Opponents of marijuana reform used the second day of the Drug Enforcement Administration's hearing on the Trump administration's rescheduling proposal to press a government witness over recent changes to the standard used to judge whether drugs have accepted medical value. A Food and Drug Administration official acknowledged cannabis could not have passed the earlier version of that test. Another witness compared withdrawal effects, saying: "Withdrawal from opioids is like a dumpster fire. Withdrawal from marijuana is more like dying glowing ember of a campfire."
The House Rules Committee is allowing a National Defense Authorization Act amendment extending a military psychedelics research program to move forward, while blocking separate proposals for marijuana testing waivers for recruits and Schedule I "Right to Try" access.
Every Pennsylvania Democratic state senator signed a discharge resolution pressuring the Republican majority to allow a floor vote on a legalization bill stalled in a committee chaired by its own GOP sponsor.
A new poll found 77 percent of cannabis consumers are more likely to eat at restaurants offering THC drinks as an alcohol alternative, as the White House pushes Congress to keep hemp products federally legal.
A study of chronic lower back pain patients found inhaled cannabis produced large, sustained improvements in pain, disability and pain interference, with near-total displacement of opioids, NSAIDs, antidepressants and gabapentinoids: "Concomitant opioid use fell from 100% at baseline to 4.6% at Year 5."
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) signed off on medical cannabis rules despite personally opposing reform. Claire Fiddian-Green of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, in an op-ed, urged Indiana to take a data-informed approach as neighboring states launch legal markets.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposed dropping a rule requiring drug-testing programs to submit two marijuana-positive blind samples quarterly. Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA) introduced a bill funding marijuana research and a cannabis scholarship program.
State actions: Rhode Island asked a federal judge to lift an injunction on business licensing; Vermont acted on cannabis matters; Colorado issued testing guidance; Michigan released price guidance; Maine published guidance; Virginia launched a rules survey; New York posted a water-circularity presentation; California's Proposition 64 Advisory Group meets July 16.
Israeli officials reopened a probe into alleged dumping of Canadian medical cannabis. Studies found self-titrated medical cannabis feasible for Parkinson's disease pain, sleep and urinary symptoms, and psilocybin therapy may cause large short-term drops in depressive symptoms.
The National Republican Congressional Committee is criticizing Rep. Vicente Gonzalez's (D-TX) legal record defending drug-offense clients. Tilray Brands, Inc. is acquiring HelloMD Corporation, and TerrAscend Corp. is acquiring its fifth New Jersey dispensary, Aunt Mary's Dispensary LLC.