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GOP Senators File Bill To Ramp Up Criminalization Of ‘Candy-Flavored’ Marijuana Edibles

Published
17 hours agoon

A coalition of Republican senators have reintroduced a bill that would increase criminal penalties for a wide range of offenses, including manufacturing or selling Schedule I drugs like marijuana in the form of candy or beverages if there is “reasonable cause to believe” they will be sold to minors.
Led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), alongside 10 other GOP members, the Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act contains provisions targeting substances that are in Schedule I or II of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), including cannabis.
While certain legal marijuana states have proactively taken steps to prohibit cannabis marketing that might appeal to children, many state markets continue to allow THC-infused beverages and sell edible gummies and cookies, for example.
The Senate legislation itself doesn’t explicitly mention marijuana, but a section-by-section analysis says that “manufacturers and traffickers of marijuana edibles and fentanyl and other illicit drugs are marketing and distributing these highly dangerous drugs as packaged candy (Nerds, Skittles, etc.).”
“For years, there have been reports of children, even younger than 6 years old, overdosing on these drugs due to edible consumption,” it says. “This provision is the language of the 2017 Grassley-Feinstein Protecting Kids from Candy-Flavored Drugs Act, which has not been reintroduced as a bipartisan measure this Congress. The language amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide enhanced penalties for marketing candy-flavored controlled substances to minors.”
The language in the current legislation also mirrors a version of the bill that Grassley and other Republican lawmakers filed in 2022.
In a press release, Grassley blamed the Biden administration for what he described as a “massive spike in violent crime,” and he said it’s now the responsibility of Congress “to resolve any legal ambiguities that may weaken our ability to hold criminals fully accountable.”
With respect to the flavored drugs provisions, it should be noted that every state that has legalized marijuana for adult use in the U.S. has set an age limit that prevents people under 21 from legally accessing cannabis shops. Those dispensaries, and the brands they sell, therefore generally would not seem to meet the criteria for knowingly selling to underage people. (Studies have found consistent compliance at marijuana shops when it comes to enforcing ID requirements.)
If Grassley’s legislation is enacted, one possible effect would be that people who are federally prosecuted for such criminal activity could face up to 10 additional years in prison for a first offense if the cannabis product sold to a person under 18 was shaped or flavored like candy. Second and subsequent offenses would carry up to 20 additional years in prison.
Legalization advocates largely support measures to restrict access to underage people, but some bristle at the possibility of enacting significantly increased penalties that could be applied by overzealous prosecutors as part of the war on drugs.
“Soft-on-crime policies have failed to ensure our justice system and law enforcement at all levels have the necessary authorities and tools to maintain order and protect communities from dangerous criminals,” Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), the co-lead on the measure, said. “I am proud to join Senator Grassley and my colleagues to ensure violent offenders are held accountable under the law.”
Unlike Grassley’s press release, Boozman’s specifically states that provisions of the bill would “outlaw the marketing of candy-flavored drugs including marijuana and fentanyl to minors.”
Other cosponsors are Sens. Mike Crapo (R-ID), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Susan Collins (R-ME), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Jim Risch (R-ID).
“Our legal system has a duty to punish the guilty and protect the innocent, and conflicting legal standards hamper the ability of federal authorities to do so,” Crapo said in a press release circulated by his office. “These necessary reforms clarify and strengthen federal drug and violent crime laws to ensure justice is applied fairly to all.”
Photo courtesy of Pexels/Kindel Media.

Author: mscannabiz.com
MScannaBIZ for all you Mississippi Cannabis News and Information.
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Study: Daily Cannabis Consumers Exhibit Few Changes in Simulated Driving Performance Compared to Controls

Published
30 minutes agoon
June 17, 2025

Daily consumers exhibit tolerance to the acute psychomotor-influencing effects of cannabis, according to driving simulator data published in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention.
Researchers affiliated with the University of Colorado Anschutz. Medical Campus assessed simulated driving performance in a cohort of daily cannabis consumers, occasional consumers, and controls (non-users). Daily users consumed either high-potency cannabis flower or concentrates containing, on average, 78 percent THC. Occasional consumers only inhaled cannabis flower. All consumers used cannabis ad libitum for up to 15 minutes. Study participants drove on a computer simulated course 20 minutes following cannabis consumption and once again 80 minutes later.
Consistent with prior studies, daily consumers exhibited few changes in psychomotor performance compared to controls. Specifically, daily consumers demonstrated improvements in SDLP (standard deviation in lateral positioning) following cannabis ingestion. Both daily and occasional cannabis consumers reduced their speed following cannabis use, whereas those in the control group typically increased their speed.
Unlike daily users, occasional cannabis consumers exhibited minor detriments in SDLP performance following cannabis inhalation. However, these changes were not statistically significant compared to controls (whose follow up SDLP performance also deviated from their baseline).
“The relative absence of significant differences in driving performance after cannabis across participants groups was somewhat surprising, given the high THC concentration of product used, and the relatively high level of self-reported drug effect,” researchers reported. “It was notable that the daily use group who inhaled concentrates showed the least number of significant differences as compared to the control group, having little to no change in the average SDLP and speed across the three drives. The absence of decrements in driving performance (assessed by lane departures or SDLP) among the daily-concentrate group is consistent with tolerance to acute impairing effects of cannabis.”
Researchers also failed to identify any correlations between THC/blood concentrations and impaired driving performance – a finding that is also consistent with other studies. “These findings reaffirm that the presence of THC in blood is an inconsistent and largely inappropriate indicator of psychomotor impairment in cannabis consuming subjects,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. Accordingly, NORML has long opposed the imposition of per se THC limits for motorists and has alternatively called for the expanded use of mobile performance technology like DRUID.
The study’s authors concluded: “Taken as a whole, these findings indicate that acute cannabis use impaired driving performance more among the participants with a pattern of non-daily use (less than 4 times per week). … The absence of decrements in driving performance in the daily use groups support a role of tolerance in mitigating acute impairment. When changes in driving performance were observed, the effect size was notably small. These findings underscore the challenges of developing standardized impairment thresholds in the presence of large inter-individual variability in driving performance, and tolerance to cannabis with daily use.”
An abstract of the study, “Impact of cannabis use on lateral control and speed: A driving simulator study,” appears online. Additional information is available in the NORML fact-sheet, ‘Marijuana and Psychomotor Performance.’
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Author: mscannabiz.com
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Oregon Officials Will Appeal Court Decision That Overturned Marijuana Industry Labor Peace Law

Published
2 hours agoon
June 17, 2025
Oregon officials have notified a federal appeals court that they are challenging a lower judge’s ruling striking down a voter-approved law that required licensed marijuana businesses to enter into labor peace agreements with workers and mandated that employers remain neutral in discussions around unionization.
In a notice of appeal submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit late last week, attorneys for Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D), Attorney General Dan Rayfield (D) and Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission’s (OLCC) Dennis Doherty and Craig Prins said they will be contesting the decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon last month.
After two marijuana businesses—Bubble’s Hash and Ascend Dispensary—filed a lawsuit in the district court challenging the implementation of Measure 119, a federal judge sided with the plaintiffs, finding that the law unconstitutionally restricts free speech and violates the federal National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Now the state is pushing back, advising the Ninth Circuit that it will be appealing, as Law360 first reported. Details about the merits of the appeal are currently unknown. But the court gave the state a deadline of September 3 to provide an opening brief, and the plaintiffs must file a reply brief by October 3.
Under the currently paused law, a marijuana businesses that was unable to provide proof of a labor peace agreement could have been subject a denial or revocation of their license.
In an order last month, the district court judge walked through various components of the legal arguments from both sides and ultimately agreed that the Oregon law is preempted by the NLRA, which is meant to provide protections for workers who want to unionize—but specifically preserves the right for “uninhibited, robust, and wide-open debate in labor disputes.”
By mandating neutrality from employers in labor discussions, that constitutes a violation of the NLRA, the judge ruled.
“Measure 119 does not distinguish between permissible employer speech and threatening or coercive speech,” Judge Michael Simon said. “Measure 119 is not limited to restricting only threatening, coercive, false, or misleading speech, but instead prohibits all speech by employers that is not ‘neutral’ toward unionization.”
On the question of whether the law violates First Amendment protections under the U.S. Constitution, the cannabis companies argued that “Measure 119 is a content-based restriction on speech that is subject to strict scrutiny, and that Defendants fail to provide a compelling government interest requiring this restriction.”
Measure 119 passed with about 57 percent of the vote last November. A regional chapter of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)—UFCW Local 555—had submitted more than 160,000 signatures to qualify the measure for ballot placement last year.
During the Oregon legislature’s 2023 session, lawmakers declined to enact a bill containing similar provisions. UFCW lobbied for that legislation, and it decided to mount a campaign to let voters decide on the issue this year after that effort failed.
UFCW pressed legislators to enact a bill to codify the labor protections in 2023. And after it was effectively killed by a top House Democrat, it announced that it would be leading a recall effort to oust him.
Read the text of the Oregon officials’ notices of appeal below:
Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.

Author: mscannabiz.com
MScannaBIZ for all you Mississippi Cannabis News and Information.
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Terrabis Opening 5th Illinois Dispensary in Mundelein

Published
3 hours agoon
June 17, 2025
[PRESS RELEASE] – MUNDELEIN, Ill., June 17, 2025 – Terrabis, a leading multistate cannabis operator, announced its newest milestone with the approval to open its fifth Illinois dispensary. The new location in Mundelein will open its doors later this year, marking another significant step in the company’s strategic growth within the state’s thriving cannabis market.
The new store will be at 3210 W. Route 60 on Mundelein’s northwest side. Conveniently located within the bustling Mundelein Crossings shopping center, the site offers easy access for residents and visitors.
The upcoming dispensary in Mundelein will join Terrabis’ existing four dispensaries in Illinois, further solidifying the company’s presence in the Midwest. This milestone follows a period of remarkable growth for Terrabis, including the successful launch of its own Terrabis flower line earlier this year.
Over the past eight months, Terrabis has opened three new locations in Illinois, underlining its commitment to delivering a consistent and high-quality cannabis experience to customers. The Mundelein location will bring the Terrabis network to nine dispensaries across Illinois and Missouri.
“This achievement reflects our dedication to responsible expansion and delivering on our mission to create truly unique cannabis experiences,” Terrabis CEO Dan Ambrosino said. “Mundelein is an exciting addition to our portfolio of Illinois dispensaries, and we look forward to continuing our growth while maintaining our core values of community impact, exploration and wellness.”
Mundelein has long been recognized as playing a pivotal role in shaping Illinois’ cannabis culture. As Terrabis prepares to open its fifth Illinois dispensary in this influential town, the company is excited to contribute to the area’s growing reputation as a hub for cannabis innovation.
Terrabis’ continued Illinois expansion signals the company’s ongoing success and dedication to bolstering local communities by fostering economic development and job creation. The company is committed to driving ingenuity within the cannabis industry and setting a benchmark for operational excellence in dispensary management. By prioritizing community impact and industry leadership, Terrabis is creating lasting value for both its customers and the regions it serves.
Terrabis is a privately held, leading, multistate cannabis operator with a corporate office in Chicago. The company has dispensaries in Illinois and Missouri, with a product manufacturing facility in Kansas City, Mo.

Author: mscannabiz.com
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