Judge Dismisses Legal Challenge to Nebraska Medical Cannabis Petitions

A Lancaster County, Nebraska District Court judge on Tuesday dismissed legal challenges against the state’s two medical cannabis petitions, the Nebraska Examiner reports. In the 57-page order Judge Susan Strong said the petition challengers – former State Board of Health member John Kuehn, Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office – were “well short” of proving that enough signatures collected for the petitions were invalid.      

“For the Legalization Petition, they have shown that 711 signatures have lost their presumption of validity. For the Regulatory Petition, they have shown that 826 signatures have lost their presumption of validity. Because the Plaintiff and Secretary have not rebutted the presumption of validity for a material number of signatures, a second phase of trial is not necessary.” — Strong in the order 

In order to prevail, the plaintiffs would have had to show that more than 3,463 signatures on the legalization petition and 3,357 signatures on the regulatory petition were invalid. Both petitions needed to be approved by voters in order to create a functional medical cannabis industry in the state. 

In the order, Strong notes that “In

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Poll: Supermajority of Indiana Voters Back Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization

A supermajority – 70% – of Indiana voters support broad cannabis legalization in the state, according to a Causeway Solutions poll published Monday. The pollster has Republican ties, and the results were initially released by Safe and Regulated Indiana, which is backed by Republicans in the state.  

According to the poll results, outlined by Indiana Capital Chronicle, just 27% of those polled opposed the reforms and just 16% of respondents indicated they were less likely to politically support someone who voted to legalize cannabis for adult use. Another 58% of those surveyed who also identified themselves as cannabis consumers said they were more likely to vote for a politician that backed the reforms.    

In a statement, Joe Elsener, spokesperson for Safe and Regulated Indiana, said the “survey confirms” what the organization already knows. 

“Hoosiers are overwhelmingly united behind safe and regulated marijuana policy. Indiana voters strongly support legalization for adults 21+ and taxing and regulating marijuana just like alcohol. They want responsible legalization because they know it means safer streets, shutting down drug dealers, and keeping tax revenue here in our state.” — Elsener in a statement via the Capital Chronicle

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Kentucky Selects 36 Applications for Medical Cannabis Dispensaries During Lottery

Kentucky on Monday held the first of two lotteries for medical cannabis dispensary licenses, selecting 36 applicants for nine of the 11 dispensary regions. The drawing was held at the Kentucky Lottery Corporation using a random number generator. 

In a statement, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said the dispensary announcement moves the state “one step closer to ensuring Kentuckians with serious medical conditions have access to the safe, affordable medicine they need.”  

“Team Kentucky has worked hard to ensure that all medical cannabis business applicants have an equal and fair chance to become a part of this emerging industry.” — Beshear in a press release 

Sam Flynn, executive director of the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis (OMC), noted in a statement that the OMC received 4,998 applications, of which 4,075 were dispensary applicants, and that applicants selected in the lottery now have 15 days to pay their license fee, which runs $5,000, after which the office will issue a license.   

Eric Friedlander, cabinet for Health and Family Services secretary, called the lottery awards “an exciting moment for Kentucky.” 

“By providing medical cannabis as a safe, regulated treatment option,

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My Father Has Been Unjustly Imprisoned Half My Life Because Of A Law Joe Biden Backed

The author poses with her father as a child. “Even everyday life felt incomplete without him,” she writes.Photo Courtesy Of Richeda Ashmeade-Sinclair

When I was little, my dad was my childhood hero. He made me feel like the world was conquerable. He was the guy who could fix anything and made every family vacation feel endless. He taught me to read and how to defeat fear on roller coaster rides. The warmth of his hugs brightened my worst day as a child.

But then, one day, everything changed.

I was only 12 years old when my hero was taken from my world and sentenced to 22 years and 10 months in a federal prison for a nonviolent, victimless cannabis offense. My father, Ricardo Ashmeade, is one of the countless casualties of the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act that then-Sen. Joe Biden championed during the height of the so-called war on drugs. The bill’s three-strike laws and mandatory minimums have disproportionately devastated many Black and Brown communities.

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The first time I visited my dad in prison, I cried. I was 12 years old. He looked the same, but everything around us felt wrong. The room was cold, with distance between

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Study: Cannabis Not Associated with Age-Related IQ Decline

A decades-long study found cannabis consumption is not associated with age-related IQ decline, according to data published in the November issue of the journal Brain and Behavior.

The study followed 5,162 Danish men over 44 years and researchers relied on extensive, self-reported data covering the participants’ health and lifestyle choices. The mean starting age of the participants was 22 and the mean age among participants at the end of the study was 62.

“Men with a history of cannabis use had less cognitive decline from early adulthood to late midlife compared to men without a history of cannabis use,” the researchers wrote. “Among cannabis users, neither age of initiation of cannabis use nor frequent use was significantly associated with a greater age-related cognitive decline.”

Paul Armentano, the deputy director for the cannabis political advocacy group NORML, said the results “contradict one of the more prominent and longstanding stereotypes about cannabis and cannabis consumers.”

“It is unfortunate that these stereotypes often go unchallenged in the media and elsewhere. It is even more unfortunate that studies refuting these long-held stereotypes seldom receive the type of mainstream attention they deserve.” — Armentano, in a statement

In a 2020 study, Israeli researchers found that

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Minnesota Social Equity Licensing Lottery Delayed by Lawsuits

A Minnesota judge has delayed the Office of Cannabis Management’s (OCM) licensing lottery for social equity cannabis licenses due to lawsuits filed by applicants whose applications were denied, CBS News reports.

OCM officials denied about two-thirds of the state’s cannabis social equity applications last week, citing a glut of paperwork issues and cases of some individuals trying to “flood” the pool with multiple applications. Several rejected applicants filed lawsuits last week saying they had been denied unfairly.

The lottery was supposed to be held Tuesday but Ramsey County Judge Stephen Smith ordered the delay to give time for the court to consider the plaintiffs’ complaints, writing Monday that “Given the extraordinary circumstances presented by the timing of OCM’s application decisions and filing of these cases, a fair and reasoned decision by the Court of Appeals is not possible without a stay of the lottery.”

One of the plaintiffs, Cristina Aranguiz, said in the report that her application “meets the criteria set by the state” but it was denied because she had assisted others who were also going through the process.

“Today’s ruling to pause the lottery is a victory for fairness, transparency, and accountability in Minnesota’s new cannabis industry. It also

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Lawsuits Contest Minnesota Cannabis Agency’s Social Equity Application Denials

Two lawsuits have been filed against Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) aiming to delay the state’s lottery for social equity licenses, the Star Tribune reports. The lawsuit comes after the agency last week denied some 1,200 social equity applicants – about two-thirds of all applications – for issues ranging from inadequate paperwork to “flooding” the application pool in attempts to improve the odds of receiving pre-approval. 

The lawsuits were filed last week by eight license hopefuls who contend the OCM denials were arbitrary or without explanation. Jen Reise, an attorney who filed a lawsuit on behalf of six applicants, said the OCM’s evaluation process was “unfair” and inconsistently applied. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order delaying Tuesday’s lottery and that her clients be given the opportunity to correct paperwork errors.  

“We’re deeply concerned that OCM has been unwilling to engage with social equity applicants, many of whom were denied for extremely minor paperwork problems or whose denials are not supported by the reasons OCM is giving them.” — Reise to the Star Tribune 

In the other lawsuit, Cristina Aranguiz, one of the denied applicants, said the explanation by OCM for

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Members of Congress Ask Biden to Use Clemency Powers Broadly During Final Days in Office

Sixty-six members of Congress are asking President Joe Biden (D) to use his clemency powers during the final months of his presidency to “address longstanding injustices” in the U.S. legal system and set the “nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.” 

In a letter dated November 20, the authors note that there are nearly 2 million people imprisoned in the U.S. and that “People of color are disproportionately put behind bars, along with individuals from low-income communities, LGBTQIA+ folks, and those with disabilities.” 

“The bloated prison system reflects and emboldens biases that undermine the ideals of our nation and diminishes trust in the rule of law. Mass incarceration attacks the most vulnerable Americans, thereby destabilizing families and inflicting intergenerational trauma.” — Nov. 20 letter to Biden 

The signatories write that the annual cost to taxpayers to keep people imprisoned is $182 billion – more than double the entire Department of Education Budget.   

“Our country is spending exorbitant amounts of money to keep people in prison for prolonged periods of time, including those who do not pose a significant public safety threat,” the letter states. “In our growing federal prison

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Medical Cannabis Patient Certification Opens in Kentucky Next Month

Kentucky is opening medical cannabis patient certifications on December 1, WLKY reports. During his Team Kentucky update last week, Gov. Andy Beshear said on that day a page will launch on kymedcan.ky.gov to connect patients with more than 150 authorized medical cannabis practitioners. 

Patients certified by a healthcare provider will be able to apply for medical cannabis ID cards on January 1.  

Beshear did indicate that it remains unclear whether medical cannabis will be available for patients by January – the lottery drawing for retail licenses for some sites in the state is not set until December 16, while others are set to be announced this week.  

In 2022, Beshear issued an executive order allowing individuals with certain severe medical conditions and who meet specific requirements to be able to possess and consume small amounts of cannabis purchased from a state with legal access. That order, while providing relief for a small number of patients, also led to a patchwork of medical cannabis hospital policies in the state.   

Beshear signed the Legislature-approved legislation into law on March 31, 2023.

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Charges Dropped Against Nebraska Notary for Medical Cannabis Petitions

All charges against a Nebraska notary public caught up in a legal challenge against the state’s recent medical cannabis legalization campaign were dropped last week, the Nebraska Examiner reports.

The state had charged Jacy C. Todd with 24 cases of “official misconduct,” accusing the 53-year-old notary public of improperly notarizing pages of medical cannabis petition signatures on 24 occasions. Prosecutors argued in the case that notaries are public officials and that Todd “knowingly” broke the law, and the charges prompted a last-minute legal challenge against the medical cannabis vote.

However, Hall County Judge Alfred Corey on Friday accepted a request by Todd’s attorney to dismiss the charges, writing in his opinion, “While these duties greatly assist others, notary publics are not public servants who are performing governmental functions.”

“We recognize the critical need for a notary’s duties to be carried out correctly and with integrity. But a notary’s duties, important as they are, hardly implicate responsibilities that go to the heart of representative government. Rather, these duties are essentially clerical and ministerial.” — Hall County Judge Alfred Corey, in the opinion

Despite the dismissal of Todd’s charges, the broader legal case continues. Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong is currently

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