Tag: Marijuana Laws

CBD. It’s the hottest abbreviation on everyone’s lips, and between everyone’s lips, as well. People are ingesting it in myriad ways, including as a dessert topper, as a wedding gift and now, a sleep aid. It’s not just pillow talk that Americans just don’t get enough sleep. According to the Harvard Health blog, one in five of us are pushing through our days on only six hours of sleep a night or less. That’s a lot of tired people behind the wheels of cars, operating heavy machinery, and handling screaming infants. Enter a new and improved tool in the sandman’s box of tricks: CBD. Counting sheep is for the birds, claim cannabis experts and the growing multitude of CBD converts, including thousands of moms who swear that CBD offers relaxing properties that can’t be found in other prod

Synthetic marijuana is back in the headlines. And this time it’s hitting northern Alabama. Specifically, public health and law enforcement agencies are reporting a sharp uptick in overdoses related to synthetic marijuana. Now, officials are trying to warn the public of the dangers of smoking synthetic weed. Synthetic Cannabis Use is Spiking in Northern Alabama As reported by local news source Al.com, multiple public agencies are warning the public to watch out for and avoid synthetic cannabis. The warnings come as health officials and law enforcement in Alabama have begun noticing an increase in the number of people experiencing medical problems after smoking the drug. For now, exact numbers have not been made public. But according to local reports, there is a distinct uptick

One of the major critiques of plans to legalize marijuana is related to people driving under the influence of weed, and the difficulties in policing such behavior. But in Canada, the largest country to regulate marijuana yet — and a nation with some of the highest rates of drunk driving in the world — law enforcement agencies are reporting that there has been no noticeable spike in such arrests since federal legalization. A survey by the Canadian Press of the country’s police forces echoed early post-legalization reports, finding that most had seen no rise in DUI cannabis arrests. “But most police departments are still really focusing on the drugs that we know that are killing people, the opiates and methamphetamines that are causing major concerns across the country,” said Chief Const

A pharmaceutical distribution company, its former CEO, and another top executive have been criminally charged for their role in the opioid crisis that continues to plague the United States. The indictments for conspiracy to violate narcotics laws mark the first time a major drug distributor or executive has been indicted on drug trafficking charges, according to prosecutors. Charges were filed by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York against the Rochester Drug Co-Operative, the company’s former CEO Laurence Doud III, and William Pietruszewski, the former chief compliance officer for the firm. The company was charged on Tuesday with conspiracy to violate narcotics laws, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and willfully failing to file suspicious order reports. Doud has

HB 243, better known as the CARE Act, has cleared the Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee and will now head to the full Senate just one month after Republican State Rep. and former Alabama Bureau of Investigation agent Mike Ball introduced the bill. Advancing out of committee represents a crucial step for the key medical marijuana legislation, bringing Alabama that much closer to a legal and regulated medical cannabis program. CARE Act Clears Key Alabama Senate Committee After a 6-2 vote (with 3 abstentions) advancing the CARE Act out of Alabama’s Senate Judiciary Committee, Alabama is decidedly on the path toward giving patients access to medical cannabis alternatives. The Compassion, Access, Research and Expansion (CARE) Act both extends Alabama’s existing medical cannabis programs

The Texas House of Representatives approved a bill on Tuesday to legalize hemp agriculture in the state. The measure, House Bill 1325 (HB1325), also removes hemp from the state’s list of controlled substances and legalizes cannabidiol, or CBD, and products made with the cannabinoid. The bill was passed without opposition via a voice vote and will have to be approved by the House in a second vote that is usually only a formality. The bill will then head to the Texas Senate for consideration. Gene Hall, a spokesman for the Texas Farm Bureau, said that legalizing hemp will give the state’s farmers a new option for their operations. “There’s no good reason for Texas farmers and ranchers not to have hemp as a crop option,” said Hall. “I suspect a lot of farmers will choose this option onc

It’s been a hard day’s night and you’ve been working like a dog and now it’s time to sit back, roll up a joint, relax, and enjoy some entertainment. Opening up Google Chrome, you almost feel like you’re embarking on a journey. You’re met with so many decisions, from Netflix to YouTube to those Addicting Games you played in your middle school computer class. The Internet is truly a landscape of opportunity when it comes to entertainment. And an ever-growing platform many are taking their swing at is podcasts. These radio shows seem to offer a little something more than what you had to listen to on the morning commute to work. They offer unfiltered opinions and facts from a wide variety of people within digital communities of like-minded individuals. So, what are the best podcasts t

Since Colorado’s first legal sales at the start of 2014 until the end of 2018, $160 million has gone to school construction, courtesy of the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) Fund. But now, lawmakers are making a push to increase that number, and to expand the kinds of support schools can expect from the state’s large recreational marijuana industry. Last year’s legislation increased the $40 million a year that Colorado sends from marijuana taxes into BEST to the 90 percent of all excise tax revenues. But with Governor Jared Polis’ legislative goal to fund full-day kindergarten, that amount may need to go higher. The funds needed to support such a program were a hot topic of discussion during state legislature budget talks last month. Right now about 80 percent of the state’s

Maine voters approved a legal adult-use cannabis market back in 2016. But the state has struggled to actually get the industry up and running. While state lawmakers have fought to override vetoes on adult-use sales and a medical marijuana program expansion, Maine’s Office of Marijuana Policy has been crafting the regulatory structure the retail industry will follow. And in response to significant public interest and mounting pressure from lawmakers, Maine regulators have just unveiled the draft rules for the adult use industry. The rulebook gives Maine residents their first real glimpse at what their legal cannabis marketplace might look like. And if they don’t like what they see, they can provide feedback at an upcoming public hearing or online. Maine is Giving the Public a Chance to

Lawmakers in New Hampshire are continuing to work on a new piece of legislation that could legalize recreational weed. Earlier this month, the bill cleared the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Now, it’s working its way through the Senate. Most recently, the bill moved to the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee. That group is now considering whether or not to continue advancing the bill. Will New Hampshire Legalize Recreational Cannabis? The bill currently being looked at by the Senate Judiciary Committee would introduce a number of big changes to New Hampshire’s cannabis laws. Most immediately, it would make it legal for adults to possess and consume cannabis for recreational purposes. More specifically, it would be legal for adults 21 and up to possess up to an oun