Author: Ben Adlin

[ad_1] Michigan lawmakers are calling on the U.S. Congress, Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to prioritize research and investment in “non-technology treatment options”—including psychedelics—to treat psychological trauma from military service. A concurrent resolution passed Wednesday by the state Senate says that “controlled use of psychedelics in clinical trials,” along with approaches like outdoor therapy, buddy-to-buddy programs and easier access to service animals, “have shown promise to help veterans improve their mental health and find a new normal while dealing with the invisible wounds of war and service.” House lawmakers passed the resolution in June. No action…

[ad_1] The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) passed a referendum Thursday in favor of legalizing marijuana, becoming the first jurisdiction within the borders of North Carolina—or any of its surrounding states—to commit to the policy change. But it will be a while before would-be customers can make a purchase. According to unofficial results posted by the EBCI’s Board of Elections, members approved the measure by a margin of 70 percent to 30 percent. Although the referendum does not legalize cannabis automatically, tribal leaders have said they’ll follow voters’ lead when they ultimately take up the issue. The referendum asked…

[ad_1] Music fans heading to Mundelein, Illinois, this weekend will make history as part of the state’s first-ever concert to allow open marijuana consumption. Headliners, fittingly, include the cannabis-friendly artists Cypress Hill, Stephen Marley and Action Bronson. Kicking off Saturday afternoon, the two-day Miracle in Mundelein festival will feature complimentary rolling papers, lighters and grinders, as well as dab bars and rolling stations for use by attendees. Marijuana products themselves will be available for sale through a retailer located next door. Consuming cannabis will be allowed anywhere inside the 21+ event, while using marijuana outside the perimeter fence is strictly…

[ad_1] Patients with chronic health conditions saw significant improvements in overall quality of life and reductions in fatigue during the first three months of medical marijuana use, according to a new study of more than 2,300 people. “Patients experiencing anxiety, depression, or chronic pain also improved in those outcomes over 3 months,” the study found. Published this week in the journal PLoS ONE, the report analyzed responses from Australian patients eligible for the QUEST Initiative, which researchers describe as a “large prospective multicenter study of patients with any chronic health condition newly prescribed medicinal cannabis between November 2020 and December…

[ad_1] Marijuana retailers in Maryland broke another record last month, selling nearly $92 million worth of products during August, the state’s second month of legal adult-use sales. That’s a jump from July’s $87 million in receipts and more than double the typical sales numbers from when the market was open only to medical patients. Newly released data from the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) indicates that licensed stores sold more than $91.7 million last month, overwhelmingly in the form of smokeable flower ($55.1 million). After that came concentrates ($24.7 million), infused edibles ($6.2 million), infused non-edibles ($5.2 million), shake or trim…

[ad_1] The head of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), which is set to vote on a referendum to legalize cannabis for adults on Thursday, says he believes efforts by an anti-marijuana North Carolina GOP congressman to insert himself into the tribe’s internal affairs could ultimately cause more members to support of the measure. In an interview this week with Marijuana Moment, EBCI Principal Chief Richard G. Sneed said it was a “big misstep” for U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) to run an op-ed in the tribal news publication, Cherokee One Feather, in which the congressman said legalization on…

[ad_1] An anti-marijuana advocacy group is taking aim at a banking arrangement between Wells Fargo and the state of Maryland that allows officials to receive and process tax revenue generated by state-legal cannabis businesses, calling the scheme “an active effort to protect the banks who are breaking federal law” and making an attempt to alert federal officials about it. The state, for its part, has said it “complies with applicable laws and regulations.” Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), which opposes marijuana legalization, made the allegations in a press release late last month following media reports of the banking arrangement, including…

[ad_1] As the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) works to rebuild a government seed bank for hemp that was destroyed during prohibition, the agency is issuing updated guidance on how to identify, describe and evaluate different varieties of the plant. USDA’s latest version of its Hemp Descriptor and Phenotyping Handbook, released earlier this summer, is the agency’s deepest dive yet into the different forms and qualities of hemp. Intended to help researchers better differentiate between hemp varieties, the new document includes all sorts of details on the morphology, yield, cannabinoid content, oil production, seed viability, fiber quality, pathogen resistance and…

[ad_1] Members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) are set to vote Thursday on a referendum that would legalize marijuana for people over 21—not just tribal members, but any adult who wants to make a purchase. The proposal is making waves in North Carolina, where marijuana remains illegal for both medical and recreational uses. If the measure passes, EBCI would become the first and only legal producer and retailer of adult-use cannabis within the state or any surrounding state. That’s raised concerns among local officials in North Carolina as well as one of the state’s congressional representatives, who…

[ad_1] Legislation introduced on Friday by a North Carolina congressman seeks to slash a portion of federal funding to individual U.S. states as well as Native tribes that legalize marijuana. The so-called Stop Pot Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC), would withhold 10 percent of federal highway funding to jurisdictions “in which the purchase or public possession of marijuana for recreational purposes is lawful.” Introduction of the bill comes less than a week before a tribe in Edwards’s home state votes on an adult-use marijuana legalization referendum. Edwards argues that state and tribal laws allowing cannabis use by…

[ad_1] If the U.S. government moves marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substance Act (CSA)—as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has now formally recommended—the shift could have profound implications for all sorts of cannabis-related issues, ranging from research to business taxes to U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mailing rules. In the aftermath of the HHS announcement, some of the proposal’s would-be consequences are clearer than others. For instance, it’s evident that cannabis businesses could, for the first time, claim standard business deductions on their federal tax returns, freed from the restrictions of IRS Tax Code Section 280E.…

[ad_1] Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) doesn’t support legalizing marijuana or other currently illicit drugs, but he’s big mad over the prospect of the federal government advising Americans to drink less alcohol. During an interview with Newsmax on Wednesday, the senator said that federal officials “can kiss my ass” if they decide to reduce the recommended maximum consumption of alcohol to two drinks per week, as has recently been floated. “What is it with liberals and wanting to control every damn aspect of your life?” said Cruz, who himself supports government bans on abortion and trans-affirming healthcare. “If they want us…