Congress

Rescheduling marijuana would save smokers a bundle

Published

1 year ago

August 31, 2023

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A decision by the federal government could put money back in your pocket, and make legal cannabis businesses more competitive. So keep hammering your elected officials on rescheduling marijuana this fall.

Those are the two biggest takeaways from this week’s news that the US Department of Health and Human Services has recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration that cannabis be downgraded from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug, under the Controlled Substances Act.

Cannabis attorney Lauren Mendelsohn at Omar Figueroa Law in Sebastopol, CA joints Leafly News Senior Editor David Downs to talk through the news and its implications.

Beyond saving businesses and consumers a bundle on onerous taxes—moving cannabis to Schedule III would likely multiply the amount of cannabis research and cannabinoid drugs in the world.

Listen along to understand what consumers and licensees should do about this news, as well as better understand drug scheduling and the politics of reform.

David Downs

Leafly Senior Editor David Downs is the former Cannabis Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. He’s appeared on The Today Show, and written for Scientific American, The New York Times, WIRED, Rolling Stone, The Onion A/V Club, High Times, and many more outlets. He is a 2023 judge for The Emerald Cup, and has covered weed since 2009.

View David Downs‘s articles

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Aurora

Former ICE field director seizes on immigration in race against Rep. Jason Crow to represent Aurora

Published

1 month ago

October 16, 2024

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John Fabbricatore enforced federal immigration laws in his position as an ICE field office director until two years ago, and now he hopes to help secure America’s borders as a congressman.

The Republican candidate in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District is drawing on his career with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as he runs against U.S. Rep. Jason Crow in the Nov. 5 election. Crow, a Democrat, just finished his third term in Congress as the representative of the district, which includes Aurora, Littleton, Englewood, Greenwood Village and Centennial.

The odds weigh heavily in Crow’s favor. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report doesn’t consider the fight for the 6th District to be competitive. It’s ranked as solidly Democratic, in part because Crow, 45, won all three of his elections by double-digit percentages and redistricting in 2020 resulted in boundaries more favorable to Democrats.

Read the rest of this story on TheKnow.DenverPost.com.

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Congress

Opinion: U.S. Olympic athletes need more than just fans at the Games. We’re in Paris for their safety.

Published

4 months ago

July 29, 2024

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Medals should never come at the cost of athlete well-being. That’s the message the U.S. Center for SafeSport is bringing directly to the Paris Games. For the first time, the Center is sending a delegation to the Olympics and Paralympics to remind athletes we are in their corner.

For all the celebration and excitement of the Games, there is still a long shadow cast by abuse and misconduct. The failures of the past will plague the present without accountability and clear rules for everyone to play by.

The recent Olympic qualification of a Dutch beach volleyball player who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old is a striking example. His embrace by national and international sports bodies rolls back the clock on culture change and sends a dangerous message that victory is worth more than the safety of young athletes and the experiences of survivors.

Read the rest of this story on TheKnow.DenverPost.com.

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BDSA

Biden Buoys Bloombergs Marijuana Prediction

Published

8 months ago

March 12, 2024

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It is a mixed bag for the cannabis industry. BDSA, a leading analytics firm which covers the cannabis industry, just released numbers and data revealing the cannabis industry earned $29.5 billion dollars in 2023. Missouri generated a whopping $1 Billion, something making everyone take a second look. Use has become mainstream and Gen Z is moving inches away from alcohol to marijuana. But there are underlaying problems. Price compression in flower, the chaos in New York and California, and he federal government restrictions are crushing for the small businesses which make up the majority of the industry. A little hope? Biden buoys Bloomberg’s marijuana prediction in his State of the Union speech.

Bloomberg is a leader in economic news and has been following the cannabis industry. Due to Biden’s slow campaign commitment to help the industry, Bloomberg has been hesitant about the industry’s growth. But with Biden’s head on mentioning cannabis, Bloomberg now predicts an 80% chance of rescheduling in the upcoming months. This will have a dramatic upswing impact on the growing economic business community.

When the DEA reschedules marijuana, the industry will experience relief from certain tax burdens it currently faces under Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code, a needed help for the mom and pop businesses representing the majority of owners/operaters. It should make banking easier also by reducing the potential liability with a higher scheduled product.

A longer term benefit of rescheduling is it would bring many products and manufacturers more squarely within FDA’s regulatory authority, which will open up the medical marijuana market significantly and also allow larger mainstream retailers to begin consideration of carrying products.

Rescheduling would not make it federal legal, which is something this administration can do, rather it gives the legal businesses in states more traditional business rights and benefits. In the handful of full holdout states, it would still be crime.

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