NATIONAL NEWS

CAPITALISM PHARMACY CHAIN RITE AID IS ‘LOOKING AT THE MARIJUANA BUSINESS’

Rite Aid CEO Hayward Donigan in May said that “everyone is looking at the marijuana business.” “There is complexity to that, but (we’re) certainly THE PA-BASED PHARMACY CHAIN keeping an eye on it,” she said at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of HAS CARRIED Everything Festival. HEMP-DERIVED The pharmacy chain, based CBD PRODUCTS SINCE 2019. in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, has carried hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products since 2019.

Donigan said Rite Aid is looking at more homeopathic options in addition to traditional pharmaceuticals. He added that the chain has had all of its pharmacists re-certified as integrative pharmacy specialists. “Pharmacists are trained in alternative therapies,” Donigan said. “They are not just trained on traditional medicine.”

west WYOMING TRIBE MAY LEGALIZE MEDICAL CANNABIS

The Eastern Shoshone General Council met May 14 to discuss legalizing medical Cannabis on the Wind River reservation in Wyoming, reports the Rocket Miner. Several resolutions were passed – resolutions are law on the reservation – including the authority to move forward with a medical marijuana commission to regulate, oversee and operate tribal-owned cultivation and extraction facilities for Cannabis-related products.

The Northern Arapaho Tribe voted the previous weekend in favor of decriminalizing marijuana.

The Eastern Shoshone General Council will reconvene June 12 to finish the process of voting on whether to legalize medical marijuana on the reservation. The General Council consists of all adult members of the tribe, while the Business Council is made up of elected officials.

DEA WILL ALLOW MORE FACILITIES TO GROW CANNABIS FOR RESEARCH

Moving to end the University of Mississippi’s decades-long monopoly on supplying marijuana for U.S. research, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said in May it will soon issue licenses to a number of growing facilities, reports Science Magazine.

Since 1968, only one operation, located on the campus of Ole Miss, has been licensed to supply Cannabis to medical researchers who want to explore its value for treating conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain.

The DEA announced on its website that it had sent a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to three manufacturers that had applied for licenses to grow Cannabis for research studies.

The memos came six months after the agency published a final rule describing how exactly the program would work. “WE WERE EUPHORIC. THIS IS A VICTORY This could mark a huge shift after years FOR SCIENTIFIC of delayed license FREEDOM,” SAID applications. Although DR. SUE SISLEY. consuming marijuana is legal for medical purposes in 36 states and for recreational use in 17 states, consumption remains a criminal offense under federal law.

“We were euphoric. This is a victory for scientific freedom,” said Dr. Sue Sisley, president and principal investigator at Scottsdale Research Institute, which received one of the DEA agreements to be able to grow Cannabis for research. In 2019, SRI sued the DEA to force it to end its years of delay in processing license applications.

ALABAMA GOV. SIGNS MEDICAL CANNABIS LAW

ARTHRITIS, MIGRAINES AND REGIONAL PAIN ADDED TO OHIO MMJ

Medical marijuana has come to the Heart of Dixie. Alabama Gov. Kaye Ivey in May signed a medical marijuana bill into law.

More than a dozen conditions, including autism, cancer, terminal illness, depression, epilepsy, panic disorder and chronic pain would allow a person to qualify.

Despite not allowing any smoking, and prohibiting patient use of Cannabis flowers and banning growing, the move represents progress for this deep-red state. Daily total THC dosages are also limited to just 50 milligrams, which will certainly come as bad news for chronic pain patients, those fighting cancer, and others.

“This is a major step forward for Alabamians,” said Karen O’Keefe at the Marijuana Policy Project. “Rather than being subjected to arrest and criminal penalties for using medical Cannabis, this new law will enable patients who are suffering from illnesses and medical conditions to safely use and access medical Cannabis, a treatment option that is accessible to so many of their fellow Americans. We applaud the legislature for passing and Gov. Ivey for signing the Compassion Act.”

Ohio’s Medical Board has added three existing conditions to qualify to buy medical marijuana, reports the

Associated Press. The panel had earlier this year determined that arthritis, chronic migraines and complex regional pain syndrome fall into the existing category of chronic or intractable pain.

State residents must obtain a physician recommendation under the state’s 22 qualifying conditions and register to become eligible to buy marijuana flower and other products at the state’s 52 dispensaries. The Ohio Board of Pharmacy voted last month to make more dispensary licenses available to deal with patient complaints about lack of access and high prices. Three of the state’s 31 medical marijuana districts, all in

Western Ohio, have no dispensaries.

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additional Cannabis growing facilities will be authorized by the DEA. states currently allow the recreational use of Cannabis by adults. states now have medical Cannabis laws; 11 states have CBD-only laws. percent of Miss. residents favor a special session to reverse a block on MMJ. percent of Connecticut voters favor legalizing marijuana in a 2021 poll. percent of Americans say Cannabis should be legal for medical/rec, or both.