Weedsy weekly: A pro-weed Democratic ticket, a cancer journal devoted to ganja and an anti-delta-8 executive order

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Science News

• The forthcoming volume of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute will focus entirely on cannabis and include articles revealing:
  • Many cancer patients are spending more than $100 a month out of pocket on medical cannabis
  • Black cancer patients are more likely to find cannabis effective for pain than white patients, who are more likely to use opioids
  • 72% of healthcare professionals at a cancer center thought that cannabis is safe and beneficial for patients, though only one in eight felt comfortable speaking about the topic of cannabis.
• College students who experiment with energy drinks and nicotine are more likely to have drug problems in the future than those who experiment with cannabis, according to a study published in Addiction Research and Theory
• Researchers from the Oregon Health and Sciences University looked at rhesus monkey babies whose mothers consumed THC cookies while pregnant. They compared infant and fetus tissue in a control group with no THC exposure, to the experimental group, whose mothers had received a dose of .36 mg of cannabis per kg of weight per day. The authors concluded that THC exposure played "a negligible role in skeletal muscle development ," but that it did increase "pro-inflammatory signaling" which could cause tissue damage and atrophy. This study adds to our limited knowledge of the effects of cannabis use in pregnancy.

Policy News

• Missouri governor Mark Parson issued an executive order banning unregulated psychoactive cannabinoid products. The order names Delta 8 and Delta 10 THC specifically, as well as the more niche compound, THCV, but also includes a blanket ban on "other similar compounds." The order goes into effect September 1 and does not apply to regulated products in Missouri's recreational cannabis program.
• Nearly 100 dispensaries in Ohio began selling recreational cannabis on Tuesday
• This year's presidential Democratic ticket is decidedly pro-cannabis. Tim Walz, the newly announced Democratic candidate for Vice President, signed Minnesota's adult use cannabis bill into law last year, stating “We’ve known for too long that prohibiting the use of cannabis hasn’t worked. By legalizing adult-use cannabis, we’re expanding our economy, creating jobs, and regulating the industry to keep Minnesotans safe." Presidential candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris has also supported legislation to decriminalize cannabis and remove it from the controlled substances act.

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