Feb 02 2023

Poll Finds Majority of Adults in Hawaii Support Legalizing Marijuana

According to new polling a majority of adults in Hawaii are in favor of passing a law that legalized recreational marijuana.

The poll, conducted by SMS Hawai’i, found that 52% of Hawaii residents who are adults support legalizing marijuana, with just 31% opposed. This leaves 17% undecided, although if all 17% decided to oppose legalization it would still maintain majority support.

“Reasons for support are varied, but tend to center on social and economic benefits, the belief that citizens should have the ability to choose what to do with their bodies, and the fact that cannabis is perceived to be safe, especially compared to prescription drugs”, states the authors of the poll. “Reasons for opposition are equally varied, but focus on the perception that society may be harmed, the belief that cannabis itself is harmful (and a potential gateway to other drugs), and insistence that cannabis will be abused if legalized”.
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Jan 31 2023

D.C. Mayor Signs Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill Into Law

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has signed into law legislation that significantly expands the district’s medical marijuana program.

The legislation (Bill 24-0113) was introduced by Council Chair Phil Mendelson on behalf of Mayor Bowser, who signed the measure Into law on Monday. It passed the council last month in a unanimous 13 to 0 vote.

The new law removes the cap on the number of plants that a cultivation center can grow and significantly increases the number of permitted dispensaries in the District. The law also creates new business categories within the industry including on-site consumption facilities and marijuana cooking classes, and it makes permanent the option for patients to self-certify that they’re qualified medical marijuana patients.
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Jan 30 2023

Study Finds CBD Can “Selectively Kill a Subset of Gram-Negative Bacteria” Including Gonorrhoeae

A new study reports for the first time that “cannabidiol can selectively kill a subset of Gram-negative bacteria that includes the ‘urgent threat’ pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae.”

Published in the journal Communications Biology, the study was conducted by researchers at the New York University School of Medicine in New York City and Universidad Miguel Hernández and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas in  Alicante, Spain.

“Antimicrobial resistance threatens the viability of modern medicine, which is largely dependent on the successful prevention and treatment of bacterial infections”, states the study’s abstract. “Unfortunately, there are few new therapeutics in the clinical pipeline, particularly for Gram-negative bacteria.”
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Jan 30 2023

Study: CBD Decreased Anxiety Scores in 79.2% of Patients and “Remained Decreased During the Study Duration”

A new study published in The Permanente Journal and on the website for the National Library of Medicine has found that the cannabis compound cannabidiol (CBD) may be a potential treatment option for anxiety.

Researcher for the study note that a “recent surge in scientific publications has found preclinical and clinical evidence documenting value for CBD in some neuropsychiatric disorders, including epilepsy, anxiety, and schizophrenia, with evidence pointing toward “a calming effect for CBD in the central nervous system.” They note that “Interest in CBD as a treatment of a wide range of disorders has exploded, yet few clinical studies of CBD exist in the psychiatric literature.”

With that in mind, the objective of this study was to “determine whether CBD helps improve sleep and/or anxiety in a clinical population.”
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Jan 30 2023

Third Minnesota Senate Committee Approves Bill to Legalize Marijuana

Legislation to legalize marijuana in Minnesota is advancing at a rapid pace, with three senate committees and four house committees voting to pass the measure.

Senate Jobs and Economic Development Committee voted 5 to 3 today to a measure to legalize marijuana for everyone 21 and older. The proposal has already been approved through two other senate committees, as well as four house committees.

“Prohibition of cannabis is a failed system that has not achieved the desired goals and has had incredible costs for our communities, especially for communities of color,” said Senator Lindsey Port at today’s hearing. Port is the prime sponsor of the bill in the senate, with the prime house sponsor being Representative Zack Stephenson.
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Jan 30 2023

Poll: 60% of Voters in Virginia Support Legalizing Marijuana

A strong majority of likely voters in Virginia favor legalizing marijuana, according to new polling.

The new Christopher Newport University survey found that 60% of Virginia voters support legalizing the licensed retail distribution of marijuana for those 21 and older.

“It comes as no surprise that a majority of Virginians support legalizing the sale of cannabis,” said NORML Development Director JM Pedini. “Virginians understand that prohibition has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars, derailed the lives of hundreds of thousands of hard-working Virginians, and that it has done nothing to protect our youth or provide for consumer safety. They’re ready for cannabis policies that work for, not against them.”
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Jan 27 2023

Virginia Senate Subcommittee Approves Bill to Lower Scheduling of Magic Mushrooms, Create Advisory Board

Legislation to lower the scheduling of magic mushrooms and to create a state Advisory Board for the psychedelic has been passed out of its initial committee.

Introduced by State Senator Ghazala Hashmi, the measure would establish a statewide psilocybin advisory board and would adjust the psychedelic to be a lower schedule under state law, from Schedule I to Schedule III.

The proposal was passed by the Senate Education and Health Subcommittee on Health Professions in a 6 to 1 vote on Friday.
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Jan 26 2023

Study: Long-Term Marijuana Inhalation Does Not Impair Lung Function

According to a new study published in the journal Respiratory Medicine the long-term inhalation of marijuana smoke does not impact lung function.

For the study Australian researchers examined “whether cigarette smoking or cannabis use and co-use are each associated with lung function in a population sample of young adults.”

The data used by researchers is from a prospective cohort study of cigarette smoking, cannabis use and co-use at 21 and 30 years of age and lung function measured at 30 years.
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Jan 26 2023

Study Examining 63 Million Medicare Recipients Finds Marijuana Legalization Does Not Increase Psychosis Diagnoses

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open has found that “states with legalization policies experienced no statistically significant increase in rates of psychosis-related diagnoses”.

As noted by the study’s authors, psychosis is a hypothesized consequence of cannabis use. Legalizing cannabis “could therefore be associated with an increase in rates of health care utilization for psychosis.”

The objective of this study, which was conducted by researchers at Stanford University, the University of Pennsylvania, New York University and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System evaluated “the association of state medical and recreational cannabis laws and commercialization with rates of psychosis-related health care utilization.”
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Jan 25 2023

Medical Marijuana Sales Begin in Mississippi

Licensed medical dispensaries in Mississippi began selling marijuana and marijuana products today to qualified patients.

In February of last year state lawmakers passed a law regulating the medical marijuana industry, which came roughly 15 months after an initiative to legalize medical marijuana was passed by voters and subsequently struck down by the courts. Nearly a year later, and legal medical marijuana sales are now underway.

“Marijuana access has been long overdue for Mississippi’s patients,” says NORML’s State Policies Manager Jax James. “The overwhelming majority of voters decided in favor of this policy change over two years ago, and lawmakers had an obligation to ensure that the process of providing access faced no further undue delays.”
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