Bjones2
7 hours ago
Pennsylvania Governor Says Legalizing Marijuana Is ‘Something That We Want To Be Focused On Doing
’Published on September 18, 2024By Marijuana Moment
“There are Pennsylvanians who may be traveling out of state to purchase cannabis, and that’s, I think, something that we want to be focused on doing here in our commonwealth.”
By Peter Hall, Pennsylvania Capital-Star
After celebrating a new law making canned cocktails available in supermarkets and convenience stores, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said Tuesday he believes that legalizing recreational use of cannabis makes sense from an economic perspective.
Cannabis May Be “Viable Alternative” Treatment For Dogs With Common Skin Disease
Among Pennsylvania’s six border states, all but West Virginia have fully legalized marijuana, allowing its sale and use for medical and recreational use. Pennsylvania has legalized cannabis for medical use, but continues to impose criminal penalties for possession of pot without a medical marijuana card.
Shapiro told reporters at a press conference at a Rutter’s convenience store in Perry County where canned cocktails will now be sold that he has called for legalization of cannabis for several years. Shapiro included revenue from recreational marijuana sales in his 2024-2025 budget proposal and said legalizing weed, like expanding the availability of alcoholic beverages, gives Pennsylvania residents more freedom.
“There are Pennsylvanians who may be traveling out of state to purchase cannabis, and that’s, I think, something that we want to be focused on doing here in our commonwealth,” Shapiro said.
Reps. Aaron Kaufer (R-Luzerne) and Emily Kinkead (D-Allegheny) introduced new legislation Monday to legalize cannabis. Multiple cannabis legalization bills have been introduced across both chambers this session, of which House Bill 2500 is only the latest. None have been taken up by either the House or Senate yet, but advocates say legalization is a matter of how and when.
Shapiro signed into law Act 86 of 2024 in July, which creates the opportunity for restaurant, hotel, and distributors liquor license holders to obtain permits to sell pre-mixed beverages containing distilled spirits to patrons for consumption off premises.
The law is the latest expansion of alcoholic beverage sales over the last two decades in Pennsylvania, where alcohol sales on Sundays were limited and wine and spirits by the bottle could be purchased only from Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) stores until relatively recently.
Pennsylvania’s restrictions on alcohol remain relatively strict compared with many other states. Supermarkets and convenience stores were permitted to sell up to 192 ounces of beer to go in 2011 and the equivalent of four bottles of wine in 2014, but the PLCB stores remain the only place to buy spirits by the bottle.
The ability to sell pre-mixed liquor-based beverages in supermarkets, beer distributors, and convenience stores is popular, according to the governor’s office.
Since Aug. 27, the PLCB had received 1,595 ready-to-drink cocktail applications and issued 1,416?permits, Shapiro’s office said in a news release.
Asked whether Pennsylvania should do more to privatize liquor sales, Shapiro said he believes ready-to-drink cocktails in private stores is a responsible step that protects jobs, creates $130 million in new revenue and gives residents more freedom.
Act 86 was introduced in the state Senate by Sen. Mike Regan (R-York). It passed with Democratic opposition in the Senate but received bipartisan support in the state House when it was finally approved in July.
Bjones2
4 days ago
Trump Needs To ‘Bring Us Some Republican Senators’ To Pass Marijuana Banking Bill Following His Endorsement, Democrat Says
Published on September 11, 2024By Kyle Jaeger
well as Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Mike Braun (R-IN), weighed in on the cannabis banking issue in interviews on Tuesday, though none were aware at the time that Trump, the 2024 GOP nominee, had endorsed the policy change days earlier.
The Secure and Fair Enforcement and Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act cleared Brown’s Banking Committee last September, but it’s yet to receive floor consideration. Brown and Hickenlooper both suggested the main obstacle is ensuring that enough GOP members get on board to meet the steep 60-vote threshold for passage.
Braun, for his part, said it’s “still pretty difficult” to meet that vote requirement under the current political composition of the chamber.
Brown told Marijuana Moment that “we don’t have enough Republicans, we don’t think,” to secure the passage of the SAFER Banking Act. That point has previously been contested, however, with the bill’s lead Republican sponsor Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) insisting that the votes are there to move the measure along.
“We’re trying to figure out how to move these things when we have a Republican party that doesn’t always step up,” Brown said. He noted resistance from Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), ranking member of the Banking Committee, but since it already moved through that panel, it’s unclear why that would represent a major obstacle to bringing it to the floor.
Pressed on Trump’s recent endorsement of the banking legislation, Brown said he’s “not listening to the presidential campaigns weigh in on this stuff,” and he said he’s consistently spoken to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) about this and other legislative priorities.
Hickenlooper, meanwhile, said that while he hadn’t been appraised on the latest Trump remarks on cannabis banking, he’s skeptical about how serious the former president is in the position, commenting that “it might change by tomorrow” given his proclivity for rapidly taking on opposite sides of various issues.
He added that the SAFER Banking Act is “going through this process,” but he also said the Biden administration’s push to federally reschedule cannabis represents “a major step forward” that could help grease the wheels on marijuana banking reform.
“I think rescheduling is going to get SAFE Banking through the Senate,” the senator said. “Donald Trump can say whatever he wants, but unless you bring us some Republican senators, we’re not going to get SAFE Banking.”
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report last month explaining that federal marijuana rescheduling is “unlikely” to improve banking access for state-legal cannabis businesses, But Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, similarly argued that the reclassification move, when it is enacted, could have a political effect that spurs action on the separate marijuana banking legislation.
It should also be noted that the proposed rescheduling action isn’t guaranteed. Following a public comment period, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last month announced that it has scheduled an administrative hearing in December to gain additional input before potentially finalizing the rule. It’s possible that rulemaking could extend into January, meaning there’s a chance that the next presidential administration could influence the final outcome.
Meanwhile, as the November election approaches, a recent series of polls found widespread majority support for marijuana legalization, cannabis federal rescheduling and cannabis industry banking access among likely voters in three key presidential battleground states: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Bjones2
4 days ago
When Trump And Harris Agree On Marijuana Legalization, You Know The Issue Has Gone Mainstream
(Op-Ed)Published on September 15, 2024By Marijuana Moment
“Both Trump and Harris wisely see advocating for marijuana policy reform as an opportunity to connect with a wide range of potential voters.”
By Paul Armentano, NORML
At a time when voters and politicians are historically divided, there is one issue that Americans largely agree upon: It’s time to legalize marijuana.
Psilocybin Eases Psychological Distress In People Who Experienced Childhood Trauma
Months ago, Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted that “nobody should have to go to jail for weed.” Despite her past opposition to marijuana legalization, she’s since become the first major presidential nominee to endorse it.
In a more recent social media post, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump opined, “We do not need to ruin lives and waste taxpayers’ dollars arresting adults with personal amounts of it [marijuana] on them.”
That’s significant coming from Trump, who as president was on record supporting violent drug war crackdowns abroad and who appointed longtime anti-marijuana zealot Jeff Sessions to be his first attorney general.
One look at recent polling data and it’s clear why the two candidates are finding common ground on cannabis. According to Gallup, 70 percent of U.S. adults believe that “the use of marijuana should be legal.”
That’s an increase of 19 percentage points since 2014, when Colorado and Washington became the first states to implement adult-use cannabis legalization. Twenty-four states have now done so—and no state has ever repealed marijuana legalization.
The public’s support is bipartisan. Nationwide, 87 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of independents, and 55 percent of Republicans support legalization. In important swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, legalizing marijuana similarly enjoys majority support.
It’s easy to see why. The initial push for cannabis criminalization, which began in earnest in the early 1900s, had little to do with any legitimate concerns about public health or safety. Rather, the move to ban marijuana and to criminally prosecute those who consume it was based primarily upon myths and xenophobia.
Today, nearly half of all drug-related arrests nationwide are for marijuana. This is a tremendous waste of time and resources that most Americans believe ought to be reprioritized toward targeting more serious crimes.
In addition, those arrested and prosecuted for violating marijuana laws face a litany of lifelong consequences—including a criminal record and the lost opportunities that come with it. Those arrested are disproportionately young people and socioeconomically disadvantaged.
Criminalization, despite its longevity, has failed to disrupt the illicit market or discourage marijuana use. By contrast, teens’ use of marijuana has plummeted since states have begun regulating marijuana sales. In addition, survey data finds that most cannabis consumers in legal states obtain their goods from licensed retailers, not from underground street dealers.
Legalization has also provided notable economic benefits for state governments. Since 2014, retail sales of adult-use cannabis products have generated more than $15 billion in tax revenue, which has funded school construction, affordable housing and other services.
Given the success of legalization and the overt failures of marijuana prohibition, it’s hardly surprising to see the presidential candidates weighing in.
It’s notable, however, that it’s taken this long for them to publicly tout the issue. Trump previously mused that statewide legalization resulted in “big problems” in states like Colorado, while Harris urged California voters to reject a 2010 legalization ballot question.
But times have changed, and politicians are adapting accordingly. In an election where every vote counts, both Trump and Harris wisely see advocating for marijuana policy reform as an opportunity to connect with a wide range of potential voters.
Bjones2
6 days ago
Bipartisan Pennsylvania Lawmakers File New Marijuana Legalization Bill As Neighboring States See Benefits Of Cannabis Sales
Published on September 13, 2024By Kyle Jaeger
Bipartisan Pennsylvania lawmakers have officially filed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in the Commonwealth.
About two months after circulating a memo with draft legislative language to build support for the proposal, Reps. Aaron Kaufer (R) and Emily Kinkead (D) formally introduced the legislation, alongside 15 other cosponsors, on Friday.
There’s been a stepped up push for reform in the legislature as neighboring states such as Ohio move forward to open legal cannabis markets. In the earlier memo, the sponsors said the regional developments mean outside states are positioned to “capture Pennsylvania dollars into their market.”
Marijuana Helps Cancer Patients Think More Clearly And Manage Pain
The legislation would create a regulated cannabis market under the state Department of Agriculture, prioritize social equity and small businesses, enact safeguards to deter youth use and generate tax revenue for law enforcement and local governments.
Adults 21 and older would be able to buy and possess up to 30 grams of cannabis. Medical marijuana patients could grow up to five plants for personal therapeutic use, but adult-use consumers would not have that option.
The bill was revised from the draft version in several ways before being filed, including by consolidating regulatory oversight and making it so the agriculture department would be responsible for managing both the state’s adult-use and medical cannabis programs. Previously, medical marijuana would’ve been separately regulated by the Department of Health, as is currently the case.
Language that would have mandated charter agreements between social equity licensees and existing operators was also removed. And the measure was also amendment to include strict advertising rules for billboard advertising.
The proposal would provide pathways for expungements, commutations and resentencing for cannabis-related convictions. Previously, it did not include such resentencing provisions. Under the proposal, there would be protections to allow incarcerated people to access medical cannabis if they are certified with a qualifying condition.
Existing operators would only be allowed to obtain one adult-use license, whereas the prior version called for a maximum of three licenses per operator. Also, the bill no longer imposes a cap on the number of marijuana grower licenses and instead leaves that up to the Department of Agriculture’s discretion.
There would be an 8 percent sales tax and 5 percent excise tax for adult-use cannabis products. Revenue from those taxes would go to a Cannabis Business Establishment Fund (30 percent), Cannabis Regulation Fund (30 percent), the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (15 percent), drug prevention services under the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (10 percent), local governments with cannabis businesses in their jurisdiction (10 percent) and support for the state’s medical cannabis program (5 percent).
The legislation also stipulates that adults who use cannabis in compliance with the state law could not be barred from possessing or purchasing firearms. However, that protection would be limited to the state’s statute and would not affect the ongoing federal prohibition on gun ownership by marijuana consumers.
“The majority of Pennsylvanians want a legal, adult-use market and the majority of states surrounding Pennsylvania have legalized marijuana,” Responsible PA spokesperson Brittany Crampsie said in a press release on Friday. “There are now viable bi-partisan proposals on the table today for the legislature to consider and there are no more excuses to wait.”
“We are pleased and applaud Representatives Kinkead and Kaufer who have taken the initiative to file this bill and renew our call on the legislature to pass legalization immediately upon the legislature’s return to Harrisburg in September,” she said.
In July, the governor of Pennsylvania said the administration and lawmakers would “come back and continue to fight” for marijuana legalization and other policy priorities that were omitted from budget legislation he signed into law that month.
When the Pennsylvania legislature approved the budget bill that Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) enacted, lawmakers also accidentally left medical marijuana dispensaries out of a section providing tax relief for the cannabis industry. And it hasn’t been clear whether the omission could be fixed without future legislative action.
Bjones2
1 week ago
Could America’s divide on marijuana be coming to an end?
U.S. News
By DAVID A. LIEB
Updated 1:05 AM EDT, September 12, 2024
The U.S. is divided when it comes to state and federal marijuana policy, but recent political developments could move the country toward a greater acceptance of cannabis.
Both major presidential candidates have signaled support for a federal policy change to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, and voters in several additional states will get a say this fall on legalization.
Though still illegal under federal law, public approval of marijuana has grown significantly — and so has the number of states where it’s legally sold in stores.
Possessing marijuana is a federal crime punishable by fines and prison time. Selling or cultivating marijuana is a more serious federal crime, punishable by prison sentences of five years to life, depending on the quantity of the drug.
But many states have abolished their own marijuana penalties.
Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia — representing 53% of the nation’s population — have legalized marijuana and now tax and regulate sales similar to alcohol, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, which supports legalizing cannabis. An additional seven states have removed jail sentences for possessing small amounts of marijuana. A total of 38 states and the District of Columbia have laws that allow the medical use of marijuana.
The Justice Department in May proposed to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a less dangerous Schedule III drug, which includes such things as ketamine and some anabolic steroids. But that switch involves a lengthy process.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has set a Dec. 2 hearing to take comment on the proposal. That means a final decision could come after President Joe Biden leaves office in January.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, backs marijuana decriminalization and has said it’s “absurd” that marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, also signaled support for the policy change this past week. He posted on his social media platform that he would “continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug” and said he would vote “yes” on a Florida ballot proposal to legalize recreational marijuana.
The Florida initiative would allow recreational sales to people over 21 from existing medical marijuana dispensaries, with the potential for the Legislature to license additional retailers. The proposal needs at least a 60% vote to pass and would take effect six months after voter approval.
The campaign has been the costliest of nearly 160 measures on state ballots this year, attracting tens of millions of dollars of contributions primarily from supporters, according to the election tracking organization Ballotpedia. Among the opponents are the Florida Republican Party and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has said it would reduce quality of life by leaving a marijuana stench in the air.
Voters in North and South Dakota will be asked for the third time whether to legalize marijuana beyond medical use. The measures need a simple majority to pass.
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen has said initiatives to legalize and regulate medical marijuana appear to have enough petition signatures to qualify for a statewide vote. He faces a Friday deadline to certify measures for the ballot.
About 70% of American adults said marijuana should be legal in a Gallup poll taken last year, the highest level recorded by the polling firm since it first asked about marijuana policy in 1969. By contrast, only about one-third of respondents supported marijuana legalization 20 years ago.
Last year’s Gallup poll showed the highest support for marijuana among young voters, a key demographic in seven presidential battleground states.
An analysis of national survey data published earlier this year found that an estimated 17.7 million people reported using marijuana daily or near-daily in 2022 — up dramatically from less than 1 million people in 1992. Though alcohol is still more widely used, the report marked the first time that the number of Americans who use marijuana just about every day surpassed the number who drink that often.
What’s happening with similar drugs?
As legal marijuana becomes more widespread, some state officials are battling the sale of unregulated products derived from hemp, which is federally classified as distinct from marijuana. Some of those products are sold in packaging similar to common candies or chips and contain delta-8 THC, a synthesized from of CBD that’s prevalent in hemp.
Some states have banned or restricted synthetic hemp products, including South Dakota and Wyoming, where new laws took effect July 1. Indiana authorities have warned stores to remove delta-8 THC products that they say also contain illegal amounts of the psychoactive delta-9 THC found in marijuana.
In Missouri, where marijuana was legalized in 2022, Republican Gov. Mike Parson raised concerns that certain hemp-derived products are being marketed to children and ordered a crackdown by the state health department. He joined with Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Tuesday to announce a task force focused on unregulated psychoactive cannabis products.
“We are not the only state facing this issue and not the only state taking action,” Parson said.
Bjones2
1 week ago
Trump supports reclassifying marijuana, voting for legalization in Florida
16 mins ago
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By Karah Rucker (Anchor/Reporter), Zachary Hill (Video Editor)
Former President Donald Trump recently signaled support for a significant shift in marijuana policy, aligning his stance with Vice President Kamala Harris. This marks the first time both major-party presidential candidates have backed broad cannabis reform, reflecting a growing trend of public support for legalization.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Sept. 10, Trump expressed his intention to vote in favor of Florida’s Amendment 3, which would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older.
“It’s time to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for small amounts of marijuana for personal use,” Trump said.
He also emphasized the need for “smart regulations” and access to safe, tested products.
In addition to supporting the Florida measure, Trump announced his backing for a federal reclassification of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. This change would ease restrictions on medical research but would not fully legalize marijuana at the federal level.
Vice President Harris has also supported reclassifying marijuana but additionally advocates for its complete legalization nationwide. Harris’ campaign manager has criticized Trump’s stance, calling it “blatant pandering.”
The timing of Trump’s announcement could influence Tuesday’s debate if he decides to challenge Harris on her past cannabis-related prosecutions as district attorney of San Francisco.
Trump’s position marks a significant shift from the traditional conservative view on marijuana. He contrasted with other prominent Republicans, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who opposes the state’s marijuana ballot measure.
Trump’s endorsement could boost Amendment 3’s chances of passing, but it needs 60% voter approval to succeed. If it passes, Florida would become the 25th state to legalize recreational marijuana.
This shift in Trump’s stance mirrors a broader change in American attitudes toward marijuana. A Gallup poll from last year found that 70% of American adults support legalization, reflecting the evolving landscape of cannabis policy in the U.S.
Bjones2
1 week ago
DeSantis Vs. Trump Over Florida Cannabis Legalization: Guess Who's Winning
by
Maureen Meehan, Benzinga Editor
September 10, 2024 12:14 PM
Zinger Key Points
While Ron DeSantis has been mum about Trump's support of legal weed in Florida, his wife Casey DeSantis has not.
Several other GOP stalwarts are also lashing out at Trump, essentially calling him a hypocrite who'd 'say anything' to get ahead.
Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continue to square off over cannabis legalization, with the former supporting and the latter opposing.
"As a Floridian, I will be voting YES on Amendment 3 this November," Trump wrote Sunday in a Truth Social post. "As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock medical uses of marijuana to a schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws."
Shortly before Trump's remarks hit the wires, DeSantis told a gathering at City Church Tallahassee that the cannabis legalization initiative, known as Amendment 3, was "coming because of one weed company, Trulieve who basically has a de facto monopoly" or a "weed cartel." He proceeded to accuse the CEO of Florida medical marijuana giant, Trulieve Cannabis Corp
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of having personally written the ballot amendment.
But when it comes to Trump's newly-found support of legal cannabis, both in Florida and on a national level, DeSantis is still not commenting or casting aspersions.
Casey DeSantis Takes Up The Anti-Weed Battle
However, Casey DeSantis isn’t shy about sharing her thoughts on the matter, even if she’s echoing her husband’s views — and that’s fine.
“Amendment 3 creates a permanent, constitutional right to possess over 100 joints at a time and SMOKE ANYWHERE in Florida—even public places where it could more easily fall into the hands of children,” she posted on X.
Amendment 3 creates a permanent, constitutional right to possess over 100 joints at a time and SMOKE ANYWHERE in Florida—even public places where it could more easily fall into the hands of children.
What’s more, it creates a monopoly & blanket legal immunity for big weed…
Vote No on 3
Vote No on 3
@VoteNo_On3
Follow the money. Big Marijuana spent $60 million to put Amendment 3 on the ballot because it hands them control of Florida’s weed market. This isn’t legalization—it’s corporate domination. #VoteNoOn3
1:40 PM · Sep 9, 2024
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The DeSantis couple are not the only Republicans fuming over Trump’s endorsement of legal weed in the Sunshine state.
Stuart Stevens, chief strategist for Mitt Romney‘s 2012 presidential campaign, told MSNBC that the former president was essentially a hypocrite who’d say anything to get ahead. “Donald Trump, he’s on both sides of so many of these issues. I mean, within an hour he reversed himself on what position he was going to take on the abortion referendum in Florida. It’s because there’s nothing there except this desire to be president, this desire to be in control … so he’ll say anything.”
Several other GOP stalwarts joined Stevens in his criticism of the former president, reported Newsweek.
Actually, the Republicans’ comments were not unlike those made by Vice President Kamala Harris‘ presidential campaign team, which referred to Trump’s cannabis announcement as “blatant pandering.”
Bjones2
1 week ago
Trump’s support of Florida marijuana legalization may show growing bipartisan consensus
By: Jacob Fischler - September 10, 2024 6:30 am
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s early Monday statement that he would vote to legalize recreational marijuana use in Florida sent a strong signal that both major parties are moving to adopt popular marijuana reform efforts, unexpectedly elevating the issue in the presidential battle.
But the campaign for the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, expressed strong skepticism about Trump’s sudden embrace of reform and criticized Trump’s record in office, accusing him of “blatant pandering” after States Newsroom inquired about Harris’ position on legalization.
The statement from Trump, who has sought to portray himself as a “law and order” candidate throughout his political career, shows the growing support for marijuana legalization among voters of both parties nationwide — and could be a signal that GOP elected officials will align themselves with legalization, Josh Glasstetter, a spokesperson for the advocacy group U.S. Cannabis Council, said in an interview with States Newsroom.
“Trump’s statement on Truth Social signals that there is a political realignment that is well underway on the issue of cannabis reform,” Glasstetter said.
Trump said in a post to his social media platform that he would vote yes on Florida’s Amendment 3, a ballot initiative to legalize recreational cannabis use in the state.
He also said he supported federal legislation to remove federal restrictions on banking services for state-legal marijuana businesses and moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act.
States with legal recreational marijuana industries, which now number 24, have long sought tweaks to federal law to allow banks to legally provide loans and other services to marijuana businesses that are legal under state law. Bills in Congress, while largely bipartisan, have been introduced for years but not yet won the consensus needed to become law.
Schedule I is the most restrictive category under federal law and indicates a drug has no medicinal value and high risk of abuse. President Joe Biden’s administration has started the move to Schedule III, which includes heavily regulated legal substances including Tylenol with codeine.
“Despite his blatant pandering, Donald Trump cannot paper over his extensive record of dragging marijuana reform backward,” campaign spokesman Joseph Costello wrote in an email. “As president, Trump cracked down on nonviolent marijuana offenses – undermining state legalization laws, opposed safe banking legislation, and even tried to remove protections for medical marijuana.
“Donald Trump does not actually believe in marijuana reform, but the American people are smart enough to see through his campaign lies.”
The campaign did not respond to a follow-up message seeking clarity on Harris’ position on the issue.
Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, took a hard line against a growing trend of states legalizing marijuana use. He rescinded a 2013 document known as the Cole memo that required federal officials to stay out of state-legal marijuana operations.
But Glasstetter said Trump had “clearly reassessed his position” on the issue, reflecting a consensus among voters that Republican officials have been slower to adopt.
“For many years now, cannabis reform advocates have talked about the growing bipartisan consensus among voters in support of cannabis reform and elected officials have been a lagging indicator, particularly on the conservative side of the spectrum,” he said.
While Harris has not highlighted the issue — besides not answering emailed questions Monday, the campaign’s newly launched issues page on its website does not mention cannabis — she is seen as an ally of reformers based on her record, including as U.S. senator and California attorney general, Glasstetter said.
Harris convened a roundtable of marijuana reform advocates at the White House in March that included rapper Fat Joe and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat. At that event, she promoted the administration’s work to relax federal marijuana restrictions and spoke in favor of broad reforms.
“I’ve said many times: I believe — I think we all at this table believe — no one should have to go to jail for smoking weed,” she said.
Leading Republicans
Trump’s endorsement could be seen as an attempt to close the policy gap between the parties on a popular issue.
Republicans in Congress have lagged behind their Democratic colleagues in seeking marijuana reforms, even as polls and ballot initiatives in states that favor both parties have shown legalizing marijuana use is an increasingly popular position among voters of all political persuasions, Glasstetter said.
A Pew Research Center poll this year showed 88% of respondents thought marijuana should be legal for recreational or medical use. That was up from 68% in the same survey in 2022.
At a May hearing of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, just days after Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the administration would seek to reschedule cannabis, Republican representatives voiced skepticism over the move to federal Drug Enforcement Administrator Anne Milgram.
Rep. Robert Aderholt, an Alabama Republican, noted studies finding a connection between cannabis use and psychosis. The country is dealing with a mental health crisis, he said.
“My concern is rescheduling marijuana would make the crisis worse,” he said.
But an endorsement from Trump, who holds immense influence among congressional Republicans, could be crucial to getting more Republicans to change their positions, Glasstetter said.
“Former President Trump is a leading indicator,” he said. “We expect that his high-profile embrace of cannabis reform will make it much easier for other Republicans, particularly in Congress, to come out in support of cannabis reform.”
Bjones2
1 week ago
Trump Backs Federal Marijuana Rescheduling And Cannabis Industry Banking Access
Published on September 9, 2024By Tom Angell
Former President Donald Trump says he supports federally rescheduling marijuana and opening up access to banking services for businesses in the cannabis industry. He is also reiterating his support for the legalization initiative on Florida’s November ballot.
“As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws, including safe banking for state authorized companies, and supporting states rights to pass marijuana laws, like in Florida, that work so well for their citizens,” Trump said in a post on his site Truth Social on Sunday night.
The 2024 Republican presidential nominee made clear that he will be voting in support of legalizing cannabis in Florida, where he is a resident.
Cannabis Use Before Bedtime Does Not Cause Next-Day Impairment Of Cognitive Ability
“As I have previously stated, I believe it is time to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for small amounts of marijuana for personal use,” he said. “We must also implement smart regulations, while providing access for adults, to safe, tested product. As a Floridian, I will be voting YES on Amendment 3 this November.”
The support for rescheduling cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act will allay some fears that a Trump administration could reverse progress on the issue that was initiated—but has not yet been completed—by the Biden administration.
The Department of Health and Humans Services has recommended moving marijuana to Schedule III, but that has faced some resistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, which has scheduled a hearing on the proposal for December 2—after the presidential election, raising concerns that the process will not be completed until after a new president is inaugurated.
Trump’s latest marijuana post follows up on one he made last month in which he indicated—but did not explicitly say—he supported Amendment 3 in Florida. The earlier comments predicted that Florida voters would approve the cannabis measure and generally discussed the benefits of legalization, but left some observers wanting more clarity on the former president’s position on the specific state initiative.
“In Florida, like so many other States that have already given their approval, personal amounts of marijuana will be legalized for adults with Amendment 3,” Trump said in the prior post. “Whether people like it or not, this will happen through the approval of the Voters, so it should be done correctly.”
“We need the State Legislature to responsibly create laws that prohibit the use of it in public spaces, so we do not smell marijuana everywhere we go, like we do in many of the Democrat run Cities,” he added at the time. “At the same time, someone should not be a criminal in Florida, when this is legal in so many other States. We do not need to ruin lives & waste Taxpayer Dollars arresting adults with personal amounts of it on them, and no one should grieve a loved one because they died from fentanyl laced marijuana.”
Trump then discussed the medical benefits of cannabis and said legalization would be “very good” for Florida in an interview with Lex Fridman last week.
“Medical marijuana has been amazing,” he said, adding the he has “had friends and I’ve had others and doctors telling me that it’s been absolutely amazing, the medical marijuana.”
On broader legalization, he said “it’s got to be a certain age” to purchase. “It’s got to be done in a very concerted, lawful way. And the way they’re doing it in Florida, I think is going to be actually good. It’s going to be very good, but it’s got to be done in a good way. It’s got to be done in a clean way.”
Prior to announcing his support for marijuana reform, Trump met with the CEO of Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a large company that has provided the vast majority of funding in support of the Florida legalization campaign.
Last month at a press conference, Trump told a reporter that he’s starting to “agree a lot more” that people should not be criminalized over marijuana given that it’s “being legalized all over the country”—adding that he would “fairly soon” reveal his position on the Florida ballot measure.
“As we legalize it, I start to agree a lot more because, you know, it’s being legalized all over the country,” Trump said at the time. “Florida has something coming up. I’ll be making a statement about that fairly soon.”
A reporter had asked about the Biden-Harris administration push to reschedule cannabis, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, stating repeatedly that people should not be incarcerated over simple cannabis offenses.
“As we legalize it throughout the country—whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing—it’s awfully hard to have people all over the jails that are in jail right now for something that’s legal,” Trump replied. “So I think obviously there’s a lot of sentiment to doing that.”
Following Trump’s recent announcement of support for the Florida cannabis legalization ballot measure, the campaign for Harris is working to remind voters that while in office, Trump “took marijuana reform backwards.”
In a memo from a senior campaign spokesperson, the Harris campaign accused Trump of “brazen flip flops” on cannabis. The Democratic campaign says it’s one of the Republican former president’s “several bewildering ‘policy proposals’ that deserve real scrutiny.”
“On issue after issue, Trump is saying one thing after having done another,” the memo says. “For example: As a candidate in 2024, he suggests he is for decriminalizing marijuana – but as President, his own Justice Department cracked down on marijuana offenses.”
The claim appears to be a reference to the move by Trump-era Attorney General Jeff Sessions to rescind the so-called Cole memo, which provided guidance to federal prosecutors not to interfere with operations of well regulated state marijuana systems.
Meanwhile, longtime ally and GOP political operative Roger Stone, who is also a Florida resident and supports the legalization proposal, separately told Marijuana Moment that if Trump did ultimately endorse the measure it would “guarantee victory.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who is sponsoring a bill to federally legalize marijuana called the States Reform Act, separately said that while she hoped Trump would back the Biden administration’s rescheduling move, she also said part of the reason Republicans in Congress have declined to embrace marijuana policy change is because they’re “afraid of it.”
Trump also recently went after Harris over her prosecutorial record on marijuana, claiming that she put “thousands and thousands of Black people in jail” for cannabis offenses—but the full record of her time in office is more nuanced.
Trump’s line of attack, while misleading, was nonetheless notable in the sense that the GOP presidential nominee implied that he disagrees with criminalizing people over marijuana and is moving to leverage the idea that Harris played a role in racially disproportionate mass incarceration.
Meanwhile, Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate, choosing a candidate who backed numerous cannabis reform measures in Congress, called for an end to prohibition when he was running for governor and then signed a comprehensive legalization bill into law in 2023.
As president, Trump largely stayed true to his position that marijuana laws should be handled at the state-level, with no major crackdown on cannabis programs as some feared after then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Obama era federal enforcement guidance. In fact, Trump criticized the top DOJ official and suggested the move should be reversed.
While he was largely silent on the issue of legalization, he did tentatively endorse a bipartisan bill to codify federal policy respecting states’ rights to legalize.
That said, on several occasions he released signing statements on spending legislation stipulating that he reserved the right to ignore a long-standing rider that prohibits the Justice Department from using its funds to interfere with state-legal medical marijuana programs.
Before President Joe Biden bowed out of the race, his campaign made much of the president’s mass cannabis pardons and rescheduling push, drawing a contrast with the Trump administration’s record. The Harris campaign so far has not spoken to that particular issue, and the nominee has yet to publicly discuss marijuana policy issues since her own campaign launched.
Bjones2
1 week ago
Trump throws full support behind Florida pot legalization as DeSantis fights it
Trump also said he supported reclassifying marijuana under federal law.
Former President Donald Trump is registered to vote in Florida, making him eligible to vote for Amendment 3. | Alex Brandon/AP
By Arek Sarkissian and Mona Zhang
09/09/2024 11:44 AM EDT
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Donald Trump said he supports loosening federal marijuana restrictions and will vote for a Florida ballot initiative seeking to legalize the drug for adult use just hours after Gov. Ron DeSantis warned hundreds of church goers that the measure would create an invincible drug cartel in their shared home state.
Trump already signaled his support for the legalization measure, which will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 3, during a Truth Social message posted in late August. The former president and GOP presidential nominee more explicitly endorsed it with another message posted late Sunday. Trump stopped short of supporting federal decriminalization, but indicated support for reclassifying marijuana under federal law, along with passing banking reform for state-regulated cannabis companies and supporting states’ rights to pass legalization laws.
“As a Floridian, I will be voting YES on Amendment 3 this November,” Trump wrote in the Sunday Truth post. “As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock medical uses of marijuana to a schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws.”
Trump, in his August social media post about Amendment 3, was both positive and negative about the ballot measure, which seeks to legalize pot use for people aged 21 and over and allow the state’s medical marijuana industry to start selling for recreational use. His latest post reinforced concerns that state lawmakers should regulate the drug so that its presence — including its pungent smell — does not impact neighborhoods.
But Trump has also said Amendment 3 would stop “needless” marijuana-related arrests, which he also brought up in his August post.
Trump posted his message about four hours after DeSantis told about 200 people at a Tallahassee church that Amendment 3 was a ploy by one Florida marijuana company to create a drug cartel backed by the state constitution. DeSantis, who won the governor’s seat in 2018 with help from Trump’s endorsement, told the crowd at the Baptist-based City Church that, contrary to claims that Amendment 3 would stop people from being incarcerated on marijuana possession charges, no one is serving time in a Florida prison for simple marijuana possession.
DeSantis also said Amendment 3 would allow people to carry enough pot to make dozens of joints and smoke them anywhere they want. He said states such as Colorado, where marijuana has already been legalized recreationally, had failed to restrict places where the drug is consumed.
“Public use of this will be rampant,” DeSantis said. “You can’t point to a state that is better off for doing it.”
Trump has historically shied away from providing a concrete stance on marijuana legalization. During the 2020 election he said the issue should be left up to each state. He also appointed Jeff Sessions, a notorious opponent of marijuana legalization, as attorney general, who had signaled plans to begin cracking down on enforcement of the federally banned drug that never materialized.
Trump’s endorsement of Amendment 3 comes as the Democrats have the most pro-weed presidential ticket ever, with Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Meanwhile, Trump’s running mate JD Vance has said that he doesn’t like marijuana legalization, but believes in states rights when it comes to legal weed.
Flanked by musician Fat Joe and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a roundtable conversation.
Cannabis
Vice president criticizes federal cannabis restrictions during White House weed event
By Natalie Fertig | March 15, 2024 03:37 PM
Harris embraced federal legalization as a senator and Walz supported establishing a taxed, regulated market for adults as governor of Minnesota. Trump’s support for reclassifying cannabis to Schedule III closes the differences between him and Harris’ position ahead of the debate on Tuesday.
Trump’s embrace of federal policy assuages some of the concerns of pro-cannabis advocates that the Biden administration’s proposal to reschedule cannabis, a process that will extend beyond Election Day, will be able to continue no matter who wins.
Biden issued an executive order in October 2022 directing federal agencies to conduct a scientific review of marijuana’s status under federal law. In August, the Department of Health and Human Services concluded that marijuana should be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, which would make it easier to conduct scientific research and reduce taxes for cannabis companies. The DEA will have the final say on whether that ultimately happens, but the agency is widely expected to embrace the recommendation.
The previous Trump administration rolled back the Obama administration’s hands-off policy when it came to state-regulated marijuana markets, but there was no ensuing crackdown on state-legal markets.
“Both major party candidates support moving cannabis down to Schedule III. There should be no further delay,” Adam Goers, co-chair of the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform, said in a statement.
Trump is registered to vote in Florida, making him eligible to vote for Amendment 3 and another high-profile measure, Amendment 4, which seeks to expand abortion rights. Trump has already announced that he will not vote for Amendment 4 but he was highly critical of the state’s recently-enacted ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, which was a top priority for DeSantis.
Trump also historically has given conflicting statements about his stance on abortion rights. He declined to endorse a national abortion ban despite party pressure and has stated that the issue of abortion limits should be left up to the states.
DeSantis on the other hand has come out with force against both Florida ballot measures. Earlier this year he launched a political committee called the Florida Freedom Fund to attack the legalization push and efforts to enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. He also helped launch the “No on 3” campaign in July.
Amendment 3 will need at least 60 percent of the vote in order to pass, requiring significant support from Republican voters. The campaign behind the measure has collected more than $80 million in cash contributions, and almost all of that money came from the Tallahassee-based Trulieve, which is the state’s largest medical pot company. The measure would allow Trulieve and more than 20 other companies licensed by the state to grow and sell medical marijuana to expand into the recreational market, and then leave future expansion plans up to the state’s GOP-controlled Legislature.
DeSantis said not even people who support marijuana should vote for Amendment 3 because it’s giving control of the industry to Trulieve and other medical pot licensees. Unlike previous efforts to legalize marijuana, which included provisions allowing people to grow a limited number of plants at home, this year’s measure is written to favor the state’s $2 billion medical marijuana industry.
“They’re creating in Florida’s constitution a drug cartel,” DeSantis said. “And they’ll have no liability with the cultivation and sale of marijuana.”
Bjones2
2 weeks ago
Trump and Harris Both Agree That Marijuana Should Be Legal
Bowing to Public Opinion, Trump and Harris Both Agree That Marijuana Should Be Legal
It remains unclear whether either would do anything about that as president.
Jacob Sullum | 9.4.2024 12:01 AM
After Donald Trump endorsed a Florida ballot initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana in that state, Kamala Harris accused her Republican opponent of flip-flopping on the issue. Yet the vice president herself did not publicly support marijuana legalization until 2018, when two-thirds of Americans already favored that policy.
The truth is that both presidential candidates have changed their positions on this issue over the years, reflecting a sea change in public opinion. But that does not necessarily mean that either, if elected, would invest any effort in addressing the untenable conflict between state marijuana laws and federal prohibition.
In 1990, when Trump was famous as a billionaire New York developer rather than a politician, he called the war on drugs "a joke" and recommended legalization instead. "We're losing badly the war on drugs," he said during a speech in Miami. "You have to legalize drugs to win that war."
In an interview after the speech, Trump said he hoped "people will start to realize that this is the only answer; there is no other answer." As a Republican presidential candidate 25 years later, he implausibly claimed his 1990 remarks did not count as an endorsement of legalization.
During that campaign, Trump's position on marijuana legalization was essentially the same as Hillary Clinton's. "I really believe we should leave it up to the states," he said, although he made it clear that he took a dim view of legalization, which he described as a "bad" policy that had caused "some big problems" in Colorado.
Despite Trump's avowed preference for letting states go their own way on marijuana policy, his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, rescinded a Justice Department memo that encouraged federal prosecutors to leave state-licensed cannabis suppliers alone. But no crackdown followed, and Sessions' successor, William Barr, did not even try to instigate one.
As president, Trump also proposed eliminating an annually renewed spending rider that bars the Justice Department from interfering with state medical marijuana programs. Nothing came of that either.
Those two moves, the Harris campaign argues, were plainly inconsistent with what Trump said in a Truth Social post on Saturday. Predicting that Florida voters will approve marijuana legalization in November, he cited reasons to welcome that outcome.
"Someone should not be a criminal in Florida" for possessing marijuana "when this is legal in so many other States," Trump wrote. Pot busts, he added, "ruin lives & waste Taxpayer Dollars."
It is fair to say that Trump's views on marijuana legalization have evolved. But the same is true of Harris.
As USA Today notes, "Harris has been criticized for aggressively prosecuting weed-related crimes when she was California's attorney general and San Francisco's district attorney, particularly given the racial disparities in punishment nationwide." She opposed a California legalization initiative in 2010, when she was the San Francisco district attorney; laughed at a question about legalization in 2014, when she was running for attorney general against a Republican who favored it; and declined, as California's attorney general, to take a position on the 2016 initiative that legalized recreational use in her state.
As a senator two years later, Harris finally took the plunge, saying, "We need to decriminalize marijuana nationwide." Later that year, she co-sponsored a bill that would have repealed the federal ban, and she introduced a similar bill in 2019.
President Joe Biden, by contrast, has always resisted federal legalization, and the 2024 Democratic platform says nothing about it. The Republican platform, meanwhile, does not even allude to marijuana reform.
That silence is striking, given that 38 states have legalized medical marijuana and 24 of them, accounting for most of the U.S. population, also allow recreational use. According to Gallup, 70 percent of Americans—including 87 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of independents, and 55 percent of Republicans—think marijuana should be legal.
As of Saturday, both major-party presidential candidates agree. But it remains unclear whether either is prepared to do anything about it.
Bjones2
3 weeks ago
Trump Supports Florida Marijuana Legalization Ballot Measure,
But Wants Lawmakers To Ban Public Smoking
All good NEWS for Artizen Cannabis going into next year, regardless of who becomes President, cannabis is on its way to decriminalization in the US!!!!
Published on August 31, 2024By Tom Angell
Former President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he believes voters in his home state of Florida will approve a marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot, arguing that “someone should not be a criminal in Florida, when this is legal in so many other States.”
Trump added that current policy ruins lives, wastes taxpayer dollars and puts people at risk of dying from cannabis tainted with fentanyl.
The former president wants lawmakers to follow up on legalization if voters approve it, however, by passing a law to ban public cannabis consumption.
Marijuana Is Linked To An Enhanced ‘Runner’s High’ And Lower Pain During Exercise
“In Florida, like so many other States that have already given their approval, personal amounts of marijuana will be legalized for adults with Amendment 3,” Trump said in a post on his social media site Truth Social. “Whether people like it or not, this will happen through the approval of the Voters, so it should be done correctly.”
“We need the State Legislature to responsibly create laws that prohibit the use of it in public spaces, so we do not smell marijuana everywhere we go, like we do in many of the Democrat run Cities,” he added. “At the same time, someone should not be a criminal in Florida, when this is legal in so many other States. We do not need to ruin lives & waste Taxpayer Dollars arresting adults with personal amounts of it on them, and no one should grieve a loved one because they died from fentanyl laced marijuana.”
“We will make America SAFE again!” he said.
Florida Sen. Joe Gruters (R), a former Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, cheered Trump’s support for legalization.
“I am incredibly proud to have President Trump stand alongside us in our effort to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for simple possession of marijuana and to give Floridians the same individual freedom to choose safe, tested products that more than half the country already enjoys,” he said.
Gruters has pledged to push legislation to ban public marijuana smoking if voters approve legalization on the ballot, as Trump now says he supports.
“Our shared goals to expand our freedoms and keep Floridians safe from fentanyl-laced marijuana from the illicit market is why Amendment 3 has broad support and will pass in November,” the senator said. “President Trump’s call for smart implementation is exactly why I filed a bill to prevent smoking in public. Marijuana should be consumed at home, and I will work alongside my colleagues in the legislature to ensure Florida does this right.”
Earlier this month at a press conference, Trump told a reporter that he’s starting to “agree a lot more” that people should not be criminalized over marijuana given that it’s “being legalized all over the country”—adding that he would “fairly soon” reveal his position on the Florida ballot measure.
“As we legalize it, I start to agree a lot more because, you know, it’s being legalized all over the country,” Trump said at the time. “Florida has something coming up. I’ll be making a statement about that fairly soon.”
A reporter had asked about the Biden-Harris administration push to reschedule cannabis, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, stating repeatedly that people should not be incarcerated over simple cannabis offenses.
“As we legalize it throughout the country—whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing—it’s awfully hard to have people all over the jails that are in jail right now for something that’s legal,” Trump replied. “So I think obviously there’s a lot of sentiment to doing that.”
Longtime ally and GOP political operative Roger Stone, who is also a Florida resident and supports the legalization proposal, later told Marijuana Moment that if Trump did ultimately endorse the measure it would “guarantee victory.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who is sponsoring a bill to federally legalize marijuana called the States Reform Act, separately said that while she hopes Trump will back the Biden administration’s rescheduling move, she also said part of the reason Republicans in Congress have declined to embrace marijuana policy change is because they’re “afraid of it.”
Trump also recently went after Harris over her prosecutorial record on marijuana, claiming that she put “thousands and thousands of Black people in jail” for cannabis offenses—but the full record of her time in office is more nuanced.
Trump’s line of attack, while misleading, was nonetheless notable in the sense that the GOP presidential nominee implied that he disagrees with criminalizing people over marijuana and is moving to leverage the idea that Harris played a role in racially disproportionate mass incarceration.
Meanwhile, Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate, choosing a candidate who backed numerous cannabis reform measures in Congress, called for an end to prohibition when he was running for governor and then signed a comprehensive legalization bill into law in 2023.
As president, Trump largely stayed true to his position that marijuana laws should be handled at the state-level, with no major crackdown on cannabis programs as some feared after then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Obama era federal enforcement guidance. In fact, Trump criticized the top DOJ official and suggested the move should be reversed.
While he was largely silent on the issue of legalization, he did tentatively endorse a bipartisan bill to codify federal policy respecting states’ rights to legalize.
That said, on several occasions he released signing statements on spending legislation stipulating that he reserved the right to ignore a long-standing rider that prohibits the Justice Department from using its funds to interfere with state-legal medical marijuana programs.
Before President Joe Biden bowed out of the race, his campaign made much of the president’s mass cannabis pardons and rescheduling push, drawing a contrast with the Trump administration’s record. The Harris campaign so far has not spoken to that particular issue, and the nominee has yet to publicly discuss marijuana policy issues since her own campaign launched.
Back in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has doubled down on his opposition campaign against the marijuana legalization initiative that will appear on the state’s November ballot.
Meanwhile, a Democratic congresswoman who recently said she was on the fence about whether she’d vote for the legalization ballot initiative this November has officially given the measure her endorsement.
There’s been a mixed bag of feedback on Amendment 3 from members of Florida’s congressional delegation.
One pro-legalization GOP congressman, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), recently said he intends to vote against it, strictly because he feels the reform should be enacted statutorily, rather than as a constitutional amendment that would prove more challenging to amend.
On the other hand, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, predicted earlier this year that the measure will pass.
Shaker777
3 weeks ago
Breaking relevant news ....
Lady Gaga recently admitted she had been addicted to marijuana, and used the drug to relieve stress from her life as well as to cope with a hip injury.
"I was living on a totally other psychedelic plane, numbing myself completely, and looking back I do see now that some of it had to do with my hip pain. I didn't know where the pain was coming from so I was just in a lot of pain and very depressed all the time and not really sure why," she said on the Elvis Duran and the Z100 Morning Show, adding she was smoking about 15 to 20 joints a day.
While some may dismiss the idea of a marijuana addiction, experts say it is possible. Ben Levenson, co-founder of Origins Recovery Center in South Padre Island, Texas, explained to CBSNews.com that cannabis dependence and abuse is included in "psychiatry bible" the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and has long been recognized as a mental health problem.
Key characteristics of an addiction include the inability to abstain from using the substance, behavioral impairment, cravings and diminished recognition of chronic, increasing problems because of abusing the substance, Levenson pointed out. Not only has he seem marijuana addicts fit into each of these categories, but in the most serious cases, pot addicts who come to his center have destroyed their family and social relationships, are in serious financial trouble, show signs of memory impairment and have emotional issues due to abusing too much marijuana.
"We see all the core things that we see with other drug addicts," he explained. "They literally spend all their time obtaining marijuana, smoking marijuana or recovering from marijuana."
Dr. Margaret Haney, director of the Marijuana Research Lab in the department of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, told CBSNews.com that about 10 percent of marijuana smokers will develop a dependence to the drug.
"Its not leading people to steal their grandmother's television set to buy drugs, but it becomes difficult for them to stop," she said.
This dependence could potentially affect a lot of Americans: Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the country. About 17.4 million Americans admitted to using pot the month prior to being surveyed for the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The survey determined that out of 70,000 Americans over the age of 12, 7.3 percent reported using pot.
Traditional arguments against marijuana's addictive properties have focused around the idea of whether pot is physically addictive like heroin and opioid drugs, which lead to tolerance and withdrawal effects in users. Haney said that psychiatrists no longer make a distinction between biological and psychological addiction because both can have equally detrimental effects.
There is a biological basis for pot addiction, adds Haney, whose research focuses on marijuana withdrawal symptoms and potential pot addiction treatments. She said that many chronic pot smokers -- meaning they smoke at least once a day -- will experience trouble sleeping, irritability or anxiety and notice their food intake decrease when they try to quit. She noted that habitual users who smoke on the weekends or a few days of the week will probably not experience these withdrawal symptoms.
Research also shows pot physiologically affects the brain. Marijuana's active ingredient, THC, targets areas of brain cells that affect development and functioning, known as cannabinoid receptors. Typically, these receptors are activated by naturally occurring chemicals in the body. Cannabinoid receptors are found in the pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, sensory, time perception and movement coordination centers of the brain, which is why smoking pot affects these abilities.
Haney says many of those who seek help from the Marijuana Research Lab are worried about health consequences of smoking too much weed, find their pot smoking habits are affecting their work or are embarrassed because they continue to smoke in front of their kids.
Many people who come into Origins are addicted to more than once substance. Levenson estimates that 75 percent of the people who come into Origins have come had significant experience with marijuana, and the majority of them have marijuana dependence.
Gaga admitted that she had a history of addiction to other substances and she "lily pad(s) from substance to substance" when she gets to the point that she can't get the effects she wants anymore.
"I do put that pressure on myself; I have to be high to be creative. I need that, that's an error in my life that happened for over 10 years. Can I be brilliant without it? I know that I can be and I have to be because I want to live, and I want my fans to want to live," she said.
Levenson however is cautious to call marijuana a gateway drug, but emphasizes that it is prime for cross addiction. For example, he sees many patients who became addicted to marijuana in college and had their grades slip, and are then prescribed Adderall. Soon they are addicted to something stronger.
"Instead, they pick up a stimulant," he pointed out. "They are swapping one intoxicant for another. Everybody thinks this is good. All we're doing is switching chairs on the Titanic."
While marijuana might not seem as dangerous as other drugs out there, Haney argues that the addiction is just as real.
"Would you argue that cigarettes aren't addictive? That those don't lead to the same behavioral consequences that alcohol or cocaine would or could? It doesn't mean for the individual it isn't a problem, and that's why they do seek treatment," Haney pointed out.
Bjones2
3 weeks ago
GOP Congresswoman Predicts Marijuana Will Be Rescheduled ‘Right Before The Election,’
But She’s Not Sure If Trump Is On Board
Published on August 26, 2024By Kyle Jaeger
A GOP congresswoman says she expects the Biden administration’s marijuana rescheduling proposal to be finalized “right before the election, because they want the cannabis votes.” And while she hopes former President Donald Trump will back the change, she also said part of the reason Republicans in Congress have declined to embrace marijuana reform is because they’re “afraid of it.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who is sponsoring a bill to federally legalize marijuana called the States Reform Act, spoke about cannabis election politics, rescheduling prospects and more during an interview with The Dales Report on Monday.
Asked about whether she expects Trump will get behind marijuana reform in light of his recent comments indicating support for decriminalization as more states adopt legalization, Mace said she wasn’t sure. But she noted his past comments in favor of medical cannabis and said she “would like to hear support for rescheduling” from her party’s leader, especially considering that there’s a “statistically significant number of Republicans” in favor of those policies.
Study finds cannabis increases productivity when working out
“There’s a lot of work to be done, and Republicans need to get on board, because the vast majority of Americans are with me, with you guys, on how to move forward in a very responsible manner,” Mace said during the marijuana-focused podcast interview. “I would allow states to decide how they want to regulate cannabis. That should be a thing that states are involved at their level—whether it’s medical, recreational—how they want to implement it. Different states have done it different ways, with some successes and some failures.”
“I think that, in the GOP realm, people are afraid of it,” the congresswoman said. “People are afraid of being primaried, and they they haven’t polled it, because if they polled it, they would see, ‘oh, wow, there’s actually significantly more support for this position than I realized.'”
She added that there are “so many reasons to [back cannabis reform] as a Republican. Not only is it the “right moral thing to do,” but it’s also “a winning electoral issue—it’s like a win-win situation.”
Mace said her colleagues in Congress are largely “clueless” on the nuances of the marijuana policy debate, particularly as it comes to some of the debates that have played out during the rescheduling effort. To an extent, that means it’s partly the responsibility of stakeholders and advocates to bring legislators the data showing how supporting policy reform is a popular political position, she said.
But as far as this year is concerned, Mace only signaled confidence that the Biden administration would complete rulemaking to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA), as the Justice Department formally proposed in March.
Her States Reform Act to federally deschedule cannabis, meanwhile, has “zero” percent chance of advancing in the GOP-controlled House in the next three weeks, Mace said, noting challenges with the calendar and other legislative priorities.
“Right now, a good effort would be, between now and the end of the year, is I want to educate members about States Reform Act and then ask them to cosponsor it—showing that we can have a growing level of support,” she said.
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