Newsletter
Two cannabis bills scheduled for congressional votes this week (Newsletter: March 11, 2020)
FDA reopens CBD comment period; MS house votes to undermine medical marijuana ballot measure; Canadian official defends legal cannabis to UN
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee scheduled votes on two marijuana bills for Thursday. One would let Department of Veterans Affairs doctors issue medical cannabis recommendations, while the other would direct the department to expand marijuana research.
The Food and Drug Administration announced in the Federal Register notice that it is “indefinitely” reopening a public comment period for stakeholders to submit more information about CBD as the agency works to formulate regulations.
The Mississippi House of Representatives put a medical cannabis initiative in serious jeopardy by voting to approve a more restrictive alternate question that would also appear on the November ballot next to the activist-drive one.
A top Canadian government health official defended the country’s marijuana legalization law in a speech before the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
/ FEDERAL
A National Transportation Safety Board report on drug use by pilots concluded that “increasing evidence of marijuana use by pilots…indicates a safety hazard that has not been effectively addressed.”
Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) tweeted about speaking at a hemp summit.
The House bill to remove roadblocks to marijuana research got one new cosponsor for a total of 20.
California Republican congressional candidate Nikka Piterman tweeted, “I wanna legalize, commute sentences for nonviolent crimes plus give clemency for 20g of marijuana on flights… so if Americans come to Cali they can take a piece home with them.”
Virginia Democratic congressional candidate John Lesinski tweeted, “The General Assembly in Virginia is decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana and has begun a process to expunge criminal records of the offense. I applaud this legislation. We need to stop clogging up our courts and ruining lives over marijuana possession.”
/ STATES
Washington State regulators sent Gov. Jay Inslee (D) a bill to allow state regulators to issue previously forfeited, cancelled or revoked marijuana retail licenses to social-equity applicants disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.
Ohio’s attorney general rejected the summary language of a proposed marijuana legalization ballot initiative, but the campaign behind the measure took issue with the analysis.
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that employers can’t fire workers for positive drug tests resulting from legal medical cannabis use.
The Oklahoma House of Representatives approved a bill to allow medical cannabis home delivery. Meanwhile, the Senate passed legislation to redirect some medical marijuana tax revenue toward schools.
The Iowa House of Representatives passed a bill to amend the state’s limited medical cannabis program to allow patients to obtain 4.5 grams of THC in a 90 day period.
The Utah Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved a bill to amend medical cannabis rules.
A proposed Arizona marijuana legalization ballot measure is being endorsed by the former backers of a rival campaign.
Missouri activists announced that they’ve collected more than 50,000 signatures in support of a proposed marijuana legalization ballot measure.
The Nevada Tax Commission voted to give its chairman the authority to negotiate settlements on behalf of state marijuana regulators.
California has generated $1 billion in marijuana tax revenue since recreational sales began two years ago.
The Oregon Cannabis Commission’s Patient and Social Equity Subcommittee will meet on March 23.
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/ LOCAL
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s district attorney tweeted, “It is misleading to talk about the War on Drugs in the past tense. It is with us, it is still destroying lives, and it is fueled by misinformation & bigotry, as it always was.”
Ashland, Louisiana police arrested a woman after determining that the $5,000 in cash she used to post someone’s bail had a “strong odor of marijuana.”
/ INTERNATIONAL
A court in Myanmar sentenced a local employee of an American-owned hemp farm to 20 years in prison for violating marijuana laws.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study found “support for [recreational marijuana legalization] positively affecting hotel revenues in certain types of hotels, particularly economy/tourist-class hotels, than for RML positively affecting hotels proximate to RML dispensaries.
A study suggested that “by modulating expression of shared key cancer-driving genes, CBD could represent a promising nontoxic therapeutic for treating tumors of various origins.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee included marijuana decriminalization in a list of accomplishments in Virginia this year.
The Kentucky Democratic Party launched an online petition calling on state lawmakers to legalize medical cannabis.
The Epilepsy Foundation of Nebraska endorsed a medical cannabis ballot measure proposed for the state’s November ballot.
/ BUSINESS
Fermilab sent a notice telling employees that they may not use or possess marijuana on the laboratory premises despite Illinois’s legalization law.
Columbia Care Inc. reported quarterly revenue of $23.2 million and a net loss of $28 million.
Vireo Health International, Inc. raised C$10.5 million.
Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. hired a vice president of corporate social responsibility.
The New England Cannabis Convention, scheduled for later this month in Boston, has been postponed due to coronavirus concerns.
/ CULTURE
University of Oklahoma football coach Lincoln Riley said that NCAA marijuana testing policies need to “continue to adapt” to changes in society.
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