Virginia Republicans Delay Legal Pot Sales
A House of Delegates subcommittee voted along party lines to push a recreational marijuana sales bill until next year's legislative session. In South Dakota, lawmakers also thwarted efforts toward recreational weed. Meanwhile, smokable legal medical marijuana is on sale in Minnesota starting today.
The Washington Post:
Virginia GOP Pushes Legal Recreational Marijuana Sales Timeline
A Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee on Monday killed efforts to accelerate recreational marijuana sales in the state, leaving its budding cannabis industry in limbo for at least another year. The GOP-controlled House panel voted along party lines to float a nearly 200-page bill until next year’s legislative session. The bill had become this year’s vehicle for nearly all marijuana-related measures, outlining everything from enforcement and regulation to tax revenue and reinvestment. (Elwood, 2/28)
In other news about marijuana and CBD —
Stateline:
Workers Who Legally Use Cannabis Can Still Lose Their Jobs
So far, 14 states and Washington, D.C., have banned employers from discriminating against workers who use marijuana for medical reasons. New Jersey and New York ban employers from discriminating against workers who legally use marijuana medically or recreationally. And Nevada bans employers from refusing to hire someone solely because they fail a marijuana test. The laws generally make exceptions for certain employers and occupations. But bills have stumbled elsewhere because of opposition from business groups and disagreements over how to measure marijuana intoxication. A bill filed in Washington state this session already has been tabled. A California bill faces an uphill battle. And, in light of opposition, a Colorado bill will be softened to studying the issue. (Quinton, 2/28)
Kare11.Com:
Medical, Smokable Marijuana Is Now For Sale In Minnesota
Legalized medical marijuana in its purest form, dried flower, is now for sale in Minnesota. Starting Tuesday, March 1, everyone who is registered for medical marijuana use can apply to obtain flower. But a few patients who were already vetted got their hands on some of Minnesota's first legal bud. (Molmud, 2/28)
Sioux Falls Argus Leader:
South Dakota Lawmakers Stop Recreational Marijuana Legalization
Anti-cannabis lawmakers at the state Capitol have thwarted momentum building toward legal marijuana in South Dakota. And the same committee in the South Dakota Legislature that killed a proposal to legalize recreational pot use for adults Monday also advanced a separate measure that repeals portions of the medical marijuana law adopted by voters in 2020."The provisions that past in IM26 were just a backdoor way to recreational marijuana," said Rep. David Anderson, R-Hudson. (Sneve, 2/28)
AZFamily.com:
Arizona Marijuana Lab Fined Nearly $500K For Intentional, Inaccurate Results
OnPoint, a laboratory that tests marijuana in Arizona, has been fined nearly a half-million dollars for repeated violations. OnPoint Laboratory reached the agreement after the state threatened to pull the lab’s certification. Inspections show violations go back to September 2020. A report prepared by the Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS) states deficiencies and violations were “committed intentionally” and “are a risk to the health, safety, and welfare of the public and medical marijuana qualifying patients.” (Pickel, 2/28)
CNN:
CBD Products For Children Remain A Mystery For Most Parents, Report Says
Some 80% of parents say they know little to nothing about CBD products, according to a new poll by C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health at the University of Michigan Health. The term CBD stands for cannabidiol, a chemical compound found in marijuana and hemp, the report said. Unlike marijuana, CBD only has 0.3% of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. The THC is the psychoactive part of marijuana that makes people feel high. Of the 7% of parents who gave or considered giving a CBD product to their child, only 29% said they talked with their child's pediatrician about using it. Of the 1,992 parents polled nationwide, 35% thought CBD and marijuana are more or less the same thing. The parents had children who ranged from newborns to 18 years old. (Marples, 3/1)
In news about the opioid crisis —
Columbus Dispatch:
Medical Expert: Husel's Painkiller Doses 'Astounding,' 'Mind-Boggling'
Ryan Hayes came into Mount Carmel Health System's intensive care unit in April 2017 with swelling in his brain after overdosing at home. Then, a medical expert testified Monday, Dr. William Husel gave Hayes, who was 39, 1,000 micrograms of fentanyl, enough of the powerful opiate "to take out an elephant." Thirty-three minutes after that medication was given, Hayes was dead. And the medication is what killed him, Dr. Wes Ely, of Vanderbilt University, testified on Monday. (Bruner, 2/28)
