NATIONAL NEWS

SEATTLE BECOMES LARGEST CITY TO DECRIMINALIZE PSYCHEDELICS

Seattle in October became the largest U.S. city to allow adult cultivation and F lorida gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist announced in October that he would consumption of mushrooms and legalize marijuana if elected other psychedelics, as the Seattle governor next year, reports City Council unanimously passed the Tampa Bay Times. a resolution to decriminalize Crist added he would also non-commercial use around natural expunge misdemeanor or psychedelic substances. third-degree

The Emerald City joins a handful felony records of other enlightened cities in de- related to criminalizing psilocybin and similar Cannabis. POLICE WILL MAKE IT AMONG THEIR LOWEST PRIORITIES TO ARREST OR PROSECUTE ANYONE IN ACTIVITIES RELATED TO “ENTHEOGENS,” substances since Denver kicked off a wave of such changes three years ago. Police will make it among their lowest prior“Let me be clear, if I’m elected governor I will legalize marijuana in the Sunshine State,” Crist said in a video posted on his Twitter. “This is the first part of the Crist contract with Florida,” the candidate said, reports ities to arrest or prosecute anyone The Hill. in activities related to “entheogens,” “For too long we have reports Bloomberg. That category focused on incarceration, includes natural substances like psi- when we should be focusing locybin and ayahuasca, often used on rehabilitation,” he said. for spiritual or religious purposes. “We know that people

Psilocybin, a mind-altering sub- across racial and income stance found in magic mushrooms, levels use marijuana at is a Schedule I drug, the most-re- the same rate. And yet, for strictive category. decades, it’s been poor,

Seattle becomes at least the Black, and/or Hispanic folks ninth U.S. city to take such land- targeted for prison on marimark action in recent years. It joins juana charges,” Crist said in Denver, Washington D.C. and Ann December 2020. “That tells Arbor, Michigan, among other me that marijuana has been cities. In 2020, Oregon became the legal now for a while, if you first state to legalize psilocybin for had the right skin tone or the therapeutic use. right paycheck.”

NORMALIZATION

NBA AGREES TO END RANDOM DRUG TESTING

The NBA has agreed to not randomly test players for marijuana this season.

“We have agreed with the NBPA to extend the suspension of random testing for marijuana for the 2021-22 season and focus our random testing program on performance-enhancing products and drugs of abuse,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in October.

Marijuana remains prohibited in the league’s collective bargaining agreement. But negotiations between the league and players’ association loosened restrictions, reports ESPN.

“Usage was already fairly common among players,” writes Dan Feldman at NBC Sports. “As momentum moves one direction both nationally and within the league, the NBA seems unlikely to take what’d now become the drastic step of reimplementing random testing.”

ARKANSANS ARE EMBRACING MMJ

“S ince that first dispensary opened in 2019 in May, Arkansans have spent about $430 million to purchase almost 64,000 pounds of medical marijuana,” said Scott Hardin, with the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission. “Which I think it’s safe to say, that exceeds our expectation, because you never know how many people will participate.”

Hardin said the medical Cannabis industry has thrived during the pandemic.

Medical marijuana is taxed 10.5% in Arkansas.

There’s a 6.5% sales tax on most retail items in the state. The 4% privilege tax goes to the University of Arkansas for Medical Science, to establish a national cancer institute.

“If you walk into a dispensary and spend $100, you’ll spend $10.50 additionally in state taxes,” Hardin said. “Those two taxes – we’ve collected just under $50,000,000, $49.6 million to be specific.”

The groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 6

FEDERAL CANNABIS GROW OPENS IN NEW MEXICO

Cannabis has been in a cultural process of “mainstreaming” for awhile now, in New Mexico and nationwide. But the federal government has remained a stubborn roadblock to progress.

However, federal officials are finally allowing the plant to be researched. The Bright Green Corporation has obtained a federal permit for a sanctioned marijuana grow in Grants, New Mexico, reports KOB 4.

“We are one of three, in the United States of America, that are federally legal to handle Schedule I drugs,” said Terry Rafih, chairman of Bright Green Corporation. “We chose Grants, New Mexico because of the climate.”

“If you look at the number of people that are dependent on opioids for many different pains and ailments that we deal with, the product that we are going to be pro- “WE ARE ONE ducing out of OF THREE, IN here and the THE UNITED patents that we STATES OF have – hope- AMERICA, THAT fully – we’re ARE FEDERALLY hoping it will LEGAL TO eliminate, HANDLE eventually, SCHEDULE I opioids. That DRUGS,” SAID is our goal,” TERRY RAFIH, Rafih said. CHAIRMAN OF

The struc- BRIGHT GREEN ture of a CORPORATION. greenhouse has already been erected at the New Mexico facility. The entire facility will soon be a 115-acre research and manufacturing Cannabis plant. With more than 100 employees, company officials say it’s worth more than $300 million in investments.

CRIST PROMISES LEGAL MARIJUANA IF ELECTED FL. GOV.

“IF I’M ELECTED GOVERNOR I WILL LEGALIZE MARIJUANA IN THE SUNSHINE STATE.”

3

suspects broke into a Norman, Oklahoma medical Cannabis dispensary in October and stole thousands of dollars worth of products.

14

new licenses were issued in October by the New Jersey Medical Marijuana Commission.

770

pounds of “high-grade” marijuana were found in a storage locker in Florida, according to the BCSO.

64k

marijuana distribution charges were sealed by Virginia in October along with 330,000 simple possession charges.

$1b

in legal marijuana sales were recorded in Nevada for the 2021 fiscal year.

$2.1b

deal makes Florida’s Trulieve the nation’s largest retailer of medical Cannabis, according to an October news release.