Author: News Room

New marijuana and psychedelics amendments have been filed by bipartisan congressional lawmakers as part of large-scale spending bills—including proposals that would end the practice of drug testing job applicants at certain federal agencies for marijuana. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) introduced two versions of the same cannabis measure for separate appropriations bills, one covering Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies (MilCon/VA) and another on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies. It would prevent the use of funds to drug test most applicants for cannabis at the agencies covered by the legislation. There’s also an amendment to…

Tupac Shakur’s still-unsolved murder mystery was revived—over 30 years later after his murder at the peak of his career in 1996—as police agents in Las Vegas, Nevada executed a new search warrant Monday. A gunman in a white Cadillac rolled up and shot Shakur four times while he sat in a black BMW with Death Row Records CEO Marion “Suge” Knight at a stoplight in Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996. He died from his wounds six days later in the hospital on Sept. 13, 1996. The prime suspect, outlined in documentaries, was long-believed to be Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, who…

Wiz Khalifa admitted to using some “performance-enhancing drugs” before he took the mound at a Major League Baseball game this week.  But the rapper apparently had shrooms, not steroids, in his system. Wiz tossed out the ceremonial first pitch on Monday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, prior to a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Guardians.  “Finna get stoned af and throw this first pitch at the pirates game,” he tweeted, before following it up with more specifics. “Shroomed out throwin a baseball is crazy,” Wiz said in another tweet moments later. Buy me some boomers and cracker jacks, …

Hollyweed Stars: What do they smoke? Do they smoke things? Let’s find out!Hollywood gets 50 million visitors per year, but where do they re-up? Smokers heading into town should act like a local and put an order into Urbn Leaf on Sunset Blvd—the Strip’s first licensed dispensary.Watch the video above to see the full details.Urbn Leaf on Sunset Blvd opened in January 2023, and has served the Wu-Tang Clan, countless celebrities’ assistants, as well as visitors staying at all the nearby hotels. A Hollywood Hills doctor asked Urbn Leaf to cater his birthday party with private budtenders for $4,000.Our picks…

New Jersey’s cannabis legalization law is “about righting the wrongs of the failed drug war, period, hard stop.” By Sophie Nieto-Muñoz, New Jersey Monitor A recent move intended to increase the number of cannabis businesses run by people with prior convictions for marijuana offenses or who live in economically disadvantaged parts of the state was rejected by New Jersey’s cannabis regulators Tuesday in a stunning about-face. The Cannabis Regulatory Commission voted in June to give those applicants—called social equity applicants—the first shot at wholesale, distributor and delivery services licenses for one year starting in September. But Tuesday, the commission voted to…

New York marijuana regulators have approved a resolution to authorize cannabis farmers markets where growers could sell their supplies while helping to meet consumer demand as the state works to open additional retail dispensaries. The state Cannabis Control Board (CCB) passed the measure on Wednesday, along with separate resolutions focused on nearly doubling the number of approved conditional retailer licenses, enacting regulations for marijuana research, banning the sale of synthetic cannabinoids like delta-8 THC and other issues. The authorization of the cannabis farmers markets—which regulators are calling the “Cannabis Grower’s Showcase”—comes about two months after an Office of Cannabis Management…

“There is some under representation, no doubt. And the microbusinesses are aimed at creating some more equity for people that are underrepresented.”   By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent For the first time, a state official has publicly vowed to push for a demographics survey of cannabis business owners—addressing a key criticism of the medical marijuana program that the Black community was left out of the burgeoning billion-dollar industry. At a June 22 outreach event in St. Louis, Abigail Vivas, chief equity officer with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said she would advocate for a survey where license holders could…

Bipartisan congressional lawmakers are making another push to provide protections for military veterans who use medical marijuana in legal states, as well as doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) who issue recommendations to allow participation in such programs. Two amendments to enact the reform have been filed for the Fiscal Year 2024 spending bill covering Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies (MilCon/VA). The text of the amendments are identical, but they’re being sponsored by different sets of lawmakers. One comes from the co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Dave…

Marijuana is associated with an enhanced exercise experience, making running more enjoyable while reducing pain, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder surveyed 49 runners, asking them to rate various aspects of runs after consuming cannabis and without using it. The study, published last week in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, found that participants experienced “less negative affect, greater feelings of positive affect, tranquility, enjoyment, and dissociation, and more runner’s high symptoms during their cannabis (vs. non-cannabis) runs.” They did run a bit slower after consuming marijuana, with researchers observing that they ran 31…

“New Yorkers are stuck with the OCM symbol for now, but CCB’s rejection of low-hanging regulatory fruit offers valuable lessons to other state regulators.” By Dr. David L. Nathan, Doctors for Cannabis Regulation With cannabis legalization sweeping across the United States, state regulatory bodies face pressure and scrutiny in their efforts to build a legal industry from the ground up. When formulating regulations, they balance the needs of public health, public safety and social justice. Fortunately, industry standards and recommendations from time-tested consensus standard organizations make some of their choices easy. Unfortunately, even when handed a “no-brainer” standard on a…