Marijuana Moment: FL GOP opposes cannabis ballot measure (Newsletter: May 7, 2024)

[Tokeativity]

DEA rescheduling controversy; SD legalization sigs; MA & VT psychedelics; Lawyers push Biden on marijuana clemency; Cannabis entourage effect study

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

Drug Enforcement Administration head Anne Milgram did not personally sign off on the agency’s cannabis rescheduling decision, according to leaders of prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

The Florida Republican Party passed a resolution opposing the marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot, clearing the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to formally raise money to fund a campaign against the measure.

South Dakota activists are “extremely confident” they will turn in enough valid signatures to qualify a marijuana legalization initiative for the November ballot on Tuesday.

The Massachusetts legislature’s Special Joint Committee on Ballot Initiatives is recommending that lawmakers decline to enact a psychedelics legalization measure, leaving it to activists to collect another batch of signatures to put the reform before voters in November.

The Vermont House Human Services Committee approved a Senate-passed bill to create a psychedelic-assisted therapy working group to make recommendations on whether and how the state should regulate legal access to substances like psilocybin and MDMA.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers sent a letter to White House counsel calling for “immediate commutation of sentences, compassionate release and second chances for persons convicted of non-violent marijuana offenses.”

A new scientific review shows how marijuana’s “entourage effect” in which “combined actions of terpenes and phytocannabinoids results in effects that exceed the sum of their separate contributions” offers “hope” for developing “novel treatment approaches.”

Patient enrollment in New Jersey’s medical cannabis program is dropping as the recreational marijuana market expands.

/ FEDERAL

The Congressional Research Service noted a recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision upholding the Federal Aviation Administration’s revocation of a pilot’s license due to marijuana transportation.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said that Democrats’ push to legalize marijuana is “an appeal to younger voters.”

Sen. John Tester (D-MT) said rescheduling marijuana will facilitate more research by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said marijuana legalization has been a “disaster” but “if it’s gonna be legal then might as well let them use the banks.”

Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) said, “When you look at male participation in the workforce, a lot of that decline is due to marijuana usage and the normalization of it.”

Sen, John Cornyn (R-TX) criticized the move to reschedule marijuana administratively.

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) said the federal marijuana rescheduling decision is “a move in the right direction.”

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said he is “not a fan” of rescheduling marijuana.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) discussed the political opportunities for marijuana reform.

/ STATES

Tennessee’s lieutenant governor, House speaker and other lawmakers discussed the effect the federal marijuana rescheduling decision could have on cannabis reform efforts in the state.

Indiana gubernatorial candidates discussed their views on marijuana policy.

A South Carolina senator said the federal marijuana rescheduling move could bolster efforts to legalize medical cannabis in the state.

A Pennsylvania representative discussed the implications of the federal marijuana rescheduling decision.

A North Carolina appeals court is being asked to reconsider a ruling on the smell of cannabis as a basis for searches.

Arizona regulators announced a recall of marijuana products due to the presence of aspergillus.

Disciplinary hearings about Massachusetts’s suspended top marijuana regulator will continue later this month.

New Jersey’s top marijuana regulator participated in a podcast on the continued expansion of the state’s legal marijuana market.

California regulators prepared a draft environmental impact report on the licensing of cannabis cultivation in Mendocino County.

Colorado’s psychedelics-focused Federally Recognized American Tribes and Indigenous Community Working Group will hold its first meeting on Wednesday.

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/ LOCAL

Austin, Texas police claim that they found fentanyl-laced marijuana.

The Sonoma County, California Board of Supervisors approved cannabis equity grants.

/ INTERNATIONAL

Irish officials have been slow to nominate members to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drug Use.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study found that “adjunctive use of artisanal CBD was associated with improvements in the behavioral and psychological symptoms of [treatment resistant epilepsy], as well as improved medication tolerability.”

A review concluded that “seven of the nine included studies showed a significant benefit of psilocybin on change in depression scores compared with comparator treatment.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

The Competitive Enterprise Institute published a blog post expressing concerns with certain provisions of a marijuana banking bill.

/ BUSINESS

High Times’s assets are being sold off.

The Cannabist Company workers in North Hollywood and Studio City, California voted to join Teamsters Local 630.

/ CULTURE

Jimmy Kimmel joked about the federal marijuana rescheduling decision.

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