Our federal marijuana laws have achieved nothing for the American people besides generations of incarcerated black & brown kids. It’s time to admit that ugly truth and right this wrong. I support Rep. Jerry Nadler’s MORE Act.
— Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA)

New Feature in the Roll Up: Look for the star  on our top news items

Welcome To The Weekly Roll Up – A Compendium of The Week’s Cannabis News

Vermont

Vermont House Passes Bill to Regulate and Tax Cannabis Sales

What’s Next for Vermont’s Expungement Bill?

Vermont Lawmakers Reach Final Agreement on Bill to Tax + Regulate Cannabis Sales

2020 Cannabis General Election Guide

Sept. 11:  Vermont House Approves Legislation to Automatically Expunge Records, as S.54 Progresses

WCAX: Campaign Countdown: Where the candidates for governor stand on Cannabis

• Sept.6: Key Concessions Made on S.54 as Expungement Bill Clears House Judiciary
• VTDigger: Sarah George ends requests for cash bail, aiming to make justice system more fair
• Brattleboro Reformer: Greg Sukiennik: Is compromise on marijuana finally near?
• High Times: Vermont Legislative Panel Agrees On Cannabis Retail Sales Bill
• Marijuana Moment: VT Bill To Legalize Pot Sales One Step Away From Gov’s Desk After House Vote
• WCAX: Slaves of Ethan Allen’s daughter honored in Burlington
• The Valley Reporter: Thieves make off with 50 immature hemp plants
• VTDigger: VT National Guard briefs lawmakers on potential federalization
• VTDigger Opinion: Margolis: Police, politics and protests

Regional

Maine

• Maine approves more cannabis business licenses
• Maine regulators adopt amended cannabis testing rules
• Portland officials issue reminder: Pot businesses must be licensed to operate in the city
• Maine regulators release summaries of cannabis sampling and testing processes

Massachusetts

• Sky high: Mass. marijuana is among the most expensive in the nation
• Massachusetts marijuana data: MassLive Media presents new findings
• Cannabis Control Commission drafts new regulation for recreational delivery companies repackaging and reprocessing products

New Hampshire

• State lawmakers float one proposal to fill COVID-19 budget gaps: marijuana sales

New York

• New York State Association of Counties calls for passage of adult use legislation
• Cannabis Testing Lab Opens in Former New York Prison
• New York’s hemp/CBD industry ‘begs’ Cuomo to issue rules so it can get to work

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National

Advocacy

• NIHC Thankful for DEA’s Attentiveness to Concerns of Evolving Hemp Industry
• Americans for Safe Access files an amicus brief urging U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case challenging pot’s federally illegal status

Animals

• The hype and hope of veterinary cannabis
• What pet parents should know about cannabis-based medical products

Arts/Entertainment

• Holograms, Hip Hop and Ayahuasca: A Celebration of American Music and Hemp Health
• ‘Big Bang Theory’ Creagen Dow Talks Cannabis: You Need To ‘Clean Your Ash Hole’
• Clint Eastwood Has Sued a Mesa CBD Company
• Kendall Jenner admits that she is a “stoner”

Banking

IRS Releases Tax Guidance For Marijuana Industry

• Include the SAFE Banking Act In the Next Covid Relief Package

Business

Federal Workplace Drug Testing Proposal Could Discriminate Against People Of Color

IRS Sweetens The Pot With New Marijuana Industry Web Page

• Wall Street stops testing for weed – Business Insider
• Playboy launches a line of CBD products
• Too Late for Aurora Cannabis’ New CEO to Right This Sinking Ship
• Terrapin donates $30,000 to help Boulder, CO’s live music venues impacted by COVID
• Top 5 CBD Hemp Pre-Roll Questions That People Ask on Google
• MedMen Enterprises Inc. announces an additional $20 million from lenders, investors
• Building a psychedelic-drug-focused corporate law practice
• Washington state cannabis vaping lawsuit dismissed
• Charlotte’s Web Holdings reports quarterly revenue of $21.6mil, net loss of $14.4 mil

CBD

• Despite trends, feds still ban CBD in food. These bills seek to change that
• Regulatory clarity critical to the future of CBD
• Can Congress Speed Up CBD Regulation?

Coronavirus/COVID-19

Hemp Farmers Now Eligible For USDA Coronavirus Relief Program

• Cannabis and Coronavirus: As Multiple Crises Hit the U.S., Cannabis Remains Resilient
• Coronavirus Pandemic Impact Cannabis Packaging Market Growth Rate

Culture

Travel writer Rick Steves campaigning for cannabis ballot measures in several states

• Video of ‘marijuana mouse’ passing out after munching on cannabis leaves goes viral

Education

• College students taking a COVID gap semester are turning to cannabis jobs
• Excelsior College Launches ‘Graduate Certificate in Cannabis Control’
• College towns see an uptick in cannabis sales as school year begins
• Vaping, marijuana use in 2019 rose in college-age adults

Federal

Federal Agency Tells USDA To Keep Hemp Rules Open For Comment Even Longer

• Is Enduring Justice For Medical Marijuana Coming Soon?
• Research on State-legal Cannabis Dispensaries Now Approved
• Congressional Lawmakers Ask Supreme Court To Hear Marijuana Lawsuit Against DEA
• CDC Meets With MMJ Patients To Discuss Cannabis As Alternative Pain Therapy

Food & Bev

• Most CBD Beverages Contain Less CBD Than Advertised [Study]
• Bill To Regulate CBD As A Dietary Supplement Introduced In Congress
• Competition to pit canned beverage producers
• How Water-Soluble Cannabinoids are Expanding the Hemp Market

Growing and Making

• Introducing the 0.00 Percent THC Cannabis Variety – DOPE
• 5 Tips to Fight Gray Mold in Cannabis
• How The Pollen Wars Are Hurting The Cannabis Industry
• CBD and Caffeine: Why You Should Mix CBD With Your Morning Coffee?
• The secret to better pot highs? Eat your broccoli (and these other high-enhancing foods)
• Cooking with Cannabis: Tinctures can be terrific
• Emerald Mag: Have Your CBD-Infused Golden Milk, and Eat It Too
• CBD-Infused Kahlua Cheesecake Tart With Scientist-Turned-Chef Chris Yang

Health and Wellness

• I swore I’d never touch marijuana. Here’s why I finally did
• 2020 made me too paranoid for THC. Here’s what I’m smoking instead
• Different Ways to Consume CBD for Health Purposes
• Does cannabis help or hurt the immune system?

Hemp

The DEA’s Interim Final Rule And Its Impact On The Industrial Hemp Industry

• NIHC Shares Concerns About Hemp Rules With DEA
• Hawaii, Virginia eliminate in-state hemp regulation as USDA approves Utah, tribal production plans
• USDA releases several audio spots promoting its reopening of the public comment period on hemp regulations
• USDA Approves Hemp Plans For Utah And Another Indian Tribe

Hypocrisy, Prevarication, and Outright Lies

Prohibitionist org Smart Approaches to Marijuana is closing its NYC office and selling expensive furniture on Craigslist (CL ad now deleted by author)

• SAM: Coalition of Thirty Groups Send Letter in Opposition to MORE Act to US House Leadership
• NSC: NSC and Partners Call for U.S. House to Hold Hearings on Workplace Safety Impacts of MORE Act
• Opinion: Vermont’s Children Will Pay the Price For Vermont’s Ability to Sell Marijuana
• Catherine Antley & Spencer Smith: Commercializing cannabis will not pay
• Mitch McConnell sends a press release highlighting apparent “Democratic discontent” with plans to hold a House vote on cannabis legalization next week

Insurance

• More Americans Consider CBD, Giving Insurance + Other Ancillary Businesses a Push
• Many of California’s cannabis growers are uninsured and in the line of fire

Law Enforcement

• Drug seizures along Canadian border up 1,000%, CBP says

Legalization

House Postpones Vote On Bill To Federally Legalize Marijuana Until After Election

• Cory Booker And Other Lawmakers Discuss Pot Legalization Bill Ahead Of House Vote
• House Cannabis Vote In Question Following Leadership Remarks, But ‘Schedule Hasn’t Changed’
• Marijuana decriminalization bill garners support and criticism on the way to Congress
• These states are voting on cannabis legalization this November
• House bill to expand marijuana research gets one new cosponsor for a total of 21
• Senate bill to deschedule cannabis and fund programs to repair the harms of the drug war gets one new cosponsor for a total of seven
• House bill to deschedule cannabis and fund programs to repair the harms of the drug war gets three new cosponsors for a total of 111

Medical

• Stakeholders React to Medical Marijuana Research Act
• New Guidelines Issued on Medical Cannabis for Chronic Pain
• ‘Medical Marijuana: A Clinical Handbook’ Discusses the Science of Cannabis

Military/Vets

• Disabled Iraq War veteran faces five years in prison for pot possession after judge denies release
• St. Petersburg Veteran Survives COVID, Rebuilds CBD Business

Podcasts

• How Cannabis Sparks Phish’s Creative Process
• Different Leaf: Pot For Depression and Anxiety With Dr. Peter Grinspoon
• Cannabis Is Medicine (Podcast)

Politics

• ‘Vote Democrat to legalize it,’ Sen. Chuck Schumer tells Leafly
• Drama in the Democratic caucus – POLITICO
• Marijuana Consumer Group Launches Nationwide Get-Out-The-Vote Campaign

Presidential Campaign 

Kamala Harris Says Biden Admin Won’t Half-Step Pot Reform, But Promises Mere Decrim

• Marijuana After the Election
• A Biden Justice Department Would Shift Vastly From Trump’s
• 6 cannabis elections that changed the game

Psychedelics

• New Psychedelics Research And Education Center Launched at U.C. Berkley as Reform Movement Grows
• How Psychedelics Are Entering the Mainstream
• Concordia Studio Sets Non-Fiction Slate with Docs about Psychedelics
• Free Webinar | Oct. 1: What You Need To Know About Psychedelics with Aubrey Marcus
• These 8 books will school you in psychedelics
• A scientific first: How psychedelics bind to key brain cell receptor

Social Justice

READ: Excerpt from White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

• How consumers can influence social justice in weed
• Latinas accuse marijuana company of cultural appropriation
• Recent upheavals put renewed emphasis on minority representation in cannabis/hemp sphere
• 5 Inclusive Questions For Cannabis Diversity Educator Dr. Tiffany Bowden
• Cannabis industry in Colorado takes on social justice
• Leading Black-Owned Cannabis Brand Viola Partners With Local Cultivator in Support of Social Justice 

Sports

• WWE legend The Godfather claims marijuana helped him recover from alcohol addiction – Republic World
• Anthony Joshua explains Olympic team ban for cannabis possession arrest
• Cannabis in the NFL: Is Marijuana the Key to Athletic Success?
• MMA Fighters Combat Aches and Pains with CBD Oil Topical Application

Studies and Surveys

National Science Foundation awards 3 year, $591,628 grant to study new hemp uses

• Study: Cannabis Effective for Treating Chemotherapy Side Effects
• Competitive Enterprise Institute publishes a report highlighting what it says is a “double standard” whereby pot is treated more favorably than nicotine
• Vaping of cannabis and nicotine by U.S. 19-to-22-year-olds more than doubled between 2017 and 2019
• Study: Orally administered cannabis extract had a pharmacological effect of weight loss in diet-induced obese mice
• Study of people’s perceptions about cannabis warning labels finds that “warnings about psychosis and addiction were less believable than impaired driving.”
• Study: Cannabis use significantly associated with greater subsequent total sleep time
• Study: CBD increases serotonin receptor activity in crayfish as seen with SSRIs, thus could be of use in treating anxiety.
• Study identifies “significant substitution effect between light cannabis and anxiolytics, sedatives, opioids, anti-depressants and anti-psychotics.”
• First clinical trial on psilocybin therapy with simultaneous administration and one-on-one patient support to treat depression in cancer patients was launched.

Women

• Study: Men Want Marijuana After A Few Drinks—Women, Not So Much. Is Weed Gendered?
• Women-owned company at the forefront of Arkansas’ emerging cannabis industry
• Medical marijuana cultivation facility managed by women likely to be first to open in Missouri
• Flowr’s Nicole Wolff on Breaking Down Stigmas, Chasing Data and Building Loyalty

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States

Alabama

Decorated Iraq War veteran Sean Worsley denied community supervision, facing 5 years in prison for pot possession

Arizona

• Slim Majority Of Arizona Voters Support Legalization Ballot Measure, New Poll Finds

Arkansas

• Arkansas medical marijuana sales top 11 tons

California

• Oakland is funding a cannabis manufacturing incubator for social equity operators
• Deputies Not After Cannabis in Wildfire Evacuation Zones
• Publicly funded cannabis social equity kitchen launched
• California regulators released a unified cannabis license search tool
• Key Partnership to Help Train Local and State Regulators
• California Employment Laws, COVID-19 & Cannabis: How New Regulations Impact Cannabis Businesses
• Cannabis tax money goes to fund the cops

Colorado

• Marijuana Sales Smash Previous Monthly Record, Cross $200 Million
• Denver, Colorado’s Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel holds its fourth meeting
• Colorado regulators adopt emergency coronavirus-related rules for pot businesses
• Council hears from residents on marijuana in Grand Junction
• CO Department of Agriculture appoints new members to Hemp Advisory Committee

Connecticut

• The Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis projects that legalizing cannabis would boost the state’s GDP by between $953 million and $1.7 billion
• Study Shows Cannabis Legalization Would Bring In $1B Over Five Years

Florida

• Florida medical cannabis edibles sales could reach $250 million in first full year
• St. Petersburg Veteran Survives COVID, Rebuilds CBD Business
• One Plant Florida plans its 1st Orlando-area medical marijuana dispensary

Georgia

• Coweta continues to prosecute marijuana cases

Idaho

• ACLU calls for supporters of legalizing marijuana to contact lawmakers before vote

Illinois

• Illinois (Yet Again) Breaks Monthly Marijuana Sales Record
• Pritzker’s team to meet with critics of cannabis licensing process
• Illinois ‘reviewing questions’ before setting cannabis dispensary license lottery date
• Lawmakers to Pritzker: Pot shop applicants will drop lawsuit if they can fix applications, challenge scoring
• Gov. Pritzker (D) appoints members to Adult Use Cannabis Health Advisory Committee

Indiana

• Marijuana, policing reform and ‘Black lives matter’: Where Holcomb and Myers differ on the issues

Iowa

• Iowa regulators publish market analysis of the state’s limited medical cannabis program
• Medical marijuana dispensary license approved for Iowa City
• State ‘reviewing questions’ before setting marijuana dispensary license lottery date

Kentucky

• Kentucky Hemp Industries Association changes name following merger
• The FDA is killing Kentucky’s most promising crop

Maryland

• Suit Over Maryland’s Medical Marijuana Licensing Scheme Bounced

Michigan 

• Gun and ganja photos don’t belong on social media. Detroit man learns it the hard way
• Michigan regulators announce a recall of medical cannabis products that failed testing for yeast and mold

Minnesota

• Sensible Change MN releases a voter guide for upcoming legislative elections
• Cannabis dispensary to open in Hermantown by November

Mississippi

• Mississippi Medical Marijuana Ballot Language Threatens To Confuse Voters With Two Questions
• Ag Commissioner Gipson on why he opposes Initiative 65 on medical marijuana

Missouri

• Missouri Democrats Allege Foul Play In Medical Cannabis Licensing
• Missouri Sends $2.1M In Medical Pot Revenue To Military Veterans Health Programs
• Editorial: Parson’s rollout of medical marijuana industry has been an expensive debacle
• Parson responds to claims governor’s office interfered with medical marijuana probe

Montana

• Familiar face leads new charge against recreational pot measure
• Millions given to campaign to legalize recreational marijuana
• Montana Chamber of Commerce opposes the state’s pot legalization ballot measures

Nebraska

• Nebraska Medical Marijuana Activists Will Pursue 2022 Ballot Measure After Court Blocks This Year’s Effort
• Editorial: Latest medical marijuana setback falls squarely on Nebraska lawmakers

Nevada

• Jackpot fights for survival as gambling crushed by COVID. Will a pot dispensary help?
• Officials speak on what a marijuana dispensary could mean for Highway 93

New Jersey

• New Jersey Residents Set To Vote On Amendment Legalizing Recreational Marijuana
• NJ voters weigh putting pot legalization in constitution
• Influential Cannabis Companies Advocate To Legalize Cannabis in NJ Using Banner Planes

New Mexico

• New Mexico Governor Calls For Marijuana Legalization To Fund Medicaid Amid Coronavirus Budget Crunch

Ohio

• Ohio hemp farmers lobby for less regulation
• Ohio set new monthly medical marijuana sales record in July

Oklahoma

• New Oklahoma medical cannabis rules take effect
• Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority to Revise Proposed Rules

Oregon

• Oregon regulators approve permanent rules for cannabis curbside delivery
• Oregon regulators release an updated list of approved pesticides for cannabis
• Oregon regulators are surveying pot businesses about the impact of recent wildfires

Pennsylvania

• Top Pennsylvania Official Says State’s Farmers Can Grow Better Marijuana Than New Jersey’s
• Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that a rejected medical cannabis business license applicant can see its application scores
• PA Supreme Court hears arguments in a case on whether redacted portions of medical cannabis business license applications should be disclosed
• Florida company to buy two Pittsburgh-area cannabis companies

Rhode Island

• Rhode Island Currently Receiving Applications For Compassion Center Licenses

Tennessee

• Cannabis rally organized in hopes for legislation changes

Texas

• Medical Pot Should Be Legal For Toothaches, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Says
• Texas judge hears arguments in a case challenging the state’s ban on smokable hemp
• GOP Congressional Candidate In Texas Goes All-Out For Pot Reform Ahead Of Election
• Dallas City Council member planning to introduce a pot decrim proposal

Utah

• Lawsuit over Utah’s replacement of medical cannabis ballot initiative is dropped

Virginia

• Virginia House And Senate Approve Marijuana Expungement Bills
• Richmond’s mayor tweets about speaking at the National Cannabis Policy Summit
• Opinion: Virginia has made good progress on police reform. It should finish strong. 
• VA Rep touts federal funding for a project to use hemp for “improving environmental effects of acid mine drainage.”

Washington

• Federal Marijuana Rules Block Some Washington Employers from Hiring
• State regulators take actions on rules concerning cannabis vapor products, processor and retailers licenses and vitamin E acetate

Washington, D.C.

• D.C. legalized marijuana, but one thing didn’t change: Almost everyone arrested on pot charges is Black

West Virginia

• State is ready to announce its first medical cannabis farms

Wyoming

• Hemp’s stumbles reveal hurdles in Wyoming’s race to diversify

International  

Asia

• Cannabis, hemp, CBD: the Japanese cannabis landscape
• Philippine Dangerous Drugs Board warns against using cannabinol-infused vapes
• India: Why are we persecuting Rhea Chakraborty when Demands for Legalisation of Cannabis are Growing?

Australia

• Australia sees 5,000 cannabis patient approvals for second straight month
• Australia unprepared for over-the-counter medical cannabis sales
• Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration’s Decision Opens Doors for Creso Pharma
• Medical cannabis trial underway for Australian football players with chronic pain

Barbados

• New approach for possession of small quantities of marijuana to be implemented

British Virgin Islands

• Virgin Islands’s medical cannabis industry on hold until governor reviews legislation

Canada

• Canadian Ads Use Jokes (Not Fear) to Discourage Driving on Edibles
• Trudeau Liberals give $300K to “Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs”
• Check out Canadian Evergreen, a new cannabis publication for adults
• Health Canada grants an exemption for another church to legally import, use ayahuasca
• Canadian Cannabis Events Firm Lift & Co Files for Bankruptcy

European Union

• Deep-dive: Cannabis Pilot Programs Are Sprouting in Europe
• Recreational cannabis projects beginning to emerge in Europe
• Up in smoke? Hemp farmers fear EU decision
• Czech medical cannabis sales show timid growth despite insurance coverage
• Insurance-covered medical cannabis falls for the first time in Germany

Israel

• What legalized cannabis in Israel could look like
• Israel to increase import requirements, limiting cannabis export opportunities

Mexico

• Mexico’s Senate Reconvenes While Cannabis Grows Nearby
• Rapper G Herbo says he paid Mexican authorities $2K to avoid jail time after they found his pile of pot

New Zealand

• Cannabis referendum: Jacinda Ardern reveals why she won’t publicly take a side
• New Zealand PM stirs up debate on her position on pot after she is spotted trying hemp ice cream
• New Zealand cannabis market estimated at NZ$1.5 billion, 74,000 kilograms
• Election 2020: The pros and cons of legal cannabis to be debated

South America

• Colombian lawmakers debate marijuana legislation
• Use and consumption of recreational cannabis in Colombia
• Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez vetoes a cannabis decriminalization bill

UK

• Medical cannabis companies cleared for London stock market
• Police anger as officers are told they CAN’T stop and search suspects because they smell of cannabis

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