi regulators said medical cannabis products that were placed on an administrative hold are being retested.
Alabama regulators are facing challenges from multiple companies that were denied medical cannabis business licenses, but they plan to issue licenses on Friday unless a court intervenes.
Vermont regulators published revised guidance on marijuana product registration.
Missouri regulators extended a variance for testing for vitamin E acetate in cannabis products.
Regulatory control of Virginia’s medical marijuana program is set to shift to the Cannabis Control Authority on Monday.
Several revisions to Oklahoma’s medical cannabis laws will take effect on Monday.
The New York Cannabis Control Board will meet on Friday.
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/ INTERNATIONAL
Amsterdam, Netherlands officials are hosting a drug policy conference on January 26.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study of pain patients found that “most participants experienced their therapy with cannabinoids as more effective than their previous therapy. “
A study found that “psilocybin prevents activity-based anorexia in female rats by enhancing cognitive flexibility.”
/ BUSINESS
CannXperts hired a former top Oregon marijuana regulator as director of regulatory strategy and business development.
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