420 with CNW Archives - Page 98 of 318

WednesdayMar 29, 2023 4:20 am

420 with CNW — Why It’s Still Hard for Medicare to Cover Medical Cannabis

Even though many seniors use medical cannabis to treat a range of conditions, experts say it may take some time before Medicare begins to pay for the drug because of conflicting legal requirements, ambiguous safety standards and challenging rulemaking procedures. According to a survey conducted last year by the Medicare Plans Resource Center, an association that offers advice and information on Medicare, one in every five Medicare patients uses medical cannabis. Furthermore, almost 25% have previously used it, and two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries believe that the program ought to cover it. However, Medicare doesn’t, since medical cannabis is not legal…

TuesdayMar 28, 2023 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — Study Finds Link Between Medical Cannabis Legalization, Reductions in Payments for Opioids

Dozens of states now allow their residents to use medical cannabis to alleviate more than 20 qualifying medical conditions. Although the research on cannabis is still relatively new, there is strong proof that cannabis-based treatments can alleviate the symptoms of a wide variety of medical conditions. As a result, millions of Americans across the country now use medical cannabis to treat conditions such as chronic pain, insomnia, anxiety disorders and others. One of the most common uses of medical cannabis is to treat chronic pain, a condition that is estimated to affect an estimated 50.2 million adults in America. With…

TuesdayMar 28, 2023 4:20 am

420 with CNW — Studies Link Cannabis Legalization to Various Public Health Benefits

With medical marijuana legalized in 36 states and recreationally approved in 18, worries about the effects of widespread societal access to cannabis have become the driving force behind a majority of scientific research. A large portion of that scientific research has now been compiled in a meta-analysis of 36 papers released between 2013 and 2021. These studies show how legalizing cannabis has had a positive impact on society in significant ways. Researchers who studied the societal effects of legalizing marijuana discovered that it reduced rates of teen cannabis use, binge drinking, suicide and traffic fatalities. One main concern has come…

MondayMar 27, 2023 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — New York Medical Marijuana Companies Sue State Regulators Over Licensing Implementation

A coalition of medical marijuana companies in New York is suing state cannabis regulators over licensing implementation provisions that prioritized social equity applicants. Most states with legal cannabis markets have included social equity and justice provisions that seek to compensate members of communities that were disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition. In cases such as New York, this involved giving people with certain prior cannabis criminal records or their relatives priority access to the license application pool. The Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis argued in its lawsuit that cannabis regulators overstepped their legal authority by limiting the initial…

MondayMar 27, 2023 4:20 am

420 with CNW — New California Bill to Address THC Level Inflation

Anyone who consumed cannabis in the pre-legalization days will tell you that the drug has gotten progressively stronger over the years. Improvements in breeding and cultivation have allowed cultivars to develop strains with extremely high levels of THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol), the chemical compound that causes marijuana’s well-known “high.” With demand for products with high THC levels increasing, cultivars nationwide compete to create the most potent cannabis, resulting in an industry suffused with high-potency goods such as dabs. The proliferation of high-potency cannabis products in America’s state legal market has worried some medical experts, who are concerned that inflated THC levels…

FridayMar 24, 2023 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — Mississippi Farmers Switch from Hemp to Growing Marijuana

Mississippi approved the use of medical cannabis last year after a lengthy legislative debate, though local governments were given the option to reject the initiative. Lincoln County was one of the counties that initially declined to participate in the program. However, the decision prompted Timothy Gibson and Jason McDonald to take the lead in pushing for the legalization of medical cannabis in the county. The two succeeded in getting the issue on the ballot in August last year when county voters overturned the decision made by local officials. After the vote, they got to work on starting their own medical…

FridayMar 24, 2023 4:20 am

420 with CNW — Analysis Finds Wisconsin Residents Bought $121M Worth of Marijuana from Illinois in 2022

A new analysis shows that residents in the state of Wisconsin bought $121.2 millions worth of cannabis from licensed retailers in Illinois last year. This contributed roughly $36 million in taxes to the neighboring state. The data was requested by Melissa Agard, the Senate Majority Leader, who asked the Legislative Fiscal Bureau to look into how much was going into Illinois through out-of-state marijuana purchases. Agard has in past sessions sponsored legalization measures. The nonpartisan bureau released its results last week after examining data obtained from the Department of Financial & Professional Regulation in Illinois, which breaks down monthly out-of-state…

ThursdayMar 23, 2023 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — Kentucky Senate Approves Medical Cannabis Legalization Bill

The Kentucky Senate recently passed medical cannabis legislation, just in time for the bill to advance to the House of Representatives. The move comes two days after the bill, SB 47, was approved by the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee. Previously, a bill to legalize medical marijuana was passed by the House last year and in a previous session, but the Senate did not take any action on those bills. Thus, proponents began working on the Senate side this session to improve the bill's chances of passage. Some provisions of the measure include: Patients with severe pain, cancer, epilepsy, muscle…

ThursdayMar 23, 2023 4:20 am

420 with CNW — Kentucky Legislators Approve Medical Cannabis Bill

After years of hitting a brick wall, proponents of medical cannabis legalization in Kentucky have made progress when their legislation won support from a significant Republican leader and passed a Senate committee. Applause broke out from supporters when Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer changed his vote from opposing the legislation to supporting it. Thayer approved the specific objectives of the bill and stated that he supported it because of those who were suffering. During the bill debate, opponents of the measure sympathized with those who experienced chronic pain and other conditions, but they cautioned that marijuana use could be addictive…

WednesdayMar 22, 2023 4:20 pm

420 with CNW — Cannabis Legalization Bill in Minnesota Sees Major Overhaul

Earlier this year, a Minnesota House committee approved a measure to legalize recreational cannabis for adults in the state. The legislation was an updated version of a recreational cannabis bill that had advanced from the Minnesota House but failed to pass the then-Republican-controlled Senate. Once it was approved, the bill was set to be scrutinized by more than 10 committees in the House before heading to the Senate. The recreational cannabis measure recently got a major overhaul and was amended to include new language to protect Minnesota’s nascent low-potency drinkables and edibles segment. Low-potency cannabis products are made using THC…