Newsletter
Three federal agencies accept public comments on cannabis (Newsletter: September 17, 2019)
Former drug czar gives Mexico marijuana advice: Congressman worries about “spiritual war” and cannabis; Study: President influences legalization views
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- Gayle Zachaukirk: “I felt strongly to pledge, as a veteran who has suffered many years of inadequate mental health care, via Seattle’s VA CBOC, due simply to my choice of marijuana over deadly opioids, which I became addicted to during active duty, as military’s overwhelming pharmaceutical push.”
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
Three separate federal agencies—the Drug Enforcement Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Food and Drug Administration—are currently accepting public comments on cannabis-related issues such as global marijuana rescheduling, hemp pesticides and a proposed 2020 cultivation quota.
Former White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske, who once said that the word “legalization” isn’t even in his vocabulary, offered some very specific marijuana regulation advice to Mexican lawmakers as they move toward ending prohibition.
Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) cited the fact that “marijuana dispensaries are on the same streets as thriving churches” as evidence of a “spiritual war our nation is entrenched in.”
A study looking at how the White House shapes public opinion about cannabis finds that “presidential drug rhetoric predicts attitudes toward legalization despite controls for other factors such as estimated levels of marijuana use and arrests.”
/ FEDERAL
The Military Health System tweeted, “Service members should avoid any product with Cannabidiol (CBD), as it could result in a positive drug test.”
Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb tweeted that THC vapes are “slipping through a regulatory crack where they’re not actively regulated by the feds (and fall mostly outside FDA’s legal purview) and they’re not carefully scrutinized by states that’ve passed permissive cannabis laws that fueled these products.”
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) apparently want the Trump administration to extend its proposed ban on flavored nicotine vaping devices to cannabis vapes.
Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) is seeking cosponsors for legislation to remove marijuana as a deportable offense for immigrants.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) cited his work on hemp legislation as an example of his effectiveness as a legislator, tweeting, “Ask anyone who takes CBD now.”
/ STATES
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed an executive order increasing enforcement against counterfeit marijuana and nicotine vaping products and increasing warning signs for consumers.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) spoke about how severe lung illnesses associated with vaping seem to be caused by unregulated cannabis preparations.
Utah lawmakers unanimously voted to send legislation revising the state’s medical cannabis distribution system to the desk of Gov. Gary Herbert (R).
An Indiana judge issued a preliminary injunction on a state law that criminalizes smokable hemp.
New Hampshire lawmakers are expected to vote Wednesday and Thursday to override Gov. Chris Sununu’s (R) veto of a bill to allow medical cannabis home cultivation. They will also consider an override of a veto on legislation to let dispensaries become for-profit operations.
Nevada regulators are investigating marijuana testing laboratories for allegedly manipulating THC levels. Separately, regulators sent an advisory about moldy and yeasty marijuana.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is investigating threats made against the state’s top medical cannabis regulator.
A Massachusetts representative filed a bill to amend the local approval process for marijuana businesses.
The chair of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands House Committee on Cannabis said lawmakers look forward to working with regulators to implement the territory’s marijuana legalization law.
Texas regulators are moving to license more low-THC medical cannabis providers.
Colorado regulators are considering how to apportion new marijuana business licenses reserved for low-income demographics.
Maine regulators unveiled the state’s marijuana track and trace program.
Ohio regulators released updated medical cannabis patient and caregivers counts.
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/ LOCAL
The Cincinnati, Ohio City Council is considering a proposal to expunge marijuana convictions.
Activists in Ann Arbor, Michigan are working to decriminalize psychedelics.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Myanmar is moving to allow hemp farming.
Saint Lucia’s Cannabis Commission held its first meeting.
Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron spoke about his past marijuana use.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review concluded that cannabis terpenes and terpenoids “may be an important potential source for new medications for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders.”
A study of marijuana extraction and solvent evaporation methods found that “the use of heating and the presence of oxygen when evaporating the solvents greatly modified the final profiles due to evaporation or chemical reactions.”
/ BUSINESS
Former Canopy Growth Corp. CEO Bruce Linton is signing on as an advisor to a number of smaller marijuana companies.
Cresco Labs Inc. is acquiring assets from Tryke Companies, LLC in a $282.5 million deal.
Coors Distributing Company announced plans to begin distributing CBD beverages.
An Associated Press investigation found unregulated CBD vapes containing illegal synthetic cannabinoids in states across the country.
Two senior VICE employees were reportedly fired after purchasing a large quantity of marijuana for a video in which the rapper Lil Yachty would attempt to roll the world’s heaviest blunt.
A principal of Green Springs Medical in Arkansas is suing his partner for allegedly violating state regulations.
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