May 20 2023

Costa Rica Issues First-Ever Medical Marijuana License

The Costa Rica government has officially issued the nation’s first-ever license to legally produce medical marijuana.

Issuance of the license comes roughly 14 months after the country legalized medical marijuana, and was announce by the Minister of Agriculture Víctor Carvajal. The license was issued to Azul Wellness, which will operate an 800 square meter greenhouse in the town of Filadelfia (the first district and main city of Carrillo in Guanacaste).

The law making this possible passed the Costa Rica Congress in February, 2022, and it was signed into law by then-president Carlos Alvarado the following month. The law legalized both medical marijuana and hemp, with the first hemp licenses issued in November, 2022.
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May 20 2023

Bipartisan Pennsylvania Bill Would Protect Medical Marijuana Users From Unwarranted DUIs

Bipartisan legislation filed this week in the Pennsylvania Legislature would protect medical marijuana patients from receiving DUIs based simply on the presence of THC in their blood.

Under Pennsylvania’s current zero tolerance DUI law, someone can be found guilty of a marijuana DUI if they have just one nanogram of THC per milliliter of blood, despite the fact that THC can remain in the system for days and sometimes weeks after last use. The law does not discern between recreational marijuana users and those who are authorized to use the plant for medical purposes.

A new bill filed by Republican Senator Mike Regan and Democrat Senator James Brewster would change this so that the presence of THC could not be the sole cause of someone receiving a DUI if they are authorized to use medical marijuana. A companion bill in the House is sponsored by Representatives Chris Rabb and Aaron Kaufer.
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May 20 2023

Study: Transdermal CBD Shows “Promising Potential” in Combatting Melanoma

The results of a new study “holds promising potential in the transdermal delivery of CBD for melanoma therapy and offers a facile tool for transdermal therapies of skin tumors.”

Published in the journal Biomaterials Research, the study was conducted by researchers at the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine and the Jiangsu Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

“Conventional dissolving microneedles (DMNs) face significant challenges in anti-melanoma therapy due to the lack of active thrust to achieve efficient transdermal drug delivery and intra-tumoral penetration”, states the study’s authors. “In this study, the effervescent cannabidiol solid dispersion-doped dissolving microneedles (Ef/CBD-SD@DMNs) composed of the combined effervescent components (CaCO3 & NaHCO3) and CBD-based solid dispersion (CBD-SD) were facilely fabricated by the “one-step micro-molding” method for boosted transdermal and tumoral delivery of cannabidiol (CBD).”
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May 20 2023

Minnesota Governor’s Office Says He’ll Sign Marijuana Legalization Bill Into Law, Takes Effect August 1

HF 100 to legalize marijuana has now been passed through Minnesota’s full legislature, with Governor Tim Walz planning to sign it into law “soon”.

The Minnesota Senate voted earlier today 34 to 32 to approve HF 100 on final passage. Given it already passed the full House 73 to 57, the measure now goes to Governor Walz. A spokesperson for Governor Walz tells us that he “will be signing HF 100 into law soon”. No exact time or date was given.

Once signed into law, the portion of HF 100 that allows for marijuana to be possession, cultivated and shared takes effect on August 1. Marijuana retail outlets are expected to open sometime next year.
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May 20 2023

Nevada Committee Approves Resolution Urging Congress to Deschedule Marijuana

A resolution making its way through the Nevada Legislature was passed yesterday by a key Senate committee. The resolution has already been approved by the full Assembly.

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Assembly Joint Resolution 8 was filed by Representative Reuben D’Silva along with a bipartisan coalition of 35 other representatives. The resolution states that “the members of the 82nd Session of the Nevada Legislature hereby urge Congress to support legislation to remove cannabis from schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.”

Furthermore the resolution mandates that the “Chief Clerk of the Assembly prepare and transmit a copy of this resolution to the Vice President of the United States as the presiding officer of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and each member of the Nevada Congressional Delegation”.
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May 20 2023

Minnesota Legislature Sends Marijuana Legalization Bill to Supportive Governor

Legislation to legalize marijuana in Minnesota has officially been sent to Governor Tim Walz, who plans to sign it into law.

HF 100 was given final passage today by the Senate, a day after the House concurred with changes made in a conference committee. Now that both chambers have coalesced around one bill and given it final passage, it will be sent to Governor Walz who is expected to swiftly sign it into law.

The final vote on HF 100 in the House of Representatives was 73 to 57. The final vote in the Senate was 34 to 32.
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May 19 2023

Study: Cannabis Associated With Improvements in Fibromyalgia Symptoms

According to a new study published in the journal Brain and Behavior, cannabis-based medical products were “associated with improvements in fibromyalgia-specific symptoms, in addition to sleep, anxiety, and health-related quality of life.”

The study, titled Assessment of clinical outcomes in patients with fibromyalgia: Analysis from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry, was conducted by researchers at the Imperial College London, Sapphire Medical Clinics, St. George’s Hospital NGS Trust, Kings College London and South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, all based on the UK.

“There are limited therapeutic options for individuals with fibromyalgia”, states the study’s abstract. “The aim of this study is to analyze changes in health-related quality of life and incidence of adverse events of those prescribed cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) for fibromyalgia.”
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May 18 2023

Louisiana Committee Votes to Protect Unemployment Compensation Benefits for Medical Marijuana Patients

The Louisiana House Labor Committee voted on Thursday to pass a bill to protect employees who are medical marijuana patients from being denied unemployment compensation benefits.

House Bill 351, sponsored by Representative Mandie Landry, was passed by the committee today in a close 6 to 5 vote. According to its official summary the proposed law “provides that a qualifying medical marijuana patient who receives a recommendation from an authorized clinician to use marijuana for a therapeutic use shall not be disqualified for unemployment compensation benefits.”

“The Louisiana resident buys the product, then the consumer loses their job and no longer has the money to buy the product that the state says was legal”, says Representative Landry. “We have a very strange circle here with the government not being very good at selling marijuana”.
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May 18 2023

North Carolina Senate-Approved Medical Marijuana Bill Referred to New House Committee

A North Carolina bill to legalize medical marijuana has been rereferred to a new committee in the House of Representatives.

Senate Bill 3 was approved by the Senate by a vote of 36 to 10 in March, advancing it to the House. The measure was quickly assigned to the House Rules, Calendar, and Operations Committee, where it has remained Since March 6. However, today the bill was reassigned to the House Health Committee. If it’s passed by the Health Committee, it will advance to the Finance Committee before it can be considered by the full House.

Under Senate Bill 3 –  titled the “Compassionate Care Act” – those with a “debilitating medical condition” such as cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder would be allowed to possess and consume medical marijuana and marijuana products if they receive a recommendation from a licensed physician.
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May 18 2023

Minnesota House Gives Final Approval to Marijuana Legalization Bill, Senate to Vote Soon

After a conference committee reached a deal on a specific framework for a bill to legalize marijuana, the House has officially voted in favor of the proposal, sending it to the Senate.

The House voted 73 to 57 today to pass HF 100, with the Senate expected to vote on the measure as soon as tomorrow. Passage in the Senate would send it to Governor Tim Walz, who plans to swiftly sign it into law.

The measure will legalize the possession of up to two ounces of marijuana, eight grams of marijuana concentrates and 800mg of marijuana edibles, for those 21 and older, while allowing them to cultivate up to eight marijuana plants. Those cultivating at home would be allowed to possess up to two pounds.
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