Feb 23 2023

Washington State Senate Votes to Protect Marijuana Users From Discrimination When Job Hunting

Legislation that would protect many job applicants from discrimination if they use marijuana during their personal time has been passed by the full Washington State Senate.

Senate Bill 5123, introduced by Senator Karen Keiser along with nine cosponsors, was passed by the Senate by a vote of 28 to 21. Prior to passing the measure the Senate approved an amendment by Senator Curtis King that would exclude positions that provide a “substantial risk of death.”

“It simply doesn’t make sense to base an employment decision on that kind of unreliable outcome and test,” said Senator Keiser, pointing out the fact that most employers test for THC metabolites which can remain in the system for weeks.
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Feb 22 2023

Alaska Supreme Court Decides to Remove Hundreds of Marijuana Convictions From Online Database

A decision by the Alaska Supreme Court will remove from an online database around 750 marijuana possession convictions.

The order signed by the court’s five justice will remove these marijuana convictions from Courtview, the state’s official online database of court cases which is useable by the public. The records will still be available for inspection at courthouses and through formal criminal background checks, but they won’t be readily available to the public.

“I’m glad that the Supreme Court has ordered this,” says Senator Scott Kawasaki.

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Feb 22 2023

Second Senate Committee Votes to Legalize Medical Marijuana in North Carolina

Legislation to legalize medical marijuana in North Carolina has been passed by its second Senate committee.

The Senate Finance Committee today voted in favor of a bill to legalize medical marijuana, just a day after the Senate Judiciary Committee made the same move.

Under the proposed law, which was introduced by Senator Bill Rabon,  patients with a “debilitating medical condition” such as cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder would be allowed to possess and consume medical marijuana and marijuana products if they receive a recommendation from a licensed physician, who would need to reevaluate patients’ medical marijuana status annually.
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Feb 22 2023

New Hampshire House Votes 234 to 127 to Legalize Marijuana

The New Hampshire House of Representatives has overwhelmingly voted in favor of legislation that would legalize marijuana.

Sponsored by Majority Leader Jason Osborne and Minority Leader Matthew Wilhelm, House Bill 639 was passed by a vote of 234 to 127 through its initial reading. The proposal would legalize recreational marijuana for everyone 21 and older while establishing a licensed and regulated system of marijuana retail outlets and producers.

“We can now join other New England states that offer safe, regulated and a profitable cannabis industry to their citizens,” said State Representative Anita Burroughs following the vote.  [This bill] allows us to do it the reasonable way, the responsible way, the innovative way and the bipartisan way.”
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Feb 21 2023

10 Committees in Minnesota’s House of Representatives Have Voted to Legalize Marijuana

Minnesota’s House Health Finance and Policy Committee has voted in favor of legislation to legalize marijuana.

This makes the committee the 10th to do so, meaning the proposal has just four more committees to clear before it can receive a vote by the full House.

“Minnesotans deserve the freedom and respect to make their own decisions about cannabis—and this bill is about providing them with that opportunity,” said State Representative Zack Stephenson, who sponsored the House version of the bill. “It’s time. Minnesotans are ready, Our current laws related to cannabis are doing more harm than good.”
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Feb 21 2023

Topical CBD Reduced Ulcer Size and Accelerated Healing in New Study

Topical CBD reduced the size and accelerated the healing of recurrent ulcers in a new randomized controlled trial published in the journal BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies

Titled Efficacy and safety of topical 0.1% cannabidiol for managing recurrent aphthous ulcers: a randomized controlled trial, the study was conducted by researchers at the Ministry of Public Health Thailand and Chulalongkorn University.

“Although topical steroids constitute the first-line therapy for recurrent aphthous ulcers (RAUs), their long-term use often leads to candidiasis”, states the study. “Although cannabidiol (CBD) can be an alternative for pharmacologically managing RAUs due to its analgesic and anti-inflammatory in vivo effects, there is a lack of clinical and safety trials concerning its use.”

With this in mind, the aim of this study “was to evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of topical 0.1% CBD for managing RAU.”
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Feb 21 2023

Colorado Garnered $23 Million in Marijuana Taxes in January, 2023

According to new data from the Colorado Department of Revenue, the state garnered over $23 million in taxes from marijuana sales last month.

In total the state made $23,352,041 in taxes from marijuana and marijuana products sold legally within the state in January. This brings the total since the beginning of legal marijuana sales in 2014 to $2,366,388,730.

In Colorado the excise tax on marijuana is set at 15%, which is on top of the 2.9% standard statewide sales tax. In addition to these taxes, localities have the option of implementing a city-wide tax of up to 3%. Colorado garnered $325 million in marijuana taxes in 2022 from $1.8 billion in marijuana sales.
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Feb 21 2023

Here Are The 21 States That Have Legalized Recreational Marijuana

Recreational marijuana has been legalized in 21 states across the U.S., with Oklahoma vying to be the 22nd during a March special election.

This means that despite decades of prohibition and propaganda, adults over the age of 21 can legally purchase and consume marijuana for recreational purposes in over 20 states (this number was 0 at the start of 2012). While the laws differ from state to state, here we list each state that has legalized recreational marijuana and their respective laws (in alphabetical order). Of these states, only Virginia and Rhode Island don’t allow licensed marijuana retail outlets.

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Feb 21 2023

North Carolina Senate Committee Passes Bill to Legalize Medical Marijuana

North Carolina’s Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced legislation that would legalize medical marijuana.

Introduced by Senator Bill Rabon, a Republican, the measure was passed through committee today in a voice vote after several amendments were approved.

Under the proposed law patients with a “debilitating medical condition” such as cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder would be allowed to possess and consume medical marijuana and marijuana products if they receive a recommendation from a licensed physician, who would need to reevaluate patients’ medical marijuana status annually.
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Feb 20 2023

CDC Report: High School Marijuana Use on Decline in Past Decade Despite 21 States Legalizing During That Period

According to new data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of high school students who report regularly consuming marijuana has fallen over the past decade.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2011-2021 found that the percentage of high-schoolers who report having used marijuana over the past 30 days fell from 23% in 2011 to 16% in 2021, with the decline being more pronounced among males than females. This is despite the fact that in 2011 there was exactly zero legal marijuana states, and now there’s 21.

“These latest findings add to the growing body of scientific literature showing that legalization policies can be implemented in a manner that provides access for adults while simultaneously limiting youth access and misuse”, says NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano. “Furthermore, these findings stand in sharp contrast to the sensational claims often made by legalization opponents, claims that thus far have proven to be baseless.”
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