United States
Higher than US
Lower than US
US Average
Past-month marijuana use ages 12 and older, 2017-2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health State Estimates.
Marijuana & Legalization
Delta-8 available in 29 states while others try to ban it
9/1/21-- has been a sensation in the country. The popularity of Delta-8 THC soared throughout 2020 and many believed its reign of euphoric bliss would continue into 2021 and beyond. However, the federal government and the DEA are coming down in it, and several U.S. states are restricting or banning delta-8 is the result of confusing, conflicting, and unclear federal guidelines. Read Canadian cannabis industry ‘increasingly fragmented’ despite M&A
9/9/21--According to a report by Bank of Montreal analyst Tamy Chen, the Canadian cannabis industry is becoming more fragmented than ever, with the biggest licensed producers continuing to lose market share as a whole. Citing data from analytics firm Hifyre, the report notes that the top five licensed producers represented less than 40% of the Canadian market in August, down substantially from a year ago when the producers accounted for more than half of all retail sales. Read Updates on the European open-label, phase 2, multicenter feasibility study of manualized MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in subjects with PTSD
7/26/21--After more than 6 months of searching for suitable PTSD patients, we are very happy to report that the team at the research site in Klecany, Czech Republic, have successfully enrolled and treated their first participant in the last few weeks. Read Towards a more rational and compassionate drug policy
7/21/21--Just as Michael Pollan advises in his New York Times editorial on the drug, Dr. Bronner also openly expresses and reiterates in his article that instead of waging war on the people who use drugs, we should decriminalize personal possession, increase addiction treatment including psychedelic therapy, and crucially also, integrate a safe supply of drugs. Dr. Bronner further states that we need to wage war on poverty and heal trauma instead, the true breeding grounds for addiction in this country. Read Compliance with Cannabis Act regulations regarding online promotion among Canadian commercial cannabis-licensed firms
7/12/21--In this cross-sectional study of 261 Canadian cannabis-licensed firms, widespread violations were observed in online Canadian cannabis promotion. Among the 261 licensed firms, 86.3% with an online platform had at least 1 violation, which was significantly more likely to occur on social media compared with a website. A lack of age restrictions for youth, unsubstantiated claims, omission of risk information, and glamorization of cannabis products were found. Read Marijuana & Health
Frequent teenage cannabis use: Prevalence across adolescence and associations with young adult psychopathology and functional well-being in an urban cohort
11/1/21--This study aims to 1) examine the prevalence of cannabis use during adolescence, and 2) investigate links of frequent (i.e., weekly or daily) teenage cannabis use with psychopathology and functional well-being at age 20—compared to no or occasional use. Results indicate that frequent teenage cannabis use was common and associated with problematic substance use, more delinquency, and poorer functional well-being at age 20. Accordingly, frequent teenage cannabis users could experience increased difficulties in mastering the transitions of young adulthood. Read CDC Reports record high 12-month drug overdose death toll
10/14/21--Drug overdose deaths in the United States hit a new record for the 12-month period ending March 2021, new government data shows. A record high 96,779 drug overdose deaths occurred between March 2020 and March 2021, representing a 29.6% rise, new statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics found. Read Marijuana legalization was a mistake. Highly concentrated pot is destroying my son’s life.
10/17/21--Aubree Adams, director of Every Brain Matters and parent coordinator for a Houston recovery community, openly discusses in an op-ed her eldest son's addiction to marijuana and her initial denial of the fact until he attacked his younger brother and then tried to kill himself. She explains that marijuana, which has been linked to mental illness and psychosis in teens and young adults, slowly takes away your humanity, and says that this is what it did to her son. Read With overdose deaths soaring, DEA warns about fentanyl-, meth-laced pills
9/27/21-The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public warning Monday that a growing number of fake pills bought online are laced with potentially lethal amounts of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, and blamed social media sites for not doing more to protect their users. DEA Administrator Anne Milgram reported that the amounts are staggering, and she believes we're in the midst of an overdose crisis, and the counterfeit pills are driving so much of it. Read Medical cannabis authorization and the risk of cardiovascular events: a longitude cohort study
9/10/21--Cannabis is increasingly used for therapeutic purpose. However, its safety profile is not well known. This study assessed the risk of cardiovascular-related emergency department (ED) visit and hospitalization in adult patients authorized to use medical cannabis in Ontario, Canada from 2014 to 2017. Read Marijuana & Safety
Poison control centers nationally report rise in calls amid Delta-8 craze
7/26/21--Poison control centers across the country are reporting a rise in calls from those who have ingested the cannabinoid, delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). At least four states have issued public warnings regarding the cannabinoid, according to local news reports: Michigan, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. So far this year, as of July, the North Carolina Poison Control Center reported 157 cases related to delta-8, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. Virginia is reporting "dozens" of calls this year. Read House approves bill to let researchers access marijuana from state-legal dispensaries
7/1/21--The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a large-scale transportation bill that includes a provision that would allow researchers to access marijuana from state-legal dispensaries in order to effectively study impaired driving. Under the House-passed measure, a federal report would need to be issued with recommendations on establishing a national clearinghouse with samples of different types of marijuana that scientists from non-legal states could obtain for studies. Read Crash rates jump in wake of marijuana legalization, new studies show
6/7/21--More evidence is emerging that crash rates go up when states legalize recreational use and retail sales of marijuana. According to a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and another by the affiliated Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) show, crash rates spiked with the legalization of recreational marijuana use and retail sales in California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Read Republic Committee leaders introduce the STARTER Act 2.0 – an Investment in Roads, Bridges, Transit, and Highway Safety
5/19/21--Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) and other Republican Committee leaders today introduced a long-term surface transportation reauthorization bill that provides historic levels of investment in America’s roads, bridges, and core infrastructure to meet the Nation’s growing transportation needs. Read Cannabis legalization and link to increase in fatal collisions
4/6/21--Legalization of recreational cannabis may be associated with an increase in fatal motor vehicle collisions based on data from the United States, and authors discuss the implications for Canada in an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Read Marijuana & Commerce
Why corporate social responsibility is BS
9/26/21--According to Robert Reich, author and former US secretary of labor who is also professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley, big corporations would violate laws on worker safety, wages and hours and pensions, whenever doing so was cheaper than obeying the laws. And they’d fight like hell against such laws to begin with – all the while telling the public what wonderful citizens they were. Read Legal woes of CEO’s spouse bring marijuana MSO Trulieve unwanted attention
9/9/21--The recent criminal conviction of the husband of Trulieve Cannabis CEO Kim Rivers has cast an unflattering spotlight on the multistate marijuana operator, focusing attention on how the profitable company secured its Florida business license and renewing questions about its dealings with a construction firm partly owned by Rivers’ spouse. Read Phillip Morris International vets launch new agency for regulated industries
8/31/21--Jaime Suarez and Albert Moufarrij, , who both worked client side with tobacco company Philip Morris International, announced the launch of MACH9, which specializes in helping brands meet regulatory requirements while engaging with audiences online in a socially responsible way. Read No hangovers of beer bellies: Cannabis firms try to woo booze drinkers
8/3/21--Some of the largest cannabis companies in North America see a multibillion-dollar marijuana beverage industry waiting to be tapped as states increasingly embrace legal weed, but it’s struggling to boost a potentially lucrative market that centers on persuading Americans to drink their weed. Read Cannabis part of the future says tobacco giant
7/30/21--British American Tobacco (BAT), the UK's largest tobacco firm, says it sees cannabis as part of its future as it tries to move away from selling traditional cigarettes and "accelerate" its transformation by reducing the health impact of its products. In March, BAT took a stake in Canadian medical cannabis maker Organigram, and it also signed a deal to research a new range of adult cannabis products, initially focused on cannabidiol (CBD). Read Marijuana & Culture
Can the latest Olympic controversy change cannabis policy?
7/13/21--In an op-ed penned by Jordan Tishler, MD, cannabis specialist and President of the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists, he expresses his unique perspective on the science and the politics of cannabis and believes that this Olympic controversy pertaining to Sha'Carri Richardson's suspension is entirely a political problem. Tishler also firmly believes it is unfortunate that Richardson has become the victim of decades of racist policy and states it's time for these policies to be changed. Read Sha’Carri Richardson suspension underscore frustration with Biden’s marijuana policy
7/8/21--Advocates for marijuana legalization are expressing disappointment and frustration with the Biden administration’s response to Sha’Carri Richardson’s disqualification from the Tokyo Olympic Games, which they say highlights the White House’s refusal to move forward on cannabis policy. Read Apple now allows marijuana businesses on its App Store, while Google maintains ban
7/1/21--Apple will no longer prohibit marijuana delivery services from being hosted on its App Store—one of the latest pro-cannabis developments to come out of the tech industry. The policy was updated last month to remove the ban, with some restrictions. A marijuana app must be geo-restricted to jurisdictions where cannabis is legal, and the program must be “submitted by a legal entity that provides the services, and not by an individual developer.” Read Sha’Carri Richardson, a track sensation, tests positive for marijuana
7/1/21--The American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who was set for a star turn at the Tokyo Olympics this month, could miss the Games after testing positive for marijuana. The United States Anti-Doping Agency announced the positive test result Friday morning, and said Richardson had accepted a suspension of one month, starting on June 28. That could clear her in time to run in the 4x100 meter relay that takes place later in the Games — if she is named to the U.S. team. Read Illegal drugs trade goes digital for pandemic
6/9/21--According to Europe’s drugs agency, the illegal drugs trade went digital to serve its customers during lockdown, and could stay that way when the COVID-19 pandemic is over. The pandemic has forced changes to every level of the drugs trade, from wholesale traffickers and smugglers to neighborhood dealers. Read Marijuana & Enforcement
Murders spiked in 2020 in cities across the United States
9/27/21--The year-to-year increase in homicides from 2019 was the largest since national record-keeping began in 1960. But overall, major crimes declined last year. Overall, the toll of some 21,500 people killed last year is still well below the record set during the violence of the early 1990s. Still, several cities, like Albuquerque, Des Moines, Indianapolis, Memphis, Milwaukee and Syracuse, recorded their highest homicide numbers ever, according to the report. Read Frontline advocates view $26 bln opioid deal with frustration, worry
7/27/21--Four major U.S. drug companies Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal Health Inc (CAH.N) and McKesson Corp) agreed to a $26 billion settlement last week to end lawsuits over the opioid crisis, but treatment advocates expressed frustration that the money will be slow to arrive and worry it could be misspent. The distributors will make payments over 18 years and Johnson & Johnson over nine years. Read Federal officer charged in Jan. 6 Capitol riot
7/20/21--Mark Sami Ibrahim, a federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent, is the first federal law enforcement officer charged in connection to the insurrection. He was arrested Tuesday for illegally entering Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, according to court filings. Read States and cities near tentative $26 billion deal in opioid cases
7/20/21--The three largest pharmaceutical distributors and Johnson & Johnson are on the verge of a $26 billion deal with states and municipalities that would settle thousands of lawsuits over their role in the opioid epidemic and pay for addiction and prevention services nationwide. Read Opening access to psilocybin therapy for seriously ill patients: The petitioners’ opening brief in AIMS et al v DEA
5/19/21--Emerge Law Group represents a Seattle palliative care physician and co-director of an integrative oncology clinic, and a number of his patients with advanced cancer in a case seeking to open access to psilocybin therapy for patients with serious illness under state and federal Right to Try laws. Today they filed their brief, Petitioners Opening Brief, in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Read