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Colorado sides with parents over doctors on medical marijuana for autism

Families spent hours with the state’s lawmakers convincing them that their kids need cannabis. 

Despite opposition from physicians and health experts, Colorado’s House of Representatives will now consider a bill which would add autism to the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana. After hearing from autism advocates, families and health experts for over five hours, a House committee voted on April 5 to allow the bill to come to a vote in the legislature.

The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Edie Hooton (D-Boulder and Gunbarrel), would allow adults as well as children under the age of 18 to treat symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such as seizures, with the use of medical cannabis. For children, a prescription would have to be approved by two physicians.

If the bill passes, Colorado will join a number of other states which currently allow for the treatment of autism with medical marijuana. California, Oregon and Washington D.C. are among the jurisdictions which have fully legalized cannabis and list autism as a qualifying condition. Even states which have limited medical marijuana programs like Georgia have approved the treatment of autism with cannabis oils.

In Colorado, families are currently treating children who have been diagnosed with the disorder regardless of its legal status because of the effects they’ve seen firsthand. Several of those families appeared before lawmakers to testify in favor of the bill, including the Walker family from Texas.

Read the full article from The Capital.

 

SOURCE: TOMOSKI, M. (2018, April 16). Herb. Colorado sides with parents over doctors on medical marijuana for autism. Retrieved from https://herb.co/marijuana/news/colorado-parents-marijuana-autism

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Anne Arundel County Medical Marijuana Land Use in Court

It could be a long night at Monday’s County Council meeting with several bills, including a handful of land use matters and a ban on variances for medical marijuana outlets, up for hearings.

Bill 24-18 would prevent any potential medical marijuana facilities from getting any variances to the tough limitations set in the law authorizing them.

Administrative hearings have allowed variances on four dispensaries in the county. But County Executive Schuh, who has fought to exclude and limit the medical marijuana industry from the county, replaced former Administrative Hearing Officer Doug Hollmann and installed Annapolis attorney Jonathan Hodgson.

Hodgson rejected a dispensary variance application in his first case on the issue.

Read the full article from The Capital.

SOURCE: Furgurson III, E.B.. (2018, April 15). The Capital. Anne Arundel County Council to hear testimony on medical marijuana, land use bills. Retrieved from http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/ac-cn-council-advance-20180415-story.html

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Major science organization awards cannabis scholarships

The American Chemical Society, a nonprofit that’s been supporting scientific research in the United States since 1876, is giving away money to encourage cannabis research. So far, the organization has awarded scholarships to seven scientists who are working on cannabis-related projects around the world.

The American Chemical Society initiative is intended to increase the number of scientists researching marijuana, a substance that, due to federal prohibition, has formerly undergone few high-quality clinical trials. The scholars also receive the opportunity to present their findings at major scientific conferences, increasing visibility for the entire field of cannabis research. 

In recent years, a number of different cannabis-related scholarship programs have emerged. Canna Insider has pledged small amounts of money to students investing in a cannabis education. A cannabis college in Oakland, the Oaksterdam University, also gives out small scholarships to students training to work in the cannabis space.

Read the full article from Herb.

SOURCE: Hoffman, R. (2018, April 12). Herb. Major science organization awards cannabis scholarships. Retrieved from https://herb.co/marijuana/news/tony-bower-cannabis-mullaways-arrested

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Cannabis legalization can reduce violent crime.

A new study published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization has added to an ever-growing body of research which suggests that cannabis legalization is linked to a decrease in violent crime. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Bologna in Italy, looks at legalization’s effects on crime in the state of Washington.

The findings are the result of a comparison between Washington state, after it legalized in 2012, and the neighboring state of Oregon, which legalized two years later in 2014. That two-year gap allowed researchers to compare violent crime rates across several counties in both states and measure the effects of legalization.

The researchers cite four reasons they believe the legalization of cannabis may have had a positive effect on violent crime rates starting with the suggestion that legalization itself, “reduces the likelihood of [cannabis users and growers] engaging in violent activities.” They go on to say that legalization reduces the likelihood that those growing and selling cannabis will be involved in gang activity while the regulation of a legal market frees up police resources to combat other crimes.

The study also found that residents in legal states reduced their normal and binge alcohol consumption significantly when provided with the alternative of legal weed. Researchers see this reduction in the use of more “violence-inducing substances” like alcohol and cocaine as a contributing factor.

Read the full article from Herb.

SOURCE: Tomoski, M. (2018, April 9). Herb. New study confirms cannabis legalization reduces violent crime. Retrieved from https://herb.co/marijuana/news/cynthia-nixon-governor-cuomo-cannabis

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Ottawans Lobbying Against Medical Marijuana Tax

OTTAWA — Medical marijuana patients are bracing for an uphill battle in their bid to convince the federal government to exempt medicinal cannabis from excise taxes.

Read the full article from Red Deer Advocate.

SOURCE: The Canadian Press. (2018, April 2). Red Deer Advocate. Medical marijuana users set lobbying push on federal cannabis tax proposal. Retrieved from https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/news/medical-marijuana-users-set-lobbying-push-on-federal-cannabis-tax-proposal/

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Over 150,000 Utahns Pushing for Medical Marijuana

SALT LAKE CITY — With nearly 160,000 signatures gathered from across Utah, it appears medical marijuana will be on the November ballot for voters to decide.

The Utah Patients Coalition, which has been running the campaign to get the issue before voters, told FOX 13 on Monday it has had 120,000 of those signatures verified by county clerks. The Lt. Governor’s Office said Monday it has validated 117,000 of those. That’s still more than the 113,000 needed to qualify for the November ballot.

“This is indeed going to be on the ballot for 2018,” said DJ Schanz with the Utah Patients Coalition.

Read the full article from FOX 13.

SOURCE: Winslow, B. (2018, March 26). FOX 13. It looks like medical marijuana will be on the November ballot in Utah. Retrieved from http://fox13now.com/2018/03/26/it-looks-like-medical-marijuana-will-be-on-the-november-ballot-in-utah/

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Federal Law Protects Medical Marijuana from Jeff Sessions

Medical marijuana patients and businesses that follow state laws will continue to be protected from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the federal drug agents that work for him under a provision contained in new must-pass legislation revealed on Wednesday.

The policy, which has been federal law since 2014, bars the U.S. Department of Justice from spending money to interfere with the implementation of state medical marijuana laws. Its continuance was in question, however, after Sessions specifically asked Congress not to extend it and House leaders blocked a vote on the matter.

Read the full article from Forbes.

SOURCE: Angell, T. (2018, March 21). Forbes. Congress Protects Medical Marijuana From Jeff Sessions In New Federal Spending Bill. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2018/03/21/congress-protects-medical-marijuana-from-jeff-sessions-in-new-federal-spending-bill/#26b0af7d3575

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Canadian Marijuana Packaging Restrictions

The federal government says that Canadians generally support its planned approach to the legalization of marijuana, including detailed proposals surrounding plain packaging and warning labels.

As part of a broader release of the results of its public consultations, Health Canada announced on Monday that all cannabis products sold to consumers will need to be child-resistant, with plain packaging that is a single, uniform colour and does not include any graphics or images.

Packaging must also be “tamper evident,” so that the consumer will know immediately if the product has been opened or otherwise tampered with before purchase.

Read the full article from Global News.

SOURCE: Scotti, M. (2018, March 19). Global News. Government confirms pot packaging will be plain, with branding and logos ‘restricted’. Retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/4091721/marijuana-legal-packaging-canada-plain/

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