Author: News Room

Medical marijuana use is associated with improved quality of life—including better job performance, sleep, appetite and energy—according to a new study. Researchers at the University of West Attica in Greece published the study in the journal GeNeDis Neuroscientific Advances on Wednesday following an analysis of survey data from medical cannabis patients with neurological disorders. “Medical cannabis has been used to relieve the symptoms of people with various chronic diseases,” the authors said. “Despite this, it has been stigmatized.” The study showed that a majority (58 percent) of respondents said medical cannabis is an effective treatment for their condition. Among that…

The U.S. Census Bureau is updating its survey of American companies to better capture marijuana-related economic activity, part of an effort to “keep up with the nation’s ever-changing business landscape.” For the first time, the 2022 Economic Census—which is being conducted right now and asks businesses about their activities from last year—includes options for respondents to identify themselves as part of the cannabis economy. “While there are no specific questions about cannabis in the 2022 Economic Census,” the bureau said on its website this week, “options to select cannabis as a primary business activity are available to retail and wholesale…

Germany’s federal cabinet has approved a draft marijuana legalization bill, sending the first part of the government’s cannabis reform plan to the country’s legislature for consideration. Members of the cabinet voted in favor of advancing the legislation, spearheaded by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, after discussing the measure at a meeting on Wednesday. The proposal, which was unveiled last month , would allow adults to legally possess cannabis and cultivate a maximum of three plants for personal use. It would also create social clubs that could distribute marijuana to members, with purchase limits for people over the age of 21 of…

California nonprofits and local health departments can soon apply for an estimated $48 million worth of community reinvestment grants, which are paid for by tax revenue from legal marijuana. Organizations will be able to request awards of between $600,000 and $3 million to support job placement, legal assistance, treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, referrals to medical care and other services for communities that have been disproportionately affected by the drug war. Applications for the forthcoming round of California Community Reinvestment Grants (CalCRG) will be accessible through an online portal beginning on Monday. Half of the $48 million…

A coalition of marijuana reform organizations are calling on regulators across the world to adopt a universal symbol for marijuana products in the interest of promoting safety in the evolving cannabis market and making it easier to facilitate interstate commerce if states choose to enact that policy. While there may be a patchwork of marijuana laws from state-to-state in the U.S., as well as internationally, the groups said in a letter to regulators that was shared exclusively with Marijuana Moment and distributed on Wednesday that there should at least be uniformity in labeling so that people know what products contain…

An initiative to legalize marijuana in Ohio will appear on the state’s ballot this November, officials announced on Wednesday. About two weeks after activists turned in a final round of signatures for the cannabis proposal, the secretary of state’s office has now certified that it met the requirements for ballot placement. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CTRMLA) submitted more than 220,000 signatures for the measure last month, but the state found that advocates came up short by 679 valid signatures. They were then given an additional 10 days to make up the differences and ultimately turned in about…

“They told the judge they would comply with the act, and then they didn’t.” By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector A medical cannabis company Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC), alleging the commission violated the state’s Open Meetings Act (OMA) at its August 10 meeting. Alabama Always, which sued the commission last month over the appointment of former chair Steven Stokes, alleged that commission members privately nominated companies for public votes on license awards during an executive session. The lawsuit alleges that commission members were instructed to seal their nominations in an envelope during the executive session, and…

People who use marijuana are about half as likely to develop type 2 diabetes, according to a new meta-analysis of scientific studies. Researchers at the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Iran published the study in the journal Phytotherapy Research this month, expanding on the scientific literature examining the effects of cannabis on glucose regulation and insulin secretion that are tied to the chronic disease. To investigate the relationship, the researchers analyzed 11 relevant surveys and four epidemiological cohort studies that were published in scientific databases such as PubMed up through July 1, 2022. They found that the incidence of…

A California Senate-passed bill to legalize the possession and facilitated use of certain psychedelics has cleared a procedural hurdle, bringing it one step closer to a final Assembly committee vote before potentially advancing to the floor. The measure from Sen. Scott Wiener (D) was advanced by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday to the panel’s suspense file, a legislative formality that means it is primed for final action to determine whether it can advance to the floor. The sponsor told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday that he expects that to happen at a subsequent committee meeting on or around September 1.…

In an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday, Janet Yellen recounted eating at a restaurant chain in Beijing called Yi Zuo Yi Wang, a meal that had Chinese social media abuzz last month. A post on Weibo, the popular Chinese blog platform, detailed what Yellen’s party ordered that day, including “jian shou qing, an unusual yet highly sought-after mushroom prized for its unique properties,” according to CNN. Those properties can include hallucinations –– unless the mushrooms are cooked and prepared a certain way, which was the case when Yellen dined there. “So I went with this large group of people…