A federal judge has dismissed a case in which multiple marijuana companies were challenging the U.S. prohibition on marijuana, while stating that the nation’s marijuana laws deserve “reexamination.”

Judge Mark G. Mastroianni of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts’s Western Division has dismissed a case brought by CANNA PROVISIONS, Gyasi Sellers, Wiseacre Farm, and Verano Holdings, who were suing the U.S. attorney general, claiming marijuana prohibition is unconstitutional.

The judge stated that the relief sought is inconsistent with binding Supreme Court precedent and, therefore, beyond the authority of the court to grant. He also noted that the plaintiffs do not provide a basis for the court to disregard the broad reading of the Commerce Clause.

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Delaware legislation that significantly expands access to medical marijuana officially takes effect today.

House Bill 285 removes the state’s list of qualifying medical marijuana conditions, allowing physicians to recommend the medicine for any condition they deem appropriate. In addition, the new law allows those aged 65 and older to self-certify themselves as medical marijuana patients, meaning they are not required to receive a recommendation from a healthcare professional in order to become a medical marijuana patient.

The new law also allows physicians to issue two or three year medical marijuana cards, whereas before they were restricted to issuing just one-year cards.
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A recent study published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research and available on the US National Institute of Health’s website, reveals that cannabidiol (CBD) may play a crucial role in improving cholesterol homeostasis and lipid metabolism in macrophages.

For the study, researchers investigated the impact of CBD on foam cell formation, a key factor in atherosclerosis (the buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances in and on the artery walls), and found that CBD elevated levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and its targets, ATP binding transporters A1 and G1 (ABCA1/ABCG1). This elevation led to a reduction in foam cell formation and an increase in cholesterol efflux within macrophages.

The study also highlighted that the upregulation of ABCA1 and ABCG1 induced by CBD was diminished when treated with a PPARγ inhibitor or PPARγ small interfering RNA (siRNA). Additionally, transfection with PPARγ siRNA decreased the inhibitory effect of CBD on foam cell formation and its promotion of cholesterol efflux.
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Only three weeks remain in the 60-day public comment period for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) proposal to reschedule marijuana.

In the nearly six weeks since the public comment period began, over 26,000 comments have been submitted. Approximately 70% of these comments urge the DEA to fully deschedule marijuana or legalize it. Descheduling would decriminalize the plant nationwide by removing it entirely from the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Less than 10% of the comments advocate for the DEA to retain the status quo and keep marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it remains illegal for all purposes under all conditions.
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In May, Massachusetts recorded a total of $154 million in legal cannabis sales, a slight increase from the $150 million reported in April.

This figure comprises $137 million from recreational marijuana sales and $17 million from medical marijuana sales. This brings the year-to-date total to $671 million in sales. The cumulative sales figure has now reached an impressive $6.214 billion, according to data from the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC).

Of the total sales in May, $17 million was attributed to medical cannabis patients, while the remaining $137 million was for recreational use. These sales resulted in the state garnering around $23 million in tax revenue.
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A little over a year after Minnesota legalized recreational marijuana, hundreds of people gathered for the opening of one of the state’s first recreational marijuana retail outlet.

(Photo credit: Post Bulletin).

The Prairie Island Indian Community opened Island Peži today, with the outlet a variety of marijuana products including dried flower, pre-rolsl, vaporizers, and edible products. “Peži,” meaning grass in the Dakota language, is located at 6030 Sturgeon Lake Road, near Welch and Red Wing, adjacent to the Dakota Station convenience store and Treasure Island Resort & Casino.

By Saturday morning, a long line of people wrapped around the parking lot toward the casino. Some attendees sported T-shirts with slogans like “want to get high,” “welcome to marijuana country,” and “enjoy cannabis.” The store planned for 12 hours of operations, complemented by food trucks, music, and additional product sales outside.
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Legislation to deschedule marijuana nationwide now has a combined 110 sponsors in the United States Congress, representing 25% of the entire body.

In the US House of Representatives, the MORE Act (H.R. 5601), initially filed in April 2023 with only a few sponsors, now boasts 92 sponsors, all Democrat. This proposed legislation aims to deschedule marijuana, introduce a federal excise tax on state-legal marijuana sales, and enable the expungement of prior cannabis convictions.

The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) in the Senate would also deschedule marijuana, establish a federal excise tax and allow for expungements. However, CAOA would go further by establishing regulatory standards for legal marijuana, including creating a Center for Cannabis Products within the FDA, tasked with regulating “the production, labeling, distribution, sales and other manufacturing and retail elements of the cannabis industry”.
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