Author: News Room

A California Democratic senator says he will be filing a revised psychedelics bill next year alongside an Assembly Republican that will focus on providing regulated therapeutic access—a departure from his prior legislation to more broadly legalize substances like psilocybin that the governor vetoed this past session. Sen. Scott Wiener (D) said on Friday that the bill he’s planning to introduce next year with Assemblymember Marie Waldron (R), a former minority leader of the GOP caucus, will be crafted in a way that’s responsive to the veto message Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) sent when rejecting his psychedelics legalization measure last month.…

A congressional committee is urging the Justice Department to study the effectiveness of state regulatory frameworks for marijuana—and the panel is also pushing for researchers to be able to study the cannabis products that consumers purchase in legal states. The House Appropriations Committee included the cannabis language in spending bill reports that were released last week as lawmakers work to pass appropriations legislation for multiple federal agencies. For the bill covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS), there’s new report language that hasn’t been incorporated into earlier versions. It says that the committee is aware that more than 20…

Florida agriculture officials say they are more than ready to defend against a lawsuit filed by a Fort Lauderdale-based company that sells psychoactive hemp products. The case, brought by Just Brands USA last month, is challenging Florida’s efforts to protect children from dangerous high-potency hemp-derived products such as those containing delta-8 THC, and the implementation of hemp legislation earlier this year. The lawsuit against the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), which is expected to have a significant impact on the regulation of hemp products in the state, is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern…

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 policy in the state. Specifically, some think that Democratic control of both chambers would mean the possibility of regulated…

An individually tailored cannabis regimen may ease symptoms of autism, according to an August study published by Frontiers in Psychiatry. The researchers studied 20 autistic patients who followed a customized regimen of either CBD oil, THC oil, or a combination thereof. While the study was small, autistic patients saw marked reduced symptoms, and a better quality of life for both themselves and their families. The challenges of autismAutism spectrum disorders could have multiple causes, but they encompass a host of conditions that impact 1 in 36 people and can affect patients in a variety of ways from mild to debilitating. Usually…

A Minnesota psychedelics task force charged with studying the medical benefits of psilocybin, MDMA and LSD and preparing the state for possible legalization convened on Monday for its first meeting, at which members selected a chairperson and laid out the trajectory of the coming months. The group must return a final report to the state with findings and recommendations by January 1, 2025, and at least one key lawmaker says he plans to file a reform bill shortly thereafter. The meeting took place more than three months late, according to a state omnibus bill passed in March that created the…

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 members. Officials have said a forthcoming second phase of legalization will eventually launch a pilot program for regulated commercial…

A pair of diametrically opposed amendments have been filed to a key bill covering funding for the Department of Justice: one bipartisan measure to protect all state marijuana programs from federal intervention and another led by a longtime GOP prohibitionist to block the Biden administration from rescheduling cannabis. Additionally, there are proposals on the table to restrict federal agencies from testing job applicants for marijuana and protect states that legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin. As the House gets back to work on fiscal year 2024 appropriations legislation, the proposed amendments to the bill covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related…

The latest data on the legal cannabis industry in Illinois shows diversity numbers up significantly since adult-use sales began in January 2020, according to state’s Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer (CROO). It’s a sign that efforts in recent years to prioritize social equity license applicants is making a measurable impact. When recreational marijuana sales began in 2020, the “initial businesses were 100% majority White owned and only one majority woman-owned businesses,” says the office’s diversity survey report that was published last week. Since then, measures of diversity have improved markedly. Among the key changes, Black-owned companies increased from 0 percent to…

A New Hampshire commission charged with drafting a bill to legalize marijuana sales through a system of state-run stores by the end of this month met again on Friday, making slow progress through a line-by-line review of sample legislation that the panel is using as a reference point. The committee made it through about a page and a half of the 37-page document during Friday’s meeting, flagging a number of items as “homework assignments” for individual members of the panel to research and return to at another meeting. Among those issues were personal possession limits, penalties for smoking or vaping…