Author: News Room

The governor of Minnesota has signed a bill to legalize marijuana, making it the 23rd state in the U.S. to end cannabis prohibition. After months of committee hearings and floor votes, Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed off on HF 100 on Tuesday, as he previously committed to doing. “This has been a long journey with a lot of folks involved,” Walz said. “What we know right now is prohibition does not work. We’ve criminalized a lot of folks who are going to start the expungement process on those records.” “It’s going to take us a bit of time to get…

New Hampshire lawmakers appear to be at an impasse over legislation to legalize marijuana through a multitiered system of state-controlled stores, privately operated agency shops and dual-licensed medical cannabis dispensaries. But with the governor’s newfound support for a state-controlled cannabis market, they will be returning to the issue later this year. The House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee declined to act on a new amendment from Chairman John Hunt (R) at a meeting on Tuesday. Instead, members advanced an unrelated underlying bill that dealt with alcohol license payments unamended, with plans to continue working on a separate, standalone measure to…

North Carolina House lawmakers took up a Senate-passed medical marijuana legalization bill in committee on Tuesday, discussing the reform proposal that advocates hope to see advanced to the floor and the governor’s desk this session. The legislation from Sen. Bill Rabon (R) passed the Senate in March before being transferred to the House, where it’s now received a hearing in the Health Committee, which took testimony but did not vote on the measure. If the bill ultimately moves through the panel at a subsequent meeting, it would still need to clear two additional committees before reaching the floor. The chances…

Haejin Chun, the chef behind the cannabis-friendly Big Bad Wolf dinners, follows her heart to radical places in this world gone crazy, normalizing cannabis and building authentic community. Originally from Southern California, Chun studied installation and community art at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco before pursuing a dream of living as an artist in Paris. With romanticized ideas of drawing something on a napkin and paying for her coffees, Chun spent two years in artist residencies while living in a beautiful rooftop terraced-apartment in the heart of the city of love. The seed was planted for…

Texas House-passed bills to decriminalize marijuana, facilitate expungements and allow chronic pain patients to access medical cannabis as an opioid alternative are officially dead for the year with Senate leadership refusing to bring up the measures for consideration ahead of Monday’s end of the legislative session. Advocates had held out hope that the Senate would be more amenable to the modest reforms this session than in the past, but Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who presides over the chamber, continued what has effectively been a years-long blockade on cannabis legislation by not advancing the bills to the floor. Last month,…

With low taxes, no local bans, reasonable licensing fees and no neighboring states with legalization, Minnesota is one of the most attractive markets in the U.S. By Ari Hoffnung, Bridge West Consulting As the 23rd state to legalize adult-use cannabis, Minnesota has keenly observed and learned from the policy missteps of other states. A review of the state’s 300-page bill demonstrates that the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” is paving the way to become one of the most attractive markets in the country to build a cannabis business. In Minnesota, annual cannabis sales are projected to surpass $500 million by Fiscal…

Illinois lawmakers have approved a budget bill that includes provisions that would allow licensed marijuana businesses to take state tax deductions that they’re currently prohibited from utilizing at the federal level due to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E. The legislation—which also contains language directing funding to a cannabis development fund and extends a deadline for conditional licensees to find a storefront—passed both chambers on Saturday. It now heads to the Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s (D) desk. A key section that advanced decouples marijuana businesses from the federal tax policy, which currently bans the industry from making key…

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, says that it’s “really important” that states have the right to set their own marijuana policies regardless of ongoing federal prohibition. As the race for the party nomination starts to heat up, Haley briefly discussed her cannabis position in an interview with WMUR -TV that was published on Friday. Asked whether she would take marijuana reform action at the federal level if elected, Haley emphasized that she’s a “states’ rights person.” “I think these types of decisions are best decided at the state level,” she said. “It’s where…

A Republican congresswoman has reintroduced a bill meant to promote research into the medical potential of marijuana for military veterans. The Veterans Cannabis Analysis, Research, and Effectiveness (CARE) Act, filed last week by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), identical to an earlier measure she sponsored last session. That bill would require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to “conduct and support research relating to the efficacy and safety of forms of cannabis” for chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and “other conditions the Secretary determines appropriate.” The legislation specifies that the VA studies must involve plants and extracts, at least…

Rob Thomas has a story to tell. In an interview over Zoom, the prolific songwriter dives right in, sharing an anecdote about a high encounter with High Times years ago. “Two times in my life I’ve been the highest I’ve ever been, and one of them was at High Times for a photo shoot,” Thomas said. “I thought the set up was amazing because you had the door to High Times and then you had the door to High Times’ attorney right next to it. I figured that was pretty practical back then.” While times have changed and legalization has…