Author: News Room

“It becomes irresponsible at some point for some of the county officials to propagate these lies.” By Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters An effort by some counties to use zoning to limit if not prevent the opening of cannabis dispensaries has drawn the ire of the powerful chair of a House committee in Annapolis. House and Senate panels are considering legislation that would make it tougher for local governments to restrict where cannabis dispensaries can locate. House Economic Matters Committee Chair Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) said counties are trying to countermand the newly legalized cannabis market and the state’s efforts to limit…

A Democratic congresswoman is imploring the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to “reject any argument” that rescheduling marijuana under federal law would constitute a violation of international treaty obligations. She is also asking the agency to reveal a list of any “outside partners” it has met with to discuss the global implications of a potential cannabis reclassification. As DEA works to complete its cannabis scheduling review, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) sent a letter to Administrator Anne Milgram that zeroes in on the treaty discussion, where prohibitionists have insisted that the U.S. must adhere to decades-old global agreements on drug policy that…

Marijuana retailers in states across the U.S. will be giving customers the option to donate to federal cannabis lobbying by rounding up their purchases to the nearest dollar under a newly announced campaign from a national advocacy group. The U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC) said on Monday that one of the organization’s members, the multi-state operator Curaleaf, spearheaded the first official month of the “Legalize” campaign in February. Customers have been able to round up their purchases to contribute to federal reform lobbying and electioneering efforts at nearly 140 of Curaleaf’s stores across a dozen states. Two additional USCC members, MariMed…

A new poll commissioned by California marijuana regulators finds that 62 percent of adults believe the state’s legalization law is having a “positive” impact—an even greater percentage than actually voted to enact the reform on the ballot a little more than seven years ago. As part of a new “Real California Cannabis” campaign, the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) sponsored the survey from FM3 Research that was released on Monday. The fact that 62 percent of respondents consider legalization effective is notable given that a lower percentage (57 percent) voted in favor of the adult-use cannabis legalization initiative at the…

A new federally funded study shows that as the prevalence of treatment for cannabis use disorder (CUD) has fallen nationwide in recent decades, the reductions in self-reported CUD treatment have been concentrated in states with legal access to marijuana. Factors such as a drop in “legally mandated or coerced treatment” referrals through the criminal justice system and how CUD is defined and identified could play a role in the reductions, authors found. Researchers drew data from National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which is conducted annually by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). CUD treatment rates…

The Virginia House of Delegates has approved a Senate-passed bill to protect public sector workers such as government officials and teachers from being fired for medical marijuana use. The House advanced the legislation from Sen. Stella Pekarsky (D) in an 80-18 vote on Friday, sending it to the governor’s desk. If enacted into law, it would align the state’s medical cannabis employment policy for public workers with those that are already in place for the private sector. However, the measure specifically exempts law enforcement officials from the protections. Under the measure that’s heading to Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), Virginia code…

Connecticut lawmakers have revived an effort to decriminalize low-level possession of psilocybin, despite the governor’s office recently indicating that it has concerns about the psychedelics reform. A new bill filed by the legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee and cosponsored by Rep. David Michel (D) would make possession of up to one-half an ounce of psilocybin punishable by a $150 fine, without the threat of jail time. A second or subsequent violation would carry a fine of at least $200 but not more than $500. A person who pleads guilty or no contest on two separate occasions would be referred to a…

Nevada’s first legal marijuana consumption lounge has officially opened it doors, with a top local lawmaker smoking the inaugural joint at 4:20 pm. Patrons lit up for the first time on Friday at the inaugural THRIVE Cannabis Marketplace facility in Las Vegas, where they were also served a curated selection of marijuana products and non-alcoholic THC-infused beverages. This marks the culmination of years of rulemaking to allow the new license type. The Nevada Cannabis Control Board (CCB) gave final approval for the “Smoke and Mirrors” lounge earlier this month. Regulators approved an initial batch of consumption lounge licensees last June,…

Psychedelic medicine proponents are redirecting their efforts to use millions in opioid-related state settlement money for ibogaine research from Kentucky to Ohio. The original plan to use $42 million from Kentucky’s opioid settlement fund for psychedelics research fell through late last year after the state’s new attorney general replaced then-Kentucky Opioid Commission Chairman Bryan Hubbard, who was spearheading the ibogaine initiative, with a former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official. Now Hubbard has joined ResultsOHIO, a division of the Ohio Treasurer’s Office, where he will be partnering with the Reaching Everyone in Distress (REID) Foundation in hopes of securing a portion…

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is projecting that a bill to protect people from being denied federal jobs or security clearances over past marijuana use would have “negligible” costs for the government—in large part because analysts say provisions on reviewing past denials likely can’t be carried out under current federal record-keeping policies. The bipartisan legislation from Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) cleared the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in scaled-back form in September. In general, the amended Cannabis Users’ Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act would prevent security clearance and federal employment denials over a…