Tag: category: Top Stories

Marijuana Bust: Spaniard Smuggles 350 Pounds Of Weed In His 3 Children’s Luggage From Los Angeles To The UK – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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A 51-year-old Spanish citizen was arrested on May 1 upon arrival at the United Kingdom’s Manchester Airport from Los Angeles with nearly 350 pounds of marijuana stashed into eight separate suitcases that were checked in under the names of his three children, who were traveling with him.

Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said the cannabis would have had a street value of at least $1.3 million if sold in the U.K.

“This is one of the biggest cannabis seizures we have seen at Manchester Airport in recent years,” said NCA senior investigating officer Charles Lee in a press release. “The drugs would have generated significant profits. NCA officers are determined to work with our partners at Border Force to stop drug smuggling and disrupt the criminal networks behind it.”

Following the Wednesday arrest by Britain’s Border Force and interview by NCA investigators, Fernando Jacobo Mayans Fuster from Zaragoza, Spain was charged with importing class B drugs. No news was released about the fate or whereabouts of his three children.

Weed Smuggling From LAX To UK: Underworld Gangs Involved, Say Authorities

Throughout 2023, a rash of weed smuggling was going on between LAX and Heathrow airports, which had British authorities baffled.

Over the course of one week in January alone, nine Americans were arrested with nearly 750 pounds of cannabis flying from LAX to Heathrow, according to the NCA, Britain’s equivalent of the FBI.

NCA officials admitted finding the sudden rise of…

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May 5, 2024
Guns And Weed Conflict Heats Up: Pennsylvania DA Sues Feds Over Firearms Ban For Medical Marijuana Patients – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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The simmering dispute over gun ownership rights for medical marijuana patients heated up on Tuesday when Pennsylvania District Attorney Robert Greene filed a lawsuit against the federal government.

Greene and a group of gun rights advocates fired a fresh salvo in federal court with the first civil lawsuit of its kind, a strategic move distinct from previous criminal cases challenging the federal ban preventing medical marijuana patients from buying and possessing firearms.

“It’s not about winning or losing,” said Greene, who is a registered medical marijuana patient, Marijuana Moment reported, “but about asserting that this prohibition is unconstitutional and forcing the government to confront the absurdity of denying millions of Americans their Second Amendment rights based solely on their medical choices.”

Greene’s participation in the case is notable as the court filing states that he “intends to lawfully purchase, possess, and utilize firearms and ammunition so that he may exercise his constitutional right to keep and bear arms for self-defense and all other lawful purposes.” However, Green is barred from buying a gun because of his status as a medical marijuana patient.

Ongoing Cases

The current patchwork of rulings across the country highlights the growing tension between marijuana legalization efforts and federal gun laws. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a major blow to the ban in 2022, declaring it unconstitutional as applied to a man who used…

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January 23, 2024
DEA’s Cannabis Classification: Time To Right A Decades-Old Mistake As Feds Confirm Marijuana’s Medical Benefits – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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Schedule I drugs are defined by the DEA as substances with no “currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” The list includes heroin, LSD, ecstasy, meth, peyote, and, for the past 24 years, cannabis.

With Friday’s release of documents related to the Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) review of cannabis, federal researchers found that cannabis indeed “has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States” and that its “potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in Schedules I and II.” Hence, the HHS made a recommendation to the DEA to remove cannabis from its onerous Schedule I status.

HHS officials found that more than 30,000 healthcare professionals “across 43 U.S. jurisdictions are authorized to recommend the medical use of marijuana for more than six million registered patients for at least 15 medical conditions.”

In terms of medical conditions for which cannabis is often cited to help, the review “identified mixed findings of effectiveness across indications, ranging from data showing inconclusive findings to considerable evidence in favor of effectiveness, depending on the source.”

What Did They Find?

Conditions such as pain and, in particular, neuropathic pain presented the “largest evidence base for effectiveness.”

The review also said there is scientific support for the therapeutic benefits of cannabis, including for treating anorexia, pain, nausea and vomiting related to…

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January 14, 2024
NFL Cannabis Policy Shift Toward Embracing CBD Research For Tackling Concussions And Pain – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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The NFL’s policy on cannabis has undergone changes in recent years, with important implications for players and the league as a whole.

While Travis Kelce, the star tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs, estimates that between 50% to 80% of all NFL players partake in its use, the league is slowly relaxing its stance on marijuana.

Players now face reduced penalties for testing positive for marijuana after rules were amended in 2021 that obliged players to undergo one weed test per year at the start of training camp, although cannabis testing is still a part of the league’s policy.

NFL Joining Cannabis Research Efforts

This past summer, the NFL and its players’ union announced they were joining together to fund two research grants worth over $500,000 each to fund independent studies on the therapeutic benefits of CBD (cannabinoids) as a pain treatment alternative to opioids for players with concussions. In February 2022, the NFL awarded $1 million in a grant to two teams of medical researchers to study the effects of CBD on pain management and neuroprotection from concussion among elite football players.

How Common Are Concussions Among Football Players?

Not to be a Debbie Downer while the NFL playoffs are underway, but brain injuries in football account for 65% to 95% of all fatalities, according to the Brain Injury Research Institute. Football injuries associated with the brain occur at the rate of one in every five-and-a-half games.

How Can CBD Help?

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