Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at a proposal to legalize adult-use cannabis in Pennsylvania, using CBD to treat Parkinson’s disease, cannabis research and DOGE and more. Enjoy.
Cannabis News and Notes
Lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives have approved a proposal to legalize adult-use cannabis.
The Health Committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has approved a bill that would legalize adult-use cannabis and manage its sale through a series of state-owned stores. This would be similar to the way in which alcohol is sold in the Keystone State. The bill passed in committee in a party-line vote of 14-12, with all Republican committee members in opposition.
According to Kyle Jaeger, reporting for Marijuana Moment, under the bill, the Liquor Control Board (LCB) would directly control the retail side of the industry and would also be responsible for licensing marijuana cultivation, processing, transportation and on-site consumption businesses that could be privately owned.
Jaeger also makes the point that the legislation specifies that cannabis shops could not sell more than 42.5 grams of marijuana, which would be the possession limit, to an adult within a 24-hour period. Cannabis flower could not contain more than 25 percent THC and edibles would be limited to five milligrams of THC per serving, with a maximum 25 milligrams total.
In addition, adults who obtain a home cultivation permit from the LCB would be able to grow up to two mature and two immature plants in a secure location at their residence for personal use.
According to the bill, cannabis products sold at licensed shops would be subject to a 12 percent excise tax. Revenue from those taxes would be deposited in a Cannabis Revenue Fund, managed by the Department of Revenue (DOR).
Said one of the bill’s sponsors. Rep. Rick Krajewski (D), “With legalization, we have the opportunity to rein in a market that is completely deregulated in terms of potency, content or labeling. We can promote public health while bringing hundreds of millions of public dollars that can be directed to the communities hit hardest by past criminalization.”
Added the bill’s co-sponsor, Rep. Dan Frankel (D), who chairs the House Health Committee, “By legalizing and regulating cannabis thoughtfully, we can avoid pitfalls that have marred roll outs in other states. Our plan will create clear rules that protect consumers, educate the public, and ensure that Pennsylvania small businesses and taxpayers—not out-of-state corporations—benefit from the profits.”
More specifically, supporters of the bill contend this approach would prevent existing multistate operators from monopolizing the legal cannabis market and excluding small businesses, and would better protect public health through tight regulation.
The bill was introduced on Sunday, May 4, advanced through the House Health Committee, which Frankel chairs, on Monday, May 5, and was approved on a second reading in the full chamber on Tuesday, May 6, in a vote of 102-101. All Democrats in the body voted in favor of the legislation and all Republicans were opposed. A third reading vote, expected soon, would send the measure to the Senate.
Now before anyone engages in any aggressive bong shopping based on this news, it’s always wise to remember there can be many a slip between the cup and the lip, including, in this case, a competing bipartisan legalization measure that’s expected to be unveiled soon. Plus, any measure approved in the House must pass the Senate before being sent to the Governor.
State Sen. Sharif Street (D), who supports legalizing recreational cannabis through medical dispensaries, doesn’t believe there are enough votes in the Senate to get the state store model to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Only time will tell if this bill is the well-known straw that breaks Republican intransigence on the issue of adult-use cannabis in Pennsylvania.
As always, Kyle Jaeger’s reporting is clear, concise and on point. To learn more, visit the May 5, 2025 issue Marijuana Moment.net.
Cannabis Corner
There may be hopeful news for those who have Parkinson’s disease. A new study indicates treating the condition with CBD may help to eliminate its symptoms and improve a patient’s quality of life.
Recently, a team of researchers affiliated with Buriram Hospital in the Kingdom of Thailand conducted a double-blind, randomized controlled trial at the hospital that involved 60 subjects with the condition.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a movement disorder characterized by motor symptoms such as tremors, slowed movement that affects both voluntary and automatic motions (bradykinesia), rigidity, and postural instability, along with non-motor symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, psychosis, and cognitive decline—all of which can significantly diminish a person’s quality of life.
In the study, sixty patients were organized into two groups. One was a group of 30 individuals who received a placebo. The other was a group of thirty individuals that was known as the CBD group. Individuals in the CBD group each received a CBD-enriched product that contained a mixture of CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as [THC]), which was delivered under the patient’s tongue. THC is perhaps best known as the ingredient in cannabis associated with intoxication.
The research team reported that the primary outcome among the members of the CBD group was improvement in various cognitive domains, such as delayed recall scores, as measured by an assessment tool known as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).
During the delayed recall assessment, the examiner gives the following instructions: “I read some words to you earlier, which I asked you to remember. Tell me as many of those words as you can remember.” One point is allocated for each word recalled freely without any cues.
The MoCA assessment tool was designed as a rapid screening instrument for mild cognitive dysfunction. It assesses different aspects of cognition, such as attention and concentration, executive functions, memory, language, visuoconstructional skills, conceptual thinking, calculations, and orientation.
Secondary outcomes measured by the research group included other MoCA components, motor examination, anxiety/depression, inflammatory markers, renal/liver function, and adverse events. CBD and THC levels were also measured at 12 weeks.
The research team concluded at the end of the 12-week trial, during which 30 subjects received 26 mg of sublingual CBD a day, that CBD was safe, with no adverse effects on motor, cognitive, or affective symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s diseases. MoCA naming scores also improved.
The team believes that future studies should investigate higher doses of CBD and what they described as targeted naming tests.
The study was published in the June 2025 issue (Volume 135) of the journal Parkinsonism & Related Disorders. To read an abstract of the study, click on the following link.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1353802025005826
Cannabis and the Law
President Trump’s nominee to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Terrance Cole, has refused to commit to the cannabis rescheduling process that was recommended by federal health officials under the Biden Administration and would designate cannabis as a Schedule III drug.
Drugs are classified by the federal government as Schedule III if they are determined to have a legitimate medical use and moderate potential for misuse and addiction.
According to Graham Abbott, reporting for Ganjapreneur, Cole is a former DEA agent who spent 22 years with the agency and is currently the Virginia Secretary of Public Safety.
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, California Sen. Alex Padilla (D) asked Cole about his position on rescheduling cannabis.
Said Cole, in response, “I need to understand more where [agencies] are and look at the science behind it and listen to the experts and really understand where they are in the process.”
Added Cole during the hearing, “If confirmed, it’ll be one of my first priorities when I arrived (sic) at DEA to see where we are in the administrative process. I’m not familiar exactly where we are, but I know the process has been delayed numerous times — and it’s time to move forward.”
When pressed on his commitment, or lack of it, to move cannabis to Schedule III, Cole responded by saying, “I’m leaving the door open to studying everything that’s been done so far, so I can make a determination.”
To learn more, we urge you to read Graham Abbott’s reporting in the May 2, 2025 issue of Ganjapreneur.com.
www.ganjapreneur.com/trump-nominee-to-lead-dea-wont-commit-to-schedule-iii-for-cannabis/?
Cannabis and DOGE
The Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has cancelled another marijuana-related federal grant. This time it has targeted a program that tracked cannabis potency levels in illicit products seized by law enforcement.
That’s the word from Kyle Jaeger, reporting for Marijuana Moment. According to Jaeger, the contract the federal government had with the University of Mississippi that was cancelled by DOGE involved analyzing samples of cannabis submitted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and state and local law enforcement agencies.
Said a spokesperson for the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in a statement, “Samples tested in the laboratory are classified into one of three categories: cannabis (plant material), hashish (dried resin), and hash oil (cannabis extract). Each sample is analyzed by gas chromatography for the major psychotropic component, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well various cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD).”
This research, which has been conducted for many years by the University of Mississippi alone, provided law enforcement with a window on the potency of illicit cannabis that is available “on the street.”
In his article, Jaeger noted that the data collected through the program shows a gradual increase in THC potency and little change in CBD content over the last three decades. Samples collected in 1995 showed an average of 3.96 percent THC, compared to 16.14 percent THC in 2022.
Jaeger also pointed out that the contract cancellation comes about two months after DOGE separately promoted the end of a grant meant to fund a study examining cannabis use risks among LGBTQ+ individuals, non-binary people and heterosexual women.
You can learn much more by reading Kyle Jaeger’s reporting in the May 6, 2025 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-528-8753.
