Author: News Room

“With the right balance, the SAFE Banking Act can help close the gap, be a powerful force for good and begin paving the way for minority entrepreneurs to thrive in the cannabis industry.” By Tahir Johnson, Minority Cannabis Business Association and Simply Pure Trenton As a board member of the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA), as well as a minority cannabis operator, I have witnessed firsthand the challenges that minority entrepreneurs face in the rapidly growing cannabis industry. I also have the experience of having worked in the financial services industry at Morgan Stanley before I left my job as…

New Hampshire’s Senate majority leader is strongly signaling that a House-passed marijuana legalization bill will be defeated on the floor this week after a key committee voted against it on Tuesday. And reported plans to file an amendment to legalize cannabis through a state-run model that the governor’s office allegedly advised on (but has since denied) do not seem to be materializing. Advocates were disappointed by Senate Judiciary Committee’s party-line vote in opposition to the comprehensive legalization measure from bipartisan House leaders. But that didn’t formally kill the legislation, which will still be taken up on the floor on Thursday.…

Bipartisan and bicameral Minnesota lawmakers will hold their first conference committee meeting on Friday to begin resolving differences between marijuana legalization bills that passed the House and Senate last month. Rep. Zack Stephenson (D), sponsor of the House version, announced the meeting on Wednesday, saying legislators “are making great progress” in informal discussions ahead of the meeting. The cannabis conference committee will have our first meeting on Friday morning. We are making great progress and @Lindsey_Port and I are excited to finish the job! — Zack Stephenson (@zackstephenson) May 10, 2023 He and Sen. Lindsey Port (D), the Senate bill…

“Down the beer aisle, these craft beers deliver these cool and interesting designs. Colors are attractive to everyone, not just children.” By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent The labels and packaging for marijuana-related products, “shall not be made to be attractive to children,” the Missouri constitution states. That’s why state regulators are proposing requiring “plain or uniform labeling,” similar to those of cigarettes or medicines, said Amy Moore, director of Missouri’s cannabis regulation under the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). During a hearing Monday with the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Moore said studies show that plain packaging “increases attention to…

The Arizona Senate has approved budget legislation that includes provisions to fund research into the medical potential of psilocybin mushrooms for a variety of conditions. Rather than enact the reform through a standalone psychedelics bill that was introduced earlier this session, top lawmakers and the governor agreed to incorporate the proposal into appropriations measures, albeit at a lower funding level compared to the original measure. The Senate passed an appropriations bill that calls for $5 million in funding for psilocybin research on Wednesday. A related health-focused budget measure that also cleared the chamber details requirements for the clinical trials that…

Florida marijuana reform advocates have collected enough raw signatures to qualify a legalization initiative for the state’s 2024 ballot, the campaign’s top financial supporter announced on Wednesday. The cannabis company Trulieve, which is financially backing the Smart & Safe Florida campaign, announced that advocates have “gathered sufficient raw signatures for inclusion on the November 2024 ballot.” $TRUL $TCNNF @SmartandSafeFl pic.twitter.com/OFwfyiXZpT — Trulieve_IR (@Trulieve_IR) May 10, 2023 The Florida Division of Elections updates the ballot signature counts at the end of each month, so the current total isn’t reflected yet. But the last update showed that the campaign was about 94…

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has added new witnesses who will testify at a hearing on bipartisan marijuana banking bill this week. In addition to the top bipartisan sponsors of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, a union representative and a cannabis financial services company representative will also share their perspective on the legislation and underlying financial services issues in the cannabis industry at Thursday’s hearing. Marijuana Moment has also learned that an equity-focused cannabis reform advocate and leading prohibitionist will testify, though they have not been officially listed on the hearing page yet. Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod…

A bill to legalize marijuana in Colombia has officially passed the Chamber of Representatives and now heads to the Senate for the its final two hurdles before it’s potentially sent to the president. Following a narrow, procedural vote last month, lawmakers took up the legislation again on Tuesday, approving it in the sixth of eight required debates in a 98-57 vote. Now it must go to a Senate committee and then pass on the floor of that chamber to be enacted. Colombia is “ready to take a step towards a new drug policy that abandons the failed paradigm of prohibition…

“This bill will correct this inequity while also supporting these new local businesses in Rhode Island by hopefully keeping Rhode Islanders from crossing the border to shop for their cannabis in neighboring states.” By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current Rhode Island-based marijuana dispensaries are one step closer to being able to advertise their business in their own state. The House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill that eliminates the prohibition on advertising by local dispensaries—an issue initially left to be decided by the still-unformed Cannabis Control Commission. The law passed last May legalizing recreational marijuana called for the governor to…

The governor of Washington State has signed a bill to promote research into psilocybin and create a pilot program to provide therapeutic access to the psychedelic for mental health treatment. At a signing ceremony on Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) enacted the legislation from Sens. Jesse Salomon (D) and Liz Lovelett (D), though he partially vetoed several sections that he said “no longer align with the bill’s intent.” As introduced earlier this session, the measure would have more broadly legalized psilocybin, allowing people 21 and older to access the psychedelic under the care of licensed facilitators. But it was significantly watered…