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Bill would let cannabis biz get disaster aid (Newsletter: September 25, 2020)
New Congressional marijuana reports; CA cannabis-funded community grants; OR Dems back legal psilocybin & drug decrim; Cannabis sales spike amid COVID
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR) filed companion bills to make marijuana businesses harmed by recent wildfires and other disasters eligible to receive federal relief funds on a retroactive basis.
Two new reports from the Congressional Research Service analyze marijuana expungements and cannabis-related consequences for immigrants.
The Democratic Party of Oregon endorsed two far-reaching drug policy reform measures on the state’s November ballot. One would legalize psilocybin therapy, and the other would decriminalize possession of all drugs and increase treatment funding.
The California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development announced it’s accepting applications for $30 million in grants—funded by marijuana tax revenue—to help communities targeted and harmed by the war on drugs.
A report from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis shows how marijuana sales during the coronavirus pandemic are way higher than previous projections and says that “expectations are that some of these increases will be permanent.”
- “Factors leading to increases in sales include higher incomes due to federal support, increased stressors in everyday life, reductions in other forms of entertainment or recreational opportunities, and simply more time on one’s hand be it due to a COVID-related layoff, or increased working from home.”
/ FEDERAL
The death of Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party congressional candidate Adam Weeks means that a special election for the seat will have to be held in February and that no results from Election Day in November will be reported.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) again slammed Democrats for mentioning cannabis more times than jobs in their coronavirus relief bill.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) criticized House leadership’s decision to delay a vote on a bill to federally legalize marijuana.
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) reported that roughly a tenth of constituent messages she received last week were about a marijuana legalization bill.
Tennessee Democratic congressional candidate Christopher Hale tweeted, “Why is it that kids and veterans in Tennessee who smoke marijuana have criminal records, but those who committed billions of dollars of fraud on Wall Street and wrecked our economy do not?”
/ STATES
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed an executive order extending the expiration date for medical cannabis cards to the end of the year.
Michigan lawmakers sent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) legislation to streamline the process for expunging marijuana and other convictions. Separately, regulators issued a health and safety advisory bulletin about the presence of Vitamin E acetate in cannabis vape cartridges.
Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor tweeted, “Right here in Pennsylvania, we should be offering high-paying cannabis-related jobs in this growing industry. Pennsylvania needs action now. Contact your state legislators and advocate for change.”
Ohio’s attorney general tweeted about the state’s testing method to differentiate between hemp and marijuana.
Nevada regulators extended the expiration date for marijuana temporary agent cards.
Florida’s Hemp Advisory Committee met.
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/ LOCAL
Denver, Colorado officials are holding a marijuana licensing work group on Tuesday.
/ INTERNATIONAL
UK officials rejected the European Commission’s preliminary finding that CBD should be regulated as a narcotic.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study found that “30 percent of migraine patients in the U.S. have used cannabis to relieve migraine pain and 82 percent of those who used cannabis found it useful to reduce the pain level.”
A study of rats found that “Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol administration following repeated mild traumatic brain injury was beneficial to three of the six behavioural outcomes affected by injury (reducing anxiety and depressive-like behaviours while also mitigating injury-induced deficits in short-term working memory)” and that “Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol may have potential therapeutic benefit on post-concussive symptomology when administered post-injury, but not pre-injury.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
The National Cannabis Industry Association announced the former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang will deliver a keynote address at its November virtual conference.
Decriminalize Nature made a Facebook post calling out psychedelic reform funder David Bronner for allegedly “resorting to divide and conquer tactics to control the Decriminalize Nature movement.”
The UK Labour Campaign for Drug Policy Reform and Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group endorsed legalizing marijuana and decriminalizing drugs.
/ BUSINESS
4Front Ventures Corp. announced it completed its sale of three Maryland medical cannabis dispensaries to Ethos Cannabis.
California regulators filed a complaint against Vertical Bliss, Inc., aka Kushy Punch for allegedly conducting unlicensed marijuana operations.
/ CULTURE
Actor Brian Cox said using marijuana helped get him through coronavirus lockdown.
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