#NORML #News Source: @norml @WeedConnection Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com media :: news - Tue, 25 May 2021 04:20:21 PST
Alabama: Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Access Measure into Law
Montgomery, AL: Republican Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation into law this week providing authorized patients with state-regulated access to medical cannabis.
Senate Bill 46, a/k/a The Darren Wesley 'Ato' Hall Compassion Act, permits state-registered patients to possess up to "70 daily dosages" of medical cannabis at one time. Doses of authorized cannabis products will be capped at a maximum of 50 milligrams for the first 90 days. Doctors may raise this dosage to 75 milligrams after 90 days. Patients are not permitted access to cannabis flower material or cannabis-infused edible products under the law. Rather, medical cannabis formulations need to be in the form of: "tablets, capsules, tinctures, or gel cubes for oral use; gels, oils or creams for topical use, or suppositories, transdermal patches, nebulizers, or liquids or oils for use in an inhaler." Almost no other state imposes similar restrictions on the types of products available.
To qualify to participate in the program, patients must be diagnosed with one of 15 eligible conditions, including chronic pain, epilepsy, depression, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease. Under the law, medical cannabis products are not a first-line option for patients, as physicians will only be able to make recommendations "after documentation indicates that conventional medical treatment or therapy has failed." Those under 18 would be limited to low-THC (no more than 3 percent) products.
The bill also includes a nine percent tax on medical cannabis sales. Business licensing applications are expected to be available by the fall of 2022. Licensing decisions will be determined by the newly established Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission.
Commenting on the passage of the law, NORML State Policies Manager Carly Wolf said, "This measure is an important first step for Alabamans. As written, this program is limited in its ability to sufficiently address the real-world needs of patients -- many of whom receive maximum benefit from inhaling cannabis flower rather than oral formulations, which are often far slower acting and more variable in their effects. Furthermore, we reject the notion that cannabis should be a treatment of 'last resort.' That said, this law begins the process of providing Alabamans, for the first time, with a safe, legal, and consistent source of medicine. In the coming months and years, we anticipate and hope that lawmakers will continue to expand this access in a manner that puts patients' interest first."
The new law took effect upon signing.
Mississippi: State Supreme Court Nullifies Voter-Approved Medical Cannabis Law
Jackson, MS: A majority of justices on the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 to strike down a 2020 voter-initiated law legalizing the possession and dispensing of cannabis to qualified patients.
On Election Day, 73 percent of Mississippi voters decided in favor of Initiative 65, which establishes a system of state-licensed dispensaries to engage in the retail dispensing of cannabis and cannabis products to patients who possess a doctor's authorization. Just prior to the vote, officials representing the city of Madison -- including the town's Republican Mayor -- filed suit arguing that the legislature's failure to update guidelines for petitioners should invalidate the initiative vote.
Specifically, state statutes call for petitioners to gather an equal percentage of signatures from five congressional districts. However, following redistricting in 2000, there are only four congressional districts in the state. Lawmakers since that time have failed to update the statute.
A majority of the Court determined that lawmakers' failure to update the law makes it impossible for any citizens-led initiative to go forward in the state. They ruled, "Whether with intent, by oversight, or for some other reason, the drafters of section 273(3) wrote a ballot-initiative process that cannot work in a world where Mississippi has fewer than five representatives in Congress. To work in today's reality, it will need amending -- something that lies beyond the power of the Supreme Court."
In a dissent, Justice James D. Maxwell II affirmed that the ruling has far reaching implications beyond the state's nascent medical cannabis law. "Not only is this particular initiative dead, but so is Mississippi's citizen initiative process," he wrote.
NORML State Policies Manager Carly Wolf criticized the majority's opinion. "Legalization opponents have shown time and time again that they cannot succeed in either the court of public opinion or at the ballot box. Whether or not one supports marijuana reform, Americans should be outraged at these overtly undemocratic tactics, and as a result, the most vulnerable Mississippians will continue to be denied safe access to a therapy that could offer them significant relief from severely debilitating conditions."
Following the ruling, some lawmakers, as well as the Secretary of State, have called on the Governor to convene a special legislative session to advance legislation to restore medical cannabis access. However, Republican Governor Tate Reeves has yet to weigh in on the issue. Statewide polling data compiled this week finds that 60 percent of Mississippi voters favor revisiting the issue in a special legislative session.
Montana: Governor Signs Measure Amending Voter-Initiated Marijuana Legalization Law
Helena, MT: Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed legislation into law this week amending the state's 2020 voter-approved adult-use legalization law.
House Bill 701 makes several changes to the voter-initiated law. Specifically, it moves back the deadline for state regulators to begin licensing retail marijuana sales from October 1, 2021 to January 1, 2022. Initially (for the first 18 months), only those already operating medical dispensaries will be eligible to engage in retail marijuana sales.
The measure also reduces the number of cannabis plants that an adult may legally cultivate in a private residence from a total of four plants and/or four seedlings to no more than two plants and/or two seedlings. Households with more than one adult are permitted to grow twice that amount without penalty.
It also imposes restrictions on the quantity and potency of THC content to be available in retail products. Cannabis flower is capped at 35 percent THC; edible products are limited to no more than 100mg of THC per package, and other concentrated products are capped at 800mg.
Under the revised law, voters in counties that decided against the 2020 initiative must now hold a separate vote in order to permit retailers to operate within their localities. In counties where a majority of voters decided in favor of the initiative, no further local actions are necessary.
Retail sales will be subject to a 20 percent excise tax, while local communities may impose an additional 3 percent tax. Much of this revenue will now be redirected to fund substance abuse treatment programs.
Fifty-seven percent of Montanans approved the initiative in November. Nonetheless, many politicians in the state's Republican-led legislature pushed back against the vote and sought to significantly rewrite the law.
Commenting on the changes, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: "This is yet another recent example of Republican lawmakers pushing back against the majority of voters who support reforming our failed marijuana laws. In Mississippi, we have seen a Republican-led effort nullifying the vote legalizing medical cannabis access, and in South Dakota, the Republican Governor is seeking to overturn voters' wishes to legalize and regulate the plant's adult use. Here we have lawmakers tweaking the law in ways that are inconsistent with what the majority of voters decided in favor of. Whether or not one supports or opposes cannabis legalization, one should be deeply concerned by this trend."
A lawsuit seeking to strike down the 2021 initiative remains outstanding. Provisions in the new law stipulate that if the lawsuit is successful, both the language of the initiative and HB 701 would be nullified.
The full text of the revised law is available on LegiScan.
Study: Terpenes and Cannabinoids Produce Additive Therapeutic Effects
Tucson, AZ: Select terpenes modulate cannabinoid activity in mice, according to data published in the journal Nature: Scientific Reports.
A team of researchers affiliated with the University of Arizona, College of Medicine assessed the functional and modulatory actions of various terpenes in vivo and in vitro both alone and in combination with an established cannabinoid agonist, WIN55,212.
Authors reported that the combined administration of terpenes and WIN55,212 produced an increased antinociceptive (analgesic) response as compared to the administration of either substance alone. Researchers also determined that endogenous cannabinoid receptors were responsive to terpenes. "Our findings suggest that these cannabis terpenes are multifunctional cannabimimetic ligands that provide conceptual support for the entourage effect hypothesis and could be used to enhance the therapeutic properties of cannabinoids," they reported.
Authors concluded: "This study is thus the first to show that terpenes and cannabinoids can produce an additive effect when combined. This study is also the first to identify the CB1 and A2a receptors as terpene targets and describe the role of these receptors in producing terpene cannabimimetic effects in vivo. ... In principle, this suggests that terpenes could be used to enhance the analgesic properties of cannabis/cannabinoid therapy, without worsening the side effects of cannabinoid treatment. However, this must be confirmed using relevant phytocannabinoids like THC instead of the synthetic cannabinoid WIN55,212-2 used in this study."
Full text of the study, "Cannabis sativa terpenes are cannabimimetic and selectively enhance cannabinoid activity," appears in Nature: Scientific Reports.
Survey: Pain Patients Consuming CBD-Dominant Products Report Reduced Opioid Use
San Diego, CA: Chronic pain patients who consume CBD products report reducing their use of prescription medications, specifically opioids, according to data published in the Journal of Pain Research.
Researchers with the University of California and the University of Washington surveyed 253 participants from seven pain management clinics in southern California. Participants in the study suffered from back pain, nerve pain, migraine, fibromyalgia, and other pain conditions.
Sixty-two percent of participants reported using CBD products, with over one-half of participants (91 percent) acknowledging that these products also contained THC. Subjects were most likely to inhale/smoke cannabis products, although just over half of respondents also reported using edibles and tinctures.
Twenty percent of subjects who consumed cannabis products reported experiencing "complete" relief from their pain. Thirty-nine percent of participants said that they helped "a lot." Most subjects reported that their use of CBD-dominant products led them to reduce their use of prescription pain medicines, specifically opioids -- a finding that is consistent with other studies.
Authors concluded: "Overall, our study describes the attitudes and experiences of the participants with CBM [cannabis-based medicines] and CBD-containing products (medical cannabis) in a pain management clinic environment with a large Medicare and Medicaid patient population. ... The majority responded that these products have helped their pain (59 percent) and allowed them to reduce their pain medications (68 percent), including opioids (54 percent). ... Taken together, participants report some perceived beneficial effects using CBM [cannabis-based medicines] and CBD products including the reduction of pain medication."
The results of a prior human study, published in 2019, similarly reported that the oral administration of CBD-dominant extracts over an eight-week trial period reduced subjects' chronic pain and use of opioids while also improving their overall quality of life.
Cannabinoid as a treatment for chronic pain: A survey of patients' perspectives and attitudes," appears in the Journal of Pain Research.
Cannabis Use Increasing Among Veterans
San Diego, CA: An increasing percentage of veterans are engaging in the use of cannabis, according to data published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.
A team of researchers affiliated with the University of California at San Diego reviewed marijuana use patterns among a nationally representative sample of over 4,000 US veterans. Of the sample, 12 percent acknowledged having consumed cannabis within the past six-months -- up from nine percent in 2014 (the last time researchers surveyed the issue). Those with psychiatric conditions were most likely to report using cannabis -- a finding that is consistent with other surveys of veterans.
Prior surveys have similarly shown increasing rates of marijuana use among military veterans. Data compiled by The American Legion reports that 39 percent of respondents "know a veterans" who is using cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Separate data reported earlier this month in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse determined that veterans who use cannabis were likely to report "desirable health outcomes," including improvements in pain relief, sleep quality, and overall quality of life.
Full text of the study, "Prevalence of cannabis use, disorder, and medical card possession in US military veterans: Results from the 2019-2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans study," appears in Addictive Behaviors.
Delaware: Medical Cannabis Expansion Bill Advances to Governor's Desk
Dover, DE: Lawmakers have advanced legislation to the Governor's desk, Senate Bill 60, to facilitate patients' access to medical cannabis products by expanding the pool of health professionals eligible to provide authorizations.
The measure permits certified nurse practitioners and physician assistants to issue medical cannabis recommendations to those ages 18 and older. Only licensed physicians specializing in pediatric medicine may issue recommendations to those qualifying patients who are 18 or younger.
The bill now awaits action from Democratic Gov. John Carney. Senate Bill 60 takes immediate effect upon passage.
Over 1,000 residents are registered in the state's medical cannabis access program.
Colorado Surpasses $10 Billion in Retail Cannabis Sales
Denver, CO: Consumers have purchased over $10 billion worth of cannabis products since retail sales became legal in 2014, according data compiled by the state's department of Revenue.
In all, retailers have sold $10.5 billion worth of products. Tax revenue from those sales totals $1.7 billion -- much of which has been earmarked toward public schools and infrastructure projects.
Sales have been steadily increasing year-over-year in Colorado since legalization. In March, retailers sold $207 million worth of cannabis products, a near historic high.
Archived sales reports are available from the Colorado Department of Revenue.
