Dec 07 2022

D.C. Council Votes to Expand Medical Marijuana Law

The Washington D.C. Council has passed legislation to significantly expand the district’s medical marijuana program.

The Medical Cannabis Amendment Act was passed by the council through its first reading by a vote of 7 to 4. It will now be required to received one final vote by the council before it can be sent to Mayor Bowser for approval.

The proposed law would make several changes to expand the district’s medical marijuana program, including eliminating the cap on marijuana businesses and creating new business categories within the industry including on-site consumption facilities and marijuana cooking classes.
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Dec 06 2022

Study: Every $1 of Medical Cannabis Sold Associated With $0.74 – $0.84 in Decreased Alcohol Sales

Medical cannabis sales in Canada are associated with a large decrease in alcohol sales, according to a new study published in the journal Health Policy.

Conducted at Brock University in Canada, the full text of the study can be found by clicking here.

“The extent to which legalizing cannabis use might lead to increased or decreased alcohol use has important implications for public health, economic growth, and government policy”, notes the study’s abstract. Researchers analyzed Canada’s monthly per capita sales of alcohol and legal medical cannabis using “fixed effect panel data linear regressions.”
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Dec 06 2022

Connecticut Will Automatically Expunge Over 40,000 Marijuana Convictions on January 1st

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced today that thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession are set to have these records cleared in January using an automated erasure method.

Records in approximately 44,000 cases will be fully or partially erased, according to a press release. The policy is “an integral part of the 2021 legislation Governor Lamont signed into law to safely regulate the adult use of cannabis.”

“On January 1, thousands of people in Connecticut will have low-level cannabis convictions automatically erased due to the cannabis legalization bill we enacted last year,” Governor Lamont said. “Especially as Connecticut employers seek to fill hundreds of thousands of job openings, an old conviction for low-level cannabis possession should not hold someone back from pursuing their career, housing, professional, and educational aspirations.”
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Dec 06 2022

Marijuana Legalization Will be Added to Missouri Constitution on Thursday

During last month’s election Missouri voters approved Constitutional Amendment 3 with 53% voting in favor, and this week the initiative goes into effect.

On Thursday, Missouri’s constitution will officially be amended to add Amendment 3, making legalized marijuana a constitutional right for everyone 21 and older. The amendment removes the state’s prohibitions on purchasing, possessing, consuming, using, delivering, manufacturing and selling marijuana for personal use for adults over 21.

The initiative also allows individuals with certain marijuana-related non-violent offenses to petition for release from incarceration or parole and probation and have records cleared.
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Dec 05 2022

Nevada Supreme Court Rules Medical Marijuana Patients Can Sue Employers if Fired

Late last week the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana patients can sue employers if they were fired for off-the-job marijuana use.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed in November, 2019 by Jim Roushkolb in the Eight District Court.

Roushkolb used cannabis to ease PTSD symptoms and anxiety stemming from a physical attack against him, but  in 2018 his employer Freeman Expositions LLC fired him on the spot after he tested positive for THC. They did this despite knowing that he’s a legal medical marijuana patient.
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Dec 04 2022

CB2R Activation Ameliorates Pseudomonas Aeruginosa-Induced Lung Injury and Inflammation

According to a new study published by the journal Respiratory Research, activation of the body’s cannabinoid-2 receptor ameliorates (makes better) pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced lung injury and inflammation, “thus paving the path for new therapeutic avenues against PA pneumonia.”

Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

As noted by the study’s abstract, bacterial pneumonia is a major risk factor for acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), an opportunistic pathogen with an increasing resistance acquired against multiple drugs, “is one of the main causative agents of ALI and ARDS in diverse clinical settings.”

Given the anti-inflammatory role of the cannabinoid-2 receptor (CB2R), “the effect of CB2R activation in the regulation of PA-induced ALI and inflammation was tested in a mouse model as an alternative to conventional antibiotic therapy.” CB2R activation is done naturally through the consumption of cannabis and cannabinoids.
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Dec 03 2022

Public Cannabis Consumption Lounges Given Initial Approved by New Jersey Officials

New Jersey regulators have given initial approval to rules that would allow marijuana to be consumed publicly.

At their monthly meeting on Friday New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission proposed rules and regulations allowing licensed marijuana retail outlets to have indoor and outdoor marijuana consumption lounges.

Based on the approved rules, anyone 21 and older with a valid photo ID would be authorized to use these lounges to consume marijuana and marijuana products. Similar to rules for bars, consumption-area workers would be prohibited from “overselling” to consumers, and they would be required to ensure that people are using cannabis safely on their premises. No alcohol or tobacco would be permitted, and the lounges must be enclosed.
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Dec 02 2022

Study: Cannabis Exposure Decreases Need for Blood Pressure Support During General Anesthesia

The prior use of cannabis “results in a decreased need for blood pressure support during general anesthesia”, finds a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Cannabis and Cannabinoids Research, with the full text of the study published on the website for the National Library of Medicine.

According to researchers, this retrospective study “focuses on the orthopedic trauma population presenting through an emergency department (ED) and receiving a urine drug screen (UDS) with subsequent urgent surgical intervention.” Researchers aimed “to evaluate differences in response to general anesthesia in patients with exposure to THC, a major cannabinoid, compared to controls that screened negative for THC.”

All ED visits at UC Irvine, a level 1 trauma center between November 4, 2017 and January 7, 2020, were evaluated in this study. Only adult patients who received a urine drug screen and underwent urgent orthopedic trauma surgery within 48 h of ED visit were included in this study. Additional inclusion criteria required an anesthesia time greater than 1 h as well as anesthesia induction and intubation while in the operating room. Overall, researchers analyzed a total of 221 adult patients.
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Dec 02 2022

President Biden Signs Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act Into Law

President Biden has officially signed the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act into law, making it the first standalone piece of marijuana legislation to ever be signed into law by a U.S. president.

H.R. 8454 was signed into law today by President Biden, a little over two weeks after it passed the Senate. It passed the House of Representatives in July.

“Thank you to Representatives Blumenauer, Harris, Griffith, Joyce, Mace, and Perlmutter, Delegate Norton, and Senators Feinstein, Grassley, Schatz, Durbin, Klobuchar, Tillis, Kaine, Ernst, Tester, and Murkowski for their leadership”, President Biden said in a statement following signage of the bill.
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Dec 01 2022

Study: THC and CBN Induced Cell Death in Cholangiocarcinoma (Bile Duct Cancer)

According to a new peer-reviewed study the cannabis compounds THC and CBN (cannabinol) induced apoptosis (cell death) in an animal model of cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer).

The study was published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and was conducted by researchers at Rangsit University, Bumrungrad International Hospital and Thammasat University, all in Thailand.

As noted by the study, cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a very aggressive tumor. Although it’s rare worldwide, it is one of the most common cancers in northeast Thailand. Given it’s highly resistant to chemotherapy, “the development of a new therapeutic drug for CCA is required.”

This study aimed “to evaluate the antitumor effect of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major psychoactive component of marijuana (Cannabis sativa), and cannabinol (CBN), a minor, low-psychoactive cannabinoid, on CCA cells and xenograft mice.”
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