Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
A federal agency has given the okay for researchers to buy marijuana from NIDA for a PTSD study, which is a first, those CBD medical marijuana bills keep moving in heretofore medical marijuana-unfriendly states, an effort to fold Washington state's medical marijuana system into its general legalization scheme has failed, and more. Let's get to it:
Last Friday, HHS granted permission for researchers to purchase marijuana from the National Institutes on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for a study of marijuana as a treatment for the symptoms of PTSD in US war veterans. That's the first time this has happened. The research is sponsored by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). The DEA must still approve, but MAPS says it is "optimistic they will approve the study in a timely manner."
Also last Friday, ASA announced its second annual conference. The Americans for Safe Access Unity Conference will take place in Washington, DC, on April 5-7. Click on the link for more details.
Alabama
On Tuesday, a CBD medical marijuana bill was approved by a House committee. The bill has passed the Senate after being amended to become a research bill on the impact of using a marijuana derivative. Senate Bill 174 passed the House Judiciary Committee and now awaits a House floor vote.
Arkansas
Last Friday, advocates for a medical marijuana initiative said they had collected 15% of the signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot. Arkansans for Compassionate Care said they have about 10,000 signatures. They need 62,000 to make the ballot, and have until July 7 to do so. A similar initiative was narrowly defeated there in 2012.
California
Last Wednesday, opponents of Butte County's recent cultivation ordinance handed in some 12,000 signatures on a petition to abolish it. The February ordinance limited the size of outdoor gardens to 50 square feet on properties from a half-acre to five acres in size. Petitioners need only 7,600 of the signatures to be found valid, which would then force county supervisors to take up the matter again. In the meantime, enforcement of the ordinance is on hold.
On Tuesday, Shasta County supervisors voted to put a ban on marijuana growing to the voters. The supes had voted to ban all outdoor cultivation, but a successful petition drive to challenge the ordinance forced them to reconsider. They could have just repealed the ban, but instead voted unanimously to put it on the November ballot and let the voters decide.
Georgia
Last Wednesday, a CBD medical marijuana bill was approved by a Senate committee. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee unanimously approved House Bill 885, which would allow patients to use CBD-based cannabis oils. It also amended the bill to allow parents to bring the oil into the state without facing penalties. The bill has already passed the House and now awaits a Senate floor vote.
Iowa
On Monday, a new poll had support for medical marijuana at 81%. The Quinnipiac Poll results are dramatically different from a recent Iowa Poll, which found 59% of Iowa adults said they supported "legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes." But no matter what the polls say, medical marijuana bills get no traction in the Hawkeye State.
Kentucky
On Wednesday, a CBD medical marijuana bill passed the Senate. The Senate passed a bill allowing doctors to prescribe and patients to use CBD cannabis oil for medical reasons. The bill passed with no opposition. Senate Bill 124 now goes to the House.
Maryland
On Tuesday, the House passed a full-on medical marijuana bill. The House overwhelmingly approved House Bill 1321, which includes dispensaries. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Nevada
Last Friday, the Board of Health approved regulations for dispensaries. They are allowed under a law passed last year, which goes into effect April 1. It's not quite a done deal; they must undergo a final review by the Legislative Commission on March 28. After final approval, there will be a 45-day notice announcing the date applications will be accepted. Once the application period opens, there will only be a 10-day window for accepting them. After the application period closes, the state must make a decision on each application within 90 days of receiving it.
South Carolina
Last Thursday, a CBD medical marijuana bill won a Senate subcommittee vote. The bill must still pass a committee vote before going to the Senate floor. Meanwhile, companion legislation is advancing in the House. The bill would allow the use of CBD cannabis oil for those suffering from epilepsy.
Utah
Last Thursday, a CBD medical marijuana bill passed the Utah legislature. House Bill 105 now goes to the desk of Gov. Gary Herbert (R). It would allow children with epileptic seizures to use CBD cannabis oil.
Washington
Last Thursday, an effort to fold the state's medical marijuana system into its marijuana legalization scheme died in the legislature. Lawmakers were seeking to establish regulation of the medical market as the state's new voter-approved recreational market is about to take hold this summer. The week before, the Senate passed a measure that moved to merge the medical with the still-developing legal recreational market. It would have eliminated unlicensed dispensaries, established a patient registry, and reduced the amount of marijuana patients could grow and possess. That leaves the unregulated industry in a sort of limbo.
[For extensive information about the medical marijuana debate, presented in a neutral format, visit MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org.]
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
Comments
No AZ Research
That study of PTSD has been blocked by an AZ senator, Kimberly Lee. Apparently she believes it's some covert plot to legalize mj. Talk about crazy!!!
CBD bills
There is a good article on NORML about why us reformers should be wary of CBD-only bills. I am not in any way minimizing the need to get CBD oil to people/children in need, but we should be very wary of this as actual reform. It's more of a political ploy.
The reason why these states are advancing this bill is because Republicans in the South are trying to give the impression that they actually "care".
They will then use their support of these CBD bills as leverage, crowing that "they used scientific based evidence to abandon a zero-tolerance policy".
You can bet that these same politicians will not move on rational cannabis reform for the rest of us MMJ people, saying "we've done enough".
In reply to CBD bills by Matt B (not verified)
The pressure won't be letting up on the control freaks
When they pass these high CBD only bills, they are admitting that a variety of cannabis produces a miracle for some kids suffering epileptic seizures. That's the first time any southern state has admitted the existence of MMJ. Anyone the slightest bit curious, science oriented, fairminded, or compassionate is naturally going to want to know if it can produce any other medical miracles. I'm hoping and expecting that soon more people will do a Sanjay Gupta and admit they were brainwashed on MMJ by the DEA and their ilk.
All the polls on MMJ showing 80%+ approval raise another issue. There is a war on democracy going on here as well as the war on medicine.
It's looking like Florida is going to legalize MMJ before Andrew Cuomo's New York. Who would ever have predicted that? Andrew Cuomo is a bad boy.
Here We Go Again
Thanks to Renee Unterman , Georgia Medical Marijuana is currently dead . I will avoid the vulgarities at this time . Buy a " put " option on her political career . This is beyond absurd .
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