Following important cannabis news articles every day can be a real burn-out, we know. That’s why the Emerald rolls up a chronicle of the headiest news hits, and passes them to you at the end of each week. We Bring You: The Dime.
WNBA Star Detained in Russia for Hash oil
Late last week, news broke that officials detained WNBA All-Star and Olympian, Brittney Griner, in Russia for hash oil. More specifically, CBS Sports reports, officials found vape pen cartridges in her luggage as she was passing through a Russian airport. As a result, she was detained in February for “large-scale transportation of drugs […],” the publication explains. Both medical and recreational cannabis remain illegal in Russia; certain amounts are criminal offenses. It is not clear when the detainment took place. However, US officials have requested all Americans leave Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. According to a report from ABC News, congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is fighting for her release. Griner’s team, the Phoenix Mercury, also state that they are “monitoring the situation” and remain in contact with her family.
Cannabis Convicts Will get First Retail Licenses in New York
On Thursday, March 10th, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that social equity applicants with cannabis convictions will receive the state’s first adult-use retail licenses, reports Reuters. As Fox Business adds, “100 to 200 retail cannabis licenses will be given to applicants with prior marijuana convictions and nonprofit organizations or businesses who have a leader that’s linked to a prior conviction.” Hochul announced this as part of the “first-in-the-nation Seeding Opportunity Initiative,” according to a press release from Hochul’s office. Executive director of New York’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), Chris Alexander, explained that this makes the state a pioneer. “With the Seeding Opportunity Initiative, we are now on the path to doing what no state has done before: Put our farmers and equity entrepreneurs, not big, out of state businesses, at the forefront of the launch of our adult-use cannabis market,” he said in the press release.
Oklahoma House of Representatives Advances “Magic Mushroom Bill”
This week, members of Oklahoma’s House of Representatives passed legislation that aims to decriminalize and advance research into psilocybin. The GOP-led bill, HB3414, now heads to the Senate for approval. If approved, it would impose a $400 fine for 1.5 ounces of psilocybin, reports Marijuana Moment. It would also allow the state’s research institutes and universities to study magic mushrooms’ psychoactive compounds, psilocybin and psilocin. According to The Oklahoman, the “immediate goal of the bill is to help speed up that research in hopes to lower suicide rates, especially among veterans […].” Specifically , researchers will be studying its effects on conditions ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to opioid addiction.
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