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Lawsuit Against DEA Over Medical Marijuana Research Dismissed

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By on Feds 'N Heads, Follow that story

A federal court has tossed out a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration that claimed the agency was stalling medical marijuana research.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed a lawsuit filed in June by the Scottsdale Research Institute that claimed the DEA was hampering federally approved marijuana studies by stalling cannabis cultivation applications. Led by Dr. Sue Sisley, the Scottsdale Research Institute had hoped that the lawsuit would force the U.S. Attorney General and the DEA to process its application to grow marijuana for clinical research.

Bernie Sanders’s Billion-Dollar Weed Plan: Lots of Social Equity, No Big Tobacco

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By on Feds 'N Heads, Follow that story, Legalize It

Bernie Sanders isn’t coy about his desire to see marijuana legalized, but the Democratic presidential candidate’s plans for the plant will go much further than that if he’s elected to the White House in 2020.

Sanders’s pot platform, just released today, October 24 (at 4:20 p.m. Eastern time, no less), includes plans to federally legalize marijuana and declassify marijuana as a controlled substance via executive action within 100 days of his inauguration, as well as to ban tobacco and cigarette corporations from entering the legal pot trade.

Fresh Off a House Victory, Perlmutter Bullish on Pot Banking Bill

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By on Cannabusiness, Feds 'N Heads, Legalize It, Legislation

Days before Congressman Ed Perlmutter was scheduled to speak at a cannabis management conference in Denver this week, he had a defining moment in Washington, D.C. His bill that would allow banking institutions to serve legal cannabis companies became not only the first pot-related proposal to be considered by the full House of Representatives in over fifty years, it actually passed.

“Had we not passed that bill last week, I did not want to talk to you people at all,” Perlmutter jokingly told a room full of cannabis regulators and business owners during the City of Denver’s Marijuana Management Symposium on Thursday, October 3. “The banking piece really is the thing that is the icebreaker in all of this.”

House Passes Landmark Marijuana Banking Bill

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By on Cannabusiness, Dispensaries, Feds 'N Heads, Legislation

The United States House of Representatives just approved a bill that would allow banks and financial institutions to serve marijuana businesses in states where it is legal without risking federal prosecution, marking a landmark step towards marijuana reform.

Introduced by Colorado Representative Ed Perlmutter, the SAFE Banking Act needed approval from two-thirds of the House’s 435 members, or 290 yes votes. It got 321, becoming the first marijuana-centered bill to reach a Congressional floor for a vote — as well as the first to pass.

CSU-Pueblo Professor’s Book Dives Into Pot Politics

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By on Cannabis Time Capsule, Feds 'N Heads

Colorado State University-Pueblo professor Tim McGettigan recently published The Politics of Marijuana, a book about the past, present and future of cannabis in the political and social sphere. Specifically, he focused on the anti-cannabis crusade of the 1930s and how it influenced the way cannabis is still taboo for many today, despite more nationwide support for the plant than ever before.

We caught up with McGettigan to learn more about his book and where he thinks cannabis legalization will take the country in the future.

Colorado Hemp Farmers Will Finally Get Crop Insurance

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By on CBD, Feds 'N Heads, Growing, Hemp

Colorado is on the short list of states whose farmers will soon be eligible for federal crop insurance.

Hemp had been barred from eligibility for protection through the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation because of its similarities to marijuana. With the passage of 2018’s Farm Bill, however, hemp officially became a legal crop for farmers — if their respective states chose to legalize hemp farming

Surgeon General Wants Public to Pump the Brakes on Pot Use

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By on Feds 'N Heads, Follow that story, Medical

The United States surgeon general wants Americans, particularly teens, young adults and pregnant women, to put the brakes on cannabis.

At an August 29 announcement of a new health advisory about the rising popularity of pot use, Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned of the dangers of potent cannabis, overeating edibles and the plant’s effects on pregnant mothers, unborn children and the developing brains of young people.

DEA Announces Plans to Increase Marijuana Growing Licenses for Research

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By on Feds 'N Heads, Follow that story, Growing, Legalize It

The prospect for more federal marijuana research improved significantly today, August 26, when the Drug Enforcement Administration announced it would begin to “facilitate and expand scientific and medical research for marijuana in the United States.”

With only one marijuana cultivation designated for federally approved research purposes over the past fifty years — located at the University of Mississippi — proponents both for and against cannabis legalization have complained about the DEA’s lack of progress on significant research. Applications to grow marijuana for federal studies had been stalled for several years under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and the agency was even sued by a researcher it had permitted to conduct cannabis research over the lack of quality marijuana to use for her studies.

Why a Federally Licensed Marijuana Researcher is Suing the DEA

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By on Feds 'N Heads, Follow that story, Medical

Dr. Sue Sisley holds the rare distinction of being licensed by the Drug Enforcement Administration to study marijuana, so why is she suing the DEA over its marijuana research policies?

In a lawsuit filed in the United States Court of Appeals in June, Sisley claims that the DEA has created a monopoly around federally licensed marijuana research. By requiring that researchers only use marijuana from the University of Mississippi for their studies, she charges that federally licensed marijuana researchers are limited to low-grade cannabis without proper variety.

Senate Committee Hears Testimony on Pot Banking Push

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By on Cannabusiness, Feds 'N Heads, Follow that story, Legislation

The push for federal cannabis banking legalization took another baby step on July 23 when the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs heard a bill that would allow financial institutions to serve companies connected with cannabis, which is still federally illegal.

Introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the SAFE Banking Act would protect banks and other financial outfits from federal charges if they provide accounts, loans and other services to pot businesses as well as ancillary enterprises that work with cannabis-focused enterprises, such as real estate agencies, accountants and other business vendors.

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