https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/27/dea-cannabis-classification

Analysis shows 59% of commenters want the proposed rule change to go
further and for marijuana to be decriminalized

The two-month public comment period for the US Drug Enforcement
Administration’s proposed rules to reschedule cannabis closed this week and
the agency will now review the submissions – taking into account the
American public’s views on cannabis for the first time ever.

Nearly 43,000 citizens, organizations and researchers submitted comments –
the most the DEA has ever received over a proposed rule change.
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https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2024/jul/27/original-observer-photography

Musicians, farmers, actors and restaurateurs all feature in the best
original photographs from the Observer commissioned in July 2024
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https://nypost.com/2024/07/26/us-news/top-staffers-flee-ny-cannabis-regulator-after-gov-hochul-dumps-agencys-head/

Several high-level staffers at New York's cannabis regulator are calling it
quits -- after Gov. Kathy Hochul axed the agency's head and blasted it as a
“disaster."

https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/25/one-in-six-vapes-confiscated-at-english-schools-spiked-with-zombie-drug

Warning of serious harm risked as synthetic drug spice found in vapes used
by pupils at 28 schools

One in six vapes confiscated in English schools are spiked with the highly
addictive “zombie drug” spice, according to research.

Analysis from 38 schools revealed that the synthetic street drug, classified
as class B alongside ketamine and GHB, was in hundreds of devices. The
researchers said they believed the substance was being put into vapes
marketed as containing cannabis oil.
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https://nypost.com/2024/07/25/us-news/u-haul-driver-fatally-shot-and-cops-find-van-packed-with-marijuana/

The unidentified victim was found early Thursday dead from a gunshot to the
head with his body sticking out with of a rental truck that was packed with
marijuana in Queens, police and sources said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/21/nyregion/marijuana-death-mystery.html

Nico Nuño-Kelley, 17, fell six stories from the roof of his Manhattan
apartment building after vaping marijuana. His anguished family wants
answers.

https://nypost.com/2024/07/23/entertainment/pete-davidson-cant-quit-weed-after-giving-up-ketamine-cocaine/

Pete Davidson is done using drugs — with one exception.

https://nypost.com/2024/07/21/us-news/nypd-raids-brazen-nyc-nightclub-and-finds-warehouse-with-10m-worth-of-illegal-drugs-cops/

Police seized more than $10 million worth of illegal drugs in a brazen
Bronx nightclub that doubled as an illicit warehouse, cops said Saturday.
Complaints from neighbors and a smoke shop inspection at another location
led police to request a search warrant for the massive unmarked space that
takes up half a block along Timpson...

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/jul/13/cannabis-gummies-like-a-glass-of-wine-with-dinner-for-a-growing-number-of-australians

More people are turning to the edibles instead of alcohol, but experts warn
they cannot be sure what they are consuming

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podcast

Ruth started taking cannabis gummies two years ago, “in a similar way to
people having a glass of wine with dinner or a beer after work”.

“I use them if I just want a fun afternoon or evening to relax, by myself
or with friends,” she says, and unlike alcohol, “I don’t have a hangover in
the morning.”
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https://pagesix.com/2024/07/14/entertainment/wiz-khalifa-charged-with-illegal-drug-possession-in-romania/

A video posted online also shows the "See You Again" rapper being escorted
from a music festival surrounded by Romanian police officers.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/jul/11/cannabis-still-most-popular-illicit-drug-but-meth-and-cocaine-use-at-near-record-highs

A wastewater monitoring program report found a site in Sydney had the
highest mean cocaine consumption in the nation

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podcast

Cannabis continues to be Australia’s most consumed illicit drug but
methamphetamine, cocaine and nicotine use are at near-record highs.

A national wastewater drug monitoring program report released by the
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission on Thursday includes
consumption levels across regional and capital city centres.

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240705130221.htm

Researchers outline some of the intermediate biological steps that could
play into how prenatal cannabis exposure leads to behavioral issues down
the line.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/magazine/marijuana-legalization-new-york.html

New York is trying to treat an addictive substance just like any other
product.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/26/world/americas/brazil-marijuana-decriminalize-weed.html

The country’s Supreme Court voted to remove criminal penalties for
possession of up to 40 grams of marijuana.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/17/us/politics/florida-trump-biden-democrats.html

They are veering from cautious optimism to complete pessimism about their
long odds this year, with two liberal-leaning state ballot measures having
the potential to lift turnout.

https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000009525753/maryland-marijuana-convictions-pardon.html

Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland pardoned more than 175,000 convictions on
low-level marijuana charges, two years after the state legalized the use of
recreational marijuana.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/06/240605162341.htm

Nearly one in six patients in primary care reported cannabis use, with 35%
of those using at levels indicating moderate- to high-risk use disorder.
The findings indicate the need for routine cannabis use screening.
Currently few healthcare systems offer this screening in primary care
settings.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/05/240522130310.htm

A new study assessed cannabis use in the United States between 1979 and
2022, finding that a growing share of cannabis consumers report daily or
near-daily use and that their numbers now exceed those of daily and
near-daily alcohol drinkers. The study concludes that long-term trends in
cannabis use parallel corresponding changes in policy over the same period.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/05/240508093702.htm

When breastfeeding mothers in a recent study used cannabis, its
psychoactive component THC showed up in the milk they produced. The
research also found that, unlike alcohol, when THC was detected in milk
there was no consistent time when its concentration peaked and started to
decline. Importantly, the researchers discovered that the amount of THC
they detected in milk was low -- they estimated that infants received an
average of 0.07 mg of THC per day. For comparison, a common low-dose edible
contains 2 mg of THC. The research team stressed that it is unknown whether
this amount has any impact on the infant.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240410125625.htm

New research adds to evidence that a chemical found naturally in cannabis
can -- in the right amounts -- lessen the anxiety-inducing effects of
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive sister chemical found
in cannabis.