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NATIONAL NEWS
Georgia Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Georgia police officer who they say sold marijuana while on duty, in uniform. Leon Mitchell, 32, worked for the Warwick Police Department near the southwest Georgia city of Albany. The GBI’S Southwestern Regional Drug Enforcement Office claimed undercover agents were able to buy weed from Mitchell in Worth and Lee counties. In what must have been a regular Kodak moment, drug agents arrested Officer Mitchell January 28 at the Police Department. Agents arrested Mitchell AGENTS SAID THEY FOUND MARIJUANA, on two counts of sale/distribution of marijuana and one count of posSCALES AND PLASTIC session with intent to distribute. For BAGS RIGHT INSIDE good measure, they piled on four THE CAR WHEN THEY SEARCHED HIS VEHICLE. counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, three counts of violation of oath of office and two counts of use of a communication device during the commission of a felony. Officers booked Mitchell into the Worth County Jail, where he remained after a judge denied him bail. IF a measure introduced at the statehouse in February by two Democratic lawmakers pass es, Colorado would soon prohibit employers from firing workers because of their off-the-clock Cannabis use.
House Bill 1152 also requires employers to let their workers consume medicinal Cannabis while on the job. The bill includes exceptions for workers whose jobs are in dangerous fields or require fine motor skills, such as operating heavy machinery.
“Marijuana is legal in Colorado,” said State Rep. Brianna Titone, a Democrat and sponsor of the bill. “And what people do in their spare time that doesn’t impact their work shouldn’t really be a problem for them. They should be able to enjoy the legal things that we have here in Colorado and not be penalized for it.”Titone is pitching the measure as a way for employers to find workers more easily in Colorado’s tight labor market.
the south
MISSISSIPPI LEGALIZES MEDICAL CANNABIS
Mississippi has legalized medical marijuana for people with debilitating conditions, NPR reports. The change comes 15 months after a healthy majority of voters approved a stronger version of the law on Election Day 2020. The National Conference of State Legislatures says 36 states and four territories already allow the medical use of Cannabis, making Mississippi the 37th state to do so as of Gov. Tate Reeves’ February signature. While it became law immediately, it could be months before the first Cannabis dispensaries open.
global
THAILAND IS FIRST IN ASIA TO DECRIM WEED
Thailand has become the first country in Asia to approve the de facto decriminalization of marijuana. Unfortunately, law enforcement authorities have left a “gray area” around adult recreational use. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced that the Narcotics Control Board had approved dropping Cannabis from the list of controlled drugs. The delisting will take effect 120 days after its publication in the government gazette. Thailand removed Cannabis – a plant species to which both marijuana and hemp belong – last December from the list of illegal drugs under the nation’s Narcotics Law. Police and lawyers said it was unclear if possession of Cannabis will still be an offense subject to arrest. Related laws mean production and possession of marijuana remain “regulated” for now. That, unfortunately, leaves the legal status of adult-use marijuana somewhat murky.
politics
SENATE MAJORITY LEADER RENEWS FEDERAL LEGALIZATION PUSH
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer renewed his calls for the federal legalization of marijuana, reports the New York Daily News. “Change has been urgently needed for a long time,” Schumer said, referencing the disproportionate impact Cannabis laws have had on Black communities. “The good news is we’re on the edge of getting change, because the opinions throughout America are changing. All across the country, states are legalizing,” Schumer said. “All across the country, minds are changing.” He said he plans to introduce the bill in April.
13 90%
marijuana-related bills were filed in the Indiana Legislature’s 2022 session.
of its Cannabis buyers come from Idaho, claims the city of Ontario, Ore.
400
untaxed marijuana greenhouses were recently busted in San Bernardino County, Calif.
7.6k $2.22b $27b
pounds of untaxed, processed weed was recently seized in a Lake County, Calif. investigation. worth of Cannabis was sold in Colorado in 2021, the 3rd-most in the nation. is the estimated size of the legal U.S. marijuana market by 2026.
