Newsletter
POTUS candidate Yang hawks cannabis-themed merch (Newsletter: August 26, 2019)
Buttigieg backs all-drug decrim; Robert Downey Jr. recounts marijuana arrest at Disney; Study: Chocolate complicates cannabis edible potency testing
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D), a presidential candidate, included a pledge to decriminalize all drugs during his first term as president in a new mental health plan his campaign rolled out.
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is peddling new limited edition campaign merch that blends his love of math with his support for marijuana legalization.
Researchers discovered that something about chocolate seems to botch marijuana potency testing, finding different THC levels when analyzing one gram of a cannabis edible as compared to two grams of the very same product.
Actor Robert Downey Jr. revealed that he was once busted for smoking marijuana on the Disneyland gondolas. He told the story while accepting an award at a Disney event.
/ FEDERAL
President Trump told reporters that he directed the Department of Veterans Affairs to order “a lot” of a new ketamine-derived medication for depression.
The Environmental Protection Agency is accepting public comments on hemp pesticides through September 23.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is proposing to scale back a rule protecting the confidentiality of patients enrolled in drug treatment.
House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA) highlighted the panel’s hearing on marijuana banking issues as one of its accomplishments so far this year.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a presidential candidate, tweeted, “It’s not enough to simply decriminalize marijuana—we must repair the damage done to those communities that have been most harmed by the failed War on Drugs & we must expunge the records of those who have served their time. The end we seek is not just legalization, it’s justice.”
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) spoke about the public safety reasons for his marijuana banking legislation.
The House bill to reschedule marijuana and respect state medical cannabis laws got one new cosponsor, for a total of one.
/ STATES
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy conditionally vetoed a marijuana expungement bill, recommending that lawmakers make several changes to achieve the same goal.
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) tweeted, “DC: It’s time to legalize marijuana. For years, marijuana possession has been a pipeline to prison for people of color. We must replace that pipeline with jobs, equity, and pathways to prosperity.”
Nebraska’s attorney general dodged a reporter’s questions about the legality of CBD products.
Kentucky Democratic agriculture commissioner candidate Robert Conway spoke about the benefits of medical cannabis.
New York’s Senate majority leader touted in a constituent newsletter that lawmakers “made strides in the process of legalization of cannabis by decriminalizing marijuana and establishing procedures for record expungements.”
The California Assembly Appropriations Committee approved a bill to regulate marijuana party buses.
A Nevada judge issued a temporary injunction barring some businesses that won conditional marijuana licenses from moving forward with operations. Separately, regulators sent a health and safety advisory about marijuana products that failed yeast and mold testing.
The Massachusetts supervisor of records ruled that officials can refuse to release a city-by-city list of how local marijuana taxes are distributed when there are fewer than three stores in a municipality.
Oregon regulators approved temporary rules setting timelines for processing marijuana producer applications and acted on cannabis violation stipulated settlement agreements.
Politico looks at how Washington State regulations requiring extensive reporting about marijuana operations are making cannabis businesses vulnerable to robberies.
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/ LOCAL
Psilocybin-related businesses are opening in Denver, Colorado following voters’ decision to decriminalize the drug.
The Los Angeles, California Cannabis Regulation Commission asked the City Council to pass a law allowing city officials to physically block access to unlicensed marijuana businesses.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin is expected to hold a press conference to address medical cannabis access issues.
Canadian regulators are considering a petition to allow psilocybin for medical use from a therapist who says he will file a lawsuit if it is denied or ignored.
/ ADVOCACY
The Nebraska Democratic Party tweeted a suggestion that the state attorney general’s opposition to medical cannabis is related to campaign donations from pharmaceutical companies.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study suggested that “extending the legalisation of marijuana from medical use only to recreational use could have positive impacts on the self-perceived health of those undergoing some form of cancer treatment, at least in the early years.”
A study found that “CBD can potentiate the effect of bacitracin against Gram-positive bacteria.”
/ OPINION & ANALYSIS
A poll found that 37% of UK adults believe the use of marijuana is morally acceptable, compared to 36% for smoking tobacco.
The New York Times’s Nicholas Kristof said that Seattle, Washington’s move to end prosecution of low-level drug possession is “outstanding.”
/ BUSINESS
Leafly Holdings, Inc. is being sued for alleged trademark infringement by Mr. T over the use of an icon reading “Mrt” to denote the marijuana strain Mr. Tusk.
Acreage Holdings is faced a demand for arbitration for allegedly violating a noncompete agreement.
Tilt Holdings and subsidiary Baker Technologies are being sued for allegedly violating federal law by sending unsolicited text message spam.
/ CULTURE
Adult film actress Stormy Daniels now has a line of CBD products.
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