Tag: marijuana

New Idaho Bill Would Set Mandatory Minimum Fine For Marijuana Possession

A Nampa legislator introduced a bill on Thursday to implement a $300 minimum fine for adults possessing three ounces or less of marijuana.

Under Idaho Code, individuals possessing more than three ounces of marijuana can face a felony conviction and may be imprisoned for at least five years, or fined at least $10,000, or both. However, there are no specific penalties for individuals possessing less than three ounces.

Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, introduced the bill to the Idaho House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee, noting that Idaho judges can apply fines ranging from $2 to $500 for people possessing three ounces or less of marijuana.

According to the bill, individuals possessing three ounces or less of marijuana would be subject to a misdemeanor upon conviction and subject to a minimum fine of $300. Individuals under the age of 18, however, would be exempt from the penalties, Skaug said.

“We do not want this to become a marijuana state,” Skaug told the committee.

Last year, Skaug introduced a similar bill attempting to implement a minimum $420 fine for marijuana possession of three ounces or less, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.

The bill died in committee after legislators pointed to concerns that it would take away judicial discretion.

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Biden Dodges Question About Releasing Marijuana Prisoners Before Leaving Office, As He Previously Promised He Would Do

President Joe Biden declined to respond to a question over the weekend about whether he plans to fulfill his campaign promise to release people still imprisoned for marijuana before his term ends later this month.

Following a ceremony where Biden awarded various figures with Presidential Medals of Freedom recognizing their contributions to national interests on Saturday, New York Post reporter Steven Nelson called out to the president, asking “will you honor your campaign pledge to release all marijuana inmates?”

Biden didn’t acknowledge the question, exiting the event without talking to attending press.

With just two weeks until President-elect Donald Trump assumes the office again following his November election victory, there’s been added pressure on Biden to make good on his promise and take executive action to ensure nobody is incarcerated over non-violent federal cannabis convictions.

But while the White House has indicated that there are still clemency options being considered, there’s been no additional confirmation that Biden plans to go beyond the pardons and commutations he’s already issued for simple marijuana possession offenses.

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DEA Fails To Release Updated Marijuana Arrest And Seizure Data, Drawing Criticism From Legalization Advocates

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is facing criticism after failing to release updated annual data on marijuana-related arrests and seizures as it has done in prior years.

The agency has been publishing and archiving the annual data from its Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) for decades, and advocates say the information is critical, especially amid heightened consideration of federal marijuana policy reform.

The last time that DEA updated the cannabis arrest and seizures figures was May 2023.

That data showed that DEA seized more than 5.7 million marijuana plants in 2022, a demonstrable increase that bucked the trend that’s been observed over recent years as the state legalization movement has expanded. However, the agency made far fewer cannabis-related arrests that year.

“At a time when voters and their elected officials nationwide are re-evaluating state and federal marijuana policies, it is inconceivable that government agencies are unwilling to provide data on the estimated costs and scope of federal marijuana prohibition in America,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said in a blog post.

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Trump’s Choice For Top Justice Department Role Says Marijuana Is A ‘Gateway Drug’ That Makes Consumers ‘Boring And Smelly’

President-elect Donald Trump has made his selection for another top Justice Department official: Harmeet Dhillon, who has peddled the gateway drug theory about marijuana and says cannabis makes people who consume it “silly, boring and smelly.”

Trump said on Monday that he intends to nominate Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights. The lawyer has served in leadership roles with the Republican National Committee and California Republican Party, and she’s a frequent Fox News contributor.

For those following the marijuana policy positions of Trump’s cabinet picks, Dhillon’s comments on the issue reveal a staunch opposition to the use of cannabis, which she claimed is a “gateway drug and ambition-killer” following President Joe Biden’s mass marijuana pardons.

This choice for a key DOJ position also comes amid the final steps of the Biden administration’s efforts to reschedule marijuana—a task that the incoming Trump administration will inherit and which his Justice Department will play a pivotal role in facilitating.

Dhillon doesn’t seem expressly opposed to the idea of preventing people from going to jail over simple cannabis possession, however, and she’s pointed out that federal prosecutors rarely go after people over that low-level offense. At one point, she criticized Vice President Kamala Harris over her prosecutorial record on cannabis.

But she’s made her distaste for cannabis consumption clear on a number of occasions.

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Study Finds Frequent Cannabis Use Doesn’t Cause Paranoia, Lower Motivation

Recent research on the effects of regular marijuana usage disproves popular perceptions about the drug by showing no connection between habitual users’ decreased motivation or paranoia. The study found no indication of a marijuana-induced hangover the following day.

One of the unexpected results was that long-term users did not exhibit a decline in desire or effort-exertion willingness, either due to internal or external factors. In fact, consumers who used the product more frequently claimed to be more motivated and to have experienced more negative emotions and impulsivity.

The study highlights both expected and unexpected results, challenging misconceptions surrounding cannabis’ effects. The researchers attribute much of the misunderstanding to cannabis’ historical criminalization, which has skewed perceptions of the drug and its users. According to the authors, even though cannabis is widely used, especially when compared to tobacco, alcohol and caffeine, little is known about how it affects regular users in daily life.

Reddit served as a source for the study’s participants, who had to be at least 21 years of age and from Canada or the United States. Participants were required to use cannabis at least three times weekly for recreational purposes. Throughout the weeklong study period, participants completed a 30-minute baseline assessment and a brief assessment five times daily between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m.

The study found negligible influence on motivation, defying popular belief. Interestingly, the study indicated that people like to become high. In addition to feeling less stressed and afraid, chronic users reported feeling a variety of good emotions while high, including amazement, inspiration and thankfulness.

Interestingly, and against widespread perceptions, chronic users’ levels of paranoia did not rise when they got high. However, it was associated with decreased momentary conscientiousness, indicating reduced self-control and organization.

Although cannabis intoxication had short-lived effects on chronic users’ emotional states, there was little evidence of a hangover the next day. Additionally, frequent users reported greater negative emotions but also higher motivation compared to less frequent users.

While the study could not conclusively determine causality, it suggested a complex relationship between cannabis use and emotional states. The authors acknowledge limitations in participant selection, noting that the sample may not represent less frequent or novice users. Despite these limitations, the study provides valuable insights into the everyday experiences of habitual cannabis users, challenging misconceptions and paving the way for future research.

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Trump’s FDA Pick Thinks Marijuana Is A ‘Gateway Drug’ That Causes Heart And Mental Health Problems

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a medical marijuana skeptic, promoting claims that cannabis use is linked to cardiovascular issues and mental health problems for youth. He has also suggested that marijuana is a gateway drug.

Marty Makary, a surgeon and medical commentator, has been selected to serve as FDA commissioner in the incoming Trump administration—a critical role as far as federal cannabis policy is concerned.

While the Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the president-elect’s choice for secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that oversees FDA supports ending marijuana prohibition and legalizing certain psychedelics for therapeutic purposes, Makary has been critical of cannabis use.

In September, he said that “people think marijuana today is the marijuana of hippies and that it’s entirely safe—but marijuana today is roughly 20 times more potent.”

“Even though it may have lower health complications in adults, that may not be true for adolescents where their mind is still developing,” he said on the mindbodygreen podcast. “The drug may have a different impact on young, healthy teenagers.”

“Some studies have found that among teenagers who use marijuana the risk of a psychosis diagnosis later in life goes way up—as many as 25 percent of people who consume it,” Makary said in the comments, which were first flagged by Cultivated Media, adding that he’s “not making a statement about the legalization or non-legalization,” but “to suggest that it is entirely safe is not consistent with the real scientific literature.”

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SCOTUS Case Involving Cannabis Fraud Highlights the Illogic of Federal Drug Testing Mandates

The U.S. Supreme Court last week considered a case involving a trucker, Douglas Horn, who lost his job because he tested positive for THC after consuming a CBD tincture that was advertised as completely free of that psychoactive compound. Horn sued the companies that made and marketed the tincture under the Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organizations (RICO) Act, arguing that he was “injured in his business or property by reason of” the defendants’ mail and wire fraud.

The issue in Medical Marijuana Inc. v. Horn is whether the economic losses that Horn suffered fit that statutory language, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit held last year. But the case also highlights the weak scientific basis for the federally mandated drug test that Horn failed, which reflects the ongoing conflict between state and federal marijuana laws.

In 2012, Horn bought Dixie X CBD Dew Drops 500 mg Tincture to treat the pain and inflammation caused by hip and shoulder injuries he had suffered in a truck accident. Since he was well aware that testing positive for marijuana would endanger his job, he investigated the product to make sure it did not contain any federally illegal substances. He says he was reassured by Dixie’s claim that its CBD extract was made from hemp containing less than 0.3 percent THC (the federal limit) and that, after processing, it contained “0.00 THC.”

According to a High Times article that Horn cited in his 2015 RICO lawsuit, the tincture was produced via “a proprietary extraction process” from “a strain of high-CBD hemp grown in a secret, foreign location.” The article said the resulting tincture “contains 0% THC and up to 500 mg of CBD.” Tripp Keber, Dixie’s managing director, averred that “we are importing industrial hemp” that is “below federal guidelines for THC, which is 0.3%,” and “extracting the CBD.” Keber said Dixie had “meticulously reviewed state and federal statutes,” and “we do not believe we are operating in conflict with any federal law as it’s related to the Dixie X (hemp-derived) products.”

Keber offered similar assurances in several YouTube videos, saying those products were “THC free” and contained “no THC.” Just to make sure, Horn says in a Supreme Court  brief, he contacted a customer service representative, who “confirmed that Dixie X contained ‘zero percent THC.'”

Based on those assurances, Horn’s brief says, he “purchased and consumed Dixie X in
September 2012.” A few weeks later, he was dismayed to learn that he had tested positive for marijuana in “a routine random drug screening.” As a result, “his employer immediately fired him.” He “lost his career and income,” which meant “financial ruin” for his family.

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Most People Don’t Trust The Government For Marijuana Information, Federally Funded Study Shows

American adults typically don’t get their information about about marijuana from government or medical sources, instead relying mostly on friends and family, according to a new study that was partially funded by a federal agency.

The nationally representative survey of 1,161 adults found that government agencies were the least popular source of cannabis-related information (4.7 percent in the probability-weighted results). And while health and medical care providers were also among the least common sources, at 9.3 percent, they were higher on the list than budtenders (8.6 percent).

The most popular sources of marijuana information, meanwhile, were friends and family (35.6 percent) and websites (33.7 percent).

The study, which received support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and was published this month in the Journal of Cannabis Research, concludes that most people “draw healthcare information about cannabis from friends and family or online, with very few consulting their healthcare provider or government agencies.”

Notably, people who reported using cannabis for medical reasons were significantly more likely than others to cite healthcare professionals as a source of their marijuana-related information compared to other respondents (16.4 percent versus 5.2 percent, respectively).

Given the trend toward liberalization of cannabis policies in the U.S.—and what the paper describes as potentially “broad effects on public health outcomes related to cannabis” if marijuana is moved from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act—the paper urges more attention to ensuring healthcare providers are educated on cannabis-related matters and that government messaging is handled with care.

“As cannabis accessibility and legality is increasing,” it says, “there is a strong need for better clinician education, public outreach strategies, and improved communication between patients and clinicians about cannabis.”

NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said of the new survey findings that cannabis use “is not a new phenomenon and is not going away” and that sources like healthcare providers and government agencies have a responsibility to seek out and provide accurate information.

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