Author: News Room

Vice President Kamala Harris is hosting a White House meeting to discuss drug policy reform that will feature guests including hip hop artist Fat Joe and others who have benefitted from the cannabis pardons granted by the Biden administration. The Friday meeting will also include Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a leading proponent of cannabis legalization in his state, and other advocates for ending the criminal prohibition of marijuana.  In October 2022, President Joseph Biden issued an executive order pardoning thousands of people with federal convictions for marijuana possession, saying, “No one should be in jail just for using or possessing…

The Biden administration’s top health official is defending his department’s recommendation to reschedule marijuana against criticism from a Republican senator, noting that many states have “moved much farther than the federal government” on cannabis. At a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) pressed Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra on the agency’s recommendation that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Cornyn inquired about the parameters of the scientific review into cannabis that was directed by President Joe Biden and carried out…

As the sponsor of a bill to legalize marijuana in New Hampshire that has already won initial House approval works to tailor her proposal to better fit the demands of a skeptical Gov. Chris Sununu (R), a senator who led an ill-fated study commission on cannabis legalization last year is offering an alternative legalization plan. At a hearing of a House Finance Committee panel on Wednesday, lawmakers considered not only the new changes from the legalization bill’s sponsor, Rep. Erica Layon (R), but also a franchise-based alternative put forward by Sen. Daryl Abbas (R). Both sets of changes are designed…

New Jersey “can be and will be the premier cannabis market on the East Coast,” the state’s top marijuana regulator says as it marks new record sales and market expansion milestones. New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) Executive Director Jeff Brown also told Marijuana Moment in an interview that he’s “rooting for” neighboring New York as that state navigates its own regulatory challenges and hopes that eventually “we’ll both be able to learn from each other.” For now, however, New Jersey is focused on building upon its cannabis industry successes—including reaching $2 billion in marijuana sales as of last month…

Arizona hemp stakeholders say an opinion from the state’s Attorney General clarifying the legal status of intoxicating hemp products could also damage the market for CBD extracts. In an opinion issued this week, Attorney General Kris Mayes said products containing intoxicating hemp compounds synthetically produced from CBD – sometimes called “diet weed” – fall under rules for Schedule 1 controlled substances. As such, they may only be sold in Arizona’s licensed marijuana dispensaries, Mayes affirmed. Retailers not licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services may not sell “high”-producing products containing delta-8 and other compounds, she said. Such products, sold as…

A coalition of 36 members of Congress are calling on President Joe Biden to grant clemency to all Americans currently in federal prison over non-violent cannabis convictions by commuting their sentences, pointing out that the pardons he’s issued to date for simple possession cases did not release a single person from incarceration. In a letter sent to the president on Thursday, led by Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chairs Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), the members said that the “continued incarceration of these individuals continues the racist legacy of the War on Drugs, contradicts the current societal and legal…

Though a bill to legalize and regulate retail cannabis sales in Virginia has been passed by the legislature and is now awaiting action by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), supportive lawmakers now say they believe it is unlikely the proposal will become law this session. Reached for comment on Wednesday, the legislation’s sponsor in the House, Del. Paul Krizek (D), told Marijuana Moment that from the governor’s statements in the press, “it seems pretty clear that he is not a fan of a legally regulated retail market.” “He even said something to the effect that that he would not want a…

Utah lawmakers have unanimously approved a Republican-led bill to authorize a pilot program for hospitals to administer psilocybin and MDMA as an alternative treatment option, sending it to the governor. Both chambers of the legislature passed the measure, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Kirk Cullimore (R) and House Speaker Pro Tempore James Dunnigan (R), earlier this month. This comes about two years after Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed into law a bill that created a task force to study and make recommendations on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs and possible regulations for their lawful use. The new proposal that…

A top federal drug agency is promoting its efforts to support studies into psychedelics, cannabis and harm reduction programs that it says helps to justify funding levels proposed under the president’s new budget plan. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)—which would be renamed the National Institute on Drugs and Addiction under President Joe Biden’s 2025 Fiscal Year budget request—published an overview of various initiatives that would be expanded in the coming year. On psychedelics, NIDA said that it is tracking “changing attitudes,” and supporting research to “better understand the effects of psychedelic drugs, their potential for treating [substance use…

The governor of Massachusetts is moving to pardon “hundreds of thousands” of people with misdemeanor marijuana convictions of their records, in line with President Joe Biden’s push for state-level clemency, she announced on Wednesday. Gov. Maura Healey (D) said she is taking executive action to pardon individuals with simple possession convictions, pending approval by the Governor’s Council. The record sealing process will be automated by the state for most eligible people. “Nobody should face barriers to getting a job, housing or an education because of an old misdemeanor marijuana conviction that they would not be charged for today,” Healey said…