Latest news with #legalization
Forbes
13 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Fight For Cannabis Could Be Headed To Supreme Court
A group of cannabis companies looking to overturn the plant's illicit status at the national level could be on their way to the U.S. Supreme Court. And there is reason for them to be optimistic that at least one justice is willing to take the case. Last week the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the group, upholding a lower courts rejection of their lawsuit challenging the federal prohibition of cannabis. Verano Holding Corp., which operates in 14 different states, along with Massachusetts-based companies Canna Provisions, Wiseacre Farms, and cannabis courier Gyasi Sellers sued the government in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts on Oct. 26, 2023, arguing that the CSA should no longer apply to cannabis because of the federal government's growing acceptance of legal state markets over the last decade. At the same time, the plaintiffs say that the law unfairly limits access to federal grants, banking services, payroll services and investments, as well as from processing credit cards for purchases. Cannabis operators are often required to deal in large sums of cash, which they argue makes them ripe for robbery, potentially creating a public safety risk. "We thus conclude that the appellants have failed to show that there is no rational basis for concluding that their activity substantially affects interstate commerce," wrote Chief Circuit Judge David Barron in a 22-page opinion released May 27. The next legal venue for the plaintiffs would be the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS), but only if the court agrees to hear the case. There is no guarantee that SCOTUS will agree to hear a case, but Associate Justice Clarence Thomas has made it clear that he thinks it is time that the highest court in the land reconsiders the legality of cannabis. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Standing Akimbo v. United States in 2021, which involved a medical dispensary in Colorado suing over its inability to write off business expenses on their federal taxes. In declining to hear the case, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a five-page statement in which he argued that it might be time to revisit Gonzalez v. Raich. In that earlier 2005 case, Justice John Paul Stevens argued in his majority opinion that despite state law, there was still a clear intention from the federal government to prevent the spread of illegal pot across state lines. Since then more states have legalized medical and adult-use cannabis, and the federal government has taken several active steps to allow state-legal cannabis businesses, such as defunding law enforcement efforts against cannabis. "The Federal Government's current approach to marijuana bears little resemblance to the watertight nationwide prohibition that a closely divided Court found necessary to justify the Government's blanket prohibition in Raich," wrote Thompson. 'A prohibition on intrastate use or cultivation of marijuana may no longer be necessary or proper to support the Federal Government's piecemeal approach.' The first major challenge from the federal government to state-legal medical cannabis took place during the George W. Bush administration, when Bush's Department of Justice began cracking down on medical cannabis in California. Angel Raich and Diane Monson sue the federal government after DEA agents raided their homes and destroyed the cannabis plants they each grew for personal use to treat their respective chronic health problems. That case, Gonzalez v. Raich, ultimately made it to the Supreme Count, which ruled the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause, which bars the federal government from interfering in interstate commerce, does not apply to state-legal cannabis as long there was still a federal prohibition. Justice John Paul Stevens argued in his majority opinion that despite state law, there was still a clear intention from the federal government to prevent the spread of illegal pot across state lines. The plaintiffs in the Canna Provisions case argued before the First Circuit that this is no longer the case. Congress allowed Washington D.C. to legalize medical cannabis in 2010. The following year, then-Deputy Attorney General James Cole issued what became known as the "Cole Memo" which instructed the Department of Justice to prioritize enforcement of the federal prohibition against individuals in compliance with state regulations. Four years later, Congress enacted the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment which effectively defunded any DOJ action against state-legal cannabis. That amendment has been renewed every year since. Donald Trump's first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, actually rescinded the Cole Memo in 2017, but since then the DOJ has continued to operate as if the memo was still in effect. Meanwhile, about three-quarters of all states have legalized medical and half have legalized adult-use. So far, the courts have remained unconvinced that these changes represent a significant sea change in how the federal government treats cannabis, but it is entirely possible that the Supreme Court sees things differently.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jim Cramer and Wall Street Are Watching DraftKings Inc. (DKNG)
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) stands against other stocks on Jim Cramer and Wall Street's radar. During the May 2 episode, Cramer mentioned DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) and said: 'Will DraftKings make a comeback here? We like this company very much, but the stock does seem stalled, doesn't it? Maybe it needs more states to legalize sports betting.' A woman at a betting table paying out customers who won their sports bets. DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) is a digital gaming company that focuses on online sports betting, daily fantasy sports, online casino games, and a digital collectibles marketplace. Additionally, the company develops software for sports betting and iGaming across both online and retail platforms. On May 30, Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Grambling reduced the price target on DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) from 53 to $51 while maintaining an Overweight rating. The firm slightly increased estimates for its Gaming & Lodging coverage due to stronger first-quarter results, expected guidance, and updated valuations based on higher multiples. The analyst noted that low valuations in the sector indicate the market remains cautious in the near term. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
It's High Times for State-Subsidized Pot Businesses
State and local governments have a long history of using taxpayer dollars to subsidize bad economic development projects—everything from movie productions to sports arenas to industrial facilities. Now those governments are pumping tens of millions of public dollars into an even worse idea—legal pot businesses—as scientific studies increasingly demonstrate the health risks of regular marijuana use. Since 2012, advocates in 24 states have successfully engineered legalization campaigns by arguing that commercialization would bring marijuana businesses out of the shadows, produce safe, state-supervised weed for recreational use, and swell government coffers. Predictably, pot use has soared. The portion of the population 19 to 30 using pot in the past 30 days has increased to 28.7% from 16.6% since 2012, according to the University of Michigan's national survey on drug use. Among those 35 to 50, it's risen to 19.2% from 7.6%.
Health Line
3 days ago
- Health
- Health Line
Chronic Cannabis Use, Including Edibles, Linked to Endothelial Dysfunction
Chronic cannabis use is bad for your heart, whether you smoke it or consume edibles, according to a new study. Researchers found evidence of endothelial dysfunction, an upstream risk factor for cardiovascular disease, in cannabis users regardless of how they used the substance. The research adds to a growing body of research suggesting that cannabis is not benign. New research has linked tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in many cannabis products, to impaired vascular function, a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. A growing body of evidence suggests that smoking THC-containing cannabis likely harms heart health. But far less is known about other forms of cannabis use, such as vaping and edibles. The use of THC-containing cannabis edibles has surged in popularity as legalization has spread across the United States. But a new study published on May 28 in JAMA Cardiology suggests that both modes of cannabis consumption — smoking and ingesting — are associated with endothelial dysfunction, comparable to tobacco smoke in healthy adults. Endothelial dysfunction is a form of heart disease that impairs blood vessels from dilating. Endothelial cells are a thin membrane that lines the inner surface of blood vessels and helps regulate blood flow. 'The bottom line is that smoking marijuana does not appear to avoid the harmful vascular effects of smoking tobacco, and neither does frequent use of THC edibles,' Matthew L. Springer, PhD, professor of medicine at UCSF, and senior author of the research, told Healthline. Other experts agreed, but with some caveats. 'While this study does have limitations, including an inability to prove a direct causal role, it adds to the growing sense that marijuana is not benign, and may be associated with risk for heart disease,' said Nicholas Leeper, MD, professor of vascular surgery and cardiovascular medicine at Stanford Medicine. Leeper was not involved in the study. 'Most prior research has focused on smoking rather than ingesting THC, so this study adds new evidence that edibles may also negatively impact vascular health,' he told Healthline. Effects of cannabis use on vascular function The study, led by researchers at UC San Francisco, examined several measures of vascular health in three distinct groups: chronic cannabis smokers, chronic users of THC edibles, and non-users. The study included 55 participants — males and females with an average age of 31 — who were healthy and had no regular exposure to tobacco through smoking, vaping, or secondhand smoke. Chronic cannabis use was defined as: smoking three or more times per week for at least one year consuming three or more edibles per week for at least one year Cannabis smokers in the study had an average of 10 years of chronic use, while those who took edibles averaged five years. Researchers then studied three distinct measures of vascular function in these groups: Flow-mediated dilation (FMD): How well the blood vessels can relax and widen in response to blood flow — a key function of healthy arteries. Pulse wave velocity (PWV): a widely used measure of arterial stiffness. Nitric oxide (NO) production: NO is essential to heart health and vasodilation. Both cannabis-using groups showed similar declines in FMD — about half as much as non-users — indicating reduced vascular function. Additionally, FMD levels in cannabis users were similar to those reported in tobacco smokers in previous studies. 'Endothelial dysfunction is one of the hallmarks of potential cardiovascular disease later in life,' said Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, FACC, the Gerald S. Berenson Chair in Preventative Cardiology at Tulane University School of Medicine. Ferdinand wasn't involved in the study. 'Although this is not the same as having a heart attack, stroke, hypertension, or other cardiovascular disease, it suggests that in the future, in otherwise healthy persons who use cannabis, there may be an increased risk of vascular disease later,' he continued. Endothelial dysfunction, as measured by FMD, also worsened with heavier use — a pattern known as a dose response: the more participants smoked or consumed, the worse their vascular function became. Researchers also found that when endothelial cells were exposed in vitro to blood serum from cannabis users, NO production dropped significantly, but only in the smoking group, suggesting molecular evidence of dysfunction. This, the authors write, suggests there may be different mechanisms of action depending on the method of cannabis use. 'This discrepancy suggests combustion byproducts (versus THC alone) may drive part of the endothelial injury in smokers,' said Leeper. In contrast to some previous studies, the final measure, PWV, didn't indicate any meaningful difference between cannabis users and non-users. Cannabis and heart health: What are the risks? The study adds to growing evidence that cannabis may harm heart health — regardless of how it's consumed. 'Neither is superior, but there may be an additional harm with smoking beyond that seen with the THC edibles,' said Ferdinand. The study does have limitations. It cannot prove that cannabis use causes endothelial dysfunction — only that the two are linked. Still, it raises the possibility that something inherent in THC may harm heart health, apart from the usual risks of smoking — whether tobacco or cannabis. Especially in a small study like this, firm conclusions about harm can't be drawn, Ferdinand notes. The study focused only on chronic cannabis use, rather than on occasional use. Still, Springer said that based on the dose-response observed, 'if they use relatively little, there's less chance of this adverse effect on the blood vessels.' The clear message to patients and consumers: cannabis is not a benign alternative to tobacco; and though edibles do not share all the same risks as smoking, they aren't harmless either. 'I would caution patients that phrases like 'natural' or 'safer than tobacco' do not mean 'harmless.' Chronic cannabis use — particularly smoking — shows measurable vascular harms. Emphasizing moderation, or ideally cessation, may help reduce their cardiovascular risk,' said Leeper.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
Labour slap down London mayor Sadiq Khan's call to legalise cannabis
SIR Sadiq Khan's call to legalise cannabis has been rejected by Labour. Housing minister Matthew Pennycook was yesterday forced to clarify that the Government was not about to reclassify the drug. 2 He said: said: 'We have no intention of reclassifying cannabis from a Class B substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act. He added Labour was instead focused on 'driving down drug use'. London mayor Sir Sadiq said there is ' compelling evidence ' that possessing small amounts of natural cannabis should not be a crime. But Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'Cannabis is associated with antisocial behaviour. "And heavy use can lead to serious psychosis and severe mental health problems. "I completely oppose these plans.' Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley added: "At the moment we see drugs being at the centre of a lot of crime. "We see a lot of communities complaining about public drug use. "And that's a big issue in terms of anti-social behaviour." 2
