Newsletter
PA cannabis legalization hearing scheduled (Newsletter: October 25, 2023)
NY pushes back on fentanyl-laced marijuana claims; NH cannabis bill unveiled; Denver’s $500M in revenue; Study: what’s behind marijuana flavors?
Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day.
Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible…
Your good deed for the day: donate to an independent publisher like Marijuana Moment and ensure that as many voters as possible have access to the most in-depth cannabis reporting out there.
Support our work at https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment
/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The Pennsylvania House Health Subcommittee on Health Care has scheduled a hearing on marijuana legalization for next week—a sign the issue may finally advance under the chamber’s new Democratic majority. The chair, who plans to file a bill after a series of hearings, is considering a system of state-run dispensaries.
A New Hampshire commission charged with proposing a bill to legalize marijuana sales through state-run stores unveiled a draft measure and began going through the details—a little more than a month before its final product is due to lawmakers.
The New York Office of Cannabis Management published a fact sheet to push back on “misinformation” about marijuana being laced with fentanyl.
- “There have been zero verified incidents of fentanyl ‘contamination’ in cannabis.”
Denver, Colorado officials reported that the city has now generated more than $500 million in marijuana revenue since 2010. The half-billion-dollars in cannabis money supports affordable housing, education, opioid intervention and other services.
A new study published by the American Chemical Society found that contrary to conventional cannabis wisdom, terpenes are “not the driving force behind the unique aromatic differences” between marijuana strains. Instead, separate compounds called flavorants play a major role.
The marijuana legalization measure on Ohio’s November 7 ballot does not contain provisions to automatically expunge prior convictions, with the campaign behind it saying they had to be careful not to violate single subject rules for initiatives.
/ FEDERAL
The Drug Enforcement Administration published an updated special surveillance list of chemicals, products, materials and equipment used in the manufacture of controlled substances.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke issued a $5 million grant to develop a cannabis-based pain medication for oral cancer patients.
Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) discussed their support for marijuana banking legislation.
Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) inserted remarks into the Congressional Record honoring the life of a recently deceased Virginia farmer and Montgomery County supervisor who he said played a role in federally legalizing hemp.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) tweeted, “America incarcerates more people than anywhere else in the world. I was proud to join members of the community to call for the decriminalization of marijuana in NY and across the country to end the targeting of marginalized communities and stop our prison industrial complex.”
/ STATES
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) proposed legislation that she says will address loitering around open-air drug markets.”
The Arkansas Legislative Council’s Medical Marijuana Oversight Subcommittee discussed out-of-state investors’ control of the state’s medical cannabis industry.
Oregon lawmakers and other officials will visit Portugal next week to study the country’s drug decriminalization policy.
A Nebraska senator is encouraging people to sign petitions to put medical cannabis initiatives on the 2024 ballot.
An Ohio senator authored an op-ed arguing against the marijuana legalization initiative on the November 7 ballot.
Georgia regulators conducted the first inspection of an independent pharmacy that wants to sell medical cannabis.
The Illinois Adult Use Cannabis Health Advisory Committee oversaw an annual report finding that since legalization went into effect there has been a rise in marijuana-involved deadly car crashes and accidental ingestion by children, but no increase in youth use and a decrease in opioid and benzodiazepine-related fatalities.
A Massachusetts regulator discussed a trip he took to visit marijuana social consumption sites in California.
Missouri regulators are releasing more marijuana products from an administrative hold and recall.
California regulators will accept requests from certain cannabis growers to change their license type until November 6.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 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.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—
/ LOCAL
The River Bend, Missouri head of zoning resigned after a new report shed light on connections between the developer of a proposed marijuana-friendly entertainment district and every member of the Board of Trustees.
Edcouch, Texas’s assistant city manager was arrested for marijuana.
/ INTERNATIONAL
The UK minister for crime and policing accepted a recommendation to allow the e-prescribing of cannabis-based medicines and other drugs.
Philippine House of Representatives leadership commended the nation’s Drug Enforcement Agency for a decreasing fatality rate in anti-drug operations.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review concluded that “limited evidence suggests that abnormalities in the [endocannabinoid system] in [anorexia nervosa] may render cannabis a potential treatment for weight restoration and associated symptoms.”
A study found that “administration of CBD resulted in a significant improvement in the biochemical, antioxidant status, morphological, and molecular measures in DMBA-induced leukemia in adult male rats.”
/ BUSINESS
Agrify Corporation received a notification that it is not in compliance with Nasdaq’s rule requiring companies to timely file periodic financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Aurora Cannabis Inc and WILLOW BIOSCIENCES, INC. settled patent litigation.
Ayr Wellness workers in Las Vegas, Nevada workers voted to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 711.
4Front Ventures Corp. announced that it intends to enter into a restricted stock unit agreement with ALT Debt II, LP.
An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot accused of attempting to shut down the engines on a plane midflight told police that he had taken psilocybin mushrooms about 48 hours prior to the incident.
Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox.
Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
