Feb 19 2024

WA Senate Committee Passes Bill to Exempt Medical Marijuana Patients From 37% Excise Tax

A Washington State Senate committee has voted to pass legislation “providing a tax exemption for medical cannabis patients”.

The Senate Labor and Commerce Committee voted unanimously today to pass House Bill 1453, sending it to the Ways and Means Committee. The measure was approved through the full House of Representatives 85 to 12 last week

The proposed law “Provides a permanent tax exemption from the 37 percent cannabis excise tax for qualifying patients and designated providers with a recognition card on purchases of cannabis products that are labeled as Department of Health (DOH)-compliant product and tested in accordance with the DOH’s rules.”
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Feb 19 2024

FDA Report Says Agency Examined Marijuana Users’ Social Media Posts During Rescheduling Review

In a new report the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), detailed the agency’s review of marijuana as a Schedule I drug.

In August, in a letter addressed to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asked for marijuana to be reclassified as a Schedule III drug under the Federal Controlled Substances Act following a nearly year-long review at the FDA.

Now, the FDA says that when conducting its review, the agency not only examined a plethora of scientific research, they had a team of researchers who spent months analyzing thousands of posts on various social media platforms, many of which were marijuana consumers putting forth anecdotal evidence of its therapeutic and medical benefits.
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Feb 19 2024

Third Hawaii Committee Votes Unanimously to Approve Psilocybin Bill

A third committee in the Hawaii House of Representatives has passed legislation to allow the therapeutic use of psilocybin mushrooms.

Dried psilocybin mushrooms.

The House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee has voted 7 to 0 to pass House Bill 2630, filed last month by State Representative Della au Belatti along with 13 cosponsors. The measure has already been approved by the Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee (10 to 0) the Health & Homelessness Committee (7 to 1).

The measure must now be passed by the House Finance Committee before it can be considered by the full House.
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Feb 18 2024

Connecticut: $25 Million in Marijuana Was Sold Legally in January

In Connecticut, legal marijuana sales were around $25 million.

Data compiled and released by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection shows that there was $24,990,207 in legal marijuana sold in January, $9.37 million of which was sold to medical marijuana patients. This falls short of the record-breaking $27 million sold in December, but is far ahead of the $13.1 million sold in January of 2023.

In 2023, the yearly total came to $274 million, average $22.8 million a month.
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Feb 18 2024

Missouri: $110 Million in Legal Marijuana Sold in January

In Missouri there was around $110 million in marijuana sold through licensed stores in January.

missouri marijuana

According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, there was $109.8 million in marijuana and marijuana products sold in January. $15 million of this was sold to medical marijuana patients, with the remaining $94.8 million sold to recreational consumers.

Given recreational marijuana sales began in February, 2023, this is the first January in Missouri where marijuana sales have been legal for everyone 21 and older and not exclusively to medical marijuana patients. In all 11 months that recreational marijuana has been legal, total marijuana sales have passed $100 million.
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Feb 18 2024

Study: CBD Has Positive Effects on Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood

Results of a newly published study indicate “a real-life positive effect of CBD on alternating hemiplegia of childhood type spells.”

Many alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) patients have received Cannabidiol (CBD) but, to our knowledge, there are no published data available”, states the abstract of the study, which was published by the European Journal of Paediatric Neurology and epublished by the US National Library of Medicine.

The goal of the study was to “Test the hypothesis that CBD has favorable effects on AHC spells.”
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Feb 18 2024

Hawaii On Track to Become 25th Legal Marijuana State

24 states have legalized recreational marijuana. Although several are vying to become the 25th, Hawaii appears the most on track to do so.

Earlier this week the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to pass Senate Bill 3335 to legalize recreational marijuana, the same day it was passed through the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services Committee. The measure, which is based on an outline put forth by Attorney General Anne E. Lopez, is expected to soon be considered by the full Senate, which voted 22 to 3 to pass a different legalization bill last session.

The proposed law would allow those 21 and older to purchase up to an ounce of marijuana and five grams of marijuana concentrates from licensed marijuana retail outlets, supplied by licensed growers and processors. The legislation would establish the Hawaii Cannabis Authority and Cannabis Control Board within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs in order to oversee a legal marijuana market, with recreational marijuana taxed at 14% and medical marijuana taxed at 4%. The personal cultivation of up to six plants would also be allowed.
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Feb 18 2024

In Clinical Trial Psilocybin Was Effective in Reducing Treatment Resistant Depression

In a new study published in the journal Med, psilocybin was found to be safe and effective in combatting treatment resistant depression.

Dried psilocybin mushrooms.

Titled Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for treatment resistant depression: A randomized clinical trial evaluating repeated doses of psilocybin, the study was conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto, McMaster University and Queens University.

“Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) has been associated with antidepressant effects”, states the study’s abstract. “Trials to date have typically excluded participants with complex presentations. Our aim was to determine the feasibility of PAP in a complex population, including high levels of treatment resistance in major depressive and bipolar disorder and patients with baseline suicidality and significant comorbidity.
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Feb 18 2024

WA House Committee Passes Senate Approved Bill to Alter Possession Limit for Marijuana-Infused Liquids

 Washington’s Senate Committee on Labor and Commerce has voted to pass a bill to alter the state’s possession limit for marijuana-infused liquids.

(Photo credit: GETTY Images).

Senate Bill 5340 was given approval by the committee in a unanimous 9 to 0 vote. The vote comes five days after the full House of Representatives advanced the bill in a vote of 88 to 9. The measure must now be advanced through one further Senate committee before it can be considered by the full chamber and if passed, sent to Governor Jay Inslee.

Under current Washington law those 21 and older can possess up to 72 ounces of marijuana-infused products in liquid form, given it has no more than 100mg of THC per product and no more than 10mg THC per serving. Senate Bill 5340 would make it so that a retailer “may sell more than 72 ounces of cannabis-infused product in liquid form if the product is packaged in individual units containing no more than four milligrams of THC per unit.”
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Feb 16 2024

Florida Senate Unanimously Approves Bill to Ban Delta-8 THC

Florida’s full Senate has approved legislation to place a cap on the amount of THC sold in hemp-derived products, while banning Delta-8 THC outright.

Gummies made with delta-8 THC.

In a unanimous 39 to 0 vote, the Florida Senate sent Senate Bill 1698 to the House of Representatives, which is expected to quickly act on the measure.

The proposal would entirely ban the sale of delta-8 THC that’s derived from hemp, which was legalized under the 2018 farm bill. Delta-8 THC interacts with the body in a way similar to marijuana-derived delta-9 THC, despite the latter being illegal for recreational use in Florida. This has led some lawmakers to consider it a loophole, allowing consumers to legally get a marijuana-like high.
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