Newsletter
No loans for cannabis businesses, Trump administration says (Newsletter: May 1, 2018)
Pelosi touts marijuana as opioid alternative; AK lawmakers tell feds to back off; NFL player denied medical cannabis exemption
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The U.S. Small Business Administration quietly issued a document saying that businesses that work with the marijuana industry aren’t eligible for federally backed loans.
U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) suggested that more doctors should recommend medical marijuana and yoga instead of doling out so many opioid prescriptions.
/ FEDERAL
A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman said that safe injection facilities for illegal drug consumers would be “subject to being prosecuted.”
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Washington, D.C. local leaders will hold a Wednesday press conference about congressional interference with the city’s marijuana laws and other policies.
The Washington Examiner looks at shifting attitudes on drug policy in Congress, including some Republican opposition to requiring drug testing for food stamp recipients.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) tweeted in support of moves to expunge marijuana convictions.
Indiana Republican U.S. Senate candidates debated medical cannabis.
West Virginia Republican U.S. Senate candidate Don Blankenship said in a campaign ad that a goal would be to “ditch cocaine Mitch,” referring to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
/ STATES
The Alaska legislature approved a resolution urging the federal government to respect the state’s marijuana laws.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) spoke about the successful implementation of marijuana legalization in his state. He also signed into law bills allowing marijuana quality control testing and repealing the local government retail marijuana impact grant program. And a senator is seeking to revive a measure requiring the tracking of marijuana by adding a foreign agent to products.
Idaho Republican gubernatorial candidates debated CBD.
A proposed Iowa medical cannabis expansion bil appears dead amid opposition from the House speaker.
The office of Ohio’s auditor found another error in how regulators scored medical cannabis business license applications.
California regulators are scrambling to extend temporary marijuana business licenses set to expire by Tuesday. Separately, they suggested that cannabis delivery service Eaze may need to be licensed.
North Dakota regulators released draft application materials for medical cannabis dispensary licenses.
Oregon regulators are considering increasing the penalties for selling marijuana to minors.
Florida regulators are facing a new lawsuit seeking to halt medical cannabis cultivation licensing.
Idaho activists stopped collecting signatures for a proposed medical cannabis ballot measure.
Oklahoma’s secretary of state cleared two proposed marijuana ballot measures for signature collection.
/ LOCAL
Most Trenton, New Jersey mayoral candidates support legalizing marijuana.
A Denver, Colorado hearing officer ruled that the Sweet Leaf dispensary chain should lose its licenses following the discovery of an alleged illegal marijuana sales scheme.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A survey found that older people who use medical cannabis reduce their use of opioids.
A study tracking marijuana sales in Washington State found that “prices fell steadily and proportionally at the processor and retailer levels.”
A study of police in Colorado found that they “did not have adverse thoughts or feelings about the departmental policies that allowed for the hiring of an individual with a history of marijuana use, as long as those individuals met departmental standards and recreational marijuana policy.”
/ CULTURE
The National Football League denied a player’s application for a therapeutic use exemption for medical cannabis.
Former Fox News host Eric Bolling, whose son died of a drug overdose, says he’s hopeful cannabis can be an alternative to opioids.
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