Today in cannabis news: The Connecticut state House approves a cannabis legalization bill, sending it back to the Senate; a U.S. Congressperson becomes the first to publicly support a “safe supply” of illicit substances for persons who consume them; and a new study from Yale University reveals that cannabis addictions in the U.S. are on the rise.
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** First up: After hours of deliberation, a bill to legalize cannabis in Connecticut cleared the state’s House of Representatives with a 76–62 vote this week. The bill now goes back to the Senate for the passage of revisions made by the House to accommodate Governor Ned Lamont’s (D) late veto warning. Cannabis possession by adults 21 years or older would become legal on July 1 if the Senate approves the amendments and Gov. Lamont ratifies the legislation.
Before the House vote, Rep. Steven Stafstrom (D) said: “Connecticut’s time has finally come. Today we take the next step as this chamber in recognizing that the war on drugs has failed us and the criminalization of cannabis was the wrong course of action for our state and for our nation.”
The majority of the House debate was dominated by Republican opposition to the policy update, with Republicans claiming that legalization will boost cannabis consumption, especially in youths, and increase safety issues. Parallel worries were expressed by other Democrats who voted against the measure.
In voting against the measure, Rep. Tom O’Dea (R) said: “Mark my words, people will die because of this bill, because of marijuana being sold in Connecticut.”
** Next up: U.S. House Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) has made history by declaring their backing for a “safe supply” of illicit substances for persons who consume them. The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) conducted a news briefing this week to announce the introduction of the Drug Policy Reform Act of 2021 (DPRA). Reps. Bush and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), co-authors of the DPRA, were in attendance.
The measure would repeal criminal sanctions for possessing any illicit substance in amounts established by a new authority. It also invests in substance abuse treatments and preventative measure services, protecting citizens from being denied jobs, housing, government assistance, or immigration status because of a criminal record for drug possession or personal drug consumption.
During the press conference, a question was posed to Bush: Do you favor physicians prescribing their patients’ preferred controlled substances to help them avoid obtaining them through the illegal market, as physicians in the United States did in the late 1910s and early 1920s?
Bush provided a succinct response: “Do we support a safe supply? Yes,” they replied. They also revealed why DPRA does not have a safe supply system in place. “Right now, our focus is to decriminalize.”
Their remark looks to be one of the only, if not the only, open approval of a safe supply strategy by a U.S. congressperson.
** Last up: A recent study from Yale University reveals that instances of cannabis use disorder are on the rise in people in the United States. Cyril Desouza, a Yale University professor of psychiatry who has been analyzing cannabis and cannabinoids for over two decades, claims their most recent research, which has been ongoing for over two years, targets something of which many of us are unaware.
“We are seeing that approximately three out of 10 people are developing a cannabis use disorder,” Desouza said, adding that “People thought that [you] smoke weed everyday and you quit and nothing’s going to happen. We now know that there is cannabis withdrawal syndrome.”
Cannabis addiction, according to Desouza, is characterized as uncontrollable consumption in monetary terms, time spent being high, or time spent recuperating from being high. Insomnia and appetite difficulties are common withdrawal effects.
Desouza’s research is currently examining the efficacy of one medication to alleviate withdrawal symptoms. For eight weeks, the paid volunteers will take the medicine and do an actigraph to track their sleeping. Desouza says the medicine has already shown encouraging outcomes.
According to Desouza, cannabis in the 1960s contained around 3% to 4% THC on average, while cannabis currently has about 17% THC, and specific types of cannabis, such as edibles, can contain up to 80% or 90% THC. Even more reason, they claim, for cannabis addictions to be on the rise.
