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Arizona Groups File 2020 Cannabis Legalization Initiative
Four years ago, Arizona’s effort to legalize cannabis fell short by a slim margin. Now reformers are giving it another go. Late Friday, a coalition of legalization activists released the long-awaited draft of a statewide legalization measure proposed for the November 2020 ballot. The Smart and Safe Arizona Act includes provisions for home growing, new…
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Study Finds Cannabis Dispensaries Reduce Opioid Deaths by 21%
In a study published this week in the journal Economic Inquiry, researchers found that the legalization of adult-use cannabis reduced opioid overdose deaths by 21%. Researchers found that ‘recreational marijuana access significantly decreases opioid mortality.’ The study, carried out by economists at the University of Massachusetts and Colorado State University, found that legalization had “particularly…
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Kentucky Gov. Floats a Bunch of Batshit Crazy Cannabis Theories
‘The Haymaker’ is Leafly Deputy Editor Bruce Barcott’s opinion column on cannabis politics and culture. Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell has emerged as one of the nation’s leading hemp-legalization advocates, but that doesn’t mean reefer madness has been eradicated in the Bluegrass State. ‘Everybody in Kentucky would need to smoke pot for the next 600 years’…
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Study Finds Youth Cannabis Use Not Linked to Adult Brain Structure
A new study published this month in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence throws a new twist into the widespread concerns about adolescent cannabis use and brain development. In a limited study of 200 men, researchers found no link between youth cannabis use and adult brain volumes. Researchers at Arizona State University tracked the cannabis…
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‘Wild West’ Days in Oklahoma Get a Little Too Wild
‘The Haymaker’ is Leafly Deputy Editor Bruce Barcott’s opinion column on cannabis politics and culture. Most people in the cannabis industry know Oklahoma is going through a Wild West phase right now. The state’s loose medical marijuana regulations have sparked a chaotic dispensary boom. As of last week, there were more than 1,600 dispensaries serving…