Report: Vape Manufacturer Juul Has Been Spending Thousands on State Attorney General Races

Reporting by the Associated Press found that vape manufacturer Juul spent thousands of dollars on state attorney general races and has since met privately with several state attorneys general. Juul spokespeople will not say how many state AGs have met with company representatives. Juul is working to earn “the trust of society by working cooperatively with attorneys general, regulators” and other officials, a spokesperson said. Juul has worked extensively with Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who has served as a behind-the-scenes adviser while Juul faces accusations of marketing and selling their product to teenagers. Miller has not received campaign contributions from Juul and said that he has advised the company to help them reduce youth vaping. "If you were going to deal with the question of kids and e-cigarettes, you had to deal with Juul,” Miller said. But Anthony Johnstone, a former assistant attorney general for Montana, said that Miller’s work with Juul is unprecedented. “That depth of involvement by an AG with a single corporation at the center of a public health issue is uncharacteristic,” he said.One attorney general that Juul met with 10 months ago was Georgia’s Chris Carr, who said that Juul’s $3,000 contribution to his 2018 reelection campaign did not factor into his decision to accept the meeting. Carr announced last month that his state would join 38 others to investigate Juul Labs and the actions it might have taken to promote vape usage among teens. Nine states have filed lawsuits against Juul and more suits may arise after the investigation concludes. Since Juul’s launch in 2015, teen use of e-cigarettes is up 70%, though many of those teens do not know that vape cartridges usually contain nicotine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has declared an epidemic of underage vaping. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former FDA commissioner, blamed the epidemic on Juul. “Juul really created this crisis. Juul created the pool of nicotine-addicted teens and I think they popularized the idea of vaping among kids,” he said. [Associated Press; Associated Press]

RUSSIAN MALWARE | A malware attack with Russian origins targeted the IT systems of the city of Durham and Durham County in North Carolina last week, temporarily crippling operating systems and public safety phone networks. Beverly Thompson, Durham city public affairs director, said that 911 call centers are now fully operational. “Some of the systems are still being recovered and they’re coming back up fast,” Thompson said. James Reese, a cyber expert at the security firm TigerSwan, said that sensitive information could have been taken from the city if 911 call centers were impacted. "Those dispatchers are pushing information. There could be names. There could be different activities that law enforcement are dealing with,” he said. [Raleigh News & Observer; WRAL]

MARIJUANA BANKING | Banking associations from every state except Kentucky last week called for a U.S. Senate vote on a bill that would make it easier for banks to service marijuana businesses in states where the drug has been legalized. The U.S. House has already passed legislation preventing federal regulators from penalizing banks that work with marijuana businesses. The associations wrote to Sens. Mike Crapo and Sherrod Brown, urging them to advance the bill. “Without a change to federal law, that entire portion of economic activity in legal cannabis states may be marginalized from the banking system … this segment of our local economies is forced to operate on an all-cash basis, which creates serious public safety, revenue administration, and legal compliance concerns in the communities we serve,” the letter reads. Crapo, a Republican, has recommended a number of changes to the bill, including limiting banking access to businesses that sell products with only 2% THC or less, a measure that banking associations and marijuana legalization activists object to. [Marijuana Moment]

BACKGROUND CHECKS | The Virginia legislature passed a measure making criminal background checks mandatory for all gun purchases. The bill now heads to Gov. Ralph Northam, who is expected to sign it. “We promised to make Virginia safer from the senseless gun violence that has ravaged our communities. Promise kept,” said Eileen Filler-Corn, the speaker of the Virginia state House. [The Hill]

FREE MEALS | The Washington state Senate passed a "Hunger-Free Schools” bill which would require certain districts to apply for federal funding that would allow all students at particular schools to get free breakfast and lunch. This program is available if a school’s student population has a high enough percentage of low-income students. If the measure becomes law, 15 schools would be affected and 7,200 students would receive the free meals. "We can utilize existing resources at the federal level to qualify more students for free breakfast and lunch so no child is lunch shamed or made to go without," said state Rep. Marcus Riccelli, the bill’s sponsor. [ABC News; KXLY]