Author: News Room

The Senate committee also defeated legislation that would have required businesses to add a warning label to cannabis packaging directed specifically at pregnant women. By Max Savage Levenson, Montana Free Press On Tuesday, one day after a hearing that drew pointed opposition from representatives of the cannabis and media industries, the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee voted down—and then tabled—a bill to ban most marijuana advertising in Montana. In its current form, House Bill 351, sponsored by Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe (R) prohibits the “publication, dissemination, solicitation, or circulation of visual, oral, or written communication” that could “directly induce”…

By Craig Silver Richard Brautigan committed suicide. Joseph Heller has become trite. Thomas Pynchon no longer writes. But Vonnegut goes on. Hi ho. More accurately: Hi Ho!, because Vonnegut remains a major standard-bearer of the crazed-lunatic, surrealist-absurdist, ultimately ultra-sane literary style that blazed across the ’60s. Remember the ’60s? The ’60s—a metaphor for a sensibility that has now be come unstuck in time. Unstuck in time—a phrase coined by Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse-Five, a big ’60s novel that was partly an allegory about Vietnam. Vietnam—a deadening of the spirit caused by American corporate greed disguised as misguided American philanthropy. Kurt…

Learn the best ways to consume cannabis and how to choose the right one for you. Jump to a sectionDifferent ways to smoke weedWhat is the best way to smoke cannabisHumans have been experimenting with different methods of smoking weed for generations. The first-known bong found by scientists dates back 2,400 years ago, when tribal chiefs used golden “vessels” to smoke substances like cannabis and opium. Since then, more methods of smoking weed have become mainstream, leaving the modern cannabis smoker with a long list of options to choose from.To help you get started on your smoking journey, Leafly created this…

Maryland’s Senate president says the body will vote next week on a bill to create regulations for an adult-use marijuana market, getting the state prepared for a voter-approved legalization law that takes effect this summer. Senators have a number of factors to take into account as they prepare to enact the reform, including feedback from hemp industry stakeholders who’ve raised concerns about possible ramifications of the legislation and newly released reports from regulators on consumer trends. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) said during a press briefing on Friday that the chamber’s version of a cannabis regulations bill is “nearing completion,”…

“Increasing the THC level to 5 percent would hinder our successful hemp program and undermine enforcement of our drug laws.” By Makenzie Huber, South Dakota Searchlight Gov. Kristi Noem (R) vetoed a bill Thursday that would increase the amount of THC that industrial hemp processors can have in their products. THC is short for tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound in cannabis plants that produces a high when present in sufficient amounts. Hemp, unlike its cousin marijuana, is low in THC. Hemp plants can be used in a multitude of products. Noem said the bill would “jeopardize the effectiveness and safety” of the state’s industrial…

Nevada senators held a hearing on a bill to legalize the possession of psilocybin on Thursday, discussing a proposed amendment to remove therapeutic use provisions and taking extensive testimony from advocates and experts—including from an Assembly lawmaker who shared his own experience with ketamine treatment. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee took up the legislation from Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D), which under the amendment would remove criminal penalties for possession of up to six ounces of the psychedelic for adults 21 and older. “Veterans, law enforcement, first responders and all Nevadans deserve the right to explore treatment options in…

A new study shows that four years after Canada legalized marijuana for adult use, nearly six out of every ten neighborhoods in the country is located within a five-minute drive of a cannabis dispensary, demonstrating the level of access afforded to consumers. The study, which was a collaborative effort by investigators from various universities and research institutes in Ottawa and Toronto, also showed that over the course of a four-year span only 7 percent of retail cannabis locations permanently closed. The team of researchers collected longitudinal data regarding the status and location of “all legal cannabis stores in Canada” and…

A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators have filed a bill to reduce regulations on farmers that grow industrial hemp for non-extraction purposes. Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Mike Braun (R-IN) introduced the Industrial Hemp Act on Thursday—the latest piece of congressional legislation focused on the crop, which was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. As it stands, hemp and its derivatives like CBD that contain no more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight are not controlled substances, and regulatory responsibility falls with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The new bill seeks to create a distinction between “industrial”…

An Oregon marijuana business challenging the state’s ban on interstate cannabis commerce asked a federal judge last week to allow the case to be heard in court, arguing that the company has a “right to operate its business—federally legal or not—free of unconstitutional state laws such as the export ban.” The cannabis wholesaler, Medford-based Jefferson Packing House, sued Oregon officials in November in an effort to overturn the state export ban. Its attorneys claim the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s Dormant Commerce Clause, a provision meant to promote competition among states by preventing them from independently regulating interstate commerce. The…

“After eight years of using the same thing with great results, I don’t want her to have to go seek something else.” By Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury Before many people even knew what CBD was, a particular group of families was asking Virginia lawmakers to legalize it. At the urging of parents with children diagnosed with severe epilepsy, Virginia passed a law in 2015 creating a legal shield allowing families to possess cannabis-derived CBD oils for medical use without fear of being criminally prosecuted due to CBD’s connection to marijuana. Under the original law, that legal defense only applied to…