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In this week\u2019s cannabis news round-up, senate democrats urge President Biden to rethink federal cannabis restrictions; clinical trial reveals reduced anxiety levels linked to cannabis; <\/strong>and a federal judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Mississippi\u2019s cannabis advertising restrictions.<\/strong><\/p>\n Senate Democrats have increased the pressure on the Biden administration to relax federal cannabis restrictions. In a\u00a0letter addressed to the Drug Enforcement Administration<\/a>\u00a0(DEA) this week, they urged reconsideration of cannabis descheduling, which has been classified at the federal level for over fifty years.<\/p>\n The letter, signed by a group of 12 senators led by Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and John Fetterman (D-PA), with the endorsement of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), takes a more decisive stance.<\/p>\n \u201cThe case for removing marijuana from Schedule I is overwhelming,\u201d the senators said. \u201cThe DEA should do so by removing cannabis from the CSA altogether, rather than simply placing it in a lower schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) formally recommended the reclassification of cannabis in August. The suggestion was to shift it from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The DEA initiated a thorough review process, which is still ongoing.<\/p>\n The DEA recently informed lawmakers that, despite the HHS\u2019s historic recommendation<\/a> in the summer, it retains the final authority to determine the scheduling, rescheduling or descheduling of drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, based on scientific and medical evaluations.<\/p>\n The White House had aspired to announce a decision regarding descheduling around the one-year mark after President Biden\u2019s directive for the DEA to review the HHS\u2019s recommendation, which was issued in October 2022.\u00a0According to sources<\/a>\u00a0familiar with the situation, the administration had hoped to leverage this announcement as a campaign issue during the November elections.<\/p>\n In their letter on Tuesday, the senators called for the Biden administration to promptly reclassify cannabis from Schedule I and ultimately deschedule it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Biden Administration has a window of opportunity to deschedule marijuana that has not existed in decades and should reach the right conclusion\u2014consistent with the clear scientific and public health rationale for removing marijuana from Schedule I, and with the imperative to relieve the burden of current federal marijuana policy on ordinary people and small businesses,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n Aside from Warren, Fetterman and Schumer, the letter bears the signatures of Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). Both Booker and Wyden have collaborated with Schumer on a comprehensive cannabis reform proposal, which aims to terminate federal prohibition and decriminalize cannabis. However, the legislation has yet to secure the necessary bipartisan support.<\/p>\n The journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research<\/em> has published clinical trial data<\/a> suggesting that the use of state-legal cannabis products may lead to a decrease in anxiety levels.<\/p>\n Conducted by researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder, the study evaluated the effects of three different cannabis chemovars on anxiety symptoms. Over four weeks, participants were given the choice to consume cannabis flower with varying THC and CBD levels, including high-THC, high-CBD and equal THC\/CBD ratios.<\/p>\n Results indicated that all three types of cannabis led to improvements in anxiety symptoms, with the most significant improvements reported by those who consumed CBD-rich cannabis.<\/p>\n The study\u2019s authors summarized their findings, stating, \u201cThis quasi-randomized study demonstrated that individuals experiencing generalized anxiety symptoms who used cannabis three or four days per week reported decreased anxiety and improved symptoms during the study. The CBD-dominant strain showed the most substantial reduction in anxiety-related symptoms, both acutely and over the course of four weeks. These findings expand on the anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) properties of CBD in naturalistic and real-world settings, suggesting that these effects observed over a relatively short timeframe may translate into longer-term reductions in anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n In a similar study published in January, British scientists in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology Reports <\/em>reported<\/a> sustained improvements in patients with generalized anxiety disorder following the use of cannabis products.<\/p>\n A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit<\/a> brought forth by the owner of a medical cannabis dispensary, who had sued the state of Mississippi over what he perceives as stifling regulations, preventing cannabis business owners from advertising through most media channels.<\/p>\n In the ruling delivered on Monday, US District Judge Michael P. Mills concurred with Mississippi\u2019s argument. The state contended that because cannabis possession remains illegal under federal law, it is not considered a \u201clawful activity.\u201d Therefore, it does not enjoy the constitutional protections typically afforded to various forms of commercial speech.<\/p>\n The legal dispute stemmed from Mississippi\u2019s legalization of medical marijuana for individuals with severe medical conditions in 2022, which led Clarence Cocroft II to establish Tru Source Medical Cannabis in Olive Branch, MS. However, Cocroft encountered difficulties in reaching potential customers because the state had imposed a blanket ban on medical marijuana businesses advertising through any media platform.<\/p>\n The state does permit dispensaries to display \u201cappropriate signs\u201d on their properties or showcase their products on their websites. Nevertheless, all other advertising restrictions, such as the prohibition on advertising or marketing \u201cin any media,\u201d are subject to the purview of the state Health Department. Cocroft\u2019s legal team argues that the laws are unconstitutional.<\/p>\n Judge Mills emphasized that dismantling Mississippi\u2019s restrictions on cannabis advertising would constitute a \u201cdrastic intrusion upon state sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is particularly true considering the fact that, by legalizing marijuana to any degree, the Mississippi Legislature has gone further than Congress itself has been willing to go,\u201d Mills wrote. \u201cIn light of this fact, on what basis would a federal court tell the Mississippi Legislature that it was not entitled to dip its toe into the legalization of marijuana, but, instead, had to dive headfirst into it?\u201d<\/p>\n In response to the ruling, Cocroft maintained that Mississippi\u2019s regulations infringe upon the First Amendment rights of businesses. He has vowed to appeal the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals decision.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m prepared to fight this fight for as long as it takes,\u201d Cocroft said. \u201cThis case is bigger than me and my dispensary\u2014it\u2019s about defending the right of everyone to truthfully advertise their legal business in the cannabis industry.\u201d<\/p>\n Cocroft, represented by the Institute for Justice, a non-profit libertarian law firm, initiated legal action against the Mississippi Department of Health, Department of Revenue and Alcoholic Beverage Control Bureau. He argued that the state\u2019s regulations barred him from advertising in newspapers, magazines, on television, radio and even on billboards he already owned.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Mississippi legalized medical marijuana, it relinquished its power to censor speech by medical marijuana businesses,\u201d said Ari Bargil, an attorney from the Institute for Justice on federal cannabis restrictions. \u201cIf a product is legal to sell, then it\u2019s legal to talk about selling it.\u201d<\/p>\n The post Week in Review: Senate Democrats Push for Cannabis Descheduling<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
In this week\u2019s cannabis news round-up, senate democrats urge President Biden to rethink federal cannabis restrictions; clinical trial reveals reduced anxiety levels linked to cannabis; and a federal judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Mississippi\u2019s cannabis advertising restrictions. PHOTO vgm8383 Senate Democrats Urge Biden to Rethink Cannabis Descheduling Senate Democrats have increasedContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":72268,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[438,1967,50,2187,7613,80,848,4521,575,139,6350,17388,3329,748],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72267"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72269,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72267\/revisions\/72269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"cannabis](\"https:\/\/cannabisnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/senate-marjority-leader-against-cannabis.jpg\")
<\/a>Senate Democrats Urge Biden to Rethink Cannabis Descheduling<\/h4>\n
<\/a>Clinical Trial Reveals Reduced Anxiety Levels Linked to Cannabis<\/h4>\n
<\/a>Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Mississippi\u2019s Cannabis Advertising Restrictions<\/h4>\n
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\nRead More: Week in Review: Senate Democrats Push for Cannabis Descheduling<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"