Newsletter
White House shifts cannabis accomplishments rhetoric (Newsletter: September 24, 2024)
DEA boosts psychedelics production quotas; NH marijuana bills for 2025; Federal cannabis & cancer research; NORML op-ed on prohibitionists’ lies
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The White House is again touting the Biden-Harris administration’s cannabis actions—though it is using less lofty rhetoric saying it merely “launched a process” to consider rescheduling, compared to previously claiming it was “ending our failed approach to marijuana.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration is calling for increases in legal production of psychedelics like psilocybin and ibogaine to be used in research for 2024 and 2025 while at the same time keeping marijuana and cannabinoids at previously set levels.
New Hampshire lawmakers have already filed requests for staff to draft a number of marijuana and psychedelics reform bills for the 2025 legislative session.
The National Cancer Institute published a wide-ranging series of marijuana studies to better understand “core questions” around cancer patients’ relationship with cannabis, such as sourcing, cost, behavioral patterns, patient–provider communications and reasons for use—including as an opioid alternative to treat pain.
NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano argues in a new Marijuana Moment op-ed that recently discovered tapes of President Richard Nixon discussing cannabis expose how “prohibition has been a fraud from the very beginning—often propagated by politicians and bureaucrats who were in on the sham.”
A new media investigation on Missouri’s marijuana social equity program shows that out-of-state companies and cannabis industry insiders have repeatedly attempted to use qualified applicants to win licenses before largely shutting them out of the profits.
/ FEDERAL
The House Homeland Security Committee Republican majority said in a new report that “iIllicit marijuana farming operations connected to China have exploded in recent years.”
Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) and 29 cosponsors filed a bill directing the Departments of Agriculture and Interior to launch initiatives of “environmental response to contamination resulting from the cultivation of cannabis by trespassers” on public lands.
Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Dave Joyce (R-OH) discussed increasing Republican support for marijuana reform.
/ STATES
The New Jersey Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee held a hearing on localities implementation of marijuana laws and rules.
The Florida marijuana legalization campaign released a new ad featuring the Gadsden County sheriff discussing the benefits of the reform initiative on the November ballot.
Colorado regulators posted average market rates for retail marijuana.
New York regulators posted guidance on applying for cannabis-focused grant programs.
Maine regulators published guidance on recently enacted marijuana legislation.
California regulators have stripped at least four cannabis testing labs of their licenses.
Virginia regulators posted resources about the differences between marijuana, hemp, THC and CBD.
Oregon regulators will consider cannabis business stipulated settlement agreements on Thursday.
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Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,500 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.
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/ LOCAL
Detroit, Michigan officials filed a report on marijuana tax revenues.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study found that “medical marijuana use is correlated with control of pain, anxiety, and poor appetite in [Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis] patients.”
A case study of a cat provided “evidence that using a CBD-rich extract was effective as a co-adjuvant in alleviating clinical signs of [diabetes mellitus] and concurrent disorders, allowing for the reduction of insulin intake.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Los Angeles Times editorial board is urging California voters to reject an initiative on the November ballot to increase penalties for certain drug and other crimes.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America tweeted, “Alternative therapy options can vastly improve veterans’ quality of life, and better quality of life IS suicide prevention. IAVA will keep fighting for the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act to improve access for veterans.”
/ BUSINESS
Treez Inc. filed a motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’s denial of an H-1B visa for one of its executives from India.
Canadian retailers sold C$440.7 million worth of legal cannabis products in July.
/ CULTURE
Former football player Ricky Williams is endorsing the marijuana legalization initiative on Florida’s November ballot.
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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
