Tag: the war on (some) drugs

Texas Senate Considers Ban On Intoxicating Hemp-Derived Delta-8 And -9 THC Products

Austin hemp entrepreneur Shayda Torabi is looking at a year filled with uncertainty.

For the six years they’ve been in business, Torabi and her two sisters have operated Restart, their hemp dispensary, in a modest neighborhood in North Austin within an entirely lawful framework—evolving as the laws changed, and staying comfortably and legally off the radar of state lawmakers who authorized the sale of consumable hemp in Texas in 2019.

But all of that is about to change.

Some Texas lawmakers have marked hemp dispensaries for what could be some radical changes in regulations next year. Since their products were legalized, there’s been an overnight proliferation of shops offering baked goods, gummies, oils and smokable buds made with cannabis derivatives—some containing small amounts of psychoactives.

Once the darling of a burgeoning wellness industry, the purveyors of legal cannabis products now face questions from critics who remain unconvinced of the safety of their products and want tighter regulations—or even partial bans.

Consumable hemp products come in forms that include smokable vapes and flower buds, oils and creams, baked goods, drinks, gummies and candies.

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Ohio Lawmakers Approve Rules Allowing Adult-Use Marijuana Sales To Start Next Month

An Ohio legislative panel has approved a regulatory framework for the state’s marijuana market that pushes up the implementation timeline, creating a licensing scheme that could allow adult-use sales to launch next month in current medical cannabis dispensaries.

The legislature’s Joint Committee On Agency Rule Review (JCARR) gave final approval to the proposed cannabis regulations on Monday.

While regulators have until September to start issuing cannabis business licenses under the ballot initiative that voters approved last November, the Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) devised a plan to start granting dual licenses to existing medical marijuana operators to begin serving adult consumers early this summer.

That plan, as well as other rules setting up the basic infrastructure for legalization, was accepted by the committee. Applications for prospective dual licensees will be opened up no later than June 7, and they could start selling cannabis to patients and adults alike once they’re approved.

Rep. Jamie Callender (R), vice chair of JCARR, thanked the head of DCC for “the work you’ve put in on this—for doing this timely and to help move forward the will of the voters, and we look forward to watching these rules go into effect in a couple of weeks.”

He said regulators have assured him that they will have applications online prior to the new rules’ June 7 deadline, and he’s optimistic that means sales could begin by mid-June.

The expedited application launch should be welcome news for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R). While he doesn’t personally support legalization, he’s repeatedly criticized the delay in access to regulated products since voters made that choice and possession became legal in December.

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Alaska House Passes Marijuana Tax Reform Bill

A decade after Alaska voters legalized recreational marijuana, the Alaska Legislature is advancing the first major change to the law that opened commercial sales here.

On Friday, the Alaska House of Representatives voted to change the state’s $50 per ounce marijuana tax to a 7 percent sales tax.

If House Bill 119 is accepted by the Senate and Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R), it would impose Alaska’s first statewide sales tax. That pioneering concept troubled some legislators, but the bill still passed the House by a 36-3 vote.

The tax change was recommended by the state’s recreational marijuana task force, which Dunleavy convened in 2022 to analyze the marijuana industry and determine whether aspects of the industry’s enabling law—passed by voters in 2014—should be changed.

Ten years ago, Alaska joined Oregon as the third and fourth states to legalize recreational marijuana use. Since then, many other states have followed suit, but Alaska’s marijuana tax—levied at the wholesale level—is the highest in the country.

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Chemical tweaks to a toad hallucinogen turns it into a potential drug

It is becoming increasingly accepted that classic psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, and mescaline can act as antidepressants and anti-anxiety treatments in addition to causing hallucinations. They act by binding to a serotonin receptor. But there are 14 known types of serotonin receptors, and most of the research into these compounds has focused on only one of them—the one these molecules like, called 5-HT2A. (5-HT, short for 5-hydroxytryptamine, is the chemical name for serotonin.)

The Colorado River toad (Incilius alvarius), also known as the Sonoran Desert toad, secretes a psychedelic compound that likes to bind to a different serotonin receptor subtype called 5-HT1A. And that difference may be the key to developing an entirely distinct class of antidepressants.

Uncovering novel biology

Like other psychedelics, the one the toad produces decreases depression and anxiety and induces meaningful and spiritually significant experiences. It has been used clinically to treat vets with post-traumatic stress disorder and is being developed as a treatment for other neurological disorders and drug abuse. 5-HT1A is a validated therapeutic target, as approved drugs, including the antidepressant Viibryd and the anti-anxiety med Buspar, bind to it. But little is known about how psychedelics engage with this receptor and which effects it mediates, so Daniel Wacker’s lab decided to look into it.

The researchers started by making chemical modifications to the frog psychedelic and noting how each of the tweaked molecules bound to both 5-HT2A  and 5-HT1A. As a group, these psychedelics are known as “designer tryptamines”—that’s tryp with a “y”, mind you—because they are metabolites of the amino acid tryptophan.

The lab made 10 variants and found one that is more than 800-fold selective about sticking to 5-HT1A as compared to 5-HT2A. That makes it a great research tool for elucidating the structure-activity relationship of the 5-HT1A receptor, as well as the molecular mechanisms behind the pharmacology of the drugs on the market that bind to it. The lab used it to explore both of those avenues. However, the variant’s ultimate utility might be as a new therapeutic for psychiatric disorders, so they tested it in mice.

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San Francisco buys vodka shots for homeless alcoholics in taxpayer-funded program

The City of San Francisco is providing free beer and vodka shots to homeless alcoholics at taxpayer expense under a little-known pilot program. 

The “Managed Alcohol Program” operated by San Francisco’s Department of Public Health serves regimented doses of alcohol to voluntary participants with alcohol addiction in an effort to keep the homeless off the streets and relieve the city’s emergency services. Experts say the program can save or extend lives, but critics wonder if the government would be better off funding treatment and sobriety programs instead.

“Established in countries such as Canada and Australia, a managed alcohol program is usually administered by a nurse and trained support staff in a facility such as a homeless shelter or a transitional or permanent home, and is one method to minimize harm for those with alcohol use disorder,” the California Health Care Foundation explains in an 2020 article describing the pilot program. 

“By prescribing limited quantities of alcohol, the model aims to prevent potentially life-threatening effects of alcohol withdrawal, such as seizures and injuries.” 

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DEA Appears To Question Marijuana’s Medical Value Despite Rescheduling Recommendation

In the wake of the federal government’s marijuana rescheduling announcement last week that acknowledged the medical benefits of cannabis, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Thursday released a report that appears to question the legitimacy of state medical programs.

“Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level; it has been ‘legalized’ or ‘decriminalized’ at the state level for recreational use in 24 states and the District of Columbia, and for ‘medical’ use in 38 states and the District of Columbia,” the annual National Drug Threat Assessment says, appearing to call those state-level changes and the medical value of cannabis into question by putting scare quotes around key words.

That’s despite the fact that DEA recently agreed to a Department of Health and Human Services recommendation to move cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, acknowledging for the first time that cannabis has an accepted medical use in the U.S.

The comments make up only a small part of the 57-page annual report, which the agency said analyzes “illicit drug threats and trafficking trends endangering the United States.”

The top-level findings, according to a statement from DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, are that the country’s shift toward synthetic substances such as fentanyl and methamphetamine—which she blamed largely on international cartels—has caused unprecedented harm.

“The shift from plant-based drugs, like heroin and cocaine, to synthetic, chemical-based drugs, like fentanyl and methamphetamine, has resulted in the most dangerous and deadly drug crisis the United States has ever faced,” Milgram said. “At the heart of the synthetic drug crisis are the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels and their associates, who DEA is tracking world-wide.”

“The suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and money-launderers all play a role in the web of deliberate and calculated treachery orchestrated by these cartels,” her statement continued. “DEA will continue to use all available resources to target these networks and save American lives.”

In 2022, drug-related deaths killed 107,941 people in the United States, DEA said in its press release about the new assessment. “Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are responsible for approximately 70% of lives lost,” it says, “while methamphetamine and other synthetic stimulants are responsible for approximately 30% of deaths.”

The agency press release doesn’t mention marijuana, though this year’s National Drug Threat Assessment itself does include some cannabis-related details.

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Pfizer To Bypass Doctors, Pharmacies By Selling Drugs Online Directly To Consumers: Report

Pfizer is forging ahead with plans to introduce a direct-to-consumer platform for online sales of some of its medications, including Paxlovid and a migraine nasal spray.

The Defender reports that this initiative marks the latest maneuver by major pharmaceutical companies to circumvent conventional routes of distribution through primary care physicians and brick-and-mortar pharmacies. 

Pfizer is set to roll out its platform before the year’s end. 

Its website will enable patients in the U.S. to consult independent telehealth professionals for prescriptions, with an online pharmacy partner handling the fulfillment and shipping of orders, per the Financial Times.

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Most Americans Who Have Tried Marijuana Or Psychedelics Had ‘Positive’ Experiences, Survey Finds

A majority of Americans have tried marijuana—and most say they had a positive experience—according to a new poll.

The survey from YouGov also found that one in five Americans have used psilocybin mushrooms, and an even greater majority of those respondents described the experience as positive. Most people who have tried other psychedelics like LSD and MDMA also said it was a good time.

As the federal government moves to reclassify cannabis and more states pursue psychedelics reform, the poll offers fresh insights into how people have personally used the substances and where they stand on changing drug laws.

YouGov asked respondents about four substances: marijuana, psilocybin, LSD and MDMA. By far the most commonly used was marijuana (57 percent), followed by psilocybin (20 percent), LSD (16 percent) and MDMA (11 percent).

For each substance, people who said they’ve used it reported a positive experience, most prominently for psilocybin (65). The rest were roughly equal: marijuana (57 percent), MDMA (56 percent) and LSD (55 percent).

About one and four people who’ve used the drugs described the experience as equally positive and negative. And 20 percent of people who’ve consumed marijuana, LSD or MDMA said it was a negative experience, but only eight percent said the same of psilocybin.

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Virginia Officials Launch ‘Surveillance System’ To Track Cannabis-Related ‘Adverse Events’ Among Children

Virginia officials are instructing health care providers to start keeping track of “adverse events” involving children and teens being exposed to cannabis products.

In an April 24 letter to clinicians, State Health Commissioner Karen Shelton said her agency had received enough reports of minors getting sick from products containing CBD and THC, chemical compounds found in cannabis, that the state was establishing a “special surveillance system” to keep tabs on the issue.

“Reported symptoms for these adverse events have included vomiting, hallucinations, low blood pressure, low blood sugar, altered mental status and anxiety,” Shelton wrote, adding that “some hospitalizations have occurred” as a result of minors consuming cannabis products.

The letter specifically asks that local health departments be made aware of any cannabis-related hospitalizations in patients under 18 years old and any “clusters of adverse events” affecting multiple minors.

“After a hospitalization or cluster is reported, VDH staff will collect information about the illness(es), possible exposures, and laboratory results,” the letter says.

The Health Department provided data showing an increase in emergency room visits involving minors being exposed to cannabis, and said the new surveillance system will help bolster those tracking efforts. In 2019, there were 52 ER visits. By 2023, the number had grown to 377.

That data only covers emergency room visits and doesn’t reflect every incident reported to health officials.

“As a result of these data, the special surveillance system was established in order for VDH to receive these reports directly and better assess the impact of adverse events related to consumption of products containing THC or CBD among children in the Commonwealth,” said Health Department spokesperson Cheryle Rodriguez.

The letter also points to an online portal allowing anyone who had an adverse experience with cannabis products to submit a report to the Health Department with information about what happened, where the product was obtained and how it was labeled. The agency also noted that lab testing is available to “support patient and product testing.”

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Church of the Eagle and the Condor Can Now Drink Ayahuasca Legally in the US

The prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor has manifested. Following a years-long legal battle, the Church of the Eagle and the Condor has successfully settled with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to legally use ayahuasca as an integral part of its religious practices, according to a press release. 

The Church of the Eagle and the Condor is officially the first non-Christian church to obtain such legal protections. This also marks the first time in history that a church has received federal authorization to import and facilitate ayahuasca without going to trial. This historic settlement has promising implications for other Indigenous-rooted and syncretic faiths hoping to work with entheogens.

“This settlement reaffirms our right to practice our spirituality as we have always known,” says Belinda P. Eriacho, board member of the Church of the Eagle and the Condor, and member of the Diné / A:shwii lineages. “It is a recognition by the US government and an important milestone in honoring and validating Indigenous belief systems.”

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