The U.S. State Department gave an update on WNBA star Brittney Griner’s arrest, Nevada’s ACLU warned of cops using a cannabis loophole, and cannabis industry sales surpassed those of Starbucks.
Let’s dive into this week’s cannanews.
The U.S. State Department put out a statement indicating that it now considers WNBA star Brittney Griner to be “wrongfully detained” by the Russian government. The reclassification means that U.S. officials will now try to negotiate Griner’s immediate release rather than letting her case play out in Russian court.
Griner was arrested by Russian customs agents back in February. The agents stated that Griner was in possession of vaping cartridges containing cannabis oil. Griner’s alleged crimes carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
In light of the State Department’s statement, Griner’s family has given the star’s fellow WNBA players and supporters the okay to bring as much attention to her case as possible.
As a result, the WNBA has revealed its plans to place decals with Griner’s name and jersey number on every home court to bring awareness to the athlete’s detention. Griner’s teammates and fellow WNBA stars have similarly come out in droves asking for the athlete’s safe return.
Make sure to check in with Veriheal to stay up to date on the efforts to bring Brittney Griner back home.
Recreational cannabis has been legal in Nevada since voters approved the Initiative to Regulate and Tax Marijuana in 2017. Nevada’s Constitution itself has a nearly 25-year-old voter-approved passage that enshrines cannabis’ medical value. Despite voters’ best efforts, however, Nevada cops are still continuing to arrest folks in the state for cannabis possession. But how?
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Nevada cops are using a loophole to circumvent cannabis legalization. The “loophole” in question has to do with the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy’s (NSBP) continued classification of cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance.
“The Board’s Schedule I list is reserved for substances such as heroin and methamphetamine, that have no medicinal value or cannot be safely distributed,” ACLU Nevada Attorney Sadmira Ramic explained. Since cannabis is classified as a Schedule I substance, Nevada police and prosecutors are free to charge individuals with felony-level offenses for possessing the plant.
In an effort to close this loophole, the ACLU announced it was suing the state to remove cannabis from the NSBP’s Schedule I drug list. “As long as this loophole exists for the government and its officials to exploit, cannabis will never truly be legal and racial disparities in cannabis-related arrests will not cease to exist,” said Ramic.
What do you think of the ACLU’s efforts to close this loophole? Let us know in the comments!
Starbucks is one of the most popular and successful businesses in the entire world. No matter where you live, chances are there’s a Starbucks right around the corner.
Considering Starbucks’ standing in the business world, it may come as a surprise that the U.S. cannabis industry actually surpassed the coffee giant’s North America (NA) sales in 2021!
According to a new report from the MJBiz Factbook, U.S. legal recreational and medical cannabis sales totaled between $24.5 billion and $27 billion dollars in 2021. This total exceeds Starbucks’ 2021 NA sales of $20.5 billion.
Starbucks 2021 sales represent a 25% increase in revenue compared to the cannabis industry’s 30% increase. Not only did the cannabis industry manage to outpace Starbucks’ U.S. sales, but it did so while only being legal in 39 states! The future of cannabis looks as bright as ever.
What do you think of the U.S. cannabis industry overtaking Starbucks? Do you see the cannabis industry continuing its insane trajectory? Let us know in the comments!
If Griner were Russian citizen with no priors , she would not be incarcerated for possession of two vape cartridges . She would be free in Russia awaiting trial The owner of her Ruusian team offered 1 m $ in bail and a Moscow apartment for her to wait for trial with ankle bracelet. But judge said she was flight risk , which is absurd . Source: my wife who attended hearing.
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