[authou: Susan Ryan]
Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.
Senator Chuck Schumer introduced a federal marijuana legalization bill. Members of Congress exchanged views with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency over cannabis and the Olympics. Tennessee took a first step towards legalization. Cannabis research could be protected in new legislation. And finally, this was the week of Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, and of course, there was a cannabis angle.
FEDERAL LEGALIZATION BILL
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), along with Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) unveiled this week draft legislation that would decriminalize and deschedule cannabis on the federal level. Not that many years ago, introducing such a bill would have been unthinkable. Now, it’s just unthinkable that it will pass in the Senate.
OLYMPICS
As we reported and discussed earlier, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspended Sha’Carri Richardson after she tested positive for marijuana. This spurred Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) to write a letter to the USADA, requesting a change in the agency’s policy. In addition, Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) sent a similar asking the USADA to reconsider its decision. The agency responded, indicating that they would like to allow Richardson to compete, but they have to follow World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules. And which country urged the WADA to add cannabis to the list of prohibited substances? That would be the United States. Awkward.
TENNESSEE
The Volunteer State is not among those that have legalized cannabis. In fact, only medical CBD is permitted in the state at present. Rep. Bruce Griffey (R) would like to find out if the public has any interest in changing that. He introduced a bill recently that would put three non-binding questions on legalization to the voters in 2022. Further bulletins as events warrant.
RESEARCH
Colleges and universities would be able to conduct research on marijuana under a new appropriations bill, currently under consideration in the House. This is a long way from passing, but it’s yet another sign of how times have changed.
AND FINALLY
When the All-Star Game moved from Atlanta to Denver this year, it marked the first time the Midsummer Classic was held in a state with a legal marijuana market. It will not surprise you to learn that cannabis companies made the most of this opportunity.
Stay safe and be well everyone – we’ll see you next week!
