When Colorado became the first state to legalize cannabis, Washington quickly followed suit. At this time, entrepreneurs had big dreams. Tales of a magical lounge where people could light up, and a cannabis wellness center that infused the plant into yoga and massage flowed through conversations about what could come next for weed.
Federally funded medical research reveals marijuana not tied to autism.
Drinking, smoking and consuming marijuana while pregnant is never recommended. Over the course of history, woman have consumed liquor, especially during the period when clean water was hard to find, but child mortality was high. With advances in medicine, it has been discovered some activities, like drinking and smoking cigarettes, can cause harm to the baby. No one is saying expectant women should have booze, buds, or cigarettes. But early on, when a woman doesn’t know she is expecting, she might have engaged in these habits
One of the concerns circling around cannabis is how it can affect a baby’s development. While more research needs to be done, two new studies have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) which provides some good news. The first study focused on discovering if maternal cannabis use during early pregnancy associated with risk of child autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
This study included 178 948 mother-child combinations. The children were born between 2011 and 2019 to pregnant Kaiser Permanente Northern California members screened for prenatal cannabis use during pregnancy. Statistical analysis was conducted February 2023 to March 2024. The findings suggest maternal cannabis use during early pregnancy was not associated with child ASD, but additional research should be conducted to replicate the findings.
Another study released this week found maternal cannabis use during early pregnancy was not associated with speech and language disorders, global delay, or motor delay. The investigation into marijuana and childhood development and included 119 976 pregnancies among 106 240 unique pregnant individuals.
A reason for the study is with legal marijuana increased, this is increased discussion around it being a cause of developmental development among babies. But documented associations between maternal prenatal cannabis use and adverse birth outcomes, including preterm birth and low birthweight have not be in a study. There has been little research assessing the association of maternal prenatal cannabis use and childhood developmental outcomes, this study was done to provide a scientific fact around the information.
More research needs to be done, and like alcohol and cigarettes which are harmful for the body, not one is saying it is good to use why expecting, but it is good to have information grounded in facts.
The U.S. government recently proposed rescheduling cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug (https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/…) — basically signaling it has some accepted medical use and a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. But what does this mean in the real world exactly? Sanjay talks with “The Pot Doc” Dr. Staci Gruber (https://www.drstacigruber.com/) , Director of the Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND) program in Boston, to explore the possible impacts of this rescheduling on research, healthcare, and yes – even you.
After a chaotic and, some would say, failed rollout of legal marijuana, the lead official is stepping down
The failed legal marijuana rollout in New York cost taxpaying jobs, state revenues and crushed dreams. It was another painful blow to the weed industry and it made the Governor look foolish as she flailed to find a solution. Finally, New York get cannabis leadership change, but will it be able to fix the issue is anyone’s guess.
Chris Alexander, the executive director of New York State Office of Cannabis (OCM) Management, is stepping down in June. Earlier this month, the governor. announced the OCM will be restructured. The decision came after an investigation found inefficiencies and mismanagement bungled the transition, costing the state millions.
The state has a strong plan for the transition from medical to recreational market and had worked closed with existing medical dispensaries. Weeks before the change, the OCM scrapped the entire plan and bumbled through a system where the state now has less than 100 legal retailers and over 1,500 illicit dispensaries in NYC alone. BDSA, a leading analyst firm which covers marijuana, estimated last year’s legal and illicit market would have been close to $2 Billion. As it was, the licensed market brought in $175 million.
The change comes at time where thing are moving forward federally with rescheduling, yet the state is struggling. Adding to the pain, the state is grappling with a variety of lawsuits over the chaos. Another issue the office has seen it self as more of advocacy organization, focused on messaging rather than being a state department in charge of licenses of a billion plus dollar segment. Players who wanted to follow the rules so they can build a long term business future feel stymied. Some were shocked to find illicit players sometimes got to jump the line to open licensed stores at the same time they are running ones with no license.
The change is positive news for the the legal industry and players since New York’s OCM has operated in a persistently opaque and inefficient manner, contributing to the slow growth. For years the office has released conflicting information about its own rules and licensing processes, and hasn’t responded to applicants and licensees in a timely manner.
Time will tell if New York is able to solve the current mess or if this will be another opportunity to cost taxpayers more money.