Oct 26 2023

California Group Announces Initiative to Legalize Medical Psychedelics

A nonprofit political group has announced the Psychedelic Wellness and Healing Initiative of 2024, which will soon be filed with California officials in hopes of placing it on the 2024 general election ballot.

Earlier this month California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have legalized the possession, preparation and transportation of up to two grams of DMT, 15 grams of ibogaine, two grams of psilocybin (or up to four ounces of “a plant or fungi containing psilocybin”) and two grams of psilocyn (or up to four ounces of “a plant or fungi containing psilocybin”).

Now, proponents of legalizing psychedelics are taking matters into their own hands.
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Oct 26 2023

Marijuana Legalization Association With Decrease in Traffic Fatalities

According to a new study conducted by Quartz Advisors, states that legalized marijuana in 2016 experienced a noticeable decline in traffic fatalities in the years that followed.

“In California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada – four states that fully legalized marijuana in 2016 – traffic fatalities declined or remained the same in the three years that followed, compared to a slight increase in states where it remained illegal”, states the new study. In addition, a “comprehensive study of traffic data in the U.S. and Canada failed to find a statistically significant change in accidents and fatalities after legalization.”

Alcohol, on the other hands, “remains fully legal in all 50 states and D.C., is a factor in nearly a third of all automotive fatalities.”
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Oct 25 2023

Arizona Garnered $660 Million in Marijuana Taxes in First 30 Months of Legal Sales

In the 30 months that recreational marijuana has been legal in Arizona, the state has made well over half a billion dollars in new tax revenue.

In total Arizona made $660,668,140 in marijuana taxes between February, 2021 and August, 2023, according to data released by the Arizona Department of Revenue. In fiscal year 2023, ending June 30, Arizona made $283,179,058 in marijuana tax revenue, a roughly $30 million increase from the previous fiscal year.

The top month for marijuana tax revenue came in May of this year, with $28,423,424 garnered. This is well ahead of second place – January, 2023 – with $25,115,643 in revenue garnered from legal marijuana sales.
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Oct 25 2023

Massachusetts: Over $150 Million in Legal Marijuana Sold in September, $1.24 Billion Year-to-Date

In Massachusetts there was over $150 million worth of marijuana and marijuana products sold by licensed retail outlets in September.

According to the state’s Cannabis Control Commission, those 21 and older purchased $152.8 million worth of marijuana in September. This marks a slight decrease from the record-breaking $158 million sold last month, but it’s more than any month prior. Sales numbers include dried marijuana flower and marijuana concentrates as well as products containing marijuana including edibles, tinctures and topicals.

In September recreational marijuana sales reached $135 million, with there being $17.8 million in medical marijuana purchased during the same period.
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Oct 25 2023

Federal Marijuana Banking Bill in Jeopardy as US House Selects New Speaker

The US House of Representatives have selected Representative Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, to become the 56th Speaker of the House. This is bad news for federal marijuana reform.

In September a federal marijuana banking bill (the SAFER Banking Act – S.2860) passed the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs with bipartisan support, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowing to put it to a vote of the full Senate “very soon”.  The proposed law would provide legal protections for financial institutions, including banks and credit unions, that provide financial services to marijuana businesses that are legal under their state’s law.

The measure, which is sponsored by 32% of the entire US Senate, has the support of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) which recently sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging them to pass the bill into law, and a bipartisan group of 22 attorneys general sent a similar letter to congressional leaders late last month.
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Oct 25 2023

Georgia Becomes First State With Medical Marijuana Products Sold At Pharmacies

Georgia has officially become the first state in the US where medical marijuana products can be purchased at independent pharmacies.

Medical marijuana capsules.

As of today, three pharmacies in Georgia began selling medical marijuana products; Omega Pharmacy in Omega, Robins Pharmacy in Warner Robins, and Tifton Drug Company in Tifton. All three pharmacies are being supplied by licensed medical marijuana producer Botanical Sciences (located in pooler).

Although just three pharmacies are selling medical marijuana products as of today, the number is expected to balloon in the coming weeks and months, as 130 independent pharmacies throughout the state have signed up to sell medical marijuana products with the Georgia Board of Pharmacy.
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Oct 25 2023

Bipartisan Marijuana Bill Filed in US Congress, Would Decriminalize and Fully Allow States to Legalize

Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, has refiled the States Reform Act which was first introduced in 2021.

The proposed law, according to a legislative brief, would “Federally decriminalizes cannabis and fully defers to state powers over prohibition and commercial regulation.” In 2021 the bill had only Republican sponsors, but now it has bipartisan support.

The bill “performs confirming amendments to relevant statutes to ensure that cannabis products are treated like alcohol by amended statutes in line with Title II of the Act. It further provides opportunities for reentry for non-violent, non-DUI cannabis offenders who had no relation to a foreign drug cartel and pose no further threat to society, consistent with the policies of the Department of Justice under President Trump for clemency for non -violent cannabis offenders.”
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Oct 24 2023

Poll Finds 67% in Kansas Support Legalizing Marijuana

According to new survey data, a strong majority of adults in Kansas want state lawmakers to legalize recreational marijuana.

According to Fort Hays State University’s Kansas Speaks poll, 67.2% are in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana (including sales) for those 21 and older. Just 16.9% are opposed to the idea, with around 13% undecided.

The poll also found that 63.6% of respondents are “highly” or “somewhat likely” to vote for a candidate who supported medical marijuana legalization as they decided who to vote to represent them in Kansas Legislature; just 14.8% are unlikely to support a candidate that endorsed legalizing medical marijuana.
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Oct 24 2023

National Cancer Institute Issues $3.2 Million Grant to Study Impact of Cannabis on Immunotherapy Treatments

A University at Buffalo psychologist has received a $3.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to assess how cannabis use affects patients who receive immunotherapy, “a rapidly advancing treatment that helps the immune system fight cancer.”

According to a press release sent by the University of Buffalo, nearly 44% of cancer patients with 20 different tumor types receive immunotherapy treatment – notably, a specific type involving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Immune checkpoints are a normal part of the immune system. They govern the immune response to prevent the destruction of healthy cells.

Up to 40% of cancer patients report using cannabis for symptom management during and after their treatments. But there isn’t much rigorous research investigating the efficacy of using cannabis for that purpose, according to Rebecca Ashare, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology in the UB College of Arts and Sciences and the grant’s principal investigator.
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Oct 24 2023

Study Finds “Previously Undiscovered Cannabis Compounds” Giving Marijuana Strains “Unique Aromas”

A study published by the American Chemical Society has found “previously undiscovered cannabis compounds” that “yield a more complete understanding of the unique aromas that cannabis produces”.

For the study, researchers “conducted coupled sensory and chemical analyses on 31 different ice hash rosin cannabis extracts to determine how different chemical classes affect the aroma of each.”

Their sensory analysis “revealed highly divergent aroma characteristics for many samples that we broke down into three primary classes: Sweet exotic, prototypical, and savory exotic.” Researchers found “that varieties across both sweet and savory exotic classes often have very similar terpene profiles, indicating that they are not the driving force behind the unique aromatic differences.”
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