Mar 14 2023

Kentucky Senate Committee Approves Bill to Legalize Medical Marijuana

For the first time ever a Senate committee in Kentucky has passed legislation that would legalize medical marijuana

The Senate Licensing & Occupations Committee voted 8 to 3 today to pass Senate Bill 47, filed by Senator Steve West with a bipartisan coalition of 13 cosponsors. The measure will now be sent to the full Senate, where passage would put it before the House which passed similar measures in 2020 and 2022 that stalled in the Senate.

In past years Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer has stood in the way of medical marijuana bills advancing in the Senate, but he now says that if the bill has enough votes to pass he won’t prevent it from advancing to the House.
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Mar 13 2023

For First Time a Bill to Legalize Medical Marijuana Will Receive a Hearing in the Kentucky Senate

Legislation to make Kentucky the 40th state to legalize medical marijuana will receive a hearing in its first Senate committee on Thursday.

Senate Bill 47, filed by Senator Steve West with a bipartisan coalition of 13 cosponsors, will receive a hearing Thursday in the Senate Licensing & Occupations Committee. This marks the first time that any Senate committee has held an official hearing on a bill that would make medical marijuana legal. This is despite the fact that the House of Representatives passed a similar measure in 2020 and 2022.

“I believe we have enough votes to get this passed”  Senator Steve West told us. “It’s a big deal that we’re even having a hearing.”
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Mar 13 2023

Washington State Collected Over $500 Million in Marijuana Taxes in 2022, Nearly Double Liquor Taxes

Washington State collected a total of $511.1 million in taxes from the legal marijuana industry in fiscal year 2022.

washington state Marijuana TaxesThis is according to the Liquor and Cannabis Control Board’s FY 2022 Annual Report. The report shows that the taxes garnered from marijuana sales were $251.2 million more than that of liquor sales. The marijuana tax revenue for fiscal year 2022 was nearly $50 million more than the previous fiscal year. The state made an additional $4.1 million in 2022 from marijuana licensing fees.

Revenues collected by the Liquor and Cannabis Board from legal cannabis taxes, license fees, and penalties are distributed as follow, according to the report:
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Mar 13 2023

Canada’s Cannabis Legalization Has Not Impacted Motor Vehicle and Pedestrian/Cyclist Injuries

A study published by the peer-reviewed journal Addiction has found that there “were no statistically significant changes in rates of emergency department visits and hospitalizations for motor vehicle or pedestrian/cyclist injury” following Canada legalizing marijuana.

Titled The effect of recreational cannabis legalization on rates of traffic injury in Canada, the study was published by researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital, the University of Toronto and the Toronto Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

The aim of the study was to “measure the impact of Canada’s recreational cannabis legalization (RCL) in October 2018 and the subsequent impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns from March 2020 on rates of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations for traffic injury.”
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Mar 13 2023

A Single Dose of CBD “Positively Influences Measures of Stress in Dogs During Separation and Car Travel”, Finds Study

A single dose of cannabidiol (CBD) “positively influences measures of stress in dogs during separation and car travel”, according to a new study published by the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

Conducted by researchers at the Waltham Petcare Science Institute at Waltham on the Wolds, the study is titled A single dose of cannabidiol (CBD) positively influences measures of stress in dogs during separation and car travel. The full text of the study can be found by clicking here.

“Many dogs experience stress when separated from their caregivers, as well as when traveling in vehicles”, states the study. “Pet owners employ various approaches to managing these issues, from training, to giving medications and supplements, often with mixed results.”
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Mar 12 2023

Study: Medical Marijuana Use Doubled Between 2013 and 2020

The use of medical marijuana in the United States more than doubled between the 7-year period of 2013 to 2020.

The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, notes that cannabis use for medical purposes is legalized across 39 states and the District of Columbia. The objective “was to evaluate temporal trends and correlates of cannabis use for medical purposes in the US.” The study was conducted by researchers at Yale School of Medicine, the Connecticut Healthcare System and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.

The study found that the prevalence of U.S. residents using cannabis for medical purposes “increased significantly from 1.2% in 2013-2014 to 2.5% in 2019-2020.”
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Mar 12 2023

Colorado Made Nearly $25 million in Taxes From Marijuana Sales in February

According to the Colorado Department of Revenue the state garnered nearly $25 million in marijuana taxes in February.

In total the state made $24,752,691 in taxes from the legal distribution of marijuana and marijuana products in the month of February, roughly a million dollars more than the previous month despite there being just 28 days in the month. The total amount of marijuana taxes garnered in Colorado since the start of legal sales in 2014 now stands at $2,391,141,421.

In Colorado the excise tax on marijuana is set at 15%, which is on top of the 2.9% standard statewide sales tax. In addition to these taxes, localities have the option of implementing a city-wide tax of up to 3%.
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Mar 11 2023

Texas Committee Votes Unanimously to Decriminalize Marijuana

A key legislative committee in Texas has given approval to legislation that would decriminalize the possession of marijuana.

House Bill 218, filed by State Representative Joe Moody, was approved by the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee in a unanimous 9 to 0 vote.

The measure would remove criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana or marijuana concentrates such as hash and oil. Although the bill would not legalize marijuana, those caught with up to an ounce would, at most, be given a fine of up to $500 with no possibility of jail time.
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Mar 10 2023

Poll: 70% of Registered Florida Voters Want Marijuana Legalized

New polling out of Florida has found that among registered voters in the state 70% are in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana.

According to the poll, conducted by the Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of North Florida, just 29% of Florida voters oppose legalizing marijuana, with a shockingly low 1% undecided. The poll comes as the Smart & Safe Florida campaign collects signatures to place a legalization initiative on the November 2024 ballot. As of the last reporting the group has collected around 450,000 signatures of the nearly 900,000 that are required.
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Mar 09 2023

Delaware Senate Votes 15 to 1 to Urge Federal Government to Deschedule Marijuana

On the same day as Delaware’s House of Representatives voted in favor of establishing a legal marijuana market, Delaware’s Senate overwhelmingly approved a marijuana resolution of their own.

Senate Resolution 11, which “urges our federal delegation to support legislation to deschedule marijuana”, was passed by a vote of 15 to 1, with 4 members not voting.

In the resolution’s preamble, it states that marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, alongside Heroin, “though marijuana has many well documented medical uses.. and according to the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine, modern medical research has confirmed the beneficial uses for marijuana in treating or alleviating the pain, nausea, and other symptoms associated with a variety of debilitating medical conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, and HIV/AIDS”.
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