P.A. Wants a word with Biden.
Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman (D) plans to speak with President Biden this week in P.A. during their Labor Day Parade about the need to finally decriminalize cannabis. The P.A. Lt. Governor is also a U.S. Senate candidate who has been a cannabis activist for years. The lieutenant governor "looks forward to talking to the president there about the need to finally decriminalize marijuana," the spokesperson said in a statement distributed to reporters. The Biden Administration pledged cannabis reform and decriminalization when they were running for president, but Washington hasn't seen any movement in terms of cannabis reform since President Biden took office.
Come on, New York.
There are 19 states that have legalized adult-use cannabis, but New York will be the first state to offer its initial dispensary licenses solely to individuals with cannabis convictions. Every state has tried to figure out the social justice aspect of cannabis reform, so it is interesting to see what New York's plan is. "We think that leaning into folks who are not only justice-involved but have that business experience means that we're going to find a bunch of applicants who have gone through some significant challenges to still open and operate successful businesses," Office of Cannabis Management executive director Chris Alexander said in an interview. "We just took a different approach." While we like the approach of New York with their social justice goals, these smaller entrapaunters will have to survive in an environment with a black market that is probably worse than California and no current plan to reduce that, which will put massive pressure on the legal market.
The next generation of doctors.
A new study looked at medical students' training on the benefits of cannabis use in their patients. Ultimately, researchers concluded that medical cannabis seems to be a significant issue for medical trainees, especially since they may be required to recommend it to patients or manage coexisting therapies with patients in their careers. Despite using unreliable sources for information about medical cannabis, most held favorable views around reclassifying cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug, legalizing medical pot on a federal level, and that medical cannabis education should be integrated into the medical school curriculum. "Research studies continue to show the efficacy for medicinal use and proper dosing as well as the potential adverse effects of MC use, rendering accurate education important for medical programs to ensure MC readiness in future physicians," the study concludes. hightimes.com
