Study: CO youth marijuana use declined; KS medical cannabis committee formed; AMA backs marijuana expungements
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a listening session to hear what tribal leaders have to say about their interest in joining the marijuana industry and concerns about cannabis policy.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment published a study showing that teen marijuana use dropped significantly in the state in 2021—and underage students say they have a harder time accessing cannabis now than before legal, regulated sales for adults launched.
Kansas lawmakers voted to create a Special Committee on Medical Marijuana that will work to prepare reform legislation this summer that can potentially pass when the legislature returns early in 2023.
The American Medical Association adopted a measure supporting expungement of marijuana records. The doctors group, which opposes legalization, also approved resolutions criticizing CBD marketing and the “over-medicalization” of cannabis.
/ FEDERAL
The Treasury Department reiterated that marijuana businesses are not eligible for State Small Business Credit Initiative assistance.
A federal judge sentenced to probation a co-conspirator of a former Fall River, Massachusetts mayor who was convicted of extorting marijuana businesses.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and three cosponsors filed a bill to require the federal government to launch an awareness campaign about the risk of marijuana and other drugs being contaminated with fentanyl.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) tweeted, “A decade after legalization, teen marijuana use in Colorado continues to fall. We are the model for nationwide legalization.”
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) suggested during a hearing that marijuana is being laced with fentanyl.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said in a House floor speech about Juneteenth that “it was Black men who bore the brunt of the failed war on drugs and the failure of so-called lock ’em up and throw away the key sentencing schemes, all of which didn’t make us safer, as people were banished, often for nonviolent drug offenses.”
Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Lucas Kunce tweeted photos of himself visiting a medical cannabis dispensary, saying, “As a Marine veteran, I know so many fellow veterans rely on medical marijuana to manage pain, PTSD, and even opioid addiction.”
/ STATES
Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, currently the attorney general, tweeted, “As Governor, I’ll legalize recreational marijuana — and it’s going to deliver millions of dollars back to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
The Montana legislature’s Economic Affairs Interim Committee is preparing draft legislation to amend marijuana laws.
The Arkansas legislature’s Medical Marijuana Oversight Subcommittee discussed telemedicine issues.
A North Carolina senator said she is hopeful about enacting medical cannabis legislation even if she is disappointed by how restrictive the current bill is.
A Nebraska senator tweeted that a new study showing reduced youth cannabis use in Colorado is “why thoughtful marijuana legalization and regulation improves public safety and health!”
The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld a life sentence for a man found guilty of possessing 43.71 grams of marijuana.
Florida regulators are being sued for allegedly failing to provide public records and improperly approving an investment firm’s request to own more medical cannabis business licenses than is allowed.
California regulators are proposing rulemaking action on cannabis equity fees, cultivation licenses and cannabinoid testing.
New Mexico’s top marijuana regulator resigned.
Iowa regulators adopted rules changes for the medical cannabidiol program.
New York regulators are accepting public comments on proposed rules on marijuana packaging, labeling, advertising and testing.
Kentucky’s Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee will hold its first meeting on Monday
Oklahoma’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Council will meet on Monday.
Colorado marijuana regulators are resuming in-person appointments on Tuesday.
West Virginia regulators will hold a medical cannabis patient signup event on June 29.
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/ LOCAL
Colorado Springs, Colorado activists turned in more than twice the amount of signatures needed to place measures on the ballot to legalize and tax recreational marijuana sales.
Douglas County, Kansas’s district attorney is serving notices to businesses that sell delta-8 THC products.
Sacramento, California’s mayor and city council members are supporting an effort to put a measure on the ballot that would allocate at least 40 percent of cannabis business operations tax revenue to fund youth development and violence prevention programs.
Brooklyn, New York’s district attorney posted a video about a cannabis town hall he hosted.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Thailand’s Ministry of Education plans to issue a directive prohibiting cannabis in schools.
A Russian court sentenced a former employee of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to 14 years in prison after he was caught possessing medical cannabis he says he was recommended by a doctor after undergoing back surgery.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review concluded that “topical cannabis has anti-inflammatory, anti-itching, analgesics, wound healing and anti-proliferative effects on the skin.”
A review of research on the role of psychedelics in treating addiction concluded that there are “high success rates in preliminary studies” and that “general anti-addiction efficacy across a variety of classes of addictive drugs is consistent with the notion that the persisting positive behavior change prompted by psychedelic therapy is due to amplification of psychotherapeutic processes.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Kentucky Democratic Party tweeted, “Republican politicians like Robert Stivers and Damon Thayer have blocked medical cannabis for too long. This week, @GovAndyBeshear appointed his medical cannabis advisory panel as he explores options for moving this issue forward and helping Kentuckians.”
The Cannabis Regulators Association elected new board members.
Advocacy tactics by Bay Staters for Natural Medicine to build support for a proposed Amherst, Massachusetts psychedelics decriminalization measure rubbed some Town Council members the wrong way.
/ BUSINESS
Flora Growth Corp.’s board authorized the repurchase of up to $5 million of its outstanding common shares.
/ CULTURE
Actress and Jeopardy host Mayim Bialik filed a lawsuit over companies falsely claiming she has endorsed CBD products.
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