Author: News Room

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking comment on whether a series of drugs—including nitrous oxide, as well as a ketamine-like substance, a synthetic opioid and other drugs—should be placed under international control. In a notice published in the Federal Register on Monday, FDA said it is inviting input on the potential international scheduling of the drugs ahead of an October meeting of the the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD). Nitrous oxide—which is medically used as an anesthetic and recreationally used as an inhalant, commonly in small canisters known as “whippits”—is currently unscheduled at…

The Republican governor of New Hampshire has signed a bill that will create a commission tasked with preparing legislation to legalize marijuana through a system of state-run stores—a novel regulatory model that he backed this year after concluding that legalization is “inevitable” in the state despite his broader concerns with the policy. This comes about two months after bicameral and bipartisan lawmakers reached an agreement on the incremental commission legislation in a conference committee. The bill that the conference committee took up initially only required a commission to study the novel state stores idea for cannabis, which Gov. Chris Sununu (R) only…

“It is no secret that New York’s adult-use cannabis rollout has been slower than expected, and now is not the time to stand in the way of progress made.” By Christian Wade, The Center Square A New York judge has halted new cannabis licenses under a program that favors people with previous drug conviction charges following a legal challenge by a group of veterans. The ruling by Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bryant blocks the Office of Cannabis Management from granting new conditional adult-use recreational dispensary licenses, or processing existing ones, while the legal challenge plays out. It comes in response…

The governor of Florida signed a little-noticed bill that took effect last month, expanding medical marijuana advertising and manufacturing restrictions to prohibit any products or messages that promote “recreational” cannabis use, while adding more stringent eligibility requirements for workers in the industry. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, approved the large-scale health legislation in May, making significant changes to the state’s existing medical cannabis law that could significantly impact the market, especially if an adult-use legalization measure makes the ballot and is enacted by voters next year. The new law makes it so cannabis manufacturers and retailers…

An official with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says that ongoing marijuana prohibition makes the agency’s job “complicated” when it comes to ensuring the safety of workers in the cannabis industry. At a National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety & Health (NACOSH) meeting in late May, a New York marijuana regulator who was representing a trade union asked an OSHA official what, if anything, the agency is doing to incorporate people who are starting businesses in cannabis industry into the conversation about workplace safety. New York Cannabis Control Board (CCB) board member Jessica Garcia said she wanted…

Microsoft founder Bill Gates shared with actor and acclaimed stoner Seth Rogen that he, too, has a history with cannabis (although we can assume Gate’s tolerance is much lower than Rogen’s). Gates appeared on an episode of Rogen’s new podcast Unconfuse Me, which was released last week. Rogen and his wife, Lauren Miller, talked all things cannabis with the billionaire and philanthropist, such as research barriers, cannabis potency, and Gates’ attempts to be a popular kid.  Although considering the tech pioneer is worth $117.6 billion, it’s safe to say it was advantageous for him to embrace his true nerd form. …

A top Wisconsin Republican lawmaker says his party is aiming to file a long-discussed, but as yet unseen, medical marijuana bill this fall. The comment comes as Democrats draw attention to the fact that the state is now an island of prohibition in the region, with one legislator visiting a dispensary and buying cannabis in nearby Michigan over the weekend. As Minnesota’s marijuana legalization law went into effect last week, Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) said that his caucus “is crafting a proposal that we hope to bring forward this fall,” giving a timeline for the legislation in a…

“One of the biggest problems is the lack of investment in this industry. So we have to de-risk it.” By Anthony Hennen, The Center Square A circle of farmers in Pennsylvania have embraced hemp as state and federal money encourages growth of the industry. With government support, farmers troubleshoot how hemp plays a role in the production of textiles, paper, automotive bio-composites and construction projects. The need, advocates argue, lies in more research funding and building new markets in the commonwealth to support the crop. “We really don’t know what varieties will grow best in Pennsylvania,” Geoff Whaling, chairman of…

A Minnesota government psychedelics task force is being built out to prepare the state for the possible legalization of substances like psilocybin and ibogaine. But even though appointments to the panel are behind schedule and it missed a deadline to hold its first meeting by August 1, the lawmaker who championed its creation says he isn’t worried about the delays. Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed the psychedelics legislation into law in May as part of a broader omnibus health and human services package. It establishes the Psychedelic Medicine Task Force that would be responsible for advising lawmakers on “the legal, medical, and…

A new federally funded study has found that marijuana is “significantly” associated with reduced opioid cravings for people using them without a prescription, suggesting that expanding access to legal cannabis could provide more people with a safer substitute. Researchers at the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use and UCLA surveyed 205 people who use cannabis and opioids without a prescription from December 2019 to November 2021, aiming to test the theory that marijuana represents an effective harm reduction tool amid the overdose crisis. The study, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, found that 58 percent of participants reported that…