Colorado lawmakers are now considering a bill that is bad for patients and bad for consumers, and we would like your help opposing this prohibitionist measure. Now referred to as HB21-1317, this bill would require the state to gather skewed data on the supposed harms of cannabis use, which could be used to ban cannabis products. Yep, here we go again.

The University of Montana's Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) released a study analyzing the potential economic benefits of legalizing and taxing marijuana. The researchers, led by BBER Director Dr. Patrick Barkey, project that Montana will generate $236 million in new revenue from marijuana sales by 2026. Click here to read the full report. The study anticipates a significant boost will come from tourists visiting Montana,…

A new study published in the American Journal of Public Health found little effect of adult-use marijuana laws on prevalence of marijuana use among youth.In this examination, researchers focused specifically on 504 justice system-involved adolescents in California, who, as they point out, have substantially higher marijuana use levels as compared to the general youth population. Among this population, they found marijuana use levels in the past 24 hours were similar in 2015 (before adult-use marijuana…

Now it’s up to the Senate, and you can help.Several big measures have been put forth by the House of Representatives in the past 24 hours. Here is a quick rundown of the key provisions and how you can help:Protections for legalization programsThe House voted to protect state legalization programs from federal law enforcement. The Blumenauer-McClintock-Norton amendment was added to a budget bill called the CJS, which received a huge vote in support (254-163). Thanks to all those who reached out to…

Another study pointing to the failures of the war on drugs was published yesterday by a group of U.S. and Canadian researchers. The study was funded by the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy and examined the relative price and potency of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana from 1990 to 2010. Through analysis of existing data from various UN and governmental databases, the study found that, despite an estimated $1 trillion spent by the U.S. alone, the war on drugs has failed. Lead researcher…

Using marijuana may cause a “complete remission” of Crohn’s disease, a new study suggests. Published in the medical journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the study examined the effects of regular marijuana consumption on the development of the severely debilitating Crohn’s disease. Researchers at Israel’s Meir Medical Center found that five of the 11 patients (or nearly half) who smoked twice per day for eight weeks achieved complete remission, compared to none of the patients who were…

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a revised version of the highly contested Farm Bill yesterday. Although representatives re-crafted the bill to remove provisions for food stamp funding, they left a hemp amendment intact. The amendment would change federal law to allow for colleges and universities to grow hemp for research purposes in states where hemp cultivation and production is permitted by state law. The bill must still pass the Senate before final approval. [caption id="attachment_6722"…

On July 2, an article by Dr. Samuel T. Wilkinson was published in the Wall Street Journal positing that marijuana use can drastically increase one’s predisposition towards schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. Dr. Wilkinson cites research stating that teenage and early 20s use of marijuana holds a causal link to later development of schizophrenia. However, this data is simply not a credible argument against making marijuana legal. Within his own article, Dr. Wilkinson discusses the “cliff of…

Despite the fact that black and white Americans use marijuana in comparable numbers, a new analysis of federal data performed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) found that blacks were nearly four times as likely as whites to be arrested for marijuana possession in 2010. The report is the most comprehensive national examination of marijuana arrests by race and by county. According to the ACLU: "The aggressive enforcement of marijuana possession laws needlessly ensnares hundreds of thousands…

In a Washington Post video posted today, two families discuss their search for effective treatments for their children's chronic and debilitating seizures and how they arrived at medical marijuana as the best option. Unfortunately, there is little understanding as to how and why medical marijuana works so well for certain conditions, but more and more researchers are starting to look into it. These particular cases, and those like them, illustrate the need for greatly expanded research into the potential…