Newsletter
White House reviewing cannabis research plan from FDA (Newsletter: June 3, 2020)
Trump campaign attacks Biden’s drug war record. Poll: 2/3 AZ voters back legal marijuana; Booker calls out cannabis arrest disparity
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The White House Office of Management and Budget is reviewing draft Food and Drug Administration guidance on marijuana and CBD research.
President Trump’s reelection campaign is attacking presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden as “the chief architect of mass incarceration and the War on Drugs, which targeted Black Americans.”
- “Joe Biden’s policies destroyed millions of black lives. Joe Biden may not remember. But we do.”
A poll found that two-thirds of Arizona likely voters support a marijuana legalization measure that is on track to qualify for the November ballot.
- “All signs point to 2020 being the year that recreational marijuana finally becomes legal in Arizona.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) cited racial disparities in marijuana enforcement as an example of what’s motivating police accountability protests.
- People “can’t get a job, can’t get a loan from the bank for doing things that two of the last three presidents have admitted to doing.”
In an op-ed, NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri makes the case for how legalizing marijuana is just one part of the broader fight for racial justice, but an important one.
- “Of course, marijuana prohibition isn’t the sole cause of America’s racial inequities, nor is it the sole reason why certain members of the police continue to engage in racially-aggressive policing and misconduct. But its criminalization is one of the tools commonly used to justify and perpetuate these injustices.”
/ FEDERAL
The Drug Enforcement Administration has been given temporary authority to “enforce any federal crime committed as a result of protests over the death of George Floyd” and to “conduct covert surveillance” on protestors.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) spoke during a Judiciary Committee hearing about a man who died of coronavirus while serving a federal prison sentence for marijuana.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said, “We hold more prisoners, by far, than any other country in the world. This is largely due to the failed war on drugs, which disproportionately and unjustly targeted people of color.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said that “too often marijuana arrests and prosecutions are a gateway to criminalizing the minority population.”
/ STATES
U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. (D) reiterated his call for lawmakers to pass marijuana legalization legislation and celebrated federal approval of the territory’s hemp program.
Maine regulators are being sued over a decision not to enforce a state residency requirement for marijuana business licensees.
California regulators are seeking funding to hire 87 officers to enforce marijuana rules.
The Connecticut legislature’s Regulations Review Committee approved adding Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and certain instances of chronic pain as medical cannabis qualifying conditions.
Massachusetts regulators are investigating the looting of multiple marijuana dispensaries.
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/ INTERNATIONAL
The UK secretary of state for health and social care pledged to look into medical cannabis access delays.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review concluded that “there is substantial evidence for the effectiveness of cannabis and cannabinoids in treating cancer-related pain; specifically, oromucosal THC/CBD spray” and that “there is conclusive evidence for the effectiveness of cannabis and cannabinoids in relieving chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting; specifically, oral THC.”
A study found that hemp protein products “may improve chronic inflammatory states and promote regenerative processes.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights led more than 400 organizations in calling on Congress to enact policing reforms, including legislation to “prohibit the use of no-knock warrants, especially for drug searches.”
Students for Sensible Drug Policy is organizing a virtual lobby day next week.
/ BUSINESS
Hightimes Holding Corp. plans to launch a marijuana delivery service in California next month.
PetSmart is being sued for allegedly using false and deceptive practices to sell hemp products for pets.
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