Issue 10 Cannabis Law Journal: September 2018
Welcome to our 10th issue of Cannabis Law Journal
WHO Issues Glowing Report of CBD But Gets the Law Wrong- A Legal Analysis
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a Critical Review Report (Report) on cannabidiol (CBD) on June 7, 2018. The Report is an update and extension of the Pre-Review Report on CBD that was prepared by Professor Jason White of Australia and released in November 2017 (Pre-Report) to the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD).
New Jersey Cannabis Update: Federalism, Fiscal In-Fighting, and the FDA
Governor Phil Murphy has pledged his support for legalizing the recreational adult use of cannabis, but his administration is at an impasse with state lawmakers over the 2019 budget. State legislators have included $60 million in revenue from taxes on medical cannabis in their $32.6 billion budget, but they have not included any revenue from recreational use because it remains illegal in the Garden State. Earlier this year Governor Murphy predicted the state would take in $80 million from recreational cannabis.
PA/NJ Cannabis: Protected Cannabis Testing
On August 10, 2018, a federal judge sitting in Camden, New Jersey, dismissed a forklift operator’s claim that his employer violated the state’s employment discrimination laws by requiring him to submit to a drug test that he acknowledged would reveal his use of prescribed medical marijuana. In Cotto, Jr. v. Ardagh Glass Packing, Inc. et al., USDC NJ, Civ. (1:18-cv-01037), the Honorable Robert B. Kugler held that neither New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD) nor the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (CUMMA) requires an employer to waive drug testing as an accommodation to an employee who holds a valid prescription for medical cannabis.
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana: Tides of Perception
According to a study released by the Annals of Internal Medicine on July 24, 2018 (July AIM Report), about 81% of Americans believes that medical marijuana has at least one benefit. In a 2017 survey of 9,003 adults, people identified pain management (66%), diseases such as epilepsy or multiple sclerosis (48%),and relief from anxiety, stress and depression (47%) as conditions that are treatable with cannabis. Of those surveyed, 29.2% believes that cannabis prevents health problems. Only 17% of those surveyed believes that cannabis provides no medical benefits.