National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow said “there’s no evidence to my knowledge that occasional [adult] marijuana use has harmful effects.”
“I don’t know of any scientific evidence of that.”
New York City opened the first safe consumption sites for illegal drugs in the U.S. It remains to be seen how the Biden administration, which has voiced support for harm reduction approaches in general, will respond.
The Credit Union National Association, Defense Credit Union Council and National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions sent a letter urging Congress to pass marijuana banking legislation through the National Defense Authorization Act.
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) said he thinks there’s a “good chance” of passing marijuana banking legislation through the National Defense Authorization Act. He also tweeted about bipartisan backing for the move, saying, “I appreciate the support of these Senators – as well as @SenatorHick & @SenatorBennet. By including #SAFEBanking in the final NDAA, we can safeguard our financial system, reduce the public safety risk & better support small & minority-owned businesses.”
Kentucky Democratic congressional candidate William Compton tweeted, “In congress, I would fully support legalizing Marijuana on the federal level. Kentucky’s cash crop had always been tobacco, why can’t we add Marijuana to create more revenue?”
Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, currently the attorney general, tweeted, “60% of Pennsylvanians support marijuana legalization. Every second wasted on this is another second folks who’ve possessed small amounts of marijuana spend dealing with an unjust record. Let’s get it done.”
Illinois’s lieutenant governor hosted an event about a marijuana revenue-funded grant program, saying, “The #R3 program invests 25% of adult-cannabis tax revenues back into communities that have suffered historic disinvestment. Our goal is to repair the harm by investing in these communities, and this work can only be done in collaboration with those same communities.”
Mississippi lawmakers said they plan to pass a medical cannabis bill early in 2022.
source
