More Pot in New England
Rhode Island House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (D) said in the beginning of July that marijuana legalization is “inevitable” in Rhode Island. He also stated that it was going to happen “soon.” According to WPRI-TV Speaker Shekarchi does not believe the bill will be passed until the end of 2021. He is quoted in various other interviews as not rushing legalization. “I’m not in any hurry to legalize marijuana for the sake of legalizing it. I want to do it right.” “It doesn’t matter to me if we’re the last state in the union to legalize it or we never legalize it, but I need to do it right. I need to make sure that we do this right for the taxpayers of Rhode Island and for the medical community, the business community,” he continued. “This needs to be done properly, and I’m not going to be rushed into it because other states are moving fast. I want to learn from other states, look at the mistakes they’ve made, look at what’s worked in other states, collaborate with them and work to put out a good product.”
Rhode Island is also looking into who will regulate the industry there which may be a separate commission for marijuana or a state department. Rhode Island’s closest neighbors, Connecticut and Massachusetts, have already legalized.
Clarence Goes Green
marijuana prohibition is not necessary.
Thomas wrote on the subject in response to the Supreme Court not hearing a case related to medical marijuana tax deductions in Colorado. “A prohibition on interstate use or cultivation of marijuana may no longer be necessary or proper to support the federal government’s piecemeal approach.”
He also stated, “Federal policies of the past 16 years have greatly undermined its reasoning. The federal government’s current approach is a half-in, half-out regime that simultaneously tolerates and forbids local use of marijuana. If the Government is now content to allow States to act ‘as laboratories, then it might no longer have authority to intrude on ‘[t]he States’ core police powers . . . to define criminal law and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens.” 18 states have passed recreational laws, and 36 states have medical marijuana laws.
Schumer At It Again
A part of the bill is the Community Reinvestment Grant Program. This program would give taxes from marijuana sales to communities to use that were affected by the War on Drugs and give to grants for various nonprofit organizations like literacy programs and youth recreation and mentoring. The Cannabis Opportunity Program is also a part of the bill which would give small business loans to cannabis to individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged and who operate a cannabis company.
Just some of the policies the bill does not exclude federal employees from being drug tested. It would also propose a federal cannabis tax starting at 10 percent and raising to 25 percent, which would be added to state and local taxes.
The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act can be read in full here: https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/CAOA%20Detailed%20Summary%20-.pdf
Running with Weed
A debate on the research if marijuana is enhancing athletes has begun. A Marie Claire recent article stated, “Though more conclusive research is needed,..” that a 2017 academic review, “..found that THC does not improve aerobic performance.”.https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a36920666/women-disqualified-tokyo-olympics-rules-track-field/.
The academic review that Marie Claire mentioned can be read here: https://www.jsams.org/article/S1440-2440(17)30342-0/fulltext
In 2018 CBD was taken off the list of banned substances by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Alcohol, such as beer and soft-alcoholic beverages are banned only before doping tests and are tested by the Agency for such sports as competitive archery.
