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
Kroger, the largest grocery chain in the US, is lobbying on hemp
2/10/20--Grocery store giant Kroger, which has a large footprint in the midwest and south, is lobbying the federal government on hemp. It's the first company of its kind to do so, and indicated it is lobbying on “issues related to the regulation of topical products containing CBD oils and hemp derived products following the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill,” according to its Q4 2019 disclosures. Read Hemp rules give Minnesota farmers little room for error with law enforcement
2/17/20--Hemp farming drew heavy interest from Minnesota farmers as a fast-growing market for CBD oil emerged from nowhere. More than 500 growers and processors secured licenses under the state’s industrial hemp pilot program last year, but the business is perilous, and the rules give farmers little room for error. In fact, thirty growers in Minnesota were ordered to destroy their crops in 2019 after they tested too high for THC. Read The role of cannabidiol (CBD) in chronic pain management: An assessment of current evidence
2/3/20--Given the growing challenges in chronic pain management coupled with the ongoing consequences of the opioid epidemic, pain management practitioners are looking into more effective, innovative, and safer alternatives to treat pain. The use of CBD and its potential role in pain management was investigated by examining recent literature, but based on the available literature, it was deemed difficult to make a recommendation for the use of CBD in chronic pain management. Read Can cannabis cure cancer?
1/16/20--As published in JAMA Oncology, a thorough review by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found moderate evidence of no statistical association between cannabis use and the development of lung and head and neck cancers. Furthermore, limited evidence of a statistical association was found between cannabis use and the development of nonseminomatous testicular carcinomas without good support for a causative effect. Read Hemp states running pilot programs in 2020 starting to ask for deadline extensions
1/16/20--Six state agriculture departments have opted to run their 2020 hemp production programs under the existing rules; however, state agriculture officials in several of those states say their pilot programs’ expiration dates could lead to serious problems. Recommendations to the USDA have been made to extend the agency grant deadline to state pilot programs through the end of the 2020 calendar year. Read Marijuana & Health
Preclinical study links human gene variant to THC reward in adolescent females
2/12/20--A common variation in a human gene that affects the brain's reward processing circuit increases vulnerability to the rewarding effects of the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis in adolescent females, but not males, according to preclinical research. As adolescence represents a highly sensitive period of brain development with the highest risk for initiating cannabis use, these findings in mice have important implications for understanding the influence of genetics on cannabis dependence in humans. Read Medical Cannabis
2/11/20--Medical cannabis refers to preparations of the cannabis plant that patients use to treat medical conditions, and it has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years by many civilizations. As of January 2020, 33 states and the District of Columbia had put laws into place so physicians can certify the use of “medical marijuana,” or medical cannabis, for debilitating medical conditions—although cannabis remains illegal federally. Read
What should I know about medical cannabis?
2/11/20--The JAMA Internal Medicine Patient Page outlines pertinent details about medical marijuana, it's use, the dangers, and how it's regulated in the United States. Read ‘Dabbing’ concentrated THC is troubling new trend among teens
2/14/20--NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez joins TODAY to inform parents about a much more potent way to use marijuana called “dabbing” that is getting more popular among teens. Read Study: Frequent marijuana users make riskier decisions
2/15/20--A study using a card simulation where participants try to earn as much money as possible by choosing from different decks found that participants who used marijuana at least five times a week in the past year were prone to choosing decks with large rewards but larger losses, leading them to have a low net score for the task. Those who reported minimal to no use of marijuana chose decks with small rewards and small losses, but scored a high net score by the end of the task, researchers note. Read Marijuana & Safety
Appeals Court rules that New Jersey company must cover employee’s medical cannabis costs
1/17/20--An appeals court in New Jersey has ruled that an employer must reimburse a former employee for the cost of medical cannabis in a move that could have far-reaching effects for the industry. Steve Schain, senior attorney at Hoban Law Group, views the New Jersey ruling as a monumental moment for the medical cannabis industry and its patients for other reasons, too; namely, that it may encourage private insurance companies—and perhaps even government insurance—to also cover medical cannabis. Read Driving under the influence of marijuana and illicit drugs among persons aged ≥16 Years — United States, 2018
12/20/19--According to a report published by the CDC, during 2018 approximately 12 million (4.7%) U.S. residents aged ≥16 years reported driving under the influence of marijuana, and 2.3 million (0.9%) reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs other than marijuana during the past 12 months. Thus, further indicating that the use and co-use of alcohol and drugs has been associated with impairment of psychomotor and cognitive functions while driving. Read Car crashes in pot-legal states have soared
11/13/19--Car crashes in the first three states to legalize recreational marijuana have soared as law enforcement and regulators struggle to define driving high, let alone determine how to fight it. Colorado, Oregon, and Washington saw a combined 5.2% increase in the rate of police-reported crashes after legalizing recreational marijuana, compared with neighboring states where such sales are illegal, according to data compiled and analyzed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Researchers tallied crash rates between 2012 and 2016. Read 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 Marijuana & Commerce
Why Canopy Growth’s sales grew as Aurora Cannabis struggled to sell more weed
2/14/20--Canopy Growth Corp. logged fiscal third-quarter net revenue of C$123.8 million ($93.5 million), well higher than the FactSet consensus of C$105 million reflecting strong year-over-year and sequential growth. Whereas, Canadian cannabis companies like Aurora Cannabis Inc. have struggled to produce those types of results of late. Read Cans suck the THC buzz out of pot drinks. Where does that leave Canopy Growth?
2/13/20--Scientists have determined that liners inside aluminum cans can cause cannabis drinks to lose their potency. By the time a pot drink is put in a can, shipped, stored in a warehouse, displayed in a store, and consumed, the THC buzz may have diminished or disappeared. Canopy Growth has been the most active in the drinks category among Canadian licensed producers with the vast majority packaged in cans. Read 3 marijuana stocks that could be millionaire-makers
2/2/20--According to an article by Keith Speights published in The Motley Fool, stocks with the greatest likelihood of building fortunes tend to have small market caps and huge market opportunities. The marijuana stocks Speights believes investors can buy right now that hold the potential to be millionaire-makers are: Valens, Organigram, and Innovative Industrial Properties. Read This week’s top cannabis news: CEO departures at MedMen and Sundial, Stocks in red, good policy news
2/1/20--To summarize, Sundial Growers and MedMen lose their CEOs, and in other news, the Southern University and A&M College launched its own hemp-derived CBD product line, ALAFIA, in partnership with Ilera Holistic Healthcare. In the capital markets, stocks were mostly down in marijuana. Lastly, Australia launched its new cannabis laws, allowing people to grow their own marijuana and hold up to 50 grams of dried flowers, but maintain the sale of adult use marijuana prohibited. Read Whoopi & Maya cannabis company ceases operations
2/3/20--The celebrity marijuana company Whoopi & Maya has ceased operations. The company has stopped selling, manufacturing and marketing its products that were geared to women due to an irreconcilable split between the principles. Read Marijuana & Culture
Nuclear missile guards under investigation for marijuana use
2/15/20--Security guards at an Air Force base responsible for protecting strategic nuclear missiles in three states are under investigation for alleged marijuana use. They are part of the same security force whose members were caught using the hallucinogen LSD four years ago. Those under investigation have been removed from their duties until the probe is completed, the Air Force said. Read Mayor Pete’s ‘Plan B’ to legalize marijuana involves flying Air Force One around the country
2/2/10-- 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg recognizes that there are disagreements on the issue of marijuana legalization within Congress. Ideally, Buttigieg's would like to work with members of Congress from across the aisle on the issue, but if that approach doesn't work, he would put his hyperbolic “Plan B” into action for legalization by visiting the home district of any member standing in the way of his own voters and have a conversation with the voters about why this needs to happen. Read Indicted Parnas associate was set to partner with VA on cannabis research
2/3/20--Ukraine-born cannabis investor Andrey Kukushkin, who was working on a medical cannabis research deal with the Department of Veterans Affairs, is facing federal charges over an alleged plot to trade political donations for help obtaining marijuana licenses around the country. Kukushkin was indicted alongside the businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman and their associate David Correa. All four men have pleaded not guilty. Read ‘High Times’ will open two cannabis dispensaries
1/21/20--High Times is getting into the retail game by opening two cannabis dispensaries in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. These flagship dispensaries will carry a variety of High Times-branded merchandise alongside locally sourced cannabis products that have previously won awards at Cannabis Cup events. Read New York Times editorial board: Joe Biden
1/14/20--The editorial board of The New York Times conducted an interview with former vice president Joe Biden. He candidly discussed several matters, including policy issues, as well as what he considers mistakes of the 2016 Clinton campaign, and his current opposition to the federal legalization of marijuana. Read Marijuana & Enforcement
Proposed class action targets CBD maker over ADA website accessibility
2/7/20--Last month, a putative class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court against Charlotte’s Web, Inc., a Colorado-based maker of cannabidiol (“CBD”) oils, balms and gummies claiming that its website is not accessible to visually impaired shoppers, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Read Large-scale marijuana operation with Mass. ties shipped drugs in golf cart boxes, Feds say
1/19/20--William P. Murphy and Claudio Cardaropoli, co-conspirators in a $20 million nationwide marijuana trafficking ring, often shipped drugs in boxes purporting to contain golf carts, according to an FBI agent who testified at a hearing in U.S. District Court. Both have been charged with marijuana trafficking conspiracy, money laundering, and drug distribution. Read Study: Legalized recreational marijuana has little effect on crime in two states
10/17/19--A study by researchers at several universities finds that crime statistics haven’t changed much in two U.S. states that legalized recreational marijuana use and sales. The study focused on Colorado and Washington, the two first states to legalize recreational marijuana, and looked specifically at property-related and violent crimes. 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 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