Top VA Senator: Trade legal pot for sports stadium. DEA psychedelics banned. Prosecutors want Schedule I. Psilocybin decision. Veterans & Cannabis
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Top Things to Know
Louise Lucas, Virginia Senate Pro Tem (D), suggested that she would support Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) may have made his push to bring in the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals contingent on the passage of a bill legalizing marijuana sales.
Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D – OR) and Brian Mast – (R – FL) led a bipartisan letter of lawmakers asking House Appropriations Committee to include provisions that allow Department of Veterans Affairs doctors the ability to recommend medical marijuana in the final version of an important spending bill.
A coalition of 29 former U.S. Attorneys sent a letter to the Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration urging them to keep cannabis on Schedule I. They claimed that moving it to Schedule III could allow tax deductions to be used for advertisements promoting “kid friendly marijuana gummies.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, signed a law allowing medical marijuana grower/processors to sell directly to patients and also to allow independent dispensaries that already exist to obtain cultivation permits.
The U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, rejected a request that the Drug Enforcement Administration be forced to send a psilocybin rescheduling to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a medical and scientific review.
After a year of reluctance from scientists and advocates, the Drug Enforcement Administration has decided to again ban two psychedelics.
Tax Foundation’s new “blueprint” on marijuana says it is better to tax marijuana by weight or potency than by price. This is what many states currently do. The report projects that legalizing cannabis nationwide would generate state revenues of $8.5 billion per year.
A New York Assemblymember has filed a bill that would create a pilot program of psilocybin for 10,000 veterans and first responders.
Carnival Cruise Line’s spokesperson dismissed the theory that they enforce a strict prohibition on cannabis products in their ships to boost alcohol sales, saying that this “sounds like a thing someone would say while high.”
Two members of Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission wrote an op/ed on the importance of state laws protecting people from automatically being denied employment in marijuana industries due to previous convictions.
Maren Schroeder, of High Level Strategies, wrote an op/ed calling for Minnesota to guarantee that people accused of minor misdemeanors like minor cannabis law violations have the right to legal representation. This can affect immigration, housing and education.
Federal
Sens. Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance (R – OH) spoke on the decision of Ohio voters to legalize marijuana.
The son of Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND, is charged with homicide after a fatal car accident that claimed the life of a North Dakota deputy sheriff. He also faces charges for possession of marijuana, methamphetamines, cocaine, and drug paraphernalia.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR, predicted that the federal prohibition of marijuana will be lifted in this decade.
A total of 97 people have now co-sponsored the House marijuana banking legislation.
Three new co-sponsors have been added to the 79 total for the House bill that would legalize marijuana at federal level.
One new co-sponsor has been added to the five who have already signed on as sponsors of the House bill that would federally legalize marijuana activities currently allowed in states.
/ STATES
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said that adult-use marijuana sales would have been possible in medical cannabis dispensaries in early 2024 if the House of Representatives followed the Senate’s lead and approved a bill changing the marijuana legalization law as approved by voters. Separately several lawmakers discussed prospects of passing reform legislation within the next few weeks.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), the new deputy chief staff of Maryland Gov.
The New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee has approved a bill passed by the Assembly to fine people under 21 who are caught with alcohol or marijuana, and allow police to inform parents or guardians if they are under 18.
In their constituent surveys, several Indiana legislators asked about marijuana.
Mississippi regulators have revised their medical cannabis regulations.
Massachusetts regulators have voted to relax marijuana delivery regulations and extend waivers that allow medical cannabis recommendations to issued via telehealth.
Alaska officials have adopted new rules regarding the revocation and transportation of marijuana.
Oregon regulators have voted to postpone the implementation of batch-tagging marijuana plants.
Colorado regulators have published the average retail prices for marijuana.
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/ LOCAL
Portland officials are looking for people to serve as members of the Cannabis Policy Oversight Team.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Two Dutch cities have launched pilot programs to regulate marijuana sales.
The leader of the German Social Democratic Party’s parliamentary group said that a vote regarding marijuana legalization “will take place at the start of 2024.”
Ghana’s parliament has approved a bill to legalize hemp.
/ SCIENCE AND HEALTH
The study concluded that full-spectrum oil-based medicinal cannabis plant extract was “well tolerated and safe” and could have clinical benefits for improving disruptive behaviors and reducing anxiety among children with autism spectrum disorder-related symptoms.
ADVOCACY / OPINION, ANALYSIS & ADVOCACY
Whitney Economics has published the preliminary results of an industry survey on late payments.
/ BUSINESS
Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. announced a dividend per share of $1.82 for the quarter.
CULTURE
According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, actor Matthew Perry died of “acute effects from ketamine.”
Liv Morgan, a wrestler from the United States, was arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession.
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The article Pennsylvania Gov signs cannabis bill (Newsletter : December 18, 2023 first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
