Tag Archives: drugs

Georgia Republican Resigns After Drugs Theft Arrest

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: A newly elected Republican state lawmaker has withdrawn from office after he was charged with swiping prescription narcotics from a retirement complex where he works. Danny Rampey’s decision not to take office triggers a Jan. 31 special election to fill his Winder-based House seat in northeast Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp signed an order Saturday setting up …

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FDA Expedites Review Of OD Drug For OTC Sales

The Wall Street Journal reports: A pharmaceutical nonprofit was granted priority review from the Food and Drug Administration to make an inexpensive overdose-reversal drug for use without a prescription. Harm Reduction Therapeutics Inc. said its 3 milligram nasal spray naloxone formulation, called Rivive, had three times higher concentration in the blood of 36 participants than naloxone delivered as a shot. …

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Researchers Announce Potential Fentanyl “Vaccine”

Houston’s ABC affiliate reports: After five years of testing and research, the University of Houston is announcing a breakthrough that could be a powerful, life-saving tool against the opioid epidemic. It’s a vaccine that stops fentanyl from getting into the brain. If the drug does not get into the brain, there are no effects. There are no euphoric effects, and …

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Voters In Missouri And Maryland Approve Legal Weed

ABC News reports: Voters approved recreational marijuana in Maryland and Missouri but rejected it in two other states, signaling support gradually growing for legalization even in conservative parts of the country. The results mean that 21 states have now approved marijuana’s recreational use. Arkansas and North Dakota voters rejected legalization proposals in Tuesday’s elections. A similar initiative went before voters …

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National Park Service: Please Stop Licking Toads

NPR reports: Go into almost any park and there’s often reminders to refrain from going near, petting or feeding wildlife. Not licking strange animals was simply a given — until now. The National Park Service has added tongue-contact with the Sonoran desert toad among its various warnings for park visitors. “As we say with most things you come across in …

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New York Stores Begin Enforcing Whipped Cream Law

The Albany Times-Union reports: Be prepared to show your ID at the grocery checkout if you want to buy whipped cream in a canister. In New York, the popular dessert topping has joined alcohol and tobacco products on the list of items age-restricted for purchase to those 21 and older, and proof of age is now required at the point …

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NY To See Up To 200 Weed Stores By End Of Year

The New York Daily News reports: State regulators approved rules Thursday governing New York’s soon-to-begin retail cannabis sales, ensuring the first batch of licenses will go to business owners with past pot convictions. Under the state’s Seeding Opportunity Initiative, between 100 and 200 dispensary licenses could be issued by this fall, with sales allowed before the end of the year. …

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New Jersey’s Weed Shops Gross $24M In First Month

The New Jersey Advance reports: New Jersey legal weed sales topped $24 million in the first month of the roll out at a dozen locations, according to the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission. Actual receipts reported to the CRC showed $24,201,875.38 million in recreational weed sales from April 21 to May 21. Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed $48.9 billion budget for the …

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FL Woman Jailed After Christian Rehab Facility Attempts Ex-Gay Torture, Ejects Her For Kissing Another Woman

The Orlando Sentinel reports: A Seminole County woman is appealing her conviction after a judge sentenced her to 120 days in jail earlier this month for violating her probation when she was kicked out of a Christian drug rehabilitation center for kissing another woman participating in the program, according to her attorney. In a phone interview from the Seminole jail, …

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Legal Weed Reduces Demand For Prescription Drugs

The Cornell Chronicle reports: Legalization of recreational marijuana reduces demand for costly prescription drugs through state Medicaid programs, according to an analysis by a Cornell researcher and a collaborator. When states legalize marijuana, the volume of prescriptions within the drug classes that align with the medical indications for pain, depression, anxiety, sleep, psychosis and seizures significantly decline, the researchers found. …

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Legal Weed Sales In New Jersey Start Thursday At 6AM

The New Jersey Advance reports: New Jersey legal weed sales can begin April 21, state officials announced Thursday. Green Thumb, which uses the RISE banner, confirmed to NJ Advance Media that RISE Bloomfield and RISE Paterson will open next Thursday at 6 a.m. Recreational users will be able to purchase up to 1.0 ounce in a single transaction at 13 …

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NJ Licenses Its First 13 Legal Weed Dispensaries

The New Jersey Advance reports: The long-awaited opening of New Jersey’s recreational cannabis market just got the green light. The Cannabis Regulatory Commission on Monday approved seven medical marijuana dispensaries, formally known as alternative treatment centers, to begin selling adult recreational weed, perhaps as soon the end of this month. The approved centers and their satellite shops will be the …

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Legal Weed Spurs “Don’t Drive High” Campaign In NY

The New York Post reports: New York State launched its first ads in anticipation of legally selling marijuana later this year with the warning: “Don’t drive high.” Customers will be able to buy cannabis products in licensed retail stores by year’s end, according to the state Office of Cannabis Management. Gov. Kathy Hochul and OCM unveiled 15 second and 30 …

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House Votes To Decriminalize Weed On Federal Level

The Washington Post reports: The House on Friday passed legislation that would remove marijuana from the federal schedule of controlled substances, a move that comes as an increasing number of states have passed decriminalization laws. The measure, H.R. 3617, is known as the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or the MORE Act. The House passed similar legislation in December …

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FL GOP Reps Block Legalization Of Fentanyl Test Strips As Six West Point Cadets Overdose While Vacationing

Florida Politics reports: The House voted against the decriminalization of fentanyl test strips in Florida on Friday, angering some lawmakers in the closing hours of the 2022 Legislative Session. Brandon Democratic Rep. Andrew Learned urged House colleagues to decriminalize the strips, alongside other Democratic lawmakers on the House floor. “This is a product that doesn’t cause harm in any way,” …

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DC Council Sets First Hearing On Legal Weed Sales

The DCist reports: More than a dozen states across the U.S. have already legalized marijuana sales, and later this fall lawmakers in D.C. will start debating whether to join that group. The D.C. Council has scheduled a public hearing on Nov. 19 to consider legislation from Chairman Phil Mendelson that would legalize the sale of recreational marijuana, alongside a separate …

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Oxy-Peddling Sackler Family Given Civil Immunity

The Washington Post reports: More than two decades after Purdue Pharma launched its blockbuster pain pill OxyContin, preceding a deadly overdose crisis, a judge approved a bankruptcy plan Wednesday that will resolve thousands of lawsuits against the drugmaker and grant sweeping legal immunity to its billionaire owners. Negotiated until the 11th hour, the final terms of the settlement confirmed by …

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New Orleans Pardons Thousands For Weed Possession

New Orleans’ CBS News affiliate reports: The New Orleans City Council pardoned thousands of people who have been cited for marijuana possession. According to Council President Helena Moreno, about 10,000 convictions and pending case penalties for small amounts of cannabis possession have been pardoned as well as any future summons. The council hopes that the new move will help the …

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US Sprinter Left Off Olympics Team For Marijuana Use

The Wall Street Journal reports: Team USA’s roster of track and field athletes at the Tokyo Olympics will be missing its biggest newsmaker ahead of the Games: sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson. The 21-year-old winner of the U.S. Olympic track and field trials’ women’s 100 meters last month was left off the team named Tuesday by USA Track & Field, after an …

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Mexican Supreme Court Legalizes Recreational Weed

The Associated Press reports: Mexico’s Supreme Court ordered the government Monday to issue permits for the personal use of marijuana and for the growing of limited amounts of pot plants, after the country’s Congress took too long to approve a limited legalization law. In 2019, the court ruled that prohibiting marijuana was unconstitutional, and gave lawmakers until this past April …

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