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Here's the news:
Politics
Nevada regulators approved emergency measures to keep the REC flowing. Dispensaries struggled to keep product on shelves amid lines out the door and a state requirement that only alcohol distributors can distribute cannabis. Despite news reports, Nevada did not declare a state of emergency. For more see here.
On a visit to Las Vegas, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions didn’t mention marijuana. Speaking to the anti-drug group DARE, Sessions defended his efforts to reinstate tough drug sentences:
Now, some people today say that the solution to the problem of drug abuse is to be more accepting of the problem of drug abuse. They say marijuana use can prevent addiction. They say the answer is only treatment. They say don’t talk about enforcement. To me, that just doesn’t make any sense. In fact, I would argue that one reason that we are in such a crisis right now is that we have subscribed to this mistaken idea that drug abuse is no big deal.
He devoted most of the speech to opioids. Vox explains why Jeff Sessions loves DARE.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) said the state is close to a compromise REC law. If a deal can’t be reached, he said “at some point we’re going to have to go forward with the law as it was written.”
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D) who opposed Massachusetts’ REC vote, says he expects the city to allow cannabis businesses. He’s been critical of cities that voted for REC but have banned the industry. Walsh, a problem drinker in the past, still has concerns.
Proposed legislation would legalize MED and REC in Wisconsin.
There’s an effort to legalize REC in New York through a state constitutional convention. The campaign is known as Restrict and Regulate New York (RRNY).
Activists say Florida’s
ban on smokable MED
could lead the state to pass REC.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue (R), a former governor of Georgia, opposes REC calling it a “
slippery slope
.” He supports efforts to grow hemp with “very tight restrictions.”
Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) is
calling for a crackdown
on pot growing on federal land.
Congressman Andy Harris (R-Maryland), a medical doctor, supports MED research. He’s best known for blocking cannabis regulation in D.C., which legalized REC in 2014.
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Health and Science
The Senate may still vote on a replacement for Obamacare, that would cause millions to lose their health insurance. The 10 key votes come from Alaska, West Virginia, Maine, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Arkansas. All of those states have legalized MED or REC. Some have thriving industries.
To learn what you can do, go to Indivisible's TrumpCare Ten page.
A Montana man charged with vehicular homicide for killing a motorcyclist is challenging the state’s cannabis DUI law. Montana considers the legal limit to be 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter. The man charges that there’s no science to support that level equalling impairment. At the time of the accident his level was 19 ng/ML.
Dr. Lloyd Sederer, chief medical officer of New York state’s mental health office, says Canada is getting legalization right.
A judge ruled that a former sales manager with Insys Therapeutics cannot access MED while awaiting trial. He’s accused of arranging arranging kickbacks for doctors who prescribed Insys’ spray form of the powerful opioid fentanyl.
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 24 to 7 to allow VA doctors to prescribe MED where legal. Veterans group American Legion supports a bill to reschedule cannabis as Schedule III, which would make it easier to study and for veterans to access.
Doctors are rethinking whether babies born addicted to opioids should be taken from their mothers.
A transient faces charges in Colorado after he showed up at an ER with more than a pound of pot.
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Criminal Justice
Two men are charged with homicide following the killing and burning of four men who sought to buy pot in wealthy Bucks County, Pa.
The House Judiciary Committee advanced a bill that would empower U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to schedule and set criminal penalties for new drugs. The legislation faces opposition from conservative groups and criminal justice reform groups. The Drug Policy Alliance notes that in late 2015 the same committee approved a bill to reduce sentences for drug crimes.
A new report commissioned by Drug Policy Alliance found New York City marijuana possession arrests continue to be “marked by extremely high racial disparities.”
An L.A. study found dispensaries to reduce crime in their vicinities. See the study here.
The Toronto Star called on Canada to decriminalize and make pardons easier to obtain ahead of REC legalization next year.
Contrary to press reports, Oregon did not decriminalize all drugs, but lawmakers did vote to reduce criminal penalties for drugs.
The DEA will award patches to girl and boy scouts who take a drug free pledge and participate in anti-drug activities.
Leafly explains your rights if you’re pulled over with weed in the car.
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Bye,
Alex
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