Newsletter
Saying ‘cannabis’ doesn’t boost legalization support over ‘marijuana,’ study finds (Newsletter: November 6, 2019)
USDA posts hemp webinar; Calif. measure would legalize psilocybin sales; Ohio voters approve & reject marijuana measures
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
California activists filed a new proposed ballot measure that would legalize the sale of psilocybin mushrooms and provide relief for people with past convictions—going further than a prior version that focused on simple decriminalization of the psychedelic.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture posted a webinar providing an overview of its new proposed hemp regulations. Meanwhile, Vicente Sederberg LLP and Vote Hemp published an hour-long video of their own that seeks to explain the rules.
Voters in three more Ohio municipalities approved marijuana decriminalization ballot measures, while three other cannabis-related initiatives were rejected.
A study found “no support for the notion that changing the name of the drug from ‘marijuana’ to ‘cannabis’ affects public opinion on the drug or the policies governing it”— despite some legalization advocates’ strong belief that the rebrand is needed.
/ FEDERAL
President Trump tweeted, “This is the time for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth. We merely await a call from your great new president!”
PolitiFact ruled that a statement from Surgeon General Jerome Adams that marijuana “has a unique impact on the developing brain” and “can prime your brain for addiction to other substances” is “Half True.”
/ STATES
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) said that proposed federal hemp guidelines don’t change her opposition to legalizing the crop.
Illinois Gov. J.B Pritzker (D) touted the expungement provisions of the marijuana legalization bill he signed.
A Massachusetts judge ruled that Gov. Charlie Baker’s (R) ban on medical cannabis vaping products will end on Tuesday unless regulators vote to keep it in place. Separately, the governor tweeted in support of state officials who testified before lawmakers in favor of an impaired driving bill.
Oklahoma’s treasurer reported that medical cannabis sales have generated $41.3 million in revenue over the past 12 months, indicating that sales have totaled $259.1 million in a year.
The Michigan House of Representatives approved legislation to expand expungements for marijuana and other past offenses.
The Florida House Health & Human Services Committee heard an anti-marijuana presentation from the executive director of the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. Separately, activists collected 28,000 more signatures for a proposed marijuana legalization ballot measure in five days, bringing their total so far to more than 51,000.
California water officials are holding events this month to help marijuana growers “get legit.”
Minnesota regulators are holding listening sessions this month to shape the state’s hemp regulations.
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/ LOCAL
The Chicago, Illinois Housing Authority sent a notice reminding residents that marijuana use is illegal under federal law and is prohibited in subsidized housing despite the state’s legalization law.
The New York City Police Department seized a 106-pound shipment of cannabis, the owner of which says it is legal hemp.
/ INTERNATIONAL
The Philippine vice president accepted President Rodrigo Duterte’s offer to be in charge of the nation’s bloody “war on drugs,” which she has criticized.
Here’s a look at the challenges of medical cannabis access in Europe.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study of marijuana ballot measures found that “time and turnout, not money, were the factors most associated with electoral outcomes, consistent with increases in public opinion favoring cannabis legalization over time” and that “when adjusting for an anomalous result, initiative year was the only variable that remained significantly associated with odds of passage, with a 1-year increase in initiative date associated with 2.02 times higher odds of passage.”
A study found that “acute dosing of pure CBD will not result in a positive urine drug test using current federal workplace drug testing guidelines” but that “CBD products that also contain ∆9-THC may produce positive urine results for ∆9-THCCOOH.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
A poll of U.S. adults found that 62% support federal marijuana legalization, 52% want to allow cannabis bars, 53% want a marijuana store in their neighborhood and that 64% in legal states think the policy has been a good thing.
/ BUSINESS
GW Pharmaceuticals plc reported $86.1 million in quarterly sales of its CBD drug Epidiolex.
Columbia Care Inc. is acquiring The Green Solution. The company also reported quarterly revenue of $22.1 million, an increase of 123% from a year ago, along with a net loss of $19.9 million, compared to $5.3 million from last year.
California cannabis businesses formed a new effort called Legal Cannabis for Consumer Safety to push for tougher regulations on marijuana vaping product ingredients and a crackdown on unlicensed retailers.
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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
