United States
Higher than US
Lower than US
US Average
Usage in last month, 2016-2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health State Estimates
Marijuana & Legalization
Queer roots and major players in Georgia’s medical marijuana boom
10/4/19--Many LGBTQ people are at the center of the growth of the marijuana industry. Colton Griffin, CEO of Flourish, an Atlanta-based company that helps medical marijuana companies monitor logistics, is one of the LGBTQ people playing a role in Georgia’s booming medical marijuana business. Read Marijuana reform should focus on inequality
10/5/19--Each state that reforms its marijuana laws must decide how it will allocate production rights. Currently, states severely restrict the number of licenses awarded to cannabis growers, ensuring corporate domination of the industry. Rules favor well-connected corporate growers rather than independent farmers, much less independent farmers of color. Read Kroger’s Houston-area stores start selling CBD products
8/22/19--As part of a broader company rollout, supermarkets in The Kroger Co.’s Houston division have begun the sale of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) topical products. Kroger said yesterday that CBD lotions, balms, oils and creams are now on shelves at 88 stores in Houston and the surrounding area, as well as online via the Ship.Kroger.com direct-to-customer service and the retailer’s Vitacost.com e-commerce unit. Read Pot Industry underestimates old-school dealers
8/19/19--In the United States where marijuana is legal, traditional drug dealers are still formidable competitors. The black market will also loom large for investors. The U.S. marijuana market is huge, yet it still remains to be seen how much business remains in the hands of illegal dealers. Read Key congressional chairman sends marijuana email to NORML activists
8/12/19--The chairman of the influential House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who last month filed legislation to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and begin repairing the harms of prohibition enforcement, authored a message to NORML's email list on Monday asking the advocacy group's supporters to write their own members of Congress in support of his bill, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act. Read Marijuana & Health
A National Survey of Marijuana Use Among US Adults With Medical Conditions, 2016-2017
9/20/19--A survey examining the prevalence and patterns of marijuana use among adults with and without medical conditions using data from 169 036 participants in the 2016 and 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys found that, compared with adults without medical conditions, adults with medical conditions had a significantly higher prevalence of current and daily marijuana use, were more likely to report using marijuana for medical reasons, and were less likely to report using marijuana for recreational purposes. Read A national survey of marijuana use among US adults with medical conditions, 2016-2017
9/20/19--This survey study using data from 169,036 participants in the 2016 and 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys found that, compared with adults without medical conditions, adults with medical conditions had a significantly higher prevalence of current and daily marijuana use, were more likely to report using marijuana for medical reasons, and were less likely to report using marijuana for recreational purposes. Read Interactive effects of PTSD and substance use on suicidal ideation and behavior in military personnel
9/2/19--Results from a study examining the unique and interactive effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and days using alcohol, opioids, and marijuana on PTSD symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior indicate suggest marijuana, especially for military personnel experiencing elevated PTSD symptoms may negatively impact suicidal thoughts and behavior. These results are relevant to suggestions that medical marijuana could be used in treating or augmenting treatment for PTSD. Read CDC launches probe into surge of severe lung disease cases linked to vaping
8/20/19--The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating the sudden emergence of severe lung disease linked to vaping in 14 states. Ninety-four possible cases of severe lung illness associated with vaping were reported from the end of June to Aug. 15, the CDC reported on Saturday. Thirty of those cases were in Wisconsin alone. Other states that appear to be especially affected are Illinois, California, New York, Indiana and New Jersey. Read Spending on illicit drugs in US nears $150 billion annually
8/20/19--Spending on cannabis, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine by Americans reached nearly $150 billion in 2016, with a large proportion of spending coming from the small share of people who use drugs on a daily or near-daily basis, according to a new RAND Corporation report. Read Marijuana & Safety
EPA announces review of pesticide applications for hemp
8/21/19--The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Wednesday that it is seeking public input on 10 pesticide applications for hemp. The pesticides under consideration are already approved for use on other crops, but that approval does not yet extend to hemp. In a draft notice set to be published in the Federal Register, EPA said providing hemp farmers with this tool “will likely be essential to supporting the success of this industry going forward.” Read Highway Accident Brief: Collision between passenger train and refuse truck at active grade crossing, Crozet, Virginia
3/20/19--The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the crash in Crozet, Virginia, was the truck driver’s decision to enter an active grade crossing and his inaction when he encountered obstacles while attempting to cross the railroad tracks, most likely due to his impairment from the combined effects of the drugs marijuana and gabapentin. Read As legal pot farms expand, so do air pollution worries
1/24/19--Researchers want to know more about how pot farms affect air quality. One study, for instance, suggested that more than 600 indoor pot farms in Denver could be worsening the city's air pollution. Next month, Colorado officials will launch one of the largest studies to date of pot farm emissions. Those findings could also aid regulators across the nation, who face a dearth of data as they try to evaluate the pot industry's potential effects on indoor and outdoor air quality as well as worker health. Read Driving under the influence of cannabis among medical cannabis patients with chronic pain
1/9/19--Driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) is a public health concern among those using medical cannabis. Understanding behaviors contributing to DUIC can inform prevention efforts. A recent study evaluated three past 6-month DUIC behaviors among medical cannabis users with chronic pain. With more research needed on how to best measure DUIC, prevention messaging for DUIC may be enhanced by addressing alcohol co-consumption. Read NASA to launch safety review of SpaceX and Boeing after video of Elon Musk smoking pot rankled agency leaders
11/20/18--NASA has ordered a safety review of Boeing and SpaceX, the two companies it has hired to fly astronauts to the International Space Station. A months-long assessment would involve hundreds of interviews designed to assess the culture of the workplaces. The review was prompted by the recent behavior of SpaceX’s founder, Elon Musk after he took a hit of marijuana and sipped whiskey on a podcast streamed on the Internet. Read Marijuana & Commerce
Active cannabis marketing and adolescent past-year cannabis use
11/1/19--According to a study published in Science Direct, youth who engage with cannabis promotions and brands had higher odds of past-year cannabis use. After adjusting for several possible confounders, youth who liked or followed a cannabis business on at least one social media platform had 5 times higher odds of past-year cannabis use. Read Queer roots and major players in Georgia’s medical marijuana boom
10/4/19--Many LGBTQ people are at the center of the growth of the marijuana industry. Colton Griffin, CEO of Flourish, an Atlanta-based company that helps medical marijuana companies monitor logistics, is one of the LGBTQ people playing a role in Georgia’s booming medical marijuana business. Read American Bar Association hosts cannabis executives in Illinois
9/20/19--The American Bar Association hosted a roundtable discussion in Chicago on Thursday during which executives from some of the cannabis industry’s biggest companies debated current trends in the industry and weighed predictions about what’s next. Read Black market pot entered CannTrust facility, flowed into legal market last year: Sources
9/6/19--Senior operating staff working at CannTrust Holdings Inc.’s Pelham, Ont. facility late last year brought marijuana seeds from the black market into production rooms, leading to some illicitly-grown pot flowing into the legal market, according to internal company documents obtained by BNN Bloomberg and four sources directly familiar with the matter. Read Medical marijuana company advancing despite legal pushback in the U.S.
8/22/19--About a half hour south of Albany, Curaleaf is a facility that has thousands of plants that will eventually be converted into prescription medicine for cancer and AIDs patients, as well as those who suffer from seizures and other severe illnesses. The company says it's pleased with the pace New York has been on to expand the program to other illnesses. Read Marijuana & Culture
Dr. Sanjay Gupta on medical marijuana: We are in an age of wisdom, but also an age of foolishness
9/27/19--According to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, we are in an age of wisdom, but also an age of foolishness. Gupta further states that great strides have been made with with medical marijuana, but some of the same mistakes that led cannabis to be vilified and misunderstood in the first place have been repeated. Read Miley Cyrus-backed cannabis cafe brings Amsterdam to Hollywood
9/28/19--Lowell Cafe, America’s first lounge to allow consuming cannabis, opens on Monday in West Hollywood. For the first time in the country, customers will legally be able to order pot that can be smoked in pre-rolled joints or vaped -- even as the industry is grappling with a spike in lung damage and deaths linked to vaping. Read Snoop Dogg draws thousands in Ontario for marijuana dispensary grand opening
10/6/19--Thousands of people crowded Hotbox Farms in Ontario Saturday for the dispensary's grand opening, and to see artist Snoop Dogg perform live. Hotbox Farms is the third dispensary to open in Ontario, and the opening comes as Oregon Governor Kate Brown announces a temporary ban on flavored vaping products. Read Senate committee approves McConnell’s push for a fast, lenient FDA policy on CBD
9/20/19--The Senate Appropriations Committee approved Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s additions to the 2020 Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill. If implemented, the bill will require the Food and Drug Administration to pick up speed on developing more permissive guidance on hemp-derived CBD products, paving the way for increased business opportunities. Read Ziggy Marley smoked marijuana at 9
8/22/19--Ziggy Marley started smoking marijuana at the age of nine. The 50-year-old musician "can't even remember" when he had his first puff of the psychoactive drug but he knows he was "too young" to dabble with marijuana and only did it because his father Bob Marley encouraged him to do so as part of their religion. Read Marijuana & Enforcement
Black market pot entered CannTrust facility, flowed into legal market last year: Sources
9/6/19--Senior operating staff working at CannTrust Holdings Inc.’s Pelham, Ont. facility late last year brought marijuana seeds from the black market into production rooms, leading to some illicitly-grown pot flowing into the legal market, according to internal company documents obtained by BNN Bloomberg and four sources directly familiar with the matter. Read Police dogs can’t tell the difference between hemp and marijuana
8/12/19--Because marijuana and hemp are both from the cannabis plant and smell identical, dogs can’t tell the difference, so both the Ohio Highway Patrol and the Columbus Division of Police are suspending marijuana-detection training for new police dogs to uncomplicate probable cause issues in court. Read The link between pot and mass shootings may be closer than we think
8/7/19--According to an article published in the New York Post, a connection between increasing marijuana use, mental illness, and the recent spate of mass shootings by disturbed young males cannot be ruled out. Just last year, the Parents Opposed to Pot lobby group tried to sound the alarm on the link between marijuana and mass shootings, compiling a list of mass killers it claims were heavy users of marijuana from a young age. Read Senators are angry that marijuana sentences are longer than Paul Manafort’s
3/8/19--A lot of people, including U.S. senators, are picking up on the sentencing disparity that exists between repeatedly defraud financial institutions and the government versus non-violent marijuana offenses and the illegal possession of marijuana in a prohibition state. Read Ending weed prohibition hasn’t stopped drug crimes
12/7/18--A study recently published in The Economic Journal found that after medical marijuana was legalized in California, violent crime fell 15 percent. Yet, authorities in California’s Emerald Triangle, say that ever since California’s 1996 medical-marijuana initiative, violent crime in Humboldt, in particular, has increased. According to Ben Filippini, a deputy sheriff in this jurisdiction, "All legalization did here was create a safe haven for criminals.” Read