Tag Archives: drugs

Business Insider reports: Aphria, a Canadian-based cannabis producer, rallied more than 16% Wednesday after a report said that Altria, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, was in talks to buy a minority stake in the company, the Globe & Mail reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. According to the Globe & Mail, Altria has expressed an interest in acquiring …

The Associated Press reports: Mat Beren and his friends used to drive by the vast greenhouses of southern British Columbia and joke about how much weed they could grow there. Years later, it’s no joke. The tomato and pepper plants that once filled some of those greenhouses have been replaced with a new cash crop: marijuana. Beren and other formerly …

The New York Post reports: Big pot has finally achieved big market cap. Shares of Peter Thiel-backed marijuana grower Tilray soared more than 60 percent on Wednesday, hitting a market value of $22.8 billion, as bullish comments from the company’s chief executive stoked Wall Street’s growing euphoria over the budding business of legalized marijuana. Shares of the Canada-based weed farmer …

Bloomberg reports: The world’s largest beverage company may be the next industry giant to jump into the cannabis drinks business. Coca-Cola Co. says it’s monitoring the nascent industry and is interested in drinks infused with CBD — the non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that treats pain but doesn’t get you high. “We are closely watching the growth of non-psychoactive CBD as …

The Desert Sun reports: On Ramon Road in Cathedral City, beams and walls are beginning to frame a structure so big, you could rebuild the Palm Springs Convention Center on top of the same footprint and still have space to spare. This is the future home of Sunniva, a Canada-based medical cannabis company that plans to grow, process and sell …

The North Jersey Record reports: Michael Coppola, the chief of the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department, was arrested Thursday for allegedly buying cocaine and having it shipped to a Passaic County post office box, authorities said in a news release. Investigators believed Coppola was ordering drugs through the internet and having it delivered to the post office box, according to …

The New York Post reports: Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday named several close allies and aides to a new panel he is convening to draft legislation that would result in the legalization of recreational marijuana. “I have reviewed the multi-agency report commissioned last January and have discussed its findings with Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker,” Cuomo said in a statement. …

Via press release: Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today released the D.A.’s Office’s new policy to decline to prosecute marijuana possession and smoking cases, effective tomorrow, August 1. The policy, which is included below, is expected to reduce Manhattan marijuana prosecutions from approximately 5,000 per year to fewer than 200 per year, a 96% reduction. “Every day I …

NewJersey.com reports: In a move that will affect thousands of defendants and millions of residents, New Jersey’s attorney general has announced an immediate adjournment of all marijuana cases in municipal courts statewide until at least September. In a letter to prosecutors obtained exclusively by NJ Advance Media, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal wrote that he was asking “that all …

The Burlington Free Press reports: As of today, recreational use of marijuana is legal in Vermont — within boundaries of some clear and not-so-clear rules. Vermont becomes the ninth state to legalize marijuana and the first state to do so through its state legislature. Gov. Phil Scott signed the law in January with “mixed emotions.” But authorities can’t answer some …

The New York Daily News reports: Some drug traffickers appear to be using President Donald Trump’s image to brand their illegal wares. An Indiana State Police news release about 129 arrests in a series of drug busts in northern Indiana includes a photo of what police describe as “Trump-shaped ecstasy pills.” They are orange and stamped with a face. On …

The BBC reports: Canada’s parliament has passed a law legalising the recreational use of marijuana nationwide. The Cannabis Act passed its final hurdle on Tuesday in a 52-29 vote in the Senate. The bill controls and regulates how the drug can be grown, distributed, and sold. Canadians will be able to buy and consume cannabis legally as early as this …

CBC News reports: The Liberal government’s bill to legalize recreational marijuana has cleared another vote in the House of Commons — but it still has to get a final stamp of approval from an unpredictable Senate before it can become law. The Senate had proposed 46 amendments to The Cannabis Act but the Liberal government rejected several major ones last …

The Associated Press reports: One airman said he felt paranoia. Another marveled at the vibrant colors. A third admitted, “I absolutely just loved altering my mind.” Meet service members entrusted with guarding nuclear missiles that are among the most powerful in America’s arsenal. Air Force records obtained by The Associated Press show they bought, distributed and used the hallucinogen LSD …

The New York Daily News reports: Mayor de Blasio will tell the NYPD to stop arresting people for public pot smoking — and launch a new group to officially prepare the city for the outright legalization of marijuana in New York. De Blasio, who has long opposed making recreational pot legal, now says he thinks legalization is inevitable and is …

Business Insider reports: Ten US Navy SEALs and one sailor in Navy special warfare have tested positive for cocaine and methamphetamines, a Navy spokesperson told Business Insider. “During a number of command drug tests from March to April 2018, 11 service members from East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare units tested positive for controlled substances,” Cmdr. Tamara Lawrence said in a …

The Dallas News reports: Federal authorities have charged 57 members of several white supremacist prison gangs in a large North Texas drug trafficking and kidnapping conspiracy after an investigation by federal, state and local police agencies. Officials arrested 42 of the gang members last week across the North Texas area, U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox said Monday during a news …

Bloomberg reports: The U.S. marijuana industry has a new spokesman: John Boehner. The Republican former Speaker of the House has joined the advisory board of Acreage Holdings, a company that cultivates, processes and dispenses cannabis in 11 U.S. states. Boehner’s endorsement, after saying nine years ago he was “unalterably opposed” to legalization, could be considered a watershed event: Marijuana has …

The Associated Press reports: A toxicology report from Prince’s autopsy, obtained by The Associated Press, shows he had what multiple experts called an “exceedingly high” concentration of fentanyl in his body when he died. Prince was 57 when he was found alone and unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate on April 21, 2016. Public data released six …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s plan to combat opioid drug addiction calls for stiffer penalties for drug traffickers, including the death penalty where appropriate under current law, a top administration official said. It’s a fate for drug dealers that Trump has been highlighting publicly in recent weeks. Trump also wants Congress to pass legislation reducing the amount of …