Author: News Room

Amid a push to legalize adult-use cannabis in Florida through a ballot measure next year, activists in the state are working to qualify a separate initiative that would finally give medical marijuana patients and their caretakers the ability to grow the plant at home. Signature gathering kicked off last month and is now underway, with petitions available both online and at a number of medical marijuana dispensaries and clinics across the state. “We have petitions in each of the dispensary locations,” Josephine Krehl, who handles physician and community relations for The Flowery dispensaries, told Marijuana Moment on a phone call…

New Jersey marijuana regulators are accepting public comments on a proposal that would create a new permit to allow “clinically focused” dispensaries to enter into partnerships with research institutions to carry out cannabis studies using products that they grow or sell to patients. The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) said it is seeking to amend the state’s marijuana law to create “clinical registrant permits” that would allow more targeted research into “the therapeutic or palliative efficacy of medical cannabis,” among other study topics, without relying on outsourced products. The clinical registrants would be authorized to carry out activities such…

A group of state cannabis regulators is asking Congress to change laws around hemp and cannabinoids through the forthcoming 2023 Farm Bill, seeking to adjust the federal definition of the crop and modify rules around hemp-derived cannabinoids. The changes are needed, says the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA), because the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp nationwide, “inadvertently resulted in a thriving market for intoxicating cannabinoid products that are included (or claim to be included) within the definition of ‘hemp.’” The 2018 Farm Bill defined hemp as cannabis containing less than 0.3 percent THC, but so far federal agencies have failed…

In Kentucky, one of the states hit hardest by the ongoing overdose crisis, the Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission heard hours of testimony on Friday from military veterans, parents, psychologists and other advocates—including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R)—who are in favor of further studying ibogaine as a treatment for addiction. It was the second of two public hearings on a plan that would funnel at least $42 million in state funds into ibogaine research over the next six years to explore whether and how ibogaine-assisted therapy can best help treat opioid use disorder. The commission is set to vote on…

“We are all in survival mode, and we are coming together to share our pain with you.” By James Brooks, Alaska Beacon In an unusual offseason hearing, a committee of the Alaska Legislature considered a proposal on Friday that could lower the state tax on marijuana sold in the state. House Bill 119, considered Friday by the House Labor and Commerce Committee, would shift the state’s marijuana tax system from a tax per ounce to a sales tax. The state’s marijuana industry says the change is desperately needed to help marijuana businesses compete with the state’s black market. “This is…

More foreign aid is spent on the drug war than on projects concerning school feeding, food security, early childhood education, labor rights or mental health. By Alexander Lekhtman, Filter The United States, Europe and other rich nations give hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign “aid” to fund the devastating global drug war, details a new report by Harm Reduction International (HRI). Rather than reducing poverty and hunger, or improving health and education, this money is instead bankrolling police and militaries that violate human rights and add to crises faced by poor and marginalized communities. HRI is urging the U.S.…

As senators prepare to advance a marijuana banking reform bill with a vote next week, a federal agency has released new data showing that a record-high number of banks and credit unions are now working with the cannabis industry. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has been tracking cannabis banking trends for the better part of the past decade, and its latest quarterly report shows a notable uptick over time in the number of financial institutions that are willing to service state-legal marijuana businesses despite federal prohibition. A total of 812 banks and credit unions reported actively working with marijuana…

When the Hollywood Strain Premiere Party initially launched in the summer of last year, it was the place to be when it came to weed in Los Angeles. For an event that had no public advertising and for which the address and method for entering were a secret, attendance was regularly packed. Smokers looking for the best top-shelf weed mingled with industry insiders, all talking about the latest hot strain drops. Doja Exclusive founder Ryan Bartholomew is no stranger to creating events and buzz. His brand has been at the bleeding edge of strain trends in California for years now.…

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee is expected to sign off a long-awaited cannabis banking bill next week that would help the hemp industry, but don’t expect any significant legislation to pass this year. While the Democrat-led Senate is likely to approve S. 1323, the Senate version of the bill, many observers say the Republican-run House of Representatives will likely set the measure aside until after the 2024 presidential election. Confusion Makers of legal hemp products have been eligible to work within the existing banking framework since the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the crop federally. However, most banks turn away hemp…

Purchases of adult-use cannabis in Montana hit a monthly record in August, according to newly released sales numbers from the state’s Cannabis Control Division. Medical marijuana receipts for the month, meanwhile, were at their lowest since adult-use stores opened in January 2022. Adult-use marijuana sales tallied $23,728,009 in August, the Department of Revenue report shows. Medical cannabis added $4,969,303, for a monthly total of nearly $28.7 million—the highest monthly haul ever recorded for the state’s marijuana industry. All told, state-licensed stores have sold more than half a billion dollars ($516,237,988) worth of legal cannabis since January 2022, bringing in an…