May 23 2023

Report: In Legal Marijuana States, Just 6% of Consumers Purchase From an Illegal Dealer

According to a new report, even in states with high marijuana tax rates legalization is reaching one of its primary goals of eliminating the black market

According to a new report by New Frontier Data, 52% of current marijuana consumers in states where its legal said their primary source of marijuana and marijuana products is from brick-and-mortal marijuana stores. 17% said they have their marijuana delivered by a legal marijuana store, and 16% get it primarily from friends. Just 6% say they purchase marijuana from a dealer who is not licensed to sale the plant.

In states that have legalized medical marijuana but not recreational marijuana, the percentage of those who purchase from a dealer is doubled, at 12%. 37% of those in medical only states purchase from a brick-and-mortar location, 26% obtaining it from a friend and 14% have it delivered.
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May 22 2023

Maryland Bill Banning Police Searches Based on Smell of Marijuana Becomes Laws

In April Maryland’s Legislature passed legislation that prohibits police from using the smell of marijuana as reasonable suspicion or probable cause in order to detain an individual, while also reducing the penalty for publicly consuming marijuana. The proposal has now become law without the governor’s signature.

House Bill 1071 was filed by Delegate Charlotte Crutchfield along with 43 cosponsors. The measure passed  the House of Delegates 101 to 36, and was passed by the Senate unanimously, 27 to 0. Governor Wes Moore chose to neither sign the bill into law or veto it. Given the window for Governor Moore to do either of those options has passed, House Bill 1071 has been enacted into law without the governor’s signature. It officially takes effect on July 1.

House Bill 1071 will prohibit  “a law enforcement officer from initiating a stop or a search of a person, a motor vehicle, or a vessel based solely” on the smell of marijuana. The proposal also reduces the fine associated with smoking marijuana in public (which remains a civil infraction even under the voter-approved legalization initiative) from $250 to $50 for a first offense, and from $500 to $150 for subsequent offenses.
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May 22 2023

$67 Million in Legal Marijuana Sold in Nevada in February

In February there was $67 million in legal marijuana sold in Nevada.

According to data released by the Nevada Department of Taxation, licensed marijuana retail outlets sold $67,814,368 in February, a slight decrease from the $70,254,611 sold in January. The state made $10,511,703 in marijuana tax revenue in February, compared to $11,994,093 made in January (this was the highest tax revenue from marijuana sales since May, 2022 when the state garnered $12.5 million).

Of the $67 million sold in January, a large majority came from Clark County with $52.7 million, with the second highest being Washoe County at $8.8 million.
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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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