Cannabis Law Prof Blog

Marijuana linked to lower sperm count

New research suggests that marijuana usage may damage sperm count, according to a story in the Daily Mail.  Researcher Omer Raheem compared the findings of marijuana users, former marijuana users, and men who never used marijuana. His results found that, 

[T]hose who had ever used the drug had poorer semen quality than those who hadn’t.

The team saw damage on all fronts – decreased volume, morphology (the shape), and total progressive motile count (how many sperm can actually move).

Men who had smoked marijuana also had higher risks of abnormally shaped sperm, which can hamper its attempts to enter an egg.

Cannabis use is booming both in recreational use and in medical use which is exciting but also reason to be skeptical. The drug is now legal in more than half of the United States for medical use, and nine for recreational use. And yet, science is still racing to catch up with legalization, and the true benefits and down sides are still coming to light.

Cannabis is understudied so a lot of the effects of long-term and heavy usage are unknown in the scientific community. Dr. Raheem think that doctors should use studies such as these to warn their patients about possible "negative' effects".  

-Fernando Lira Gomez

 

Tribes see tax, environmental benefits from cannabis

As the growing trend for state legalization of marijuana continues, Native American Tribes want to begin growing and selling marijuana of their own. Because the marijuana market is earning billions, Native Americans hope selling marijuana will end the poverty currently plaguing their reservations. From the VOA News, Cecily Hillary reports:

“Let’s just look at one small piece of what hemp can do,” said Leslie Bocskor, founder of Electrum Partners, which works with states and tribes looking to enter the cannabis industry. Hemp, Bocskor said, can be used to manufacture plastics that are more environmentally friendly than plastics made from oil and gas, which aren't biodegradable.

 

“When you put hemp plastic into landfill, it will break down into things that are not damaging, at worst, and, at best, it can be additive to the soil it’s put into,” he said. “It also causes far less pollution to produce hemp plastics.”

 

Tribes stand to realize even greater profits than states due to their tax advantage.

 

Native American tribes have an advantage over other companies in the cannabis business. Many businesses in the United States lower their taxes by deducting their business expenses from their profits. But companies that grow and sell cannabis are not permitted to deduct their business expenses. This means they pay a higher tax rate than do other companies.

However, Native American tribes and the companies they own do not pay federal income taxes on money earned on reservations.

Bocskor says this means that a tribe-owned cannabis company could earn a profit margin of up to 85 percent.

  --Alexandria Guiam

Upcoming: Talking About Tribal Marijuana

The Native American Law Section of the State Bar of Texas is having its annual Native American Law Conference next week, and I'll be speaking there.  The Conference is Friday, January 29, at the Texas Law Center in Austin.  My topic is "Marijuana Legalization for Tribes and the Department of Justice Policy Statement Regarding Marijuana Issues in Indian Country."

There are some other hot-topic issues up for discussion at the conference, including Native American rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, ethics issues in tribal justice, updates on the Indian Child Welfare Act, and a panel on issues around use of Native American mascots.

You can get more info by clicking on the link above.

 

More on the Tribal Marijuana Conference . . .

A very good rundown by somebody who takes better notes than I.  From Indian Country Today:  Tribal Marijuana Conference: ‘A 10-Year Window for Tribes to Capitalize'.

Read the whole thing.