Apr 09 2024

Call of Duty Launching 4/20-Themed Events and Items Across Three Games, Including Cheech and Chong DLC

Call of Duty will be holding special events and launching special items in celebration of 4/20, including having Cheech and Chong as downloadable playable characters.

On 4/20 Cheech and Chong will be launching as DLC playable characters for the trio of Call of Duty games; Warzone, Modern Warfare III, and Warzone Mobile. The two players will be voiced by Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong themselves.

According to Gamespot, the duo be available to buy in a tracer pack that also comes with three weapon blueprints, a sticker, a large decal, a loading screen, and the “Secondhand Smoke” finishing move.
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Apr 09 2024

Ohio Recreational Marijuana Sales Will Begin Before July 4th Weekend, Much Sooner Than Expected

The chair of the rulemaking committee for Ohio’s Department of Cannabis Control says that recreational marijuana sales may begin as soon as June, and will happen “certainly before July 4th weekend”.

Due to voters approving Issue 2 in November, those 21 and older are legally allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and up to 15 grams of marijuana concentrates. However, there is currently no legal method to obtain marijuana, with licensed marijuana sales initially expected to begin sometime in the fall. Now, it appears recreational marijuana sales will begin much sooner, potentially in June.

According to State Representative Jamie Callender (R-Concord), Chair of the Joint Committee On Agency Rule Review (JCARR), the committee plans to accept proposed regulations that would allow medical marijuana dispensaries to begin selling recreational marijuana in just a couple months.
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Apr 09 2024

4/20 Has Gone Mainstream

More than any year prior, 2024 exemplifies how mainstream 4/20, the unofficial marijuana holiday, has become.

Marijuana for decades was relegated to various countercultures, primarily due to the harsh laws and propaganda surrounding it. It’s undeniable that in recent years, marijuana has become increasing mainstream. 24 of 50 states have legalized recreational marijuana, 38 states have legalized medical marijuana, and polling shows that 88% oppose the federal government’s current stance of keeping both recreational and medical marijuana entirely illegal.

As marijuana gains popularity and becomes more mainstream, so does April 20, the day long celebrated by cannabis consumers and supporters. This year, it’s more mainstream then ever.
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Apr 09 2024

21 US Senators Introduce Resolution Calling for Immediate Release of American Jailed 14 Years in Russia for Medical Marijuana

A coalition of 21 members of the US Senate have introduced a resolution calling for the immediate release of several American citizens currently jailed in Russia, including one jailed 14 years simply for possessing medical marijuana.

Marc Fogel, an American citizen jailed in Russia for 14 years for possessing 17 grams of medical marijuana.

US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and John Fetterman (D-PA), introduced a resolution today condemning the Russian government for their arrests of several American citizens and calling for their immediate and unconditioned release.

The resolution is cosponsored by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Angus King (I-ME), Patty Murray (D-WA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Peter Welch (D-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
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Apr 09 2024

Maine Legislature Gives Approval to Psilocybin Bill

Maine’s full legislature has now given approval to legislation to establish a psilocybin task force, with one final technical vote required in the Senate before it can be sent to Governor Janet Mills.

Dried psilocybin mushrooms.

Senate Bill 1914 would establish a “Commission To Study Pathways For Creating a Psilocybin Services Program in Maine”. As filed, the bill would have legalized the medical use of psilocybin for all qualified patients, but it was amended during the Senate committee process to instead establish a task force.

Earlier this month the state’s Senate voted 23 to 6 to pass SB 1914, sending it to the House of Representatives. Today, the House gave approval to the measure. Given it was amended slightly in the House, the Senate will need to give the bill one final vote of concurrence before it can be sent to Governor Janet Mills.
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Apr 09 2024

Washington DC Mayor Signs Ordinance Making 4/20 a Marijuana Tax Holiday, Covers 4/15 to 4/28

Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has signed into law an ordinance that makes 4/20 a marijuana tax holiday.

Bill 25-0760 was signed into law by Mayor Bowser yesterday, less than a week after it was given unanimous approval by the district council. The ordinance was filed by Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie on behalf of Mayor Muriel Bowser.

The new law makes medical marijuana entirely tax-free from April 15 to April 28. The ordinance also extends the validity period for medical marijuana patients and caregivers to six years, and it gives the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration’s (ABCA) the authority to shutdown unlicensed dispensaries.
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Apr 09 2024

Virginia Governor Signs Bill Protecting Public Employees Who Use Medical Marijuana

Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed into law legislation designed to protect public employees who legally use medical marijuana.

Despite vetoing bills to legalize marijuana sales and protect parents who use marijuana legally, Governor Youngkin has signed Senate Bill 391 into law. The measure was passed with overwhelming support in the House of Representatives and Senate, with the vote being 8 to 18 and 30 to 10 respectively.

Under current law “No employer shall discharge, discipline, or discriminate against an employee for such employee’s lawful use of cannabis oil pursuant to a valid written certification issued by a practitioner for the treatment or to eliminate the symptoms of the employee’s diagnosed condition or disease”.
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Apr 09 2024

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to Introduce Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill This Month

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, along with Senators Ron Wyden and Cory Booker, have announced that they will soon file federal legislation to legalize recreational marijuana.

The trio of senators is currently circulating a letter to colleagues asking them to join as cosponsors for the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which they plan to officially introduce on April 20.

“Dear Colleagues”, begins the letter. “Leader Schumer, Chair Wyden, and Senator Booker invite you to cosponsor the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), a comprehensive bill to decriminalize, regulate, and tax cannabis.” The letter states that “A growing number of Americans have made it clear, at ballot boxes, through their legislatures, and with their dollars: the War on Drugs has failed, and the federal government must respect the decision of states that have chosen to legalize cannabis.”
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Apr 08 2024

In New Study CBD Reduced the Cognitive Deficits Caused by Fragile X Syndrome

According to a new study utilizing an animal model, the marijuana-derived compound cannabidiol (CBD) was able to reduce the cognitive deficits associated with Fragile X Syndrome.

“Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotomimetic constituent of Cannabis sativa, has been recently approved for epileptic syndromes often associated with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)”, begins the study’s abstract. “However, the putative efficacy and mechanism of action of CBD in patients suffering from ASD and related comorbidities remain debated, especially because of the complex pharmacology of CBD.”

For this study, researchers “used pharmacological, immunohistochemical and biochemical approaches to investigate the effects and mechanisms of action of CBD in the recently validated rat model of ASD, that is also a model of Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), the leading monogenic cause of autism.”
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Apr 08 2024

Study of 400,000 Patients With Collapsed Lunge Finds Marijuana Associated With Reduced Hospital Stay and In-Hospital Mortality

According to a new study of hundreds of thousands of patients with spontaneous pneumothora, also referred to as collapsed lung, those with a history of marijuana use had significantly reduced average hospital stays and in-hospital mortality than non-marijuana users.

Spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) is a sudden onset of a lung that has collapsed without any apparent cause, which happens when air builds up in the space around the lungs putting pressure on the lung and preventing it from expanding normally. This can cause the lung to partially or completely collapse.

The study, published in the Cureus Journal of Medical Science and conducted by researchers at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, included 399,495 patients with PSP, 13,415 cannabis users and 386,080 non-cannabis users.
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