Author: News Room

Bipartisan congressional lawmakers are celebrating the inclusion of a psychedelics research amendment as part of a must-pass defense bill that’s on the House floor—and a GOP congressman says he has the commitment of the House speaker to fight to broaden the scope of the measure in talks with the Senate. At a press conference that took place shortly after the House Rules Committee advanced the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with the psychedelics language that were previously attached in the House Armed Services Committee—but blocked floor consideration of an amendment to broaden the provision—Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)…

The Stoned Swifties have reason to celebrate. On Tuesday night in New York City, Taylor Swift attended a party hosted by the iconic musician Questlove of The Roots. Given that Swift is the Bob Dylan of our era when it comes to songwriting skills, of course, she’d want to spend time with fellow legends. But this wasn’t just any party. The “Welcome to New York” singer seemingly embraced the city’s newfound status as a place to enjoy cannabis freely, as the party was held at The Astor Club, aka “The Highest Club In High Society.” Located in the Lower East…

Producers of non-ingestible CBD products may now advertise on Facebook in the U.S. after parent company Meta overhauled policies for its social media platforms. The changes also open up Meta-owned Instagram and the recently opened Thread for such advertising. “We are renaming our advertising policy Hemp & Related Products to CBD & Related Products and allowing the promotion of legally permissible, non-ingestible CBD in the U.S., with some restrictions,” the company said in a statement. Meta said it has also updated policies for the advertising of hemp fiber and food seed products by removing a requirement for written pre-approval. While…

It’s getting frenzied out there, Leafly Nation. Cannabis contests now happen nearly every week across the US, so we’ve started tracking the best ones. Why? We all need expertly judged selections of what to smoke, vape, and ingest next, and contests fill that vital function. We got your High Times Cannabis Cups doing “people’s choice” competitions now where anyone can purchase a contest kit and judge. We got state-specific, industry-judged contests like The Emerald Cup, and now the terpene-based California State Fair Cannabis Awards. There’s new weed royalty to be had everywhere, every month. Put down that reggie, it’s time to…

A Republican-controlled House committee has rejected a GOP member’s attempt to simply ask the White House to work with federal agencies to study state marijuana regulatory models and develop a national framework to prepare for the possibility that cannabis is federally legalized. At a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) introduced an amendment to a spending bill report that would have made the request for the administrative review. But after he and two other Republican lawmakers asked for the committee’s support, it was shot down in a voice vote. And it didn’t muster enough support in…

A Washington, D.C. law went into effect on Thursday that bans most private workplaces from firing or otherwise punishing employees for marijuana use during non-work hours. This comes exactly one year after Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) signed the legislation, which then prompted a 60-day congressional review period during which federal lawmakers opted not to block the measure. The reform is designed to expand on a previous measure lawmakers approved to protect local government employees against workplace discrimination due to their use of medical cannabis by covering workers in private businesses. The law will “prohibit employers from firing, failing to hire, or…

As the marijuana industry closely tracks congressional effort to pass a marijuana banking bill, a coalition of financial institutions has released a report offering best practices and standards for banks that are looking to start servicing cannabis businesses. The report from the Cannabis Financial Industry Group (CFIG), published on Thursday, is meant to serve as a baseline for what banks and credits need to learn and do if they plan to work with state-legal marijuana markets under the umbrella of ongoing federal prohibition. It’s designed to help banks and credit unions in the current policy environment, but CFIG says the…

None of the bipartisan marijuana or psychedelics amendments that bipartisan lawmakers proposed as part of a large-scale defense bill will advance to the floor following a key House committee action. More than a dozen drug policy amendments were offered by members to potentially be attached to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). But Republican leadership in the House Rules Committee declined to make any of them in order for floor votes, despite the testimony of certain sponsors who implored the panel to accept them. The committee released a second rule and list of cleared amendments for NDAA early Thursday morning.…

Michigan officials have approved changes to the state’s employment policy, making it so applicants for most government jobs will no longer be subject to pre-employment drug testing for marijuana. The Michigan Civil Service Commission unanimously approved the amendment, which also gives people who’ve already been penalized over positive THC tests an opportunity to have the sanction retroactively rescinded, during a meeting on Wednesday. Commission Chair Jase Bolger said that the intention is to treat cannabis like alcohol under the code, pointing out that a person who “overindulges in alcohol” or uses marijuana on a Friday night are “likely not under…

Meta—the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and the new social network Threads—has updated its cannabis advertising policy to permit the promotion of non-ingestible CBD products, with limitations, and also loosen restrictions on hemp ads. The social media conglomerate said in a notice on Tuesday that CBD products containing up to 0.3 percent THC, which meets the federal definition of legal hemp, can be advertised if they meet certain conditions. Businesses can promote the sale of CBD if they receive written approval from Meta and if the products are certified with the payment compliance company Legitscript and comply with local laws.…