Global Ganja Report

There is no end to false Internet rumors concerning our favorite herb, and the latest was just called out by those dogged rumor-busters at Snopes. It seems that Britain's Sky News of Jan. 13 reported on a clinical trial of an experimental drug in France that went horribly wrong, leaving one brain-dead and another three with what could be permanent brain damage. A total of 90 were given then new painkiller compound manufactured by the Portuguese pharma firm BIAL in a test overseen by UK-based Biotrial. The original Sky News account (as quoted by Snopes) refered to the compound as "cannabis-based." Currently, it only says that French Health Minister Marisol Touraine "denied reports the drug was based on the compound found in cannabis." But it got around before the text was changed, popping up on e-mail lists and social media.

Following through on a pledge made last month, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Dec. 22 signed a decree broadly legalizing medical marijuana. The new regulation—making it legal to grow, process, import and export cannabis for medical and scientific use—was hailed by Santos as positioning Colombia "at the forefront in the fight against disease." In a line clearly aimed at placating Washington, he also insisted that "the medicinal use of cannabis does not go counter to our international commitments in the field of drug control."

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Chris Goldstein got hold of a leaked 45-page internal equity report from high-finance titan Merrill Lynch, wealth management division of Bank of America, looking at the future prospects for America's cannabis industry. Goldstein wrote it up for his occassional series Philly420 Dec. 8 under the title "Merrill Lynch is bullish on marijuana." Goldstein finds: "Carefully researched, it was an interesting peek at how heavy hitters on Wall Street are starting to view the expanding industry."

US District Judge Kimberly Mueller in Sacramento—who made history by granting the first extended hearings in federal court on the question of cannabis' continued listing under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act—on April 15 closed the hearings by ruling that the plant's Schedule I status is constitutional. "At some point in time," said Judge Mueller in issuing her decision in US v. Schweder et al, "a court may decide this status to be unconstitutional. But this is not the court and not the time." The Obama appointee decided to rule on the merits of the case, disregarding the insistence of federal prosecutors that she dismiss the motion for lack of standing by the defendants. For her standard of review, she applied the "rational basis test" to the defendants' challenge to cannabis' Schedule I status under the Equal Protection Clause. Under that standard, said Judge Mueller, "the statute passes muster. The questions raised by the defense are for Congress to resolve." Defendants say they will appeal to the Ninth Circuit. (The Leaf Online, Courthouse News Service, April 15)

A bipartisan group of US Senators on March 10 announced legislation to end the federal ban on medical marijuana. The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act is sponsored by senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Rand Paul (R-KY) and Cory Booker (D-NJ). If passed, the bill would end the federal restriction on medical marijuana and allow for several comprehensive reforms, including: permission for limited interstate transport, an expansion of access to cannabis for research purposes, and reclassification of marijuana from Schedule I to II. Medical marijuana, and the right of states to determine how to regulate it, has found bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. (Jurist, March 10)

The US District Court for the Eastern District of California will hold rare formal hearings beginning Oct. 27 to determine whether an indictment against Brian Justin Pickard and others for conspiracy to grow more than 1,000 marijuana plants violates the US Constitution, and whether marijuana is misclassified by the federal government as a dangerous drug with no medical value. US District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller will preside over the three-day hearing, which includes expert testimony from doctors Carl Hart, associate professor of psychology at Columbia University in New York; Greg Carter, medical director of St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute in Spokane, Wash., and expert witness Chris Conrad.

US Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) on July 29 introduced a bill to legalize cannabidiol (CBD) oil on a national level, citing its effectiveness in treating seizures in children suffering from epilepsy. The "Charlotte's Web Medical Hemp Act of 2014" would remove CBD oil and "therapeutic hemp" from the federal definition of marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act. "Therapeutic hemp" is cannabis that contains no more than .3% THC and therefore produces no "high." Perry announced the bill at press conference where he was joined by the president of the national Epilepsy Foundation and advocates that included the mother of Colorado girl Charlotte Figi, whose successful treatment with  CBD  oil won national interest. Also present was Joel Stanley, one of the creators of the "Charlotte's Web" strain of marijuana used to treat Figi. Introduction of the legislation coincides with a pledge by Pennsylvania's Gov. Tom Corbett to create a state-level pilot program for families whose children require access to medical marijuana. (Jurist, July 29; PennLive, MSBC, July 28)

The media (Time, Daily Mail) are touting a new study published July 14 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that is said to link cannabis use to anxiety and depression. The researchers studied the brains of 24 marijuana "abusers"—defined as those who smoke multiple times a day—and how they reacted to methylphenidate (more commonly known as Ritalin), a stimulant used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy. Using personality tests and brain imaging, the researchers found the cannabis users had "blunted" (no pun intended, we hope) behavioral, cardiovascular and brain responses to methylphenidate compared with control participants. The "abusers" also scored higher on negative emotional reactions. The researchers conclude that cannabis interferes with the brain's reaction to dopamine, the chemical responsible for feelings of reward and pleasure.