Author: News Room

A new study, led by researchers at New York’s Department of Health and published this week by the American Medical Association, found that chronic pain patients who received medical marijuana for longer than a month saw significant reductions in prescribed opioids. The analysis looked at data from more than 8,000 patients registered in New York’s medical cannabis program, tracking how their opioid prescriptions changed over time. It concluded that among pain patients who received marijuana for more than 30 days, opioid amounts fell by nearly half. “Patients’ daily opioid dosages were reduced by 47% to 51% of the baseline dosages…

It was March 1998, and I was driving northbound on Highway 41 just south of Princeton, Indiana when three bright white, yellowish orbs appeared in the distance above a nearby cornfield. The abrupt nature of such an unexpected sight terrified all who witnessed it. I know this because tires were screeching all around me, as vehicles in both lanes slammed on their brakes, much like I did, as soon as they saw the lights. Every motorist, I presume, gripped their steering wheels in a wild-eyed panic while skidding all over the road trying to avoid crashing into the vehicle in…

More than 400 CBD products have now been stricken from a public list by UK food safety officials, and may not be sold to consumers. The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) this week further trimmed the number of products under consideration for legal market access under rules for new or “novel” foods, and now has eliminated a total of 409 products since the agency’s review started last year. More than 11,000 products remain on the agency’s list after having passed a pre-validation (or “awaiting evidence”) stage, a preliminary review in the novel food approval process. FSA began eliminating products in…

Anti-drug propaganda has been around for decades in the United States, going back to the 1936 film Reefer Madness, and possibly before. In the early 1980s, the launch of the D.A.R.E. program reinvigorated drug prohibition sentiment, and in 1986, former President Ronald Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act into law, instituting a mandatory minimum penalty for drug offenses. In parallel, a wealth of ads popped up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, aimed at keeping kids and adults off drugs. If you grew up during that time, you probably remember a slate of ads that were ridiculous in tone: Videos with…

Hello Zodiac babes and welcome to the glorious month of February 2023. Don’t let the fact that this is a short month fool you—hustle and bustle abounds in the celestial sphere. There is a full moon in courageous Leo; Mercury dances into artsy Aquarius for a few weeks; lady love Venus tangos with headstrong Aries, and the month rounds out with Mercury in Aquarius trine Mars in Gemini—phew! Things will get spicy in more ways than one.  It’s the month of love, Zodiacs, and there is a valentine with your name on it. Your February horoscope Aquarius (Savina Monet for…

A New Hampshire House committee on Wednesday discussed a bill to legalize marijuana that’s being sponsored by top Republican and Democratic lawmakers. A House Commerce and Consumer Affairs subcommittee briefly talked about the chair’s proposal to significantly amend the legislation from Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R) and Minority Leader Matt Wilhelm (D) during a work session. The bipartisan leaders’ introduced version of the bill would create a system of licensed and privately operated cannabis businesses—but the subcommittee is now considering an amendment that merges its provisions with a separate bill that in its current form would put marijuana sales in…

Another series of psychedelics reform bills have been introduced in states from New Hampshire to Hawaii, building on the movement that’s seen exceptional activity in the 2023 session. The proposed legislation ranges in scope, but legislators across the aisle are making their interest in the issue clear this year. More than a dozen psychedelics bills have been filed in legislatures throughout the U.S. in recent weeks—from modest proposals to establish advisory boards that would study the issue to broader ones that would legalize substances like psilocybin for therapeutic use. Here’s a rundown of the latest proposals since Marijuana Moment’s last…

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and several other key Democratic senators are meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss marijuana legislation, two Senate sources have confirmed to Marijuana Moment. Advocates and stakeholders have been closely watching for any cannabis developments after efforts to pass modest reforms stalled out in the last Congress. Now the discussions are heating back up under different political dynamics, with Republicans in control of the House. Schumer will be meeting with Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), along with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH), as Punchbowl News first reported. New:…

“The cannabis industry will need to closely monitor both FDA, as it rolls out implementing regulations, and state marijuana and hemp laws as state lawmakers consider whether and how to establish laws consistent with MOCRA.” By Andrea A. Golan, Vicente Sederberg LLP Tucked away deep into the 1,600-plus page omnibus appropriations bill signed by President Joe Biden at the end of December 2022 is the “Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022,” otherwise known as “MOCRA.” The MOCRA legislation is significant for a number of reasons—including its potential implications for the expanding cannabis cosmetics market. This is the first time…

The new agriculture commissioner of Florida will not be moving forward with a lawsuit filed by his predecessor to challenge the federal ban blocking medical marijuana patients from purchasing and possessing firearms—though the case is moving forward through an appeal filed by remaining non-governmental plaintiffs. While former Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) had worked to secure a ruling deeming the ban unconstitutional and appealed a district court’s ruling against the lawsuit in November, current Commissioner Wilton Simpson (R) has declined to take up the mantle. In a filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Monday, three…