Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at Vice President Harris’s position on cannabis, a new report on cannabis policy from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, distinctions between medical and recreational cannabis and more. Enjoy.
Cannabis Quote of the Week
“I just feel strongly, people should not be going to jail for smoking weed. And we know historically what that has meant and who has gone to jail.
Second, I just think we have come to a point where we have to understand that we need to legalize it and stop criminalizing this behavior.
Actually this is not a new position for me. I have felt for a long time we need to legalize it. So that’s where I am on that.”—Vice President Kamala Harris.
The comments by the Vice President are taken from an interview she sat for on the podcast All The Smoke. The podcast, which is unapologetically pro cannabis, is hosted by two former NBA players, Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
Tom Angell, who reported on the Vice President’s comments for Marijuana Moment, acknowledges in his article that as a Senator, Vice President Harris sponsored a federal cannabis legalization bill.
Angell also noted in his article that Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz recently stated that he thinks marijuana legalization is an issue that should be left to individual states, adding that electing more Democrats to Congress could also make it easier to pass federal reforms, such as cannabis banking protections.
Angell points out that Walz has identified two incremental reform issues he supports in particular: medical marijuana access for veterans who receive healthcare through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as well as passage of federal legislation that would ease restrictions for banks that do business with marijuana companies.
Given that former President Donald Trump has said that he now supports federal marijuana rescheduling and marijuana banking access, this marks the first presidential tilt during which the candidates of the two major parties have both staked out pro cannabis positions.
Talk about a change election.
To learn more, particularly about the evolution of the positions of both Harris and Walz on the issue of cannabis, we urge you to read the article by Tom Angell in the September 30, 2024 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/kamala-harris-says-we-need-to-legalize-marijuana-for-first-time-as-democratic-presidential-nominee/?
Cannabis and Public Health
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine contends that the disconnect between the states and the federal government when it comes to cannabis leads to fragmented policies, and puts the public at risk.
So says Pien Huang, reporting for National Public Radio. Huang makes the point that as individual states built new commercial markets for cannabis, they initially focused on regulating sales and revenue. Said Dr. Steven Teutsch, chair of the National Academies committee that wrote the report on how cannabis impacts public health, “The consequence of that is the public health aspects were often given a backseat and we’re now playing catch up for that.
In her article, Huang identifies what she believes are five key takeaways from the report, in addition to calling for federal leadership and national standards on cannabis quality and potency, to safeguard public health:
1. People consume cannabis more regularly than alcohol in the U.S.
In 2022, more U.S. adults reported using cannabis than alcohol on a near-daily basis, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. It was the first time that regular marijuana use surpassed regular alcohol use.
2. Weed and vapes can be super potent and that’s not always disclosed
The concentration of THC in cannabis flower has increased over time. “I think most people are aware of the phenomenon that ‘this is not your grand daddy’s weed’… I hear this all the time,” Staci Gruber, with the Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital, told NPR in 2019.
3. You can get psychoactive hemp products even in states where cannabis is illegal
Thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill — which defined a subset of cannabis as hemp, and excluded it from the Controlled Substances Act — there’s been a boom in products containing hemp-derived chemicals. These include CBD and delta-8 THC, a psychoactive compound extracted and synthesized from CBD, and they can be sold in states that have not legalized cannabis.
4. Research on cannabis is stifled
Scientific research on the health effects of cannabis has advanced little in recent years, because there are huge barriers to studying the drug. Since cannabis is classified as a Schedule I substance, researchers often can’t get it for studies. Even if they can acquire it, they have to contend with a variety of complicated regulations.
5. Cannabis can be dangerous but people hear more about its benefits than risks
Dr. Yasmin Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at Mt. Sinai and vice chair of the NASEM committee, believes people tend to think that cannabis is less dangerous once it’s been legalized. But, said Hurd, many people have not been fully informed of the potential harms associated with THC consumption— psychosis, suicidal ideation, cannabis use disorder — which she says can increase as the dose increases.
Huang closes her article by noting that the report also calls for public health campaigns that describe the risks, especially for kids and young adults, those who are pregnant and the elderly and for training cannabis retail staff so they can talk knowledgeably about the risks and benefits to customers.
Pien Huang does an excellent job of unpacking a complicated story. To learn much more about the report and the committee’s recommendations, we urge you to read her reporting in the September 28, 2024 issue of the website NPR.org.
Consumer Corner
In the real world, the distinction between using cannabis for recreational purposes and consuming it for its medicinal benefits is not always clear cut.
That’s a key finding of a new study by Dr. Amanda Reiman, Chief Knowledge Officer for New Frontier Data, and her colleagues. The study was designed to take a deep look into the concept of cannabis consumer identity.
The study revealed just over half of consumers (53 percent) identified their use as both medical and recreational. This supports the notion that, for many consumers, their motivation for use is variable in nature. One third of consumers (32 percent) say their use is only recreational, and 15 percent say they use cannabis for medical purposes only.
Dr. Reiman and her team also found that a consumer’s motivation for consumption was tied to differences in consumer behavior. For example, 70 percent of those who say their use is medical only always source from the same store, compared to 51 percent of those who say they only use cannabis for recreational purposes. This highlights, they believe, the need of medical consumers to find a consistent and reliable source of products that meet their needs.
To learn more, we urge you to read the work of Dr. Reiman and her team, which appears in the October 1, 2024 issue of Cannabis Insights, a publication of New Frontier Data.
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/all-cannabis-use-is-not-medical/?
To download a copy of their 2023 study on cannabis consumer behavior, click on the following link:
Available here for FREE download.
Cannabis Goes to War
Taking the next step in the legalization process, Ukrainian officials have approved a list of health conditions that will qualify patients for access to medical marijuana under the country’s new cannabis law.
So says Kyle Jaeger, reporting on the story for Marijuana Moment. According to Jaeger, Ukraine’s Ministry of Health has revealed a list of about 20 qualifying conditions for which medical cannabis can be prescribed to patients. At present, those conditions include multiple sclerosis, neuropathy, shingles, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, complications from chemotherapy, Parkinson’s disease, childhood epilepsy and weight loss associated with eating disorders.
The Ministry also noted that additional conditions could be added down the line if it’s deemed medically appropriate.
However, in a decision some might describe as curious, it doesn’t appear that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is currently a qualifying condition, even though during the run up to legalization, Ukraine officials promoted the notion that medical cannabis can help soldiers address physical and mental wounds incurred during the nation’s ongoing war with Russia.
The Ministry also stated that, “Taking a medicinal product based on cannabis should be stopped if the desired therapeutic effect is not obtained within 4-12 weeks or in case of serious adverse reactions (including those related to the mental state). We remind you that all activities related to medical cannabis will be strictly controlled by the state, and the recreational (non-medical) use of cannabis remains prohibited.”
Jaeger points out that since cannabis was moved from List I to List II of the country’s drug code, which made it available for medical use with a prescription, Ukraine has started to import marijuana products.
Ukraine’s Agrarian Policy Ministry, writes Jaeger, will oversee cannabis cultivation and processing operations while the National Police and State Agency on Medicines will also hold oversight and enforcement authorities related to the distribution of the medicine.
To learn more, we suggest reading Kyle Jaeger’s reporting in the September 27, 2024 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
Notable Numbers
This week’s notable number is 217,000. That’s how many marijuana-related arrests U.S.law enforcement made in 2023. According to new data from the FBI, 84 percent of those arrests were made for possession alone.
So says Noel Abbott, reporting for Ganjapreneur. In his article, Abbott notes that while this marks a slight decrease from the previous year, when over 227,000 marijuana arrests were reported, numerous advocates have taken the position that the number of arrests is still unacceptable given the growing public support for the legalization of cannabis.
Abbott points out that this new data reveals that Black Americans, who represent about 13.6 percent of the U.S. population, accounted for 29 percent of drug arrests in 2023, according to the data. This is consistent, he contends, with the long-standing position that people of color are disproportionately targeted for cannabis-related offenses, even though usage rates between racial groups are similar.
Abbott also reports that NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano holds that the data provided by the FBI is incomplete. Said Armentano, “At a time when voters and their elected officials nationwide are re-evaluating state and federal marijuana policies, it is inconceivable that government agencies are unable to produce more explicit data on the estimated costs and scope of marijuana prohibition in America.”
With apologies to Lawrence Peter Berra, prohibition is not over until it’s over.
Those who want to learn more can read Noel Abbott’s reporting in the September 27, 2024 issue of Ganjapreneur.com.
https://www.ganjapreneur.com/fbi-over-200k-cannabis-arrests-in-2023-racial-enforcement-disparity-continues/?
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.
