Author: News Room

Tampons infused with CBD “achieved statistically significant pain reduction” in cases of severe cramps and menstrual pain, according to a new study in the Journal of Endometriosis and Uterine Disorders. Authors said the cannabidiol tampons could offer “fewer side effects than anti-inflammatories, while producing a similar pain-relieving effect.” “The findings indicate the potential of CBD-infused tampons as a promising option for managing menstrual pain,” the six-person research team wrote in the study. “Further research and exploration of this innovative product can contribute to the management of primary dysmenorrhea,” a condition involving painful muscle spasms and cramps that affects between half…

The head of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) says President Joe Biden’s mass marijuana pardon last year is one example of how his administration is delivering for Black voters “despite the obstruction” from Republicans in Congress. As the 2024 presidential election ramps up amid troubling polling for the Biden administration, DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison discussed a recent White House meeting where he and other leading Black Democrats spoke with aides about how to energize Black voters and convey first-term achievements. In his interview on MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show With Jonathan Capehart,” Harrison was asked what the president should say to…

A Florida Republican senator has introduced a bill to allow licensed medical marijuana businesses to take state tax deductions that they are barred from claiming at the federal level under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E. The legislation, filed by Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez (R) last week, would make Florida the latest in a growing number of states that have worked to establish tax parity for the cannabis industry that continues to face steep financial barriers under federal prohibition. Rodriguez’s proposal would amend Florida’s tax code by allowing medical cannabis operators to claim state-level tax deductions in…

Wisconsin’s top Republican senator says there’s “potentially” a path to pass a medical marijuana bill in the 2024 session—but it’d have to be strictly limited, likely in a way that would face opposition from Democrats, including the governor who is renewing his call to enact a comprehensive recreational legalization law. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R) was recently asked about a yet-to-be-seen medical cannabis bill that some of his GOP colleagues have been discussing for months, and he told WTAQ he’s open to a restrictive reform that only permits access to marijuana in pill form. “I think if it’s done…

As the year comes to a close and lawmakers prepare to recess, newly released survey data reveals that Capitol Hill staff and lobbyists are so far vindicated in their pessimism about the prospects of marijuana reform in the 118th Congress. Asked whether they think any type of cannabis reform would pass during this two-year Congress, 71 percent of top legislative staff that participated in the Canvass Capitol Hill Survey released by Punchbowl News on Tuesday said it was “unlikely.” That’s roughly consistent with separate data from a September survey of staffers that asked specifically about the prospects this year for…

A top federal health official and a former White House drug czar were among the featured speakers at a recent kratom-focused congressional briefing, laying out research priorities for the plant and broadly promoting alternative approaches to drug criminalization. Last week’s event, organized by the American Kratom Association (AKA), was meant to give a science-based overview of kratom issues for congressional staff and stakeholders as bipartisan lawmakers work to advance a bill to federally regulate the substance, which is currently unscheduled and anecdotally used for pain relief, curbing withdrawal symptoms and other purposes. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Director Nora…

New Jersey’s governor and attorney general have announced the recipients of $5.2 million in hospital-based violence-intervention grants funded with revenue from state-legal marijuana. The two politicians said Friday that money for the New Jersey Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program (NJHVIP) will be distributed to 11 recipients in 10 counties. “Meeting survivors of violence where they are during such a critical time of their healing journey is essential to their well-being,” Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said in a statement. “The New Jersey Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program is a crucial resource to address both the mental and physical ramifications of violence in our…

Administrative Law Judge James Timberland noted that the district had no policies applying to off-duty conduct, and that the educator’s actions did not involve the school, students or staff. By Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch An Iowa educator who was fired after police found three pounds of marijuana at her home is entitled to jobless benefits, a judge has ruled. According to state records, Amy Garrison-Perkins was employed by the Waterloo Community School District as a behavior interventionist at Expo Alternative High School earlier this year. In September, police went to the school and served a search warrant on Garrison-Perkins…

Marijuana legalization is linked to significantly better recruitment for college basketball and worse outcomes for football teams, according to a new study. Researchers at Georgia College & State University and Kennesaw State University said there are numerous factors that affect recruitment trends in college athletic leagues, and so they tested the relationship between adult-use cannabis policies and talent acquisition. The study, published in the Journal of Sports Economics last week, looked at recruiting data from 2003 to 2019 and applied difference-in-difference models, finding that marijuana legalization appears to be an “important, but complex, driver of college sports recruiting” that should…

The past few weeks have flown by. I know it hasn’t been a full month since the last one, but we’ve got a lot to talk about. We may be getting into the holiday season, but things don’t seem to be slowing down as much as in years past. That probably has to do with my schedule, but we’ll pretend it’s a worldwide problem. Last week we (Jimi, Matt, Adam & I) were down in Miami for Terp Basel, and my long-awaited first Art Basel experience, which was everything I’d hoped it’d be. This past weekend was DesignerCon in LA,…