Author: A.J. Herrington

[ad_1] Cannabis advocates, executives and investors are celebrating the Drug Enforcement Administration’s reported decision this week to reclassify marijuana under federal drug laws, a development that spurred rejoicing from coast to coast and a spike in cannabis stock prices. The celebrations were tempered, however, by the reality that the decision falls short of the full marijuana legalization that determined activists have been seeking for decades. On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that the DEA had decided to follow a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), citing five…

[ad_1] New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham expressed frustration with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a recent phone call with an unidentified federal official, saying she was “offended” by his response to seizures of weed from licensed marijuana companies.  At least a dozen seizures of regulated cannabis by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have been reported at immigration checkpoints in southern New Mexico in recent weeks, despite the 2021 legalization of recreational marijuana in the state. Under federal law, CBD is authorized to establish immigration checkpoints within 100 miles of the border with Mexico. Last week,…

[ad_1] Many brands of rolling papers designed for smoking weed contain elevated levels of potentially dangerous heavy metals, according to the results of a recent study. Rolling papers with dies or metallic tips pose a particular danger, the research determined, with some brands containing enough copper to be harmful to cannabis consumers who use them frequently. The study, which was conducted by researchers affiliated with Lake Superior State University’s School of Chemistry, examined the heavy metal content of dozens of commercially available rolling papers and preassembled paper cones. The authors note that many of the samples purchased for the research…

[ad_1] A bill to legalize medical marijuana in Kansas is dead for 2024 after the state Senate blocked an effort to bring the proposal to the floor for debate. Had it passed, the measure would have legalized the medicinal use of cannabis by patients with certain qualifying conditions in one of the few states that have yet to legalize medical weed. Last month, a Kansas Senate legislative committee voted to table the proposal, Senate Bill 135, after hearing from both supporters and opponents of the measure. On Friday, an effort to revive the bill and pull it out of committee…

[ad_1] A recent World Health Organization study of youth substance use shows that Canadian girls and Scottish boys have the highest rates of cannabis use among 15-year-olds in Europe, Central Asia and Canada, according to data collected in 2022. Overall, the study shows that cannabis use among teens has declined slightly, with the percentage of 15-year-olds who have ever smoked cannabis falling from 14% in 2018 to 12% in 2022. Among 15-year-olds, 6% reported having used cannabis in the last 30 days. The research by the World Health Organization (WHO) examined survey data from 280,000 children aged 11, 13 and…

[ad_1] The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has urged a federal appeals court to deny a doctor’s attempt to administer psilocybin to dying patients under so-called Right to Try legislation, arguing that such laws do not provide for exemptions to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA).  Dr. Sunil Aggarwal, co-founder of the Advanced Integrative Medical Science Institute, a psychedelics research and treatment clinic based in Seattle, has sued the DEA several times for authorization to use psilocybin as a treatment for depression and anxiety by terminally ill patients. Aggarwal’s legal actions are based on federal and state Right to Try laws,…

[ad_1] An Arizona church has reached a settlement in a lawsuit against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal agencies that allows the Indigenous religious organization to use the psychedelic brew ayahuasca for sacramental purposes. Under the agreement, the Church of the Eagle and the Condor (CEC) will be permitted to import, prepare and distribute ayahuasca to its members at religious ceremonies. “The Church of the Eagle and the Condor has reached a settlement to secure its religious freedom and the right to use Ayahuasca as its sacrament,” the church wrote in an announcement of the settlement. “This is…

[ad_1] A Maine man was arrested and held without bail last week for allegedly operating an unlicensed cannabis operation in a rural area about 60 miles north of Bangor, according to law enforcement officials and court records. Police seized 40 pounds of processed marijuana from a house in Passadumkeag, Maine and arrested Xisen Guo, who is accused of drug trafficking and turning the property into a sophisticated cannabis cultivation operation.  Maine legalized recreational marijuana in 2016 with the passage of a ballot measure that also established a regulated market for adult-use cannabis. The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy said that…

[ad_1] Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker took to the campaign trail over the weekend to stump for President Joseph Biden, taking advantage of the 420 weed high holiday as an opportunity to tout the cannabis policy reforms made by the current administration. At a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday, Pritzker said that cannabis policy reform can have significant economic benefits in states that legalize marijuana for adults. “I wanted to come up here on 4/20, because we, too, legalized cannabis in the state of Illinois, and I know that’s been a boon to not only state revenues but…

[ad_1] A hemp producer based in Dayton, Ohio has a new customer for its crop after the firm signed a deal with a processor in nearby Michigan to provide raw material for hemp-based bioplastics. Under its new contract with Detroit-based Heartland Industries, Ohio Hemp Company will provide hemp fiber to produce bioplastic that will eventually become auto parts manufactured by a Belgian firm. Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine signed legislation to legalize hemp in the state in 2019, the year after Congress legalized the crop on the national level with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. TJ Richardson and…

[ad_1] A professional organization of physicians who support drug policy reform is calling for the regulation of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids including delta-8 THC, arguing that the safety of products containing the compound is unknown. The recommendation was recently made by Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR), a group of healthcare professionals formerly known as Doctors for Cannabis Regulation. “Our stance at D4DPR is that all intoxicating cannabinoids should be subject to a regulatory framework to ensure public safety,” the group wrote in a policy paper released this month. In the paper, D4DPR notes that the legalization of hemp with the…

[ad_1] Illinois lawmakers last week joined representatives of the licensed cannabis industry to call for a ban on intoxicating hemp products including delta-8 THC. Under one proposal, non-intoxicating hemp products would be regulated with rules for licensing hemp businesses and the testing and labeling of hemp products. Synthetically produced hemp products such as delta-8 THC, however, would be banned by the legislation. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp agriculture and hemp products, ending the prohibition of the crop that had been in place for decades. However, the legislation failed to regulate hemp cannabinoids, leading to a proliferation of intoxicating hemp…