Cannabis Regulatory Update: Nevada Consumption Lounges, Portland OR Gifting Psychedelics, Sha'Carri Richardson 'Blessed' To Help Remove Cannabis Ban For Other Athletes

• Nevada Cannabis Consumption Lounges To Open In The First Half 2022

The Nevada Senate approved the cannabis consumption lounges legalization bill in June in a 17-3 vote, sending it to the governor’s desk. About a week later, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak (D) signed legislation into law. Under the new law there are two new licensing categories for cannabis businesses - 1) ”retail cannabis consumption lounges and 2) “independent cannabis consumption lounges.” 

This means that in 2022, Nevada residents will be able to consume marijuana in specially designed spaces. 

What’s more, on Wednesday state lawmakers approved funding for the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board to manage marijuana consumption lounges, reported Nevada Independent.  

Members of the state Interim Finance Committee “unanimously approved three items that will provide the CCB with funds to hire more staff, work with the state attorney general’s office to hammer out regulations, and direct cannabis revenue toward education funding.”

CCB Executive Director Tyler Klimas noted the approval by the committee allows them to use $10.9 million to support 23 new full-time employees at the regulatory agency.

According to the outlet, 59 adult-use dispensaries revealed their interest in opening their own marijuana consumption lounges. 

• Portland Activists Fight To Decriminalize The Growing, Gifting And Ceremonial Use Of Psychedelics

Psychedelics activists in Portland, OR are urging local regulators to approve a resolution to decriminalize the growing, gifting and ceremonial use of various psychedelics, writes Marijuana Moment.

Even though the state already decriminalized drug possession and legalized psilocybin therapy, the current laws “do not allow for home cultivation of entheogens, or for preparing quantities suitable for community healing and religious purposes, which the most economically marginalized, who may not be able to afford therapy otherwise, can benefit from,” the Plant Medicine Healing Alliance noted. 

The Alliance is now looking to make gifting practices and ceremonies that involve entheogenic substances like ayahuasca and ibogaine – “the lowest law enforcement priority,” and it plans to collaborate with indigenous groups to draft the proposal.

The measure highlighted that entheogenic plants and fungi “are non-addictive and have been recognized as sacred to human cultures around the world for thousands of years.”

Dr. Rachel Knox, a board member of the Portland group who also chairs the Equity Subcommittee of the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board, told Marijuana Moment that the measure would “pave way for the restitution owed to indigenous communities by whom these entheogens are considered sacred, including the opportunity to elevate our wisdom keepers as leaders and respected stewards in this space.”

• Sha’Carri Richardson Says She’d Be ‘Blessed’ If Her Case Helped Remove Cannabis Ban For Other Athletes 

American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who lost her chance to compete at this year's U.S. Olympics after she tested positive for cannabis, may have done an important thing for the sports community. Her story definitely made an impact on cannabis decriminalization efforts in the country.

From New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw, there was a rare instance of bipartisan agreement centered around Richardson’s suspension.

At the time, in an interview on NBC’s Today Show, Richardson explained that several days before the race and the trials, Richardson found out from a reporter that her biological mother had passed away. She said the horrible news sent her into a “state of emotional panic,” and that she was being “blinded by hurting…hiding hurt”. 

Now, the young athlete with huge potential says she would be “blessed” if her case helped anti-doping rules to change for other athletes, as per the newest interview on NBC’s Today Show. Richardson had said she was excited to get back on track where she will compete against the trio of Jamaican women who swept all three medals in the 100-meter race in Tokyo.

Photo: Courtesy of Diyahna Lewis on Unsplash