News: Russian Politics, Tax Stamps, Evolving Language, and Racist Policing [#131]
Play • 27 min

This episode was late due to some technical issues, but better late than never when it comes to the top drug news! Sam & Sarah talk about some big stories from the US and across the globe, with presidential candidates in other countries running on platforms of marijuana legalization, while American reformers try to eliminate the ridiculous drug tax stamp law in Nebraska and hold a racist Kentucky police chief accountable. They also discuss some recent research on the intersection of drug use & linguistics, along with some quick headlines.

Big Stories:

Headlines:

  • High Times, the long-running marijuana magazine that is now facing much more competition as marijuana becomes more mainstream, has announced that they plan to become publicly traded and list on the NASDAQ. They hope to raise between 17 to 50 million dollars, and have applied for the ticker HITM.
  • A supervised consumption site opening in Lethbridge will be the first on the continent to allow people to smoke their drugs on-site. The CBC article does not address how the site plans to deal with clean air policies, but it is slated to open at the end of February.
  • The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says they are “streamlining the application process for researchers who study or wish to study Schedule I substances not currently approved for medical use.” According to a press release, they are moving the process online, which hadn’t been done yet. While it’s not earth-shattering news, this will speed up the research process for MDMA, psilocybin, and other schedule 1 drugs with great medical potential.
  • Following weeks of controversy about his credentials, Taylor Weyeneth, the 24-year-old serving at the ONDCP will step down at the end of the month the White House announced Wednesday.

Forecast:

  • Thursday, February 8, in Needham MA: The New England Real Estate Journal is hosting an event, “Cannabis The Next Phase in Commercial Real Estate.” It seems like it will be a really cool event, although I’m biased because I’ll be speaking on a panel there. But it’s great to see mainstream organizations now paying so much attention to cannabis, in Massachusetts and across the country. We’ll be discussing how marijuana legalization is impacting the real estate industry, and how the two areas might intersect in the years to come.  
  • Thursday, February 1, in Newark NJ: the Drug Policy Alliance is partnering with the ACLU of New Jersey and other community organizations to hold a racial justice event in Newark. The event is called “What’s at Stake? Why Marijuana Legalization is a Racial Justice Issue” and will take place at Newark’s Bethany Baptist Church. A link to the event will be on our website.

Sponsor:

Music Credits:

Intro: Dance for Sport by the2ba

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The post News: Russian Politics, Tax Stamps, Evolving Language, and Racist Policing [#131] appeared first on This Week in Drugs.

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