NATIONAL NEWS

the south

NEW ORLEANS DECRIMINALIZES CANNABIS

New Orleans is ending penalties for people found with small amounts of Cannabis. The law takes effect September 15, reports The Lens.

The City Council passed several agenda items to end marijuana penalties, reports the Associated Press. City officials said their goal is to increase community trust of police. Another aim is to allow New Orleans police to focus on reducing violent crime in the city.

Those who get a summons pertaining to simple possession are immediately forgiven with no additional action necessary by the accused, the officer, or the court. No court appearance and no police report are needed.

Smoking weed in public will remain prohibited. But instead of the cops issuing a drug summons, it will be a ticket in violation of the Smoke-Free Air Act – which is not a drug charge.

LEGALIZATION

MISSISSIPPI LAWMAKERS ‘VERY, VERY CLOSE’ TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEAL

Mississippi legislative negotiators are working on a medical marijuana program to replace the one canceled by the State Supreme Court. And they now say they’re close to a deal. According to the lawmakers, that could prompt a special legislative session as early as this month, reports Mississippi Today.

“I believe we have basically most of the major issues resolved,” said GOP Sen. Kevin Blackwell, the Southaven Republican who’s leading the Senate’s medical marijuana work. “We’re very, very close,” he said.

Mississippi lawmakers, by popular demand, are trying to reach a deal on a medical marijuana program because the State Supreme Court shot down the one overwhelmingly passed by voters last year. The State Supreme Court ruled in May that the medical marijuana initiative and the entire ballot initiative process was invalid. Interestingly, the Court left previous ballot initiatives intact – even those passed under the same process.

Gov. Tate Reeves has sole authority to call lawmakers into a special session.

He has said he would do so for a medical marijuana bill – but refuses to do so before the House and Senate agree, to avoid a drawn out session.

Harold Long, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, and Nancy Long, plant hemp at their farm in Murphy, N.C. (Photo courtesy Long Family Farms and Gallery)

east coast

N.C. CHEROKEES SAY THEY’LL SELL MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Medical marijuana was legalized on Cherokee land in Western North Carolina back in May. And now the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has announced it will actually sell the herb to non-tribe members.

The move comes after six years of debate among the tribe, reports The One Feather. The Cherokee maintain a sovereign nation in Western North Carolina known as the Qualla Boundary, reports the Winston-Salem Journal. The move establishes the first location in North Carolina where medical marijuana is both legal and for sale, reports WFMY News 2.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council approved an ordinance on August 5 to legalize the cultivation, sale and usage of medical marijuana on the Qualla Boundary. The boundary is about 45 miles west of Asheville.

The Cherokee haven’t announced a timeline for their medical Cannabis program – when cultivation will begin or when marijuana will become available for purchase, reports The Charlotte Observer.

SEPT. 2021

normalization ALMOST HALF OF AMERICANS ADMIT TO TRYING CANNABIS

The percentage of U.S. adults who admit they have tried marijuana has gone up to 49%, according to the latest numbers from Gallup’s most recent Consumption Habits Poll. That’s the, well, highest number Gallup has measured to date. Just over 50 years ago, only 4% said they had tried the herb. But that percentage surpassed 20% in 1977, 30% in 1985, and 40% in 2015. The sharpest rise in reported usage occurred during the 1970s, when the percentage increased from 4% to 22%. A much smaller proportion of U.S. adults, 12%, say they “currently smoke marijuana.” The percentage of current Cannabis smokers has been steady in recent years. It varies between 11% and 13% after increasing from the 7% Gallup initially measured in 2013.

2

additional qualifying conditions – cancer and PTSD – were added in August to Texas’ limited medical marijuana program.

5

qualifying conditions were rejected in August by the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Advisory Board.

10

percent of adult Oklahomans – about 376,000 people – have medical marijuana cards.

13

diversions of city water to unlicensed grows were discovered by Humboldt County CA Sheriffs.

23m

dollars per year are spent arresting Wyoming residents for marijuana, according to Wyoming NORML.

171m

dollars in Cannabis transactions were recorded in Michigan, a new record amount for the state’s adult-use and medical marijuana shops in July.

STORIES by STEVE ELLIOTT, AUTHOR OF THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF MARIJUANA

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