Author: News Room

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) says a bipartisan marijuana banking will pass “decisively” out of his panel next week, as senators discuss possible tweaks on its path to the floor and anti-drug advocates decry the reform as a public safety hazard. The revised Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act that’s due for a committee markup next Wednesday might not enjoy the same level of support as other unrelated bills that recently moved out of the panel, but Brown told Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo that he still expects a “strong majority” will approve it. The chairman…

A National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) committee is formally recommending that its divisional governing bodies remove marijuana from the list of banned substances list for college athletes. The NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports said on Friday that members met this week and decided to advise all three of the association’s governing bodies to introduce and enact legislation to stop testing and punishing players for cannabinoids. This comes three months after the committee first signaled its interest is formalizing such a recommendation. In June, it said members would be soliciting additional input before potentially taking action…

A top Wisconsin Democratic senator has announced the filing of a new and updated bill to legalize marijuana in the state, sharing details about the latest reform push at a press conference she held while surrounded by cannabis plants at a hemp farm. Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard (D) has long championed marijuana legalization in the legislature, and she says her new bill draws from both her discussions with Wisconsin voters as she’s led a “Grass Routes” tour across the state, as well as legalization laws that have been enacted in surrounding states like Minnesota. She’s under no illusion that…

A bill recently introduced in Michigan would legalize psychedelic plants and fungi so long as activities like cultivating and distributing the substances are done “without receiving money or other valuable consideration.” Senate Bill 449, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Irwin (D), would apply to five substances—psilocybin, psilocyn, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine and mescaline—along with the plants and fungi known to produce them. If approved, it would exempt individuals from penalties for possession and use of the substances as well as noncommercial manufacturing, processing and delivery. Simple possession of any of the covered substances is currently a misdemeanor in the state. Irwin, who…

Two GOP senators, including the lead Republican sponsor of a marijuana banking bill, have officially filed new legislation to prevent federal agencies from rescheduling cannabis without tacit approval from Congress. Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Steve Daines (R-MT) are sponsoring the Deferring Executive Authority (DEA) Act, which they briefly previewed this week in statements about the filing of the revised Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act. The DEA Act, introduced on Thursday, would make it so any administrative proposal to transfer marijuana “between schedules” of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)—as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services…

As Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) works to advance a bipartisan marijuana banking bill, he’s also calling on supporters to join him in demanding that the federal government legalize marijuana. In a campaign email blast this week, the senator said “it’s time to legalize marijuana nationwide” and asked supporters to add their name and contact information to an online petition promoting an end to cannabis prohibition. The sign-on form, which is a common tactic used to build a political campaign’s email and fundraising list, notes that “over 40 percent of Americans live in states where marijuana is legalized—both red…

A disagreement over voter signatures to qualify two marijuana reform measures for Wyoming’s 2024 election is turning into a back-and-forth between Secretary of State Chuck Gray (R) and the campaign behind the proposals, with cannabis advocates saying they are considering litigation over the matter. Activists said on Thursday that Gray’s office “provided incorrect information about the total number of signatures required and the process by which signatures are submitted,” a misunderstanding that “derailed the cannabis petitions,” which together would have legalized medical marijuana and decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis. Backers at Compassionate Options Wyoming, Wyoming NORML and…

“Discussions [between lawyers] have not yielded any business that the Commission needs to consider at this time.” By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) and lawyers for companies that sued over the licensing process are continuing negotiations over a possible settlement. The AMCC canceled a scheduled Tuesday meeting after lawyers for both sides met on Friday to discuss the impasse that has prevented the commission from issuing licenses to companies awarded one. A statement posted to the AMCC website said that “discussions [between lawyers] have not yielded any business that the Commission needs to consider at…

Republican senators, including the lead GOP sponsor of a bipartisan marijuana banking bill, will soon be introducing new legislation to prevent marijuana from being federally legalized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) without congressional approval. The yet-to-be-released bill is being led by Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Steve Daines (R-MT), who is also sponsoring the newly revised Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Act that’s set for a Senate Banking Committee markup next week. The offices of both Lummis and Daines sent out press releases on Wednesday and Thursday emphasizing that the senators do “not support making cannabis legal…

“Erin emerged early as a leading candidate as we considered a wide range of qualified individuals for this important new leadership role.” By Christopher Ingraham, Minnesota Reformer Gov. Tim Walz (D) has named Erin DuPree, a cannabis industry consultant who until recently ran an edible dispensary in Apple Valley, as the first leader of the state agency tasked with regulating the nascent marijuana industry. “With direct experience in Minnesota’s hemp and cannabis industry and over 20 years of success in launching, managing, and growing businesses and organizations, Erin DuPree is an outstanding choice to lead the Office of Cannabis Management,”…