Author: News Room

A GOP senator says that while he supports a bipartisan marijuana banking bill, he feels that Democratic leadership is being generally uncooperative, casting doubts on the prospects of passage. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), said that he’d be a “yes” vote on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act if it reaches the floor. “We need to get it passed, but the Democrats obviously control the Senate floor, and there is no way we can get it down there,” the senator, who won his seat after defeating former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a primary election, said. “You know,…

The governor of Nevada has signed a large-scale marijuana reform bill that more than doubles the legal personal possession limit, consolidates licensing rules and broadens eligibility for participation in the market by people with prior felony convictions. Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) gave final approval to the legislation from Sen. Dallas Harris (D) on Wednesday, less than a week after lawmakers formally sent it to his desk. The measure makes a series of revisions to the state’s existing marijuana laws, in part by increasing the possession and purchase limit for cannabis from one ounce to 2.5 ounces. The amount of cannabis…

President Joe Biden marked the holiday Juneteenth by issuing a proclamation that promotes his mass marijuana pardon and scheduling review directive. As the country commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black people, the president’s proclamation touts various efforts by his administration to address racial discrimination, including last year’s cannabis clemency move. “I have taken action on marijuana reform by pardoning prior District of Columbia and Federal simple marijuana possession offenses and directed a review of marijuana scheduling,” Biden said on the federal holiday, which was established under legislation he signed in 2021. The president has repeatedly promoted the cannabis actions, linking…

A National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) committee focused on promoting health and wellness for student athletes is proposing to remove marijuana from the organization’s banned substances list. The NCAA’s Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS) said the association will be soliciting input from members over the summer before potentially taking action in the fall. In order to adopt the policy change, all three of NCAA’s divisional governing bodies will need to approve the proposal—though this most recent committee action was already spurred by a request from Divisions II and III to examine whether drug testing should…

Pennsylvania’s agriculture secretary announced on Thursday that the state will be distributing $392,265 in matched funding to promote the hemp market—including by creating a curriculum to teach high school and college students about the “many uses” of the cannabis plant. The bulk of the grant funds ($315,765) will support the student initiative, with money being used to create a STEM curriculum “to effectively engage in industrial hemp production, management, and cultivation by promoting and marketing industrial hemp for its many uses such as food, fiber, fuel, industrial, and personal care products.” The Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture and Education previously announced…

More than a dozen congressional Democrats have filed a resolution to recognize the country’s “moral obligation to meet its foundational promise of guaranteed justice for all,” in part by legalizing marijuana and overdose prevention sites as well as expunging drug-related records. The legislation, led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), proposes a number of reforms to address systemic issues like mass incarceration, racial discrimination, addiction and homelessness. Cannabis isn’t the focus of the measure, but it’s included in a section calling for the decriminalization of “behavior and divert cases that do not require confinement” in order to reduce the country’s prison…

When Stevie Williams appeared in Element’s Fine Artists Vol. 1 nearly three decades ago, he made a strong first impression on the skateboarding community. Credited only as “Lil Stevie,” Williams wove intricate lines—skating both regular and switch stance—through Philadelphia’s LOVE Park with abilities well beyond his early teenage years. From that point on, Williams has become synonymous with the iconic plaza and East Coast skateboarding. Every video part he has released features increasingly technical tricks at home and abroad, all with his relaxed, unique style. As he honed his abilities on the board, Williams has fine-tuned his business acumen as…

A scam CBD operator has received a three-year prison term and must repay his victims more than $2 million, under federal sentencing handed down this week. Rahsaan Jackson Garth, 49, Atlanta, pleaded guilty earlier this year to commodities fraud in a case that affected farmers in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina said Garth’s company, Verde Leaf, helped farmers obtain hemp planting licenses and “assisted farmers with their hemp crops.” But the company misrepresented third-party deals it told the farmers would bring them crop returns “above fair market value.” Garth…

My father’s funeral was a cold hamburger. I sat across from the funeral parlor in Alhambra and had a coffee. It would be a short drive to the racetrack after it was over. A man with a terrible peeling face, very round glasses with thick lenses, walked in. “Henry,” he said to me, then sat down and ordered a coffee. “Hello, Bert.” “Your father and I became very good friends. We talked about you a lot.” “I didn’t like my old man,” I said. “Your father loved you, Henry. He was hoping you’d marry Rita.” Rita was Bert’s daughter. “She’s…

“I know we’re all concerned about it, but it would have been just a catastrophe if the applicants went through their numbers and found an error.” By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) Friday voted to delay the issuing of state licenses for medical cannabis businesses, citing possible irregularities in the scoring of applicants. Members of the AMCC said they wanted an independent review of all scoring data to ensure the credibility of the process and the fairness of the outcome. AMCC did not say if it had evidence of wrongdoing in the process. “I know…