Here is NORML’s weekly update on pending state legislation with helpful links to action alerts.
The post 1/21/22 – State Policy Update appeared first on NORML.
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Despite numerous setbacks and the Governor’s threat to veto, Mississippi lawmakers have confidently advanced the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act, which would legalize medical marijuana in the Magnolia State. The bill is now up for consideration in the House.
The post The Fight Continues for Medical Marijuana Access in Mississippi appeared first on NORML.
In news that was widely reported and joked about by Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, a preliminary study from Oregon State University found that cannabinoids in raw cannabis (CBGA, THCA, and CBDA) have strong affinities for binding to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Researchers used affinity selection–mass spectrometry (AS-MS), which “involves incubating a therapeutically important receptor like the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with a mixture of possible ligands such as a botanical extract,” then separating the possible active compounds using magnetic microbead affinity selection screening (MagMASS).
Upon further study, CBDA and CBGA “were confirmed to block infection of human epithelial cells by a pseudovirus expressing the spike protein,” researchers wrote. “More importantly, both CBDA and CBGA block infection of the original live SARS-CoV-2 virus and variants of concern.”
This study doesn’t mean that cannabis users are protected against the virus. The cannabinoids Δ9-THC, Δ8-THC, CBD, etc. “showed only weak or no binding” in the study. These decarboxylated, active compounds are what are ingested when smoking a joint or eating an edible.
Most commercially available cannabis contains very little CBDA or CBGA, and in any case this is a preliminary, preclinical study that isn’t necessarily translatable into what would happen in the human body. Animal and human studies would be necessary to prove that.
Why wasn’t THCA also studied more thoroughly, despite its affinity for the spike protein? The study’s lead author Dr. Richard van Breemen wrote to Cal NORML, “Because THCA-A can be easily converted to THC, which is a controlled substance, THCA-A is also controlled. Sufficient quantities of THCA-A for cell culture evaluation were not available without a special license. Therefore, we tested only CBDA and CBGA.”
The post Does Cannabis Prevent COVID Infection? appeared first on CaNorml.org.
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Here is NORML’s weekly update on pending state legislation in Wisconsin, West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, Florida, Delaware, Alaska.
The post State Policy Update (1/14/2022 appeared first on NORML.
Update on ballot initiatives and referendum efforts. Wyoming While Wyoming activists made significant progress in…
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Despite over 60 percent of Texas voters supporting marijuana legalization, advocates continue to face an uphill battle in the legislature. In response, activists in Texas are now expanding their efforts to focusing on implementing reforms at the local level.
The post Texas: Austin Decriminalization Initiative Qualifies for the Ballot, Other Texas Cities Follow appeared first on NORML.
Several new cannabis laws are now in effect in California for 2022.
SB-311 (Hueso), aka “Ryan’s Law,” which requires certain hospitals and healthcare facilities to allow terminal patients to use medical cannabis, took effect on January 1, 2022. The law prohibits smoking or vaping cannabis, but does allow for the use of edibles, beverages, topicals, tinctures and capsules for patients with a doctor’s recommendation to use cannabis.
Our sister organization, Americans for Safe Access, has produced a guide to Ryan’s Law for patients and providers, and a form to log complaints. Cal NORML would also like to hear about healthcare facilities that are not following the law; write here.
Other laws that take effect in California this year:
• AB-45 (Aguiar-Curry) allowing for hemp-derived CBD products to be included in foods, beverages, and cosmetics has passed with last-minute amendments that removed a hemp cigarette ban only once they are taxed. Cal NORML is now advocating for a minimal tax on hemp cigarettes. The Department of Cannabis Control has a July 1 deadline to issue a report on how to allow for cannabis products to be sold in licensed cannabis shops.
• AB 1222 (Chen) authorizes cannabis beverages to be packaged in glass containers that are clear or any color.
• SB 544 (Laird) requires the Department of Cannabis Control, on or before January 1, 2023, to establish one or more standardized cannabinoids test methods to be used by all testing laboratories.
• SB-73 (Wiener) extends eligibility for probation to certain drug crimes, including some cannabis offenses.
• AB 1138 (Blanca Rubio) creates $30K fines for people engaging in commercial cannabis activity without a license.
Read more.
Please donate to Cal NORML to support our advocacy work in 2022, or join as an individual or business member:
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Cal NORML PRIORITIES FOR 2022
Pass employment rights legislation to forbid pre-employment drug testing for marijuana using urine and hair tests.
Reduce cannabis taxation, including eliminating the cannabis cultivation tax.
Protect right to smoke and vape cannabis at home and expand venues for public consumption.
Expand number of legal cannabis businesses by ending local licensing bans
Protect medical access, prevent discrimination against Prop 215 patients, and lower taxes on medical products.
Continue to back federal legalization bills.
Publish 2022 election guide to candidates for office in California.
The post New Cannabis Laws in California for 2022 appeared first on CaNorml.org.
Gov. Newsom has released an ambitious preliminary 2022-2023 budget proposal with billions of dollars for education, behavioral and mental health, housing, climate change response, business development and other projects.
The budget proposal states:
The Administration intends to further develop a grant program this spring that will aid local governments in, at a minimum, opening up legal retail access to consumers. Further, the Administration supports cannabis tax reform and plans to work with the Legislature to make modifications to California’s cannabis tax policy to help stabilize the market; better support California’s small licensed operators; and strengthen compliance with state law.
Asked for specifics on these statements at a press conference today announcing the proposal, Newsom responded, “We’ve plugged in budget components on the basis of an estimate in January of $787 million, so any reforms need to consider the impacts to those categories of funding and investments, how that gets offset, and we augment that support. It should consider different components of the industry, and reformers have been offered a plug-in, and so I’ll just leave it at that except to say there was intention by having that language in the budget.”
He added, “It is my goal to look at tax policy to stabilize markets; at the same time, it’s also my goal to get these municipalities to wake up to the opportunities to get rid of the illegal market and the illicit market and provide support and a regulatory framework for the legal market….we have a lot of work to do in this space and this year I’m looking forward to working directly with the legislature on reforms.”
Also mentioned was a “Keeping Our Streets Safe” campaign enlisting the CHP and AG to assist mayors with enforcing against organized “smash and grab” thieves, which have been targeting cannabis businesses, and others.
The Governor said in general he anticipates major changes between this proposal and his May revision. The legislature now will develop their own proposed budget this Spring, when there will be several budget policy committee hearings.
The pronouncement comes on the heels of calls from the industry and others for an urgent overhaul of cannabis taxes in California. In December, California NORML signed onto a letter to Gov. Newsom and CA’s legislative leadership calling for an immediate lifting of the cultivation tax placed on growers, a three-year holiday from the excise tax, and an expansion of retail shops throughout much of the state. The Sacramento Bee editorialized on 12/22: California is failing on legal cannabis. To honor the will of voters, overhaul is needed, and the LA Times chimed in with an editorial: Californians overwhelmingly supported legalizing marijuana. Why is it still a mess?
Cal NORML is the only advocacy organization fighting for all cannabis consumers (recreational and medical) in California, and you have told us that tax reform is your top priority. Please help us advocate for you in 2022! Join Cal NORML today or Make A Donation.
The post Newsom Pledges to Work for Cannabis Tax Reform in State Budget Proposal appeared first on CaNorml.org.