Author: News Room

“I think it’s just an opportunity to continue to gather information on the topic. You’re starting to see real data come out across states that have legalized that I think it’s important to analyze and understand.” By Whitney Downard, Indiana Capital Chronicle Legislators will spend their interim break studying various topics of interest, including the impacts of cannabis legalization on the workforce and possible tax reform. “We’ve got a good cross section of subjects that touch a lot of different areas of the state’s business,” GOP Senate Leader Rodric Bray said Tuesday. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”…

Americans consider marijuana to be significantly less dangerous than cigarettes, alcohol and opioids—and they say cannabis is less addictive than each of those substances, as well as technology—according to a new poll. The survey, released by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and Morning Consult last week, looked at public opinion on the dangers and addictiveness of six different substances, plus technology. With respect to marijuana, 38 percent said that it is “very or somewhat unsafe.” People were far more likely to regard as unsafe cigarettes (84 percent), alcohol (64 percent), prescription opioids (66 percent), non-prescription opioids (75 percent) and vapes…

An anti-drug group says that if Congress passes a bipartisan marijuana banking reform bill, it will lead to increased traffic fatalities and hospitalizations. The non-profit Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) sent out a call-to-action email blast on Tuesday, encouraging its members to contact their federal representatives and senators with a pre-written letter opposing the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. It claimed in the email that the legislation—which would protect banks, credit unions and certain depository institutions from being penalized by federal regulators simply for working with state-licensed cannabis businesses—would “set a precedent to allow other federally illegal…

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is weighing in on the legal status of lesser known cannabinoids such as THCA, delta-8 THC and hydrogenated CBD. In a letter dated June 9, DEA said it was responding to a request for information about the scheduling status of the cannabis components under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). There’s been some confusion about the legality of minor cannabinoids since hemp containing up to 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by dry weight was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. The letter, posted on Reddit and analyzed by attorney Rod Kight, says that delta-8 THC and…

The governor of Connecticut has signed budget legislation that includes provisions to provide state-level tax relief to licensed marijuana businesses that are currently prohibited for making federal deductions under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E. Gov. Ned Lamont (D) approved the package on Monday, touting the overall tax relief and specifically highlighting how much money the cannabis industry is estimated to save with the new policy. Giving marijuana businesses the state-level 280E workaround is expected to translate into $4.7 million in industry relief for the 2024 fiscal year, which will increase to $6.2 million in the 2025 fiscal…

Founders of leading U.S. CBD maker Charlotte’s Web have called for changes at the top by seeking resignations from four of six current directors, including board President John Held and the company’s CEO, Jacques Tortoroli. In a scathing press statement released Monday, founding brothers Joel and Jesse Stanley said strategic missteps, uncontrolled spending and poor hiring practices have put the Denver-based company “at risk.”  “The incumbent Board and management’s business strategy has been to pin their hopes on FDA regulations changing in favor of the business,” the brothers said in the statement. “Rather than innovate within the current framework, the…

Wage earners who joined New Mexico’s legal cannabis industry typically earn more than they did in their previous, non-marijuana jobs, according to a new article in the latest issue of the state Department of Workforce Solutions’s monthly Labor Market Review. “The data show that for some people, the grass is greener in the cannabis industry,” the report says. By the end of last year, 4,666 workers in New Mexico were employed in the state’s legal marijuana industry, which officially opened its doors in April 2022. Nearly 9 in 10 of those employees, the Department of Workforce Solutions report found, worked…

I thought being back in LA the past few weeks was going to be more relaxing than it was. Turns out, even at home I’ve got a million things to do. From Litty in the City coming down to LA to Puffco’s 10th Anniversary party, it seemed like everything I had to do the last month had all sorts of adjacent side quests. Between having friends in town, and dinners to attend, I feel like I’ve been out of my house as much as I am when out of town. I’m exhausted. Or maybe I’m just pissy because LA’s still…

Baltimore rapper Shordie Shordie is not afraid to be transparent with his emotions. His new album A Life For Two, plays out like a Romeo & Juliet story, songs radiating with heartbreak, relationships, and the things that could be. On the track “Balcony,” Shordie asks his lover about their absence and the lack of care for him—conveniently appearing for lust and intimacy instead. Shordie dabbles in the things we bottle, the things we ruminate when love comes into play. Shordie Shordie speaks with High Times about vulnerability in his music, his new weed strain, and the DMV’s visibility in the…

“More than likely than not there will be lawsuits, just looking from other states, just looking at how it has gone from elsewhere.” By Ralph Chapoco, Alabama Reflector The players for the nascent medical cannabis industry have been chosen amid suspicion about the process and criticism from those left out. The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission Monday awarded 16 licenses for production and distribution of medical cannabis, out of more than 90 firms that applied for licenses. “To the recipients, let me say that we look forward to working with you in a partnership manner in which all you know what…