California Officials Say Cannabis Deliveries Can Be Made Anywhere, Even in Cities Where Marijuana is Banned

California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control said on Friday that marijuana deliveries can be made anywhere in the state, even in localities that ban marijuana businesses.

The issue has been one of the most debated issues as state regulators hammer out permanent rules for how marijuana is grown, tested, packaged and delivered, reports the Associated Press. Law enforcement groups and the California League of Cities opposed the move.

The delivery issue was included in regulations drafted by the Bureau of Cannabis Control, which issues most retail permits. The rules will become law in 30 days unless California’s Office of Administrative Law objects.

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U.S. Surgeon General Says We Need to Reconsider How We Schedule Marijuana

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams says we should look into how we schedule marijuana, and that its current schedule hinders medical research.

Surgeon General Jerome Adams (photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images).

“Just as we need to look at criminal justice laws, rules and regulations, we need to look at health laws, rules and regulations, and that includes the scheduling system,” said Adams during a recent question and answer session at a Police Assisted Addiction Recovery Initiative conference. “I’ll take it somewhere else: marijuana. We need to look at the way we schedule different medications across the board, because one of the concerns that I have with marijuana is the difficulty that the folks have to do research on it, because of the scheduling system.”

Currently marijuana is a schedule 1 drug, meaning it has absolutely no medical value; other schedule 1 drugs include heroin, LSD and MDMA. Marijuana’s status as a schedule 1 drug makes it almost impossible for most researchers to study it in a comprehensive and unbiased manner.

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Study: CBD Reduces Airway Inflammation and Fibrosis in Experimental Allergic Asthma

According to a new study published by the European Journal of Pharmacology, and epublished by the U.S. National Institute of Health, cannabidiol (CBD) reduces airway inflammation and fibrosis in experimental allergic asthma.

“Asthma remains a major public health problem and, at present, there are no effective interventions capable of reversing airway remodelling”, states the study’s abstract. “Cannabidiol (CBD) is known to exert immunomodulatory effects through the activation of cannabinoid-1 and -2 (CB1 and CB2) receptors located in the central nervous system and immune cells, respectively.” However, “as the role of CBD on airway remodelling and the mechanisms of CB1 and CB2 aren’t fully elucidated, this study was designed to evaluate the effects of cannabidiol in this scenario”

For the study. allergic asthma was induced in mice. “CBD treatment, regardless of dosage, decreased airway hyperresponsiveness, whereas static lung elastance only reduced with high dose.” These outcomes “were accompanied by decreases in collagen fibre content in both airway and alveolar septa and the expression of markers associated with inflammation in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lung homogenate.”

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Marijuana and Marijuana Concentrates Become Legal in Michigan on December 6

The possession of marijuana and marijuana concentrates will become legal in Michigan next week on Thursday, December 6.

Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers certified the election results for Proposition 1 on Thursday, meaning that key provisions of the initiative will take effect 10 days after, on Decebember 6. Starting that day, those 21 and older in the state will be allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and up to 15 grams of marijuana concentrates. In addition, they will be allowed to grow up to 12 marijuana plants at a private residence.

The initiative also legalized marijuana stores, though they won’t be open for some time. The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs now has up to 12 months to begin accepting applications from those seeking to operate legal marijuana businesses. Marijuana retail outlets are expected to open sometime in 2020.

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Oregon Officials Certify Initiative to Legalize Medical Magic Mushrooms

An initiative by the Oregon Psilocybin Society (OPS) that would legalize the medical use of magic mushrooms has been certified by state officials.

“The Psilocybin Service Initiative of Oregon has been titled!”. said OPS in a recent Tweet. “In December PSI will begin gathering the 140K signatures to get it on the 2020 ballot. Learn how YOU can support this historical campaign from anywhere on earth by visiting http://www.psi-2020.org .”

Specifically, the initiative would allow licensed medical professionals such as physicians to prescribe psilocybin, which is the hallucinogenic ingredient found in magic mushrooms. The initiative would make Oregon the first state in the U.S. to legalize magic mushrooms for medical use, similar to how California was the first to legalize medical marijuana back in 1996.

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South Korea Legalizes Medical Cannabis

South Korea has became the first country in East Asia to legalize medical cannabis.

The country’s National Assembly voted last week to approve amending the Act on the Management of Narcotic Drugs to pave the way for non-hallucinogenic dosages of medical cannabis prescriptions, reports the Marijuana Business Daily.

Under the new law, medical marijuana will still be tightly restricted. In order to receive medical cannabis, patients would be required to apply to the Korea Orphan Drug Center, a government body established to facilitate patient access to rare medicines in the country. Patients would also need to receive a prescription from a medical practitioner, and approval would be granted on a case-by-case basis.

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New Jersey Committees Pass Legislation to Legalize Marijuana

New Jersey’s Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees approved legislation today that would make marijuana legal for everyone at least 21 years old.

By a vote of seven to two, with four members abstaining, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved Senate Bill 2703 today, which is sponsored by Senator Nicholas Scutari. Also today, the Assembly Appropriations Committee approved Assembly Bill 4497, sponsored by Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, by a vote of six to one, with two members abstaining. The measures will now go to the full chambers for a vote; passage in both chambers would send the legisaltion to Governor Murphy, who made legalization one of his top platforms during his successful election campaign last year.

According to the Marijuana Policy Project, the legislation:

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Oregon Made Over $8 Million in Taxes From Legal Marijuana Sales in September

In September those in Oregon purchased enough marijuana legally for the state to earn over $8 million in tax revenue.

More precisely, Oregon made $8,054,422 in marijuana taxes in September, according to new data released by the Oregon Department of Revenue. Although this is lower than the record setting $10.1 million made in August, it represents a an 8% increase from the $7.4 million garnered in September, 2017.

Of the $8 million in marijuana taxes made in September, roughly $6.9 million came from the statewide marijuana tax (17%), with the remaining $1.1 million coming from local taxes (up to 3% per locality).

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Study: Medical Marijuana Associated With Reduced Opioid Use in Fibromyalgia Patients

Fibromyalgia patients suffering from lower back pain respond favorably to medical cannabis as a treatment, according to a new study published in the journal Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, and epublished by the National Institute of Health.

For the study, researchers assessed the analgesic efficacy of both opioids and medical cannabis in 31 fibromyalgia (FM) patients with lower back pain. Participants were treated with inhaled cannabis containing less than 5% THC for a six month period

According to a press release from NORML, patients reported greater pain improvement with medical cannabis as opposed to the use of opioids alone. Patients demonstrated increased range of motion following cannabis treatment, but did not show any similar improvement with opioids. While undergoing cannabis treatment, the majority of patients elected to “decrease or discontinue pharmaceutical analgesic consumption”.

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MA: Over $440,000 in Legal Marijuana Purchased in First Day of Legal Sales With Just Two Outlets Open

With just two outlets open, there was over $440,000 worth of marijuana and marijuana products purchased legally in Massachusetts on Tuesday, the first day of legal sales.

According to the state’s Cannabis Control Commission, over 10,000 individual marijuana-related items (whether it be dried flower, tincture or some other product) were sold during the first day of legal sales. The total value of these products is over $440,000, resulting in over $88,000 in tax revenue for the state (which taxes marijuana at 20%).

These sales came from just two marijuana outlets, located in Leicester and Northampton. Additional outlets are expected to open in the coming weeks and months.

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