Virginia: Expedited Legalization Measure To Take Effect July 1, 2021
Richmond, VA: A majority of the Virginia legislature voted on Wednesday to approve amendments to Senate Bill 1406 | House Bill 2312, which legalize the personal use, possession, and cultivation of marijuana later this year. Because lawmakers concurred with amendments recommended by the Governor, no further procedural action is required in order for the new laws to take effect on July 1, 2021.
Once enacted, the new law will permit adults to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and to cultivate up to four cannabis plants per household without penalty. Other provisions in the law, which seek to license the commercial production and retail sale of cannabis, do not take effect until January 1, 2024.
Commenting on the final passage, NORML Development Director Jenn Michelle Pedini, who also serves as the Executive Director of Virginia NORML, said: "This is an incredible victory for Virginia. Legalization will bring an end to the thousands of low-level marijuana infractions occurring annually in the Commonwealth - ending a discriminatory practice that far too often targets Virginians who are young, poor, and people of color."
Majority Leader Charniele Herring added: "It is a huge day for equity in the Commonwealth. Virginia is now the first state in the South to legalize recreational marijuana use, and I am so proud to have been able to carry this monumental legislation. I am ever grateful for the commitment and advocacy from NORML on this topic. Getting Virginia to this day would not have been possible without their hard work and dedication to the cause."
Senator Adam Ebbin said: "The passage of SB1406 caps off years of struggle to reform our broken and outdated marijuana laws and begins the deliberate steps to repeal the harms of the failed prohibition. I am thankful to NORML, the Governor, and my colleagues for moving this bill from inception to passage over the last four months and I look forward to continuing to partner with them to establish a regulated, equity focused, adult-use marketplace in the coming years."
Additional amendments added by Gov. Northam allow for the sealing of records related to crimes involving the misdemeanor possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. Those records will begin to be sealed starting on July 1, 2021. Separate legislation enacted in 2020 previously sealed records related to misdemeanor marijuana possession.
Governor Northam has signed multiple cannabis-related measures into law this legislative session, including bills permitting medical dispensaries to provide botanical formulations of cannabis, expanding telehealth access for patients, and protecting registered patients who use cannabis in their off-hours from discrimination in the workplace. In total, Governor Northam has approved 41 cannabis-related bills during his term.
Study: Cannabis Associated with Sustained Improvements in Chronic Pain Patients
Belmont, MA: The long-term use of cannabis provides sustained improvements in patients suffering from chronic pain conditions, according to longitudinal data published in the journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.
A team of investigators affiliated with Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital in Boston evaluated the use of cannabis in chronic pain patients over a six-month period. Most participants in the study suffered from either musculoskeletal pain or neuropathy.
Researchers reported: "Relative to baseline, following 3 and 6 months of treatment, MC [medical cannabis] patients exhibited improvements in pain which were accompanied by improved sleep, mood, anxiety, and quality of life. ... Reduced pain was associated with improvements in aspects of mood and anxiety."
Authors also acknowledged that many subjects reduced their use of opioids over the trial period, though not to a degree that reached statistical significance. They concluded, "[These] findings are promising, as they underscore previous survey studies also reporting the reduced use of conventional medications, specifically opioids, following the initiation of MC treatment."
Additionally, researchers reported that patients with similar pain conditions who did not initiate medical cannabis therapy over the study period "did not reveal a similar pattern of improvement as the MC patients on measures of pain or clinical measures between baseline and follow-up."
Authors concluded: "Findings suggest that MC may be an effective adjunctive therapeutic strategy for chronic pain and related symptoms for at least a subset of patients. Future studies are needed to gather data which could ultimately help physicians make specific recommendations regarding MC treatment regimens optimized for pain relief."
Patients in the United States seeking medical cannabis recommendations are most likely to report suffering from chronic pain, according to an analysis published in February in the Journal of Cannabis Research.
Full text of the study, "No pain, all gain? Interim analysis from a longitudinal, observational study examining the impact of medical cannabis treatment on chronic pain and related symptoms," appears in Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.
Study: Fewer Patients with Pelvic Pain Taking Opioids Following Cannabis Legalization
Vancouver, Canada: An increasing percentage of Canadian patients with pelvic pain are accessing cannabis and those who do are consuming fewer opioids, according to data published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
A team of researchers affiliated with the University of British Columbia retrospectively evaluated cannabis use among women with self-reported pelvic pain over a six-year period (2013 to 2019).
Researchers reported that cannabis use among pelvic pain patients rose 32 percent following the legalization of marijuana in Canada. Cannabis users were more likely than non-users to be taking fewer prescription medications, including anti-inflammatory drugs and opioids - a finding that is consistent with dozens of prior studies of other patient populations.
Authors concluded: "Post-legalization, cannabis users were less likely to require daily opioids compared with cannabis users before legalization. The role, perceived benefits, and possible risks of cannabis for pelvic pain require further investigation."
Separate data published in December reported that more than 20 percent of US women with pelvic pain are using either cannabis or CBD therapeutically. Ninety-six percent of those consumers reported that cannabis products provided them with improvement for one or more symptoms, including pain, cramping, and sleep disturbances.
Full text of the study, "Recreational cannabis use before and after legalization in women with pelvic pain," appears in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Analysis: Short-Term Consumption of Hemp-Derived CBD Not Associated with Adverse Effects on the Liver
Denver, CO: The daily consumption of hemp-derived CBD products for two months or more is not associated with adverse impacts on the liver, according to preliminary results shared with the US Food and Drug Administration. Regulators at the FDA had requested a safety analysis regarding subjects' use of hemp-derived CBD products in its report to Congress last year.
Investigators involved with the study reported that the ingestion of CBD products was not associated with any risk of liver disease in a cohort of 839 subjects.
"Our primary endpoint in this study is to observe potential liver effects in adults ingesting oral forms of hemp-derived CBD for a minimum of 60 days. What we observed to date is no clinical evidence of liver disease in any participants," co-investigator Jeff Lombardo stated in a press release.
A second investigator added: "We are encouraged by these findings and hopeful this study provides FDA with sufficient science-based data to determine and take action on a safe regulatory path forward. We will continue to analyze these real-world data and are adding a second cohort to this study to increase statistical certainty for liver safety and secondary measures across diverse populations and consumers with various medical conditions."
Last year, the FDA informed Congress that it "is actively evaluating what and how much data would be sufficient to support a conclusion that CBD can be safely allowed in dietary supplements under certain conditions."
Study: Efficacy of Cannabis-Derived Epilepsy Drug Sustained Long-Term
Birmingham, AL: The administration of the plant-derived CBD prescription medicine Epidiolex provides sustained relief from seizures in both children and adults with severe forms of epilepsy, according to clinical trial data published in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior.
Investigators at the University of Alabama at Birmingham assessed the efficacy of Epidiolex over a two-year period in a cohort of 89 children and 80 adults with treatment-resistant epilepsy.
Researchers reported that the efficacy of Epidiolex improved the longer subjects took it. They reported: "[The] percentage of children achieving [a] >50 percent seizure frequency reduction was 44 percent at month 1, and 41 percent at year 1, and [a] 61 percent reduction at year 2, while adult responder rates were 34 percent at month 1, 53 percent at year 1, and 71 percent at year 2."
Authors concluded, "Our study provides further evidence of sustained seizure frequency and severity reduction over two years of treatment with highly purified CBD in TRE [treatment-resistant epilepsy]."
A previously published review failed to identify any adverse cognitive effects in children who took Epidiolex long-term. Epidiolex was initially approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2018 as an anti-seizure medication. It is the first cannabis plant-derived medication approved by the FDA. Other cannabis-based medicines available in the United States, like dronabinol, are synthetics.
Full text of the study, "Long-term safety and efficacy of highly purified cannabidiol for treatment of refractory epilepsy," appears in Epilepsy & Behavior.
Virginia: Legalization of Adult-use Marijuana to Take Effect July 1, 2021
Richmond, VA: Following today's legislative approval of Democratic Governor Ralph Northam's amendments to Senate Bill 1406 and House Bill 2312, Virginia becomes the first southern state to legalize the possession and use of marijuana by adults.
Senate Bill 1406, introduced by Senator Adam Ebbin (D-30) and Senate President Pro Tempore Senator Louise Lucas (D-18), and House Bill 2312, patroned by House Majority Leader Delegate Charniele Herring (D-46), establish a statutory timeline for the legalization of the commercial marijuana market in Virginia. The measure also permits for the personal possession and cultivation of cannabis by those ages 21 or older.
Last week, Gov. Northam recommended changes to the legislation to permit the personal use provisions of the law to take effect on July 1, 2021 rather than on January 1, 2024 — the enactment date initially approved by lawmakers. Today, a majority of the legislature concurred with that change.
Therefore, beginning July 1, 2021, adults will be permitted to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and to cultivate up to four cannabis plants per household without penalty.
The timeline by which state regulators have to enact provisions licensing commercial cannabis production and sales remains July 1, 2024.
Commenting on the final passage, NORML Development Director Jenn Michelle Pedini, who also serves as the Executive Director of Virginia NORML, said: "This is an incredible victory for Virginia. Legalization will bring an end to the thousands of low-level marijuana infractions occurring annually in the Commonwealth — ending a discriminatory practice that far too often targets Virginians who are young, poor, and people of color."
Majority Leader Charniele Herring added: "It is a huge day for equity in the Commonwealth. Virginia is now the first state in the South to legalize recreational marijuana use, and I am so proud to have been able to carry this monumental legislation. I am ever grateful for the commitment and advocacy from NORML on this topic. Getting Virginia to this day would not have been possible without their hard work and dedication to the cause."
Senator Adam Ebbin said: "The passage of SB1406 caps off years of struggle to reform our broken and outdated marijuana laws and begins the deliberate steps to repeal the harms of the failed prohibition. I am thankful to NORML, the Governor, and my colleagues for moving this 283 bill from inception to passage over the last four months, and look forward to continuing to partner with them to establish a regulated, equity focused, adult-use marketplace in the coming years."
Newly released statewide polling data finds that 68 percent of registered voters in Virginia, including majorities of Democrats and Republicans, support legalizing marijuana for adults.
"Virginians were very clear that they are ready for legalization this year, sending over 8,800 emails in support of these measures," Pedini added.
Additional amendments added by Gov. Northam will allow the sealing of records related to crimes involving the misdemeanor possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. Those records will begin to be sealed starting on July 1, 2021. Separate legislation enacted in 2020 previously sealed records related to misdemeanor marijuana possession.
Records specific to the simple possession of marijuana and/or misdemeanor possession with intent to distribute records will be automatically expunged no later than 2025. Those with records specific to crimes involving the felony possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute may begin to petition the courts for an expounging of their records in 2025.
The bill also allows for the resentencing of individuals currently incarcerated for marijuana-related offenses. The measure permits these individuals to have a hearing before the court that originally sentenced them, with legal counsel provided for indigent individuals. However, this portion of the bill must be reenacted in 2022.
The legislation also establishes an independent agency, the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority, to oversee the establishment of regulations that will govern the adult-use market. This agency is set to convene this summer. The remainder of the 300-page bill, which details the regulatory and market structure and social equity provisions, is subject to a second review and vote by the Assembly next year.
"NORML worked closely with the bills' sponsors and with the Attorney General to provide substantial amendment language to Governor Northam," Pedini added. "While a number of important improvements were made, we're disappointed that Virginia is not following the common-sense pathways previously established by other states that have successfully expanded from medical-use to adult-use. In the interest of public and consumer safety, Virginians 21 and older should be able to purchase retail cannabis products at the already operational dispensaries in 2021, not in 2024. Such a delay will only exacerbate the divide for equity applicants and embolden illicit activity. NORML remains dedicated to continuing to our work with lawmakers and regulators to advance legislative reforms that are most closely aligned with the views of the majority of Virginians who desire a safe, legal cannabis market."
In recent days, Governor Northam has approved multiple medical cannabis measures permitting dispensaries to provide botanical formulations of cannabis, expanding telehealth access for patients, and protecting registered patients who use cannabis in their off-hours from discrimination in the workplace. In total, Governor Northam has approved 41 cannabis-related bills during his term.
