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This week, Curaleaf removed health claims about its CBD products from its website and social media accounts after receiving a warning from the Food and Drug Administration. Elsewhere, in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill to decriminalize the use of marijuana in the state and expunge the records of some people convicted of cannabis-related crimes.
Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.
- Federal: Curaleaf has scrubbed its website and social media accounts of health claims about its CBD products in response to a warning from the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA told the cannabis company last week that it was “illegally selling” CBD products with “unsubstantiated claims” that the products treat cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, opioid withdrawal, pain and pet anxiety. Read more
- Just days before the Woodstock music festival was canceled, a federal judge ruled that the owners of the Woodstock music festival name can license it to create a marijuana brand marking the 50th anniversary of the famed gathering. The core dispute in this case, which the judge rejected, was a claim that the deal would infringe on the name of another company, Woodstock Roots. What will come of this judicial order is unclear, in light of the festival news. Read more
- U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) has proposed a new bill that would bypass federal barriers of marijuana research. The goal of the proposed Expanding Cannabis Research and Information Act is to dive deeper into potential harms and benefits of marijuana in light of the recent marijuana bill Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed. Read more
- Ohio: Standard Wellness, an Ohio medical cannabis company, has issued a voluntary recall for its THC-infused, water-soluble drops after reports that the product was contaminated. The company, based in Gibsonburg, told 15 dispensaries to stop selling the drops and is offering a full refund to patients who have any amount of unused product that was manufactured before July 3. Read more
- Elsewhere in Ohio, patients frustrated by the slow pace of the state’s medical marijuana program are calling for the state to let medicinal cannabis users grow marijuana plants in their homes. A home-grow law is unlikely to go anywhere in the near future, however, as legislators are reluctant to alter the state’s medical marijuana law. Read more
- Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill legalizing CBD and hemp in Ohio. The new law will take effect immediately, freeing all embargoes on CBD inventory and moving hemp-derived cannabidiol off Ohio’s controlled substances list. Read more
- Utah: More than 16,000 Utahns could get medical marijuana cards next year and by 2025, there could be as many as 70,835 Utah cannabis cardholders, according to estimates commissioned by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. The estimates, which were created by an unidentified University of Utah biostatistician, used data from Arizona and several other neighboring states’ medical marijuana registries to determine how many Utahns might receive medical marijuana cards over the next five years. Read more
- The rollout of the state’s medical marijuana program could be delayed, however, as six companies are challenging Utah’s decision to award a smaller number of medical marijuana grower licenses than allowed by law. The companies say the state granted licenses to unqualified cultivators and had inappropriate interactions with applicants, among other claims. Read more
- Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced Monday that it has denied AGRiMED Industries of PA, LLC’s, application to renew its grower/processor permit after it determined the company did not comply with regulations governing the processing, harvesting or destruction of marijuana plants. AGRiMED has 30 days to appeal the decision, the department said. Read more
- New York: Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday signed a bill to decriminalize the use of marijuana in the state and expunge the records of some people convicted on cannabis-related charges. “Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by laws governing marijuana for far too long, and today we are ending this injustice once and for all,” Cuomo said in a statement. Read more
