Author: News Room

The governor of Washington State has signed a bill to allow interstate marijuana commerce, pending a federal policy change. The legislation from Sen. Ann Rivers (R) cleared the legislature last month, and Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed it into law on Thursday. Before signing the bill, Inslee urged Congress to modernize national marijuana laws, saying that federal legalization “will help our well-regulated cannabis industry remain competitive, while still meeting health and public safety standards.” He also quipped that Washington State needs a “pony express that goes east to get the message to Washington D.C., so if anybody’s got some fast…

A key Senate committee chairman said on Thursday that a hearing on a bipartisan marijuana banking bill could be scheduled as early as next week, adding that lawmakers are going to “move quickly on it.” Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) told NBC News reporters that his panel could hold a hearing on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act as soon as next Thursday, May 11. While a hearing hasn’t been formally scheduled yet, the comments come as senators on both sides of the aisle push for urgent action on the recently refiled legislation from Sens. Jeff…

Days after the Texas House of Representatives passed a marijuana decriminalization bill that is now pending in the Senate, voters in two cities in the state will head to the polls on Saturday to decide on two related local ballot measures. San Antonio voters will consider a broad justice-reform initiative that includes provisions to decriminalize cannabis, and  Harker Heights residents will have the chance to overturn their local government’s repeal of an earlier decriminalization measure they passed. The San Antonio proposal asks voters if they support blocking police from making arrests or issuing citations for low-level marijuana possession, preventing the…

Even as more states have moved to legalize marijuana, rates of current and lifetime cannabis use among high school students have continued to drop, newly released federal data shows. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), published last week, found that teen use of all monitored substances—including marijuana, alcohol and prescription drugs—has “decreased linearly” over the past decade. When it comes to cannabis, what’s especially notable is that the federal study shows high school student use was trending up from 2009-2013—before legal marijuana dispensaries started opening—but has been generally on the decline since then.…

A Washington State county has become the latest U.S. jurisdiction to locally deprioritize enforcement of laws against psychedelics like psilocybin and ayahuasca. The three members of the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Monday to approve a resolution to make enforcement of psychedelics laws among the jurisdiction’s lowest priorities, while also voicing support for state and federal decriminalization. “I feel like community is the theme for me as a commissioner, and this issue is showing up in spades,” Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour said. “I hope that we can be leaders on this horizon—not only in our county, community and…

Pennsylvania lawmakers have filed new bills to legalize marijuana sales through state-run stores and to provide permits for farmers and small agriculture businesses to cultivate cannabis once adult-use sales are allowed. About two months after circulating a cosponsorship memo for the legalization proposal, Rep. David Delloso (D) formally introduced the legislation on Tuesday. The bill, which is similar to a measure Delloso filed last session, would allow adults 21 and older to possess, consume, cultivate and purchase cannabis through a state stores system run by the Liquor Control Board. “In the interest of the efficient use of law enforcement resources,…

Reading the tea leaves on both sides of the Atlantic these days, one has to wonder: Is CBD about to be relegated to drug-only status? The question is not as farfetched as it might seem. After a wild five-year ride for the mostly unregulated CBD sector, which quickly boomed as dodgy companies crowded in peddling low-quality products marketed as a treatment for everything from covid to cancer, where, exactly, are we now? The boom, as often happens in new markets, was followed by a bust. Prices of hemp flowers, the raw material required for CBD production, plunged as low as…

Consistent marijuana use is associated with improved cognition and reduced pain among cancer patients and people receiving chemotherapy, according to a new study. While cannabis produces intoxicating effects, and that initial “high” can temporarily impair cognition, patients who used marijuana products from state-licensed dispensaries over two weeks actually started reporting clearer thinking, the study from the University of Colorado found. The findings of the study, published in the journal Exploration in Medicine late last month, were surprising, researcher Angela Bryan, a cancer survivor herself, said in a press release. “We thought we might see some problems with cognitive function,” she…

Maryland’s governor has signed a bill to regulate marijuana sales, setting the stage for statewide legalization. House and Senate lawmakers reached an agreement on the cannabis legislation last month, sending it to the desk of Gov. Wes Moore (D), who signed it into law on Wednesday. Today I signed bills into law regarding reproductive rights and equity in the cannabis industry. Watch our remarks and bill signing ceremony here: https://t.co/vOr4dUSOtn Watch bill signing ceremony here: https://t.co/ShCRwMMhj0 — Governor Wes Moore (@GovWesMoore) May 3, 2023 The governor said at a signing ceremony that the law will “ensure that the rollout of…

“You know the position of the Governor’s Office. It’s clear they’re going to veto that bill; they’ve said that multiple times.” By Blair Miller, Daily Montanan The fight over Montana’s marijuana tax revenue may have reached a resolution Monday despite what a Democratic lawmaker called “shenanigans” on the House floor just hours after the Senate sent the bill with the broadest support to the governor’s desk. But whether the part of the law that says how the $50+ million in annual revenue is portioned out changes remains to be seen, as Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte is unlikely to support the broadly praised Senate…