In a first, drug use eclipses alcohol in fatal crashes

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By Ashley Halsey Iii, The Washington Post

For the first time, statistics show that drivers killed in crashes are more likely to be on drugs than drunk.

Forty-three percent of drivers tested in fatal crashes in 2015 had used a legal or illegal drug, eclipsing the 37 percent who tested above the legal limit for alcohol, according to a report released Wednesday by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility.

Of the drivers who tested…

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7 protesters arrested for handing out free joints near U.S. Capitol

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WASHINGTON — The conflict between federal and local laws on marijuana played out in the shadow of the Capitol on Thursday, when seven pro-pot activists were arrested for doing something that’s been legal in Washington for the past two years — handing out free joints.

U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement that they invoked federal law in making the arrests. Two women and one man were charged with possession with intent to distribute pot, while four women were charged with simple possession,…

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Two arrested after gunfire near Denver’s 4/20 celebration; no one hurt

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A brief gunfire incident occurred early Thursday evening near the annual 4/20 cannabis celebration in downtown Denver.

Police said nobody was hurt, and officers arrested two people soon after at least one shot rang out near 15th Street and Cleveland Place. It was unclear whether the incident was related to the 4/20 festival.

In all, five people were arrested at the Civic Center event and 20 people were written up with civil citations, police said.

Long lines, some over an hour, greeted…

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Colorado PTSD marijuana bill advances to House vote, gains amendments focused on children

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Colorado doctors should be allowed to recommend medical marijuana in treating PTSD symptoms of adults, but there should be additional guardrails when it comes to children, state lawmakers decided Thursday.

An amended Senate Bill 17, which would add post-traumatic stress disorder to Colorado’s list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana, passed a second reading Thursday in the state House.

“On this auspicious day, we’ve got a serious bill,” bill co-sponsor Sen. Jonathan Singer,…

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Wanted: cannabis tracking system for billion dollar market

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DENVER — Washington state regulators have begun accepting bids for a new seed-to-sale tracking system to keep tabs on marijuana commerce, a deal with an initial value of about $3 million.

The competition likely will be fierce, given that the contract involves one of the nation’s largest cannabis markets.

But businesses won’t be squaring off against the provider of the state’s current seed-to-sale system, BioTrackTHC. The company said it has no plans to bid for the new contract, saying it is…

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Canada unveils official marijuana legalization plan

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Canada is advancing plans to become the first Group of Seven nation to legalize recreational marijuana nationally, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is keeping key details hazy and allowing arrests to continue while parliament debates his plan.

Trudeau’s justice minister introduced proposed laws Thursday in the Ottawa legislature that set a minimum consumption age of 18, with individual provinces allowed to raise it as they see fit. Rules on retail sales will also be left to the provinces,…

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Cannabis companies flock to Canada as US laws keep them off stock exchange

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When Hadley Ford created a company for investing in the fast-growing business of legal marijuana, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. investment banker left New York and headed north of the border.

While more than half of U.S. states allow marijuana for medical or recreational use, the drug is still outlawed by the federal government, starving pot entrepreneurs of institutional capital. Major stock exchanges won’t accept listings for businesses that Washington deems illegal, and banks and…

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Senator demands docs from big pharma as she probes their role in opioid epidemic

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Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri demanded information Tuesday from five top opioid manufacturers, saying she would investigate their alleged role in the drug epidemic responsible for more than 200,000 overdose deaths since 2000.

“This epidemic is the direct result of a calculated sales and marketing strategy major opioid manufacturers have allegedly pursued over the past 20 years to expand their market share and increase dependency on powerful – and often deadly – painkillers,” McCaskill,…

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A different kind of sea-weed: Man finds marijuana bale on Florida beach

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Authorities say a 52-year-old man called 911 after finding a bale of marijuana that had washed up on a Florida beach.

Jeff Stolowitz tells local news outlets he was walking on Daytona Beach on Saturday morning when he spotted the object, which was shaped like a giant cigar. As he got closer on Saturday morning, he saw a ripped edge and what appeared to be blood. That’s when he called for help.

Read the full story at thecannabist.co.

 

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Report: Canada to legalize marijuana by July 2018

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The frenzy surrounding Canada’s marijuana market intensified Monday after a report the government will unveil plans to legalize sales for recreational use in April.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government will introduce legislation the week of April 10 to legalize marijuana by July 1, 2018, according to a report from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. David Taylor, a spokesman for Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, declined to comment on the reported timelines. He reiterated a…

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Eight of 16 people indicted in Colorado marijuana trafficking operation listed as having state pot licenses

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Eight of the 16 people indicted on charges they ran a massive illicit marijuana operation that sold and shipped weed out of state are listed in Colorado records as having active or expired licenses to work in the legal pot business.

Michael Alan Stonehouse, the alleged ringleader, has an active “key” license — for operating a marijuana business — that is valid until November 2018, Marijuana Enforcement Division records show. That’s despite a past felony conviction and state…

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Jeff Sessions says fed marijuana approach “more complicated than one RICO case”

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Read more at The Cannabist: Jeff Sessions says fed marijuana approach “more complicated than one RICO case”

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Was there a weed deal between Michael Brown and store clerk?

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Read more at The Cannabist: Was there a weed deal between Michael Brown and store clerks?

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Federal marijuana law enforcement: What you need to know about potential strategies

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No official federal policy change toward marijuana has been made –—yet.

Under the specter of a potential crackdown, officials in recreational marijuana states have been proactive in recent days, including Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman inviting Department of Justice head Jeff Sessions to take a firsthand look at America’s longest-operating recreational market, and Oregon lawmakers introducing a bill to protect consumers’ privacy.

What’s the next step for the feds? The Cannabist…

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Israel takes step toward marijuana reforms

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JERUSALEM — The Israeli government has taken a step toward decriminalizing marijuana use.

Israeli media say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet has approved a measure that would reduce penalties for possession of marijuana. If caught, smokers would pay a fine, instead of facing criminal charges.

Netanyahu said ahead of Sunday’s meeting that a “new enforcement policy” should be drawn up “cautiously and in a controlled manner.”

The decision does not mean that Jerusalem…

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119-year-old global standards group wants to guide marijuana industry

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A 119-year-old international organization that develops voluntary standards for items ranging from children’s toys to commercial spaceflight could soon do the same for cannabis operations.

ASTM International on Tuesday launched a volunteer committee on cannabis to discuss and develop standards in areas such as personnel training, cultivation and security, officials and committee members told The Cannabist. The committee was formed following an all-day meeting and vote of 60 stakeholders —…

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Jeff Sessions to Attorneys General: “We don’t need to be legalizing marijuana”

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U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reiterated his opposition to marijuana legalization while addressing a collection of the nation’s attorneys general on Tuesday.

In responding to a question about the war on drugs, Sessions noted a rise in heroin overdose deaths and those from the painkiller fentanyl. Stating that “crime does follow drugs,” he added that in the 1970s and ’80s, many lives were destroyed by drug abuse, adding that the drugs today are more powerful.

Read the full story at The…

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Pediatricians warn against teen pot use amid increasingly lax laws

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By Lindsey Tanner, The Associated Press

CHICAGO — An influential doctors group is beefing up warnings about marijuana’s potential harms for teens amid increasingly lax laws and attitudes on pot use.

Many parents use the drug and think it’s OK for their kids, but “we would rather not mess around with the developing brain,” said Dr. Seth Ammerman.

The advice comes in a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, published Monday in Pediatrics. The group opposes medical and…

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Sean Spicer seemed to tie marijuana use to opioids. The evidence isn’t on his side.

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By Derek Hawkins, The Washington Post

The epidemic of opioid addiction in the United States has been well documented. A staggering 33,000 people died in 2015 from overdosing on prescription painkillers, heroin or similar drugs, on par with the number killed by firearms and in car accidents.

The epidemic is growing, but its general causes are not in dispute. Nearly all research on the issue shows that excessive and improper prescriptions are what’s causing more people to become addicted.

But…

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Trump administration puts recreational marijuana in crosshairs

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Recreational marijuana is in the sights of the Trump administration, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Thursday.

Spicer, during his daily briefing, gave the first clear glimpse at how the new administration views the burgeoning rise of legal marijuana.

“There’s a big difference between (medical marijuana) and recreational marijuana, and I think when you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing we should be doing…

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Arvada man who used post office to distribute marijuana edibles sentenced to a year and a day

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An Arvada man who sent boxes of illegal marijuana edibles through the U.S. Postal Service to buyers in New York City, Maryland and Texas was sentenced Wednesday to a year and one day in federal prison.

Stephen Paul Anderson, a.k.a. “the healthnut,” was also sentenced to serve three years of community supervised release after his prison term.

“Oh boy, you thought this was going to be an easy way to make money, and it is going to cost you your freedom,” U.S. District Judge Christine…

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America’s marijuana industry headed for $24 billion by 2025, report says

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The latest gaze into the crystal ball puts the U.S. marijuana industry north of $24 billion by 2025.

New Frontier Data, a cannabis market research and analytics firm, gave The Cannabist a first look at its 2017 annual report, which aims to track the long-term potential for the industry. The report acknowledges external factors such as federal rescheduling or a full-scale crackdown could shake up the near-term.

By mapping out state-by-state sales to $24.5 billion in 2025 and projecting that…

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U.S. Rep. Jared Polis joins with congressional colleagues to create Cannabis Caucus

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WASHINGTON — Marijuana now has its own official club in Congress, thanks to Colorado congressman Jared Polis and three of his colleagues.

The Boulder lawmaker on Thursday joined with fellow Democrat Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, as well as Republicans Dana Rohrabacher of California and Don Young of Alaska, in launching the Cannabis Caucus — a group dedicated to promoting and protecting the nascent industry of legalized weed.

“We’re really at the tipping point on marijuana reform,”…

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What will be AG Jeff Sessions’ first move on marijuana?

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A new lawman has come to town, and the marijuana industry could be in for major upheaval.

But just how much change Attorney General Jeff Sessions might impart — and how quickly he’ll address federal marijuana enforcement — remain the multibillion-dollar question.

“It’s not like you could see agents come into every storefront in the United States tomorrow and deal with this. That’s not a reality,” drug policy expert John Hudak said Wednesday.

But if Sessions rescinds the 2013…

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How Congress is getting serious about cannabis amid White House uncertainty

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There’s optimism brewing on Capitol Hill that Congress could maintain or even accelerate marijuana legalization’s momentum in the face of rising concerns that the industry could be snuffed out federally.

Members of a newly formed bipartisan “Cannabis Caucus” are preparing to introduce a slew of legislation — including resurrecting bills from sessions’ past — and aiming to develop a united front to further congressional action on cannabis. And weeks before the official launch of the caucus,…

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Maryland lawmakers to push for recreational marijuana

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By Ovetta Wiggins and Fenit Nirappil, The Washington Post

A group of Democratic lawmakers in Maryland want the state to join a growing number of others that have legalized marijuana for recreational use, taxing and regulating sales of the drug similar to the way the state deals with alcohol.

Legislators said Monday that adults aged 21 and older in Maryland would be able to possess and grow limit amounts of marijuana if the two bills sponsored by Sen. Richard Madaleno, D-Montgomery, Del. Curt…

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Police: Burger King workers sold marijuana to customers who ordered “extra crispy” fries at N.H. drive-thru

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EPPING, N.H. — Police say two employees at a New Hampshire Burger King have been arrested on drug charges after authorities were tipped off that drive-thru customers who asked for extra crispy fries got marijuana with their meal.

NH1 reports Epping Police Chief Mike Wallace said 20-year-old Garrett Norris was arrested Saturday after police conducted a sting operation. Also arrested was 19-year-old Meagan Dearborn, the shift manager.

Wallace said drive-thru buyers would ask for “Nasty…

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Falling prices mean trouble for states that have legalized marijuana

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The arrival of 2017 will bring many changes to the country, including falling marijuana prices in states that have legalized a recreational market. Cannabis users may cheer this news, but it heralds the start of an enduring budgetary headache for states that tax legal marijuana sales based solely on price.

New data from one legalization state illustrate the point. Colorado’s Department of Revenue assesses the going price for marijuana every six months and uses this information to calculate…

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States’ fight against Colorado marijuana laws on tap in fed court

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A bid to stamp out Colorado’s recreational marijuana industry is scheduled to go before a federal appeals court Tuesday morning.

The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver will hear oral arguments in an appeals case that claims Colorado’s recreational cannabis laws fly in the face of federal controlled substances and racketeering laws.

The case, a consolidation of separate appeals backed by national anti-legalization groups, was joined last year by the states of Nebraska and…

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Hemp industry members file legal challenge against DEA’s new marijuana extract rule

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The hemp industry has taken the DEA to court in the wake of a controversial new rule on marijuana extracts.

Denver’s Hoban Law Group, representing the Hemp Industries Association, Centuria Natural Foods and RMH Holdings LLC, on Friday filed a judicial review action against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, alleging the agency overstepped its bounds when enacting a rule establishing coding for marijuana derivatives such as cannabidiol (CBD) oil. The action, Hoban attorneys…

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Massive marijuana research report details knowledge base with eye on future

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As marijuana legalization becomes entrenched across America, what is known about the plant’s health benefits and adverse effects is rapidly gaining urgency.

In the first comprehensive review by American researchers in decades, their assessment of 10,000 studies since 1999 quantified the weight of research evidence and found cannabis has legitimate medicinal benefits for a variety of ailments, but also has been shown as a contributor to certain mental health issues and, to some degree,…

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New DEA rule on marijuana extracts, CBD causes commotion in cannabis industry

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A little three-page document published this week in the U.S. Federal Register sent some fairly big shock waves through the cannabis industry.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration filed a final rule notice to establish a Controlled Substances Code Number for “marihuana extract,” and subsequently maintaining marijuana, hemp and their derivatives as Schedule I substances. According to the notice:

This code number will allow DEA and DEA-registered entities to track quantities of this…

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Canada marijuana task force releases report on legalization

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Now is the time for Canada to move from prohibition and become the largest developed country to establish a well-regulated legal marijuana industry, members of the country’s marijuana task force said Tuesday.

Canada’s marijuana legalization task force has outlined 80 recommendations for the country’s potential legal cannabis regime, including a minimum purchase age of 18; penalties against trafficking and impaired driving; regulations for packaging and pesticides; mail-order delivery…

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Researchers fret as info lags on pot effects on older adults

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DENVER — Surveys show a small but growing number of older adults are using marijuana — a trend that worries researchers who say not enough information exists about how pot affects older users.

Abundant research has been done on how the drug impacts developing brains, but little is known about the potential consequences on older users — even as recreation pot has been legalized in a number of states.

Researchers at New York University say pot could pose health challenges to older…

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Marijuana measures trending favorably in U.S. states

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Tuesday night shaped up to be the “watershed” moment predicted for the marijuana industry.

Voters in five states — Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada — were deciding whether to legalize the recreational use of cannabis; and residents in four other states — Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota — were weighing medical marijuana measures.

By 10:15 p.m., the vast majority of those measures were headed to passage, notably California’s Proposition 64,…

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California recreational marijuana vote 2016: State approves Proposition 64

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Election 2016: Get updates on the nine states with marijuana ballot measures

Californians have legalized recreational marijuana, according to the Associated Press.

Proposition 64 sailed to an early victory Tuesday night, according to results from the Secretary of State.

The ballot measure had 56 percent of the vote as of 11 p.m. MST on Tuesday night.

The measure, also known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, will allow adults 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana or 8…

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Massachusetts the first state in eastern U.S. to legalize recreational marijuana

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Election 2016: Get updates on the nine states with marijuana ballot measures

BOSTON — Voters have approved a ballot measure making Massachusetts the first state in the eastern U.S. to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

Tuesday’s approval marks a major national victory for proponents of legalized marijuana. Currently, using the drug recreationally is legal only in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska.

The statewide referendum passed despite opposition from top elected…

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Florida legalizes medical marijuana

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Election 2016: Get updates on the nine states with marijuana ballot measures

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida voters approved a state constitutional amendment Tuesday to legalize medical marijuana, broadening access to pot beyond the limited therapeutic uses approved by the legislature two years ago.

Currently, the law allows non-smoked, low-THC pot for patients with cancer or ailments that cause chronic seizures or severe spasms. The ballot measure formally legalizes medical marijuana, and…

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Where is marijuana legalized? Map of U.S. marijuana laws by state

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By Alicia Wallace, The Cannabist Staff

The legalization of marijuana in America has been moving at a breakneck speed in recent years as states and territories across the nation have adopted regulations to allow for the medical or recreational use of cannabis.

Earlier in 2016, marijuana legalization in America reached a tipping point: Medical marijuana became legal in half of the 50 states. As far as legalizing cannabis for adult use, others have followed the precedent set by Colorado and…

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Authorities: Man grew pot plants at Vermont cemetery

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RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) — A 23-year-old man has been charged with growing more than 40 marijuana plants in a Vermont cemetery.

The Rutland Herald (http://bit.ly/2dXtY7d ) reports that Adam Mahoney pleaded not guilty Monday in Rutland to a felony marijuana cultivation charge.

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Washington state to increase testing pot for pesticides

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More than two years after Washington state launched legal marijuana sales, it’s planning to test pot for banned pesticides more regularly.

The state’s Liquor and Cannabis Board said Thursday it’s paying the Washington Department of Agriculture more than $1 million to buy new equipment and hire two full-time workers to conduct the tests. The increased screening is expected to begin early next year and will examine marijuana where regulators have reason to suspect illegal pesticides…

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Kansas cops can’t stop drivers just because they have Colorado plates, court rules

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WICHITA, Kan. — A federal appeals court says law enforcement officials in Kansas cannot stop and search motorists for having nothing more than out-of-state license plates from states that have legalized marijuana.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday says the officer’s reasoning would justify the search of citizens from more than half of the states in the country.

The court reinstated the lawsuit filed by a Colorado motorist against two Kansas Highway Patrol officers who…

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Fearing legal pot might not live up to the hype, Uruguay now looking at hemp

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For all the buzz it’s generating, legalized pot may not live up to the hype. At least not in Uruguay where limits on production and pricing have led one of two producers to diversify into less regulated hemp.

Weeks before selling its first ounce of pot at pharmacies, International Cannabis Corp. is already betting that hemp — a variety of cannabis — will be a much bigger market than selling the psychoactive part of the plant, according to CEO Guillermo Delmonte. Hemp and its…

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Court sides with Connecticut employee fired for smoking pot at work

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HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut state worker fired after he was caught smoking marijuana on the job was punished too harshly and should get his job back, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday.

Gregory Linhoff was fired from his maintenance job at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington in 2012 after a police officer caught him smoking pot in a state-owned vehicle. He had no previous disciplinary problems since being hired in 1998 and had received favorable job…

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Court bars feds from prosecuting medical marijuana cases

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SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court on Tuesday banned the Justice Department from prosecuting medical marijuana cases if no state laws were broken.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered the federal agency to show that 10 pending cases in California and Washington state violated medical marijuana laws in those states before continuing with prosecutions.

Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but Congress has barred the Justice…

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24 treated after eating drug-laced candy at rap concert in Ohio

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Two dozen concertgoers in northeast Ohio suffered medical symptoms Saturday after they ate candy laced with a drug found in marijuana.

No fatalities were reported at the Ohio Dreams sports camp complex in Butler, about 60 miles northeast of Columbus, where the weekend-long EST 2016 rap music festival was being held. The concert was dubbed “The Last Weekend on Earth.”

Maj. Joe Masi of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department told the Mansfield News Journal…

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Marijuana industry ditches burnout image for “suit and tie” approach to DNC

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PHILADELPHIA — This isn’t your teenage son’s marijuana industry anymore; it’s your button-down dad’s business — at least at the Democratic National Convention.

Even as pro-marijuana activists marched this week in Philadelphia with a fake 51-foot joint, teams of industry leaders and lobbyists were busy doing the kind of work one would expect from the beer or pharmaceutical industry: holding receptions, talking to politicians and discussing regulations.

In other words, the…

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Eugene Monroe retires, vows to continue advocating for medical marijuana research

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Eugene Monroe, the former Ravens offensive tackle and advocate for cannabis research in the NFL, announced Thursday he is retiring from football, citing his health and family for reasons to walk away.

“I’m only 29 and I still have the physical ability to play at a very high level, so I know that my decision to retire may be puzzling to some,” wrote Monroe in a first-person piece for The Players’ Tribune. “But I am thinking of my family first right now — and my health and my…

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Hawaii pot dispensaries can legally open, but none are ready

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HONOLULU — Medical marijuana dispensaries can now legally open in Hawaii, but not one is ready to do so.

The state Department of Health said none of the state’s eight dispensaries was approved to open by July 15, the first day they were allowed by law.

One big hurdle is the state hasn’t certified a lab to test the dispensaries’ products.

“On the dispensary front, they’re all doing their best to open their doors with as diverse a product line to serve all of the many needs of…

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Study: Why pharma companies are fighting medical pot

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There’s a body of research showing that painkiller abuse and overdose are lower in states with medical marijuana laws. But that’s always been just an assumption.

Now a new study validates these findings by providing evidence of a missing link in the causal chain running from medical marijuana to falling overdoses. Ashley and W. David Bradford, a daughter-father pair of researchers at the University of Georgia, found that in the 17 states with a medical-marijuana law in place by 2013,…

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