Tuesday November 17 2020
In todays report:
Federal Government To Blame For More States #legalizing Marijuana, #arkansas Governor Says
" Whenever there’s not a clear federal position on legalization of marijuana, legalization of drugs, if there’s not a clear federal position, then there’s going to be a continued erosion and movement toward legalization of marijuana at the state level,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) told The Washington Post’s Bob Costa.
Hutchinson, who served as head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) under President George W. Bush, noted in the Post interview that Arkansas activists tried to place a marijuana legalization measure on the state’s ballot this year. They were not able to collect enough signatures to qualify amid the coronavirus pandemic and resulting social distancing measures, however.
..meanwhile
http://ontology.buffalo.edu/smith/clinton/arkansas.htm
https://www.politico.com/story/2014/10/asa-hutchinson-2014-arkansas-election-111922
...........
New Jersey Senate Approves marijuana # #decriminalization Despite Contentious Psychedelics Provision
Senate leaders and the office of Gov. Phil Murphy (D), who strongly campaigned in favor of the legalization referendum, have reportedly struck a deal to add an excise tax on cannabis at the cultivation level on top of the 6.625 percent state sales tax that’s stipulated in the referendum. And now Senate President Steve Sweeney (D) says the planned committee votes will proceed on Thursday, with a full floor vote expected on Monday.
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D) said he wanted to add a user fee to the legalization bill to bolster revenue for the state beyond the normal sales tax rate for purchases.
the meantime, decriminalization advanced in the Senate in a 29-4 vote on Monday.
The bill would make it so that possession “of up to six ounces of marijuana, or up to 170 grams of hashish would be completely decriminalized and have no associated criminal or civil penalties.”
Not only are we decriminalizing possession but also first offenses for low-level distribution, a move which will offer individuals a second chance and ensure they do not become entangled in the system the first time they are caught selling small quantities of marijuana,” she said in a press release. “This is yet another step towards bringing justice and equity to historically impacted communities.”
How can we decriminalize a psychedelic drug called magic mushrooms when the basis for the decriminalization is the disproportionate impact on black and brown communities who had been arrested, or arrested, for marijuana,” Sen. Nia Gill (D) said on the floor prior to the vote. “And this magic mushroom, which is a #psychedelic drug, has never been established as a drug used by the affected community and they are arrested for at a rate higher than all of us.”
Meanwhile, under the separate commercial legalization legislation that leadership has indicated will get committee and floor action in the coming days, adults 21 and older would be allowed to purchase and possess up to an ounce of marijuana or five grams of concentrates. Retailers wouldn’t launch right away, but as the licensing syst byem is set up, medical cannabis dispensaries would be able to sell marijuana products to adult consumers.
Local bans on cannabis shops would be permitted, but delivery services would be allowed statewide regardless of each jurisdiction’s policy. Retailers could also provide for on-site consumption with local approval. Home cultivation for personal use would be prohibited, unlike in most legal states.
It’s time for these arrests that have disproportionately affected people of color to stop,” he said.
Holley, the assemblyman, similarly said recently that all low-level cannabis prosecutions should be ended, stating that the referendum vote demonstrates that “there is no patience anymore for prosecuting people caught smoking and possessing marijuana.
As FDA reviews CBD implications for women, industry watches anxiously
CBD is often marketed to help with conditions including chronic pain, anxiety, depression and sleep disturbances, which are more prevalent in women than in men, according to the agency.
“Consideration of issues pertaining to the safety of CBD products may be particularly important to address in women,” the FDA stated.
According to Seattle-based hemp consultant Joy Beckerman, it is positive that the FDA is studying women’s health and gender-specific issues – as long as it’s not an excuse to slow-walk processes for approving CBD as a consumer product.
FDA data is showing that there is a need for gender-specific guidance, the industry will have to work with that and “adjust servings and our intake, just like we do anything, and we’re going to have to be calm about it,” Beckerman said.
She said she hopes there will also be information presented about the benefits CBD offers.
The panels will focus on:
Use of CBD and Other Cannabinoids: Perspectives from Patients and Healthcare Professionals.
Sex differences in the Effects of CBD and Other Cannabinoids.
Use of CBD and Other Cannabinoids in Pregnancy.
Government Agency Perspectives on CBD Research and Evaluation.
https://hempindustrydaily.com/as-fda-reviews-cbd-implications-for-women-industry-watches-anxiously/