Newsletter
North Dakota legal cannabis measure qualifies for ballot (Newsletter: August 14, 2018)
New MPP executive director; UN launches first-ever marijuana review; McConnell visits another hemp facility
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
North Dakota activists collected enough signatures to qualify a far-reaching marijuana legalization initiative for the November ballot, the secretary of state’s office determined. The measure sets no limits on possession amounts or plant counts.
The Marijuana Policy Project has a new executive director. Steve Hawkins, who is taking over this week, previously worked at the NAACP and Amnesty International.
The United Nations World Health Organization has agreed to conduct a first-ever critical review of whether marijuana and its extracts and compounds are properly classified under international drug treaties. In a related move, a critical review of CBD concluded that the substance “has been found to be generally well tolerated with a good safety profile” and does not meet the criteria for being controlled under the conventions.
/ FEDERAL
The U.S. attorney for Colorado touted previous prosecutions for marijuana growing on public lands as harvest season approaches.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles office tweeted, “Don’t poison your baby by using #marijuana during pregnancy. Check out this link for the dangers of #pot + #pregnancy. It is also illegal in #Cali to possess #marijuana. Don’t ruin the life of your unborn child.”
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) toured a hemp processing facility.
North Dakota’s two U.S. senators and House member discussed the state’s marijuana legalization ballot measure.
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) said she intends to support at least one of Missouri’s medical cannabis ballot measures.
U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) tweeted, “Decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level isn’t just the smart thing to do, it’s also the right thing to do. We can’t keep repeating the same mistakes of the past. Too many lives have been ruined by these regressive policies.”
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) tweeted, “It’s time to pass the REFER Act and prohibit federal spending on efforts to interfere in state and municipal laws dealing with cannabis use, possession, cultivation, and distribution.”
Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) tweeted, “Our fight to win back the Majority is important for several reasons, & ending the failed prohibition on marijuana is one of them.”
Georgia Democratic congressional candidate Josh McCall is hosting a marijuana rally.
/ STATES
The campaign behind one Missouri medical cannabis initiative filed lawsuits seeking to block two other measures from appearing on the ballot.
Oklahoma lawmakers and advocates are close to releasing draft medical cannabis implementation legislation. Meanwhile, regulators will discuss medical cannabis food and safety standards on Tuesday.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) spoke about the state’s legalization of marijuana in a speech at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants conference.
Michigan lawmakers are calling on Gov. Rick Snyder (R) to prevent regulators from shutting down medical cannabis businesses that miss a key license application deadline.
A Georgia court is weighing the scope of the state’s 911 medical amnesty law. Separately, the House Study Committee on Industrial Hemp Production held its first meeting.
/ LOCAL
Dallas County, Texas’s policy to avoid arrests for small amounts of marijuana has only been used in 65 out of a total of 1,544 cases.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Ontario, Canada officials announced that marijuana will be sold in private retail stores will the government will handle online sales.
/ ADVOCACY
The California League of Cities is opposing a proposed change to allow marijuana deliveries in municipalities that ban retail sales.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study concluded that “CBD was associated with sustained reduction in seizure frequency and severity at 24 months.”
Research on impaired driving found that “higher CBD levels predicted greater impairment” and that “there was relatively little evidence of impairment when CBD was zero, even at high THC levels,” suggesting that “THC concentrations alone are not sufficient to predict impairment due to cannabis use.”
A study of mice found that cannabinoids help control and prevent intestinal inflammation.
/ OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Tulsa World editorial board defended Oklahoma colleges’ decision to ban medical cannabis from campus.
/ BUSINESS
A doctor named Sanjay Gupta signed a branding agreement for CBD products with Tree of Knowledge International, and Hemp Industry Daily initially incorrectly reported that it was the CNN star of the same name.
Harborside is going public through a reverse takeover of a Canadian company.
Canadian marijuana industry job postings have more than quadrupled in a year, one site found.
/ CULTURE
Hackers at the Def Con conference demonstrated artificial intelligence software that can determine the health of cannabis plants by looking at photos of them.
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Photo courtesy of Carlos Gracia.
