Medical Marijuana Update

The DEA last week rescheduled the marijuana-based drug Epidiolex, California's governor vetoes a compassionate access bill, Michigan dispensaries must have licenses by Halloween or be shut down, and more.

DEA Reschedules Marijuana-Derived Drug Epidiolex. The DEA has rescheduled Epidiolex, a marijuana-derived drug manufactured by GW Pharmaceutical. The move comes after the FDA approved the drug in June and clears the way for GW to begin selling the drug. Epidiolex is the first FDA-approved drug derived from marijuana.

Congresspersons Want to Know Why DEA is Importing Research Marijuana. Fifteen members of Congress led by Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) sent a letter Monday to the DEA and Attorney General Sessions expressing "deep concern" over delays in approving domestic marijuana cultivation for research purposes even as the DEA has approved the importation of marijuana from Canada for research purposes.

Protestors Target Rep. Andy Harris Over Opposition to Using Medical Marijuana as Opioid Treatment. Red-capped protestors affiliated with the marijuana reform group DCMJ protested outside the office doors of Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) Tuesday. DCMJ said the protestors were there to protest his opposition to using medical marijuana as a treatment for the opioid crisis. After Harris refused to meet with them, as fellow protestors waved signs accusing Harris of working for "Big Pharma," two women laid down in the hallway to represent friends who had fatally overdosed. One of the women was temporarily handcuffed. The smell of marijuana wafted through the air. Harris later complained that: "Today's aggression by protesters who disagree with my position on the legalization of recreational marijuana demonstrates the problem with political discourse today. We all must agree to have a civilized debate when disagreement occurs. My parents fled communist Eastern Europe where people with different political opinions were harassed and punished, and it has no place in America."

California

California Governor Vetoes Compassionate Access Bill. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has vetoed Senate Bill 829, which would have allowed licensed marijuana retailers to "offer free cannabis or cannabis goods" to low-income medical marijuana payments. In his veto statement, Brown said the bill would violate the state's recreational marijuana law, but that logic left advocates confounded. "Nowhere does Prop. 64 say that it is intended to impede free donations of medicine to needy patients," commented CA NORML head Dale Gieringer. "The purposes and intents section of the initiative is clear that it pertains only to adult-use marijuana, and does not override Prop 215 [California's original medical marijuana law, passed in 1996]."

Florida

Florida Moves to Block Licensing Lawsuit. The state Department of Health is asking an appeals court to block a district judge from moving forward with a lawsuit where a nursery operator who was denied a cultivation license. The appeals court on Friday put the case on hold temporarily, with the nursery operator given until the end of the month to respond to the state's arguments that the lawsuit should be thrown out.

Michigan

Michigan Dispensaries Must Have Licenses by Halloween, Regulators Say. The state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has issued new emergency rules for dispensaries saying that if they haven't received a license by Halloween they could be forced to shut their doors. Also, any product not received in compliance with the Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act will have to be destroyed.

Utah

Utah Medical Marijuana Initiative Opponents Pony Up Cash. Opponents of the Prop 2 medical marijuana initiative are ponying up big bucks in a bid to defeat the measure. As of last weekend, wealthy Utahns have contributed $230,000 to the opposition group Drug Safe Utah in recent months and $65,000 to another anti group, the Truth About Proposition 2, while initiative sponsors the Utah Patients Coalition has raised only $68,000, with $50,000 of that coming from the Marijuana Policy Project.

[For extensive information about the medical marijuana debate, presented in a neutral format, visit MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org.]