Author: A.J. Herrington

[ad_1] Hemp advocates and industry leaders last week called on the federal government to ease access to cannabidiol as a House of Representatives subcommittee held a hearing to investigate the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s refusal to regulate CBD as an ingredient in foods, beverages and dietary supplements. At Thursday’s hearing of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, lawmakers and witnesses criticized the FDA’s refusal to regulate CBD and noted how the agency’s inaction on the subject has impacted individuals and families eager to take advantage of the cannabinoid’s health and wellness benefits. …

[ad_1] Payment processing powerhouse Mastercard this week revealed the company is taking steps to prevent PIN-based debit card transactions for marijuana purchases, dealing a blow to a regulated cannabis industry already struggling with limited payment options for consumers. On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Mastercard, the world’s second-largest payment solutions provider, had informed financial institutions and other payment processors to stop allowing marijuana purchases to be processed with debit cards. Because of tight federal restrictions on banks that do business with marijuana companies, even those legal under state law, most financial institutions decline to provide common banking services including credit card…

[ad_1] A campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio fell short of the number of verified signatures needed to qualify a proposed ballot measure for the ballot, missing its goal by less than 700 signatures. The effort is not dead, however, as activists have been given 10 more days to make up the signature deficit. On Tuesday, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced that the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol had collected more than 123,000 valid signatures from registered voters to put the adult-use cannabis legalization initiative on the ballot for an election to be held in November. However,…

[ad_1] Slightly more than 14% of workers recovering from an on-the-job injury used cannabis to help them recover, according to the results of a recent study conducted in Canada, where marijuana has been legalized for both medical and recreational purposes. To complete the study, which was published this month by BMJ Open Journals, researchers affiliated with the University of Toronto surveyed almost 1,200 Canadians who had received workers’ compensation for an employment-related injury or sickness.  The researchers interviewed the study participants 18 months and 36 months after their injury or illness. Participants were asked about their use of cannabis over…

[ad_1] Nearly a dozen Minnesota cities have passed laws to temporarily ban recreational marijuana dispensaries from opening in their jurisdictions as a new state law legalizing adult-use cannabis is poised to go into effect. Minnesota lawmakers passed the bill, which legalizes marijuana for adults aged 21 and older, in May, and the legislation is slated to go into effect on August 1. Minnesota’s cannabis legalization bill allows adults 21 and older to use marijuana recreationally and to possess up to two ounces of cannabis in a public place, beginning on August 1. The bill also legalizes the possession of up…

[ad_1] A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill to ensure hemp-derived CBD products are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, while on the same day, a Republican representative announced a hearing to examine the agency’s refusal to regulate the cannabinoid following the legalization of hemp five years ago. In 2018, Congress legalized hemp agriculture and commerce with the passage of that year’s Farm Bill. But since then, the FDA has refused to regulate hemp-derived CBD for use in foods, beverages and dietary supplements, and in January announced it would not do so without further legislation…

[ad_1] New York cannabis regulators this week approved more than 200 additional retail dispensary licenses and adopted new rules that will allow cannabis growers to sell directly to consumers at farmers markets. Characterizing the moves as “bold actions to swiftly grow the state’s legal cannabis market,” the New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB) and the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced the developments on Wednesday in a bid to shore up the state’s licensed marijuana operators. At a meeting on July 19, the board approved 212 additional Conditional Adult Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses, bringing the total number issued to…

[ad_1] Fashion model Gigi Hadid and a friend were arrested on marijuana charges in the Cayman Islands last week, customs officials confirmed on Tuesday. After appearing in court and paying a fine, the pair continued their vacation and have since left the Caribbean nation, according to multiple media reports. Hadid, a self-described “nepo baby” (her father is a real estate developer and her mother was featured on “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” after a 15-year modeling career of her own) was arrested on July 10 along with her friend Leah Nicole McCarthy after they arrived in a private plane from…

[ad_1] Ohio cannabis regulators last week added irritable bowel syndrome as a qualifying condition to use medical marijuana but declined to approve petitions to add autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder to the state’s list.  Under Ohio’s medical marijuana laws, interested parties are permitted to petition the Ohio Medical Board to add new qualifying conditions annually. Last week, the board voted to approve petitions to add irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). But at the same time, the board announced it would not add autism or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to the list this year.  “While this addition will help expand patient access to medical…

[ad_1] The Michigan Civil Service Commission adopted a rule change last week that will end drug screenings for marijuana for applicants to many state jobs. The new rule overturns previous state policy that automatically disqualified applicants to state positions that tested positive for cannabis, although applicants to some positions will still be required to pass a marijuana screening before hiring. The rule change effectively treats cannabis like alcohol for many applicants for state jobs. Pre-employment drug screenings will still be conducted to test for cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and phencyclidine, also known as PCP. The policy change, which goes into effect…

[ad_1] Executives from a Massachusetts-based cannabis company dressed in colonial garb aboard a ship in Boston Harbor on Wednesday to protest an IRS rule that requires regulated marijuana companies to pay taxes that are significantly higher than businesses in other industries. The demonstration, which evoked the legendary Boston Tea Party at the same site 250 years ago, was orchestrated by licensed cannabis company MariMed to protest 280E, an IRS tax rule that is the bane of state-legal cannabis companies from coast to coast. Lucas McCann, the chief science officer and a co-founder of cannabis compliance consulting firm CannDelta, explained how…

[ad_1] A bill that would legalize medical marijuana in North Carolina is likely dead for the 2023 legislative session, House Speaker Tim Moore said on Tuesday.  Although he is in favor of the bipartisan legislation, Moore said that the bill, which was passed by the North Carolina state Senate in March, does not have the support of enough members of the Republican House majority to advance. Under the rules of the House Republican Caucus, bills brought to the floor for a vote must already have the support of a majority of its members, even if Democratic support makes the measure…