Author: News Room

A Hawaii psychedelics task force that was recently established under the governor’s office has held its first meeting as experts work to prepare the state to potentially allow regulated access to novel therapies like psilocybin and MDMA. The Office of Wellness and Resilience said that the Breakthrough Therapies Task Force—comprised of lawmakers, health professionals, law enforcement and drug policy reform advocates—met on Tuesday to “assist the state in expanding therapeutic access” to psychedelics that are pending approval by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Legislators have advanced bills and resolutions to encourage investigations into psychedelic therapy in recent sessions,…

California’s attorney general says the cost of doing business in the state’s legal marijuana marketplace is too steep, pointing to high taxes and compliance hurdles that can create incentives for entrepreneurs to remain in the illicit market. “The barriers to entry are too high,” state Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said at an event in Fresno on Tuesday. “The costs to stay in operation are too high. And we should be lowering taxes at least temporarily.” For operators trying to comply with state law, he continued, “We should make the regulatory burden less than what it is while we target…

Shortly after the first hash pairing, the bright high hits me. I go silent and get lost in the scene—the light glistening off the water, the spectacular red expanse of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the short bell-like dings and creaks produced by boats rocking in the harbor. My host Sarah Jain Bergman notices my silence and laughs. She can tell this hit got me lifted. It’s a beautiful spring day in the San Francisco Bay, and we’re dabbing a selection of incredibly flavorful hash rosins. Bergman, who has built a personal brand as a hash sommelier, is curating the…

A majority of Ohio voters—including a plurality of Republicans—say they support a marijuana legalization initiative that will appear on the state’s November ballot, according to a new poll. The survey from Fallon Research & Communications that was released on Tuesday shows that 59 percent of registered voters back the cannabis reform proposal—a positive sign for the campaign that comes days after the Ohio Ballot Board approved final ballot summary language for the initiative. New Ohio survey results on November marijuana legalization ballot issue: https://t.co/vUqf91LYuz pic.twitter.com/qVcFXSp2sP — Fallon Research (@FallonResearch) August 29, 2023 Notably, this latest survey shows that GOP voters…

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is making a bid for the White House as a 2024 Democratic presidential candidate. And while his drug policy record is thin, he has come out in support of bold marijuana and psychedelics reforms since entering the race. The son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy has pledged to legalize cannabis and psychedelics if elected, and he’s taken a swipe at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a GOP presidential candidate, for opposing marijuana decriminalization. While his candidacy has been met with skepticism, especially in light of his questioning of…

Colorado officials who will oversee the state’s legal psychedelics program are hosting a series of upcoming listening sessions, one of the first steps toward implementing regulated access provisions of the voter-approved legalization law. Leaders of the Colorado Natural Medicine Division, part of the state Department of Revenue, say the meetings are meant to engage stakeholders and keep the public informed. “We believe it is critical to involve the community in the process of standing up a new program for natural medicine that reflects a diversity of perspectives,” the division’s senior director, Dominique Mendiola, said in a press release on Tuesday.…

“Applicants will have three business days to provide the requested information or the application will be subject to denial.”  By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent The state began the process of doling out small-scale cannabis business licenses on Monday, announcing the winners of a lottery determining who gets to participate in Missouri’s microbusiness program. Six winners were selected in each of Missouri’s eight Congressional districts. Of the six in each district, two will be microbusiness dispensaries, and four will be microbusiness wholesale facilities—where the owners can grow up to 250 plants. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which oversees…

“We’ve gotten everybody fired up in the state about medical cannabis, and everybody’s been wondering ‘when am I going to get my card,’ and now we can’t even answer that question.” By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector A Montgomery County circuit judge Monday extended a temporary restraining order preventing the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) from starting the cannabis licensing process. The temporary restraining order will still allow the commission to meet on Thursday as previously scheduled, at which time the AMCC is expected to issue their own administrative stay on the licensing process. “And basically, go back to square one.…

The proposal would lower the drug-use standards to no marijuana use within one year and no hard drug use within three years. By Paul Hammel, Nebraska Examiner A Nebraska law enforcement panel is still considering whether to adjust its drug-use standards for new recruits after Gov. Jim Pillen (R) recently rejected a proposal to relax them. But one thing is clear—statistics sought by the governor aren’t available to indicate how many potential recruits are deterred by the current standards: no marijuana use in past two years and no hard drug use in the last five years. Both Bryan Tuma, the…

A GOP congressman is seeking to prohibit the Department of Defense (DOD) from using its funds to test people for marijuana when they are enlisting in the military or being commissioned as an officer of one of the armed services. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed an amendment to enact the reform through appropriations legislation covering DOD—one of the latest examples of how lawmakers are aiming to use spending bills to advance cannabis policy changes this session. “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to require an individual to submit to a test for cannabis as…