Author: News Room

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) says that his state’s moves to legalize marijuana and psychedelics have resulted in a “very good” experience—and he believes that adults broadly should have the right to make decisions for themselves about using drugs. In an interview that was published on Tuesday, John Stossel asked the Democratic governor about various policy positions he holds that happen to align with libertarian principles, including his stance on drug policy issues. “Yeah, it has been very good,” Polis said of the state-level legalization of marijuana in 2012 and psychedelics last year. “We put a lot of the corner…

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has released an updated directive that reaffirms its doctors are prohibited from issuing medical cannabis recommendations to their military veterans patients. The new document also notes the revised federal definition of marijuana that went into effect with the legalization of hemp. The revised Veterans Health Administration (VHA) guidance is largely consistent with a previous version it released in 2017, which itself was updated to explicitly encourage VA doctors to discuss veterans’ marijuana use. That policy technically expired at the end of 2022, but without an update the 2017 guidance stayed in place until…

“If I did not step aside, then that process would probably be stopped until my issue was resolved. And I didn’t want to be the reason to stop the whole process.” By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector Dr. Steven Stokes, the chair of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC), resigned from the commission Thursday morning. Stokes, an oncologist who had served as chair since 2021, said in an interview Thursday afternoon that he resigned to prevent the commission and the medical cannabis approval process from being tied up in a lawsuit alleging that his appointment to the commission violated state law.…

“This is just going way over the top, as we warned everyone. They’re fining people and they’re being very aggressive about it.” By Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury Several Virginia businesses have been hit with five-figure fines this month as state officials start enforcing stricter new rules on the contents and labeling of hemp products to try to crack down on alternatives to marijuana. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services had sent five non-compliance letters as of July 24, assessing penalties ranging from $13,000 to $97,500, according to the agency. The letters, sent under a new civil penalty structure…

Florida’s attorney general is suggesting that voters are too stupid to understand that marijuana would remain federally illegal even if they approved a cannabis legalization initiative at the state’s ballot next year—and therefore they can’t be trusted to decipher the “monopolistic” policy implications of the reform. Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) submitted a new brief to the state Supreme Court on Wednesday—a deadline the court imposed after granting her request for an extension last month—and reaffirmed her position that the ballot measure should be invalidated on several grounds. One of the official’s main arguments to the court is that the…

Ohio activists have turned in a final batch of signatures to put a marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot after falling short in a prior submission. The new batch includes more than 6,000 additional signatures on the petition, which a GOP congressman newly told Marijuana Moment he would’ve signed in order to let voters decide on the reform. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CTRMLA) submitted more than 220,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office last month, but officials said last week that they were 679 valid signers short following a verification review. The campaign was then…

A Senate committee has approved a spending bill report that contains sections encouraging the expansion of federally supported research into marijuana and psychedelics, while also expressing concerns about barriers to studies that result from the substances’ ongoing Schedule I designations. The panel further noted that scientists face “limited access to sources” of cannabis, suggesting that they should be able to study the actual products consumers are purchasing from state-legal dispensaries. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed the legislation—which covers Fiscal Year 2024 funding for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies—and its attached report language last Thursday, advancing it…

Did you hear we kinda-sorta-but-almost-definitely confirmed aliens exist? In case the hellscape that is human existence pulled your attention from the big news, let’s catch up:  Last week saw retired Air Force Major David Grusch and two other intelligence community members deliver shocking, highly anticipated testimony on Capitol Hill. During his testimony in front of a House oversight subcommittee on national security, Grusch claimed the Pentagon operates a decades-old program that retrieves and reverse engineers alien vehicles.  During one interesting exchange, Grusch and pro-pot reform Rep. Nancy Mace exchanged a back-and-forth regarding the U.S. making contact with intelligent extraterrestrials. Grusch…

“I think as a general matter this is a group of workers that seems to be inclined toward organization.” By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current As a patient-care specialist at Warwick’s RISE Dispensary, Bruce Botelho recommends strains to customers and oversees purchases at a job he said initially provided good benefits and a friendly atmosphere. “It’s a really fun job, the people I work with are great,” he said. Yet things soured quickly after Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries took over the former Summit Medical Compassion Center in 2021, he said. While there were few changes at first, Botelho said employee…

The first—and, for now, only—recreational marijuana shop in Minnesota opened its doors on Tuesday. And the demand was intense, with the business so overwhelmed that it had to turn customers away at the store and also temporarily suspended online orders to keep up. The Red Lake Nation tribe was quick to take advantage of a unique feature of the state’s legalization law, which went into effect on Tuesday, and launched its storefront in Red Lake well before traditional retailers are expected to start being licensed by state regulators. Some people travelled hours (Red Lake is a 3-4 hour drive from…