Tag: the war on (some) drugs

Workers Can’t Sue Employers Who Violate New Jersey’s Marijuana Anti-Discrimination Law, Federal Court Says, Siding With Walmart

A federal appeals court panel sided with Walmart this week, ruling that although New Jersey explicitly forbids employment discrimination against marijuana users, private individuals are unable to sue employers under that law because it failed to create any specific remedies.

“The lack of an express remedy is better understood as a deliberate choice not to provide a remedy rather than an oversight of an intended remedy,” Judge Peter Phipps, a Trump appointee, wrote in the new opinion for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

That interpretation, Phipps continued, “is reinforced by the New Jersey Legislature’s comparative responsiveness in enacting safeguards against other forms of employment discrimination.”

The case stems from a 2022 lawsuit filed by Erick Zanetich, whom Walmart denied a job as a security guard after he tested positive for marijuana. Zanetich asserted that the drug screening policy was unlawful under New Jersey’s anti-discrimination law, which is included in the Cannabis Regulatory Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act (CREAMMA).

CREAMMA was passed by New Jersey lawmakers after citizens voted in 2020 to amend the state constitution to legalize marijuana.

At the district court level, Judge Christine O’Hearn, a Biden appointee, had dismissed Zanetich’s case, ruling that only a state cannabis board can enforce the law and that private individuals don’t have a right of action to sue. Zanetich appealed.

The appeals panel’s 2–1 ruling, handed down on Monday, also denied Zanetich’s request to ask the New Jersey Supreme Court to decide the issue.

Phipps wrote that sending the matter to the state’s high court “is an act of judicial discretion…and here none of the common considerations associated with the exercise of that discretion counsels strongly in favor of the certification.”

As for the importance of the case, he said the issues neither “involve questions of state constitutional law, nor are they particularly transcendental.”

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GOP Leaders Blocked Schumer’s Push To Include Marijuana Banking Reform In Government Funding Bill, Senate Source Says

Republican House and Senate leadership “openly and solely blocked” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) attempt to include bipartisan marijuana banking legislation in a government funding bill, a Senate source familiar with the negotiations tells Marijuana Moment.

As bicameral lawmakers have worked to put together a continuing resolution to keep the government funded, Schumer repeatedly urged colleagues across the aisle to incorporate the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, to no avail. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) killed that prospective deal, the source said.

“Schumer pushed for SAFER Banking at the negotiation table in the CR multiple times. This week, both Speaker Johnson and Leader McConnell strongly rejected it,” they said. “For years some Republicans have done a dance telling marijuana businesses that they supported SAFER, while Republican leadership has openly and solely blocked it at every turn.”

Marijuana Moment reached out to Johnson’s and McConnell’s offices for comment, but representatives were not immediately available.

The majority leader said following the election that he remained committed to moving the SAFER Banking Act during the lame duck session, and that he was eyeing the must-pass stopgap funding legislation to get that done.

Schumer could in theory still put the cannabis banking bill on the floor for Senate consideration as a standalone measure. But even if it did pass with the steep 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster in the chamber, the thinking is that it wouldn’t be worth the effort considering Johnson’s obstinance and unlikeliness to bring it to a vote in the House, the Senate source said.

Last month, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), the GOP lead sponsor of the SAFER Banking Act, told Politico that he wanted to see the measure “get done before the end of the year.” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) separately said he’s “hoping to get something done” on cannabis banking through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), but that prospect is similarly in doubt.

Notably, a Republican senator, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), told AskAPol that he considers the SAFER Banking Act a “half-assed” measure that should simply be incorporated into legislation to create a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for marijuana.

Getting the banking reform enacted during the lame duck could be pivotal following last month’s election that put Republicans back in the Senate majority at the same time that they held onto the House. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) was elected by his peers to serve as majority leader, and he’s opposed to the cannabis banking bill, further complicating its pathway to passage under the next Congress.

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Top Ohio Lawmaker Wants To Restrict Marijuana Homegrow Rights And Strengthen THC Potency Caps

Republican lawmakers in Ohio are once again aiming to scale back parts of the state’s voter-approved marijuana legalization law, looking to a proposal from last year that would have decreased allowable THC levels in state-legal cannabis products, reduced the number of plants that adults can grow at home and increased costs for consumers at dispensaries.

Those provisions, backed by Senate President Matt Huffman (R), were added to separate House legislation last year and passed by the Senate. House lawmakers ultimately blocked the Senate changes, however, with some members emphasizing the importance of protecting the will of voters, who passed the legalization law on a 53–47 margin in November 2023.

Come next month, however, Huffman will take over as speaker of the House, having won a seat in last month’s election and subsequently being chosen for the leadership role by colleagues. The move is widely expected to give Huffman new power to push his marijuana proposal forward.

“There were some fundamental flaws in the initiative that was introduced and passed by the voters, which you usually have when there’s not a vetting from all sides,” Huffman told reporters last week about the voter-approved marijuana law. “The bill that the Senate passed last December addresses many of those things.”

Initially, changes backed by Hoffman would have eliminated home cultivation rights entirely for Ohio adults and criminalized all cannabis obtained anywhere other than a state-licensed retailer. Those amendments would have also reduced the marijuana possession limit, raised sales tax on cannabis purchases and diverted funding away from social equity programs and toward law enforcement.

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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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War On Drugs Has ‘Completely And Utterly’ Failed, United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Says

The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights is calling on the international community to move away from punitive, criminal drug policies, saying that the global war on drugs “has failed, completely and utterly.”

“Criminalisation and prohibition have failed to reduce drug use and failed to deter drug-related crime,” Commissioner Volker Türk said on Thursday at a conference in Warsaw that included leaders and experts from across Europe. “These policies are simply not working—and we are failing some of the most vulnerable groups in our societies.”

Türk urged a shift to a more evidence-based, human rights-centered approach to drug policies “prioritising people over punishment.”

“We need to start treating the person, not punishing the drug use disorder,” he said, according to a UN press release. “Historically, people who use drugs are marginalised, criminalised, discriminated against and left behind—very often stripped of their dignity and their rights.”

Rather than ostracize or punish drug users, Türk said their perspectives should be included in discussions about how to craft policies that minimize harm. “We are destined to fail unless we ensure their genuine participation in formulating and implementing drug policy,” he said.

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Texas Should Ban All THC Products—Including Delta-8—In 2025, Lieutenant Governor Says

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) announced Wednesday that lawmakers in the state Senate would move to ban all forms of consumable tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, in Texas.

Patrick, who presides over the Senate and largely controls the flow of legislation in the chamber, said the THC ban would be designated as Senate Bill 3—a low bill number that signals it is among his top priorities for the upcoming legislative session.

The Republican-controlled Legislature was widely expected to take aim at Texas’s booming hemp market, which has proliferated with thousands of cannabis dispensaries since lawmakers authorized the sale of consumable hemp in 2019.

That law, passed one year after hemp was legalized nationwide, was intended to boost Texas agriculture by permitting the commercialization of hemp containing trace amounts of non-intoxicating delta-9 THC. But Patrick contends the law has been abused by retailers using loopholes to market products with unsafe levels of THC, including to minors.

“Dangerously, retailers exploited the agriculture law to sell life-threatening, unregulated forms of THC to the public and made them easily accessible,” Patrick said in a statement announcing the measure late Wednesday. “Since 2023, thousands of stores selling hazardous THC products have popped up in communities across the state, and many sell products, including beverages, that have three to four times the THC content which might be found in marijuana purchased from a drug dealer. ”

Texas has not legalized marijuana in any form for broad use.

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Nebraska Judge Rejects Officials’ Move To Amend Medical Marijuana Ballot Challenges She Has Already Dismissed

A Lancaster County District Court judge has overruled two final attempts to amend legal challenges against Nebraska’s two medical cannabis petitions.

In a five-page order Thursday morning, District Judge Susan Strong denied requests from John Kuehn (R), a former state senator and former State Board of Health member who brought the initial lawsuit, and Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) to amend their complaints.

Strong said the amendments would not affect the outcome of the lawsuit that she had already dismissed last week, and for which she had already anticipated the legal arguments.

The dismissal upheld the ballot certification of two measures from the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign to legalize and regulate the drug. Voters passed the two measures, and state constitutional officers certified those election results Monday, including Evnen and Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R), whose office defended Evnen in the Kuehn-led lawsuit.

The medical cannabis laws to legalize and regulate the drug are set to take effect by December 12.

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U.S. Taxpayers Spent Almost $13B To Fund Global War On Drugs In The Past Decade, Report Shows

Nearly $13 billion in U.S. taxpayer money has gone to fund worldwide counternarcotics activities since 2015, often coming at the expense of efforts to end global poverty while at the same time contributing to international human rights violations and environmental harms. That’s according to a new report issued on Wednesday by two organizations critical of the war on drugs.

The 47-page document, jointly published by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and Harm Reduction International (HRI), consists of what it describes as a “follow-the-money data analysis” that looks at anti-drug spending allocations across various government departments as well as case studies from Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines.

Authors wrote that the analysis “demonstrates how U.S. assistance has supported and expanded destructive and deadly anti-drug responses in low- and middle-income countries around the world.”

The $13 billion figure, the report says, “is more taxpayer money than the U.S. government spent over that decade on primary education or water supply and sanitation in low- and middle-income countries” and also greater than U.S. foreign aid over the same period “for all of Southern Africa or Central America.”

It’s also “about 300 times the total amount of U.S. foreign aid over that decade for women’s rights organizations in low-and middle-income countries around the whole world,” it adds.

DPA said in an email about the report that the topic is “especially timely as President-elect Trump and members of his administration threaten to ramp up the global war on drugs and increase punitive responses to international drug markets.”

For fiscal year 2025 alone, the report says, President Joe Biden “requested $1 billion for international ‘counternarcotics’ activities,” about half of which ($480 million) would be allocated to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), while about $350 million would have gone to the State Department.

“The role of the United States in exporting the destructive war on drugs to other countries is unparalleled,” DPA and HRI said in an executive summary of the findings. ”

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Nebraska AG Prepares To Ask Supreme Court To Overturn Voter-Approved Medical Marijuana Measures

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office filed a second “amended cross-claim” Friday on behalf of Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) in a lawsuit against two successful medical cannabis measures.

The brief formally adds allegations of circulator fraud and widespread malfeasance to Evnen’s complaint. However, Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong anticipated those arguments already last Tuesday when she dismissed the case and ruled in favor of the ballot sponsors behind Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana.

The AG’s Office has not formally filed an appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court, but Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) told the Nebraska Examiner on Monday that his office was “taking advantage” of court rules that allow a party to formally amend a cross-claim, even after a verdict, to conform to the evidence presented at trial.

“It’s just a post-trial motion,” Hilgers said Monday. “We want to make sure our case is fully prepared for an appeal.”

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Psilocybin therapy offers relief from multiple psychiatric symptoms in cancer patients

New research published in Nature Mental Health indicates that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy may offer comprehensive mental health benefits for individuals experiencing cancer-related distress. The study found that this treatment not only reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression but also reduced interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, obsession-compulsion, and somatization. These findings suggest that psilocybin could provide an innovative approach to addressing the profound psychological challenges associated with cancer.

Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy is a relatively new approach that combines the administration of psilocybin, a psychedelic compound derived from certain mushrooms, with guided psychotherapy. Unlike traditional psychiatric medications, which are often taken daily and may take weeks to show effects, research suggests that psilocybin can produce rapid and lasting relief after just one or two carefully supervised sessions.

These sessions typically include preparation with a trained therapist, the psilocybin experience itself in a safe and supportive setting, and follow-up therapy to help process and integrate the experience. This method has shown promise in treating mood and anxiety disorders, particularly for patients facing existential challenges such as life-threatening illnesses.

For cancer patients, the psychological toll can be overwhelming, often manifesting as depression, anxiety, and emotional distress that significantly affect quality of life and clinical outcomes. Standard treatments, including therapy and antidepressant medications, frequently fall short in effectiveness and may be accompanied by delayed onset or undesirable side effects. Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy offers a potential alternative, with rapid and sustained benefits.

While prior research has demonstrated psilocybin’s ability to reduce anxiety and depression in cancer patients, many individuals with cancer experience additional mental health symptoms, such as interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, somatization, and obsessive-compulsive tendencies. These symptoms exacerbate the emotional burden of cancer, yet their response to psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy had not been systematically investigated.

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