Tag: marijuana

Democrats have a new plan to legalize marijuana federally

On Wednesday, Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) released a discussion draft of legislation that proposes sweeping reform to marijuana policy in the US. The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act would decriminalize marijuana federally, expunge federal non-violent cannabis convictions (and encourage states to do the same), and create “new grant programs to fund nonprofits that provide services to those adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.”

In the introduction to the 30-page draft legislation, the senators note that adult use of cannabis is already legal in 18 states, Washington D.C., the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam. Medicinal marijuana is even more widespread, legal in 37 states, Puerto Rico, D.C., Guam, and the US Virgin Islands.

“These changes represent a dynamic shift in public opinion and support across the political spectrum,” the statement notes. “State-compliant cannabis businesses will finally be treated like other businesses and allowed access to essential financial services, like bank accounts and loans. Medical research will no longer be stifled.”

Despite recent state actions, marijuana remains illegal at the federal level and subject to prosecution by federal agencies even in states where cannabis use is permitted. In practice, those prosecutions have been limited, but the risk of federal action has meant that marijuana businesses have limited options when it came to banking and many non-recreational uses of the plant have been stifled.

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If Sha’Carri Richardson Can Get High and Still Outrun Everybody, She Should Be Allowed To Do It

Sha’Carri Richardson ran 100 meters faster than any other woman at the U.S. Olympic trials, but she won’t be able to compete in the event at the Olympic Games in Tokyo after testing positive for marijuana.

There are so, so many things wrong with this. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which officially announced Richardson’s month-long suspension on Friday, should be ashamed for how they’ve handled the situation. More importantly, they should change their policies to ensure more athletes aren’t subjected to an unnecessary punishment for using a substance that is obviously not going to provide a competitive edge.

And while the situation seems fairly absurd on its face, it actually gets worse the deeper you go.

Start with the fact that the USADA doesn’t actually classify tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive chemical found in cannabis, as a performance-enhancing drug. But the USADA—whose sole purpose, ostensibly, is to ensure the integrity of athletic events—tests athletes for THC anyway because it regards marijuana as “a ‘Substance of Abuse’ because it is frequently used in society outside the context of sport.”

In the statement announcing Richardson’s suspension, the USADA acknowledged that “Richardson’s…use of cannabis occurred out of competition and was unrelated to sport performance.”

In other words, Richardson’s positive test had no bearing on the fact that she out-raced every other American woman at the Olympic trials—which were held in Eugene, Oregon, where marijuana is legal. Richardson engaged in legal activity that did not bestow upon her an unfair competitive advantage…and yet she’s been suspended anyway.

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Happy Horseshit of the moment: Marijuana use may increase risk of suicide, NIH study finds

A new study from the National Institutes of Health found an increased risk of suicide was associated with marijuana use.

The study found higher rates of suicidal ideation, suicide planning, and suicide attempts among both men and women who used marijuana on both a daily and a nondaily (fewer than 300 days a year) basis.

Researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the NIH, examined data from over 281,000 participants aged 18-34 in the National Surveys of Drug Use and Health from 2008-2019. The results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Editors note: If the above were true I’d be dead a thousand times over and my suicidal partner a thousand times more. Pot saved her and saved me. Get a grip.

Florida Supreme Court rejects ‘grow your own’ marijuana legalization initiative

The Florida Supreme Court has rejected a prospective citizen’s initiative to place a proposed constitutional amendment before voters in 2022 to legalize adult recreational marijuana and allow Floridians to “grow their own.”

In a 5-2 ruling Thursday, the court determined the prospective amendment’s ballot summary is “affirmatively misleading,” the second time since April the state’s highest court has issued that verdict to knock a marijuana legalization measure off the 2022 ballot.

Tampa-based Sensible Florida submitted its proposed amendment, Regulate Marijuana in a Manner Similar to Alcohol to Establish Age, Licensing, and Other Restrictions, to the Division of Elections on March 17, 2016.

The summary reads: “Regulates marijuana (hereinafter “cannabis”) for limited use and growing by persons 21 years of age or older. State shall adopt regulations to issue, renew, suspend, and revoke licenses for cannabis cultivation, product manufacturing, testing and retail facilities. Local governments may regulate facilities’ time, place and manner and, if state fails to timely act, may license facilities. Does not affect compassionate use of low-THC cannabis, nor immunize federal law violations.”

The proposed amendment would permit people to grow “six mature flowering cannabis plants per household member 21 years of age or older” and possess “the harvest therefrom, provided the growing takes place indoors or in a locked greenhouse and the cannabis grown is not made available for sale.”

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