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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis weighs in on scheduling conversation.
While there have been myriad responses to last week’s rescheduling news, this week, Polis took the step of sending a letter to President Joe Biden.
It’s possible other state governors have done the same, albeit privately, but this is the first such letter that we’ve seen since the news. (And, it’s worth noting the symbolic significance of it coming from the first jurisdiction in the world to launch legal adult use sales, nearly a decade ago.)
Polis’ letter thanks Biden for his leadership, and also asks for much more to be done on cannabis policy.
“I ask you to simultaneously consider a few next steps in the near future by showing your support for access to banking for the state-regulated marketplace, reduced criminal penalties for possession and distribution of cannabis, addressing immigration related consequences and enforcement discretion from FDA,” Polis wrote.
On the note of enforcement discretion, Polis hits on the head an anxiety (and a debate) that accompanies the rescheduling conversation: what happens to the states?
“Specifically, an enforcement discretion policy should articulate that FDA will not bring a compliance action against companies whose products and activities are authorized by state medical and recreational marijuana laws, so long as they are abiding by state law and not making health claims, marketing in interstate commerce, or marketing to children,” Polis wrote.
Teamsters prevail in battle to unionize GTI shops in Illinois.
This spring, a tug-of-war between Teamsters Local 777 and Green Thumb Industries led to a 13-day strike at three Rise Cannabis Shops in Illinois. Even after that strike ended in May, Teamsters Local 777 announced in June that it filed Unfair Labor Practice charges against GTI because, they said, “the company spied on the workers by reading messages in a private Discord server” during the strike and that they were “diverting hours from part-time workers who exercised their right to strike and giving them away to temporary workers.”
Fast forward to this week, and the union announced that the workers at the three shops in Joliet and in Niles officially have contracts, which include, for example, “wage increases of 18 percent over the lifetime of the agreement,” a “scheduling policy based on seniority,” and “guaranteed tips and discounts.”
“This fight should be a lesson to cannabis companies all across the country and not just Illinois – Teamsters don’t back down,” said Local 777 President Jim Glimco in the announcement.
International group of researchers study anti-inflammatory effects of cannabinoids.
Researchers at Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany are collaborating with investigators in Italy, Austria, and the U.S. to examine the anti-inflammatory effects of cannabinoids.
“We found that all eight cannabinoids we studied had anti-inflammatory effects,” said lead author Lukas Peltner (translated from German).
“All the compounds we studied were found to inhibit the formation of pro-inflammatory messenger substances in cells while enhancing the formation of inflammation-resolving substances.”
CBD holds the most promise, researchers found, and encouraged future research to build off of these findings.
