Democratic lawmakers push marijuana campaign petition; Grateful Dead members encourage cannabis activism; CBD legislation circulating in Congress

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There are now 1.160 cannabis-related bills moving through state legislatures and Congress for 2019 sessions.



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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW



The reelection campaigns of eight congressional Democrats are teaming up on a petition calling for the end of federal marijuana prohibition.



Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) endorsed national marijuana legalization:

If you let states “pick and choose,” she said, “you will have a state where someone is publicly and professionally able to profit, and in the next state someone could be sentenced to life for it.”

Grateful Dead founding members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann are calling on fans to get involved with the Cannabis Voter Project to help change marijuana laws. Upcoming Dead & Company shows will feature booths where people can join.



/ FEDERAL



The National Institute on Drug Abuse published a brief saying that evidence does “not support the interpretation that access to cannabis reduces opioid overdose.”



The Department of Justice is seeking a court order to force convicted drug cartel leaderJoaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to forfeit $12.7 billion.



Federal prosecutors charged a San Diego marijuana production facility with various violations related to allegedly illegally dumping hazardous waste.



Members of Congress are reportedly privately circulating draft legislation on CBD regulation.



Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a presidential candidate, tweeted, “Instead of giving criminal records to people who possess marijuana, maybe we should give them to the crooks on Wall Street who crashed our economy.”



Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) published an op-ed about his legislation to let states legalize marijuana without federal interference, and he tweeted about it.



Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) tweeted, “I’m excited to announce I’m the 1st cosponsor of @RepAlexMooney’s 2nd Amendment Protection Act. H.R. 2071 removes the existing federal prohibition against possession of a firearm or ammunition for medicinal marijuana patients.”



Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted that Republicans have called various groups liars, including “millions of Americans they locked up in the War on Drugs.” She also cited the “war on drugs” as an issue that older lawmakers of both parties have been wrong about.



/ STATES



Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) signed a budget bill that includes an expansion of the number of medical cannabis dispensaries allowed in the state.



New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and lawmakers are blaming one another for the failure to pass marijuana legalization this session.



Indiana retailers are suing the state over its ban on smokable hemp.



Mississippi lawmakers created a Hemp Cultivation Task Force.



Wisconsin Republican lawmakers who represent districts bordering Illinois say that state’s legalization of marijuana won’t force them to follow suit.



A Pennsylvania senator will debate a staffer for the prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana on Monday.



Arkansas activists are preparing to file language for a proposed marijuana legalization measure they hope to qualify for the 2020 ballot.



Two competing groups of Montana activists may seek to qualify separate marijuana legalization measures for the 2020 ballot.



South Carolina regulators approved a list of pesticides for use on hemp.



Utah regulators received 81 applications for medical cannabis cultivation licenses.



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/ LOCAL



A least 15 Maine municipalities have so far opted into legal marijuana commerce.



/ INTERNATIONAL



Scotland’s new “drugs tsar” voiced support for decriminalizing drugs.



Guyana’s cabinet approved a marijuana decriminalization bill.



Israeli regulators enacted new price controls on medical cannabis.



/ ADVOCACY



Amnesty International published a report criticizing the bloody Philippine “drug war.”



/ SCIENCE & HEALTH



A study found that CBD (150 mg/kg) significantly reduced frequency and severity of [Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus]‐induced acute seizures at 2 hours post‐CBD treatment” and suggested that “CBD could be effective in decreasing TMEV‐induced acute seizures when the seizure test is conducted at the [time to peak effect of CBD.”



/ OPINION & ANALYSIS



The Albuquerque Journal editorial board expressed concern about the ability of New Mexico employers to maintain drug-free workplaces under a new medical cannabis expansion law.



/ BUSINESS



Arkansas medical cannabis dispensaries have sold $2.2 million worth of product in the first two months of sales.



The New York Times looks at the rise of marijuana tourism.



The Denver Post examines hemp businesses’ financial services and social media difficulties.



/ CULTURE



Snoop Dogg got fooled into thinking a photoshopped picture of him smoking marijuana with Kurt Cobain was real.



Actor Mark Ruffalo called on New Yorkers to contact state lawmakers and urge them to make a series of amendments to a hemp bill that industry stakeholders view as excessively restrictive.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.