Author: buddigest

Minnesota’s Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) is pilot testing a saliva-based roadside cannabis impairment test, FOX 9 reports. The test will screen for six different compounds, including cannabis and opioids.  

Mike Hanson, director of OTS, told FOX 9 that officials are “not looking to find somebody who used 10 days or 14 days ago” but rather for people who “used within the last couple of hours.”   

The pilot program will be used for data-gathering purposes, so the samples will be voluntary and won’t be used to make arrests or suspend or revoke driver’s licenses, the report says. 

“We’re going to get a good sampling not only in metro areas, but also in the greater Minnesota areas that will give us an idea of how prevalent drug impaired driving is on our roads.” — Hanson to FOX 9 

The devices will be given to drug recognition evaluators, who are specialized law enforcement officers trained to recognize someone who’s under the influence of something other than alcohol. The state is using the SoToxa Oral Fluid Mobile Analyzer and the Drager DrugTest 5000 in the pilot program. 

According to Minnesota state data, from 2018-2022, there

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420 VIEWS – Los Angeles, often dubbed the “City of Angels,” has become a magnet for tourists seeking not only the glitz and glamour of Hollywood but also a taste of the burgeoning marijuana culture. With the legalization of recreational cannabis in California, tourists are increasingly drawn to the diverse and dynamic landscape of Los Angeles to explore the world of legal marijuana.

A Cultural Shift: From Taboo to Trendy

The transformation of marijuana from a stigmatized substance to a trendy and legalized commodity has played a significant role in shaping Los Angeles’ cultural landscape. Tourists, eager to experience this cultural shift firsthand, are now including visits to marijuana dispensaries in their itineraries.

Dispensaries: More Than Just Shops

Marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles are no longer just places to purchase cannabis products; they have evolved into cultural hubs and unique experiences. The city boasts a wide array of dispensaries, each with its ambiance, offerings, and community engagement initiatives.

Variety of Experiences: Tourists exploring marijuana shops in Los Angeles encounter a variety of experiences. Some dispensaries, particularly those in the heart of Hollywood, exude a glamorous and high-end vibe, catering to visitors looking for a sophisticated cannabis experience. Others, nestled in

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The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) this week reached a settlement with license applicants covering most of the issues that led to lawsuits against the agency, WBRC reports. The settlement still needs to be ratified, which is expected during the AMCC’s November 27 meeting. 

Under the settlement terms, the AMCC will toss the scores of the original application evaluators, which the agency said in June had “potential inconsistencies” and led to a pause in the application process, and allow applicants in all categories, except for the integrated licensing category, to resubmit videos and briefing materials before the commission begins a new round of discussions and licenses for those categories. 

The AMCC is on its third attempt to award industry licenses but said last month that it intends to finalize the licenses by December 12.   

AMCC Chairman Rex Vaughn had previously indicated that commissioners could “choose to disregard the previous scoring,” but under the terms of the deal, the scores from the University of Alabama will not be considered at all. 

The commission had first issued licenses in June but rescinded those permits after lawsuits related to scoring data, <span

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As the cannabis industry expands, the need for skilled workers continues to increase. Several plant-centric education platforms have popped up to meet this demand, hoping to equip candidates with the knowledge they need to succeed in weed. Four-year universities are also taking note, with more colleges adding cannabis curriculum every year.

While many cannabis companies provide some type of internal training during the new hire onboarding, one state is considering making formal education on the plant obligatory. According to a recent report, regulators in South Dakota are reviewing a proposal requiring dispensary workers to complete a semester-long cannabis studies certificate.

RELATED: Six cannabis careers that could be your next big break

The recommendation was made by Benjamin Valdez of Southeast Technical College in Sioux Falls. He argued that formal training would promote the safety and legitimacy of South Dakota’s medical cannabis program and help boost higher education enrollment across the board.

“When you look at pharmacies across South Dakota that are required to have licensed pharmacists and pharmacy techs that are trained, why not try and provide that similar process for a dispensary,” Valdez said in an interview with Inside Higher Ed.

Cannabis retail staff in South Dakota must receive

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In New Mexico, recreational marijuana has only become legal in the last two years. The recent surge in popularity and access with dispensaries popping up throughout the state is plainly evident here in Taos, too. Many stores line the main drive, taking over buildings and leasing spaces that were often previously left vacant.

One such spot, Rocky Mountain Cannabis, is located conveniently close to the plaza and offers a unique experience for locals and tourists alike. With its proximity to popular tourist destinations, this cannabis dispensary is accessible and easy to visit. No matter your ultimate stop, those arriving from a more subdued culture stemming from bans in their home states will appreciate the approachable and informative experience for beginning buyers.

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The family of the woman who died last year at Trulieve’s Holyoke, Massachusetts cannabis facility has filed a lawsuit against the company and the people who worked on its HVAC system, NBC Boston reports. The lawsuit alleges negligence, recklessness, and misconduct surrounding the death of then-27-year-old Lorna McMurrey, who the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said died after inhaling “ground cannabis dust.”

In the lawsuit, McMurrey’s family claims that she had an asthma attack about two months before her death while working at the facility and that “Truelive was aware of this incident, but took no steps to protect Lorna following her collapse while inside the Facility.”

A report published last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that McMurrey’s death was the first reported occupational asthma death in the cannabis industry, although it did not name McMurrey in the report, NBC Boston reports. The report says the worker’s death “illustrates missed opportunities for prevention, including workplace exposures, medical surveillance, and treatment according to the current asthma guidelines.”

In January, Trulieve agreed to a settlement with OSHA that led to a $14,502 fine, reduced

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A new map illustrating 42 years of marijuana arrests documents the way that New York disproportionately targeted working-class, Black and Hispanic people for decades.

For young Black men like Justin Sullivan, growing up in Harlem in the 2000s came with regular harassment from the police, making it risky to use marijuana. But when he started making white friends who also smoked weed, he learned that they were not under the same scrutiny.

“That’s when I started seeing how I was vilified for cannabis,” Mr. Sullivan, now 34, said in an interview.

Included with New York’s legalization of weed in 2021 was a central promise to give back to communities that were most harmed by the war on drugs. Now, state cannabis regulators have created an interactive map from 1.2 million marijuana arrests conducted across the state over the last four decades as a guide to which neighborhoods qualify.

Mr. Sullivan’s distressing experience could give him an advantage as he seeks one of at least 1,000 licenses that cannabis regulators in New York State plan to hand out early next year in a broad expansion of the legal market. Harlem, once a hotbed of drug arrests, is pinpointed in the mapping tool as a leading

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In Maryland, the Prince George’s County Council couldn’t agree on tightening the rules for cannabis dispensaries on Wednesday.

A bill was in front of the council that would have limited where cannabis dispensaries could be located in the county to industrial areas and business parks.

The bill needed six votes to pass, but only got five. One council member voted against it and two council members abstained.

The majority of the residents who spoke at the meeting were in favor of the bill.

“Think of the youth and teenagers, the effect on their brain functioning,” said resident Julia Baltimore. “Cannabis is destroying our youth and teenagers.”

“The locations that will be most effected in our county are not the neighborhoods with sprawling one acre and half acre lots,” Abdullah Hijazi said. “But it will be in our more dense and low income communities inside the beltway, in commercial centers, closer to our homes where we already have a proliferation of liquor stores and tobacco stores.”

Jameel Aalim-Johnson, president of the Prince George’s County Muslim Council, also chimed in with concerns.

“Communities like ours take on too many vices, as what happens in many minority communities,” Aalim-Johnson said. “We say it’s

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PROVIDENCE – As the first anniversary of legalized recreational pot approaches, state records show a steady monthly increase in sales, with October’s $7 million in adult-use purchases just below September’s record-setting $7.1 million. 

Meanwhile, the monthly sale of medical marijuana to licensed patients – who pay 13% less in taxes – predictably fell during the last 11 months, from $3.9 million last December, when recreational sales began, to a record low of $2.3 million in October. 

Combining the two categories, Rhode Island’s seven marijuana dispensaries sold in October a total of $9,430,642 in cannabis products. That figure, from the most recent data of the Office of Cannabis Regulation, was slightly below the record set in September of $9,633,352. 

So, what do the numbers signal for Rhode Island’s expanding marijuana market? 

“I think time will tell,” said Erica Ferrelli, chief of strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation for the cannabis office. “I think the numbers are good. They are going up every month, if not staying at a nice level over the past five months. I think it’s a little too early to double down on whether the numbers will continue to increase. They seem to have leveled off, so we might have hit a saturation point. I think we

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The storefront at 35 Wall St. where Michael Cohen, right, hopes to open a marijuana dispensary. Community Board 1's Executive Committee recommended approval of Cohen's license applicaton. Photos: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib (storefront); Community Board 1 via Zoom and The Tribeca Trib ” class=”imagecache imagecache-standaloneslideshow imagecache-default imagecache-standaloneslideshow_default” width=”728″ height=”460″>

The storefront at 35 Wall St. where Michael Cohen, right, hopes to open a marijuana dispensary. Community Board 1’s Executive Committee recommended approval of Cohen’s license applicaton. Photos: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib (storefront); Community Board 1 via Zoom and The Tribeca Trib

By

CARL GLASSMAN

Posted

Nov. 24, 2023

Editor’s note: The previous version of this story stated that 35 Wall Street is the first approval by a Community Board 1 committee. It is actually the second.

Lower Manhattan pot shops are now on the agenda at Community Board 1.

This month the board’s Executive Commitee got a taste of the state’s vetting process for would-be marijuana retailers. Community boards have a role in approving marijuana stores in their area, a new procedure that CB1 chair Tammy Meltzer called “a little bit

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