The Dime: 7/9/2021

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.

Former NBA Player and Others Voice Support for Athletes who use Cannabis

After officials suspended U.S. Track and Field star, Sha’Carri Richarson, athletes, entrepreneurs, medical experts and more have called upon sports institutions like U.S. Track and Field (USATF) and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (ASADA) to change their cannabis use policies. Specifically, former NBA player Al Harrington — who also founded the cannabis company Voila — tells NBC News, “athletes should have access to cannabis.” In a letter to the USADA and USATF, Harrington says the organizations’ adherence to prohibition policies is “rooted in racism and serves no identifiable public health interest.”

FBI Relaxes Applicant Restrictions for Drug use

The FBI has announced that they are loosening their restrictions for employment concerning pot use. Previously, if applicants admitted to using cannabis (or other illegal drugs) within three years of applying, it would automatically disqualify them from employment, explains Yahoo! News. The FBI has now reduced that to one year. According to Marijuana Moment, in 2014, former FBI Director James Comey alluded to the need for a change in policies, stating; “I have to hire a great work force to compete with those cyber criminals and some of those kids want to smoke weed on the way to the interview,” the publication explains. 

L.A. County Sheriffs see one of Largest pot Seizures in Department History

This week, officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department seized more than $1.9 billion of cannabis in Southern California. The sting, reports CBS News, is one of the largest in the department’s history. Furthermore, the eradication effort was part of the department’s crackdown on cartel-operated illegal growers, according to KTLA. Those growers, officials say, were stealing water. They were also involved in “human trafficking, pollution and threats to safety and security,” CBS adds.