Just when you thinks it’s gone for good, “Reefer Madness” returns.

New York has dawdled, diddled, and dithered for two-years. And when the inaction of New York State officials is the cause of action by the affected parties, the pols first reaction is, let’s punish them for our failure. — wfw

Crackdown proposed for illegal pot shops in NY —

Michael Hill – Associated Press

ALBANY — New York authorities would be given expanded power to shut down illegal pot shops and levy fines of up to $200,000 under legislation proposed Wednesday by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who’s seeking to protect the state’s fledgling legal market for recreational marijuana.

New York is trying to get its potentially massive adult legal market into high gear, but has just three shops opened so far in New York City, two in upstate New York and more shops planned.

Legal operations in the city are being undermined by a proliferation of unlicensed stores.

City officials have already gone after landlords who have allowed illicit shops to operate. The new bill before Legislature would give the state Office of Cannabis Management and state tax officials new powers to crack down on unlicensed activity.

The bill would give the cannabis office expanded authority to seize illicit products and establish procedures for the government to shut down unlicensed businesses. Violations could lead to fines of $200,000 for illicit cannabis plants or products and businesses could be fined $10,000 a day for selling cannabis without a license, according to the Hochul administration.

“The continued existence of illegal dispensaries is unacceptable, and we need additional enforcement tools to protect New Yorkers from dangerous products and support our equity initiatives,” Hochul said in prepared statement.

New York has moved slowly since legalizing recreational marijuana use in March 2021.

READ MORE

The government clings to the mantle of Reefer Madness

The government’ claims that their intent is to stop violent people from buying guns. If that were true then people who consume alcohol should also be banned from possessing firearms — it’s a no-brainer. — wfw

Justice Department Appealing Federal Ruling That Struck Down Gun Ban for Cannabis Consumers

BY NORML POSTED ON MARCH 9, 2023

Washington, DC: The Justice Department is appealing a ruling issued by a federal judge last month that struck down a longstanding federal law prohibiting marijuana users from possessing firearms.

In early February, a federal judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma determined that the 1968 law was unconstitutional. The judge determined: “[T]he mere use of marijuana carries none of the characteristics that the Nation’s history and tradition of firearms regulation supports. The use of marijuana — which can be bought legally (under state law) at more than 2,000 ordinary store fronts in Oklahoma — is not in and of itself a violent, forceful, or threatening act. It is not a ‘crime of violence.’ Nor does it involve ‘the actual use or threatened use of force.’”

On Friday, the Justice Department announced that it was appealing the ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

In 2016, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the federal government’s interpretation of the law. Justices opined that the ban “furthers the Government’s interest in preventing gun violence” because marijuana users “are more likely to be involved in violent crimes.”

The case is United States of America v. James Michael Harrison.

Alcohol Use and Firearm Violence

Alcohol Misuse And Gun Violence: What We Know

Study: Marijuana Use Not Associated with Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

A recent, unpublished, study suggests that daily marijuana use may increase the risk of heart disease but, as usual, there is no evidence presented supporting the notion the cannibis use causes heart disease. — wfw

A history of marijuana use is not associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, according to data published in the journal Cureus.

A team of investigators affiliated with Florida International University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine assessed the relationship between marijuana use and the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease in a nationally representative cohort of nearly 57,000 adults. Authors identified no independent relationship between marijuana exposure and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease after adjusting for potential confounders, such as body mass index, tobacco smoking, and alcohol use.

Researchers determined: “After controlling for several confounding variables, we found that there was a decrease in the prevalence of cardiovascular events with marijuana use (Odds Ratio: 0.74).”

They concluded: “Our study found that there is no link to marijuana use and an increase in cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, there may be a link between marijuana use and lowered risk of cardiovascular disease, but the data was not statistically significant when adjusting for confounding variables. This study does, however, implicate the need for future studies with other methods and/or larger sample sizes to provide more insight into this potential association.”

The findings are consistent with several other studies – such as those here, here, and here – concluding that cannabis use is not independently associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disorders. Separate data published last month in the same journal similarly reported that subjects with a history of marijuana use possess no greater elevated risk of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). The results of a systematic literature review of 67 studies published in November in The American Journal of Medicine concluded, “[M]arijuana itself does not appear to be independently associated with excessive cardiovascular risk factors,” although authors did caution that “it can be associated with other unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol use and tobacco smoking that can be detrimental” to cardiovascular health.

Clinical data has previously established that THC administration can influence heart rate and blood pressure, particularly in more naïve subjects. However, subjects typically develop a rapid tolerance to these effects. NORML has previously cautioned that those subjects either predisposed to or at high risk of cardiovascular issues, such as heart attack or stroke, may be at elevated risks from cannabis inhalation.

Full text of the study, “Association between marijuana use and cardiovascular disease in US adults,” appears in the journal Cureus.