Author: News Room

States have collectively generated more than $15 billion in adult-use marijuana tax revenue from 2014 to 2022, a new report published on Monday by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) found. But while legal states saw about $3.8 billion in cannabis tax dollars in 2022 alone, it represented the first time that revenue was lower than the prior year, which experts attribute to a “multitude of factors,” including COVID-related policies and trends. Still, the fact that 2022 brought in almost $100 million less in tax revenue compared to 2021 is notable given that more states like New Jersey and New Mexico…

Former President Donald Trump says that marijuana use does “significant damage,” although he acknowledges that legalizing cannabis is a “pretty popular thing” among voters. Trump, who is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was asked about marijuana policy during an interview on Newsmax’s “Greg Kelly Reports” last week. Specifically, he was pressed on what he thinks the legalization movement is doing to the country’s “competitiveness” and “psyche.” “I mean, you see the same studies. It’s not helping people,” Trump said. “I mean, studies are saying that it does damage. It does significant damage—and yet, from a voting standpoint, it’s…

Nevada sports regulators have voted to send a proposed regulatory amendment to the governor that would formally protect athletes from being penalized over using or possessing marijuana in compliance with state law. The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) met on Tuesday to consider the proposed change, which would codify a policy that was informally instituted in 2021. Members voted to put the cannabis reform through the administrative process to be adopted into its guidance, first sending it to Gov. Joe Lombardo (R). The marijuana provisions are just some of the regulatory amendments that the commission has taken up as part…

The U.S. Secret Service (USSS) has updated its employment policy to be more accommodating to applicants who’ve previously used marijuana—becoming one of the latest federal agencies to adjust cannabis rules amid the state-level legalization movement. Additionally, USSS added a policy stating that candidates who’ve used federally legal hemp-derived CBD products within one year of their application will be assessed “on a case-by-case basis by adjudicative personnel.” Previously, the agency’s rules around past use of marijuana were age-based. A person who last consumed cannabis when they were 24 or younger could apply after one year of abstinence, for example. But for…

I made the poor decision of hitting my friend’s bong before watching Ari Aster’s last film, Midsommar, in which a young woman who tragically lost her parents and sister travels to Scandinavia to attend a village’s midsummer festival that takes a turn for the worse when said village is revealed to be a murderous cult. Midsommar has often been praised for being a horror movie that takes place entirely in broad daylight. A great description, but what really impressed me about the movie was the extent to which its setting – the murderous cult – could be interpreted as a…

While many cannabis users embrace signs of aging and effortlessly transform into beautiful crones as they get older, some of us, such as myself, are vain. We enjoy that through technology, such as injectables, we can look better in our 30s than in our 20s. While topicals such as eye creams, including those with CBD, offer valuable moisture and even anti-inflammatory properties, just to be blunt about it, if you want to get rid of wrinkles or add volume to your face naturally lost to age, you need injectables. I’m a 35-year-old woman who gets Botox. And, as my book…

Minnesota hemp stakeholders say the inclusion of hemp in state cannabis legislation would create burdensome rules that could stifle the industry. The Minnesota Industrial Hemp Association (MIHA) said licensing categories included in House and Senate versions of an adult-use marijuana bill would create a complex legal and regulatory framework, and called for rules to advance interstate commerce and assure a functioning production chain for industrial hemp. “We remain concerned and frustrated over the lack of measurable progress regarding the inclusion of provisions that would grow Minnesota’s industrial hemp sector,” MIHA President Dave Ladd told the Morning AgClips website. The Minnesota…

“With the governor’s expected signing of the adult-use legislation in the coming days, I do expect that today’s meeting will be the last public meeting of the Maryland Medical Cannabis commission.” By By Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters A commission that has guided the state through its first wobbly steps into legalized access to marijuana had what is likely its final meeting. Members of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission said their goodbyes Wednesday. The panel, which has changed over the last five years, goes away as the state enters a new era of access to cannabis for recreational purposes. “I…

A famous writer from California was held hostage by an evil Queen from Outer Space who intended to keep him as a pet,” states Dr. Franz Berber, a leading San Francisco psychiatrist. The writer, Edward P. Hassle, managed to escape with the help of another alien. Berber, a well-known hypnosis expert who specializes in treating the rich and famous, made this startling revelation at a recent regressive hypnosis conference held at the University of Illinois, in Urbana, Illinois. “I know revealing this information is a violation of my doctor-patient relationship,” admits Berber, “but I feel it must be done in…

“This appears to be an ethics violation and if it isn’t then Oregon’s ethics laws are broken. An elected official cannot take funds for personal use from someone they regulate.” By Ben Botkin, Oregon Capital Chronicle The Oregon secretary of state’s office released an audit of the state’s regulation of the cannabis industry on Friday on the heels of revelations that the agency’s head, Shemia Fagan, accepted a side job as consultant to a cannabis company in February. Fagan’s consulting work with Veriede Holding LLC, an affiliate of La Mota cannabis dispensary chain, was first reported by Willamette Week on…