420 with CNW Archives - Page 69 of 268

WednesdayOct 19, 2022 4:20 am

420 with CNW — Biden’s Orders on Marijuana Run into Catch-22

There was a flurry of reaction, most of it in support, when President Joseph Biden recently issued a directive instructing the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to carry out a thorough medical as well as scientific review assessing the appropriateness of the current classification of cannabis in the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. In that law, marijuana is categorized in the same highly restricted group with heroin, cocaine and LSD (ecstasy). As the dust settles and the real work gets underway, it will become abundantly clear how much of a catch-22 the review represents. Given that marijuana has…

TuesdayOct 18, 2022 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — Could President Biden Overhaul America’s Cannabis Policy?

Last week, President Joseph Biden announced that individuals convicted of simple cannabis possession under federal law would be pardoned of their convictions. This proclamation thrust the country’s marijuana policy into the limelight, with the president also urging governors to pardon those convicted of the same under state law. At the moment, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. All substances classified under this schedule are thought to have a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use. Other substances under this schedule include LSD and heroin. This classification is difficult to understand,…

TuesdayOct 18, 2022 4:20 am

420 with CNW — Governors Across the US Weigh in on Biden’s Call for Mass Marijuana Pardons

President Joseph Biden recently announced mass pardons for people convicted in federal courts on minor marijuana possession charges. While making that announcement, he called on governors across the nation to emulate the federal action and replicate the clemency at state level. His call to action has elicited mixed reactions, and we capture the highlights below. Colorado governor Jared Polis revealed that the U.S. president had finally decided to walk the road that Colorado took two years earlier. He said that the action taken by the president would remove any roadblocks that were in the lives of the people affected by…

MondayOct 17, 2022 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — Study Finds Federal Cannabis Prohibition Is Exposing Patients to Tainted Products

New research has found that the ongoing prohibition of cannabis at the federal level is getting between safe products and consumers. The research was conducted for one year by investigators at Arizona State University, led by Dr. Maxwell Leung. The objective of the research was to determine the prevalence of a range of contaminants in lab-tested marijuana. Currently, marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, which means that it isn’t subject to USDA or FDA regulations that are applied to legal products. This ongoing prohibition has left many states to work out how…

MondayOct 17, 2022 4:20 am

420 with CNW — Companies Scramble to Adapt as Marijuana Legalization Spreads

As more states across the United States establish legal marijuana markets, employers are scrambling to adjust to this new reality. This is because the traditional no-tolerance policies are becoming harder to enforce in the face of the changes brought by legalization. For instance, there is a current shortage of workers, particularly for lower-paying job opportunities. Pre-employment testing for marijuana is increasingly being seen as a barrier to getting even the few applicants interested in joining the workforce. Many companies are therefore suspending such pre-employment tests especially for jobs which aren’t safety sensitive, such as operating machinery or driving trucks. The…

FridayOct 14, 2022 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — Courts May Help Bring Federal Marijuana Legalization Closer

Despite President Joseph Biden having pardoned individuals convicted of simple cannabis convictions, he has shown no interest in loosening the federal restrictions that have left most states in control of developing how the billion-dollar marijuana industry in the country is growing. Thus far, 37 states in the country have legalized medical cannabis, with 19 of those states permitting individuals aged 21 and above to possess the drug for recreational use. However, the drug’s illegality at the federal level continues to prevent interstate sales. Various states have established their marijuana programs to meet objectives beyond legalization. For instance, many prioritize issuance…

FridayOct 14, 2022 4:20 am

420 with CNW — Federal Labor Secretary Promises to Assist Those Pardoned for Cannabis Crimes Find Jobs

Last week, a pair of cabinet members in the Biden administration discussed the president’s new marijuana initiative. Cabinet members and legislators, as well as advocates and state officials, have widely praised President Joseph Biden for his action. Marty Walsh, U.S. Labor Secretary, stated in an interview with Yahoo Finance that officials were working hard to make sure that individuals who received pardons for federal cannabis offenses under the decree made by President Biden weren’t hindered from employment opportunities in the future. Walsh explained that the Department of Labor was focused on ensuring that what the president said was carried out,…

ThursdayOct 13, 2022 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — Biden Health Secretary Tasked FDA to Move Quickly on Cannabis’ Scheduling Review

Xavier Becerra, the U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary, revealed during a Meet & Greet event in Tampa, Florida, that his agency is prepared to move quickly to implement the review of marijuana’s status as a Schedule 1 drug. This comes after President Joe Biden issued a directive ordering that the scheduling of marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act be reviewed. Speaking to reporters, the health secretary asserted that the nation will see the speed with which the review will be conducted. However, Becerra was quick to add that at the end of the day, science would be the deciding…

ThursdayOct 13, 2022 4:20 am

420 with CNW — DEA Admits It Was Founded Based on Ethnic, Class and Racial Prejudice

These days, most pundits agree that the war on drugs is a failure. After decades of prohibition, the drug war has barely dented the illicit drug trade but contributed to the incarceration of thousands of Black people. Under prohibitionist policies, law enforcement waged a war on Black and Brown communities for decades in what some called the new Jim Crow. Black people were and still are four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis consumption despite similar use rates as White people, and they are subject to harsher sentences. Analysis of the cannabis-related arrests that occurred in the five…

WednesdayOct 12, 2022 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — FBI Arrest Data on Cannabis Full of Inconsistencies Despite Improvements Made to Reporting System

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has spent millions of tax dollars and the last seven years updating its reporting system for crime statistics. The use of the agency’s National Incident-Based Reporting System was meant to offer clear and nationally representative data on crime trends in the country. However, the new data doesn’t give complete information, especially concerning drug arrests across America during the past year. If anything, the end result for last year’s data raises questions for individuals tracking trends on drug enforcement, which include cannabis-related arrests. The FBI’s fragmented data on the criminalization of drugs still shows that marijuana…