Policy

Jamaica Paves the Way Toward Cannabis Legalization

Jamaica may be world renown for its “ganja”, but the drug is only now moving towards a legal status. The country’s Cabinet approved a bill that would decriminalize marijuana this week, which could pave the way for a legal medical marijuana industry to form. With the bill headed to the Senate before being signed into […]

Cannabis May Be Better Alternative for Chronic Pain

Opioids are chemicals that bind to opioid receptors in the central and peripheral nervous system in order to decrease the perception of pain and increase pain tolerance. While the drugs are quite effective at managing short-term pain, their efficacy in treating long-term pain has been called into question in a final report issued by a […]

California Cannabis Leaders Gather to Discuss Legalization

The Emerald Cup’s 2016 California Marijuana Legalization Panel gathered in Santa Rosa earlier this week to begin discussing the state’s next marijuana legislation. For the first time, some of the state’s most competitive cannabis factions sat together at the same table to find a way to achieve the same goal – adult-use marijuana legalization in […]

Cannabis Industry Attracts Mainstream Investors

The cannabis industry has historically been limited to wealthy backers, since legal banking access remains elusive. At the same time, many start-ups have been unable to innovate in the space, because raising capital has been difficult. Growing and selling marijuana has become a rich-man’s game that relies on connections to make it happen. Fortunately, these […]

Cannabis Edibles Prove Challenging for Adult-Use Legalization

Former Senior Director of Colorado’s Department of Revenue, Ron Kammerzell, recently sat down with Al Jazeera to discuss the state’s adult-use legalization. During the interview, Mr. Kammerzel indicated that the regulation of cannabis edibles was the most unexpected and challenging part of the regulatory process. Many of the issues have since been resolved, but the […]

Iowa Pharmacy Board Looks to Reclassify Marijuana Components

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy recently met to discuss the reclassification of marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule II Controlled Substance at the request of Carl Olsen of Des Moine. While the board rejected the reclassification of the marijuana plant, the group did reclassify cannabidiol and cannabis oil as a Schedule II Controlled […]

Marijuana Remains Off of Poison Control Center’s Radar

Marijuana didn’t even appear once on the U.S. Poison Control Center’s new report published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. Ironically, prescription painkillers – specifically opioids – topped the list as the leading cause of poison-related deaths in the country. These completely legal drugs accounted for more than 80% of all poisonings, while cardiovascular and […]

Washington DC Legalization Moves on Despite Congress

Washington DC Marijuana Legalization Initiative 71 passed with nearly 70% support from voters in late-2014, but U.S. Congress proposed a law that could prevent the full implementation of the legalization efforts by prohibiting the use of any local or federal funds to be used to decriminalize or legalize marijuana, in a move that even President […]

Colorado Cannabis Use Rises After Legalization

Cannabis use in Colorado has increased since the passage of Amendment 64, according to a new report by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The percentage of Coloradans over the age of 12 who reported using marijuana in the previous month rose to 12.7% between 2012 and 2013, which is the second highest […]

NAACP Supports Cannabis Legalization in Nevada

There’s little doubt that marijuana arrests are skewed toward the African-American population. According to a 2013 study by the ACLU, Washington D.C. possession arrests jumped more than 60% between 2001 and 2010 with 9-out-of-10 arrests being African-American individuals. Actual marijuana usage between Caucasian and African-Americans were similar, suggesting that profiling was the cause of the […]

Nebraska & Oklahoma Sue Colorado Over Cannabis

Nebraska and Oklahoma filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down Colorado’s legalization of marijuana, arguing that it has created a dangerous gap in the federal drug control system. On a more fundamental level, the states are concerned that drugs are flowing from Colorado into neighboring states and undermining their own efforts […]

Federal Government Lifts Ban on Medical Marijuana

The U.S. federal government quietly ended its war on medical marijuana last weekend, after tucking a provision into the 1,600-page federal spending measure. After 11 year of lobbying for such a change, Congress finally passed a measure that would prohibit the U.S. Justice Department – including the Drug Enforcement Administration – from interfering with state-level […]

Pennsylvania Takes Another Shot at MMJ Legalization in 2015

Medical marijuana ballot measures failed to come to a vote in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2014, but the two bipartisan senators that pushed for legalization announced they would re-introduce the same text of a bill approved by the Senate with a 43-7 vote in September. While the bill will have to start over […]

Obama Opposes Congressional Meddling in D.C. Legalization

President Obama came out in opposition of a measure in a congressional spending plan that would block Washington D.C. from legalizing marijuana, although he stopped short of vetoing the $1.1 trillion plan over it. “The administration has been a strong supporter of the District of Columbia getting statehood,” said White House Spokesman John Earnest. “We […]

Big Pharma & Big Tobacco Flex their Muscle

The fight against legalized marijuana is often framed as a fight to keep communities safer and healthier for the sake of the children, but the two largest groups funding such efforts are Big Pharma and Big Tobacco and they’re more concerned about the impact marijuana could have on their bottom line. These dynamics have been […]

Nevada to Vote on Adult-Use Legalization in 2016

Nevada election officials approved an initiative for the 2016 ballot, which would permit adult-use marijuana. After securing nearly 247,000 signatures, Secretary of State Ross Miller certified that proponents of the separate measures submitted enough signatures by November 12th to force the 2015 Legislature to consider each issue and put them on the general election ballot […]

Democrats Quietly Refuse to Support D.C. Legalization Measures

Congress may be looking to block Washington D.C.’s marijuana legalization initiative, according to a report from the Huffington Post. Despite 70% of voters showing support for such a measure, congressional Democrats are rumored to be cutting a deal with Republicans to save-face by claiming that they protected the District’s marijuana decriminalization law but failed to […]

Physicians Support Cannabis for Epilepsy Treatment

Medical marijuana has been growing in popularity among patients, but many physicians still have doubts about its efficacy. Epilepsy has become the poster child in many ways for the medical marijuana movement, with many anecdotal stories of success, particularly in cases of severe childhood epilepsy. These initial successes have sparked companies like GW Pharmaceuticals plc […]

Amsterdam Pioneers a Sane Drug Policy

The Netherlands installed new signage after several people died from heroin masked as cocaine appeared in the black market. While the warning isn’t all that unusual, the signage also contained striking language saying that “you will not be arrested for using drugs in Amsterdam”. The language is instead focused on providing information regarding how to […]

Will the GOP Congress Permit Cannabis in DC?

Colorado and Washington have been selling adult-use marijuana for some time, thanks to their autonomy and distance from federal regulators. But in Washington D.C., federal lawmakers have the right to quash any laws that they dislike. These dynamics could set the stage for a significant decision over the coming months. Since Congress will be forced […]

An Obscure IRS Tax Law Could Derail Adult-Use Cannabis

A 1980s era tax law – known as 280E – threatens to derail the adult-use cannabis movement unless it’s repealed. In many ways, the law provides the federal government with a way to extend the drug war by making it cost prohibitive to sell marijuana for adult-use in states where it has been legalized. Congress […]

Pot Industry Needs to Open Its Wallet to Survive

The movement to legalization marijuana is in danger of losing steam as major donors begin to put on the brakes, according to a November 26, 2014 report appearing in the Los Angeles Times. With 2016 elections on the horizon, many donors are looking toward the burgeoning private sector to take the reins. These companies have […]

Cannabis Could Help Shrink Aggressive Brain Tumors

Cannabis could have a dramatic effect on aggressive brain tumors, according to a new study conducted by specialists at St. George’s University of London. A combination of tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) and cannabidiol (“CBD”) were evaluated in the research, which studied especially difficult to treat types of brain cancer affecting about 5,200 patients each year. The combination […]

Alaska Becomes Fourth State to Legalize Cannabis

Alaskans voted to legalize adult-use cannabis earlier this week, becoming the fourth state in the U.S. to do so alongside Colorado, Washington, and Oregon. Measure 2 will legalize the possession, use, and sale of cannabis for recreational use by adults over the age of 21, who will also be permitted to possess up to an […]

Big Pharma’s Behind-the-Scenes Fight Against Cannabis

Oxycodone and hydrocodone misuse caused 16,652 deaths in 2010 alone, with about 11 million people consuming at least one dose of the opioid in a non-medical way, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Of course, the same drug has been beneficially used by millions to treat severe acute or chronic pain […]

Uruguay’s Cannabis Industry Faces Uncertainty as Mujica Exits

Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize adult-use marijuana on a federal level. During his five-year presidency, Jose Mujica reignited the small country’s economy, reduced poverty from 21% to 11.5%, and became the first South American country to legalize abortions. The future of these dramatic reforms remains uncertain, however, as the upcoming […]

U.S. Cannabis Industry Could Be $35 Billion in Size

The U.S. cannabis industry could be worth $35 billion by 2020 if all 50 states legalized marijuana and the federal government ended prohibition, according to a new report from GreenWave Advisors. Assuming a more modest (and likely) legalization scenario, the prominent research and advisory firm predicted that revenues could still reach approximately $21 billion by […]

Delaware Could Be Ready to Legalize Cannabis in 2016

Delaware might not be putting cannabis up for legalization in November, but recent polls suggest that the movement could see strong support in 2016. According to a recent poll by the University of Delaware, the legalization of adult-use marijuana is supported by 56% of respondents compared to just 39% opposing such measures. The only group […]

Polls Show Support for Measure 91 to Legalize Cannabis in Oregon

Oregon’s legalization of adult-use marijuana appears ready to pass, according to a new poll by OPB and Fox 12. The survey found that 52% of likely voters support legalization, compared to just 41% saying they’d vote against the measure. Among respondents, 18 to 34 year olds and independents were the most likely to vote for […]

Cannabis Could Protect the Brain from Injury

Just after a 20-year meta study suggested cannabis was far more dangerous than we thought, a new meta study presents evidence that cannabis could have neuroprotective effects. Researchers evaluating 446 adults treated at Harbor-UCLA Medican Center for traumatic brain injuries found that medical and recreational cannabis users were less likely to die from brain trauma […]