A first: Uber is partnering with Leafly in Toronto for cannabis deliveries.
It’s a narrow partnership, but starting this week, Toronto residents can get licensed cannabis delivered through Uber Eats. There’s a “cannabis” category that customers within the delivery radius can choose.
“We are partnering with industry leaders like Leafly to help retailers offer safe, convenient options for people in Toronto to purchase legal cannabis for delivery to their homes, which will help combat the illegal market and help reduce impaired driving,” Lola Kassim, General Manager of Uber Eats Canada, said in a statement.
It’s not the first time Uber Eats has dipped its toes into cannabis, but it is the first time that Uber is making cannabis deliveries. Since November 2021, Uber Eats allowed customers to place orders for pickup from Tokyo Smoke virtual cannabis stores.
What about the U.S.? “There are no formal plans in the US as the current legal framework is incredibly complex across the country. As we learn from this new partnership, we’ll continue to watch regulations and opportunities closely market-by-market in the US and elsewhere,” a spokesperson told Cannabis Wire.
The DEA is increasing its quota for cannabis for research.
Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration has published in the Federal Register its “Proposed Aggregate Production Quotas for Schedule I and II Controlled Substances” for 2023.
“There has been a significant increase in the use of schedule I hallucinogenic controlled substances for research and clinical trial purposes. DEA has received and subsequently approved new registration applications for schedule I researchers and new applications for registration from manufacturers to grow, synthesize, extract, and prepare dosage forms containing specific schedule I hallucinogenic substances for clinical trial purposes,” the notice reads.
“DEA supports regulated research with schedule I controlled substances, as evidenced by increases proposed for 2023 as compared with aggregate production quotas for these substances in 2022. Further, DEA published the final rule, ‘Controls to Enhance the Cultivation of Marihuana for Research in the United States’ in December 2020, and the agency continues to review and approve applications for schedule I manufacturers of marihuana that conform to the federal requirements contained in the CSA.”
Here are the new quotas:
• Marijuana: 6,675,000 grams (up from 3,200,000)
• Marijuana extract: 1,000,000 grams (same)
• All other tetrahydrocannabinol: 15,000 grams (up from 2,000)
In Maryland, a new PAC focused on cannabis justice.
Adult use will be on the Maryland ballot in November, after lawmakers decided to put the question to voters.
The Uplift Action Fund, Inc. is “focusing its advocacy on responding to politicians who’ve prevented restorative justice to families and communities harmed by the war on drugs” and was created to “ensure that Maryland’s cannabis legalization is not only fair and equitable, but most importantly, just.”
“We must all do our part to ensure that legalization passes this November,” Kevin Ford, Jr., the PAC’s creator, said in a statement.
“Subjective policing has traumatized black communities across the country for generations as a result of cannabis criminalization. Right now, all eyes are on Maryland. This is our chance to take the lead on a national issue by collaborating to develop a solution aimed at building an equitable and inclusive industry, with the goal of repairing the harm done to the most affected communities.”
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson explains his opposition to Pres. Biden’s cannabis plans.
Hutchinson devoted his weekly radio address in part to lifting the hood on his cannabis views.
Hutchinson drew specific attention to the part of Biden’s announcement that encouraged governors to “follow the policy at the state level” with regard to pardons. While Hutchinson said he’s “often” used his clemency powers for those with drug-related convictions, he prefers individual review.
“I do not support issuing blanket pardons to those who have been convicted of these types of crimes. I firmly believe in second chances, and in each of these cases we must use compassion,” Hutchinson said.
“Each case should be looked at individually to determine who is deserving of a pardon.”
Hutchinson also highlighted Biden’s call for a review on the scheduling of cannabis, which remains in the strictest category, which implies no medical use and high risk of abuse.
“While medical marijuana may be legal in many states across the nation, the medical community has not come to a consensus on the benefits,” Hutchinson said. “When it comes to the proper schedule for marijuana, we need to follow the science and previous administrations that kept marijuana in Schedule I.”
+ More: Read Cannabis Wire’s reporting on Arkansas’ long and rocky road to get a measure to legalize cannabis on the ballot this year.
