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.
New Mexico Will Welcome Adult-use Cannabis Sales on April 1st
On March 31st, 2021, New Mexico legislatures approved recreational cannabis. Nearly one year after, the state will welcome recreational retail sales on April 1st. According to MJBizDaily, officials expect sales to reach $400 million by 2026 as the state may benefit “from neighboring Texans driving across the border to buy recreational cannabis products.” The emerging New Mexico industry is also attracting a plethora of new job opportunities. As a representative of one company, Everest, explained to KOB4, they plan to open five new dispensaries in the coming months, with plans to hire at least 50 new employees.
Federal Data Shows Private Companies are Drug Testing Less
Last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released a report that looked into business change during the COVID-19 pandemic. In it, they surveyed different industries on issues from telework to drug testing. According to a NORML report, “the percentage of private worksites engaged in drug screening fell by nearly half since 1996 […]. In the latest survey, about 16 percent of respondents said that they drug tested their employees.” The industries most likely to test employees include construction, transportation and warehousing, Marijuana Moment reports. Additionally, companies in states with legal cannabis policies have the lowest rates of testing requirements; the top 10 states that scored the highest have no legal cannabis policies.
Senate Passes CBD Research Bill
On Thursday, March 24th the U.S. Senate “unanimously passed a bill to expand scientific and medical research on cannabis and encourage federal research into CBD,” according to a tweet by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The bill — aka the Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act — encourages “scientific and medical research on marijuana and its compounds including [CBD],” according to Sen. Diane Feinstein’s office, who sponsored the bill along with others. “This bill, which [also] passed the Senate unanimously last year, would streamline the research process to allow FDA-approved marijuana-derived medications to be used to treat serious medical conditions,” she said in the press release. It would also allow doctors to discuss the pros and cons of cannabis with patients, Marijuana Moment reports. This bill joins others waiting for further approval in the U.S. Congress.
Leave a Reply