Weed in Review: Friday, January 12, 2018

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In the United States

Trump Admin Threatens Cannabis Industry: What You Need to Know: On January 4, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the rescission of an Obama-era Department of Justice guidance known as the “Cole Memo” that provided guidelines for the federal enforcement of state-compliant marijuana possession and regulation of marijuana production, processing, and sale. (Note that we use the term “marijuana” when discussing the impact of Sessions’ memo, because it addresses only the parts of the cannabis plant that fall within Controlled Substances Act’s definition of “marijuana”; industrial hemp grown in accordance with the 2014 Farm Bill and applicable state regulatory provisions may not be impacted.)

OUR VIEW: Federalism solution for marijuana: Sessions’ decision is consistent with his longtime antipathy toward legalizing marijuana. But it is at odds with the stated views of his boss. During his 2016 campaign for president, Donald Trump endorsed medical marijuana and said pot legalization “should be a state issue, state-by-state.” Now it’s time for Congress to do its job and repeal the law.

These Senators Are All Talk, No Action on Cannabis Legalization: In fact, a number of senators who expressed a burning desire to halt Sessions and his cannabis-hating crusade in its tracks have not so much as signed on as a co-sponsor of any of the four major pieces of legislation addressing the issue in the US Senate. As of mid-January, one of the most powerful bills—Sen. Cory Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act—had only a single co-sponsor, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden.

Study: Legal marijuana could generate more than $132 billion in federal tax revenue and 1 million jobs: The analysis shows that if marijuana were fully legal in all 50 states, it would create at least a combined $131.8 billion in in federal tax revenue between 2017 and 2025. That is based on an estimated 15 percent retail sales tax, payroll tax deductions and business tax revenue.

The grass is green for careers in cannabis research: The fast-growing field where these scientists work provides not only these satisfactions, but also, reportedly, offers expanding career opportunities, good pay, and scientific challenges so plentiful and significant that one feels “you’re literally on Darwin’s ship, the Beagle,” Marcu says.

Cancer Patients Asking Doctors About Marijuana Still Get Little Help: Murphy, then 49 and fighting breast cancer, dropped 15 pounds from her already slim frame in just two months. Then, she remembered what a fellow cancer patient had advised while she was waiting for her first dose of chemo: “Make sure you get some medical marijuana.”

4 Other Things Coachella Should Ban Instead of Marijuana: This year’s Coachella apparently won’t be very green, and by “green,” we’re not talking about anything to do with the environment.

Iowa State’s push to ban marijuana shirt ends in big payouts: ISU’s unconstitutional crackdown on a pro-marijuana student group’s T-shirts will cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs, according to a partial settlement approved Tuesday. The State Appeal Board voted to pay $150,000 in damages to two leaders of the university chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws whose free-speech rights were violated by campus administrators. The board also approved a $193,000 payment to two law firms that represented the group…

Lawmaker claims ‘character makeup’ makes blacks more susceptible to marijuana: (CNN)A Kansas state legislator has stepped down from the chairmanship of a Kansas House committee after he said African-Americans were more susceptible to marijuana because of “their character makeup” and “their genetics.”

We Need to Destigmatize Parents Who Use Cannabis: As a cannabis advocate, I’m reasonably concerned by the social stigma around parents who use the plant. This is partially because some of my loved ones happen to be parents who use cannabis, but it’s also because I don’t think it makes sense to demonize responsible adults for enjoying marijuana. And contrary to popular opinion, successful cannabis consumers aren’t difficult to find.

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Worldwide

CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. Announces Strategic International Cannabis Distribution Agreement with Fagron NV: Fagron to utilize its existing international distribution network to market and distribute CanniMed medicinal cannabis products to 17 specified countries with aggregate population of over 760 million

Cabinet to discuss marijuana issue: Cabinet will take a day to discuss, among other things, the marijuana issue, Press Secretary Anthony “Ace” Newbold said. “The prime minister has committed to taking a day for his Cabinet to talk about several issues, the whole issue of marijuana is one of them, in Cabinet,” Newbold said during his weekly press briefing on Tuesday. “They will spend a day discussing that.

Yukon releases draft legislative summary of proposed Cannabis Control and Regulation Act: The Government of Yukon has released a draft legislative summary of its Cannabis Control and Regulation Act and is seeking feedback from Yukoners, First Nation governments and municipalities.

Momentum builds for medicinal cannabis: Lynne Hughes argues Wales should use its voice to support cannabis use for medicinal purposes

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