Author: News Room

Arrests for marijuana made up nearly a third of all drug arrests in the United States in 2022, according to a newly released report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). As with last year’s report, however, inconsistencies in the data and recent changes to the agency’s methodology make it difficult to draw year-to-year comparisons or meaningful conclusions about cannabis and broader drug enforcement trends. The data, according to FBI, comes from more than 11 million criminal offenses reported to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, which is submitted by 13,293 law enforcement agencies and 2,431 other agencies whose jurisdictions…

A cartoon depicting Paul McCartney being searched for pot by airport customs and with an autograph from the singer appeared on Antiques Roadshow season 46, episode 2 on Sunday, Oct., 5. The cartoon was valued between £2,000 – 3,000 ($2,437.12 – 3,655.71 USD). On the episode, Antiques Roadshow traveled to Crystal Palace Park in the heart of southeast London, revealing all sorts of treasures including a cigar once belonging to Winston Churchill and vintage Vivienne Westwood outfits. A guest arrived and said her father Pete was a cartoonist for over 30 years, and that one of his cartoons depicted Paul…

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 the corner, and they sold it…like any other product. I suppose they charge taxes and that New York City or…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed the three remaining cannabis-related bills sent to his desk by lawmakers this session, approving measures related to business licensing changes, distribution of fines collected from illicit cannabis operations and membership of a state marijuana task force. The actions wrap up Newsom’s work on more than a dozen cannabis and drug policy bills passed by the legislature this year, most of which the governor signed into law. Here are the three latest bills Newsom signed into law, which his office announced late last week: SB 833—Sen. Mike McGuire (D): This measure will allow regulators…

Texas activists have turned in what they say are more than enough signatures to put a local marijuana decriminalization initiative on the ballot in the city of Lubbock if lawmakers there do not enact the reform legislatively. The committee behind the initiative first filed paperwork for the Freedom Act Lubbock ordinance with the city secretary in August, and on Tuesday they submitted 10,540 signatures. Only about 4,800 of those need to be valid to formally move the cannabis decriminalization process ahead in Lubbock. “This was a collective effort that could not have been possible without the more than 40 volunteers…

“Cannabis is a crop like any other and farmers should be able to successfully manage it on their own. The state does not need to micromanage and create additional taxation around this crop.” By Ethan DeWitt, New Hampshire Bulletin In theory, Jim Riddle is as ready as any New Hampshire farmer to try his hand at cannabis if the state makes it legal. Riddle grew perennial fruit on a farm in Minnesota for 40 years. He moved to Hillsborough to get closer to his daughter, who is raising a family on her own farm. After a pivot, Riddle now grows…

Jersey City, the second biggest city in New Jersey, is suing the state in federal court in order to be able to screen and fire police officers for using marijuana. But its complaint seems to ignore a relevant exception to federal firearms policy that could apply to the case. Earlier this year, New Jersey’s attorney general released revised drug testing policies for law enforcement agencies that prevented the testing of police officers for off-duty cannabis use in accordance with the state’s legalization law. Since then, at least two Jersey City officers have had their jobs reinstated after being fired for…

The original litigation accused lawyers of manufacturing phantom local ownership groups to obtain four of the state’s first 32 medical cannabis dispensary licenses. By Hunter Field, Arkansas Advocate A prominent law firm in Arkansas’s medical marijuana industry hit back last week at a former partner and other dispensary owners who accused the firm of fraud and malpractice as the state’s cannabis industry blossomed. The Little Rock firm of Steel, Wright, Gray was sued last month in Pope and St. Francis counties over fraud and legal malpractice claims regarding the creation of ownership groups in the lucrative cannabis dispensary business. Steel,…

States that legalize marijuana for adults see moderate economic gains after the policy change is implement but also experience an increase in social costs including substance use disorders, chronic homelessness and arrests. That’s the upshot of a new report recently published by researchers at the Kansas City arm of the Federal Reserve Bank. “Although some of our estimates are noisy,” authors wrote in the new paper, “our findings suggest that the economic benefits of legalization are broadly distributed, while the social costs may be more concentrated among individuals who use marijuana heavily.” Among the signs of economic improvement after cannabis…

With every single one of Virginia’s 140 legislative seats up for election next month, the vote could recast conversations around a number of hot-button issues—including marijuana. When the dust settles, lawmakers and advocates say, who controls the House of Delegates and Senate will dictate the future of cannabis policy in the commonwealth—at least for the next few years. “The fate of cannabis policy in Virginia will absolutely be determined by the outcome of this November’s election,” JM Pedini, executive director of Virginia NORML, told Marijuana Moment. “Marijuana is on the ballot in 2023.” While Virginia legalized use, possession and limited…