Nov 04 2023

Federal Marijuana Banking Act Gains Three New Sponsors, Now Sponsored By 34% of Entire US Senate

The SAFER Banking Act is now sponsored by 34% of the entire United States Senate.

The SAFER Banking Act (S.2860) gained three new sponsors this week, joining the 31 already cosponsoring the bill. The new sponsors are Senators Alejandro Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Brian Schatz (D-HI). The primary sponsor of the legislation is Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

The proposed law, which recently passed the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs with bipartisan support, would explicitly allow banks and other financial institutions to provide services to marijuana businesses that are legal under their state’s law. This would allow marijuana retail outlets to move from a dangerous cash only model to a model that allows them to accept debit and credit cards like any other business.
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Nov 04 2023

Indiana Legislative Committee Holds Nearly Seven Hour Marijuana Hearing

A legislative study committee recently held a hearing to discuss the potential of decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana in Indiana, with the meeting lasting nearly seven hours.

The Commerce and Economic Development Interim Study Committee, consisting of both senators and state representatives, held the meeting on Wednesday. Although members discussed a variety of potential approaches for reforming the state’s marijuana laws and also discussed its potential benefits and risks, no specific agreement was reached.

”We just couldn’t gain consensus on this, so there are no current recommendations on the table,” said Senator Scott Baldwin, Chair of the committee.
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Nov 03 2023

Georgia Court Rules Delta-8 and Delta-10 THC Products Can Be Legally Sold

The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that products derived from hemp containing Delta-8 THC and/or Delta-10 THC are not controlled substances and thus can be legally sold in the state.

Delta-8 THC gummies (photo credit: FloraCBD).

The ruling also applies to all products containing other hemp-derived cannabinoids including CBD (cannabidiol), CBG (cannabigerol) and CBN (cannabinol).

The ruling stems from police raids that took part in 2022 of the hemp business Elements Distribution. The company supplied numerous businesses with a variety of hemp products containing Delta-8 and Delta-10 THC, including vape products and gummies.
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Nov 03 2023

Florida Supreme Court to Hold Hearing on Marijuana Legalization Initiative on November 8

The Florida Supreme Court will hold a hearing Wednesday, November 8 to decide whether or not an initiative to legalize marijuana will be placed on next year’s general election ballot.

In June the Florida Division of Elections confirmed that the Smart & Safe Florida campaign submitted 967,528 validated signatures on their marijuana legalization initiative, well more than the 891,523 signatures required to put the measure to a vote of the people. However, the state’s attorney general is attempting to block the proposal from being considered, arguing that the ballot summary is “misleading”.

Now, the Florida Supreme Court will take up with the issue. Oral arguments are set to begin on November 8 for case number SC2023-0682, with the court set to decide whether or not voters can consider the measure during the 2024 election, or if the initiative language is invalid, requiring proponents to go back to the drawing board and recollect the necessary signatures.
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Nov 03 2023

Study: Combining CBD and Caffeine Appears Safe and It Does Not Alter the Effects of Each Substance

The findings of a study published yesterday “suggest that combinations of the tested doses of caffeine and CBD do not alter subjective drug effects”, and “no negative effects emerged”.

(Photo credit: Shutterstock).

The study is being published in the upcoming issue of the journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, and it’s been published online ahead of print by the US National Library of Medicine. It was conducted by researchers at the University of Arkansas, James Madison University and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

“Caffeine and cannabidiol (CBD) are commonly consumed by the general population, particularly among young adults; however, there is little research on the simultaneous effects of caffeine and CBD”, note sthe study’s abstract. “The present study aimed to examine the simultaneous self-reported effects of caffeine and CBD in young healthy adults.”
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Nov 02 2023

Wisconsin Marijuana Bill Would Garner $166 Million in Annual Tax Revenue, Says Government Analysis

Recently filed legislation to legalize marijuana in Wisconsin would result in over $165 million in annual tax revenue by the third year, according to an official fiscal note for the bill.

Senate Bill 486 was filed last month with a bipartisan coalition of 36 cosponsors, with a companion fill filed in the state’s Assembly the following week. Now, the legislation has received an official fiscal note, conducted by government analysts.

“Given that current law prohibits the manufacturing, distributing, possessing, or delivering marijuana in
Wisconsin there is no state-specific data available to construct an accurate estimate”, notes the report. “However, three midwestern states (MI, IL, MN) have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana [and all] three states generate revenues through a variety of permits/licensing fees and excise taxes on retail sales (medical exempted), in addition Illinois imposes an excise tax on sales by growers to retailers.”
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Nov 02 2023

US Senate Banking Chair Says He Voted in Favor of Legalizing Marijuana in Ohio

US Senator Sherrod Brown (D, Ohio), Chair of the powerful Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, has announced that he has voted in support of Issue 2 to legalize marijuana.

(Photo credit: Ting Shen/Bloomberg).

“Connie and I just voted early today at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections”, Brown said in a post on the social media platform X. “She’s given me permission to share how she voted.” After stating that he voted in favor of Issue 1 to protect reproductive rights for women, he stated that “We also both voted for Issue 2. We urge people to vote.”

Brown told local news outlet Spectrum News 1 that they “voted to legalize because we thought overall regulation—legalization and regulation of marijuana use—the public would be safer doing it that way.”
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Nov 02 2023

DEA Seeks to Over Double Amount of THC Produced in 2024, Double Production of Magic Mushrooms

Just days after the DEA announced that it’s seeking to drastically increase the amount of THC, ibogaine and magic mushrooms being produced this year for research purposes, the agency has announced that they are also seeking to substantially increase the amount of these products it hopes is manufactured in 2024.

“The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposes to establish the 2024 aggregate production quotas (APQ) for controlled substances in schedules I and II of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the assessment of annual needs (AAN) for the list I chemicals ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine”, the DEA said in a notice published today on the Federal Register. “For the 2024 quota year, DEA intends to allocate procurement quotas to DEA-registered manufacturers of schedule II controlled substances on a quarterly basis.”

In order to address domestic drug shortages of controlled substances, “procurement quota allocations will be divided between quantities authorized for domestic sales and quantities authorized for export sales.”
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Nov 02 2023

Nevada: $70 Million in Marijuana Sold in August, $10.5 Million in Taxes Garnered

Nevada marijuana stores sold just shy of $70 million worth of legal marijuana and marijuana products in August.

There was exactly $69,503,165 in legal marijuana sold in August, according to the Nevada Department of Taxation. This is around $2 million less than the total sales for July, although tax revenue was actually  higher; $10,594,977 compared to $10,061,170.

The vast majority of the sales came from Clark County with $52,134,887 sold, followed by Washoe County  at $9,894,564. There was $7,473,714 sold among “all other counties”.
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Nov 02 2023

Oregon: Almost $80 Million in Legal Marijuana Sold in October, Price Drops to $3.82 a Gram

Oregon marijuana sales saw a slight decrease from September to October, but there was still nearly $80 million sold.

According to data released by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, there was $78,623,246 worth of legal marijuana and marijuana products sold in October. This includes dried flower, concentrates, edibles, topicals and tinctures.

The $78.6 million sold in October is around $1.5 million less than the total for September, and around $3 million less than the sale’s totals for August and July. However, it is roughly on par with the $79 million sold in October, 2022.
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