Cory Gardner talks cannabis, reelection and Trump (Newsletter: May 28, 2020)

OR psilocybin & drug decrim campaigns file signatures; Lawmakers want investigation of botched drug raid; NE gov discourages cannabis petition

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

Oregon campaigns seeking to legalize psilocybin therapy and decriminalize drugs while expanding treatment access have both submitted what appears to be more than enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The secretary of state’s office has 30 days to verify the petitions, and activists plan to keep collecting signatures in the meantime in case there aren’t enough valid submissions.

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case from marijuana advocates who sought to challenge Ohio officials’ refusal to place their decriminalization measures on local ballots.

44 members of Congress, led by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA), are calling on the Department of Justice to investigate Louisville, Kentucky police’s shooting of unarmed woman Breonna Taylor in a botched drug raid.

/ FEDERAL

In a brief in a case challenging Illinois’s coronavirus stay-at-home order, the Department of Justice said that “rules that allow recreational marijuana dispensaries to operate, but not flower shops, may be a sign that State action is impermissibly arbitrary and bears ‘no real or substantial relation’ to its proffered public health end.”

The plaintiff in a federal RICO case against Oregon marijuana dispensaries dismissed her own claims.

Virginia Democratic congressional candidate Vangie Williams tweeted, “There exists enough evidence to suggest that medical cannabis can have some positive effects. Let’s conduct more studies and make an informed decision as to whether medical cannabis should be made legal.”

Florida Democratic congressional candidate Adam Christensen tweeted, “In terms of marijuana, I will fight to:⁠ -Legalize medical&recreational  -Vacate+expunge all past convictions⁠ -Prohibit tobacco companies from entering their market⁠ -Encourage market to be local+use $ from marijuana to reinvest in communities that suffered from War on Drugs”

/ STATES

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) discouraged people from circulating ballot petitions, including one to legalize medical cannabis, because he said it could spread coronavirus. Meanwhile, activists said they are optimistic about qualifying the measure.

The Louisiana House of Representatives approved a bill to clarify that licensed facilities and physicians serving medical cannabis patients are exempt from being prosecuted under certain drug laws.

California regulators reported that in the first quarter of the year, cannabis excise tax generated $68.3 million in revenue and the cultivation tax brought in another $16.4 million.

New Jersey’s top medical cannabis regulator suggested the state might make an announcement on allowing delivery services soon.

West Virginia regulators will begin accepting registrations for physicians to recommend medical cannabis on Thursday.

Washington State regulators will consider several marijuana rules on Wednesday.

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/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study of nursing home residents found that “medical cannabis treatment dramatically improved patients’ symptoms and their medical indexes” and that “as a result, the local physicians stopped prescribing drugs that were defined as unnecessary,” which indicates that “medical cannabis can be an effective treatment that also reduces the environmental drug load, thereby preventing water pollution.”

A study reviewed “the nature of 10 transpersonal or parapsychological experiences that commonly occur spontaneously and in relation to the use of psychedelic substances, namely synesthesia, extradimensional percepts, out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, entity encounters, alien abduction, sleep paralysis, interspecies communication, possession, and psi (telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance and psychokinesis).”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

The Nevada Republican Party is calling for an investigation into allegations that MedMen’s former CEO made an illegal “straw man” donation to Gov. Steve Sisolak’s (D) 2018 campaign.

/ BUSINESS

Aphria Inc. is leaving the New York Stock Exchange in favor of being listed on the Nasdaq.

Green Thumb Industries reportedly hired lobbyists to kill an Illinois bill that would have allowed dispensaries to move their locations.

Cresco Labs acquired four new medical cannabis dispensaries in Ohio.

A federal court dismissed a class-action lawsuit alleging that Elixinol, LLC’s CBD products were illegal.

Tilray, Inc. announced it is closing an Ontario cannabis greenhouse.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.