Nov 09 2022

21 States With a Combined Population of 130 Million Have Now Legalized Marijuana

With Maryland and Missouri legalizing marijuana this election, there are now 21 states in the U.S. with legal marijuana.

Despite marijuana remaining illegal federally, 21 states with a combined 130 million residents have now legalized marijuana. 11 years ago, this number was zero.

The rapid pace of marijuana reform across the United States, and the now bipartisan nature of its support, puts pressure on the federal government to legalize or at least decriminalize the plant on the national level.  Although legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate to do both, they have failed to garner enough among lawmakers to be passed into law.
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Nov 09 2022

25 Rhode Island Cities Vote to Allow Marijuana Businesses

33 Rhode Island cities voted yesterday on initiatives to allow marijuana businesses and sales within their jurisdictions, and a large majority were approved.

(AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

In total 25 of the 33 cities voted in favor of allowing marijuana businesses to operate within the limits of the city.

Specifically, voters were asked “Shall new cannabis-related licenses for businesses involved in the cultivation, manufacture, laboratory testing and for the retail sale of adult recreational use cannabis be issued in the city (or town)?”
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Nov 08 2022

Missouri Marijuana Legalization Initiative Approved by Voters

An initiative to legalize marijuana in Missouri by establishing it as a constitutional right has been passed tonight by the state’s voters.

Amendment 3 legalizes the purchase, possession, consumption, use, delivery, manufacturing, and sale of marijuana for all uses for adults who are at least 21 years old. In addition, the initiative allows individuals previously convicted of non-violent marijuana-related offenses to petition to be released from incarceration and/or have their records expunged.

The proposal allows licensed marijuana retail outlets to sale marijuana, marijuana concentrates and other marijuana products such as edibles and topicals. A 6% excise tax will be placed on sales.
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Nov 08 2022

Colorado Voters Legalize Magic Mushrooms and Other Hallucinogenics

Voters in Colorado have passed an initiative to legalize hallucinogenics including magic mushrooms, DMT and ibogaine.

Proposition 122 legalizes the personal use and possession of several hallucinogenic/entheogenic plants and fungi for those 21 and older. Those include:

  • dimethyltryptamine (DMT);
  • ibogaine;
  • mescaline (excluding peyote);
  • psilocybin; and
  • psilocyn.

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Nov 08 2022

Maryland Legalizes Marijuana

Maryland voters have given approval to an initiative to legalize marijuana for everyone 21 and older, making their state the 20th to do so.

Question 4 amends the Maryland Constitution to add a new article, Article XX, which authorizes individuals 21 years of age or older to use and possess marijuana for all uses. The initiative also directs the Maryland General Assembly to “provide for the use, distribution, possession, regulation, and taxation of cannabis within the state”, which they have already done.

During the 2022 legislative session the state legislature passed legislation to implement legalization if the initiative were to pass, including a system to regulate licensed retail outlets. The proposal sets the legal possession limit at 1.5 ounces and two plants.
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Nov 07 2022

Study: Cannabis May Improve Quality of Life and Comorbidities in Tourette’s Syndrome Patients

According to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research and epublished ahead of print by the National Institute of Health, “medical cannabis may improve their quality of life and comorbidities” in those with Tourette’s syndrome.

The study, titled Use of Medical Cannabis in Patients with Gilles de la Tourette’s Syndrome in a Real-World Setting, was conducted by researchers at Tel-Aviv University.

“Tourette’s syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by vocal and motor tics and other comorbidities”, states the study. “Clinical recommendations for the use of medical cannabis are established, yet further guidance is needed.” The aim of this study “was to describe the experience of patients with TS with medical cannabis.”
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Nov 07 2022

Study: Cannabidiol “Markedly Alleviates Skin and Liver Fibrosis”

Cannabidiol (CBD) may alleviate liver and skin fibrosis according to a new study published by the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Pharmacology.

“Cannabidiol (CBD) has been suggested as a potential therapy for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases”, states the study’s abstract. “Cannabidiol was demonstrated to reduce alcohol-induced liver inflammation and steatosis but its specific activity on the fibrotic process was not investigated.”

For this study “the antifibrotic effects of cannabidiol in the skin were analysed in vitro using NIH-3T3 fibroblasts and human dermal fibroblasts and in vivo using the bleomycin-induced model of skin fibrosis.”
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Nov 05 2022

Study: Cannabis May Help Those With Treatment-Resistant Fibromyalgia

According to new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Pain Practice and epublished by the U.S. National Institute of Health, cannabis may play a “significant role” in combatting treatment-resistant fibromyalgia in women.

Fibromyalgia is a complex pain-focused syndrome, and previous studies “showed that Cannabis is efficacious in promoting sleep, deepening and lengthening the sleep cycle, and good pain relief (compared to SSRIs and SNRIs)”, states the study’s abstract. This new study “aimed to use the World Health Organization Quality of Life Bref questionnaire (WhoQoL-bref) to characterize the impact of Cannabis Treatment initiation on the quality of life in women suffering from treatment-resistant fibromyalgia.”

The study was a prospective cohort study involving women aged 18-70 years old diagnosed with fibromyalgia who have “exhausted pharmacological fibromyalgia treatment, and started Cannabis treatment.” Pregnant women were excluded.
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Nov 04 2022

In Just 4 Days Voters in These 5 States Can Legalize Marijuana

We’re now just 4 days away from the November 8th general election, in which five states have an opportunity to legalize recreational marijuana.

If voters in Maryland, Arkansas, South Dakota, North Dakota and Missouri decide that marijuana should in fact be legal for everyone 21 and older, for any purpose, it will bring the total number of legal marijuana states in the U.S. to 24, just one shy of half the nation. What makes these five efforts of particular interest to politicos is that most are traditionally conservative states, allowing for an opportunity to see if marijuana reform has truly become a bipartisan issue (something reflected in recent nationwide polling).

Of the five legalization initiatives on Tuesday’s ballot, all but one – South Dakota – would authorize licensed marijuana retail outlets to sell marijuana, marijuana concentrates and marijuana edibles to those 21 and older. South Dakota would only legalize possession and cultivation, while establishing no specific guidelines for marijuana stores.
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Nov 03 2022

Study: Cannabis Use Is Inversely Associated with Metabolic Disorders in Patients With Hepatitis C

According to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, “cannabis use was associated with a lower risk of hypertension and a lower number of metabolic disorders” among those with the Hepatitis C virus.

For the study researchers examined the relationship between current and/or lifetime cannabis use and metabolic disorders in a cohort of 6,364 subjects infected with HCV. The study is titled Cannabis Use Is Inversely Associated with Metabolic Disorders in Hepatitis C-Infected Patients.

“Using cross-sectional data from the French ANRS CO22 Hepather cohort, we used regression models to test for an inverse relationship between cannabis use and (i) dyslipidemia, (ii) hypertension, and (iii) the total number of metabolic disorders”, states the study.
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