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Analysis: In Utero Cannabis Exposure Not Associated With Later Developmental Delays

Chapel Hill, NC: Infants exposed to cannabis in utero are no more likely to require emergency department care or suffer from developmental delays than non-exposed children, according to data published in the journal Academic Pediatrics.

Investigators affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill examined the relationship between in utero cannabis exposure and infants’ health care utilization and developmental outcomes.

“Compared to those unexposed, … children who were exposed to cannabis in utero have similar WCC [well child care] attendance and ED [emergency department] use over the first 2 years and similar developmental outcomes at 3 years,” researchers reported.

The authors acknowledged that their results were consistent with those of other studies, finding no differences in ED visits or developmental delays among cannabis-exposed and cannabis-unexposed children.

Although many studies have associated in utero cannabis exposure with low birth weight, longitudinal studies following in utero-exposed infants to adulthood have generally failed to identify “any long-term or long lasting meaningful differences” in their neurodevelopment.

Full text of the study, “Health care utilization and developmental delay among infants exposed to cannabis in utero,” appears in Academic Pediatrics.

California: Supreme Court Rules Police Can’t Search Vehicles Based on “Weed Crumbs”

Sacramento, CA: Police may neither charge a motorist with violating California’s “open container law” nor search a person’s vehicle solely upon the identification of a small quantity of marijuana “crumbs” on the floorboards, according to a ruling handed down by the state’s Supreme Court.

In a unanimous opinion, the Justices determined that the state’s “open container” law should not be applied so broadly as to pertain to situations where police find “any loose marijuana” in a motor vehicle. Rather, the court decided that the marijuana “must be of a usable quantity, in imminently usable condition, and readily accessible to an occupant” to constitute a violation of the state’s “open container” law.

The Court further determined that a police officer’s identification of “weed crumbs” does not provide probable cause for a warrantless vehicle search. They ruled, “The marijuana-related conduct here – possession of the rolling tray on the backseat and the crumbs on the floor [totaling 0.36 grams] – was lawful and alone was insufficient to find probable cause of a violation of California’s controlled substances law.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling reverses the decision of the California Court of Appeals, which had previously granted police the authority to search the defendant’s vehicle based upon a finding of probable cause.

The case is Sellers v. The Superior Court of Sacramento County.

Oklahoma: Governor Says State’s Medical Marijuana Program a “Pandora’s Box,” Calls for It To Be “Shut Down”

Oklahoma City, OK: Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt says that the state’s voter-approved medical cannabis access law “opened a Pandora’s Box” and should be repealed.

Speaking Monday during his State of the State address, the Governor said: “This industry is plagued by foreign criminal interests and bad actors, making it nearly impossible to rein in. We can’t put a Band-aid on a broken bone. Knowing what we know, it’s time to let Oklahomans bring safety and sanity back to their neighborhoods. Send the marijuana issue back to the vote of the people and shut it down.”

On Tuesday, the state’s Attorney General similarly said that he would like to see the medical cannabis industry “gone.”

Fifty-seven percent of Oklahomans approved a ballot initiative in 2018 legalizing the production and dispensing of cannabis for authorized patients. Approximately 320,000 Oklahomans are currently registered with the state to access medical cannabis products.

Despite the Governor’s claims of foreign involvement in the state’s medical cannabis industry, DEA statistics published last year reported interdicting only 15 Chinese-affiliated illegal marijuana grow operations nationwide.

Since 2022, Oklahoma lawmakers have imposed a moratorium prohibiting regulators from issuing licenses for any new medical cannabis dispensaries, processors, or commercial growers. Approximately 1,450 dispensaries are currently licensed in the state.

Earlier this year, representatives from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics publicly alleged that nearly half of the marijuana sold illegally in the United States originates from the state. However, other state agencies said that they had no data to substantiate those claims.

Florida: DeSantis Administration Says Marijuana Legalization Won’t Appear on November’s Ballot, Petitioners Say Otherwise

Tallahassee, FL: Election officials and the state’s Attorney General announced this week that petitioners behind a proposed ballot initiative legalizing adult-use retail marijuana sales had failed to gather the requisite number of signatures to qualify it for the November ballot. But representatives with the campaign are challenging the state’s count and have called the administration’s declaration “premature.”

According to a campaign spokesperson, representatives from the Smart & Safe Florida campaign submitted over 1.4 million signatures from Florida voters – far more than the 880,062 signatures necessary. To date, however, election officials have verified fewer than 784,000 total signatures.

Specifically, the campaign is challenging the state’s dismissal of at least 98,000 signatures, which, if determined valid, would be sufficient to qualify it for this year’s ballot.

Petitioners qualified a similar measure on the 2024 ballot. That proposal gained 56 percent of the vote, just shy of the 60 percent threshold required to pass a constitutional amendment in Florida. (Florida is the only state that requires citizen-initiated measures to gain more than a simple majority.)

The DeSantis administration has vigorously opposed both efforts. In May, Gov. DeSantis signed legislation making it harder for parties to qualify measures for the electoral ballot. Last month, state election officials audited the work of several counties, which they alleged had not properly verified voters’ signatures. Most recently, the state launched a criminal probe to investigate the actions of various petitioners involved with the Smart & Safer campaign. Separately, the Attorney General’s office had previously challenged the wording of the proposed measure in court, calling it “unconstitutional.”

Historically, Florida has been among the states with the highest number of annual marijuana-related arrests. Under state law, possession of 20 grams or less of marijuana is a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Possessing greater amounts is a felony offense, punishable by up to five years in prison.

Additional information is available from Smart & Safe Florida.