#NORML #News Source: @norml @WeedConnection Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com media :: news - Tue, 22 Dec 2020 04:20:21 PST
New Jersey: Lawmakers Send Bills to Governor Enacting Adult-Use Marijuana Legalization
Trenton, NJ: Members of the New Jersey state Assembly and Senate have advanced legislation to the Governor legalizing the possession, production, and retail sale of marijuana to adults. Lawmakers approved the measures weeks after voters decided in favor of Public Question 1 on Election Day - which instructed the legislature to regulate the adult-use cannabis market.
Lawmakers advanced a series of bills to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Senate Bill 21/Assembly Bill 21 establish rules for licensing commercial cannabis producers and retailers. Under the measure, adults will be able to legally purchase up to one ounce of cannabis from state-licensed retailers. Retail sales will be subject to state sales tax, and 70 percent of sales tax revenue will initially be earmarked toward designated communities. For the first two years, the number of state-licensed cultivators will be capped at 37. Existing state-licensed medical cannabis producers will be among those eligible to provide to the retail market.
Separate legislation, Senate Bill 2535/Assembly Bill 1897, removes criminal and civil penalties for the private possession of up to six ounces of cannabis by those ages 21 and older, as well as the possession of personal use amounts of hashish (up to 170 grams). The measure also restricts police from conducting a search solely on the basis of the odor of cannabis.
Historically, New Jersey police have placed significant emphasis on marijuana law enforcement. An analysis of nationwide arrest data published in 2018 reported that New Jersey was third in the nation in total marijuana arrests and second only to Wyoming in per capita marijuana arrests.
Commenting on the passage of the statewide legalization bills, NORML State Policies Coordinator Carly Wolf said, "Lawmakers should be commended for working quickly to implement the will of the voters, who made their mandate clear at the ballot box. While these measures are not perfect and our work is far from finished, it is a crucial step forward toward repairing the decades of damage done to New Jersey's most vulnerable communities as a result of the enforcement of marijuana prohibition. Going forward, tens of thousands of otherwise law-abiding New Jersey citizens will no longer be subject to arrest, incarceration, and a criminal record for their personal use of marijuana, and that is a reason to celebrate.'
Poll: Support for Marijuana Legalization Growing Among Voters of All Political Persuasions
Washington, DC: Majorities of Democratic, Republican, and Independent voters endorse legalizing the use of marijuana for adults and this support is growing, according to polling data compiled by the firms FM3 Research and Fabrizio, Lee & Associates and first reported by Marijuana Moment.
Pollsters surveyed voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota. A majority of voters in each of the four states decided in favor of adult-use legalization ballot measures on Election Day.
Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed - including 85 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of Independents, and 53 percent of Republicans - support legalizing marijuana. That finding is consistent with other nationwide polls.
More than one-quarter of respondents (27 percent) - including 33 percent of Democrats, 35 percent of Independents, and 23 percent of Republicans - said that their views have become more favorable toward legalization in recent years. Sixty-five percent of respondents agreed with the statement, "Legalizing adult use of marijuana is a non-partisan issue that both liberal and conservative voters can get behind.'
Eighty-one percent of respondents agreed that the federal government should not interfere with state laws legalizing marijuana use.
Pollsters concluded: "The results carry important insights, especially for Republican elected officials' who often "cast cannabis legalization as a partisan wedge issue.' This position, pollsters acknowledged, is growing "increasingly untenable' with Republican voters.
Monitoring the Future Study: No Increase in Youth Marijuana Use Following Statewide Legalization
Ann Arbor, MI: Self-reported rates of marijuana use by young people remained largely unchanged over the past year and has not increased over the better part of the last decade, according to survey data released by the University of Michigan.
Year-over-year, "the use of marijuana in all forms ... by adolescents [nationwide] did not significantly change in any of the three grades [8th grade, 10th grade, and 12th grade] for lifetime use, past 12-month use, past 30-day use, [or] daily use,' the National Institute on Drug Abuse stated in a news release.
Since 2012, when Colorado and Washington became the first two states in the nation to legalize the retail adult-use market, lifetime use by adolescents has fallen approximately three percent nationwide, according to the University's Monitoring the Future study. Annual use by young people has remained largely unchanged during this time period, while self-reported use by adolescents over the past 30-days has fallen.
NORML's Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: "The 2020 Monitoring the Future findings add to the growing body of scientific literature showing that legalization policies can be implemented in a manner that provides access for adults while simultaneously limiting youth access and misuse. Furthermore, these findings stand in sharp contrast to the sensational claims often made by legalization opponents, claims that thus far have proven to be baseless.'
The Monitoring the Future findings are consistent with numerous other studies - such as those here, here, here, and here - concluding that statewide marijuana legalization policies are not associated with any significant rise in either the use of marijuana by young people or in their ability to access it.
Additional information regarding marijuana use patterns among young people is available from the NORML fact sheet "Marijuana Regulation and Teen Use Rates.'
Survey: Over One-Third of Canadians with Cancer Acknowledge Using Cannabis
Alberta, Canada: Over one-third of Canadian cancer patients report using cannabis, according to survey data published in the journal Expert Reviews in Pharmacoeconomics & Outcome Research.
A researcher affiliated with the University of Alberta surveyed cancer patients regarding their attitudes toward cannabis. Thirty-four percent of respondents reported using medical cannabis in 2016 - an increase of nearly seven percentage points since 2007.
Canadian physicians have been able to prescribe medical cannabis products to patients since 2001. Lawmakers legalized the production and retail distribution of marijuana to adults in 2018.
The study's author concluded: "Within this study cohort of Canadian adults with current cancer diagnosis, cannabis use is not uncommon. A history of cannabis use is associated with younger age, male sex, white race, non-married status, and higher income.'
Prior survey data has estimated that as many as 25 percent of cancer patients residing in the United States use cannabis, with nearly ten percent of elderly cancer patients doing so.
Full text of the study, "Cannabis use among Canadian adults with cancer (2007-2016): results from a national survey,' appears in Expert Reviews in Pharmacoeconomics & Outcome Research.
Study: Endometriosis Patients Report Subjective Benefits from Cannabis
Wellington, New Zealand: Cannabis use mitigates symptoms of endometriosis, according to survey data published in the Journal of Women's Health. Endometriosis is estimated to impact more than ten percent of women of reproductive age and is typically associated with pelvic pain and cramping.
An international team of researchers surveyed a subset of self-identified medical cannabis consumers in New Zealand with either endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Herbal cannabis use was not legally permitted for medicinal purposes in New Zealand at the time the survey was conducted.
Respondents were most likely to report using cannabis for pain relief, improving sleep, and mitigating nausea. Respondents reported a median score of 90 on a zero to 100-point scale in response to the question, "How does cannabis affect your conditions or symptoms overall?' (where zero was "no relief' and 100 was "excellent relief.')
Nearly six-in-ten respondents acknowledged being able to cease their use of at least one prescription medication following the initiation of cannabis. Study participants were most likely to report stopping their use of opioids - a finding that is consistent with dozens of other studies. Separate survey data of US women previously reported that more than 20 percent of subjects with pelvic pain consume cannabis products, with 96 percent of consumers reporting symptom improvement.
Authors of the latest study concluded: "Cannabis, most commonly inhaled via a pipe, joint, or bong, was considered by our respondents with endometriosis and/or PCOS to be very effective for the management of their symptoms especially in regard to pain, sleep, and gastrointestinal symptoms.
"Respondents reported clear evidence of a substitution effect, where the use of cannabis reduced or replaced other pharmaceutical medications, especially with respect to opioid-based analgesics, and also to other medications commonly used in the management of endometriosis-related symptoms, such as antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and NSAIDs. ,,, Self-reported community data, such as these, add to the growing body of evidence that medicinal cannabis may be a potentially effective part of a multidisciplinary toolkit to manage the symptoms of endometriosis and support reduction of other classes of medication, including opioids.'
Full text of the study, "Illicit cannabis use as a management strategy in New Zealand women with endometriosis: An online survey,' appears in the Journal of Women's Health.
Survey: Nearly Ten Percent of Parkinson's Report Using Cannabis Products for Symptom Management
Hamburg, Germany: Nearly one-in-ten patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) report using cannabis products to alleviate PD-related symptoms, according to a survey of German patients published in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease. Medical cannabis products have been approved in Germany since 2017 for the treatment of severe symptoms of PD.
A team of investigators affiliated with the University of Hamburg conducted a nationwide survey among members of the German Parkinson Association. Over 1,300 patients responded to the survey. Researchers described the study as the "largest' ever undertaken to assess PD patients' perceptions regarding the use of cannabis.
Just under nine percent of survey respondents acknowledged using products containing either THC or CBD or both to mitigate symptoms of the disease. Over half of the respondents (54 percent) reported clinical benefits due to their consumption of cannabis products.
Patients were most likely to report that marijuana-based products relieved pain, depression, stiffness/akinesia, and improved sleep. Respondents were more likely to report benefits from products containing THC than those consisting of CBD only.
Authors concluded: "Our study offers insights into the PD community's perception of MC [medical cannabis] and shows that cannabis is applied in almost ten percent of patients against motor- and non-motor symptoms. Results suggest that MC might be helpful for selected PD patients with insufficient symptom relief despite their usual anti-parkinsonian medication.'
Observational trial data has previously reported that cannabis inhalation is associated with improvements in tremor, rigidity, pain, sleep, and bradykinesia (slowness of movement) in patients with Parkinson's
Full text of the study, "Cannabis in Parkinson's Disease: The patients' view,' appears in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease.
