Study: Legalization Not Associated with Increases in Motor Vehicle-Pedestrian Fatalities
Minneapolis, MN: The enactment of state-level policies legalizing marijuana for either medical use or adult-use is not associated with an increase in the prevalence of fatal motor vehicle crashes involving pedestrians, according to data published in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention.
Investigators affiliated with the University of Minnesota examined the association between cannabis legalization laws and fatal motor vehicle crash rates (both pedestrian-involved and total fatal crashes) during the years 1991 to 2018. Motor vehicle accident trends in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington were compared to trends in five control states.
Authors failed to identify any uptick in pedestrian-involved fatal motor vehicle crashes that could be attributable to the enactment of marijuana legalization. They further acknowledged that two of the three states they examined, Washington and Oregon "saw immediate decreases in all fatal crashes following medical cannabis legalization."
They concluded, "Overall, these findings do not suggest an elevated risk of motor vehicle crashes associated with cannabis legalization, nor do they suggest an increased risk of pedestrian-involved motor vehicle crashes."
The study's findings are consistent with those of others, such as those here and here, reporting decreases in incidences of fatal motor vehicle accidents following the enactment of medical marijuana legalization. Other studies assessing the impact of adult-use retail sales on traffic safety have yielded more mixed results.
Full text of the study, "An examination of relationships between cannabis legalization and fatal motor vehicle and pedestrian-involved crashes," appears in Traffic Injury Prevention. Additional information is available from the NORML fact sheet, "Marijuana and Psychomotor Performance."
House Lawmakers Prepare to Vote This Month on Marijuana Descheduling Bill
Washington, DC: Members of the United States House of Representatives are expected to hold a floor vote later this month on legislation - The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act a/k/a The MORE Act - to remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act. The vote would be the first time since the passage of the 1970 law, which placed cannabis in the same category as heroin as a Schedule I controlled substance, that a Congressional chamber has voted to remove marijuana from its prohibitive classification.
"Passage of The MORE Act is essential in order to truly right the wrongs of federal marijuana criminalization, and to once and for all allow the majority of states that have legalized cannabis for either medical or adult-use to embrace these policies free from the threat of undue federal prosecution or interference," NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said.
Since the bill's introduction last year, NORML has been a leader in the federal lobbying efforts in support of The MORE Act. To date, NORML members have sent over 120,000 messages to Congress in support of the Act's passage.
Weeks ago, Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden selected California Senator Kamala Harris to be his running mate. Senator Harris is the lead sponsor of The MORE Act in the Senate. According to national polling data recently compiled by the Data for Progress think-tank, 62 percent of likely voters - including majorities of Democrats and Republicans - support passage of The MORE Act.
Last November, members of the House Judiciary Committee advanced the House version of The MORE Act, marking the first time in history that federal lawmakers have moved forward legislation to deschedule cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act. NORML believes that comprehensive federal marijuana policy reform is only possible via descheduling marijuana rather than by rescheduling it. Just as alcohol is not included in the CSA, thereby leaving states to be the primary regulators of their own alcohol policies, NORML maintains that cannabis should similarly be descheduled.
The Act would also make several other important changes to federal policy. For example, it permits physicians affiliated with the Veterans Administration for the first time to make medical marijuana recommendations to qualifying veterans who reside in legal states, and it incentivizes states to move ahead with expungement policies that will end the stigma and lost opportunities suffered by those with past, low-level cannabis convictions. If approved, The MORE Act also allows the Small Business Administration to support entrepreneurs and businesses as they seek to gain a foothold in this emerging industry.
"A House floor vote will put our federal lawmakers on record," NORML's Armentano said. "We will know who stands with the majority of Americans in supporting an end to the failed federal policy of marijuana prohibition, and equally importantly, we will know in Congress wishes to continue to threaten the freedom and liberty of the millions of Americans who reside in states that have enacted common-sense alternatives to cannabis criminalization."
Adult-Use Cannabis Markets Not Associated with Vaping-Related Lung Illness
New Haven, CT: States with well-established legal markets permitting adult-use marijuana sales experienced far fewer incidences of the vaping-related lung illness EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury) as did jurisdictions where adult-use was prohibited, according to data published in the journal Addiction.
According to the study's corresponding press release: "A negative relationship between EVALI prevalence and rates of pre-outbreak vaping and marijuana use suggests that well-established markets may have crowded-out use of riskier, informally sourced e-liquids. Indeed, the five earliest states to legalize recreational marijuana - Alaska, California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington - all had less than one EVALI case per 100,000 residents aged 12 to 64. None of the highest EVALI-prevalence states - Utah, North Dakota, Minnesota, Delaware and Indiana - allowed recreational marijuana use."
Commenting on the findings, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, "In jurisdictions where cannabis is legally regulated, consumers gravitate toward the above-ground retail marketplace where they can access lab-tested products manufactured by licensed businesses. Just like alcohol prohibition gave rise to the illicit production of dangerous ‘bathtub gin,' marijuana prohibition provides bad actors, not licensed businesses, the opportunity to fulfill consumers' demand."
A prior analysis, published in April in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open similarly reported, "[EVALI cases] were concentrated in states where consumers do not have legal access to recreational marijuana dispensaries. ... One possible inference from our results is that the presence of legal markets for marijuana has helped mitigate or may be protective against EVALI."
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 3,000 people sought hospitalization because of the illness, which peaked last September, and nearly 70 people died as a result of it. Late last year, the CDC publicly identified vitamin E acetate - a diluting agent sometimes present in counterfeit, unregulated vape pen products - as a primarily "culprit" in the outbreak. Earlier this year, the agency reiterated: "Vitamin E acetate is strongly linked to the EVALI outbreak. Vitamin E acetate has been found in product samples tested by FDA and state laboratories and in patients' lung fluid samples tested by CDC from geographically diverse states. Vitamin E acetate has not been found in the lung fluid of people that do not have EVALI."
Full text of the study, "Association of vaping-related lung injuries with rates of e-cigarettes and cannabis use across US states," appears in Addiction.
Study: Medical Cannabis Use by Seniors Associated with Improved Quality of Life
Champaign, IL: The use of medical cannabis by those over the age of 60 is positively associated with self-reported improvements in subjects' health-related quality of life (HRQL), according to data published in the journal Clinical Gerontologist.
A team of researchers affiliated with the University of Illinois and the University of Iowa surveyed seniors regarding their use of medical cannabis and self-reported outcome changes over a one-year period.
Investigators reported a "strong positive association" between subjects' frequency of cannabis use and self-reported improvements in pain, health-care utilization, and overall health-related quality of life. Participants failed to report any statistically significant association between medical cannabis use and adverse events.
They concluded: "[We] identified a strong positive association between higher frequency of cannabis use and improvement to HRQL and HCU [health-care utilization] scores. ... Our regression modeling also identified a strong positive relationship between higher frequency of cannabis use and self-reported improvements to pain symptoms. The positive relationship between near-daily use and improved reports offers further evidence of the perceived value of medical cannabis as a therapeutic approach for pain management."
The study's findings are similar to several others - such as those here, here, and here - finding that medical cannabis use by seniors is relatively safe and effective at mitigating pain and improving self-reported quality of life.
Full text of the study, "Assessing health-related outcomes of medical cannabis use among older persons: Findings from Colorado and Illinois," appears in Clinical Gerontologist.
Mississippi: Support Strong for Medical Marijuana Legalization Ahead of November Vote
Jackson, MS: More than eight in ten Mississippi voters endorse medical marijuana legalization, and most prefer the more liberal of the state's two pending ballot measures.
According to polling data released on Wednesday, 81 percent of respondents - including 89 percent of Democrats and 76 percent of Republicans - favor "allowing patients with medical conditions and serious illnesses to possess and consume marijuana if their doctors recommend it."
Mississippi voters this fall will decide on a pair of competing ballot measures: Initiative 65 and Alternative 65A. The first measure was placed on the ballot at the behest of voters while the latter is a more restrictive proposal advanced by the legislature.
When provided information about both measures, 63 percent of respondents endorsed Initiative 65 while only 18 percent preferred Alternative 65A, according to the poll.
Voters in South Dakota will also be deciding on a medicalization initiative in November. In Nebraska, the Secretary of State's Office has certified that initiative proponents gathered ample signatures to qualify a medical marijuana legalization measure for the ballot, but a newly filed legal challenge remains outstanding. Adult-use ballot initiatives have qualified for the ballots in New Jersey, Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota.
More information on the Initiative 65 campaign is available online. Additional information on 2020 ballot initiatives is available from NORML Election Central.
Florida: Newly Enacted Rules Permit Sales of Cannabis-Infused Edibles
Tallahassee, FL: State regulators have enacted emergency rules that for the first time oversee the production and retail sale of cannabis-infused edible products to qualified patients.
The rules, enacted last Wednesday, take immediate effect. Infused products produced in accordance with the new rules cannot be designed or marketed in a manner that would be appealing to children and must not resemble any commercially available candy products. Companies that wish to produce cannabis edibles must obtain a Medical Marijuana Treatment Center Edibles Food Establishment Permit from state officials.
Nearly 400,000 Floridians are registered with the state to access medical cannabis under the law, which voters passed in 2016.
California: Lawmakers Pass Measure to Encourage Banks to Work with Cannabis Industry
Sacramento, CA: California lawmakers have passed legislation, Assembly Bill 1525, that seeks to encourage banks and other financial institutions to partner with licensed cannabis businesses.
The bill reads, "An entity that receives deposits, extends credit, conducts fund transfers, transports cash or financial instruments, or provides other financial services does not commit a crime under any California law ... solely by virtue of the fact that the person receiving the benefit of any of those services engages in commercial cannabis activity as a licensee pursuant to this division."
The measure now goes to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom for final approval.
Few banks or other financial institutions provide services to state-licensed cannabis businesses because these relationships are discouraged under federal regulations. In recent months, members of the US House of Representatives on multiple occasions have passed legislation on the House floor amending federal law to explicitly permit banks to legally engage in such partnerships. However, none of these measures have been seriously considered by the Senate.
California: Lawmakers Pass Measure to Encourage Banks to Work with Cannabis Industry
Sacramento, CA: California lawmakers have passed legislation, Assembly Bill 1525, that seeks to encourage banks and other financial institutions to partner with licensed cannabis businesses.
The bill reads, "An entity that receives deposits, extends credit, conducts fund transfers, transports cash or financial instruments, or provides other financial services does not commit a crime under any California law ... solely by virtue of the fact that the person receiving the benefit of any of those services engages in commercial cannabis activity as a licensee pursuant to this division."
The measure now goes to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom for final approval.
Few banks or other financial institutions provide services to state-licensed cannabis businesses because these relationships are discouraged under federal regulations. In recent months, members of the US House of Representatives on multiple occasions have passed legislation on the House floor amending federal law to explicitly permit banks to legally engage in such partnerships. However, none of these measures have been seriously considered by the Senate.
Case Report: Cannabis Use Improves Symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Hannover, Germany: The daily inhalation of medical cannabis is associated with a significant reduction in symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), according to a case report published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.
A team of German researchers assessed the use of high-THC (22 percent) medical cannabis over a period of 20 months in a 22-year-old male patient diagnosed with OCD.
The subject reported "a marked reduction of obsessions and compulsions" following the initiation of medical cannabis. He further reported "general relaxation, improved sleep, and concentration at school as well as overall improvement of his quality of life resulting in better social functioning and reduced problems at work."
At 20 months, the subject reported an improvement of compulsions and obsessions of more than 90 percent. No adverse side effects were reported.
Authors concluded: "[A] limited number of case studies ... suggest that CBM [cannabis-based medicines] might be effective in the treatment of OCD. ... The presented case report adds evidence to the hypothesis that modulation of the ECS by activating central CB1 receptors may improve OCD."
Full text of the study, "Cannabis improves obsessive-compulsive disorder - Case report and review of the literature," appears in Frontiers in Psychiatry.
