Author: News Room

Bipartisan congressional lawmakers are cheering the passage of marijuana and psychedelics amendments that were included in a spending bill that was approved by the House of Representatives on Thursday. While not every drug policy reform amendment that lawmakers proposed made it in the final legislation covering Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies (MilCon/VA), two key measures did advance. One would allow U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors to issue medical cannabis recommendations to veterans, and the other would encourage research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. “This is a win for our bipartisan efforts to make it easier…

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a Republican 2024 presidential candidate, has appointed six new members to his state’s Drug Policy Advisory Council—and it includes an eclectic mix of stakeholders, like a sheriff who campaigned against a medical cannabis ballot initiative that voters approved and another sheriff who supports marijuana decriminalization. The panel also features yet another sheriff who went viral for warning heroin sellers while wearing a ski mask and a pastor who thinks his fellow Southern Baptists should “take a breath and not make” moderate use of alcohol “an issue.” The governor appointed six members to the advisory council…

“Hemp in the Modern World: The Years Long Wait for FDA Action,” this week’s congressional hearing in the U.S. Congress, will do little to change the arc of things for the CBD sector. The hearing, which ran to roughly 90 minutes yesterday, served mostly as an opportunity for lawmakers to bellow, however softly, in the manner typical of politicians these days. “Softly” because hemp, in its short modern-era history, has always been a bipartisan issue. Flashpoints But because there must be disagreement, the Republicans, who chaired the hearing, criticized the FDA and said the agency needs to get on with…

Bipartisan congressional lawmakers in both chambers have filed resolutions condemning Russia for incarcerating a U.S. citizen over possession of medical marijuana that he obtained as a registered patient in Pennsylvania and used an an opioid alternative to treat pain. The legislation also calls on President Joe Biden’s federal government to step up efforts to secure his release. The resolution says the 14-year sentence that Marc Fogel received after being convicted of “drug smuggling” over possession of a half-ounce of cannabis is politically motivated and disproportionate, especially when taking into account the fact that he was using marijuana for medical purposes…

Bipartisan lawmakers in Congress have filed a bill to protect people from being denied federal employment or security clearances due to marijuana use—and to provide relief for people who lost opportunities due to cannabis in the past. Rep. Jamin Raskin (D-MD) introduced the legislation—titled the “Cannabis Users’ Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act”—on Thursday, months after first previewing plans to advance the reform. It’s being cosponsored by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who signaled her interest in partnering with Raskin at a House Oversight subcommittee hearing last year when the congressman announced his intent to act on the issue. The bill says…

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says that work continues to pass a bipartisan marijuana banking bill, and another Democratic senator is urging voters to keep up the pressure as lawmakers head back to their districts for the summer. But despite their optimism, a key committee chairman and the measure’s Republican top sponsor are still stuck in an intractable blame game. Action on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act is on hold for at least a month as Congress breaks for the August recess—a disappointment for advocates and stakeholders who had hoped that the bill would advance during…

A first-of-its-kind congressional committee hearing is taking place on Thursday to examine the impacts of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inaction on developing regulations to allow for the sale of hemp-derived CBD as food items or dietary supplements. The House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services announced the scheduling of the hearing—titled “Hemp in the Modern World: The Years long Wait for FDA Action”—last week. Watch the committee hearing on FDA and CBD live in the video below:  Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who chairs the full Oversight Committee, has sharply criticized FDA after the agency announced…

The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has committed to requesting a timeline from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the Biden administration’s ongoing federal marijuana scheduling review—a process that one congressman jokingly said that he hopes will result in the drug being moved from Schedule I to Schedule “420.” At a House Judiciary Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) pressed DEA Administrator Anne Milgram for her thinking on the review, as well as the challenges posed by the current patchwork of state cannabis laws under federal prohibition.…

A Democratic congressman is slamming the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD) for perpetuating a “misguided denial of services” by recommending against the use of medical marijuana by veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, sent a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough and DOD Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday—the same day that he helped pass an amendment to a spending bill covering VA that allow the department’s doctors to issue medical marijuana recommendations to veterans living in legal states. VA and DOD “have a long…

Everybody goes crazy for 7/10 now, just like they do for 4/20, but this one seems to be hitting its commercial stride far faster than our OG holiday did. If I could show you the amount of pitches I got for distillate vapes or edibles this year (because they’re made with oil, right?! idiots) you may lose hope in what we’re doing here. It was honestly depressing. But fret not young padawans, because I cut out the bullshit, and just like last year I waited until the hype died down a bit to remind you that we’re always here, and…