Congress to vote on strong legal marijuana protections before November elections

The U.S. House of Representatives will be voting on a crucial amendment aimed at protecting marijuana legalization laws from federal involvement.

Almost one in four Americans live in a state the adult recreational use of marijuana is legal. Currently, these recreational markets with active dispensaries including Illinois, Massachusetts, and Nevada are not covered under protections put in place by Congress that currently protect states with medical marijuana programs. Soon, a super-important amendment to renew those protections and expand them to cover adult use could be voted on by Congress — some sources say the vote could come as early as September. 

On the dark side, two other, separate amendments are being put forth by another representative that could be devastating to states with recreational programs. If passed, the measures will effectively strip federal funding from states that permit the sale of kid-friendly products or that don’t offer educational programs aimed at reducing marijuana-impaired driving. 

The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement Act

The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act was filed by lawmakers in mid-July in conjunction with a wide-ranging bill funding various federal departments in the Fiscal year 2021. 

In 2014 Congress members passed yearly spending bills, including a provision protecting merchants and individuals engaged in state-sanctioned dispensing and usage of medical marijuana from prosecution by the Department of Justice. The amendment says  federal funding may not be utilized to prevent states from “implementing their own state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana.” 

This amendment would remove the word “medical” from the existing terminology and extend protections to adults and patients who qualify for a license in both recreational and medical industries. This amendment was put forth by Representatives Early Blumenauer (founding member of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus), Tom McClintock, and Eleanor Holmes-Norton. 

In its current form, the spending legislation contains provisions shielding state cannabis laws from Justice Department interference, protects universities from losing funding for cannabis studies and makes allowances for banks to offer services to marijuana businesses without fear of punishment from the Treasury Department.

Reform Supporters of the cannabis protection rider wish to add an expansion.  The protection rider was first enacted in 2014 and has been continuously renewed by Congress on a yearly basis to ensure it covers recreational cannabis laws as well. 

The state protection amendment, filed by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Barbara Lee (D-CA), reads as follows:

“None of the funds made available by this Act to the Department of Justice may be used, with respect to any of the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, or with respect to the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, or the United States Virgin Islands, to prevent any of them from implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of marijuana.”

A separate measure was filed for the purpose of shielding marijuana policies enacted by Indian tribes from federal interference by Mr. Blumenauer and Rep. Deb Haaland.

“None of the funds made available by this Act to the Department of Justice may be used to prevent any Indian tribe (as such term is defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) from enacting or implementing tribal laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of marijuana.”

“It is critical that the full House be provided the opportunity to cast a vote on the amendment, not only because it is a sensible effort but also because it provides an opportunity to demonstrate to House leadership that comprehensive legislation is ready for prime time,” NORML Political Director Just Strekal told Marijuana Moment. “After Blumenauer-McClintock-Norton-Lee passes again, the next logical step is a vote on a cannabis reform bill in 2020.”

In 2019 a move to stop the Justice Department from involvement in state and territory cannabis laws, the House voted 267-165 to approve the amendment. A measure was also passed by the chamber to protect Indian tribes’ marijuana policies via a same day voice vote.

The amendment was not approved by the Senate and the aforementioned provisions didn’t make it into Fiscal Year 2020 spending legislation signed by the president.

Those opposing legalization are using 2020’s appropriations process to air their safety and health concerns around the implications of reform.

CBD for Relief of Menopause Symptoms

  • Can CBD oil be used to treat menopause?

  • Evidence that suggests that CBD can be an effective treatment for the symptoms of menopause.

  • Ways that women are using CBD to improve their quality of life.

Question: Can CBD oil be used to relieve symptoms of menopause?

There is no escaping the inevitability of menopause. As women, every one of us on the planet will, at some point, have to deal with the symptoms and changes that occur in an aging body. It’s estimated that 1.2 billion women will be menopausal by the year 2030.

However, many women have indeed found some relief through CBD oil.

A Bit About Menopause

Menopause can happen to a woman at any time after the age of 40. The typical age range is between 49-52. However, this can vary from woman to woman.

For some women, the change is barely noticeable and they sail into their sixties with barely a ripple of discomfort. Some other women are not so lucky.

The changes in the body can wreak havoc in a myriad of ways.

The most common symptoms of….

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Medical Marijuana in Missouri

Missouri Dispensaries are expected to start opening in August of 2020, to begin sell medical marijuana products to MO medcard holders. The MO Department of Health and Senior Services has issued 192 dispensary licenses in the state. These open cannabis stores will carry a selection of THC and CBD dispensary menu products to help qualified patients.

Missouri residents must have received your medical marijuana card from the state to be able to shop at open dispensary locations. To do this you must first visit with a certifying Marijuana Doctor in person or over your phone, tablet, or PC using Telemedicine to get certified.

With 192 dispensary locations in Missouri opening, there will be….

 

Visit MO Dispensaries Here

5 Things Everyone Wants To Know About Recreational Marijuana In Illinois, Plus A List Of Illinois Marijuana Stores

Illinois has joined ten other states in the US in legalizing marijuana for recreational use. At the time of writing, Illinois is one of only two states in the midwest along with Michigan to legalize marijuana.

Prior to Jan. 1 only medical marijuana patients were allowed to buy marijuana in Illinois. However, hemp-derived CBD oil is legal in Illinois for all residents. Other midwest states that have medical marijuana programs include Missouri and Ohio.

Here are the 5 things you need to know including a list of stores that sell marijuana in Illinois.

 1) Where can I buy marijuana in Illinois? These stores:

Recreational sales will start with existing medical marijuana dispensaries on January 1st.

Here’s the complete list of Illinois recreational dispensaries:

Cannabis stores in Chicago

Sunnyside, 3812 North Clark St.

Dispensary33, 5001 North Cl…. Read More

June was the best month yet for Illinois marijuana dispensaries

Illinois marijuana dispensaries sold more than $47.6 million worth of products in June, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

During that time, 994,545 items were sold, averaging almost $48 per purchase, not including taxes. Tax figures will be released later this month by the Illinois Department of Revenue.

The state most recently received $12.5 million in marijuana taxes and associated sales taxes in May, according to IDOR. That brings the state’s tax collections from marijuana legalization to $52.7 million for the five months of operation. That’s well above the $28 million estimated in this year’s budget, which ended June 30.

Towns and counties that allow marijuana sales began adding their own taxes at the beginning of this month for the first time, which will generally increase the purchase price between 3% and 3.75%.

Since legalization began…

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The First Pot Stock to Hit $1 Billion in Annual Sales Will Be…?

If you thought the stock market has been on a wild ride in 2020, pan out a bit and take a gander at the volatility that marijuana stock investors have contended with over the past couple of years. Through March 2019, you could practically have thrown a dart at a list of cannabis stocks and come out a winner. However, over the past 15 months, most pot stocks have lost half or more of their value.

As is the case with all next big thing investments, the industry needs time to mature. The good news, though, is that there is light (and plenty of green) at the end of the tunnel for cannabis stocks.

Perhaps what’ll truly vindicate marijuana as a viable investment opportunity is a publicly traded pot stock generating $1 billion in annual sales. While our neighbors to the north have their work cut out, there are three pot stocks focused on the U.S. market that do have the potential to reach $1 billion in annual sales within the next couple of years. The question is, which cannabis stock gets there first?

GW Pharmaceuticals

If the definition of “cannabis stock” includes a company whose….

 

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Louisiana’s Medical Marijuana Market is About to Grow

BATON ROUGE — Nearly a year after medical marijuana went from seed to shelves at nine pharmacies in Louisiana, there is a second player in a market that’s about to get a larger pool of patients suffering from a wide-open range of medical conditions.

Southern University medical marijuana licensee Ilera Holistic Healthcare shipped out its first tinctures and topical creams to pharmacies this month, joining LSU licensee Wellcana Group, which put its first tinctures on shelves last August.

Within two weeks of Wellcana hitting the retail market last year, nearly 5,000 patients entered the program, with 1,500 receiving the drug at prices between $80 and $200 to treat only about a dozen medical conditions.

Ilera is adding competition to a market in which the pharmacies have struggled with high wholesale prices and slim profit margins, while patients have complained about an unaffordable therapy that’s held back its use.

“There are a lot of Louisiana medcard patients who have tried the medicine, but the reason they weren’t continuing was the price,” H&W Dispensary owner Henry Ruston said after dropping prices.

Medical marijuana tinctures at H&W Dispensary were priced between…..

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Can CBD Help Your Marijuana High?

Something called the “entourage effect.” What is this? Let’s talk about CBD, the meaning of “entourage effect”

HOW ARE CBD AND THC SIMILAR?

We started right away by talking about CBD and THC, but let’s talk about the difference between the two. And not the basic difference between the two, let’s get scientific for a moment. To explain how they’re different, let’s first talk about how they are the same. CBD and THC are both compounds that stem from the cannabis plant and they both interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system. Additionally, they even are both composed of the same molecular structure: 21 carbon atoms, 30 hydrogen atoms, and 2 oxygen atoms.

NOW, HOW ARE CBD AND THC DIFFERENT?

With all these similarities, what is the difference? The difference between THC and CBD lies in the arrangement of their atoms and how this causes different effects on the body. CBD is normally extracted from cannabis plants with low THC, called hemp. THC is extracted from cannabis plants that have been bred for high THC levels, and it is therefore called marijuana. CBD products in the U.S. that are sold legally contain less….

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Did A Tennessee Senator Take A State Car To Buy Marijuana At An Illinois Dispensary?

Marijuana is still illegal in Tennessee for both medical and adult use. So what’s a state senator to do when they want a little weed?

One answer, apparently: Take a road trip to Illinois.

A photo posted to Twitter over the weekend shows what appears to be a Tennessee state Senate vehicle parked in front of a cannabis retail store in Illinois, which began legal recreational marijuana sales in January. While it’s perfectly legal in Illinois for anyone over 21 to purchase and consume cannabis products in the state, those protections end at the state line.

The photo has sparked frustration and some amusement among legalization supporters in Tennessee, who noted the irony of a lawmaker apparently taking a three-hour drive to a nearby state to obtain marijuana despite the legislature rejecting efforts to enact reform at home.

“If you guys are going to partake, and you can’t even…..

 

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Medical marijuana commission approves new licenses for cultivators, dispensaries

The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission released additional cultivation and dispensary licenses on Tuesday (June 30).

In a 3-2 vote, the commission released the two remaining cultivation licenses. The state now has eight cultivators approved for business, but just three are operational. It wasn’t until earlier this month that the sixth applicant received a license following a long legal battle.

Among the two cultivation licenses approved Tuesday, River Valley Relief will be located in Sebastian County and New Day Cultivation will be located in Garland County.

Commissioners Kevin Russell and Travis Story voted against releasing the cultivation licenses after hearing from at least one lawmaker that there wasn’t an issue with supply.

In another motion that passed on a 4-1 vote, the commission released four additional dispensary licenses to the following counties: Washington, Fulton, Mississippi, and Pulaski.

A commission spokesperson confirmed that the following Arkansas dispensaries will be located within the counties:

  • Natural Root Wellness in Fayetteville
  • Green Cross Cannabis in Highland
  • MissCo Cannabis Dispensary in Osceola
  • Native Green Wellness in Little Rock

Applicants should expect…..

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