Oct 30 2024

Marijuana Decriminalization Vote Days Away for Three Texas Cities: Dallas, Lockhart, and Bastrop

With the 2024 election just days away, voters in three Texas cities—Dallas, Lockhart, and Bastrop—will soon decide on local initiatives that could significantly change how marijuana possession and use is handled by law enforcement.

On November 5, each of these cities will vote on ordinances to prevent arrests for those found with up to four ounces of marijuana. Rather than facing arrest, individuals caught possessing no more than four ounces would receive a citation similar to a minor traffic ticket.

Similar measure have already been approved in the cities of San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin, Denton and Harker Heights. In all five of these cities, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed lawsuits seeking to have them overturned. However, judges in Austin and San Marcos have already dismissed the lawsuits for those two cities.
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Oct 30 2024

North Carolina Marijuana Megastore Open Nearly Two Months, Draws Tens of Thousands of Patrons, Zero Arrests

It’s been nearly two months since The Great Smoky Cannabis Company in Cherokee, North Carolina, opened its doors to everyone 21 and older, becoming the first and only place in North Carolina to legally purchase marijuana and marijuana products.

Located at 91 Bingo Loop Rd in Cherokee, on the tribal land of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, The Great Smoky Cannabis Company opened to everyone 21 and older on September 7. Since then, the store has drawn thousands of patrons

Located at 91 Bingo Loop Rd in Cherokee, on the tribal land of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, The Great Smoky Cannabis Company opened to everyone 21 and older on September 7. Since then, the store has drawn thousands of patrons, offering a variety of marijuana products, including dried flower and preolls, concentrates like wax and live resin, topicals like body cream and pain salves, and a variety of edibles including hard candies, gummies, cookies, chocolate bars, brownies, krispy treats, and drinkable shots.
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Oct 30 2024

Nevada State Athletic Commission Approves Rule to Shield Fighters from Marijuana Sanctions

Nevada regulators are moving forward with a rule change to protect athletes from penalties for marijuana use or possession, provided they comply with Nevada law.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) initially approved the policy shift in 2023, forwarding it to the governor. However, the rule required an additional legislative review by the LCB, which began in May. On Tuesday, the commission officially approved the updated language, a step toward formalizing the rule.

Before the reform is fully implemented, further procedural steps remain. The updated regulations must now return to the LCB for a final check to ensure all modifications are legally sound. From there, the proposal advances to the legislature’s Legislative Commission, which includes six senators and six assembly members, for a final decision.
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Oct 30 2024

Massachusetts Cannabis Commission Appoints Illinois Marijuana Official as New Executive Director

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) has appointed David Lakeman, a former employee, as its new executive director.

Lakeman, who served as head of government affairs for the CCC from 2018 to 2020, most recently led the marijuana division at the Illinois Department of Agriculture. His selection follows a months-long vacancy left by former director Shawn Collins, who resigned in late 2023. Since then, Debra Hilton-Creek, the agency’s chief people officer, had stepped in as acting executive director.

The CCC, tasked with regulating Massachusetts’ marijuana industry, narrowed its candidate list to four before unanimously selecting Lakeman. Commissioner Kimberly Roy expressed optimism, noting Lakeman’s familiarity with Massachusetts’ cannabis sector and his experience building a regulatory agency in Illinois. “Shareholders want to see us move at a faster pace and want to see us get things accomplished,” Roy said.
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Oct 30 2024

Judge Rules New York’s Crackdown On Unlicensed Marijuana Stores is Unconstitutional

A Queens judge has deemed New York City’s crackdown on unlicensed cannabis retailers unconstitutional, casting doubt on the city’s aggressive approach to curb illicit marijuana sales.

The Associated Press reports that Mayor Eric Adams plans to appeal the ruling, which endangers his “Operation Padlock” initiative that is designed to shutdown unlicensed marijuana stores in order to drive business to licensed outlets.

Initiated in May, Operation Padlock granted law enforcement sweeping powers to shutter as many as 1,200 unlicensed cannabis retailers across the city. The effort included authority to physically chain closed approximately 7,000 corner stores, bodegas, and other venues suspected of selling cannabis illegally.
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Oct 30 2024

CBD Oil Reduces Alzheimer’s Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Caregiver Distress, Finds Study

A new study from Colombia’s Universidad de Antioquia, published in the peer reviewed journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids, highlights CBD-rich oil as a treatment option for neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

CBD oil.

In a two-year prospective study, researchers observed that a majority of patients experienced significant improvements in symptoms and a reduction in caregiver distress. This open-label study reveals that CBD oil could provide a safer, effective alternative for managing challenging AD symptoms, particularly for those with disease onset after age 65.

The study, titled Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Alzheimer’s Disease with a Cannabis-Based Magistral Formulation: An Open-Label Prospective Cohort Study, was conducted between July 2020 and July 2023 with researchers from Universidad de Antioquia and two research hospitals in Colombia. It aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of CBD-rich oil in treating neuropsychiatric symptoms for Alzheimer’s patients, a common issue impacting both patients and their caregivers.
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Oct 30 2024

Study: THC Inhalation Reduces PTSD Symptoms and Improves Sleep and Mood

A study published in the peer reviewed journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoid and e-published by the National Library of Medicine reveals promising findings on the impact of high-THC marijuana on PTSD symptoms.

The real-world, observational study examined 58 UK civilians who had prior cannabis experience and a confirmed PTSD diagnosis, with data sourced from the T21 patient registry.

The research analyzed the effects of controlled inhalation of THC-rich cannabis flowers, focusing on changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL), mood, anxiety, sleep, and PTSD-specific symptoms. Patients who met the inclusion criteria—having completed both baseline and three-month follow-up PROMs (patient-reported outcome measures) questionnaires—showed notable improvements in overall health, mood, and sleep quality at the three-month mark.
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Oct 30 2024

Washington DC Mayor Signs Medical Marijuana Clarification Act Into Law

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has signed the Medical Cannabis Clarification Amendment Act (Council Bill 25-581) into law.

The bill, approved by the full council earlier this month, was signed into law by Mayor Bowser on Monday, three days before the deadline for her response.

The new law enhances enforcement measures against unlicensed cannabis businesses by making it so that unlicensed establishments could face escalating fines starting at $10,000 for a first violation and increasing to $30,000 for subsequent offenses. The first $100,000 in collected fines will be deposited into the Litigation Support Fund, with additional revenue directed to the Medical Cannabis Social Equity Fund. The Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) is also granted new authority to issue cease-and-desist orders and close businesses that pose a threat to public safety.
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Oct 29 2024

Marijuana Compounds Show Promise in Fighting Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria, Study Finds

A new study highlights the potential of cannabis-derived compounds as effective agents against multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections.

The study is being published in the upcoming issue of the European Journal of Microbiology and Immunology, and it was published online ahead of print by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

“The number of human infections with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria is increasing worldwide and constitutes a serious threat to human health”, notes the study. “Given the lack of novel antibiotic compounds worsening this dilemma, alternative antibiotic-independent treatment and prevention strategies of infectious diseases applying natural compounds appear highly appreciable.”
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Oct 29 2024

Study: Psilocybin Shows Promise as Treatment for OCD and Tourette’s Syndrome

A study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, led by Professor Bernard Lerer from the Department of Psychiatry at the Hadassah—Hebrew University Medical Center shows promising results for using psilocybin as a potential treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette’s syndrome.

Dried psilocybin.

The study, titled “Striking Long Term Beneficial Effects of Single Dose Psilocybin and Psychedelic Mushroom Extract in the SAPAP3 Rodent Model of OCD-Like Excessive Self-Grooming”, was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

The study included 50 genetically modified mice that displayed excessive grooming and anxiety, similar to human OCD behaviors and head-body twitches similar to tics suffered by patients with Tourette’s syndrome.
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