#NORML #News
Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news
- Tue, 01 May 2018 04:20:21 PST

Michigan: Adult Use Legalization Measure Certified For November's Ballot

Lansing, MI: Election officials have confirmed that proponents of a statewide ballot measure, the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, have gathered a sufficient number of signatures from registered voters to place it on the electoral ballot this November.

Proponents of the voter-initiated measure, The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, submitted more than 360,000 signatures in an effort to qualify it for the November 2018 ballot. The initiative permits those over the age of 21 to grow and possess personal use quantities of cannabis and related concentrates, while also licensing activities related to the commercial marijuana production and retail marijuana sales.

According to statewide polling commissioned by Michigan NORML, which is a member of the Coalition, 61 percent of voters say that they intend to vote yes on the measure.

Voters in other states will also be deciding on marijuana-related ballot questions later this year. Oklahomans will decide in June on State Question 788, which permits qualified patients to access and cultivate marijuana for therapeutic purposes. Utah voters are also expected to decide on a narrower medicalization measure in November, though officials have yet to officially certify that measure for the ballot. Proponents of a medical marijuana measure in Missouri have surpassed the number of signatures required to place it on the November ballot, well ahead of the state's May 6 deadline. In South Dakota, officials have confirmed that proponents of a 2018 medical use initiative failed to gather the necessary number of signatures to qualify for November's ballot.


NORML Delivers Over 10,000 Comments To The FDA Calling For Marijuana's Descheduling

Washington, DC: NORML staffers on Monday hand-delivered over 10,000 written comments from US citizens calling on federal and international agencies to amend the international prohibition of cannabis. The public comments, which were requested earlier this month by the US Food and Drug Administration, will be considered as part of the World Health Organization's ongoing review of the plant's international classification.

Under international treaties, the marijuana plant is classified in the most restrictive schedules available for controlled substances. NORML maintains that this scheduling does not accurately reflect the plant's widespread therapeutic acceptance and relatively low abuse potential.

"The United Nation's international prohibition of cannabis is a relic from a bygone era," NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. "This decision, which was largely a political one made over 50 years ago, does not accurately reflect either the available science or the rapidly changing political and cultural status of cannabis worldwide."

Members of NORML's Board of Directors also submitted their own written testimony to the FDA, opining: "In general, the safety, dependence, and usage profile of cannabis compares favorably to alcohol, tobacco, and other unscheduled substances. For this reason, NORML believes that cannabis [ultimately] should be withdrawn from the treaty framework entirely."


Leading Senate Democrat To Introduce Marijuana Descheduling Bill

Washington, DC: Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has publicly announced his intent to sponsor legislation to remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act. The pending measure, much like House Bill 1227: The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act, provides states the autonomy and flexibility to establish their own marijuana policies free from federal interference.

Senator Schumer's proposal is expected to include funding streams for women and minority-owned cannabis businesses, and would appropriate money for marijuana-related research.

"My thinking - as well as the general population's views - on the issue has evolved, and so I believe there's no better time than the present to get this done," he said in a prepared statement.

NORML Political Director Justin Strekal added: "Senator Schumer has effectively made it clear that a legislative priority for the Democratic Party is to end the federal prohibition of marijuana. As Democratic Leader, it is his role to ensure that his caucus falls in line with this public policy position - a position that is held by more than 60 percent of Americans."


Study: Marijuana Use Associated With Decreased In-Hospital Mortality Among Burn Trauma Patients

Chapel Hill, NC: Burn trauma patients who test positive for marijuana upon hospital admission are less likely to die during hospitalization as compared to patients who test drug-negative, according to data published in the Journal of Burn Care & Research.

Investigators at the University of North Carolina Department of Surgery, Jaycee Burn Center assessed the relationship between marijuana use and in-hospital mortality in a cohort of 3,299 burn trauma patients hospitalized over a ten-year period.

Those subjects who tested marijuana-positive possessed a one percent in-hospital mortality rate. By contrast, drug-negative patients possessed a four percent mortality rate. Mortality was eight percent for those patients who tested positive for alcohol.

Marijuana-positive patients also had shorter ICU lengths of stay and induced lower overall hospital costs compared to drug-negative controls.

Authors concluded, "In our patient cohort, marijuana use appears to be protective in acute burn admissions, despite classic teaching that illicit drug use leads to poorer outcomes."

The findings are consistent with prior studies reporting that cannabis use is associated with reduced in-hospital mortality among heart attack patients, those with traumatic brain injuries, those undergoing certain orthopedic surgeries, and those hospitalized with other forms of severe trauma.

Full text of the study, "Marijuana use is protective in burns," appears in the Journal of Burn Care & Research.


Federal Legislation Introduced To Facilitate Medical Marijuana Trials For Military Veterans

Washington, DC: United States Rep. Timothy Waltz (D-MN), along with 39 bipartisan co-sponsors, has introduced legislation, HR 5520 The VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act of 2018, to facilitate federally-sponsored clinical research on the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis among veterans.

The legislation explicitly authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs "to conduct and support research on the efficacy and safety of medicinal cannabis," particularly among those patients diagnosed with chronic pain and/or post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to nationwide survey data compiled by The American Legion, 39 percent of respondents affirmed that they "know a veteran" who is using the plant medicinally. Twenty-two percent of respondents said they themselves "use cannabis to treat a mental or physical condition." Nonetheless, former VA Secretary David Shulkin had consistently rejected calls from advocacy groups and lawmakers to study the use of cannabis among military veterans.


Three More States Enact Hemp Production Laws

Washington, DC: Governors in Alaska, Kansas, and Oklahoma have each signed legislation in recent days establishing programs to permit the cultivation of industrial hemp.

In Alaska, Independent Gov. Bill Walker signed legislation into law establishing a pilot program "to study the growth, cultivation, [and] marketing of industrial hemp." Senate Bill 6 creates a legal distinction between hemp and marijuana under state law and seeks to develop and promote a hemp industry within the state. The law also excludes oils containing cannabidiol from the legal definition of hashish oil.

In Kansas, Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer signed Senate Bill 263: The Alternative Crop Research Act. It excludes industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana under the state's criminal codes, and it permits the Department of Agriculture to license farmers to "cultivate industrial hemp and [to] promote the research and development of industrial hemp."

In Oklahoma, Republican Gov. Mary Fallin signed House Bill 2913, which creates the Oklahoma Industrial Hemp Agricultural Pilot Program. The program permits university-affiliated licensees to cultivate hemp for "plant research" and "marketing development purposes."

All three new state laws are compliant with Section 7606 of the 2014 federal Farm Bill, which permits states to legally authorize hemp cultivation as part of academic research pilot programs. Over 35 states have established regulations permitting limited hemp cultivation under this provision.


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