Oklahoma’s GOP Senator Decides To Tangle Cannabis Regulation With Abortion Debate On Floor of The House Dirty politics at its dirtiest or as AC/DC once said .. “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” which about sums up his arguments Republican U.S. Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma took a swipe at his home state’s voter-approved medical marijuana program last week during a speech on the Senate floor opposing abortion rights. Lankford, who has long opposed both cannabis legalization and abortion access, said that just as he feels Oklahoma’s medical marijuana makes it too easy to obtain cannabis “no matter what” the patient’s medical condition, he believes the Democrat-led Women’s Health Protection Act would make it too easy to get an abortion. “We’re a state that has medical marijuana laws,” the senator said. “You have to have a medical prescription from a doctor to be able to get it. So you know how you get it? The medical marijuana place actually has a doctor that you can just call that’ll write a script to you that’ll write it for no matter what.” “You could say, ‘My left toe hurts every other Thursday,’” he continued, “and they would say, ‘Great, that’s a medical condition.’”

Cannabis Law Report, 05/17/2022 01:55:00

Open article: https://cannabislaw.report/oklahomas-gop-senator-decides-to-tangle-cannabis-regulation-with-abortion-debate-on-floor-of-the-house/

According to a recent report by Reason Foundation, the high taxes levied on state-approved marijuana products as well as the “marijuana deserts,” or localities and municipalities that have banned cannabis sales, have helped the black market to thrive within the state. Geoffrey Lawrence, the managing director of Reason Foundation, says approximately 80% of the localities in California have enforced bans or some form of restriction on marijuana cultivation and sale. He also says that retail outlets are few and far between in the more rural regions of the state. This makes it hard for residents in these areas to access marijuana from licensed sources. Consequently, illicit suppliers have taken advantage of this situation to meet the demand that cannot be satisfied by regulated companies. To show how significant this shortage of retail outlets is, Lawrence points out that nearby Oregon has a cannabis retail facility for every 6.1 residents while the more populous California has a licensed outlet for every 29.2 residents. This per capita distribution of marijuana retail outlets creates opportunities for black market operators to fill the gaps left by state-regulated cannabis suppliers.

CannabisNewsWire, 05/16/2022 04:20:00

Open article: https://www.cannabisnewswire.com/420-with-cwn-report-shows-high-taxes-marijuana-deserts-stoking-california-black-market/

Jordan Brown, age 29, was shot and killed on March 19, 2022, during an armed robbery while he worked his shift as a budtender in Tacoma, Washington. He was an employee at a company called World of Weed. Joshua Chase, the proprietor of Oakland-based Oakanna, took a shot in his foot on April 24. Brian Garcia was also fatally shot by armed robbers in Los Angelese nearly a fortnight ago. These and other such incidents have captured the attention of the media and drawn the eyes of the country to the pressing need to allow marijuana companies to gain access to banking services so that the huge amounts of cash attracting criminals are absorbed into the banking system. State officials and industry advocates are also raising their voices and calling out Congress for remaining inactive as criminal activity targeting state-legal cannabis companies escalates. On a positive note, the crime wave may inadvertently tip the scale in favor of passing cannabis banking reforms, something that has been hitting a dead end each time efforts are made to push the SAFE Banking Act through the Senate.

CannabisNewsWire, 05/16/2022 16:20:00

Open article: https://www.cannabisnewswire.com/420-with-cnw-capitol-hill-warms-to-marijuana-banking-amid-crime-wave/

Marijuana legalization is more popular in Texas than among the state’s top elected officials and President Joe Biden, according to a new poll. The survey from the University of Texas at Tyler found that an overwhelmingly, bipartisan majority of Texans (83 percent) support medical cannabis legalization, and 60 percent said they’re in favor of recreational legalization as well. Support for medical marijuana reform crossed political lines, with 91 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Republicans, and 85 percent of independents saying that patients should have legal access to cannabis. With respect to adult-use legalization, 76 percent of Democrats, 42 percent of Republicans, and 64 percent of independents said they backed the policy change. The survey, which was released ahead of the state’s May 24 primary runoff elections, also asked residents about various political issues and their opinion of election officials and candidates. And the results demonstrate how marijuana reform is uniquely popular among adults in the Lone Star state. Both medical and recreational cannabis legalization is more popular than Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), whose approval ratings sit at 46 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 05/16/2022 11:46:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/marijuana-legalization-more-popular-in-texas-than-governor-biden-and-other-officials-new-poll-finds/