Author: News Room

“We are aware that licensees will need time to come into compliance with some of the new rules, and specifically for packaging.” By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent For decades, there’s been a global movement urging “plain packaging” on tobacco products—or packaging with limited colors and frills—after numerous studies found it makes cigarettes less appealing to young people. Missouri will soon be a testing ground to see if plain packaging has the same impact for recreational marijuana. When voters passed the constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana, it included a provision that labels and packaging for marijuana-related products, “shall not be made to be attractive…

The feature film American Pot Story: Oaksterdam will have its Hollywood premiere on Thursday, June 29 at the Dances With Films festival in Los Angeles, with festivities planned for the event including an appearance from weed icon Tommy Chong and a Q&A with the film’s directors, Dan Katzir and Ravit Markus. The premiere continues a successful string of screenings for the film about the cannabis legalization efforts of Oakland-based cannabis training school Oaksterdam University, including the world premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival in January that garnered the prestigious Audience Award for Unstoppable Feature. American Pot Story: Oaksterdam follows two…

A newly formed coalition of marijuana businesses and advocacy organizations is making the case that the Biden administration really only has two viable choices when it comes to its ongoing federal scheduling review: remove cannabis from the list of banned substances altogether or reschedule it—the less ideal option of the two, but one that the group says would still come with significant benefits. The Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform (CCSR), which launched earlier this month, published a report on Monday that outlines the scientific, economic and societal considerations that are going into the scheduling review that President Joe Biden directed…

It ain’t just the summertime humidity: the air in Maryland is about to get extra sticky.Starting July 1, adults can start buying legal cannabis in the Old Line State. Nearly one hundred existing medical marijuana providers across Maryland may offer flower, edibles, vapes and more to anyone over the age of 21.While Maryland officials have put in the work to ensure that the shift to recreational cannabis goes as smoothly as possible, residents and visitors alike have plenty of questions. Rest assured, Leafly’s got what you need. Read on to learn more about possession limits in Maryland, the word on hot…

About three in five American voters say psychedelics should be legalized for regulated, therapeutic use—and nearly half believe possession should be decriminalized for personal use for any reason—according to a new national poll. UC Berkeley’s Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP) presented top-line findings from its first-ever survey at a psychedelics conference in Denver, where top advocates, researchers and Colorado’s governor were among those who spoke about the rapidly evolving policy landscape. The poll found that 61 percent of U.S. registered voters support “creating a regulated legal framework for the therapeutic use of psychedelics,” including 35 percent who strongly…

Maryland’s marijuana legalization law officially takes effect on Saturday, with simple possession and personal cultivation set to become legal as the majority of existing medical cannabis dispensaries prepare to open their doors to adult consumers for the first time. Meanwhile, ahead of the launch, the governor is reaffirming his commitment to fostering an industry that puts equity first. Nearly 100 dispensaries have been approved by state regulators to covert to dual licensees that will be able to serve patients and adult consumers over the age of 21 alike. They will be authorized to sell to both groups starting July 1,…

“This vote is a resounding testament that it’s time to stop bickering over the allocation of marijuana tax revenue and instead focus on the will of thousands of Montanans.” By Blair Miller, Daily Montanan Legislators overrode another veto issued by Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) last week, this time an appropriations bill that includes the mechanism to send marijuana tax money to a habitat improvement program through another vetoed bill that several groups have sued over. Representatives for the Montana Association of Counties, Wild Montana, and the Montana Wildlife Federation last week lauded legislators’ override of Gianforte’s veto of the appropriations…

A group of United Nations (UN) experts is calling for an end to the global war on drugs—and a separate drug policy commission comprised of presidents and prime ministers from around the world is advocating for legal and regulated access to currently illicit substances. UN’s coalition of “special rapporteurs” appointed by the Human Rights Council—as well as the independent Global Commission on Drug Policy—marked Monday’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking by pushing for comprehensive reform. “The ‘war on drugs’ may be understood to a significant extent as a war on people,” the UN experts said in a…

2024 Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took a swing at rival GOP contender Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Sunday over his opposition to marijuana decriminalization—and he pledged to enact federal cannabis reform if elected. He did, however, decline an offer to smoke a joint with comedian Bill Maher during an interview that was posted on the same day. The son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy shared a link to a Marijuana Moment article about recent cannabis remarks by DeSantis and tweeted that the Republican presidential hopeful’s “opposition to marijuana…

Minnesota’s Supreme Court is looking for a designee to sit on a marijuana expungements board that is being created under the state’s new legalization law. In a public notice that was posted on Wednesday, the court described the composition and responsibilities of the Cannabis Expungement Board, which will facilitate record sealing for people with eligible marijuana convictions on their records. After the cases are identified by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the board will need to review them to determine if the offense would no longer be a crime (or be a lesser crime) and then decide “whether…