The constant flow of cannabis news can be daunting and it can be hard to catch the cliff notes. For this reason, Respect My Region keeps an eye out on your behalf, providing a weekly roundup of significant developments in the world of cannabis and its potential new laws.
This week, we cover federal-level cannabis developments in legalization, a welcome change of pace in Alabama, and the prevalence of cannabis-obsessed Twitter bots.
Federal Allocation Legislation Includes Important Cannabis Provisions
Both the House and Senate have agreed to add cannabis-focused provisions to 2020 Federal appropriations legislation. The included measures focus largely on cannabis research and regulation.
One of these provisions calls for the National Institute on Drug Abuse to research the effect cannabis’s current designation as a Schedule 1 drug has on the ability of different parties to research the substance.
The effort to research weed has faced legal barriers for decades. Even with its federal legalization, CBD undergoes underwhelming amounts of research due to legal boundaries.
Another of the provisions included in the legislation focuses on cannabis and kratom’s potential roles as opioid alternatives. According to the provision language, $1 million worth of grants will be awarded for this purpose.
Finally, an additional $2 million will be allocated to the establishment of regulations surrounding hemp-derived CBD. False claims and highly misleading advertising have plagued the CBD industry, and congress seemingly wishes to confront these regulation lapses head on.
Alabama Legislative Panel Recommends Medical Cannabis Legalization
If you are somewhat surprised to hear about the introduction of cannabis legislation in the south, you’re likely not alone. Of the nine states where cannabis is currently illegal in all forms, the south claims four.
Alabama, however, may be well on its way to introducing new laws that would see medical cannabis become available to citizens of the Yellowhammer State.
Earlier this year, Alabama’s Senate passed a bill that would allow cannabis use for therapeutic purposes in Alabama. Unfortunately, the path to medical legalization was found to be largely unmapped, so the effort was abandoned.
In the end, the only result of the bill was the creation of a government-appointed panel. This panel’s task was to make a recommendation surrounding potential medical legalization.
Well, the panel has spoken, and they are largely in favor of Alabama joining the ranks of states with legal cannabis for medical purposes. The panel touted the medical potential of cannabis as a key factor in their decision. They even recommended that the state allocate money to research efforts to uncover the true scope of cannabis’s medical utility.
Although this does not guarantee that Alabama will be among the states to pass significant cannabis legislation in 2020, it is certainly a significant step in the right direction.
New Report Reveals Significant Promise For 2020 Cannabis Legislation And New Laws
A report produced by prominent cannabis journalist Tom Angell outlined states which have the potential to pass cannabis legislation in 2020. The report includes legislation that focuses both on recreational legalization and medical-only legalization.
Times have changed significantly since 2012, when Colorado and Washington started the trend of recreational cannabis legislation. Since then, all four major elections have seen legislative victories for states around the country.
As it stands, all but nine US states have laws in place that, bare minimum, decriminalize cannabis products. 10 states, as well as the District of Columbia, are currently enjoying full recreational cannabis legalization. Many more have medical legalization, while others have decriminalization measures.
According to Angell, as many as 16 states could see cannabis measures included on their 2020 ballots. Although certain measures will likely fail to make headway, it stands to reason that 2020 could be one of the biggest years for the legalization movement yet. We could be seeing a slew of new laws.
USDA Announces Crop Insurance Program For Hemp Farmers
One of the more impactful changes to US cannabis legislation in recent past was the 2018 Farm Bill. This piece of legislation legalized the cultivation, manufacturing, sale, and consumption of hemp-derived CBD products. As a result, the farming of hemp has been on the rise, as well as the market for the CBD products.
The federal government has been in the process of fine tuning the legislation ever since its passing, and a recent announcement from the USDA kept this trend going. According to the USDA, hemp farmers in 21 US states will become eligible for crop insurance.
Such insurance will protect farmers from yield losses that result from natural factors such as drought and disease. Crop insurance is currently implemented for numerous crops, and goes a long way to encouraging the continuation of US agriculture. This type of protection against naturally caused losses for hemp farmers could provide a boost to the burgeoning industry.
Study Reveals That Twitter Bots Have Joined The Conversation On Cannabis
The American Public Health Organization recently released a report that detailed a somewhat peculiar trend in social media. The existence of bots and bot accounts within social media accounts has become common knowledge in the recent past. These “fake” accounts—operated artificially by computer programs—will like, retweet, and even write their own Twitter posts.
According to the APHO, such Twitter bots have recently shown a peculiar interest in cannabis. More specifically, the organization claims that a significant amount of bots are creating and promoting content that focuses on claims regarding the medical usefulness of cannabis. One of the major issues with this trend, however, is that these bots don’t seem to value accuracy.
Of the accounts and posts present in the study, a large amount was propagating unsubstantiated health claims surrounding cannabis use. Also, such bots seemed to encourage the dual use of cannabis with other substances, legal or not.
