All the (cannabis) news that’s fit to print

NEW YORK TIMES
The ‘Paper of Record’ and their ongoing cannabis coverage

News driving the news: Cannabis is finally on the national stage in the US. Certainly, from the time President Biden talked about cannabis at the State of the Union in March all the way through this week on the Presidential campaign trail, cannabis is now a front-burner issue. 

America’s “paper of record” is certainly taking notice.

How it started: This has been the cannabis month at the New York Times, starting off with a widely-read and discussed piece: As America’s Marijuana Use Grows, So Do the Harms. Among other things, the article noted that: “As marijuana legalization has accelerated across the country, doctors are contending with the effects of an explosion in the use of the drug and its intensity.”

The story focused on the harms of cannabis use. We published a substantive response from Dr. Corey Burchman earlier this week. 

How it’s going: It was that article that spawned the full-throated cannabis coverage across the New York Times media platform. From the top-ranked podcast, The Daily, to the Letters to the Editor, to The Morning newsletter — it’s now firmly on the radar of New York Times readers, if it wasn’t already.

Not just NYT: And as the New York Times goes, so goes loads of other media entities. Just this week the Freakonomics podcast launched their series on cannabis with a pod titled: Is America Switching from Booze to Weed? Which joins other highly-regarded podcasts covering the subject, including Today, Explained. 

Cannabis is now a hot topic in the national media. 

Welcome to the party!

-JR

With so many candidates and surrogates crisscrossing from one swing state to another, we have to rely on C-SPAN coverage to get the nuggets from the campaign trail. Today’s nug comes from VP candidate Tim Walz, mentioned cannabis on the campaign trail this week in North Carolina.

“Laws around cannabis have disproportionately impacted and set back folks in those communities…So when we in Minnesota talk about this — and [Kamala Harris] talks about the country — legalizing recreational cannabis, but make sure that the community that was most negatively impacted gets the first shot to make money in those industries.”

New York’s disastrous cannabis fund 🤑

Three celebrity managers for New York’s disastrous public-private cannabis fund took home $1.7 million over a 12-month period, according to new reporting from The City. That’s despite the fund only financing 21 stores over two years — far short of its stated goals, obviously. Read more. 

More taxpayer money used to defeat Amendment 3 🤫

As we wrote earlier in the week, Governor Ron DeSantis is using taxpayer funds to try to beat Amendment 3 at the ballot box. Jason Garcia, an investigative journalist in Florida, took a look how much and where these funds are being spent. Over $4 million that was ostensibly meant for combating the opioid crisis was burned on the anti-cannabis and the anti-abortion marketing campaign, Garcia reports.

Florida newspapers and Amendment 3 ✍️

While DeSantis spends taxpayer money, Florida newspapers are also taking sides on Amendment 3. Florida Today has a look at where major papers are coming down with their endorsements on the measure. 

An EPIC crackdown in California 💥

California is cracking down on unlicensed cannabis growers. ABC affiliate in the Central Valley has this story about the Eradication and Prevention of Illicit Cannabis, or EPIC program, a joint effort between the California Attorney General's Office and federal, state, and local agencies. 

Mold & lead & synthetics, oh my! 😱

Via a 15-page white paper, Curaleaf International is calling on the UK government to do something about unregulated, untested, and easy-to-access cannabis products. Among other things, Curaleaf International white paper states that: Illegal cannabis sales through unregulated online retailers have increased 50% in past two years. 

Bad day to be George West 😳

George West, the owner of Jaydega 7.0, a cannabis dispensary in Canandaigua, has been ordered to pay $9.5 million in penalties for continuing to sell cannabis without a license despite a June 2023 order from the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) to cease operations.

Young 🧠s should avoid cannabis

Cannabis isn’t great for young people. Neuroscience News said that Researchers at the University of Montreal found that cannabis use in adolescents may lead to thinning of the cerebral cortex, a crucial region for cognitive functions. THC causes dendrites, which are essential for neuron communication, to shrink. This atrophy, especially during brain development, can impair learning, social interaction, and coping abilities. 

Cannabis and driving 🚗

A recent review of studies on cannabis and driving finds no consistent linear relationship between blood THC levels and driving impairment, challenging the common practice of using THC levels as a proxy for cannabis-impaired driving. However, the study found an association between driving and blood THC employed during complex driving situations. Read more. 

Cannabis in the spotlight ⭐

The American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) dedicated their November 2024 issue entirely to cannabis. It contains nine research papers, three “perspectives,” and one editorial.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission named four finalists for the Executive Director position, as the agency has been without a leader for a year. Read more at the Worcester Business Journal.

Teen cannabis use dropped as more states legalized cannabis, per data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Marijuana Moment has more. 

Vice President Kamala Harris noted on X that “Trump has an enemies list. I have a to-do list.” 

And #6 on that list might look good for the cannabis industry: 

Opinion: Medical marijuana is on the ballot for many counties in Kentucky. Why it matters. | The Courier-Journal

Cannabis is booming. So why isn’t anyone getting rich? | Freakonomics

Parallel’s legal discovery exposes executive attempts to put out fires | Green Market Report

UB researchers show why cannabis policies should shift to a harm reduction, health promotion approach to safeguard public health | University at Buffalo

The cannabis controversy | Ball State Daily