Author: Ben Adlin

[ad_1] A bill on the desk of Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee (D) would exempt registered medical marijuana patients from the state’s 37 percent cannabis excise tax, which is currently one of the highest in the country. The exemption would only apply, however, to products that have been certified to higher testing standards than typical state-legal products. HB 1453, which lawmakers sent to the governor last week, would allow registered patients and caregivers to avoid the tax when purchasing products that are compliant with Department of Health (DOH) testing standards. Medical marijuana cardholders already are eligible for exemptions from sales…

[ad_1] As at least four U.S. states weigh whether to add female orgasmic disorder (FOD) as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana, a newly published journal article by one of the organizers of that effort further reinforces the potential benefits offered by cannabis, including increased orgasm frequency, improved satisfaction and greater ease achieving orgasm. Published this month in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, the report is the product of a 2022 observational study by authors Suzanne Mulvehill, a clinical sexologist, and Jordan Tishler, a doctor at the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists and the company inhaleMD. While decades of sexuality research…

[ad_1] Teen use of delta-8 THC is higher in states where marijuana is illegal, according to a new study published on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). When it comes to adolescent consumption of cannabis itself, “there were no differences in marijuana use by state-level cannabis policies,” the researchers concluded, contrary to legalization opponents’ oft-repeated claim that the reform will lead to increased teen use. Overall, just over eleven percent of high-school seniors self-reported using cannabis products containing delta-8 THC in the past year, the study found. Use of the largely unregulated psychoactive cannabinoid “is appreciable…

[ad_1] The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published a new “Hemp Research Needs Roadmap” and announced a $10 million investment in studies on the crop through Oregon State University. The department is also proposing to develop a public-private consortium focused on streamlining hemp research. The 19-page hemp report, USDA said an a press release, “reflects stakeholder input in identifying the hemp industry’s greatest research needs,” which it divides into four areas: Breeding and Genetics, Best Practices for Production, Biomanufacturing for End Uses and Transparency and Consistency. “These priority research areas cut across the entire hemp supply chain and are…

[ad_1] At a New Orleans City Council hearing on Monday about the sorry state of the city’s police headquarters—which faces issues with plumbing, mold and infestations, among other problems—Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick that rodents are now munching on drugs in the department’s evidence room—and ostensibly getting high. “The rats are eating our marijuana,” Kirkpatrick told the council’s Criminal Justice Committee at a hearing. “They’re all high.” Kirkpatrick’s mention of stoned rats, first reported by NOLA.com, was among a laundry list of housekeeping items she flagged for city leaders. “It’s not just at police headquarters,” she said. “It is all…

[ad_1] Newly published research exploring the possible impact of CBD on menstrual-related symptoms found that oral doses of the cannabinoid helped alleviate symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, stress and other measures when compared to participants’ baseline measures. Depression scores, however, did not change. Authors—including researchers from Arkansas, Auburn and James Madison Universities as well as the Colorado-based CBD company Charlotte’s Web—say it’s the first study to examine the effect of cannabidiol on menstrual-related symptoms (MRS) as well as on irritability in general. “Results revealed reductions…in MRS, irritability, anxiety, global impression of change, stress, and subjective severity scores when comparing baseline…

[ad_1] Lawmakers in Hawaii’s House of Representatives are set to take up a Senate-passed bill to legalize and regulate adult-use marijuana this week. The chair of one committee slated to consider the measure is optimistic about its chances of being enacted into law, but others—including the House speaker—say the legislature needs to consider the concerns of law enforcement leaders who have criticized the proposal. “We are in a money crunch here at the state legislature,” Rep. Cedric Gates (D), who chairs the House Agriculture and Food Systems Committee, told local TV station KHON. “We need to look at revenue-generating legislation…

[ad_1] The House sponsor of legislation in Virginia that aimed to protect the parental rights of lawful cannabis consumers is criticizing Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s decision last week to veto the bill. If enacted, HB 833 would have prevented the state from using marijuana alone as evidence of child abuse or neglect and, further, established that drug testing in child custody and visitation matters “shall exclude testing for any substance permitted for lawful use by an adult” under the state’s alcohol, cannabis and drug laws. Youngkin vetoed the bill on Friday, writing in a message that “the proposed legislation, aiming to address…

[ad_1] Nearly 9 in 10 Americans in a newly published study on the “moral status” of psilocybin said they approve of the psychedelic’s use in a controlled, licensed setting to treat a psychiatric condition or promote well-being. “Our results revealed strong bipartisan support for supervised psilocybin use for either treatment (89%) or enhancement (85%) in a demographically representative sample of US Americans,” authors wrote of their findings, published last month in the American Journal of Bioethics (AJOB) Neuroscience. “Overall, support for treatment was very high in both political groups: 91% of liberals and 86% of conservatives reported favorable attitudes toward…

[ad_1] With the Florida Supreme Court weighing whether to allow an adult-use marijuana legalization measure to be on November’s ballot, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Friday reiterated his stance against the policy change, complaining that letting adults legally consume cannabis could impact businesses and communities—including as the result of odor. “I’ve gone to some of these cities that have had this everywhere, it smells, there’s all these things,” he told reporters, complaining that the proposal wouldn’t give government officials enough power to control when and where marijuana businesses operate—a claim backers of the initiative deny. “I don’t want to be…

[ad_1] Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed a bill on Friday that would have prevented the state from using marijuana alone as evidence of child abuse or neglect, dealing a setback to advocates who’ve spent years working to enact the reform. Youngkin had until midnight Friday to sign the bill, HB 833, veto it or let it take effect without his signature. He also could have sent the bill back to lawmakers with a request for amendments. Around 8 p.m., his office announced that he’d vetoed the bill. It was among action he took on 84 bills—64 of which he…

[ad_1] Giving out free cannabis through harm reduction organizations could both reduce drug overdose deaths and improve users’ quality of life, according to new research published this week in the Harm Reduction Journal. The case study, which examined a marijuana donation program in rural Michigan, says it’s the first to document the harm reduction practice in the United States and concludes that the approach has “potential for sustainability dependent on state laws.” “While the policies surrounding the regulation and distribution of cannabis can still present barriers towards this practice,” authors wrote, “harm reduction staff working in the field see the…