The American Medical Association (AMA) voted to support drug decriminalization recently on June 12. During the AMA’s annual House of Delegates meeting that was held in Chicago, Illinois, said MD/PhD candidate Ryan Englander. “The war on drugs is quite reminiscent of the phrase, ‘The beatings will continue until morale improves,’” Englander said. “We have tried for decades to criminalize our way out of a substance use crisis in this country, and it has not worked … We need to move to something different and better, something that actually works.”

Previously, language from an AMA Board of Trustees report asked that the association “continue to monitor the legal and public health effects of state and federal policies to reclassify criminal offenses for drug possession for personal use.”

During the recent meeting, delegates voted 345-171 to adopt the new position on its drug policy, which updates the association’s stance. Now it seeks for the “elimination of criminal penalties for drug possession for personal use as part of a larger set of related public health and legal reforms designed to improve carefully selected outcomes.”

Englander stated that there is enough evidence of how decriminalization affects residents, citing how Oregon recriminalized hard drugs but Portugal has experienced better success. He stated that Oregon was “instructive, but so is the [experience of] Portugal, where that country decriminalized or removed penalties for personal possession of drugs for personal use, and they were actually able to get people into treatment, and mortality did drop. So there are models that we can use that can work,” Englander explained.

American Society of Addiction Medicine speaker Stephen Taylor proposed that it be sent to the reference committee, stating that “there is, in fact, evidence that decriminalization can have public health benefits if it is done correctly. We would suggest that we have yet to see it done correctly.”

Of course, there were numerous delegates in opposition of endorsing decriminalization as well. “Our policy must reflect the evidence, and currently, the evidence does not support broad decriminalization,” said Bobby Mukkamala, AMA president-elect. “We just have to look at the Oregon experience. In 2020, Oregon decriminalized the possession of just small amounts of illicit drugs with the goal of getting people into treatment, but unfortunately, the outcome was quite different. There was no reduction in mortality and there was no increase in access to treatment… The board doesn’t believe it’s wise to have the AMA support policies that do not have more robust evidence behind them.”

American College of Physicians delegate Marianne Parshley commented that although Oregon appeared to improve when the decriminalization law was passed in 2020, fentanyl use and associated deaths also rose. From her perspective, recriminalization was a way to get bipartisan support for more funding and improving drug treatment programs. “So, it’s complex,” Parshley said. “We need to pay attention to the fact that [the situation] doesn’t instantaneously change if you pass decriminalization and support for treatment.”

The AMA’s drug policies have shifted over the past few years. In June 2022 during another annual House of Delegates meeting, the AMA changed its policy on expungement and called on states to implement record-cleaning services. “This affects young people aspiring to careers in medicine as well as many others who are denied housing, education, loans and job opportunities,” said Scott Ferguson, an AMA trustee. “It simply isn’t fair to ruin a life based on actions that result in convictions but are subsequently legalized or decriminalized.”

At last year’s annual House of Delegates meeting, the AMA adopted a new policy to advocate for substances like psilocybin and MDMA for psychiatric disorder treatments. “The AMA believes that scientifically valid and well-controlled clinical trials are necessary to assess the safety and effectiveness of all new drugs, including the potential use of psychedelics for the treatment of psychiatric disorders,” said Jack Resneck, AMA Immediate Past President, at the time. “The AMA appreciates that lawmakers want to help address the mental health crisis in the U.S., but there are other straightforward approaches that don’t thwart drug safety assessment and regulation, such as increasing coverage and removing barriers to care for evidence-based treatments.”

A report from the Board of Trustees, which was published prior to the 2024 House of Delegates meeting, addressed its disapproval of endorsing decriminalization. “The Board of Trustees believes that it is 1 premature to recommend decriminalizing drug possession offenses as a public health benefit in the 2 absence of evidence demonstrating public health benefits,” the report stated. During the meeting, Mukkamala spoke on behalf of the board and stated that the AMA “must reflect the evidence, and currently, the evidence does not support broad decriminalization.” The board did, however, support the expungement policy change.

The post The American Medical Association Voted To Approve Drug Decriminalization first appeared on High Times.

The post The American Medical Association Voted To Approve Drug Decriminalization appeared first on Paradise Found.

An Illinois bill to legalize hemp-derived cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC has stalled in the House of Representatives after lawmakers left the state capitol without passing the legislation that would have banned sales of the popular products. 

The measure was supported by many representatives of Illinois’ regulated marijuana industry who argue that unregulated hemp products give minors unfettered access to intoxicating substances and are a risk to consumers. Hemp advocates maintain, however, that the bill will destroy the fledgling industry and the small businesses it supports.

Jennifer Weiss, the owner of Chicago-based Cubbington’s Cabinet, a manufacturer and retailer of personal and pet CBD-infused products, said the bill jeopardizes the viability of the business.

“The bill is so restrictive it would outlaw almost everything in my store,” Weiss said, according to a report from local news.

Over the weekend, the Illinois Senate voted 54-1 to approve a bill that would have limited sales of hemp products that contain THC to licensed marijuana dispensaries. Democratic Senator Kimberly Lightford, the sponsor of the bill, said the legislation was a bipartisan attempt to control unregulated sales of delta-8 THC and other intoxicating hemp cannabinoids. But on Wednesday, members of the House of Representatives adjourned for the summer without taking up Lightford’s bill.

“After months of negotiations, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill that all sides agreed upon, further ensuring our common goal to have a fair, just and safe industry,” Lightford said in a statement, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. “The bill we put forth showed the dire need to regulate the hemp industry before we lose yet another young life to these pervasive products. It’s unfortunate the House could not meet the urgency.”

Competing Bill Also Stalled

Democratic state Rep. La Shawn Ford agrees that sales of delta-8 and other intoxicating cannabinoids need to be regulated but says that the bill passed by the Senate is not an appropriate solution. Ford sponsored a competing bill favored by the hemp industry, but the House of Representatives failed to advance the legislation.

“We don’t want pop-up smoke shops opening on every corner,” said Democratic state Representative La Shawn Ford. “We need to make sure we have some licenses and limit how many we have, so we don’t turn Chicago into ‘Delta and Marijuana City.’”

Ford’s bill would allow existing hemp companies to continue doing business by obtaining a $500 license and completing required product testing. The bill would also levy a 10% tax on hemp businesses and restrict sales of hemp products to adults aged 21 and older.

“It’s not like we can get rid of it. You can’t ban something that’s grown like this,” Ford said. “Let’s not try to have an industry that directly competes with cannabis. Put this industry in its own lane, just like beer is in its own lane and rum and spirits are in their own lane.”

Tiffany Chappell Ingram, executive director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois that backed Lightford’s bill, said that members of the group “are disappointed the House failed to pass needed reforms to our state’s cannabis laws and will continue to allow synthetic hemp products that are sickening children and adults to be sold with no oversight.”

“Despite overwhelming bipartisan support for these measures in the Senate, there is clearly more work to do to educate legislators about these important matters,” Chappell said in a statement.

Adam Terry, CEO of cannabis-infused beverages manufacturer Cantrip, encouraged lawmakers to continue working to develop a plan to regulate hemp-derived cannabinoids.

“The Illinois legislature is trying to do what we all want – find a path to regulating the consumable hemp products market,” Terry wrote in an email to High Times. “But in the session, it didn’t get to a workable solution.”

“All good faith hemp operators are interested in affirmative regulation that lays out clear and workable guidelines,” he continued. “Any hemp operator simply clamoring to exist in a perpetually unregulated state of affairs is not serious about long-term business health or public safety.”

The post Illinois Delta-8 Regulation Bill Stalls in House of Representatives first appeared on High Times.

The post Illinois Delta-8 Regulation Bill Stalls in House of Representatives appeared first on Paradise Found.

Hemp business owners in Illinois are calling on lawmakers to approve legislation to regulate the state’s hemp industry instead of a bill that would ban products containing intoxicating cannabinoids including delta-8 THC. 

Last month, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford introduced a hemp regulation bill that would ban delta-8 and other hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids. Such products are currently unregulated in Illinois and are widely available at retailers including smoke shops, gas stations and convenience stores, often as edibles including chips and sweets that mimic popular brands. 

“We don’t know what exactly is in them,” Democratic state Representative Barbara Hernandez said at the time, according to a report from WGEM television news. “We don’t know the ingredients, they are not regulated to list the full ingredients and, as we see here at the table, there’s several items that look like products that we have had before.”

Lightford’s bill, dubbed the Hemp Consumer Products Act (SB3926), would also establish a licensing system for hemp product retailers and set requirements for the testing, packaging and marketing of hemp products. The measure, which is supported by the Illinois Cannabis Association, also mandates scientific research of hemp-derived intoxicating products to determine if they can be safely regulated and once again offered for sale in Illinois.

Tiffany Chappell Ingram, the association’s executive director, issued a statement calling for a “pause” of hemp intoxicant sales pending further research, according to a report from the Chicago Tribune.

“We look forward to working with legislators to find a path forward that empowers consumers, protects minors and ensures the state’s adult-use cannabis law lives up to its full promise, including uplifting social equity license holders and communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs,” she said.

Business Owners Call For Regulation, Not Prohibition

The Hemp Consumer Products Act is opposed by some lawmakers and many representatives of the hemp industry who believe the bill is too strict and likely to cripple the growing market for hemp products. Opponents of the bill held a press conference in the state capital of Springfield on Tuesday to make their case against the legislation and express support for a different hemp regulation bill.

Jennifer Weiss, founder and CEO of hemp products retailer Cubbington’s Cabinet in Chicago, said that she is afraid Lightford’s bill would set such strict limits that it would prohibit sales of non-intoxicating products such as CBD.

“We would have to shut our doors, as well as hundreds of other Illinois companies,” she said. “Let’s not go backward with out-of-touch prohibitions.”

Instead, the hemp entrepreneurs are backing a separate bill (HB5306) from Democratic state Representative Rep. La Shawn Ford. He said that Lightfoot’s bill would likely kill the state’s hemp industry while creating a new illicit market for hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids.

“Prohibition doesn’t work, and Illinois should reject going backward,” he said.

Ford’s bill would create a regulatory and taxation framework for hemp-derived cannabinoids such as CBD and delta-8 THC, including provisions for the licensing of businesses. The measure also limits sales of such products to adults aged 21 and older and sets a limit on the amount of THC contained in consumable hemp products. Additionally, the measure would ban look-alike hemp product packaging that copies the look of other consumer goods.

Ford said that he wants to prevent children from obtaining intoxicating hemp products and to take look-alike products off the market. He also said he does not want to endanger the state’s hemp industry, which could generate approximately $1.5 billion in state revenue over four years.

“We must do something about delta-8 and other unregulated delta hemp products now,” Ford said at Tuesday’s press conference. “Personally, I’ve been working with the industry calling for regulations for the better part of three years, and it’s time to act now,”.

The post Illinois Hemp Operators Call For Regulation Instead of Prohibition first appeared on High Times.

The post Illinois Hemp Operators Call For Regulation Instead of Prohibition appeared first on Paradise Found.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker took to the campaign trail over the weekend to stump for President Joseph Biden, taking advantage of the 420 weed high holiday as an opportunity to tout the cannabis policy reforms made by the current administration. At a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday, Pritzker said that cannabis policy reform can have significant economic benefits in states that legalize marijuana for adults.

“I wanted to come up here on 4/20, because we, too, legalized cannabis in the state of Illinois, and I know that’s been a boon to not only state revenues but also to business and job creation in the state of Michigan,” said Pritzker, according to a report from Michigan Advance.

“To be blunt: we’re proud to have sparked a new industry when we legalized adult-use cannabis,” the governor added on X in a 420 tweet.

Joined by Michigan Democratic state Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, Pritzker said that legalizing marijuana in Michigan was just one of many Democratic victories in the state since 2018.

“You all have turned a state that was — let’s face it, a red state — into a purple state, and now a blue state,” Pritzker told the crowd. “There are so many other states in the country that should be following Michigan’s lead.”

The Illinois governor added that the progress made in Michigan did not come easy, encouraging the public to volunteer for the campaign and canvass voters to get out the Democratic message.

“It’s like the eighth-grade dance, for me, anyway. Sometimes you have to knock on three or four doors before you get somebody you can really talk to,” Pritzker said. “Because you’re willing to do that, you’re going to have somebody to dance with. You’re going to bring them to the dance.”

Biden Administration Reviewing Federal Weed Policy

In 2022, Biden issued an executive order pardoning thousands of low-level marijuana convictions and directed his administration to review the federal prohibition of cannabis. In August 2023, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine called on the Drug Enforcement Administration to change the classification of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. Under the 1970 legislation, the Schedule I classification indicates that a drug has no accepted medical value and a high propensity for abuse. Other drugs currently listed under Schedule I include heroin and LSD.

In January, the Department of Health and Human Services determined that marijuana is eligible for the less strict classification under federal drug laws, according to agency documents. As part of the review, researchers with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that credible evidence shows that marijuana has legitimate medical uses and fits the criteria for rescheduling under the Controlled Substances Act.

At his Grand Rapids campaign stop, Pritzker noted that Biden is also busy supporting his bid for reelection against former president and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. The president spent much of last week campaigning in the battleground state of Pennsylvania and will be making additional stops to help secure the “blue wall” of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, three states that voted for Trump in 2016 but then switched to Biden four years later.

“Democrats need to win the blue wall states. It’s vitally important, and Joe Biden knows it,” Pritzker said. “One of the reasons we’re having the Democratic National Convention here in the Midwest is because he recognizes how important this is.”

“Michigan sits in the middle,” he added. “If we don’t win Michigan, we can’t win the presidency. And if we don’t win Michigan, this country is going to go backwards.” 

Pritzker referred to criticisms that both frontrunners are too old to be elected, arguing that Biden’s experience and character are attributes that will help him in office while suggesting that Trump is uncaring.

“People sometimes say Joe Biden’s old. But Donald Trump has proven that you can be old and not learn anything,” said Pritzker. “You can be old without having learned, throughout the course of your life, empathy for people across the United States. And that is Joe Biden; he wears empathy on his sleeve.”

Pritzker acknowledged that last week, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy won his bid to be added to the Michigan ballot for the general election in November. But the governor said he was not concerned that Kennedy would be a spoiler candidate that takes votes away from the current president.

“There’s only one candidate on the ballot who can win and beat Donald Trump, and that’s Joe Biden,” Pritzker said. “I don’t think having ballot access for Robert Kennedy is going to change the fact that people are going to go into the voting booths and know that they’re throwing away their vote if they vote Robert Kennedy, and that if they vote for Joe Biden they’re assuring that we’re not going to have Donald Trump as president.”

Pritzker continued his support for the president’s reelection campaign on Sunday, leaning into his belief that Kennedy’s candidacy would not hurt Biden.

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. being on the ballot in Michigan, I think is going to have a little effect on the ultimate result,” Pritzker said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” according to a report from The Hill. “People understand that there are really only two candidates that have a path to victory in this country and in Michigan. And, of course, that’s Joe Biden and Donald Trump.”

Both major political parties have yet to make their choice for president official. The GOP will meet at the Republican Convention being held in Milwaukee in July to nominate the party’s candidate for president, while Democrats will choose their nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

The post Illinois Governor Cites Cannabis Reform While Campaigning for Biden appeared first on High Times.

The post Illinois Governor Cites Cannabis Reform While Campaigning for Biden appeared first on Paradise Found.

On Feb. 17, 2023, a Georgia-based Black family of seven (two parents, Deonte Williams and Bianca Claymore and five children, one of which was an infant at the time) were driving to a funeral and traveling through Tennessee to Chicago, Illinois, when they were detained at a traffic stop. Law enforcement initially pulled them over for dark tinted windows and traveling in the left lane while not passing, but after finding five grams of cannabis in the pocket of the Williams, he was arrested, Clayborne was cited, and they spent four hours at the Coffee County Justice Center.

The children were terrified, and DCS caseworkers asked to obtain a urine sample from Clayborne, who refused because she didn’t want to leave her kids alone. They compromised to have her give a urine sample in her car, while surrounded by law enforcement, and she attempted to do so, but ultimately could not. DCS told her that not complying “made matters worse” for her, and an emergency order from Coffee County Judge Greg Perry was issued for the children; they were removed from Bianca’s side at the justice center and taken into state custody.

The children were placed in temporary separate foster homes, where Clayborne was not allowed to visit them, and later they were allowed to stay with a family friend while the case was ongoing. Finally, after 55 days of separation, the children were returned to their parents on April 13. Clayborne’s misdemeanor was dismissed, Williams pled guilty to a misdemeanor, and the Department of Children’s Services dismissed the case.

According to the Tennessee Lookout, the sudden separation caused Clayborne to suffer from intense anxiety, depression, and mental anguish, and she stopped producing breast milk during that time. The news report shared that the children have also shown signs of trauma because of the incident, including one child having nightmares, wetting the bed, and another child now “has a visceral reaction to seeing police.”

Nearly one year later on Feb. 8, the family is suing the three DCS caseworkers, four Tennessee Highway Patrol officers, 10 Coffee County Sheriff Department officers, all of which played a part in the incident. “These public officials illegally tore apart and terrorized Clayborne’s family. They acted outrageously and unlawfully. Their actions caused severe emotional trauma to Clayborne and each of her five children,” the lawsuit stated. “Clayborne and the children bring this lawsuit to vindicate their rights against people that harmed them, though the full extent of the harm to their family may never be undone.”

The lawsuit claims that the family’s fourth amendment rights were violated, that there is evidence of multiple counts of false arrest and imprisonment, in addition to many other counts. The family is represented by Herzfeld, Suetholz, Gastel, Leniski, and Wall, PLLC, and Rubenfeld Law Office, PC.

Last year, Williams’ and Claymore’s attorney, Jamaal Boykin, expressed the sheer horror of such an event taking place. “It’s just so shocking to the conscience that in 2023 this is happening,” said Boykin. “I just have to believe if my clients looked different or had a different background, they would have just been given a citation and told you just keep this stuff away from the kids while you’re in this state and they’d be on their way.”

Legislators who heard about the incident also stood up for the family, such as Tennessee Sen. London Lamar. “DCS, Coffee County, y’all need to do the right thing before the situation gets worse, and we have a nation of people coming to the rescue of this Black family,” said Lamar. “Give them their children back. It’s borderline discrimination, because if this was any other family, as their attorney said, we don’t even think this would be the outcome.”

Tennessee Sen. Raumesh Akbari also exclaimed her disappointment in the events that tore the family apart. “It is outrageous that the state forcefully separated Bianca Clayborne, a breastfeeding mother, and Deonte Williams from their kids and have allowed this to continue for nearly a month,” Akbari said. “The state exercised extreme and flawed judgment in taking their children and it seems they’ve doubled down on this poor decision. No family is perfect, but an imperfection, like a simple marijuana charge, is no excuse for tearing a family apart. The state is supposed to support reunification. If they don’t have a better reason, they must immediately return these five children to their parents.”

Cannabis laws in Tennessee are incredibly strict, even for the limited number of patients who are permitted to use medical cannabis as residents. In the 2022 State of the States Report written by Americans for Safe Access, Tennessee received an “F” grade for its medical cannabis program. “Tennessee policymakers should avoid delaying implementation of a medical cannabis program; patients in the state are actively harmed by the state’s inaction,” the ASA wrote. Other states with an “F” rating included Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

The post Mother Sues Tennessee Agencies for Using Cannabis Arrest To Separate Family appeared first on High Times.

The post Mother Sues Tennessee Agencies for Using Cannabis Arrest To Separate Family appeared first on Paradise Found.

A planned merger between cannabis multistate operators Columbia Care and Cresco Labs valued at $2 billion has been called off, according to a statement from the two companies released on Monday. 

Chicago-based Cresco Labs announced in March 2022 that it had come to an agreement to acquire Columbia Care, headquartered in New York, in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $2 billion. In February, the two companies unveiled a revised plan to give the firms more time to divest assets in some markets to comply with regulatory requirements.

Each already one of the largest vertically integrated cannabis companies in the United States, the planned deal between the two firms would have created the largest marijuana business in the country. But on Monday, the two companies announced that they had come to a mutual agreement to walk away from the deal, citing the regulatory and business climate facing the regulated cannabis industry. No penalties or fees related to the mutual agreement to terminate the merger will be incurred by either company.

“In light of the evolving landscape in the cannabis industry, we believe the decision to terminate the planned transaction is in the long-term interest of Cresco Labs and our shareholders,” Charles Bachtell, CEO and co-founder of Cresco Labs, said in a statement from the company.

Bachtell added that this is a “tough economic time” for the cannabis industry as a whole and that Cresco will refocus on its core business, including a “swift restructuring of low-margin operations.”

Cannabis Industry Facing Challenges

CNBC reported on Monday that the deal began to fall through when the companies failed to divest assets necessary to achieve regulatory approval by a deadline that passed on June 30. Under state licensing laws, the companies were required to relinquish assets in some markets where both firms were doing business.

In addition to the regulatory issues faced by Columbia Care and Cresco Labs, the cannabis industry as a whole has been hampered by the continued illegality of marijuana at the federal level. Sales of regulated cannabis have declined in some of the first states to legalize marijuana as markets mature, while an entrenched underground industry continues to flourish. 

Additionally, the failure of Congress to pass the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, a bill that would give state-legal cannabis companies access to traditional financial services, has led to a steep drop in investment in the industry. Federal regulations also impinge on regulated cannabis companies’ ability to carry out vital business functions, as was made clear last week when Mastercard warned banks and payment processors to stop allowing debit transactions for purchases of cannabis products.

Cresco Labs has a market capitalization of about $700 million, down from about $2 billion when the deal was announced, according to CNBC, while Columbia Care’s market value is about $200 million. In addition to the cancellation of the merger, the two companies noted that a November 2022 agreement to divest certain New York, Illinois and Massachusetts assets of Cresco and Columbia Care to an entity owned and controlled by Sean “Diddy” Combs has also been terminated, effective July 28, 2023.

Scrapping Merger ‘The Best Path Forward’

Nicholas Vita, the CEO and co-founder of Columbia Care, said that scrapping the planned deal was the best option for both businesses.

“After careful consideration, we are confident in the mutual decision to move forward as separate, standalone companies. This is the best path forward for Columbia Care’s employees, customers, and shareholders. We are thankful for the collaboration and partnership with the Cresco team throughout this extensive process,” said Vita. “Over the last 16 months we have reviewed every aspect of our business, remained decisive and have made substantive changes that significantly improved our operations — positioning us with significant strategic and operational strength at this inflection point in the company’s history.

Lucas C. McCann, Ph.D., the co-founder and chief scientific officer of the cannabis regulatory and compliance consulting firm CannDelta, says that the “announcement of the failed merger between Cresco and Columbia Health is an alarming trend in the cannabis industry across the country.” But he adds that the news might result in a better business environment for independent operators down the road.

“The silver lining in this situation might be the opportunities it opens up for smaller businesses. The saying ‘Be Small, Keep it All’ seems to continue to be true for emerging and mature cannabis markets, such as New York,” McCann said, where fees for large operators are high compared to those for micro businesses, “making it prohibitively expensive for big businesses to thrive in these markets.”

“These high fees for big businesses will pave the way for smaller players to make a significant impact and continue to do so as the market matures,” he added in an email to High Times.

The post Columbia Care And Cresco Labs Call Off $2 Billion Merger Deal appeared first on High Times.

The post Columbia Care And Cresco Labs Call Off $2 Billion Merger Deal appeared first on Paradise Found.

An Illinois teenager living in a zip code with a medical cannabis dispensary is less likely to have used pot, according to new research.

The findings, which come from researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, showed that “about 18.3% of the youths living in Illinois ZIP codes with medical dispensaries reported they used cannabis during the prior year compared with 22.4% of those who lived in ZIP codes without these businesses,” according to Illinois News Bureau, a news service at the university.

“Likewise, fewer students – 12% – with medical dispensaries in their ZIP codes reported they had used cannabis during the prior 30 days, compared with 15.6% of their peers who lived in other ZIP codes, the researchers found,” the Illinois News Bureau reported.

The findings were based on the 2018 Illinois Youth Survey, a “biennial assessment conducted by the Center for Prevention Research and Development” at the university that included a sample of 10,560 young people in the state. 

According to the news bureau, the “anonymous survey [asked] students in the eighth, 10th and 12th grades at schools across Illinois about various health and social issues, including their alcohol, tobacco and drug use,” while the data “were collected between January and June 2018,” when there were 53 operational medical cannabis dispensaries in the state. The survey was conducted before Illinois legalized recreational cannabis, which launched in January of 2020.

“There’s good news, and there are still reasons to be cautious and continue monitoring things,” said Doug Smith, the director of the Center for Prevention Research and Development at the university who is also a professor of social work and an expert on substance use in teens and young adults. “The good news is that it looks like in Illinois there was no immediate impact on adolescent substance use rates after medical dispensaries came on. In fact, we found that across the whole sample, those who lived in a ZIP code with a dispensary were less likely to have used cannabis during the past 30 days or one year.” 

Smith admitted that the findings of the survey did not invite an obvious explanation.

“It’s a head-scratcher to be honest,” Smith said, as quoted by the news bureau. “The only reason I can think of is that in 2018 there were only 53 dispensaries in operation across the state of Illinois. It could be that the state was just not saturated enough with these facilities to see an effect at that time.

“However, we need to combat the hysteria that legalizing cannabis is going to have a wild and resounding impact on teens in terms of substance use rates and prevalence,” Smith added. “That’s simply not the case.”

The news bureau has more on the survey’s findings:

“The average age of the students surveyed was 15 years old. Most of the students in the sample were white (43%) or Latino (26%). Consistent with national data, cannabis usage significantly increased as Illinois students progressed from eighth to 12th grade, regardless of whether there was a dispensary in their ZIP code, the researchers found. Most of those surveyed – 47% – were from suburban Chicago, while 21% were from other cities, about 18% lived in rural areas and 14% resided in the city of Chicago. About 32% of the Chicago youths in the study lived in ZIP codes where medical cannabis dispensaries were operating compared with 3.5% of those living in rural areas. Cannabis usage was more prevalent in more populated areas, the data indicated. Overall, 29% of students living in the city of Chicago reported they had used cannabis, compared with 19% of those from the Chicago suburbs, 22% of students from other urban areas and 19% of rural students, according to the study.”

The post Pot Use Lower Among Illinois Teens Who Live Near Medical Dispensaries appeared first on High Times.

The post Pot Use Lower Among Illinois Teens Who Live Near Medical Dispensaries appeared first on Paradise Found.

In an interview with Book Club Chicago, Vic Mensa described the details of his Books Before Bars program, which aims to supply prisoners with books that can transform their lives. Mensa also mentioned his Books Before Bars program to High Times in 2022.

Currently, tens of thousands of prisoners are currently locked up on federal and state cannabis-related charges, which is one of the reasons why some cannabis brands and the leaders behind them aim to change that.

Mensa is one of the rappers trying to do that. He explained that Books Before Bars can trace its story back nearly a decade ago. Mensa gave a copy of Huey P. Newton’s autobiography Revolutionary Suicide, 1973, to an incarcerated friend.

The book tells the story of how Newton, co-founder of the Black Panthers, “mastered his memories and, essentially, transported himself mentally beyond the walls of a prison” during his own time behind bars in the ’60s.

“I’ve seen how the right book at the right time can be a seed which, if watered and natured, can grow an internal freedom even within the walls of a modern-day plantation,” Mensa said. “I started [Books Before Bars] with the cannabis company because I wanted to provide a freedom.”

According to data from the Illinois Department of Corrections, in 2019, the department banned hundreds of books including many about race and racism, before being forced to change its policy after public outcry.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Illinois has the third-highest racial disparity in cannabis possession arrests, with Black people 7.5 times more likely to be arrested than white people despite consuming cannabis at similar rates.

Some of the other books include The Autobiography of Gucci Mane by the Atlanta, Georgia-based rapper to Sister Outsider—a collection of essays and poems by Audre Lorde. Mensa told Book Club Chicago that he buys the books in bulk from the Black-woman-owned bookstore Semicolon which is in the Wicker Park area of Chicago. 

Semicolon is scheduled to be closed until August as it converts into a nonprofit model, however Mensa bought books in bulk before the store closed. 

Books Before Bars program is an initiative funded through Mensa’s cannabis line 93 Boyz. Mensa said he launched 93 Boyz to “address prison reform and equity in the cannabis space.” Books Before Bars is a big step towards that goal. “Cannabis has been used to snatch freedom from so many families,” Mensa said. “I felt it was imperative to provide freedom in whatever ways I could. It wouldn’t be responsibly aligned with my values to not have that socially minded angle within the larger framework of the cannabis business.”

A year ago, Mensa explained to High Times how he’d be launching a project with Books Before Bars, which was in the early stages at the time.

“Our first project that we’re launching […] with the release of our full strain portfolio is a project called Books Before Bars,” Mensa told High Times in the October 2022 issue. “We’re putting over one-thousand books into Illinois jails and prisons. This is an idea I had from my own experience sending literature to people in prison and seeing how their entire life experience can be—and has been—shifted by reading the right books. If you can’t attain freedom yet in the physical, you can get it in the mental while you’re still in the cage.”

93 Boyz is Chicago’s first Black-owned cannabis brand. Mensa co-founded the brand with rapper Towkio about a year ago. The brand sells eighths of flower, pre-rolls, and vape pens, and you can find strains like Jet Fuel, Gelonade, Gary Payton OG, Rainbow Belts, or The Lotto.

The post Vic Mensa Details Books He’s Sending to Prisoners appeared first on High Times.

The post Vic Mensa Details Books He’s Sending to Prisoners appeared first on Paradise Found.

In the 19th century, French revolutionaries gathered in salons to talk politics and philosophy. In 2023, a group of Chicago medical professionals meet at Billy Corgan’s whimsical tea salon, Madame ZuZu’s Emporium in Highland Park, IL., to talk psychedelics. 

Once a month, over cups of exotic tea and plant-based pastries, Madame ZuZu’s is abuzz with conversations about ketamine therapy, psilocybin treatments, dosing, trip-sitting, legislation, and more. The Chicago Med Psychedelics Group (as they call themselves) are a spirited bunch of practitioners whose health backgrounds zigzag across mainstream medicine and beyond: the group counts nurse practitioners, psychotherapists, internal medicine specialists, university medical directors, and cannabis pharmacologists among its nine core members. 

Like any good grassroots movement, the Chicago Med Psychedelics Group came into being to kickstart change at a local level.

“Psychedelics hold a lot of potential benefits and pitfalls in helping push healing to the next level. However, we still have much to learn,” says Leslie Mendoza Temple MD, Medical Director of the Integrative Medicine Program at the NorthShore University HealthSystem and Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. 

“I knew there was a community of early adopters, and I felt we should put our heads together to help promote a rational, balanced way to share knowledge on the science and logistics of this large class of substances.”

Summer 2022 saw Mendoza Temple browsing the MAPS website and connecting with David Schwartz, a fellow Chicagoan, licensed clinical professional counselor and psychedelic integration psychotherapist. They met, hit it off, and began inviting others to join them.

“We started growing the group because I just wanted to know, who am I going to refer to [with questions about psychedelic medicine or treatments]?” explained Mendoza Temple. 

“I want to know where I’m sending patients. That’s an integral part of all of this: who do you trust, and who can be a space holder for these experiences? The psychedelic community is being built from the ground up by microcosms like ours.”

Members are drawn to join the close-knit community for a number of reasons. All want to connect with other like-minded professionals; some hope to expand their awareness of psychedelic medicine, and others want to merge firsthand psychedelic experiences with their professional expertise to support patients. 

For Katie Sullivan, a family nurse practitioner and founder of Modern Compassionate Care, a life-changing psilocybin experience crystallized her desire to become an advocate of psychedelic treatment. Sullivan became a widow when her husband, a U.S. Marine, died at age 30 following exposure to burn pits during service in Iraq.  

“Coming out of that experience, I was a young mother of a 3-year-old who was deeply traumatized and living with a significant amount of survivor’s guilt,” she explains.

Sullivan tried therapy, support groups, meditation and EMDR to help manage her grief and PTSD. While they helped reduce some of her pain, a deep well of grief persisted. So she turned to psilocybin.

“I spent time consciously preparing for my solo trip and then went on a journey inside to meet the pain that I couldn’t release.” 

Sullivan reflects that her psilocybin journey provided catharsis and a new perspective that allowed her to let go of the burden of guilt she’d been carrying. It’s now been six years since that single transformative trip. Sullivan describes it as one of the most significant moments of her life, spurring her to become involved with psychedelic advocacy. She counts the support she receives from the Chicago Med Psychedelics Group as invaluable, since she now offers ketamine therapy treatments in her clinic.

“I really wanted to be part of a community of providers and clinicians that I could turn to. This is a new space, and I want to be ethical, safe, and provide really good education for people,” she says.

For David Schwartz, involvement in the group was another step towards embracing a psychedelic-friendly professional persona.

“In my public-facing role now, I’m open about providing preparation and integration for psychedelic therapy, ” he explains. “So that’s one way I’ve decided to step out of the psychedelic closet.” 

Schwartz is also happy to speak with curious clients about his personal experiences with psychedelics. 

“I think it’s an important part of this type of work and advocacy to also normalize the benefits of these medicines,” he said. ‘I eventually decided that my psychedelic experiences mean that I have a responsibility to be a source of information and conduit for people who want to talk to someone openly.”

When the group descends upon Madame ZuZu’s for their monthly meeting, it’s high vibes with everyone chatting enthusiastically about new research findings, events, conferences, and personal or professional experiences. 

“There’s so much conversation going on and so much excitement,” said Schwartz. “Everyone just wants to talk, share, ask questions, and connect.”

Special guests occasionally join in, ushering their unique area of expertise or perspective into the fold. Last month Billy Corgan stepped out from behind ZuZu’s tea counter and sat down with the group to debate whether U.S. society was ready to handle complete psychedelic legalization. 

Other meetings have included guests such as Jean Lacy, founder of the Illinois Psychedelic Society, Anne Berg of the Psychedelic Pharmacists Association, and Rachel Norris MD, the owner and operator of ketamine-focused clinic Imagine Healthcare in Chicago. The airy art-deco emporium of Madame ZuZu’s is the ideal space holder for this eclectic, knowledge-hungry bunch who are pumped to meet with like-minded individuals. 

However, beyond the thrill of connecting and learning, there’s also an awareness of contributing to the changing legislative landscape in Illinois. In January 2023, Illinois legislator La Shawn Ford introduced the Compassionate Use and Research of Entheogens Act, or the “Illinois CURE Act”. If passed, this act would regulate and license the provision of psilocybin products in Illinois. At this stage, while the bill is still under consideration, events promoting debate and education around psychedelics can help to play a role in promoting awareness. 

Some Chicago Med Psychedelics Group members have become involved with sister groups, such as the Illinois Psychedelic Society, to share educational resources and further the cause. Leslie Mendoza Temple, Lisa Solomon, and Karolina Mikos MD will participate and present in panels at the Illinois Cannabis and Psychedelic Symposium in late September. Other group members have lined up to join in discussions at the upcoming Illinois Psychedelic Society Summer Networking Mixer, which will welcome 300 people. The last mixer the group was involved with sold out within 48 hours. 

While involvement in these larger events is meaningful, at this stage, the prevailing sentiment among Chicago Med Psychedelics Group is to keep their gatherings at Madame ZuZu’s intimate, informal, and supportive.

“I like keeping it small,” comments Mendoza Temple. ”I don’t know that we’d even have a vision or mission statement as that makes it very formal, then you start to invite more people, and you need an agenda…Don’t we have enough of those big, formal groups already?”

“Tend to the part of the garden you can touch,” reflects Schwartz. “Personally, I’m just thrilled to tag along for the ride as everything evolves with legislation and things like that, but what really interests me is actually changing the culture from the bottom up.”

Photo from far left, clockwise:

Maerry Lee MD ACEP, Joseph Friedman RPh MBA, David Schwartz LCPC, Anne Berg PharmD (guest), James T. O’Donnell PharmD MS FCP, David Schwartz LCPC, Leslie Mendoza Temple MD ABOIM, Lisa Solomon, Clinical Education Council Co-Chair of the Illinois Psychedelic Society, Karolina Mikos MD, Luba Andres RPh (guest)

Absent Chicago Med Psychedelics Group members: Katie Sullivan, APRN, FNP-C, David Kushner MD DO FASAM FACP, Rebecca Abraham RN BSN.

The post Psychedelic Conversations at Madame ZuZu’s Emporium appeared first on High Times.

The post Psychedelic Conversations at Madame ZuZu’s Emporium appeared first on Paradise Found.

The Illinois Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office (CROO) announced on Feb. 7 that it launched its Cannabis Disparity and Availability Study, which tasks a contract group to find examples of discrimination within the local cannabis industry.

According to CROO, the study “will collect and analyze data and report on whether discrimination exists in the Illinois cannabis industry,” CROO states on its website. “If there is a finding that discrimination exists, the Disparity Study will evaluate the impact of the discrimination on the State and its residents regarding entering and participating in the State’s cannabis industry. The Disparity Study will include recommendations for reducing or eliminating any identified barriers to entry.“

The study will examine laws and court cases that involve cannabis and cannabis and disparity studies, conduct interviews and create focus groups for public input, and compile data in relation to the state’s cannabis application process and business information.

A final report is required to be sent to the General Assembly and governor within 12 months, including any “potential remedies” to amend current cannabis regulation. “This effort is a vital assessment of the state’s cannabis social equity licensing system,” said Acting CROO Officer Erin Johnson. “We look forward to seeing a final report that truly incorporates the voices of Illinois social equity applicants and our new cannabis businesses.”

This comes nearly one year since the state issued a request to find someone to conduct the Disparity Study in Feb. 2022. This led to the hiring of the Nerevu Group, which is a minority- and women-owned contractor group based throughout Illinois, as well as some out-of-state locations.

“Along with our partners, Nerevu is honored to support CROO, IDFPR and IDOA in building an even more inclusive and equitable cannabis industry,” said Nerevu Group Founder and President Reuben Cummings. “This study is essential in identifying potential disparities and suitable remedies. We are excited to initiate this project and look forward to connecting with the greater cannabis community.”

Legal adult-use cannabis sales began in 2020, and in July 2022, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that 149 condition state licenses would be issued and available for social equity applicants. “Illinois is leading the way in addressing the War on Drugs as no state has before, and dispensary ownership that reflects our state’s diversity is a product of that commitment,” said Pritzker. “These licenses represent a significant step toward accountability for the decades of injustice preceding cannabis legalization. Illinois will continue to deliver on the promises of putting equity at the forefront of this process.”

Just a few months later, two of the state’s first social equity cannabis dispensaries, Ivy Hall Damen and Green Rose Dispensary, opened in November 2022 in Chicago.

According to Nigel Dandridge, the co-founder of Ivy Hall Damen, it’s taken a long time for his business to open up. “We’ve been working to get a seat at the table for a while now, and we’re finally able to do that,” said Dandridge. “When this industry first opened up, we didn’t see anyone in our community benefiting, or even being able to participate. So it was kind of hypocritical. I think it’s important that we can show you what we’re doing. We want everyone to benefit. Our staff’s been working hard, and we’re just excited to share it with everyone.”

Falling in line with other states in the U.S., Illinois Rep. La Shawn Ford recently introduced House Bill 1 to legalize psychedelics in January. Ford’s bill would allow residents 18 years and older to seek out supervised psychedelic therapy. “I want to be clear that this is a health measure. My proposal does not allow retail sales of psilocybin outside of a regulated therapeutic setting and ensures that medicines purchased for therapeutic use at a service center must be used under medical supervision, and cannot be taken home,” Ford said. “Only licensed facilitators will be allowed to provide treatment at closely regulated and licensed healing centers, approved health care facilities, in hospice, or at a pre-approved patient residence.”

The post Illinois Announces Launch of Cannabis Disparity Study appeared first on High Times.

The post Illinois Announces Launch of Cannabis Disparity Study appeared first on Paradise Found.