Author: News Room

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, has signed a bill banning sales of any consumable hemp products—including cannabis “chewing gum”—to people under 21, an expansion of an existing prohibition on young people being able to purchase smokable hemp. The legislation, SB 1676 from Sen. Colleen Burton (R), was signed into law last week and took effect on Saturday. It also creates penalties for businesses that market hemp in a way that’s appealing to children and bans products that look like candy or are manufactured “in the shape of humans, cartoons, or animals.” The bill prohibits the…

“There’s this divide between the federal and the state perspective on the topic that puts banks in a kind of tricky position.” By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent Missouri’s marijuana businesses will have fewer obstacles when it comes to accessing banking, but they must now get fingerprint background checks from all their new employees and contractors, under legislation that Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed on Thursday. Few banks nationwide serve cannabis businesses and their owners—or even their auxiliary partners —because most want nothing to do with a business that sells a product the federal government still considers illegal. That’s true even in…

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) celebrated its 50th anniversary this week—marking a half century of enforcing criminalization laws that have failed to fulfill the mission to eradicate drugs at the same time that nearly half of the country has legalized marijuana and psychedelics reform is also booming. Since its founding on July 1, 1973 through an executive order issued by President Richard Nixon, DEA’s budget has swelled and its workforce has expanded—but illicit drugs remain widely accessible across the U.S., with waves of new, even deadlier substances continually emerging under prohibition while others like cannabis have been increasingly legalized at…

The Scottish government says that the war on drugs has “failed” and it’s time to decriminalize currently illicit substances, while promoting harm reduction services like overdose prevention centers. At a press conference on Friday, Scotland Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Elena Whitham called on the government of the U.K., of which the country is a part, to take a public health approach to addiction and abandon the criminalization model. Representatives of the U.K. prime minister—and even the country’s progressive party—have already dismissed the request, however. Scotland’s position on the issue is partly informed by a policy paper that was released…

“More medical patients are finding different access, or just rejecting the idea of seeing a doctor in addition to paying for the product.”  By Sophie Nieto-Muñoz, New Jersey Monitor As sales for the state’s recreational cannabis industry take off, New Jersey’s decade-old medical marijuana program is shrinking every month. Medical marijuana sales are nearly half of what they were six months ago, and more than 20,000 patients dropped out of the medical program since its peak in May 2022, according to state data. Experts say that’s expected for a state now offering recreational cannabis, but they want the Legislature and state agencies to…

From his home country of Italy to his adopted home of Jamaica and across the globe at festivals everywhere, Alborosie has stood his ground as the anti-hero-cum-accidental-superstar of the international reggae scene. Recently released album Destiny —composed, recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered by Alborosie himself—affirms his status as one of reggae’s most prolific creators, and explores prickly themes many artists shy away from: the joke that is social media, the meaning of real reggae, and the unceremonious act of selling out for The Man. High Times sat down with the GRAMMY-nominated artist to discuss Destiny, weed, and everything in between. …

A recent large-scale longitudinal study has found no ties between cannabis use during pregnancy and different neurodevelopmental outcomes for exposed children. The study, released in June in the journal Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, had more extensive controls for confounding factors than in previous studies, and followed children to age 20. When researchers accounted for the characteristics of the parents, researchers found no associations between prenatal cannabis and neurodevelopmental differences.This is positive news, given the fact that 4.2% of pregnant women report using cannabis, and the number has been increasing. Pregnant cannabis users also face arrest, prison, and removal of children…

“To truly address the inequities caused by marijuana prohibition, we must go beyond rescheduling and fully deschedule marijuana as well as pursue comprehensive criminal justice reform.” By Weldon Angelos, Music Producer and Marijuana Reform Advocate As someone who had their career and personal life derailed by an unjust marijuana conviction, I applaud any steps taken towards rectifying the injustices inflicted upon countless individuals due to marijuana prohibition. In 2004, I was sentenced to 55 years in federal prison for marijuana-related offenses. I was released on May 31, 2016, after a federal court granted me a reduction in sentence, and in…

Bipartisan Pennsylvania senators have officially introduced a new bill to legalize marijuana in the state. Sens. Dan Laughlin (R) and Sharif Street (D) filed the legislation on Thursday, about two months after first announcing their plans to team up on a reform push again after their joint cannabis efforts in prior sessions. “Legalized adult use of marijuana is supported by an overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians and this legislation accomplishes that while also ensuring safety and social equity,” Laughlin said in a press release. “With neighboring states New Jersey and New York implementing adult use, we have a duty to Pennsylvania…

Threads, the new Meta-owned social media app that launched on Wednesday, is asking people if they want to “get help” finding drug treatment resources from a federal agency if they search for posts about “marijuana” or psychedelics like “psilocybin” or “ibogaine.” But searches for content about other drugs that are linked to serious addiction and death like alcohol and tobacco come with no such warning. As tens of millions of users flock to the Twitter alternative, which is tied to Meta’s existing Instagram app, drug content flag seems somewhat inconsistent when it comes to which substances it identifies as potentially…