A new amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act could allow members of the Armed Forces to use CBD and other derivatives from Cannabis sativa hemp.
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Maybe it’s the boredom. Maybe it’s the mental health benefits. Maybe it’s the preliminary research that cannabis could prevent COVID-19 infections. But several data agencies and state reports indicate marijuana sales have continued to rise during the global pandemic. Multiple states, including Florida and Arizona, have hit new records for monthly medical marijuana sales in the past few months. Even original cannabis states in adult use markets have seen historic sales amid the pandemic.
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A congresswoman who’s reportedly being considered as a vice presidential pick for Joe Biden said on Thursday that she doesn’t feel the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee needs to back marijuana legalization despite widespread calls from advocates and majority support among voters. Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), who herself has cosponsored federal legalization legislation and other reform bills, was asked about Biden’s position during an interview with members of the Sacramento Press Club.
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Just west of Starved Rock, under 80 acres of glass, one of the largest greenhouses in North America once produced orchids and poinsettias for big-box stores. Now, that production capacity has been converted to growing hemp — billed as the largest such greenhouse in the country. Hemp — grown from the same species of cannabis plant that produces marijuana, but without the high — produces CBD oil, a product that has taken off as a popular mainstream supplement, and smokable hemp flower, the latest niche market for the plant.
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Federal agriculture officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture signed off on hemp production plans for two states and a U.S. territory this week. Minnesota, which has been a hemp state for six years under the 2014 Farm Bill pilot program, received approval for its plan on Tuesday. The state declared earlier this year that it would continue to operate under the 2014 pilot for the 2020 season. USDA’s approval of the state’s new hemp plan doesn’t change that decision. In January, Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Peterson wrote in a letter to the USDA that the Oct. 31 date to change over from pilot programs to approved USDA plans is impractical, causing inconveniences both for farmers and for state agriculture department staff.
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July 16, 2020
We should legalize pot to fight the coronavirus
The US is mired in catastrophe. A pandemic, an economic meltdown, and a vacuum of competent governance are all conspiring to make the moment exceptionally miserable. One positive (if still tenuous) development has been the national fervor in support of criminal-justice reform. Part and parcel with that is drug-policy reform. And the simplest drug-policy reform is legalizing marijuana.
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The business has come a long way since the hippies of yesteryear peddled “pot” on city streets. Sales of legal marijuana are surpassing money spent on common items such as toothpaste. “With revenue of $10.6 billion-$13 billion in 2019, sales of legal adult-use and medical cannabis in the United States topped spending on sleep aids, hard seltzer and toothpaste combined,” said an analysis published by Marijuana Business Fact Book, and analysis issued by Marijuana Business Daily, an industry publication.
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July 16, 2020
South Dakota has months to go on hemp
Industrial hemp became legal in South Dakota when Governor Kristi Noem signed the emergency measure March 27. More than 100 days later, her administration is getting closer to submitting a program for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to consider for approval. State Department of Agriculture spokeswoman JaCee Aaseth said Thursday that South Dakota sent a preliminary version for USDA to look over. She also said state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s office provided feedback on it this week. Those perspectives will be reflected in the revised version, according to Aaseth.
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July 16, 2020
A Tax On E-Cigarette Products May Not Curb Teen Vaping
The CDC says one in four high school students use e-cigarettes and that's caught the attention of Bismarck Police and members of the North Dakota Taxation Committee. They met Tuesday to work on solutions to curb the growing problem of teen vaping.
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July 15, 2020
Rancho Bernardo Planning Board takes a stand against inconsistent cannabis distance rules
The Rancho Bernardo Planning Board decided to challenge the latest proposed wording in city code pertaining to cannabis outlets and production facilities. The board held a special meeting Saturday morning to decide what positions it wanted to take before the San Diego City Council met on Tuesday. The council was scheduled to make revisions to the city’s 12th update of its Land Development Code pertaining to cannabis (marijuana) outlets and facilities. This included rules pertaining to distance from homes and community facilities. The city issued proposed updates after the board’s June meeting and was scheduled to vote before the board’s monthly meeting scheduled for tonight (Thursday). The board’s Regional Issues Committee also held a special meeting last Thursday to review the cannabis issue plus proposed state legislation that could increase housing density in residential neighborhoods statewide, including Rancho Bernardo. Since both issues were discussed Saturday and there are no additional issues, tonight’s board meeting has been canceled. After hearing from several residents living near the site of a proposed outlet (dispensary) at 16375 Bernardo Center Drive, plus representatives from Hope United Methodist Church and its preschool — all of whom oppose the Urbn Leaf outlet — board members decided to focus on two points in their letter to city officials. The code proposal only places a 100-foot separation between an outlet or production facility and residential property lines, but a 1,000-foot separation between the cannabis facilities and sensitive uses. These include city parks, houses of worship, child care centers, playgrounds, libraries owned and operated by the city, minor-oriented facilities, residential care facilities and schools. After much discussion, the board decided to request “for consistency” a 1,000-foot separation for the residential code. Some meeting attendees said they worried they could risk losing the other 1,000-foot separation and, in the name of consistency, city officials could decide to opt for a 100-foot separation for all. But in the end the board decided it needed to take a stand and request the farther distance for both in the best interest of the community. Resident Rob Brienza, whose Bernardo Heights home is closest to the proposed outlet, said “there is a bit of risk, but also reward to consider,” in the board requesting a consistent 1,000-foot separation. Board members agreed the same concerns for children playing at a school or park and playing in their home’s backyard, or reading at a library versus their kitchen, should be equal. Since the city has decided there is a need for a 1,000-foot separation between a public space and outlet, the same should exist between a home and outlet. “We need to represent our community’s interest in this case and need to take a strong position on the difference of 100 feet versus 1,000 feet,” said board member Tom Lettington. “We need to represent our people.” “The inconsistency makes no sense,” said board member Sonny Googins. During the committee meeting, members expressed support of the line between outlets and homes being measured horizontally instead of path of travel or other barriers being factored in. However, when it comes to the distance between an outlet and the public spaces, the city proposes a 1,000-foot separation “measured between the property lines.” The wording is not as clear about a horizontal measurement, committee members said.
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