New Jersey Legislation Proposes Commission to Monitor and Potentially Cap Medical Marijuana Prices

A pair of New Jersey lawmakers filed legislation yesterday that would establish a commission to monitor medical marijuana prices, with the authority to establish temporary price caps if they deem it necessary.

Assembly Bill 4263 was filed by State Assemblymembers Michael Venezia (D) and Garnet Hall (D), and it’s been assigned to the Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee

According  to its official summary, this bill “requires the Cannabis Regulatory Commission to adopt certain regulations regarding medicinal cannabis prices.”
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Maine to Implement New Marijuana Rules That Remove Front-Door ID Checks, Allow Minors in Stores, and Permit Samples

Maine is implementing new marijuana regulations that will align cannabis retail environments more closely with those of liquor stores.

The changes to the state’s marijuana program, championed by State Senator Craig Hickman, is set to transform both the shopping experience and storage practices at cannabis outlets. This law is expected to take effect by this summer and will introduce several changes including:
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Vice President Kamala Harris Praises DEA’s Rescheduling Decision, But Says “We Need to Legalize Marijuana”

Vice President Kamala Harris “fully supports” the DEA’s decision to reschedule marijuana, while clarifying her support for legalization.

(Photo credit: Don Vonmoore / AFP Via Getty Images).

On Tuesday, it was reported that following an over eight-month review by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), they will be rescheduling marijuana. This development was confirmed by an official with the Department of Justice the following day.

While Vice President Kamala Harris has not publicly commented via social media or press releases, a campaign official conveyed via email that “Vice President Harris fully supports the decision to move marijuana to Schedule III, and she’s excited for the positive impact this move will have.”
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Arizona Made Over $24 Million in Marijuana Taxes in March

In March, Arizona collected over $24 million in tax revenue from legal marijuana sales.

Arizona collected a total of $24,308,528 in marijuana taxes in March. This figure slightly exceeds the $23.4 million collected in March 2023 and the $22.4 million in March 2022, illustrating a consistent upward trend in revenue from the state’s marijuana sales. These March collections add to the overall tax revenue, which has reached $830,733,898 since the inception of legal recreational cannabis sales in February 2021.

Although monthly marijuana tax revenue in Arizona has exceeded $25 million on four occasions, the revenue for March remains noteworthy due to its steady growth year-over-year. The tax revenue is derived from the sale of various cannabis products including dried marijuana flower, prerolls, concentrates, edibles, tinctures, and topicals.
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Oregon Marijuana Prices Reached All-Time Lows in April, With Sales Topping $80 Million

According to recent data from the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, legal marijuana sales in April amounted to $81,436,230.

This figure represents a slight decrease from the $82,352,507 recorded in March, yet remains substantially higher than the $75.6 million in January and the $75.9 million in February.

Since the initiation of recreational marijuana sales in October 2016, cumulative sales have now surpassed $6.541 billion. Through April, total sales for 2024 have amounted to $315 million thus far. Since legalization, Oregon has amassed more than $1.1 billion in tax revenue from these sales.
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Congressional Research Service Releases Report Titled “Legal Consequences of Rescheduling Marijuana”

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has released an updated report titled Legal Consequences of Rescheduling Marijuana.

Established in 1914, the CRS is a division of the Library of Congress that provides nonpartisan analysis for federal lawmakers. Following the Biden Administration’s decision to move marijuana to Schedule III, the CRS has released an updated report detailing the implications and consequences of this change.

The report is released into three sections, covering the “Current Legal Status of Cannabis Under the CSA”, the “Legal Consequences If Marijuana Moved to Schedule III”, and “Considerations for Congress”.
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National Anti-Marijuana Group Forms “Rescheduling Legal Defense Fund” to Oppose the DEA’s Decision to Reschedule Marijuana

The nation’s largest anti-marijuana political group has established a “Rescheduling Legal Defense Fund” to potentially sue over the Biden Administration’s decision to reclassify marijuana as Schedule III.

“The Biden Administration announced plans to weaken federal regulations on marijuana by moving it to Schedule III. Let’s be clear: this does not mean marijuana is legalized—it will remain federally illegal”, said Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) in an e-mail. “But, if implemented, moving marijuana to Schedule III would give Big Marijuana billions in tax write-offs as well as continue the normalization of high-potency THC drugs. SAM will oppose this change at every level, including, if necessary, pursuing legal action.”

SAM says they’ve established a “Rescheduling Legal Defense Fund” that “will be used to support our challenges of marijuana laws and regulations, specifically marijuana’s Schedule III recommendation”.
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Court Rules New Jersey’s Marijuana Legalization is Compliant With Federal Law

In a pivotal ruling, New Jersey’s state appellate court has upheld the compatibility of its recreational marijuana legislation with existing federal marijuana enforcement norms, announcing their decision this Wednesday.

Judge Jack Sabatino, along with a two-judge panel, supported a previous lower court’s decision which had dismissed claims by a faction of Highland Park residents. These residents contended that the borough’s sanctioning of recreational marijuana sales infringed upon federal law, given marijuana’s continued prohibition under federal statutes.

At the heart of this dispute was a local ordinance passed in August 2021, which permitted the operation of cannabis retail shops, consumption venues, and delivery services within Highland Park. The dissenting group argued that this ordinance, along with the broader New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act (CREAMMA), contravened not only the federal Controlled Substances Act but also the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law among other regulations.
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Study Finds Fewer Young Adults (18 to 25) Drive Impaired Following Marijuana Legalization

Washington State legalizing recreational marijuana did not lead to an increase in the percentage of young people driving under the influence of either cannabis or alcohol, finds a new study.

The study was published in the recent issue of the journal Prevention Science, and it was conducted by researchers at the University of Washington. The study is titled Young Adult Alcohol and Cannabis Impaired Driving After the Opening of Cannabis Retail Stores in Washington State.

“Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for young adults (YA) in the USA, and driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA), cannabis (DUIC), and simultaneous use of both substances (DUIAC) are prominent risk factors”, begins the study’s abstract. “Trends in YA impaired driving behaviors after opening of cannabis retail stores have been understudied.”
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Randomized Clinical Trial Finds CBD is Effective at Treating Acute Toothaches

According to a study published in the journal Evidence-Based Dentistry, a purified CBD formulation, known commercially as Epidiolex, significantly alleviates acute toothache symptoms.

This finding comes from a placebo-controlled clinical trial involving 61 participants experiencing moderate to severe dental pain. The study was conducted by researchers at the University Hospital Crosshouse in Scotland, and the abstract was published online ahead of print by the US National Library of Medicine.

In the study, 40 patients received Epidiolex in 10 or 20 mg doses, while 21 received a placebo. Over the three hours following administration, those treated with CBD reported, on average, more than a 50% reduction in pain, with relief occurring within the first 15 minutes. In contrast, the placebo group reported a 37.5% reduction in pain.
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