Author: Ben Adlin

[ad_1] More Americans now consume cannabis every day than drink alcohol on a daily basis, according to a newly published study that explores how marijuana use habits have changed in recent decades. Since 1992, it says, the per capita rate of daily cannabis consumption in the country has increased nearly 15 times over. The rise in frequent cannabis use coincides with an increasing number of states that have ended marijuana prohibition, though the study’s author, Carnegie Mellon University professor Jonathan Caulkins, says it’s not clear whether legalization led to increased use or the whether broader consumption by the public boosted…

[ad_1] The sponsor of a Colorado bill that would have forced social media platforms to ban users for talking positively online about certain controlled substances—including as state-legal psychedelics, certain hemp products and even some over-the-counter cough syrups—abruptly shelved the bill this week. Advocates say their pushback to the proposal “caught the attention of the legislature” and convinced lawmakers to reverse course. The legislation, SB24-158—a broad proposal concerning internet age verification and content policies—would have required social media platforms to immediately remove any user “who promotes, sells, or advertises an illicit substance.” Though an earlier amendment from the bill’s Senate sponsor,…

[ad_1] Vermont’s Senate has passed a bill to legalize and fund a facility in Burlington where people could use currently prohibited substances in a medically supervised environment—part of a pilot program aimed at quelling the ongoing epidemic of drug-related deaths. Senate lawmakers approved the bill, H.72, on a voice vote on Thursday, with no discussion of the proposal. A day earlier on the Senate floor, however, Sen. Ginny Lyons (D) described the measure as an evidence-based approach to reducing opioid-related deaths in the state. “As long as there’s demand for addictive substances, these problems will persist,” she told colleagues. “H.72…

[ad_1] A day after the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) decision that marijuana will move to the less-restrictive Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, a leading cannabis prohibition group sent an email to supporters asking for money to fuel its fight against the reform. “SAM will oppose this change at every level, including, if necessary, pursuing legal action,” the group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, wrote in the email on Wednesday. An included link to what SAM describes as a “Rescheduling Legal Defense Fund” asks for one-time or monthly recurring donations of between $250 and $5,000, though supporters can also choose…

[ad_1] Lawmakers on a South Carolina House committee took testimony on Tuesday on a Senate-passed bill that would legalize medical marijuana in the state, but the panel’s chair says it’s unlikely the proposal will actually receive a vote in her chamber by the end of the legislative session. At a roughly two-and-a-half-hour hearing, the House Medical Cannabis Ad Hoc Committee took testimony from doctors, patients and members of the public. After the hearing, however, Rep. Sylleste Davis (R), who chairs the panel, told reporters that the body is unlikely to meet again before lawmakers adjourn on May 9. “We just…

[ad_1] During a congressional hearing on Chinese money laundering and “cleaning cartel cash” on Tuesday—a meeting that focused mostly on the topic of fentanyl—Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) spoke out against a congressional bill that would ease access to banking services for state-legal marijuana businesses, pointing to a deadly 2022 shooting at a cannabis facility that involved people who “were all from China,” the senator said. Grassley showed members of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control a video of law enforcement responding to the incident, which occurred at what he described as a “fraudulently registered medical marijuana farm in Kingfisher…

[ad_1] Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is again lashing out at marijuana legalization as voters prepare to decide on a ballot initiative in November, warning that the reform would negatively impact quality of life in the state. The governor, who has mocked legalization repeatedly in a series of recent comments, signaled that he may be taking on a more active role in the effort to defeat the cannabis reform as Election Day approaches. “We’ll be getting involved in different ways on those initiatives,” he said remarks Tuesday about the marijuana ballot measure and a separate proposal on abortion rights. The…

[ad_1] A division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced it will hold an open meeting this summer to discuss the use of cannabis components to treat pain, with a special focus on minor cannabinoids and terpenes found in marijuana. The June 4 meeting of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) will convene dozens of NIH-funded researchers studying the pain-relieving properties of compounds in cannabis, and it will also feature a talk by officials at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) on cannabinoid research.…

[ad_1] Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R)— one of a handful of gubernatorial candidates in New Hampshire running this year to replace outgoing Gov. Chris Sununu (R)—said in a new interview that she opposes legalizing marijuana for adults, as a House-passed, Republican-led bill would do. Speaking to local ABC affiliate WMUR, Ayotte replied in the negative when asked whether she would entertain the reform, claiming legalization would worsen the state’s fentanyl problem and lead to an epidemic of mental health conditions in young people. “I don’t think legalizing marijuana is the right direction for our state,” said Ayotte, who represented…

[ad_1] A new study on effects of frequent marijuana use challenges a number of cannabis stereotypes, with researchers finding no association with paranoia or decreased motivation among habitual users. They also found no evidence that marijuana consumption causes a hangover the next day. Among the results that authors deemed “surprising,” data showed that “when chronic users got high, they were no more amotivated, no less motivated for extrinsic or intrinsic reasons, and no less willing to objectively push themselves.” Results were more mixed among especially frequent users, however, who reported more negative emotions and greater impulsiveness, but also more motivation.…

[ad_1] A new federal funding opportunity from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will use $8.4 million to support clinical trials on the safety and efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat chronic pain in older adults. An NIH notice of funding opportunity posted on Wednesday says the research can include “classic” psychedelics—including psilocybin, DMT, LSD and mescaline—as well as similar compounds such as MDMA. Cannabis and ketamine are not considered psychedelics for the purposes of the clinical trials. “Approximately 40% of older Americans report living with chronic pain,” the funding notice says, with treatment of pain later in life—involving acetaminophen,…

[ad_1] A California Senate panel this week narrowed the scope of a bill that would roll back existing employment protections for people who legally use marijuana while away from work. The revised measure, which advanced out of the committee on a 3–1 vote, would now remove those protections only for sworn law enforcement positions that involve certain specified duties. The bill, SB 1264, from Sen. Shannon Grove (R), was initially introduced in February as a minor technical fix to the employment protection law, which took effect at the beginning of this year and prevents employers for discriminating against workers for…