Incoming New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) becomes the first to call for marijuana legalization in his inauguration speech, the VA rejects calls to study marijuana for PTSD, Canada's Liberals push for drug decriminalization, and more.

[image:1 align:right caption:true]Marijuana Policy

State Attorneys General Support Marijuana Banking Access Bill. Some 19 state attorneys general signed onto a letter sent Tuesday to congressional leaders urging them to move on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (HR 2215), which would "provide a safe harbor" for banks and other financial institutions that provide services to state-legal marijuana businesses. The bill was filed by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO). The bill has been stuck in the House Finances Committee and the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

Maine Legislators Vote to Delay Social Marijuana Clubs Until 2023. In a concession to Gov. Paul LePage (R), the Marijuana Legalization Implementation Committee voted 5-1 Tuesday to delay the licensing of social use clubs for five years. The move is aimed at winning support for an implementation bill after opposition last year stopped progress. A final vote on implementation legislation isn't expected until next month.

New Jersey's New Governor Vows to Legalize Marijuana. Incoming New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) made history yesterday as the first elected governor to commit to legalizing recreational marijuana in an inauguration speech. "A stronger and fairer New Jersey embraces criminal justice reform comprehensively, and that includes a process to legalize marijuana," Murphy pledged shortly after being sworn in as New Jersey's 56th governor.

Medical Marijuana

VA Won't Study Marijuana's Effects on PTSD. The Department of Veterans Affairs will not begin a study into marijuana's effects on PTSD despite pleas from congressman, veterans, and the nation's largest veterans' service organization. The news came in a letter to House Democrats from VA Secretary David Shulkin. The letter was actually written in late December, but only released Tuesday. "VA is committed to research and developing effective ways to help veterans cope with post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain conditions," Shulkin wrote. "However, federal law restricts VA&#=39;s ability to conduct research involving medical marijuana, or to refer veterans to such research projects." The letter said a review of existing research found a link between marijuana use and increased risk of suicide, as well as mania and psychotic symptoms, a response Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN), a signer of the letter, called "disappointing" and "unacceptable."

Illinois Judge Orders State to Add Intractable Pain as Qualifying Condition. Cook County Judge Raymond Mitchell has ordered the Department of Public Health to add intractable pain as qualifying condition for medical marijuana use. The decision comes after the department declined to add it, and the department says it will appeal the ruling. The state Medical Cannabis Advisory Board had recommended added the condition in January 2016, but the health department demurred, saying there was "a lack of high quality data" from clinical trials to establish that the benefits outweighed the risks.

International

Canada Liberals Push for Drug Decriminalization. A resolution developed for the ruling Liberal Party's national convention in April calls for decriminalizing the use and possession of all illicit drugs. The Liberal caucus resolution calls on the government to adopt the model instituted in Portugal in 2001, where criminal penalties for personal use and possession of drugs were eliminated and treatment and harm reduction services ramped up.

Thailand Prepares for Medical Marijuana. The government has announced that it is pondering the nation's first legal marijuana cultivation facility, a move that presages changes to the country's drug laws that will soon allow the medicinal use of marijuana. "For medical purposes, they will be able to get the marijuana, but only on a doctor's orders. They can't grow it on their own," Narcotics Control Board director Sirinya Sitdhichai said Tuesday Sirinya. "This is what we have put in the draft."