Legalization

With a legalization ballot measure set to appear on Florida’s ballot in November, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) again attacked the proposal on Wednesday, warning that the changes would be “not good for families” and “not good for elderly.” He also accused the initiative’s cannabis industry backers as being profit-driven. “People aren’t putting tens of millions of dollars behind that out of the goodness of their heart,” the governor said. “They are going to be making a lot of money… Read more.

In a new letter to the White House, a group of 20 justice and drug reform advocacy organizations are calling on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to publicly support the removal of marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) rather than merely a move to Schedule III, as the government is currently considering. Biden has said repeatedly during his campaign and term in office that “no one should be in jail merely for the use or possession of… Read more.

Whether you’re walking down Bourbon Street or chilling in one of the parks along the Mississippi River, chances are you’re going to encounter cannabis in the Big Easy. After all, New Orleans is a global mecca for having a good time. But despite the city’s feel-good status, Louisiana weed laws don’t follow that same chilled-out vibe. So before you go lighting up a joint or passing around edibles, be sure to take a moment to learn about the city’s weed laws. It’s a little complicated,… Read more.

It seems that attitudes about Germany, which has historically been seen as one of the most conservative countries in Europe, are beginning to change significantly. Despite fierce resistance from politicians and different medical authorities, Germany became the largest EU member state to legalize cannabis for recreational use this week in a historic step. Now, those over eighteen are allowed to own up to 25 grams of dried cannabis and grow up to three marijuana plants inside. With regard to cannabis legalization, this… Read more.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that his government’s concern about possible United Nations (UN) penalties for legalizing marijuana in contravention of international treaties never materialized, disclosing that no officials have as much as discussed the issue with Canada since the reform was enacted in 2018. The comments come as anti-marijuana U.S. lawmakers in Congress are pressuring the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to reject a cannabis rescheduling recommendation based on their argument that loosening restrictions would put the country at risk of… Read more.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) predicts that voters will reject a marijuana legalization initiative on the ballot in November, calling the proposal “radical” and arguing that it will “reduce the quality of life” in the state. Just days after the Florida Supreme Court cleared the cannabis measure for the ballot, rejecting the state attorney general’s constitutional challenge, the governor addressed the issue at a press conference on Thursday. DeSantis said the marijuana legalization proposal goes beyond simple decriminalization and is “basically… Read more.

On April 1, 2024, Germany became the largest country to pass a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure with CanG. It was a truly historic day for Germany’s cannabis reform movement and was the culmination of decades of hard work by dedicated German cannabis advocates. Advocates throughout Europe are hopeful that other European nations will adopt parts or all of Germany’s cannabis legalization model. In addition to the work of citizen activists, Germany’s historic legalization victory came as a result of a modern… Read more.

The Florida Supreme Court’s decision to allow a marijuana legalization initiative to appear on the state’s November ballot will likely draw unique national attention to this year’s election because of one Florida resident who will get to decide on the reform: former President Donald Trump. While both presumptive presidential nominees—Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden—can reasonably expect to be asked about the issue as they campaign in the Sunshine State, Trump will actually get to cast his vote when he fills out… Read more.

Following a close 25–23 vote on the Hawaii House floor last week to keep a marijuana legalization bill alive, lawmakers now face a Thursday deadline to pass a bill out of the chamber’s Finance Committee, where some observers expect the proposal to receive a chilly reception if it’s taken up later this week. Legalization advocates at the group Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) asked supporters in an email on Monday to contact House Speaker Scott Saiki (D) and Rep. Kyle Yamashita (D),… Read more.

Reflecting on just a decade ago, the landscape of cannabis legality in the United States was vastly different from what it is today. Presently, 38 states have embraced either medical or recreational cannabis laws, encompassing 74% of the American population residing in areas where cannabis is legal. Furthermore, 79% of citizens live in counties with at least one cannabis dispensary. The number of dispensaries that have sprung up across the nation is so high that it has surpassed the 13,500 McDonald's… Read more.

Newly released data from a Washington State survey of adolescent and teenage students show declines in both lifetime and past-30-day marijuana use in recent years, with striking drops that held steady through 2023. The results also indicate that perceived ease of access to cannabis among underage students has generally fallen since the state enacted legalization for adults in 2012—contrary to fears repeatedly expressed by opponents of the policy change. About 8.4 percent of Washington 10th graders said in 2023 that… Read more.

Germany’s marijuana legalization law officially took effect on Monday, with personal possession and cultivation now permitted for adults. Just days after the cannabis bill was signed into law, the non-commercial legalization provisions are now in force. Social clubs where people will be able to obtain marijuana are due to launch in July. Under the new policy, adults 18 and older are allowed to possess up to 25 grams of cannabis and grow up to three plants for personal use. Germany’s marijuana… Read more.

After sending messages for months that he had no interest in moving forward with Democratic-led plans to legalize retail marijuana sales in Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has now formally vetoed legal sales legislation sent to him by lawmakers about a month ago along with a separate bill to provide resentencing relief for people convicted of past cannabis crimes. In a veto message issued on Thursday, the governor wrote that “the proposed legalization of retail marijuana in the Commonwealth endangers Virginians’ health and… Read more.

Lawmakers in New Hampshire are again seeking to legalize adult-use cannabis this session, WMUR reports. This time, lawmakers are attempting to meet all of the terms set by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu – including state-run dispensaries – to avoid his veto.  Last year, Sununu laid out his vision for a legal market in New Hampshire, which included a 15-store cap and a ban on lobbying and political contributions by cannabis licensees. After years of strong opposition to the reforms, Sununu admitted in… Read more.

A strong majority of voters—including more than 60 percent of Republicans—support congressional legislation to protect states’ rights to set their own marijuana laws, according to a new poll of three states. The survey, commissioned by the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR), focused on Missouri, Ohio and Wyoming. It asked voters 21 and older about their views on the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act. The bill, which is being led by Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH)… Read more.

Lawmakers in New Hampshire on Tuesday heard public testimony on a newly proposed amendment to a marijuana legalization bill that that would transform the measure into a state-controlled franchise model of commercial sales, a novel framework that has the support of Gov. Chris Sununu (R). The 38-page striking amendment from Rep. Dan McGuire (R) would replace the current text of HB 1633 from Rep. Erica Layon (R), who has warned that the franchise model—under which the state would oversee day-to-day… Read more.

As NPR reported, Catherine, Princess of Wales, has cancer, she announced in a video message released by Kensington Palace on Friday, and is in the early stages of chemotherapy. In the video, the former Kate Middleton, 42, said the diagnosis was a "huge shock after an incredibly tough couple of months." The cancer was found during testing done after she successfully underwent major abdominal surgery in January, Kate said. She did not specify the type of cancer or its stage.… Read more.

An enduring argument against the legalization of cannabis suggests that legalizing access might prompt a rise in cannabis use among youth. However, as states nationwide forge ahead with reform efforts, ongoing research sheds light on the validity of this claim. Fresh from a recent study revealing the prevalence of Delta-8 THC usage among high school seniors—a hemp-derived cannabinoid readily available beyond the legal cannabis sector and in states both with and without cannabis programs—some may ponder the extent of teen cannabis… Read more.

Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, pushed state lawmakers this week to legalize and regulate marijuana for recreational use. He emphasized the need to follow the lead of nearby states that have already made this decision. In his yearly budget speech, which included a $48.3 billion spending plan, the governor urged legislators to band together and enact legislation legalizing marijuana, on the condition that the sector be subject to prudent regulation and taxes. Although there is no explicit provision for… Read more.

Thailand’s health minister said that lawmakers are aiming to make adult-use cannabis illegal again by the end of the year, Reuters reports. Under recently proposed legislation, it would be illegal to use cannabis recreationally but cannabis use for medicinal purposes would remain legal. People caught consuming cannabis would face fines of up to 60,000 baht ($1,700), and people caught illegally marketing or retailing cannabis products — or paraphernalia — would face up to a year in jail and fines up to 100,000 baht ($2,800).… Read more.

A pair of Senate committees in Hawaii has advanced a bill that would legalize marijuana in the state, adopting a number of amendments to the underlying proposal before sending it to the chamber floor where a vote is expected next week. Last year the Senate passed a separate legalization bill that later stalled the House, but advocates are hopeful this year’s proposal could get further. Gov. Josh Green (D) said last month that legalization is a “big social issue that remains” to… Read more.

Germany has made a groundbreaking move by giving the go-ahead for personal use of recreational cannabis, signaling a notable change in the nation's drug policy. The federal parliament of Germany, the Bundestag, finalized this historic decision today. A substantial 407 MPs rallied behind the legislation; 226 stood in opposition, and four opted to abstain. Now, the ball is in the court of the Bundesrat, the legislative body representing the sixteen Länder at the federal level. They'll be taking a close look… Read more.

Both chambers of Virginia’s legislature have now given at least preliminary approval to separate plans that would legalize retail marijuana sales in the commonwealth. Significant differences remain between the competing proposals, however, which lawmakers will need to hammer out before sending any bill to the desk of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). Meanwhile, measures on resentencing people with prior cannabis convictions and preventing the legal use of marijuana from denying parental visitation or custody rights also moved forward ahead of a… Read more.

The German cannabis legalization saga appears to finally be concluding, with members of the governing coalition in the Bundestag reportedly reaching a final agreement. If the process stays on track, cannabis cultivation, possession and consumption will be legalized in Germany starting April 1. Germany’s current legalization effort started back in September 2021 when today’s governing coalition was initially elected. Members of the coalition, often referred to as the Traffic Light Coalition, quickly announced their intent to end cannabis prohibition in Germany… Read more.

South Carolina’s Senate convened for an initial debate on Wednesday about a bill that would allow medical cannabis access for patients with certain health conditions. It’s a renewed push by lawmakers after the body passed an earlier version of the legislation in 2022 that went on to stall in the House over a procedural hiccup. During the floor debate on the measure from Sen. Tom Davis (R), members held a lengthy discussion on the merits of the reform proposal and… Read more.

The Irish government has delayed on discussing a bill that would legalize cannabis possession for nine months. A report submitted by the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use completed its review of Ireland’s current drug policies in October 2023, and released a final report on Jan. 25, which includes 36 recommendations for prioritizing marginalized groups and communities, focusing on prevention and recovery, and more. On Jan. 24, 2024, one day prior to the release of the report, Taoiseach (TD) Leo Varadkar (who… Read more.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) says he doesn’t support Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) call for a crackdown on the nicotine product Zyn because it’s a matter of “freedom and personal choices,” drawing parallels to his reasons for supporting marijuana legalization. Schumer said earlier this week that he’s asking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the health impacts and marketing of the nicotine pouches that have been popularized on social media in a… Read more.

Maine lawmakers are considering a proposal to legalize cannabis social clubs and other forms of on-site consumption, according to a Spectrum News report. Sponsored by state Rep. David Boyer (R-Poland), the proposal would establish a cannabis-based hospitality industry in Maine by giving tourists a place to legally consume. If approved, the bill would establish a “cannabis hospitality establishment license” that would need to be acquired before businesses could allow on-site consumption. LD 1952 appeared recently before the Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee. The… Read more.

The Justice Department has asked a federal court to dismiss a cannabis industry lawsuit that seeks to block the enforcement of marijuana prohibition against state-legal activity—in part, it says, because the court should not get ahead of a possible cannabis rescheduling decision that’s being considered. In a document filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Western Division, on Tuesday, lawyers for Attorney General Merrick Garland said that Congress “rationally set up an administrative process for rescheduling drugs.” “Pursuant to… Read more.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) says a marijuana legalization initiative will be on the state’s November ballot, predicting a favorable legal outcome for activists in the Supreme Court in the face of a challenge from the attorney general who is seeking to block the vote. Days before dropping out of the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, DeSantis was asked about the prospect of legalization making the Florida ballot by cannabis lobbyist Don Murphy. “I think the court is… Read more.

Thailand leaders believe the country’s move to decriminalize led to a surge of cannabis shops and unintended recreational use, and are backpedaling the law, clarifying several changes. A draft bill to ban recreational use of potent cannabis products was published online on Jan. 9. Under the bill proposal, anyone who smokes cannabis for recreational purposes will face a fine of up to 60,000 baht (about $1,709.53). Those selling cannabis or its extracts for recreational purposes face up to one year… Read more.

Alaska lawmakers have filed a pair of bills to create a state task force responsible for studying and making recommendations on psychedelic policy issues, including frameworks for legalization and licensure for therapeutic practitioners. Sen. Forrest Dunbar (D) and Rep. Jennie Armstrong (D) introduced identical companion versions of the legislation on Monday. The bills would establish an Alaska Mental Health and Psychedelic Medicine Task Force under the state Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. The body would be comprised of… Read more.

The consumption of marijuana has surged dramatically, with a notable instance in Michigan, where recreational use has recently been legalized. In its first year, marijuana sales are poised to exceed $3 billion, propelled by a remarkable performance in July. This upswing can be attributed to Generation Z opting for marijuana over alcohol, considering it a healthier alternative. However, the industry faces challenges such as disorderly state enforcement, burdensome taxes, and restrictive regulations, including the absence of interstate commerce, leading to significant disruptions.… Read more.

As Virginia Democrstic lawmakers renew their push to legalize marijuana sales, the Republican governor says the issue isn’t something he’s personally interested in advancing this year. While advocates are hopeful that commercial legalization could move through both chambers of the legislature, which are now controlled by Democrats, the remarks from Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) indicate that the plan might not be enacted into law even if it is approved by the House of Delegates and Senate. Following his State of… Read more.

Florida State Representative Ralph Massullo has introduced a bill proposing limitations on the potency of cannabis in the event that adult-use marijuana is legalized in the state later this year. The proposed legislation seeks to set a maximum THC content of 10% for cannabis products intended for smoking and 60% for concentrates. Additionally, marijuana edibles would be subject to a cap of 200 milligrams of THC per package and 10 milligrams per serving. The text of the bill reads: Marijuana for personal… Read more.

Ukraine Is Finally Legalizing Medical Marijuana On December 21st, right before Christmas 2023, the parliament of Ukraine finally voted to support the legalization of medical marijuana after a proposal by Prime Minister Denys Smyhal. The bill will regulate marijuana’s use for medical as well as scientific and industrial purposes. Certainly, Ukraine is among the world’s nations that need the healing benefits of marijuana because of the wreck the war with Russian left them in. Out of the 401 seats in Kyiv’s parliament, 248 seats… Read more.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) says he would “respect the decisions that states make” on marijuana legalization if he’s elected president, despite his personal view that the reform has a “negative impact.” At a campaign event in Iowa on Saturday, the 2024 Republican presidential candidate briefly shared how he would navigate the growing state legalization movement from the White House, pledging to adopt a hands-off approach like that of prior administrations from both parties. DeSantis started by noting that Florida… Read more.

Wisconsin Republicans have unveiled a plan to legalize non-smokable medical marijuana through state-run dispensaries staffed by government-employed pharmacists, with a limited set of conditions that could qualify patients for the program. At a series of press conferences across the state on Monday, GOP state lawmakers detailed the much-anticipated legislation, which would make Wisconsin the “first state to have state-run dispensaries,” operated by the Department of Health Services (DHS). As expected, the proposal would create a restrictive system that limits patients… Read more.

Hawaii’s attorney general is clarifying that despite unveiling a draft marijuana legalization bill in November and subsequently defending the proposal against criticism from law enforcement, her office does not, in fact, support legalizing cannabis for adult use. But the office also won’t actively work to oppose it the reform—as long as any legislation that is advancing contains several “key elements.” On Friday, Attorney General Anne Lopez’s (D) office sent lawmakers a revised 315-page draft bill to legalize cannabis as well as 38-page report… Read more.

In 2023, Psilocybin treatment centers in Oregon facilitated the administration of magic mushrooms to more than 700 individuals, marking the program's inaugural year. The Seattle Times, citing the Healing Advocacy Fund, a non-profit supporting the advancement of psychedelic therapies in Oregon and Washington, reported that a total of 715 people accessed psilocybin therapy in Oregon this year. In the last 20 days alone, over 100 individuals sought these services, as reported by the Healing Advocacy Fund on Dec. 7 when the total… Read more.

South Dakota officials have cleared the way for paid circulators to start collecting signatures for a 2024 marijuana legalization ballot initiative as the activist-led campaign continues to evaluate next steps. Late last month, the secretary of state’s office approved a circulator handout submitted by South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (SDBML), a requirement that will allow the campaign to deploy paid canvassers to gather signatures along with its existing grassroots network of volunteers who have already been distributing petitions. The… Read more.

Nevada psychedelics activists say they’ve had a “productive meeting” with the Republican governor’s office about the need to expeditiously form a task force under a law enacted earlier this year in order to inform future reform—including the possible legalization of plant-based medicines. About six months after Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) signed legislation into law establishing a Psychedelic Medicines Working Group, members have not yet been formally appointed and no meetings have been scheduled, despite a mandate for the body to issue… Read more.

New York marijuana regulators published a year-end review of the state’s legal cannabis system on Friday, highlighting major milestones and offering a snapshot of the market almost exactly a year after the state’s first adult-use sales began. Consumers purchased more than 3.5 million cannabis products during the year, New York State’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) said in the report. Once December figures are tallied, total sales for the year are expected to exceed $150 million. That activity brought in more… Read more.

More than half of the US now allows cannabis for either medical or adult use purposes. It seems like America is trending in the right direction, but are things changing for better or for worse? The answer is ambivalent, according to the recent television special National Geographic Investigates: Legal Marijuana In America. California’s monumental passing of Proposition 64 in 2016 legalized adult-use cannabis, becoming just the fifth state to do so at the time. The landmark vote paved the way for… Read more.

Psychedelics policy came sharply into focus in 2023, with advocates chalking multiple wins as the drug policy reform movement’s momentum continued to expand beyond marijuana at the local, state and federal levels. It was a year defined by firsts: historic federal legislation signed into law mandating psychedelics clinical trials, first-ever Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance on conducting research using entheogenic substances, a novel congressional hearing, psilocybin services opening in Oregon and a new opportunity to legalize MDMA as a… Read more.

Beyond major marijuana developments in the U.S. at the federal and state levels this year, momentum for drug policy reform continued to build across many parts of the globe in 2023. From the issuance of the first licenses in the European Union for nonprofit cannabis associations to the EU’s largest economy taking steps toward legalizing marijuana for adults, a number of countries, especially in Europe and South America, marked drug reform milestones in the past year. Yet 2023 also saw a rash of… Read more.

A bipartisan group of Wisconsin lawmakers have formally introduced a measure to decriminalize marijuana possession after previewing the proposal earlier this month. Sponsors hope the limited, noncommercial reform will win enough support to clear the state’s GOP-controlled legislature and become law in parallel with a separate limited medical cannabis bill that Republican leaders say will be filed in January. Assembly Bill 861, introduced by Reps. Shae Sortwell (R), Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D) and Dave Considine (D), along with Sen. Lena Taylor (D), would remove… Read more.

A recent report from a nonprofit think tank based in Washington, D.C., the Tax Foundation, suggests that nationwide legalization of marijuana across all states could lead to an annual cannabis tax revenue of $8.5 billion. The report outlines a proposed state and federal taxation model aimed at maintaining relatively low costs to discourage illicit sales, while also imposing higher tax rates on more potent cannabis products. The Tax Foundation criticizes the current inconsistent state-level cannabis taxation, primarily based on sales prices,… Read more.

Dean Phillips, the Minnesota congressman challenging Joe Biden in the Democratic primary, said in a newly published interview that the president is too old and out of touch to understand contemporary cannabis issues. “I think it’s generational,” Phillips said. “People in their 80s do not see things, have not lived things, have not experienced things that younger generations have.” Phillips, 54, was speaking to Newsweek as part of a wide-ranging interview about his presidential ambitions and what differentiates him from… Read more.

Florida officials say they’ve arrested two paid canvassers charged with allegedly falsifying signatures on petitions to put a marijuana legalization initiative on the state’s 2024 ballot. As the state Supreme Court weighs a legal challenge to the ballot measure that was brought by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) said in a news release last week that two individuals are facing multiple felony counts of submitting falsified petitions. FDLE said that three canvassers… Read more.

Wisconsin’s Republican Assembly leader says he now plans to unveil a restrictive medical marijuana bill next month, and he believes it will have enough support to move through both chambers of the GOP-controlled legislature in 2024. In a series of end-of-year interviews with local media outlets that were published on Thursday, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) said the much-anticipated legislation is nearly ready for prime time—the product of extensive internal talks within the Republican caucus over recent months. As expected,… Read more.

Wisconsin’s top Republican senator says there’s “potentially” a path to pass a medical marijuana bill in the 2024 session—but it’d have to be strictly limited, likely in a way that would face opposition from Democrats, including the governor who is renewing his call to enact a comprehensive recreational legalization law. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R) was recently asked about a yet-to-be-seen medical cannabis bill that some of his GOP colleagues have been discussing for months, and he told WTAQ… Read more.

Teen marijuana use has not increased “even as state legalization has proliferated across the country,” a federal health official said on Wednesday in announcing the latest data from an annual survey that again showed prohibitionist concerns about youth cannabis access have “not played out.” The 2022 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey—which is conducted by the University of Michigan with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)—found that rates of past-year cannabis use “remained stable for all three grades… Read more.

Colombia’s Senate has shelved a bill to legalize marijuana, meaning lawmakers will need to restart the two-year legislative process over again next year if they hope to enact the reform. With 45 votes, the Senate opted to delay consideration of the proposal on Tuesday during its fourth of eight required debates to adopt the constitutional amendment. Lawmakers who support legalization pushed for urgent Senate consideration of the bill in recent days, with the sponsor warning about the consequences of inaction before… Read more.

Lawmakers in Provincetown, Massachusetts, voted this week to adopt a resolution in support of decriminalizing the use, possession and noncommercial sharing of psychedelic plants and fungi. It’s the seventh municipality in the state to deprioritize arrests for entheogens. The statement also calls on the county district attorney to cease prosecutions for psychedelics-related activity as well as for simple possession of all drugs. Further, it urges state lawmakers to amend a pending proposal that would legalize psychedelics in all of Massachusetts and could… Read more.

Ohio lawmakers will not be amending the state’s voter-approved marijuana law this year despite a Republican-led push to expedite changes. The Senate has passed a bill to make changes, and a House committee has held a series of hearings on a different proposal, but the legislature will not be sending any reform measure to the governor’s desk by the time lawmakers head home for the holiday break this week. The House Finance Committee took public testimony on a cannabis legalization amendment… Read more.

Missouri officials have expunged more than 100,000 marijuana cases from court records during the first year of legalization, according the latest state numbers. But some courts missed Friday’s deadline for felony expungements as clerks work to review decades of old cases. “The courts are going to need more time to finish the job, and in fact, it might be years before all the cases from the past century are expunged,” lawyer Dan Viets, a Missouri NORML coordinator and co-author of… Read more.

A Virginia state senator says he’s “confident” that lawmakers can send a bill to tax and regulate marijuana sales to Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) in the coming year. The question now is whether supporters can build enough bipartisan support to avoid a potential veto. “I am confident, with Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate, that we can get a bill to the governor’s desk,” Sen. Adam Ebbin (D) said in a local TV news interview that aired over… Read more.

On December 6, a majority vote in the Upper House approved a revision to the Cannabis Control Law. This revision lifts the ban on pharmaceuticals derived from the marijuana plant while simultaneously introducing a new criminal offense related to marijuana use. Previously, the cannabis law prohibited the administration or consumption of medicines derived from marijuana plants. The revised law eliminates this restriction on pharmaceuticals and reclassifies marijuana under the "narcotics" category in the Narcotics Control Law. This modification paves the way for the legal… Read more.

A prospective ballot measure that would legalize adult-use marijuana in South Dakota and allow medical dispensaries to serve anyone 21 and older received a final ballot explanation from the state’s attorney general on Thursday—but the chief backer of the proposal says he has no plans to collect signatures or campaign for the change. The measure, sponsored by Rapid City resident Emmett Reistroffer, would allow “individuals 21 of age or older to possess, grow, ingest, and distribute marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia,”… Read more.

Only 10 adult-use cannabis businesses are operational or nearing operation in the state. Optimism in Connecticut is beginning to fade as the industry faces a slow and challenging rollout, with only a fraction of licensed businesses fully operational. As of Nov. 1, the state’s online licensing database showed that 55 cannabis companies are waiting for licenses. Forty have received provisional licenses, according to the Hartford Courier. However, only 10 businesses – seven dispensaries, two growers, and a delivery service –… Read more.

The governor of Colorado says that while marijuana reform is “not really a partisan issue” anymore, there are still “stodgy nanny state Republicans who want to control it.” Meanwhile, he says, ongoing prohibition has inhibited research into the science of cannabis that’s kept it strictly criminalized at the federal level. Gov. Jared Polis (D) is hoping that will change sooner rather than later. He and the governors of five other states sent a letter to President Joe Biden this week,… Read more.

Lawmakers in Lubbock, Texas have officially approved a resolution to put a local marijuana decriminalization initiative on the ballot next spring after declining to enact on the reform legislatively. The Lubbock City Council voted on Tuesday to schedule a special election on the issue for May 4, 2024. This comes one month after legislators unanimously rejected the decriminalization proposal that was put on the agenda after activists submitted enough signatures to force its consideration. The committee behind the marijuana initiative first filed… Read more.

The governors of six U.S. states—Colorado, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Louisiana—sent a letter to President Joe Biden (D) on Tuesday urging the administration to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act by the end of this year. The move, they say, will provide economic and tax benefits for cannabis businesses, protect public health and more closely align government policy with public opinion. “Rescheduling cannabis aligns with a safe, regulated product that Americans can trust,”… Read more.

Ohio senators held a second meeting on a bill to significantly change the state’s marijuana legalization law that’s set to take effect this week, hearing public testimony amid sharp criticism of the GOP-led effort. In other chamber, meanwhile, a Republican representative has filed alternative legislation that would largely preserve what voters approved at the ballot, with certain exceptions such as a proposed ban on sharing cannabis between adults. One day after the Senate General Government Committee gave initial approval to the cannabis… Read more.

A final vote on a bill to legalize marijuana in Germany that was initially planned for this week has been called off amid concerns from leaders of the country’s Social Democratic Party (SPD). The delay means that action on the landmark proposal will be postponed until next year. “It always has to be approved by the parliamentary groups in the end,” Dirk Heidenblut, an SPD member of Germany’s Bundestag who is responsible for the party’s cannabis policy, said in an… Read more.

State and local marijuana regulators, industry stakeholders and advocates and opponents of legalization took part in a two-day session hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) this week, sharing their perspectives on evolving cannabis policies. This marked the second NASEM Committee meeting for its “Public Health Consequences of Changes in the Cannabis Policy Landscape” series. In September, the conversation featured representatives of several federal agencies who weighed in on the subject. For this week’s round, many of the… Read more.

The Supreme Court on Monday heard the case of a defendant seeking to reduce his criminal penalty for firearm possession as the result of the federal government’s legalization of hemp in 2018. At issue are the boundaries of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), a 1984 law that imposes penalties on gun possession for people with past violent felonies or serious drug offenses. Initially the law imposes a 10-year maximum penalty for having a firearm, but after three offenses, a… Read more.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) says marijuana legalization is “inevitable.” But yet another one of his home state’s neighbors enacts the reform, he concedes that the path in Pennsylvania has proved more challenging amid GOP resistance to the “common sense” policy that’s backed by the majority of voters. The senator—who has long championed cannabis legalization and made it a key issue when he served as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor—spoke about the prospects of reform at the state and federal level in an… Read more.

A New Hampshire commission charged with drafting legislation to legalize marijuana through a system of state-controlled stores decided at its final meeting on Monday not to issue recommendations at all. The conclusion leaves open questions about how lawmakers will proceed with cannabis reform in the coming 2024 session. After months of meetings, the 19-member panel ultimately failed to reach consensus on the issue. Adding to the disarray was a last-minute demand by Gov. Chris Sununu (R)—who has threatened to veto… Read more.

Another federally funded study is suggesting that marijuana legalization may be linked to a “substitution effect,” with young adults in California “significantly” reducing their use of alcohol and cigarettes after the cannabis reform was enacted. What’s more, the research appeared to contradict prohibitionist arguments about the potential impact of legalization, as the data also revealed no significant increase in marijuana use among young adults who were still not of age to access retail dispensaries—though there were interesting changes in certain… Read more.

An Ohio Democratic lawmaker wants to see people who’ve been criminalized over marijuana, as well as those with industry experience, involved in any efforts to amend the state’s voter-approved legalization law, arguing that it shouldn’t be left up to “anti-cannabis” legislators alone to revise the statute. Ohio Senate and House GOP leaders have already previewed plans to pass a package of changes to the law before possession and cultivation becomes legal next month, with a focus on potential revisions affecting tax revenue distribution,… Read more.

A Colombian Senate committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana, sending it the full chamber for consideration. The legislation—which has already moved through committee and on the floor in the Chamber of Representatives in recent months—cleared the First Committee of the Senate on Wednesday. This marks the third of eight planned debates before the measure is potentially sent to the president next year. Lawmakers nearly enacted a version of the reform into law earlier this year, but it stalled out in… Read more.

In a pivotal move towards cannabis reform in South Africa, South Africa's National Assembly has recently approved the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill, marking a significant development in the nation's stance on personal cannabis use. This legislative stride comes in the wake of a landmark 2018 judgment that decriminalized private cannabis consumption. However, the path to legalization unfolds with nuances and other considerations, reflecting the intricate landscape of cannabis policy reform. This article delves into the approved bill's details, exploring its implications for personal… Read more.

According to a recent Gallup poll released on Wednesday, nationwide grassroots support for the legalization of marijuana has reached a historic high of 70%. Prior to this latest survey, legalization support had remained steady at 68% for three consecutive years. The poll reveals that half of Americans have experimented with marijuana at some point in their lives, and currently, 17% acknowledge using it. Notably, Ohio voters chose to legalize recreational marijuana on Tuesday, making it the 23rd state to do so. Presently,… Read more.

Following a major 2018 judgment, which decriminalized the private use of cannabis, it appears that South Africa could finally be inching toward legalization of personal cannabis use. However, there are a number of asterisks — as there often are when it comes to cannabis reform. On Tuesday, the South African National Assembly approved a bill that would legalize the personal use of cannabis, BusinessLIVE reports. The Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill has been in the works since the country decriminalized private cannabis… Read more.

Ohio’s Senate president says he’s on board with the governor’s plan to make certain changes to the state’s voter-approved marijuana legalization law before the first provisions take effect early next month. Meanwhile, the House GOP leader seems to disagree on that timeline. It’s unclear what specific amendments Senate President Matt Huffman (R) will ultimately propose, but he said on Wednesday that he’s in agreement with Gov. Mike DeWine (R) that lawmakers should move quickly to revise the statutory law before possession and… Read more.

The Florida Supreme Court seems poised to allow an adult-use cannabis legalization proposal to be put to voters next year, seemingly rejecting the arguments by state Attorney General Ashley Moody that the initiative’s wording is misleading and that it violates the state’s single-subject rule on ballot questions, the Miami New Times reports.   During a hearing last week, Justice Charles T. Canady said he was “baffled” by the argument laid out by Chief Deputy Solicitor General Jeffrey Paul DeSousa of the Florida Attorney General’s Office,… Read more.

Voters in another Texas city will have the chance to decide on a local marijuana decriminalization initiative on the ballot after the Lubbock City Council declined to enact the reform legislatively on Tuesday. In a 0-7 vote, local lawmakers unanimously rejected the measure, which was put on the agenda after activists submitted enough signatures to force consideration of the decriminalization proposal. It will now go before voters in May 2024. The committee behind the initiative first filed paperwork for the… Read more.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) might be retiring at the end of this Congress, but he’s still got boxes he wants to check off on an ambitious agenda to reform federal marijuana laws before his final bike ride from Capitol Hill. The Oregon congressman, a founding co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus who has spent decades championing marijuana legalization, intends to make the most out of his last 14 months in office. He thinks bipartisan cannabis banking reform is still in play, for… Read more.

With Lubbock city leaders set to consider a citizen-initiated proposed ordinance to decriminalize cannabis on Tuesday, a Texas advocacy group has released a report looking at the impacts of similar marijuana reform efforts passed by voters in five different jurisdictions during the 2022 election. It found that the measures will keep hundreds of people out of jail, even as they have led to blowback from law enforcement in some cities. The report, from Ground Game Texas, looks at local decriminalization… Read more.

The odds that a patient visiting the emergency department is diagnosed with cannabis use disorder (CUD) is nearly 50 percent lower in states that have legalized marijuana compared to non-legal states, according to a new study. And researchers say the “counterintuitive” finding could be related to the destigmatization of cannabis use within the medical community as prohibition ends. The study, published in the journal Preventative Medicine Reports last week, looked at emergency department data from 2017 to 2020 in two… Read more.

With less than a month left before a New Hampshire commission is due to put forward a plan for how to legalize adult-use marijuana sales through a system of state-controlled stores, members were visibly frustrated at a Thursday meeting with the group’s slow, meandering progress through a draft bill circulated last month by the group’s chair, Sen. Daryl Abbas (R). Lawmakers on the panel grew combative with one another over issues such as penalties for public consumption of cannabis, dual… Read more.

From fervent anti-drug crusader to disconnected senior statesman to the unlikely champion of the regulated marijuana trade, President Joe Biden's public journey might still hold surprises. A year after instigating the most substantial shift in federal marijuana policy since 1970, the very politician whose stance as a U.S. senator fueled the drug war's intensity has, as president, established the foundation for a reliable and enduring legal marijuana sector. "Regardless of your opinion of him," remarked Andrew Kline, senior counsel at the… Read more.

Speaking at a cannabis industry event on Thursday, a former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official said he’d be “shocked” if the Drug Enforcement Administration doesn’t reschedule marijuana by next year’s presidential election. “I would be really shocked if it took the DEA longer than the second quarter of next year to come up with its final rule,” said Howard Sklamberg, former FDA deputy commissioner for global regulatory operations and compliance. “Even when I was at FDA, we knew that… Read more.

With Ohio becoming the latest state to legalize marijuana, there’s a renewed sense of urgency to follow suit in neighboring Pennsylvania, with the governor’s office calling it “another reminder” of the need to enact reform. Pennsylvania is now more solidly blanketed by states with legalization on the books. Five out of six bordering states—Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Ohio—have all done away with prohibition, leaving residents with plentiful and relatively accessible options to buy out-of-state cannabis products. Gov. Josh… Read more.

Ohio officials have already released an FAQ guide to answer basic questions about the state’s new marijuana legalization law that voters approved on Tuesday. The state Department of Commerce (DOC) sent out a press release on Wednesday to announce the resource for residents interested in learning more about the rules and timeline for the legalization initiative’s rollout. Under the measure, a Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) will be established under DOC to regulate the adult-use market and issue marijuana business licenses. But… Read more.

A recent survey reveals that over two-thirds of Kansans are in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana. Still, legislative efforts to permit even medical cannabis use in Kansas continue to face obstacles from Republican members of the State Senate. Once more, a recent poll reinforces the widespread endorsement from Kansans for the legalization of marijuana, be it for medicinal or recreational reasons. Nevertheless, the likelihood of the state venturing into the cannabis industry remains highly uncertain. Supporters and legislators in favor of medical… Read more.

Recreational cannabis was, at long last, made legal in Delaware earlier this year. But several of the state’s beach towns situated along the eastern seaboard have ridden a different wave, opting instead to maintain the prohibition on weed within their respective jurisdictions.  The Delaware News Journal reported this week that “Delaware’s beach towns have taken the lead” in determining whether or not to permit marijuana for adults within their limits.  “The town council in Dewey Beach in June voted unanimously to ban marijuana sales… Read more.

A coalition of marijuana businesses, supported by influential law firms, has initiated a lawsuit aimed at challenging the federal government's continued prohibition of cannabis. These companies argue that upholding cannabis prohibition in states with legalized cannabis markets is unconstitutional, resulting in public safety concerns and preventing these businesses from accessing essential financial services and tax deductions. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, is led by multi-state operator Verano Holdings Corp., Massachusetts-based cannabis businesses Canna… Read more.

From zealous drug warrior to out-of-touch elder statesman to the regulated marijuana industry’s savior apparent. President Joe Biden’s long arc in public life might have more twists ahead. One year after setting into motion the most significant transformation in federal marijuana policy since 1970, the same politician whose views as a U.S. senator escalated the drug war to its apex has now, as president, laid the cornerstone for a stable and lasting legal marijuana industry. “Love him or hate him,” said Andrew… Read more.

Lawmakers in Germany took comments from experts Monday during a parliamentary Health Committee hearing on the government’s proposal to legalize marijuana in the country. They also considered an alternative plan that would focus instead on reducing cannabis consumption through education and public health measures. The legalization measure, spearheaded by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, would allow adults to legally possess cannabis and cultivate a maximum of three plants for personal use. It would also create social clubs that could distribute marijuana to… Read more.

The Pennsylvania House Subcommittee on Health Care on Wednesday heard from citizens and medical experts about legalizing cannabis for adult use, WGAL reports. State Rep. Dan Frankel (D) indicated that the issue could come up for a vote in front of the full House next year.  State Rep. Paul Schemel (R), the subcommittee’s minority chairman, said he believed that “every state has gotten it wrong.”  “To think that this bad milk, if we put it back in the refrigerator as good milk,… Read more.

A new forecast of Virginia’s election predicts that Democrats are likely to win control of both chambers of the legislature on Tuesday—a result some advocates believe could open the door for lawmakers to legalize retail cannabis sales in the state. A separate poll, meanwhile, found 58 percent support among likely voters for allowing marijuana sales to proceed. While marijuana legalization technically isn’t on Virginia’s ballot this week, advocates expect the results of the statewide election to shape the future of marijuana… Read more.

Ohio is poised to become the cannabis industry’s next big thing if voters there, as expected, approve an adult-use marijuana legalization measure on Tuesday. Legal cannabis in Ohio – with nearly 12 million people, it’s the country’s seventh-most-populous state – would provide a boost to existing medical marijuana businesses, which would be positioned to serve an adult-use market worth as much as $4 billion within a few years, according to MJBizDaily projections. It would also be another milestone for the U.S. reform… Read more.

Home values have grown at a significantly higher rate in states that have legalized marijuana compared to non-legal states over the past decade—with the average price of a home in a legalization state now 41 percent higher than those that have continues to criminalize cannabis—according to a new report on real estate trends. The study from Real Estate Witch and Leafly explored average home prices from 2014 to 2023, looking at the potential impact of regulated cannabis access for medical… Read more.

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) is now aiming to get industry licenses awarded by December, in what its chairman calls an “aggressive” timeline after a summer of starts and stops, WIAT reports. The agency voted last week to officially rescind the previous licenses and laid out a new timeline that would issue the licenses by the end of the year with products available in the spring.  In June, the AMCC awarded the first round of medical cannabis licenses, but days later paused the process due to… Read more.

Regulators in Minnesota are seeking public input as they begin the process of crafting rules for the state’s new marijuana industry, hoping to hear from “the widest possible range of community members, advocates, and partners who want to help shape how the rules are drafted.” To collect those views, the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) on Monday released a new online survey that includes questions on cannabis cultivation, processing and manufacturing. “The first topic areas reflect the necessary industry… Read more.

Less than two weeks ahead of Election Day, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is talking to local TV stations about his opposition to Issue 2, a ballot initiative that would legalize adult-use marijuana in the state. But newly released state data on campaign fundraising indicate that supporters have an edge, having raised nearly four times what opponents have collected. DeWine said voters are confused about both the cannabis measure and a separate initiative, Issue 1, which would protect access to… Read more.

Eleven former high-ranking officials, including six ex-DEA heads and five former White House drug czars, have opposed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recommendation to reschedule marijuana. They sent a letter to the current Attorney General and DEA Administrator, expressing concern over this proposal. Rescheduling Debate The letter suggests that rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III could "supersize" the industry through tax relief and market normalization. It also argues that rescheduling would reduce penalties for marijuana trafficking, potentially hindering cartel… Read more.

After months of meetings and consideration, a group of 99 Irish citizens selected by the government to weigh in on the nation’s drug policy has voted to recommend decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of currently illicit substances and adopting a public health approach to the issue. The panel also narrowly voted against endorsing the legalization and regulation of marijuana, however. The Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use posted summaries of 36 policy recommendations online Monday following the body’s final meeting… Read more.

German lawmakers have officially begun consideration of a bill that would legalize marijuana nationwide. The country’s parliament, called the Bundestag, held the first debate on the legislation on Wednesday after delaying the meeting last week due to the conflict in Israel and Palestine. The legalization measure, spearheaded by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, would allow adults to legally possess cannabis and cultivate a maximum of three plants for personal use. It would also create social clubs that could distribute marijuana to members. Officials… Read more.

Advocates in Lubbock, Texas on Tuesday submitted their petition to decriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis in the city after collecting more than twice the number of signatures required to force city lawmakers to vote on the proposal, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reports. Freedom Act Lubbock submitted 10,540 signatures to the city secretary’s office, exceeding the 4,800 signature requirement.  The city secretary’s office still needs to verify the signatures are valid before the issue moves to the City Council. The ordinance aims… Read more.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) is continuing its path toward cannabis accessibility, and as of last week the tribe officially issued its first medical cannabis cards. According to EBCI Cannabis Control Board (CCB) executive director, Neil Denman, a Cherokee Police Commission monthly meeting was held on Oct. 12. In a presentation featuring Denman and his colleague, Kym Parker, they stated that the first medical cannabis card was issued on that day, and many more will follow in the… Read more.

The official voting day for Ohioans is Nov. 7, but early voting has already begun on Oct. 11. This is a significant year for cannabis because a cannabis legalization measure, which is labeled as Issue 2, is appearing on the ballot. However, some legislators are not thrilled with the idea that cannabis legalization could be approved, and announced plans to possibly repeal the law if it does get passed. Senate President Matt Huffman spoke on the Senate floor in opposition of… Read more.

Unveiling Colombia’s new national drug policy recently, President Gustavo Petro recalled smelling the odor of marijuana wafting through the streets of New York City during a recent visit to the U.S., remarking on the “enormous hypocrisy” of legal cannabis sales now taking place in the nation that launched the global drug war decades ago. “Marijuana is sold today in Times Square,” Petro said, according to a translation of his speech. “It smelled on all the streets, all the way around… Read more.

Advocates in Texas recently announced that they’ve collected enough signatures to add a decriminalization initiative to the ballot in Lubbock, located in the northwestern part of the state. According to 2022 census data, the city is home to 264,000 people, and is among the top 10 most populated cities in the state. On Oct. 11, advocates announced that they have collected 8,800 signatures for the Freedom Act Lubbock to qualify for the ballot. This is far more than the required amount, which is set at… Read more.

Six former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) heads and five former White House drug czars have sent a letter to the attorney general and current DEA administrator, voicing opposition to the top federal health agency’s recommendation to reschedule marijuana. They also made a questionable claim about the relationship between drug schedules and criminal penalties in a way that may exaggerate the potential impact of the incremental reform. The letter, sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram on… Read more.

The government of Thailand is taking steps to walk back the legalization of adult-use cannabis, barely more than a year after personal use of the plant was legalized in the Southeast Asian nation. The government passed a law to decriminalize cannabis in June 2022, when the plant was removed from the nation’s list of illegal narcotics. Under the legislation, adults aged 20 and older are permitted to use cannabis for medical purposes, although not in public places. Adults are also… Read more.

As early voting kicked off in Ohio on Wednesday, the state Senate passed a GOP-led resolution urging voters to reject a marijuana legalization measure that’s on the ballot. Introduced by Sens. Mark Romanchuk (R) and Terry Johnson (R), and cosponsored by 14 other Senate Republicans, SR 216 lists a parade of horribles that lawmakers say would befall the state if the cannabis ballot initiative known as Issue 2 becomes law. “The proposed statute authored by the commercial marijuana industry,” it… Read more.

The discussion surrounding the legalization of marijuana has been prevalent in recent years, with numerous states choosing to take matters into their own hands rather than relying on federal action. Now, there is a glimmer of hope for nationwide legalization as federal health authorities have proposed reclassifying marijuana. However, this does not necessarily translate to full legalization. Currently categorized as a Schedule I controlled substance, marijuana is considered by the Drug Enforcement Administration to have "no currently accepted medical use and… Read more.

With early voting in Ohio beginning next week, the campaign behind a ballot measure to legalize marijuana released a new campaign ad on Friday in support of the policy change. Attorney General Dave Yost (R), meanwhile, published an analysis of the initiative that he said is meant to provide voters with “vital clarity and transparency” amid a campaign that has seen “inflamed and inaccurate” rhetoric. The new ad from the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, the primary backer of… Read more.

The Florida Supreme Court has scheduled for November 8 oral arguments on the proposed ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for adult use, WFLA reports. The challenge to the proposal is led by state Attorney General Ashley Moody who claims the measure “misleads” voters to benefit Trulieve, the state’s largest medical cannabis company.  According to the ballot question’s summary, the measure would allow “adults 21 years or older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption.” However, Moody argues… Read more.

It was one year ago on Friday that President Joe Biden issued a mass marijuana pardon and directed an administrative scheduling review. Lawmakers and advocates say it’s time to do more. While there is broad based consensus among reform supporters that the president’s action last year represented a positive step in the right direction, on this first anniversary they’re emphasizing that it was exactly that: just a step and not, by any means, the end of the federal government’s war on… Read more.

Legal marijuana in Illinois saw “unprecedented growth” in fiscal year 2023, says a new annual report from the state’s Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), with the opening of 28 new retailers and more than $1.5 billion in total retail sales. Total tax revenue from the industry dropped in fiscal year 2023, however, falling to $420.9 million from a record $435.1 the previous year. All told, the legal cannabis industry brought in about $451.9 million for the state in… Read more.

Florida’s Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for next month in a case that will decide whether a marijuana legalization initiative will appear on the state’s 2024 ballot. Over the past several months, the court has been receiving briefs from both the state attorney general, who filed a legal challenge against the cannabis measure and is asking for it to be invalidated, and the Smart & Safe Florida campaign, which is behind the proposed reform. Attorney General Ashley Moody’s (R)… Read more.

Opponents of a proposed bill to legalize marijuana in Germany did not muster enough support to block the measure in legislative body representing states, meaning it will now continue through the process. Germany’s legislature is composed of two main bodies: the Bundestag, which is comprised of democratically elected lawmakers, and the Bundesrat (or Federal Council), which has members representing individual states. On Friday, the legalization bill was brought up in the latter chamber, where legislators urged the adoption of amendments but did… Read more.

Roughly three out of five Ohio voters support a marijuana legalization measure that will appear on November’s ballot, according to a newly released poll, with nearly two thirds of respondents saying they believe legalization in the state is “inevitable.” With less than two weeks before widespread early voting kicks off, 55 percent of respondents said they “definitely” or “probably” will vote yes on the legalization initiative, while about 34 percent “definitely” or “probably” will oppose it. Only about 11 percent… Read more.

Thailand’s Prime Minister May Stop Recreational Cannabis Use What This Could Mean For The Future Of Thailand’s Weed Industry For over a year now, Thailand has been enjoying its status as the world’s newest stoner’s paradise. Since June 2022, dispensaries and weed shops to cater to all kinds of lifestyles mushroomed all over the country. Thanks to Anutin Charnvirakul, the Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister for the Bhumjaithai Party. Since he was responsible for helping Thailand recover after the pandemic, he… Read more.

Republican senators, including the lead GOP sponsor of a bipartisan marijuana banking bill, are gearing up to introduce new legislation designed to thwart any federal legalization of marijuana by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) without explicit approval from Congress. Senators Leading the Charge The fight against potential federal marijuana legalization without congressional permission is being led by Senators Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming (R-WY) and Steve Daines of Montana (R-MT). Regarding cannabis policy, Senator Lummis has continuously defended states' rights, firmly believing… Read more.

Marijuana Moment is reporting a group of 14 Republican congressional members is calling on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to oppose the top federal health agency's suggestion to change the scheduling of marijuana, advocating instead for it to remain in the most stringent category as per the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In a letter addressed to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram on Monday, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX) took the lead, along with twelve other colleagues from both chambers. They asserted… Read more.

During the second meeting of a New Hampshire commission tasked with preparing legislation to legalize marijuana through a novel system of state-run stores, members on Monday considered an alternative proposal that would instead establish a franchise model for cannabis sales. “The model that we are looking to put into place, that we feel would be feasible, is that the Liquor Commission would be the franchisor and the franchisee would be the retailer,” Joseph Mollica, chairman of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission,… Read more.

Representatives of multiple federal agencies participated in a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) meeting on Friday for a wide-ranging discussion about cannabis policy, with experts sharing their perspective on issues such as marijuana research barriers under prohibition, efforts to create a regulated pathway for CBD, state initiatives to promote social equity and more. At the NASEM Committee on Public Health Consequences of Changes in the Cannabis Policy Landscape meeting, agencies made a series of presentations to share… Read more.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a 2024 presidential candidate, is again calling for federally legalizing marijuana, opening up banking services for the industry and using cannabis tax revenue to fund drug treatment and rehabilitation centers. During an appearance on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal on Wednesday, Kennedy, who is running as a Democrat, took a question from a Republican caller who asked him to lay out his position on cannabis policy. The son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John… Read more.

The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) is increasing eligibility for its Local Jurisdiction Retail Access Grant (LJRAG) along with the award amounts for municipalities that are given grants under the program.  The LJRAG program is part of the state’s efforts to expand legal cannabis access in jurisdictions where adult-use cannabis operations do not currently exist. The Phase II funding is tied to the local jurisdiction’s issuance of local permits or licenses authorizing cannabis retail. Under the revised Phase II guidelines, eligible local jurisdictions… Read more.

A group opposed to the legalization of marijuana is targeting a financial agreement between Wells Fargo and the state of Maryland. This arrangement enables state officials to collect and manage tax revenue from cannabis businesses operating legally within the state. The advocacy group is denouncing this arrangement as "a deliberate move to shield banks engaged in federal law violations" and is endeavoring to inform federal authorities about it. In response, the state maintains that it is "in adherence to relevant laws and… Read more.

The chair of a New York Senate cannabis committee says his panel will hold its first public hearing next month to try and identify legislative solutions to the state’s ongoing marijuana legalization implementation problems by bringing regulators, lawmakers, stakeholders and advocates together for a “fair and productive” policy discussion. Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D), who was appointed to lead the Senate’s first-ever cannabis panel earlier this year, announced the October 30 hearing during a press conference on Thursday. He said that the purpose… Read more.

The head of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), which is set to vote on a referendum to legalize cannabis for adults on Thursday, says he believes efforts by an anti-marijuana North Carolina GOP congressman to insert himself into the tribe’s internal affairs could ultimately cause more members to support of the measure. In an interview this week with Marijuana Moment, EBCI Principal Chief Richard G. Sneed said it was a “big misstep” for U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) to run… Read more.

As the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina prepares for a vote on the legalization of adult-use cannabis, U.S. Representative Chuck Edwards (R) has issued a threat to defund the tribe, regardless of the vote's outcome. Principal Chief Richard Sneed of the tribe has characterized this move by the Republican congressman as a significant political misstep. On the late evening of September 1st, Edwards introduced what he has named the "Stop Pot Act." This proposed bill would withhold 10% of federal… Read more.

The California Assembly has approved a Senate-passed psychedelics legalization bill, sending it back to the opposite chamber for concurrence on recent amendments before the measure potentially heads to the governor’s desk. The Assembly cleared the legislation from Sen. Scott Wiener (D) in a 42-11 vote on Wednesday—a significant victory for advocates after an earlier version of the psychedelics reform measure that also passed the Senate ultimately stalled out in the Assembly last year. The bill would legalize the possession and… Read more.

The governor of Colorado is applauding President Joe Biden after his administration’s top health agency recommended rescheduling marijuana—but he says the initial move must be followed with more action to address cannabis banking, immigration, criminal justice reform and federal enforcement concerns. That should include developing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance clarifying that it will not interfere in state-legal marijuana activities, he said. In a letter sent to Biden on Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis (D) commended the U.S. Department of Health… Read more.

Activists in California are seeking to add a psychedelic mushroom legalization question to 2024 ballots, the San Francisco Standard reports. Ryan Munevar, campaign director for Decriminalize California, told the Standard that the group originally “wanted to go for all psychedelics, but the problem was there wasn’t enough public comprehension about what else was out there.”  According to the Decriminalize California website, the campaign must collect 546,651 valid signatures by January 10.   The proposal would allow for the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, distribution, transportation, possession,… Read more.

Maryland officials are unveiling a new portal that will allow people to check their eligibility for a social equity marijuana business license before regulators begin to accept applications later this year. The Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) announced on Friday that the Social Equity Verification Portal will open on September 8. It’s one of the latest ways regulators are working to promote policies built into the state’s legalization law that support communities disproportionately impacted by marijuana criminalization. “Our goal with establishing… Read more.

Bahamian officials have introduced a comprehensive legislative package to legalize marijuana for medical, religious, and research purposes, with a concurrent move to decriminalize personal possession of small amounts of cannabis and expunge previous convictions for simple possession. These proposed bills aim to establish a regulated and secure cannabis industry in the Bahamas. Attorney General Ryan Pinder and Health and Wellness Minister Michael Darville unveiled these reforms during a recent press briefing, expressing their goal of presenting the bills in Parliament by… Read more.

Congressional lawmakers might be encouraged by news that the top U.S. health agency is recommending marijuana rescheduling—but some like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) are also stressing that this is just a “step” in the right direction as they pursue legalization. Scores of legislators, including Republican members, have applauded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for advising the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act… Read more.

A California Senate-passed bill to legalize the possession and facilitated use of certain psychedelics is officially heading to the Assembly floor after being approved by a third committee in the chamber, albeit with several substantive amendments. The Assembly Appropriations Committee also cleared a separate Senate-passed measure on Friday that would prohibit employers from asking job applicants about prior marijuana use. The panel adopted technical amendments, so it will need to return to the Senate for concurrence before moving to the floor. The… Read more.

A New Hampshire commission tasked with preparing legislation to legalize marijuana sales through a system of state-run stores has officially been established, with members being appointed to the panel and a first meeting scheduled for next week. The governor signed a bill to create the commission earlier this month after bipartisan and bicameral lawmakers reached an agreement to enact the incremental reform in a conference committee. Now the panel has taken shape, with its 17 members holding mixed records on cannabis policy. The commission… Read more.

Legislation to legalize cannabis for medical and religious purposes and decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis have been unveiled in The Bahamas, the Jamaica Gleaner reports. Under the law, individuals caught with less than an ounce of cannabis not used for religious or medical purposes would be subject to a $250 fine but would not be criminally charged. Under the proposal, licenses for cultivation, retail, transport, and religious use would only be awarded to companies that are entirely Bahamian-owned, while licenses for… Read more.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, has reaffirmed that he would not legalize marijuana if elected to the White House—arguing contrary to evidence that the reform has actually increased the size of the illicit market in Colorado. During a campaign event in Iowa on Saturday, an attendee told DeSantis that she knows people whose children developed “cannabis-induced psychosis” and asked about whether he would move to legalize or reschedule cannabis under federal law if he became… Read more.

As Ohio officials release pro and con arguments for a marijuana legalization initiative that will appear on the November ballot, a GOP congressman who represents the state is applauding the measure and explaining why he will personally be “voting yes.” In a statement shared with Marijuana Moment on Monday, Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, encouraged “all Ohio voters to participate and make their voices heard on this important issue” now that the legalization measure has… Read more.

States that legalized medical marijuana saw a nearly 20 percent drop in the number of children entering foster care due to parental drug misuse after three years of the reform, a new study found. Legalizing for adult use, meanwhile, was not associated with any statistically significant change in foster care entries. Researchers at Georgia College and State University set out to learn whether legalization would “lessen stigma, permit proper use, and reduce the chance that a child will be removed”… Read more.

Demands for the legalization of cannabis are increasing throughout Europe, mirroring the progressive steps taken by Canada and certain regions of the U.S. to approve the use of the substance. Advocates conveyed many advantages of establishing a legal cannabis market during the Cannabis Europa industry event held in London last week. These benefits encompass improvements in public health, augmented tax revenues, and the destigmatization of medical marijuana. Despite enduring opposition from critics who contend that legalization results in elevated crime rates, addiction… Read more.

A former top Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official believes it’s most likely that marijuana will be put in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) following an ongoing administrative review ordered by President Biden last year. FDA is mindful of political factors such as the 2024 election, the official said, so a policy change may come sooner rather than later. Howard Sklamberg, who previously served as chair of FDA’s Marijuana Working Group from 2014 to 2017, spoke about the… Read more.

Top officials in the Bahamas have announced a legislative package that would legalize marijuana for medical, religious and research purposes. Personal possession of small amounts of cannabis would also be decriminalized, and past convictions for simple possession would be expunged. Together, the suite of bills would establish a local framework for marijuana production and, according to the government, “ensure a well-regulated, safe and controlled cannabis industry.” Attorney General Ryan Pinder and Health and Wellness Minister Michael Darville announced the proposed… Read more.

A legal case has been initiated against the Stamford Zoning Board, aiming to exert control over Connecticut's emerging cannabis sector. In addition to addressing city-specific regulations, the lawsuit, which portrays the state's Social Equity Council as a questionable initiative, holds the potential for far-reaching implications across the state. By contesting the law that legalizes the possession and commercial trade of cannabis in Connecticut, the lawsuit argues that this law runs afoul of the federal Controlled Substances Act.  Legal Challenge Against Stamford Zoning… Read more.

Even though medical marijuana is gaining increased accessibility in Europe, most EU countries still prohibit personal cannabis use. Germany's progression towards potentially becoming the second EU nation, following Malta, to legalize recreational cannabis could set a precedent for other countries to consider similar measures. Nevertheless, in the broader European context, cannabis continues to be unlawful, and specific EU member states even impose legal consequences, including imprisonment, for the possession of marijuana. While certain countries are initiating trial initiatives for medical marijuana, which… Read more.

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission last week approved a spending plan that, for the first time, includes funding from state cannabis taxes, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports. The cannabis tax contributions have buoyed the account to about $1.13 million; typically, the commission is funded by contributions by residents who check off the fund on their state income tax forms, which usually generates between $30,000 and $40,000. The state legalization law requires that 4% of cannabis-derived sales taxes are used for nongame wildlife programs. Montana collects… Read more.

New rules implemented in Missouri allow regulators to instruct the state’s certified cannabis testing laboratories to double check the work of other labs – an effort to cut down on so-called ‘lab shopping,’ the Missouri Independent reports. Under the regulations, the state will, up to 10 times a year, instruct labs to test cannabis samples tested by another lab. Then the state will review the test results to make sure they have similar results in THC potency, and that one lab isn’t… Read more.

A Republican congressman from North Carolina is urging members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) to reject a referendum next month that would legalize marijuana on tribal land, warning that the move would mean a loss of federal funding under a bill he plans to introduce. In an op-ed published last week in The Cherokee One Feather, Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) acknowledged that Congress cannot stop the EBCI referendum, set for September 7, from going forward. But he appealed… Read more.

Activists in Lubbock, Texas have launched a campaign to join the growing number of cities across the Lone Star State that have locally decriminalized marijuana. The committee behind the initiative filed paperwork for the Freedom Act Lubbock ordinance with the city secretary this week, which gives them 60 days to collect about 4,800 valid signatures, which equates to about 25 percent of registered voters who participated in the last municipal election in May. If they’re successful, the measure will first… Read more.

Minnesota officials outlined the long, labyrinthine process for implementing the state’s new marijuana law during an informational meeting on Wednesday night, offering updates on the search for an Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) director as well as the array of issues still to be hammered out through an expedited rulemaking process. “This is really a unique opportunity for us to assess the business needs, to evaluate the authorities that the legislature and the governor have given to the Office of… Read more.

An initiative to legalize marijuana in Ohio will appear on the state’s ballot this November, officials announced on Wednesday. About two weeks after activists turned in a final round of signatures for the cannabis proposal, the secretary of state’s office has now certified that it met the requirements for ballot placement. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CTRMLA) submitted more than 220,000 signatures for the measure last month, but the state found that advocates came up short by 679 valid signatures. They… Read more.

Germany’s federal cabinet has approved a draft marijuana legalization bill, sending the first part of the government’s cannabis reform plan to the country’s legislature for consideration. Members of the cabinet voted in favor of advancing the legislation, spearheaded by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, after discussing the measure at a meeting on Wednesday. The proposal, which was unveiled last month , would allow adults to legally possess cannabis and cultivate a maximum of three plants for personal use. It would also create social clubs… Read more.

Ohio could see up to $403.6 million in annual tax revenue from adult-use marijuana sales if voters approve a legalization measure that could appear on the November ballot, a newly updated analysis projects. The paper from Ohio State University researchers assesses the potential economic impact of cannabis legalization in the state, providing tax revenue estimates for the first years of sales based on an analysis of comparable state markets. The analysis focuses on marijuana sales trends in neighboring Michigan because the… Read more.

Surrounded By Legal Weed, Wisconsin Democrats Urge Change – Why Spend Money In Other States? Wisconsin residents face a dilemma since they live in a state that strictly enforces marijuana prohibition while surrounding areas reap the benefits of legalization. This contrast has prompted Wisconsin Democrats to advocate for change, presenting a basic question: Why should Wisconsinites continue to export their money to other states when their own economy could thrive with a change in cannabis policy? The recent adoption of recreational marijuana… Read more.

A top German official says he expects the federal cabinet to approve the first part of the government’s marijuana legalization plan “next week,” and he emphasized that the reform will be coupled with a “major campaign” to educate the public about the risks of using cannabis. In an interview with Rheinische Post that was published on Wednesday, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach was asked about the status of the legalization proposal that was unveiled last month. “I expect the cannabis approval to… Read more.

As Ohio marijuana reform advocates await final certification of signatures for a legalization initiative they hope to place on the November ballot, an unrelated vote during the state’s special election on Tuesday is being viewed as a bellwether for the cannabis proposal’s passage. Voters turned out in impressive numbers to defeat Issue 1 on Tuesday. The GOP-backed measure would have raised the threshold to approve constitutional amendments at the ballot from a simple majority to 60 percent—a change that could… Read more.

The governor of Florida signed a little-noticed bill that took effect last month, expanding medical marijuana advertising and manufacturing restrictions to prohibit any products or messages that promote “recreational” cannabis use, while adding more stringent eligibility requirements for workers in the industry. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, approved the large-scale health legislation in May, making significant changes to the state’s existing medical cannabis law that could significantly impact the market, especially if an adult-use legalization measure makes… Read more.

The Republican governor of New Hampshire has signed a bill that will create a commission tasked with preparing legislation to legalize marijuana through a system of state-run stores—a novel regulatory model that he backed this year after concluding that legalization is “inevitable” in the state despite his broader concerns with the policy. This comes about two months after bicameral and bipartisan lawmakers reached an agreement on the incremental commission legislation in a conference committee. The bill that the conference committee took up initially only required… Read more.

Minnesota Republican lawmakers say they are “disappointed” with the governor and Democratic leadership for their “unwillingness to address glaring defects” in the state’s newly implemented marijuana legalization law, pointing to what they describe as “loopholes” related to policies affecting youth. The letter, led by Rep. Peggy Scott (R), says that Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Democrats have so far ignored their request last month to convene a special session to address the problems that they’ve raised, including their concerns with minimal penalties… Read more.

A recent report from Stat News indicates a decrease in federal lobbying efforts by cannabis industry operators. Notably, Curaleaf, a significant player in the industry, reduced its lobbying spending in Washington, D.C., by almost 40% during the first half of the year compared to its peak spending in 2019. Furthermore, both Columbia Care and Pax Labs took more drastic measures by eliminating their lobbying teams. In response to this trend, Aaron Smith, co-founder and CEO of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA),… Read more.

According to the DEA's administrator, the agency has not received a clear timeline from the Biden administration regarding the study of marijuana's federal status, as suggested during a congressional hearing. In response, Tennessee Democrat U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen stated his intention to speed the process. Last autumn, President Joe Biden initiated an "administrative review" to reevaluate marijuana's classification under the Controlled Substances Act. As part of this process, public health agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the… Read more.

An Ohio marijuana legalization campaign is just 679 valid signatures short of putting its initiative on the November ballot, sate officials say, but organizers now have 10 additional days to make up the difference to qualify. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CTRMLA) turned in more than 220,000 signatures earlier this month. But the secretary of state’s office said in a letter to the campaign on Tuesday that only 123,367 were verified, several hundred short of the 124,046 signature requirement for ballot… Read more.

A top Maryland marijuana regulator says the state’s proactive approach to legalizing cannabis has allowed it to implement a system that effectively balances three key priorities: safety, access and equity. When the state’s legalization law took effect at the beginning of the month, nearly 100 existing medical marijuana dispensaries were already approved to start serving adult consumers. And a testament to the success of the rollout is the fact that Maryland retailers sold over $10 million worth of legal cannabis in the… Read more.

A new law legalizing the possession and personal cultivation of marijuana for adults in Luxembourg officially takes effect on Friday, the government has announced. The Ministry of Justice published a statement about the forthcoming policy change in the Official Journal on Tuesday—a procedural step that means the legislation will come into force in four days. This comes about a month after Luxembourg’s Parliament passed a legalization bill, making it the second country in the European Union to end cannabis prohibition following Malta’s… Read more.

A top North Carolina lawmaker says that he’s “very sure” that a Senate-passed medical marijuana legalization bill will not advance in the House this session—even amid strong-arm tactics launched by the other chamber to force the issue—though he said legislators would likely return to it during next year’s short session. House Majority Leader John Bell (R) said in an interview with Spectrum News on Monday that there’s “still discussions going on” about the cannabis measure, but Republican lawmakers “unfortunately did… Read more.

A newly established super PAC called "Legalize America" has been launched by a coalition of marijuana businesses and advocacy groups. The primary objective of this super PAC is to elevate the prominence of cannabis as a national issue in the upcoming 2024 election and beyond. Legalize America plans to collaborate with industry partners to encourage customers to make "round-up" donations at the point of sale when purchasing products from dispensaries. The Legalize America super PAC's formation involves their organization and its… Read more.

A bill to legalize cannabis for adults was introduced in Pennsylvania last week. The bipartisan legislation would legalize cannabis possession and retail sales and includes expungement provisions for nonviolent cannabis criminal charges.  The measure was introduced in the Senate by Democratic Sen. Sharif Street and Republican Sen. Dan Laughlin.  In a press release, Street described the bill as a “singular opportunity to correct decades of mass incarceration, disproportionate enforcement against marginalized communities, the criminalization of personal choice, and the perpetuation of violence.”  “Legalizing the adult… Read more.

An important step has been taken toward the acceptance and legitimacy of psychedelic therapies with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) release of a ground-breaking draft guidance addressing the special issues investigating psychedelics for therapeutic reasons. This change occurs when municipalities and states nationwide push more for the study and control of drugs like psilocybin and MDMA. The FDA's draft guidance provides researchers with a framework to design clinical trials that yield interpretable results, supporting the development of psychedelic medicines. As the… Read more.

Missouri’s marijuana businesses will have fewer obstacles when it comes to accessing banking, but they must now get fingerprint background checks from all their new employees and contractors, under legislation that Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed on Thursday. Few banks nationwide serve cannabis businesses and their owners—or even their auxiliary partners —because most want nothing to do with a business that sells a product the federal government still considers illegal. That’s true even in states that have legalized marijuana. The governor… Read more.

Last week, Australia made headlines around the world for being the first country ever that legally allowed MDMA and magic mushrooms to be prescribed by licensed psychiatrists for the treatment of mental health conditions. This is surprisingly good news albeit controversial, considering that medical marijuana laws are still lagging behind Down Under. Psilocybin magic mushrooms and MDMA have both been approved as medications by the Therapeutic Goods Administration; the former for certain kinds of treatment-resistant depression and MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These regulations became… Read more.

The Attorney General of Florida has presented a document to the state Supreme Court outlining her justifications for preventing a marijuana legalization proposal from appearing on the 2024 ballot. Alongside her, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and an anti-drug organization have also filed documents opposing the initiative. Notably, most of this measure's funding is provided by Trulieve, a cannabis company operating in multiple states. Attorney General Argues Ballot Summary of Cannabis Measure is Misleading to Voters Following a court-granted extension of two… Read more.

Luxembourg on Wednesday became the second European Union member nation to legalize cannabis possession and cultivation for personal use, Forbes reports. Under the law, adults in Luxembourg can possess up to three grams but public use and possession remains outlawed and can lead to fines ranging from $27 to $500. Luxembourg citizens can grow up to four plants under the law, which was approved 38-22. Luxembourg officials had legalized cannabis cultivation for adults in October 2021 but lawmakers had not codified the rules and… Read more.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, says that he would legalize marijuana and psychedelics if elected to the White House—and he’d tax both substances, using revenue to create “healing centers” where people recovering from drug addiction could learn organic farming as a therapeutic tool. He also voiced support for freeing up banking services for the cannabis industry. The candidate’s position on drug policy reform had been vague around the time he entered the race—but it’s quickly come… Read more.

A top official with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) says that as more states have moved to legalize marijuana, public opinion has “shifted dramatically” and federal agencies are seeing an “uptick” in positive drug tests for cannabis that’s causing more workers to be fired. In a blog post addressed to federal employees last week, USFS Deputy Chief for Business Operations Tony Dixon said that over the past decade, “our views around the use of marijuana have shifted radically.” Noting that… Read more.

A recent study suggests a decline in teen binge drinking follows the passage of adult-use cannabis laws, but researchers also noted an increase in binge drinking among adults 31 and older. The study, “Recreational cannabis legislation and binge drinking in U.S. adolescents and adults,” used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2008-2019.  The researchers found that, during that period, binge drinking declined overall among people aged 12-20 (17.54% to 11.08%), and those aged 21-30 (43.66% to 40.22%), but binge… Read more.

The Wisconsin Senate has rejected two amendments to a budget bill that would have legalized marijuana—putting lawmakers on record about the popular voter-supported policy. After Republican senators stripped cannabis provisions from the governor’s budget in committee last month, Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard (D) gave the full chamber a chance to enact the reform, with one omnibus amendment that would have restored several administrative priorities including marijuana legalization and another clean measure focused exclusively on legalizing cannabis. The standalone marijuana reform amendment… Read more.

A New Jersey Senate committee held a hearing on Monday to discuss a bill that would legalize the possession, home cultivation and gifting of psilocybin mushrooms for adults 21 and older while also creating a system of licensed businesses to provide access to the psychedelic and related services in supervised settings. The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee took up the legislation from Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D)—hearing testimony from experts and people whose lives have been directly… Read more.

The attorney general of Florida has submitted a brief to the state Supreme Court detailing the reasons she is seeking to keep a marijuana legalization initiative off the 2024 ballot. The Florida Chamber of Commerce and an anti-drug organization also filed briefs opposing the measure, which is being almost entirely funded by the multi-state cannabis company Trulieve. After being granted a two-week extension by the court, Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) filed the initial brief on Monday’s deadline. As expected,… Read more.

Minnesota’s Supreme Court is looking for a designee to sit on a marijuana expungements board that is being created under the state’s new legalization law. In a public notice that was posted on Wednesday, the court described the composition and responsibilities of the Cannabis Expungement Board, which will facilitate record sealing for people with eligible marijuana convictions on their records. After the cases are identified by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the board will need to review them to… Read more.

A congressional leader on marijuana reform is marking the 50-year anniversary of his home state’s historic move to decriminalize cannabis and calling on the federal government to “catch up.” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said in a floor speech on Friday that this week represents half a century since Oregon moved to decriminalize marijuana—an effort he helped to advance while he was serving in the state legislature. “I was honored to be a part of… Read more.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, said he would not federally decriminalize marijuana if elected to the White House—arguing that cannabis use hurts the workforce, inhibits productivity and could even lead to death if contaminated. At a campaign event in South Carolina on Thursday, a person who said they were representing wounded veterans asked DeSantis if he would “please” decriminalize cannabis as president. The governor responded directly: “I don’t think we would do that.” He then talked… Read more.

A green fog won’t build above Maryland’s streets on July 1. The sidewalks won’t be littered with people gripping a joint or a bong, nor will everyone be enveloped in pungent smoke. For many, it will just be a Saturday. But the date will mark a historical and pivotal occasion. Cannabis, long ostracized from public society and formally categorized alongside drugs such as heroin, will be legal in Maryland for the first time in modern history. As a new era… Read more.

New Hampshire Representative Dan Hynes recently took to Facebook to make a significant announcement - he has officially changed his party affiliation from Republican to Independent. He expressed his reasoning behind this decision, citing his belief that the Republican party no longer upholds crucial values such as defending the Constitution and ensuring individual freedom. Representative Hynes elaborated on three specific examples that influenced his choice in his Facebook post. Firstly, he expressed his disappointment that legislators failed to safeguard both… Read more.

A New Hampshire House lawmaker says that he’s defecting from the Republican party to become in an independent—in part because of his frustration over the Senate’s repeated refusal to approve marijuana legalization. Rep. Dan Hynes said on Tuesday that he is leaving the GOP because he feels the party has lost touch with its founding principles, including promoting “individual freedom.” Among his specific contentions is that “Republicans in the senate almost unanimously voted against legalizing marijuana for adults” this session,… Read more.

A strong majority of licensed truck drivers in the U.S. say that federal marijuana laws need to change, and most say that current cannabis testing policies for drivers are steering people away from the transportation sector amid a driver shortage, according to a new report. With an estimated 65,000-driver deficit in the country, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) carried out an analysis of driver marijuana testing policies that also included revealing survey data from drivers who say that the… Read more.

Should a bipartisan bill receive approval from the Ohio Statehouse, individuals in Ohio who are 21 years old and above will gain the right to cultivate, purchase, and possess marijuana. State representatives Casey Weinstein of Hudson and Jamie Callender of Concord introduced House Bill 168, also known as the Ohio Adult Use Act, earlier this month. The proposed cannabis legalization includes a provision for expunging conviction records related to prior cultivation and possession offenses. Weinstein expressed in a news statement that "adult… Read more.

A bill to legalize marijuana in Colombia was approved in its second-to-last vote in the Senate on Tuesday, bringing the country one step closer to ending prohibition. However, advocates are increasingly concerned that unrelated governmental controversies could derail the effort this year as deadlines for action quickly approach. After advancing through a series of votes and clearing the full Chamber of Representatives last month, the Senate First Committee took up the proposal from Rep. Juan Carlos Losada Vargas and passed it in… Read more.

Brandon Girod, Pensacola News Journal Tue, June 6, 2023 at 10:50 PM GMT+7·7 min read Florida voters will finally have the opportunity to legalize recreational marijuana usage after a proposed initiative received almost one million verified signatures, allowing it to officially qualify for the 2024 general election ballot. The measure has received more than 967,000 valid signatures, according to Smart & Safe Florida, the campaign pushing the measure and backed by Trulieve, one of Florida’s biggest medical marijuana providers. The petition needed 891,523 valid… Read more.

An injunction to prevent CAURD licenses from being sent to the Finger Lakes region will be lifted soon as the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) is settling a lawsuit that imposed the injunction. As it is being lifted, OCM will be working to send out licenses across the region — including in Monroe County. You may have questions about what you can or can’t do when purchasing, using, and even owning cannabis products. Here is what you should… Read more.

The United States has seen an increase in the legalization of marijuana, and there is rising support for this formerly banned substance nationwide. With the recent passage of a marijuana legalization measure, Minnesota has joined 22 other states. On Memorial Day, the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, declared that he would sign the legislation legalizing cannabis for recreational use and erasing convictions for small-scale cannabis offenses. According to the local CBS News, the signing ceremony happened on this past Tuesday at… Read more.

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura (I) says Jimi Hendrix would be high on the North Star State officially legalizing recreational marijuana. Minnesota on Tuesday became the 23rd state to legalize weed for recreational purposes, as Gov. Tim Walz (D) put his signature on a bill allowing adults over 21 to carry up to 2 ounces in public and possess up to 2 pounds at home, beginning Aug. 1. Ventura, a longtime pro-cannabis advocate, lauded the move. “This is a huge day in our family’s life… Read more.

The bill to legalize recreational cannabis in Minnesota was approved by the legislature on May 20. Walz is scheduled to sign it into law on Tuesday at noon. Watch the bill signing live in the player above.  Minnesota cannabis guide: What you need to know Once signed, starting Aug. 1, Minnesota residents over the age of 21 to possess up to 2 pounds at home, and 2 ounces elsewhere. Public consumption will still not be allowed and you could be… Read more.

The Minnesota legislature has sent a large-scale health policy bill to the governor that contains provisions to create a psychedelics task force meant to prepare the state for possible legalization. About one month after the House initially passed the omnibus legislation including language similar to a standalone psychedelics measure sponsored by Rep. Andy Smith (D), both chambers passed a bicamerally negotiated conference report on Monday that retains the provisions. It first cleared the Senate in a 34-32 vote. The House followed suit… Read more.

Colombia has endured the devastating impacts of the drug war like few other places. With its ideal climate, the country is well-suited for cultivating cannabis, coca, and various other psychoactive plants. Sprawling jungles and mountains provide refuge for rebels, cartels, smugglers, skilled farmers, and local persons involved in this industry. Since the 1950s, Colombia has been embroiled in an enduring armed civil conflict that precedes the drug war. This relentless battle thrives on the inflow of money and weaponry. Countless… Read more.

With a week left in the Texas Legislature's current session, political observers said it's increasingly unlikely the state will see any progress on cannabis reform. Earlier this session, the Texas House passed a proposal to broaden the state's medical marijuana program — one of the strictest in the nation — by expanding it to include patients who would otherwise be prescribed opioids to manage pain. Additionally, the House approved a bill that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of weed and set up a process for… Read more.

From sparse enforcement to lack of transparency, program participants are frustrated. The New York adult-use cannabis program has been fraught with challenges, and many stakeholders are willing to express their frustrations. But a conference hosted in Albany, New York, by NY Cannabis Insider sought to add another element to that discussion: solutions. Here are some highlights from the conversations that took place last week. Unlicensed Enforcement One of the most prominent persistent issues in the New York market is how… Read more.

The Republican governor of New Hampshire announced signing an alternative proposal for marijuana legalization through a state-operated store system. This development hit the news barely a day after the New Hampshire Senate rejected a bill for the same purpose. The outcome remains uncertain as the fate of the proposed legislation is currently undecided. In the previous session, the House had passed a bill to establish a state-regulated market under the supervision of the state Liquor Commission. However, the Senate rejected this… Read more.

The New Hampshire Senate has voted to create a study commission to examine potential models to legalize marijuana as the as the governor predicts that his plan to create a state-run cannabis market will likely be considered by lawmakers “next year.” Meanwhile, senators moved to set aside another House-passed marijuana legalization bill—though representatives are now discussing pursuing compromise legislation next week that would provide for a combination of state-operated and privately licensed cannabis shops while also allowing current medical cannabis… Read more.

The momentum for legalizing cannabis is building up throughout Europe. There is now an increasing number of countries looking to follow in the footsteps of Canada and some parts of the U.S. by approving cannabis use. During the Cannabis Europa industry event in London last week, advocates highlighted the numerous benefits of legalizing cannabis. The merits include generating tax revenues, improving public health, and reducing the stigma surrounding medical cannabis. However, there has been persistent opposition from critics who contend that legalization leads… Read more.

I Thought Asia Was Legalizing Weed, Then Why Did Someone Have To Die For It?  Back in 2018, Thailand made waves around the world by becoming the first Asian country to ever legalize marijuana. For decades, Asia has been notorious for being home to some of the world’s strictest and deadliest drug laws. However, it seemed that Thailand stepped up and paved the way for the rest of the region to follow suit. But out of all the Asian nations, Singapore has always had… Read more.

The New Hampshire Senate on Thursday voted down the House-approved cannabis legalization bill by a 14-10 margin, the New Hampshire Bulletin reports. The vote was mostly across party lines and came after the chamber’s Judiciary Committee opposed the measure as “inexpedient to legislate.”  Democratic Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, the chamber’s longest-serving member, voted against the bill while Republican Sen. Keith Murphy voted in favor.   Lawmakers opposing the measure cited the state’s ongoing opioid crisis, traffic safety, the bill’s public consumption provisions, and potential effect on children as… Read more.

Following voters' narrow approval of a measure on the 2022 November ballot, Colorado became the second state in the U.S. to legalize the use of psychedelic drugs. This decision indicates the increasing acceptance and use of psychedelic substances nationwide. So far, a dozen counties and cities in the U.S. have decriminalized psilocybin or psilocin, two psychedelic compounds found in "magic mushrooms." As we covered at the Benzinga Psychedelics Show in Miami, what states are more being more progressive about LSD, mushrooms, and… Read more.

Bipartisan and bicameral Minnesota lawmakers will hold their first conference committee meeting on Friday to begin resolving differences between marijuana legalization bills that passed the House and Senate last month. Rep. Zack Stephenson (D), sponsor of the House version, announced the meeting on Wednesday, saying legislators “are making great progress” in informal discussions ahead of the meeting. He and Sen. Lindsey Port (D), the Senate bill sponsor, are “excited to finish the job,” he said. While the bills were identical as introduced earlier… Read more.

A New Hampshire Senate committee has rejected two House-passed bills to legalize marijuana—as well as a measure to allow medical cannabis patients to grow their own plants—though they will still move to the floor despite the procedural defeat. The House Republican sponsor of the legalization legislation, meanwhile, has signaled that he’s prepared to hold up unrelated Senate measures if the opposite chamber fails to enact the reform. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted against the legalization and regulation measure from House Majority… Read more.

Cannabis legalization advocates in Ohio are again collecting signatures to put the legalization question to voters in November after state lawmakers missed the deadline to pass a citizen-authored initiative to enact the reforms, WCMH reports. The Ohio Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol needs to gather 124,046 signatures to get the issue on ballots, spokesman Tom Haren said.   A Spectrum News/Siena College poll from September found 60% of Ohioans back the reforms with 37% opposed and 3% unsure.  The measure includes home… Read more.

Governor Wes Moore of Maryland signed a bill, Senate Bill 516, which will regulate the commerce of adult-use cannabis. This paves the way for licensed sales of recreational marijuana to start in the state on July 1 of this year. State legislators approved the bill in April following lengthy negotiations that covered topics like social equity and taxation. During the signing ceremony for the legislation, Moore expressed that the new law would guarantee the fair distribution of opportunities to introduce… Read more.

The Florida campaign seeking to put a cannabis legalization question to voters has collected 94% of the signatures required to get the question on ballots, Ballotpedia News reports. Smart & Safe Florida has collected 841,130 valid signatures of the 891,523 valid signatures required to put the issue on 2024 ballots.  The campaign began signature gathering in August 2022 and has collected an average of 23,360 valid signatures each week since the approval, the report says.   Smart & Safe Florida has raised $30.5 million… Read more.

Governor Kathy Hochul signed new legislation Wednesday in an attempt to curb the unlicensed and illicit sale of cannabis across New York State. The legislation allows the Office of Cannabis Management and the Department of Taxation and Finance to assess civil penalties against unlicensed cannabis businesses with fines of up to $20,000 a day and makes it a crime to sell cannabis and cannabis products without a license. In addition, the Office of Cannabis Management's ability to conduct regulatory inspections… Read more.

Wisconsin Republican lawmakers have removed proposals to legalize marijuana for recreational and medical use from the governor’s executive budget for the 2023-2025 biennial. At a hearing of the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee on Tuesday, members voted 12-4 to eliminate numerous provisions of Gov. Tony Evers’s (D) budget request, including measures on legalizing, taxing and regulating cannabis in the state. The move was expected, as the GOP-controlled legislature has previously stripped marijuana reform language from past executive budgets, and top Republican lawmakers warned that any… Read more.

Florida marijuana advocates have collected 841,130 signatures for a marijuana legalization ballot initiative as of the end of April—about 94 percent of what’s required to put the issue before voters next year. Based on monthly signature data reported by the Florida Division of Elections, which updates petition counts on the measure at the end of each month, it seems that the legalization campaign is well positioned to reach the 891,523 signature mandate by the end of this month. At the… Read more.

Delaware Becomes 22nd State, Is Minnesota Lucky Number 23? With Minnesota likely the next state to join the ever-expanding list of states that have legalized recreational marijuana, the Midwest has assumed centre stage in the ongoing debate in the United States about whether or not to legalize cannabis. The main issue on everyone's mind following Delaware's recent decision to legalize marijuana, which makes it the 22nd state to do so, is if Minnesota will make history by being fortunate number… Read more.

The Oregon secretary of state’s office released an audit of the state’s regulation of the cannabis industry on Friday on the heels of revelations that the agency’s head, Shemia Fagan, accepted a side job as consultant to a cannabis company in February. Fagan’s consulting work with Veriede Holding LLC, an affiliate of La Mota cannabis dispensary chain, was first reported by Willamette Week on Thursday. The next day, secretary of state officials released the audit and took steps to distance Fagan from… Read more.

The Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill to legalize marijuana on Tuesday after weeks of extensive committee consideration and a floor debate that spanned two days. Meanwhile, Senate companion legislation will be taken up in its final committee on Wednesday before potentially advancing to the floor, which is expected by the end of the week. The House legislation from Rep. Zack Stephenson (D) was approved by the full chamber, with amendments, in a 71-59 vote. Throughout the session, it has moved… Read more.

Delaware became the 22nd state to legalize recreational marijuana Sunday after Gov. John Carney allowed two bills to become law without his signature. It marks an end to a lengthy fight by Democrats to legalize the drug and create an industry with the potential to bring in tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue. But what does that mean for Delawareans looking to purchase legal weed or get a license to sell it? We've answered some of the big… Read more.

During an April 18 Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, Louisiana State Senators Jay Morris and Stewart Cathey remarked that legalizing hemp products containing THC was not deliberate. According to The Daily Advertiser, during the meeting, Cathey stated that in the previous session, the Legislature inadvertently established a recreational THC market in Louisiana. He added that they did not intend to allow an unregulated psychoactive drug marketplace to be flooded throughout the state. Senate Bill 219 On April 10, Cathey put forward… Read more.

Delaware is about to become the 22nd state to have fully legalized recreational marijuana, after Gov. John Carney announced Friday that he won’t veto legalization bills as he has in the past, potentially avoiding an embarrassing veto override by the legislature. “I want to be clear that my views on this issue have not changed,” Carney said in a press release. “And I understand there are those who share my views who will be disappointed in my decision not to veto… Read more.

Germany Scales Back Its Cannabis Legalization Plan There has been a considerable buzz in the cannabis industry regarding Germany's intention to legalize recreational cannabis, given its status as the largest economy in the European Union. Last October, the German Health Minister, Mr. Karl Lauterbach, submitted a proposed plan for the complete legalization of cannabis to the cabinet, indicating that it was merely a question of when it would happen. However, there were legitimate concerns about Germany's ability to implement such a… Read more.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) says it’s been “frustrating” to see marijuana legalization fall short of equity goals, which he said is partly due to ongoing federal prohibition. And while he’s pushing for reform, he characterized cannabis as a “dangerous” drug that hasn’t been studied enough. The senator, who has long advocated for equity-centered federal legalization and sponsored a bill to that end with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) last year, discussed the prospects of drug policy reform at a… Read more.

Marijuana regulators from three states, advocates and small business representatives of the cannabis industry will share advice on charting an equitable path forward in the legalization movement at an upcoming event organized by a non-profit focused on preventing corporate monopolization of the market. The Parabola Center for Law and Policy, a think tank working to educate lawmakers and advocates about the potential ramifications of consolidated ownership in the marijuana sector, also announced on Friday that it has partnered with 50… Read more.

A pair of bills to legalize and regulate marijuana in Delaware have officially been sent to the governor’s desk, meaning he will need to act on them before the end of the month. While the legislature passed both measures with sizable support last month, advocates remain concerned that Gov. John Carney (D) may again veto the reform as he did last session. He’s avoided commenting on his intentions for the legislation so far this round other than to say he remains concerned about the impact… Read more.

In an interview with the Conway Daily Sun on Thursday, New Hampshire Senate President Jeb Bradley (R) predicted the chamber would not pass the cannabis legalization law approved by the House last week. The House has passed an adult-use cannabis legalization bill three times, but the reforms have never been approved by the Senate.  Bradley added that “in the middle of a drug crisis,” he doesn’t “think it’s a good idea to legalize more drugs.”  State Rep. Michael Costable (R) told the Daily Sun… Read more.

A strong majority of South Carolina adults support legalizing marijuana for both medical and recreational use, according to a new poll that’s being promoted by a Republican congresswoman from the state. The survey from Winthrop University—which comes as state lawmakers work to advance medical cannabis legalization—found that three in four adults (76 percent) back the reform, including 80 percent of Democrats and 72 percent of Republicans. Support for adult-use marijuana legalization stands at 56 percent, with 62 percent of Democrats… Read more.

The New Hampshire House on Thursday passed an adult-use legalization bill by a 272-109 vote, The Center Square reports. The measure moves next to the state Senate.  New Hampshire is the lone New England state to not allow cannabis sales to adults.   In a statement, Republican Rep. Jason Obsorne, a co-sponsor of the legislation, said he is “pleased to see New Hampshire take a step toward relieving gangsters and thugs from control of this market” and keep “dangerous untested products away from consumers, and… Read more.

The governor of New Mexico has approved a bill to fulfill a key goal of the state’s marijuana legalization law by facilitating automatic expungements for prior cannabis convictions. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed the legislation from Reps. Andrea Romero (D) and Javier Martínez (D) late last week. While the legislature did include automatic expungements and resentencing provisions in the state’s 2021 legalization law, the courts have experienced technical issues with processing certain cases. The now-signed bill seeks to resolve those problems… Read more.

Cannabis advocates who believed a Democratic president and Senate majority would seal the deal for legalization may be sorely disappointed at the resulting inaction and lack of solid consensus on reform. But all is not lost, predicts a new report from New Frontier Data. “While it is difficult to pinpoint when federal legalization may occur, or what form it might take, it seems clear that expansion of the legal market will continue to create further public support and social normalization that… Read more.

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Clears Another Senate Hurdle Minnesota is close to legalizing marijuana after a Senate committee approved a bill by Sen. Lindsey Port (D). The bill has only two more committees to pass before it can be taken to the full chamber. The House companion bill, sponsored by Rep. Zack Stephenson (D) has already passed through 14 committees, reported Marijuana Moment. Want Some Great Weed In Michigan? Join the ultimate marijuana showdown at Michigan's 4th Annual Cannabis Cup. The competition is back and bigger than ever. With… Read more.

Wisconsin has a chance to enact a relatively limited medical marijuana law this session, a bipartisan pair of lawmakers said in a joint appearance at a policy event on Friday. Sens. Mary Felzkowski (R) and Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard (D) spoke during a webinar hosted by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum. The group noted beforehand that a recent analysis it conducted found that more than half of all Wisconsin adults currently live within a 75-minute drive of a legal cannabis shop in… Read more.

The one-year anniversary of recreational cannabis has people feeling good. Officials say it's boosting the economy, and local dispensaries say expectations have been shattered. Both agree the ceiling for this industry in New Mexico has been raised. "New Mexico has been getting high for a year now, and it's been bringing in some great revenue. More than we anticipated,” said Scott Prisco. Revenue of $400 million, to be more specific. The Regulation and Licensing Department says it's an investment. “That… Read more.

In a move that could severely impact Montana's budding cannabis industry, Republican Senator Keith Regier has presented a bill that would effectively dismantle the state's recreational sales program just over a year after its launch. The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 546, aims to curb adult-use dispensaries by enforcing stringent restrictions that would limit not only medical marijuana allowances but also eliminate recreational sales, as reported by the Montana Free Press. Senate Bill 546 The proposed Senate Bill 546 could bring… Read more.

As the winds of change blow across the United States, many states have lifted their bans on recreational cannabis. However, not every state has embraced the green wave with open arms. Despite the growing popularity of cannabis and its proven medical benefits, some states remain resistant to legalizing recreational use. Whether it's a concern for public health, public safety, or a reluctance to break tradition, these states have chosen to swim against legalization. So, while some states are blazing a trail… Read more.

A 14th Minnesota House committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana, after members adopted a large-scale amendment to overhaul various tax provisions of the legislation. The House Taxes Committee passed the measure from Rep. Zack Stephenson (D) in a voice vote on Thursday. Members also received a much-anticipated fiscal note and revenue projection ahead of the meeting. One of the main changes that was adopted as part of an amendment from the sponsor would gradually decrease the tax rate… Read more.

Top local officials from Washington, D.C. participated in a congressional hearing on Wednesday, sharply criticizing federal lawmakers over a policy that bars the District from legalizing and regulating marijuana sales. D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) told the House Oversight and Accountability Committee that “congressional interference” in local laws on issues like cannabis threatens the city’s ability to “address crime and public safety.” Residents of the nation’s capital voted “overwhelmingly” to legalize marijuana for adult use in 2014, but “Congress… Read more.

The Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) says that it would be prudent for the state to legalize certain psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA to prepare for a likely federal policy change allowing their use for medical treatment. At a hearing before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee last week, DOH testified on a pair of resolutions that call for the establishment of an advisory council to study and make recommendations on approving psychedelic medicines. Members of the panel ultimately… Read more.

South Carolina lawmakers and advocates aren’t giving up the push to legalize medical marijuana just yet, and they’re imploring leadership to take up a GOP-led reform bill ahead of a key legislative deadline this week. At a press conference on Tuesday, supporters of the legislation from Sen. Tom Davis (R) stressed the urgency of getting the reform enacted this year, with a deadline set coming up on Thursday to get the bill out of the Senate and over to the… Read more.

A Maryland Senate committee has amended and approved a marijuana sales bill to get the state ready for the implementation of a voter-approved legalization referendum, sending it to the floor—where a vote is expected this week. At a meeting of the Senate Finance Committee, members passed the legislation from Sens. Brian Feldman (D) and Antonio Hayes (D) in a 7-2 vote. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) said last week that there were a number of issues that lawmakers needed to address before advancing… Read more.

A bill to legalize marijuana in New Hampshire is going back to the House floor after a second committee passed the legislation with amendments on Monday. The proposal, which is being sponsored by Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R) and Minority Leader Matthew Wilhelm (D), cleared the House Ways & Means Committee in a 16-4 vote. The full chamber already approved the legislation last month, but it needed to be sent back to the finance-focused committee because of its fiscal provisions. It… Read more.

Federal marijuana trafficking cases continued to decline in 2022, according to the latest annual report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC). As more states have moved to legalize cannabis and federal priorities have shifted, prosecutions for marijuana-related cases have significantly declined over the years. The number of federal cannabis trafficking offenders has fallen from about 5,000 in 2013 to just under 806 last year, USSC found. Meanwhile, trafficking cases involving powder cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine increased from 2021 to 2022. The report also… Read more.

Gary Allen, CEO of New Frontier Data, announced the release of the 2023 U.S. Cannabis Report: Market Updates & Projections, which provides insights into the current and future state of the American cannabis market. The report is sponsored by Cannacare Docs and includes information on sales, consumers, supply, and pricing for both adult-use and medical cannabis. Allen predicts a promising future for the industry, citing the emergence of new markets to offset the stabilization of established ones. According to New Frontier… Read more.

A Hawaii Senate committee approved a House-passed bill on Wednesday that would create an advisory council to look into possible regulations to provide access to federal “breakthrough therapies” like psilocybin and MDMA. The psychedelics legislation from Rep. Adrian Tam (D) advanced, with amendments, in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee in a 5-0 vote. Members took testimony from advocates and experts, including a representative of the Department of Health, which voiced support for the proposal. All 20 people and organizations that… Read more.

A Hawaii Senate-passed bill to legalize marijuana has stalled out in the House for the year—but advocates are shifting focus to 2024, hoping to enact the reform in the second half of the two-year legislative session. The legislation from Sen. Joy San Buenaventura (D) cleared the Senate earlier this month, and hopes were high that it’d make it through the House as well. But a hearing wasn’t scheduled before a deadline for bills that have been referred to three or more… Read more.

A major alcohol industry association is officially backing federal marijuana legalization, sending a letter to congressional leadership on Wednesday that implores lawmakers to “regulate adult-use cannabis at the federal level.” The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) said that “the current conflict between state and federal law is not only causing adverse consequences for consumers and non-consumers of cannabis but will also have long-term public health and safety costs that are too great to ignore.” The association made two… Read more.

Another Minnesota House committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana, after members adopted a large-scale amendment to overhaul various provisions of the legislation. The House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee passed the measure in a voice vote on Monday. The panel, chaired by bill sponsor Rep. Zack Stephenson (D), first took up the legislation in January, but it was always the plan to have the proposal returned to the committee. Like a recently adopted change to a companion bill… Read more.

The 2023 Recreational Marijuana Supply and Demand Legislative report from the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission states that per-gram cannabis prices in Oregon have decreased by 16% from the previous year, reaching an all-time low of $4. According to the OLCC, the market demand for marijuana in Oregon was estimated to be 52% of the supply in 2021 and 63% in 2022. Despite the deteriorating market conditions, 2022 was closer to achieving supply/demand equilibrium than 2021. This was due to OLCC Producers… Read more.

Germany is moving forward with its plan to legalize cannabis for recreational use, aiming to become the first European country to regulate the sale of cannabis products. But while supranational legal frameworks may pose obstacles to legalization, Lauterbach has received positive feedback from the EU, highlighting that the legislation must comply with EU regulations. Lauterbach has expressed confidence that his plans to legalize cannabis will be approved by the EU. Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, March 14, before a meeting… Read more.

A bill to legalize medical marijuana stalled in the Kansas legislature on Thursday—but now the governor is urging the public to contact their representatives to demand they take the legislation back up for action “this session.” Gov. Laura Kelly (D), who has long championed cannabis reform, said on Thursday that she’s “disappointed that some legislators are saying they don’t want to move forward with legalizing medical marijuana this year—effectively turning their backs on our veterans and those with chronic pain and seizure… Read more.

A second Delaware Senate committee approved a House-passed bill on Thursday to create a regulated adult-use marijuana market, sending it to the floor where a complementary measure to legalize possession is also set for action. The proposals are being sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski (D), and they both advanced through a separate Senate committee on Wednesday after being approved in the full House. Now the Senate Finance Committee has also cleared the regulations-focused bill, which needed a second stop because… Read more.

Kansas senators have shelved a bill to legalize medical marijuana following a hearing that featured multiple opponents, including state law enforcement representatives. Members of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee voted on Thursday to table the legislation, which the panel itself is sponsoring. Following the action, Chairman Mike Thompson (R) said that lawmakers have “bigger fish to fry,” indicating that he’s not interested in taking the proposal back up before the end of the 2023 session. Officials with the Kansas Sheriffs… Read more.

The New Hampshire House of Representatives has approved another bill to legalize marijuana in the state—except this one contains no regulations or limitations on cannabis. About a month after the House passed a comprehensive legalization, taxation and regulation measure that’s being sponsored by bipartisan leaders, members on Thursday took up the simpler legislation to remove marijuana from the state’s listed of banned substances. The chamber first voted, 210-160, to overrule the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, which had deemed the… Read more.

The Texas House Public Health Committee on Monday heard hearings on a bill that would expand the state’s medical cannabis program, FOX 44 reports. The measure would allow access to products with THC levels as high as 5%. Under current law, patients can only access low-THC products with THC concentrations up to 1%.  The measure is, in part, meant to reign in the proliferation of hemp-derived THC products, such as delta-8, which some medical cannabis consumers are relying on because of the low THC limits in… Read more.

House and Senate committees in Minnesota on Tuesday each altered adult-use cannabis legalization bills being considered by lawmakers, with the House Transportation Finance Committee tacking on an amendment to reduce the amount of cannabis individuals can keep in their homes from 5 pounds to 1.5 pounds, ABC 6 News reports.  The Senate State and Local Government committee adopted a 142-page amendment to create distinctions between the industrial hemp industry and the adult-use cannabis industry.   Ted Galaty, a hemp farmer and owner of Willow’s Keep Farm, told… Read more.

A majority of Texas voters say that the state’s marijuana laws should be “less strict,” according to a new survey. The University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll that was released this month asked respondents about a variety of policy issues affecting the state and how they believe certain matters should be regulated compared to the status quo. Asked about cannabis, 51 percent said that state laws should be less strict, versus 22 percent who said they should be more strict… Read more.

After witnessing a blowout loss in Oklahoma on Tuesday, advocates of adult-use marijuana legalization are turning their attention to brighter prospects in Hawaii and Delaware. Legalization bills are marching through legislatures in both states, with support from the governor in Hawaii and a veto-proof legislative majority in Delaware, where lawmakers in the state House on Thursday advanced an adult-use legalization bill for the first time. However, observers cautioned final passage isn’t assured in either state. The two relatively small states… Read more.

The Maryland House of Delegates has advanced an amended bill to create regulations allowing for adult-use marijuana commerce following voter approval of legalization last year. The legislation, sponsored by Del. C.T. Wilson (D), passed on a second reading on the floor on Wednesday, just days after clearing committee. The House will need to give final third reading approval to the measure before it potentially moves to the Senate, where a companion version is scheduled for consideration in committee on Thursday. The House… Read more.

Oklahoma voters are heading to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to allow adults 21 and over to buy and consume cannabis. If the measure passes, the state will become the 22nd in the U.S. to legalize pot for adult use. The vote on State Question 820 is taking place on an executive order from Gov. Kevin Stitt. With just over 4 million people and 2.2 million registered voters, Oklahoma is the 28th-largest U.S. state by population. Although it’s a… Read more.

Three separate proposals are planned by Pennsylvania lawmakers seeking to legalize recreational marijuana, provide social justice to those with low-level marijuana convictions and reap the tax benefits from a potential billion-dollar industry. Two co-sponsorship memos circulating in the House and Senate propose selling marijuana in state-owned liquor stores, restricting possession and use to adults at least 21 years of age. The memos respectively filed by state Rep. David Delloso, D-Delaware, and state Sen. Marty Flynn, D-Lackawanna/Lehigh, would also permit Pennsylvanians… Read more.

PROVIDENCE — An Instagram account this week made fun of the state legislators who have proposed decriminalizing “magic mushrooms.” An image posted by the “What’s going on in Rhode Island” account shows Representative Brandon C. Potter and Senator Meghan E. Kallman against a backdrop of gigantic mushrooms and a psychedelic rainbow swirl. More than 2,200 people “liked” the image, and some of the comments were scathing. “Can always count on the Democrats to find new ways to try to buy votes,”… Read more.

A marijuana legalization bill cleared another Minnesota Senate committee on Wednesday, bringing the total number of panels in the chamber to advance the legislation so far this session to seven. The Human Services Committee passed the measure from Sen. Lindsey Port (D) in a voice vote. “This allows adults to safely and responsibly use cannabis,” Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten (D), who presented the bill on behalf of Port, told committee members. “It creates a regulated marketplace that’s much safer than… Read more.

On the Revel events usually feature one major celebrity interview. In the past, it has been Styles P and Al Harrington. At their latest winter conferece at City Tech Theater in Brooklyn, NY on Feb. 25, rapper Vic Mensa was the final act of the day. Mensa has his own cannabis brand, 93 Boyz, based in Illinois. Last year, he was arrested for possessing LSD and psilocybin mushroom products at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC. In June, he made a plea deal that allows for unsupervised probation for one year.… Read more.

Welcome to the magic mushroom club, Ferndale. We’re glad to see you. On Monday evening, Ferndale City Council unanimously approved a resolution to decriminalize entheogenic plants and fungi like psilocybin mushrooms, Ayahuasca, and Dimethyltryptamine (aka DMT). This doesn’t mean these psychedelic substances are completely legal, but the “investigation and arrest of persons for planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, or possessing Entheogenic Plants or plant compounds which are on the Federal Schedule 1 list shall be the… Read more.

On March 7, Oklahoma residents will only have one question to answer: Do they support adult-use cannabis legalization? If Oklahomans pass State Question 820 on their ballots, they will follow the national trend toward legalization and become the 22nd state to have ended cannabis prohibition. Of the 29 states where adult-use cannabis is still illegal, 17 of them have introduced legislation to legalize it this year. While most of these proposals are unlikely to be successful in 2023, the trend… Read more.

The first two months of 2023 have shown expansive interest in bold drug policy reform in state legislatures across the country—most recently, with the introduction of numerous new bills touching on everything from psychedelics legalization to authorizing safe drug consumption sites. Lawmakers in several states will conduct hearings on such reform proposals over the next week. The marijuana legalization movement continues to spread and evolve, but it’s become quickly apparent this session that legislators are eager to more holistically move… Read more.

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The people behind the popup sites where practitioners examine patients who want to be in South Dakota’s medical-cannabis program won’t face any additional regulations, at least not this year. A state legislative panel has killed two proposals that sought to limit where the exams could be conducted and restrict their advertising. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday rejected HB1129 and HB1172 on 4-1 votes. Republican Sen. Al Novtrup, the lead Senate sponsor on both, cast the lone votes in their support. Republican… Read more.

Adults 21 and over could possess up to 2.5 ounces of pot, including up to 15 grams of cannabis concentrates, under the bill. As Texas continues to lag behind the rest of the country in cannabis reform, a Democrat in the Texas House of Representatives has introduced a bill to let the state's municipalities and counties decide whether to legalize recreational weed. House Bill 1937, filed by State Rep. Jessica González of Dallas, would enable municipalities to make the call whether to green… Read more.

Cannabis Measures In The Philippines Kalinga Gov. James Edduba supports the immediate approval of the medicinal cannabis measure pending in both chambers of Congress. This move will help dissuade the spread of illegal hemp in Benguet and Kalinga. However, lawmakers "must ensure that the provisions for the medical marijuana measure should be favorable to the farmers," Edduba said, reported Manila Times. Additionally, Manila Former House of Representatives speaker and now Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez seeks to "delist cannabis from the country’s dangerous drugs,… Read more.

A proposal introduced last week in Kentucky would ban delta-8 THC products in the state; the bill is nearly identical to another proposal that passed Kentucky’s Senate last year but died in the House. A bill introduced last week in Kentucky would ban delta-8 THC products in the state, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. Kentucky Hemp Association President Katie Moyer told the Journal that if the bill is approved it would “probably end Kentucky’s hemp industry as we know it.”  The measure is nearly identical to… Read more.

Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) said Louisiana residents will see a government clampdown on unregulated THC products that can cause a person to get high. The governor and legislators may also seek to tweak a related law about hemp products during the Louisiana Legislature’s spring session. “I’m not one who favors legalizing marijuana and I don’t want something that…has a THC content that is effectively the same thing,” Edwards said in an interview Tuesday. “You’re going to see more enforcement,… Read more.

A Hawaii Senate committee on Tuesday held a hearing on a bill to legalize marijuana—with multiple state agencies weighing in on the proposal in testimony. The legislation from Sen. Joy San Buenaventura (D) was discussed in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It’s one of two key legalization measures that advocates are tracking this session. Members of the committee heard from a range of supporters and opponents on SB 669 on Tuesday, with the chair indicating that a vote could come on… Read more.

Marijuana Legalization Plan In New Hampshire New Hampshire lawmakers, seeking to legalize a marijuana measure, are working on a plan to advance reform this session, Marijuana Moment first reported. The plan is to remove provisions allowing home cultivation and annulling past marijuana convictions. “To pass that bill as is, it’s got too many warts on it,” said chairman John Hunt (R), who promoted the amendment. Sponsored by Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R) and Minority Leader Matt Wilhelm (D), Bill HB 639 would allow adults over 21 to buy, possess… Read more.

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced last week it was making the psychedelic substances psilocybin and MDMA legal for medicinal purposes starting July 1, 2023. Psilocybin and MDMA were each approved for medical use by the TGA “in combination with psychotherapy for treatment-resistant mental illness in medically controlled environments in certain circumstances,” the agency said in its announcement. The surprise move marked the world’s first federal action to legalize medicinal psychedelics and follows months of public input — currently, the drugs are considered “prohibited… Read more.

New Hampshire lawmakers working on marijuana legalization legislation met on Tuesday to refine their plan to advance the reform this session, with members of a committee hashing out differences between competing proposals. The intent is to nail down a merged vehicle in a follow-up meeting on Wednesday. The work session of the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Liquor Subcommittee got started with a decent amount of pushback over the chair’s recently proposed amendment to a legalization bill, HB 639, from Majority… Read more.

ST. LOUIS — Adult-use, recreational cannabis can be sold in Missouri dispensaries beginning Friday, giving consumers an unexpected boost to their weekend plans. Expectations throughout the industry had been that the licenses required to sell non-medical cannabis would not be issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services until Monday. But the department threw a curve Thursday afternoon, announcing that it would issue licenses on Friday to the dispensaries that qualified for them. As soon as a dispensary… Read more.

As if the marijuana industry isn't reeling enough with $75 ounces in multiple states, NASDAQ listed Akerna going under, and MSO Curaleaf pulling out of competitive markets like California and Colorado, more bad news hits the industry, this time, on the government side. It is devastating news for those who love CBD products. The Food and Drug Administration has declared that these items, made from cannabis or hemp, may not comply with federal safety regulations. These safety regulations will affect a… Read more.

With the start of a new year, cannabis companies across the country are tweaking their business models to meet changing laws and regulations that could affect sales and how they run their operations. Expanded delivery, new packaging and labeling restrictions as well as the introduction of loyalty programs and deep product discounts top some of the biggest regulatory shifts underway in 2023. MJBizDaily explored how these changes will affect businesses in several states with legal marijuana markets, including California, Michigan, Oregon… Read more.

A top Republican Wisconsin lawmaker is pushing back against the idea that the conservative legislature is close to making a deal on medical marijuana legalization, and he’s again warning the Democratic governor against calling for adult-use legalization as part of his forthcoming budget request. While Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R) said last week that his caucus is “getting pretty close” on medical cannabis reform, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a new interview published on… Read more.

Last week, New Jersey and New York regulators took each other to task over which state approached their adult-use marijuana market rollout better. Now, Connecticut’s governor is joining the rhetorical rumble after his state launched recreational sales on Tuesday, entering the tri-state war of words on cannabis. Hours before Connecticut’s first recreational shops opened their doors, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) reflected on the adult-use program in New York, which involved just one storefront late last month, saying that the limited launch “seemed crazy… Read more.

Texas activists have turned in more than 37,000 signatures to place a measure on the San Antonio ballot in May to decriminalize marijuana, prevent the enforcement of abortion restriction laws and ban no-knock warrants. A coalition of advocacy groups—including Ground Game Texas, SA Stands and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC)—secured the signatures about three months after launching the local reform campaign. This builds on the activist-led cannabis decriminalization movement that Ground Game has spearheaded in cities across the Lone Star… Read more.

While the Biden administration investigates marijuana's federal scheduling, a bipartisan group of congressional members is urging the president to openly support outright legalization. Recently, a letter which is slated to be addressed to President Joe Biden and key cabinet officials was obtained by Marijuana Moment. The Congressmen stated in the letter that while they applaud the directive of the scheduling review, the administration should embrace the virtues of full descheduling. The letter states that while the congressmen don't always agree on… Read more.

Texas activists have turned in what they say are enough signatures to place a measure on the Harker Heights ballot to reverse a City Council move that repealed a voter-approved marijuana decriminalization initiative. Ground Game Texas, which was behind a number of successful local decriminalization measures that passed this year, is also criticizing an outgoing district attorney’s request that the state attorney general issue an opinion on a separate reform initiative that voters approved overwhelmingly in San Marcos. In Harker… Read more.

It may seem far-fetched to have a health insurance company pay for an ecstasy or magic mushroom trip, but the psychedelics market is already crunching the statistics and proposing US insurers. Early results from clinical trials on substances like MDMA and psilocybin have been encouraging. In the middle of what is often regarded as a mental health crisis, many of these initiatives target a few of the most expensive and challenging mental health conditions while they are still happening. Researchers and executives… Read more.

Yesterday, members of the Czech cabinet heard a draft plan on launching a regulated cannabis market and increasing drug addiction and treatment spending, ČTK reports. National anti-drug coordinator Jindřich Vobořil told ČTK that a regulated cannabis market could be worth billions of crowns worth of tax-related revenues to the national budget.  The plan is part of a strategy to address drug addiction in the country by 2027. It was laid out by then Prime Minister Andrej Babiš but his anti-drug minister had not issued… Read more.

Joe Biden took a step towards marijuana decriminalization last week when he granted a mass pardon to anyone convicted of a federal crime for simple possession of the drug. He also asked governors to take similar steps, and directed his administration to review marijuana’s status as a Schedule I substance alongside hard drugs like heroin. “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana,” Biden said. “It’s time that we right these wrongs…There are thousands of people who were… Read more.