Tag: the war on (some) drugs

Legalisation is not linked to an increase in cannabis-related psychosis

A study of data from pre and post-cannabis legalisation in Canada has found no increase in admissions to hospitals for cannabis-related episodes of psychosis.

The relationship between cannabis use and episodes of psychosis is a contentious issue that is often raised by opponents of legalisation. Results from previous studies have been mixed, with some finding evidence to suggest cannabis use, particularly in adolescence, can be a cause of psychotic episodes, and others finding no association between the two. 

The present study was published in The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry in February 2024 and used data collected from the three emergency departments (EDs) in Quebec City. The number of admissions for psychosis where evidence of cannabis use was present was compared by researchers to the number of admissions in the 12 months following legalisation. 

Only admissions from adults aged 18 years and above were included in the data, and evidence of cannabis use was obtained from the patient’s medical records and included results of urine tests as well as clinical notes. 

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Cannabis May Be ‘Viable Alternative’ Treatment For Dogs With Common Skin Disease, Case Study Shows

Cannabis appears to be a “viable alternative” treatment option for dogs suffering from a common skin disease—especially if they experience adverse side effects from conventional steroid therapies—according to a new case study.

Researchers at the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil published their findings in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science this month, detailing the efficacy of full-spectrum CBD oil on a dog with the autoimmune disease discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE).

The condition, which causes hair loss and redness that could progress to lesions, is typically treated with corticosteroids and other medications that can put a strain on a dog’s liver. That’s what was happening with the two-year-old canine at the center of the new case study.

A veterinarian prescribed a full-spectrum oil with a 2:1 THC:CBD ratio, which was administered orally—at first, one drop per day for three days and gradually increasing it “until the optimal dose for symptom control was identified.”

“Within a few weeks, the dog exhibited significant improvement in dermatological signs, accompanied by a concurrent improvement in liver function,” the study says. “Interestingly, the owner reported an improvement in the dog’s behavior shortly after discontinuing prednisolone and within the first day of receiving the cannabis oil.”

“Cannabis derivatives, beyond their pain-relieving prowess, are emerging as potential knights in shining armor against inflammation and immune system overwork in the veterinary world,” the discussion section says. “Unlike traditional drugs, these compounds dance with the body’s own endocannabinoid system (ECS), a master conductor of cellular harmony, homeostasis and diverse functions.”

They added that a key benefit of using cannabis over corticosteroids is that the latter is “limited” to short-term use. In contrast, cannabis products “lack significant side effects and are safe for long-term usage.”

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Activists Renew Effort To Use Opioid Settlement Funds To Study Ibogaine For Addiction In Ohio After Kentucky Plan Falls Through

Psychedelic medicine proponents are redirecting their efforts to use millions in opioid-related state settlement money for ibogaine research from Kentucky to Ohio.

The original plan to use $42 million from Kentucky’s opioid settlement fund for psychedelics research fell through late last year after the state’s new attorney general replaced then-Kentucky Opioid Commission Chairman Bryan Hubbard, who was spearheading the ibogaine initiative, with a former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official.

Now Hubbard has joined ResultsOHIO, a division of the Ohio Treasurer’s Office, where he will be partnering with the Reaching Everyone in Distress (REID) Foundation in hopes of securing a portion of that state’s opioid settlement funds to promote psychedelics clinical trials for substance misuse treatment.

“I’m honored to work with the REID Foundation and the people of Ohio to bring hope and healing to veterans and families being torn apart by the opioid crisis,” Hubbard said in a press release. “The development of ibogaine as a treatment option for opioid-dependent individuals is a moral imperative.”

A Kentucky commission focused on opioid overdose abatement held several meetings last year to go over the ibogaine initiative that’s since fizzled out in that state under the new attorney general. Members heard testimony from military veterans, parents, psychologists and other advocates—including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R)—about the therapeutic potential of the psychedelic.

Like Kentucky, Ohio has been hard hit by the opioid overdose crisis. And under the settlement agreement, the state is expected to receive about $1 billion that could be used for various programs and services to help mitigate the public health issue.

The plan for the ibogaine effort is to seek funding for the research through a public-private partnership, while also exploring the creation of a specific program under ResultsOHIO to facilitate the partial settlement distribution, Psychedelic Alpha reported.

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Connecticut Lawmakers File Psilocybin Decriminalization Bill Despite Governor’s Concerns

Connecticut lawmakers have revived an effort to decriminalize low-level possession of psilocybin, despite the governor’s office recently indicating that it has concerns about the psychedelics reform.

A new bill filed by the legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee and cosponsored by Rep. David Michel (D) would make possession of up to one-half an ounce of psilocybin punishable by a $150 fine, without the threat of jail time.

A second or subsequent violation would carry a fine of at least $200 but not more than $500. A person who pleads guilty or no contest on two separate occasions would be referred to a substance misuse treatment program

Police would be require to seize and destroy any amount of the psychedelic they find under the measure, HB 5297. Possession of more than a half-ounce of psilocybin would be considered a Class A misdemeanor.

An earlier version of the psilocybin decriminalization bill passed the House last year but did not advance in the Senate.

Lawmakers and activists held an informational forum last month to discuss the therapeutic potential of substances such as psilocybin and potential pathways to allow for regulated access.

“We are inspired by the leadership of the Judiciary Committee to continue the conversation on how to responsibly decriminalize psilocybin and stand ready to assist the legislature and the governor in working through any concerns,” Jason Ortiz, policy director of Connecticut for Accessible Psychedelic Medicine who also serves as director of strategic initiatives for the Last Prisoner Project, told Marijuana Moment.

“While the bill is a great start, there’s still room for improvement by including home cultivation and retroactive relief for those who were criminalized for simply seeking a better quality of life,” he said.

Meanwhile, as the legislation is being introduced, the office of Gov. Ned Lamont (D) has signaled that it may face a major barrier to enactment.

“The governor has concerns about broad decriminalization of mushrooms,” spokesperson David Bednarz said last month, noting that at the time it was “a bit too early to speculate” because a 2024 bill had not yet been filed yet.

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Hunter Biden Claims Not Doing Crack Is a ‘Fight for the Future of Democracy’

Hunter Biden not doing crack is a “fight for the future of democracy,” the president’s son told Axios Monday in reference to former President Donald Trump’s bid for reelection.

Hunter’s attempt to somehow tie the fate of the nation to his legal imperative to abstain from drug use fits his long-running narrative of victimhood.

Hunter pleaded not guilty to gun charges in October and underwent random drug testing. Judge Christopher Burke released him on several conditions, including that he not use alcohol or ingest controlled substances.

“I have something much bigger than even myself at stake,” Hunter said about his legal battles. “We are in the middle of a fight for the future of democracy.”

“Most importantly, you have to believe that you’re worth the work, or you’ll never be able to get sober. But I often do think of the profound consequences of failure here,” Hunter said.

“I don’t care whether you’re ten years sober, two years sober, two months sober or two hundred years sober — your brain at some level is always telling you there’s still one answer,” he said about his history of addictions and parmesan cheese.

Hunter is set to testify before the House impeachment inquiry on Wednesday. It is unknown if he will actually appear for the interview. Hunter failed to show last time he said he would appear.

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Top Maryland Lawmaker Calls Out Counties For Blocking Marijuana Dispensaries

An effort by some counties to use zoning to limit if not prevent the opening of cannabis dispensaries has drawn the ire of the powerful chair of a House committee in Annapolis.

House and Senate panels are considering legislation that would make it tougher for local governments to restrict where cannabis dispensaries can locate. House Economic Matters Committee Chair Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) said counties are trying to countermand the newly legalized cannabis market and the state’s efforts to limit if not end illegal sales.

In the months that followed the first legal recreational sales in July, some counties looked to zoning to slow the opening of new dispensaries. Those efforts are now the focus of legislation designed to block those attempts, which sometimes seek to prevent any sales of the drug or are born out of the concerns about the clustering of alcohol and tobacco shops in Black and brown communities.

“This was thought out,” said Wilson, speaking of the state’s entry into legal recreational cannabis sales. “This was not done randomly. And this is not about state control. It is about protecting people, protecting us and protecting a now legitimate business. So I want to make sure we understand that we are not here to stuff them, to cluster them.”

Wilson’s HB 805 prohibits counties from imposing zoning regulations more restrictive than those imposed on retail liquor stores. Current law prohibits dispensaries within 500 feet of a playground, recreation center, library, public park, or place of worship. Wilson’s bill qualifies that restriction to pre-existing facilities.

Wilson said he will ask for an amendment to increase the distance between dispensaries from 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet.

Counties can reduce but not increase the statutory distance requirements for dispensary locations.

Some lawmakers worry the bill will usurp county zoning authority.

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Is The Government Finally Abandoning Its Anti-Science Stance On Marijuana?

Hundreds of pages of recently released documents provided by the Department of Health and Services affirm what the overwhelming majority of the public has known for decades: Marijuana is therapeutically useful. And its harms are not on par with those of heroin—which federal regulations currently consider it akin to—or even alcohol.

Those were the explicit conclusions of the nation’s top federal health agency, along with the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in a letter calling on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to remove “botanical cannabis” from its Schedule I prohibitive status in the federal Controlled Substances Act.

By definition, Schedule I substances are federally criminalized because they possess “no currently accepted medical use in the United States,” a “high potential for abuse” and “lack accepted safety under medical supervision.” Since 1970, Congress and other federal bureaucracies have insisted cannabis remain in this strict category. But now the nation’s top federal health agencies are changing their tune.

Health and Human Services, which was tasked by the Biden administration in 2022 to review the federal designation of cannabis, based its conclusions in part on the real-world experiences of over “30,000 health care practitioners authorized to recommend marijuana” under state law and the more than 6 million state-registered cannabis patients they serve.

“The vast majority of individuals who use marijuana are doing so in a manner that does not lead to dangerous outcomes to themselves or others,” the agency concluded. “No safety concerns were identified in our review that would indicate that the medical use of marijuana poses unacceptably high safety risks for the indications where there is some credible scientific evidence supporting its therapeutic use.”

Department officials added, “The risks to the public health posed by marijuana are low compared to other drugs of abuse,” such as benzodiazepines—a Schedule IV drug—or alcohol, which isn’t scheduled at all.

Of course, the public has long been aware of this reality. Thirty-eight states regulate medical cannabis access and 24 states—home to 53 percent of the U.S. population—have legalized adult-use marijuana markets. Most of these statewide policy changes were enacted by voters at the ballot box.

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Germany’s Parliament Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill

Germany’s parliament has officially approved a bill to legalize marijuana nationwide.

Two days after the cannabis legislation was considered by eight committees of the Bundestag, the full body voted 407-226 on final passage on Friday.

The bill—which will make possession and home cultivation legal and authorize social clubs that can distribute marijuana to members—now heads to the Bundesrat, a separate legislative chamber that represents German states, though its members cannot stop the reform from being enacted.

While supporters have said legalization would take effect in April if it’s enacted, there are new questions about that timeline. The Bundesrat may move to refer the legislation to a mediation committee to address criminal justice-related implications of the law, which could mean several months of additional discussion.

The floor vote comes weeks after leaders of Germany’s so-called traffic light coalition government announced that they’d reached a final agreement on the legalization bill, resolving outstanding concerns, primarily from the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who has for months been the government’s lead on the cannabis plan, said ahead of the floor vote that the country is “fundamentally changing our cannabis control policy in order to combat the black market.”

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Rhode Island Bill Would Allow Psilocybin Cultivation, Possession Under 1 Ounce

Several states across the U.S. are forging ahead with their respective psilocybin reform programs, largely embracing policy changes around possession and cultivation while working to implement therapeutic practices involving the “magic mushroom” compound. 

And kicking off the new year, more states are looking to join those ranks. Most recently, Rhode Island Rep. Brandon Potter (D) introduced his proposal — described in his own words as a decriminalization model — with a number of details standing apart from reform measures that have already been enacted.

The bill, H 7047, would remove penalties around possession, home cultivation and sharing of one ounce or less of psilocybin. The bill specifically notes exemptions for psilocybin, so long as it is “in possession of one person or shared by one person to another” and that psilocybin “has been secretly cultivated within a person’s residence for personal use.” The bill would not work to establish a psilocybin retail system, though that could shift along with broader policy.

The bill also leaves room for potential evolution in federal law, namely if psilocybin ends up being rescheduled on the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The compound is currently classified as a Schedule I controlled substance.

The measure suggests that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), referred to incorrectly in some of the bill’s language as the “Federal Drug Administration,” would be the authority responsible for rescheduling psilocybin, though this is typically a job of the DEA. The FDA, however, has the ability to approve specific pharmaceutical drugs.

The bill notes that provisions could shift, should federal access to psilocybin expand to include “patients with a serious or life-threatening mental or behavioral health disorder, who are without access to effective mental or behavioral health medication.” In that case, the bill references that psilocybin could be available in the state in locations approved by the Rhode Island Department of Health.

Another notable distinction is the temporary nature of the bill, which would take effect on July 1, 2024 and sunset on July 1, 2026.

Prior to this date, the attorney general would need to provide a report to the speaker of the house and the president of the Senate, providing data on the number of violations issued for psilocybin possession, cultivation and distribution. The director of the Department of Health would also be required to provide a report to the same parties surrounding the scheduling of psilocybin and “permitted use for the treatment of mental or behavioral health disorders.”

While the bill has a number of specific differences from many that have already been enacted, this is by design according to Potter. In an interview with Marijuana Moment, he said that the bill is meant to provide more flexible accessibility for those who may benefit from the effects of psilocybin.

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South Dakota Senate Approves Medical Marijuana ‘Guardrails’ For People On Probation And Parole

The state Senate endorsed a bill that would require parolees and probationers to get additional sign-offs from a health care practitioner to get a medical cannabis card.

Current law on medical cannabis has no prohibitions on access for people on probation or parole, even as steering clear of drugs and alcohol are often expectations for those serving out a sentence of supervision.

Senate Bill 191 wouldn’t bar the issuance of a medical cannabis card for a person on supervised release. It would instead require that the recommending practitioner certify that the drug is consistent with the patient’s care plan for a debilitating medical condition, that it’s reasonable based on the practitioner’s observations about the patient and that it’s a better option than alternative treatments. Those certifications would need to be delivered in some form to a court services officer or parole officer.

Sen. Jim Mehlhaff (R-Pierre) told the Senate that the state’s Unified Judicial System and Department of Corrections wanted some “guardrails” against abuse of the medical cannabis system by people under their supervision.

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