Author: News Room

“I’m really nervous about undoing the people’s will. That really concerns me.” By Max Savage Levenson, Montana Free Press On Thursday, one day after an impassioned hearing on Senate Bill 546, the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee voted 6-4 to table the bill. SB 546, sponsored by Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, would have dramatically altered and essentially dismantled the state’s marijuana industry. It primarily sought to eliminate all adult-use dispensaries in Montana. Furthermore, it would have raised the state tax on medical marijuana from 4 percent to 20 percent and put significant limits on medical marijuana potency and allowable amounts for…

The governor of Kentucky has signed a bill to legalize marijuana, making the state the 38th in the U.S. to enact the reform. Just one day after the House approved the legislation from Sen. Stephen West (R), Gov. Andy Beshear (D) fulfilled his pledge to sign in into law on Friday. The governor had rallied citizens to pressure their state representatives to pass the bill. “Far too many of our people face the obstacle of having chronic or terminal diseases like cancer, or those like our veterans suffering from PTSD or Kentuckians living with epilepsy, seizures, Parkinson’s or more,” Beshear…

A Connecticut bill to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of psilocybin mushrooms passed a legislative committee on Wednesday. The measure would make possession of up to half an ounce of psychedelic mushrooms a civil infraction, punishable by a $150 fine. Subsequent violations would carry fines of between $200 and $500. People found guilty three times under the policy would be referred to a drug education program. Currently simple possession of psilocybin is a Class A misdemeanor in Connecticut, with penalties of up to a year in jail and a maximum $2,000 fine. “While this bill does not go as…

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A 14th Minnesota House committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana, after members adopted a large-scale amendment to overhaul various tax provisions of the legislation. The House Taxes Committee passed the measure from Rep. Zack Stephenson (D) in a voice vote on Thursday. Members also received a much-anticipated fiscal note and revenue projection ahead of the meeting. One of the main changes that was adopted as part of an amendment from the sponsor would gradually decrease the tax rate for cannabis sales over time, starting at eight percent as set in the original bill, and then reducing to 5.25…

The Kentucky House is one step away from sending a medical marijuana legalization bill to the governor, with members of a committee advancing it to the floor on Thursday for a final vote that is expected by the end of the day. The House Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee took up and passed the legislation from Sen. Stephen West (R) in a 18-2 vote—one day after it cleared the full chamber in a procedural second reading vote. After the House votes again on Thursday, it will head to Gov. Andy Beshear (D), who strongly supports the reform and rallied…

The Maryland Senate has advanced a bill to legalize marijuana sales to prepare the state for pending legalization, adopting a series of amendments ahead of a final vote in the chamber that’s expected soon. The legislation from Sens. Brian Feldman (D) and Antonio Hayes (D) passed on second reading in the Senate on Thursday, an action that comes days after the measure cleared a committee stop. The House of Delegates already approved its companion version this month. The bills were identical when introduced, but the House and Senate bills have now been amended in different ways. Members of the Senate first accepted a…

Bipartisan congressional lawmakers have refiled a bill to provide military veterans with access to medical marijuana. Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, are the chief sponsors of the Veterans Equal Access Act. The measure has been introduced several times in recent years with bipartisan support but has yet to be enacted. The bill would allow government doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend medical marijuana to their patients in states where it’s legal. They department would not provide cannabis, however, and veterans would use those recommendations to access…

“We owe it to Oregonians to make sure that the voters that passed ballot measures are getting what they asked for in a more timely, transparent and accountable manner.” By Ben Botkin, Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon lawmakers and providers who serve people with drug and alcohol addictions have a common goal: making the state’s decriminalization drug law work. Measure 110, the state’s first-in-the-nation approach to drug addiction, has faced a rocky start since voters approved it in 2020, with a slow rollout of grants and confusion about the roles of the Oregon Health Authority and the oversight council charged with…

Both chambers of the Washington State legislature have now passed legislation to prevent employers from discriminating against job applicants for marijuana use. The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved an amended version of SB 5123, which the state Senate passed late last month, in a vote of 57-41. “It makes no sense to limit our state’s workforce by deterring qualified job applicants, especially at a time when the number of unfilled positions is at historic highs,” the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Karen Keiser (D), said in a statement released by Senate Democrats after the House vote. “This legislation opens doors for…