Author: News Room

The popular weed podcast First Smoke of the Day recently put on a “Family Reunion” in Los Angeles, inviting supporters of the show and everyone who has appeared on it. Hundreds gathered, coming from all over California and all over the country, giving tangible evidence to the passionate community that has been built around the podcast. The podcast is the work of its two hosts, Cody and Lance. When First Smoke of the Day first appeared in 2021 it was audio-only. That’s because the topic had to do with the real underground culture of growing and selling weed. The first guests were well-known on the underground scene but would never show their face.…

A Hawaii Senate-passed bill to legalize marijuana has stalled out in the House for the year—but advocates are shifting focus to 2024, hoping to enact the reform in the second half of the two-year legislative session. The legislation from Sen. Joy San Buenaventura (D) cleared the Senate earlier this month, and hopes were high that it’d make it through the House as well. But a hearing wasn’t scheduled before a deadline for bills that have been referred to three or more committees, meaning it will need to wait until next year to potentially advance further. The session hasn’t ended yet,…

Prince Harry’s visa should be denied and he should be deported from the U.S., a conservative group is demanding. When Prince Harry detailed his history with pot and other drugs in his autobiography, he made heads roll, especially in conservative circles on both sides of the Atlantic. The Heritage Foundation—a conservative think tank in operation for over 50 years—called for the deportation of Prince Harry over his admissions to past drug use including pot and cocaine.  The Duke of Sussex, 38, is currently living in Los Angeles with his wife Meghan Markle and son, Archie. But Harry is living on…

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has agreed to amend a hemp bill awaiting his signature, but hemp stakeholders say the changes don’t go far enough. Youngkin ordered changes to a provision regarding THC content for hemp foods, eliminated a rule mandating bittering agents be mixed into hemp topicals, and lowered registration fees for hemp operators. The Virginia Hemp Coalition (VHC) welcomed the progress with the bill but said restrictions on food products in the amendments would still make most full-spectrum CBD products illegal in the state. How much THC? Under Youngkin’s amended provisions, an original clause that set a 2 milligram…

On Feb. 24, publicists at Stanford University issued a press release that researchers had found an association between daily cannabis use and a 34% increase in coronary artery disease. Is that true? And what’s cannabis’ heart risk relative to other lifestyle choices, medications, or, strenuous activity like shoveling snow?Listen along as Leafly Director of Science and Innovation, Nick Jikomes PhD, explains how the study has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, and arrives amid mixed data on the topic. Learn about the pernicious cycle of science reporting by press release. And understand the other heart studies and background…

New York’s governor is introducing legislation to increase enforcement authority to crack down on illicit marijuana retailers as the state struggles to stand up the regulated adult-use market. The action comes on the same day that Assembly Republicans sent a letter to the administration, requesting an audit of the state’s recreational cannabis program amid controversy over the protracted implementation process. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced on Wednesday that her new program bill would amend the state’s cannabis law by giving regulators at the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) and law enforcement enhanced authority to…

A major alcohol industry association is officially backing federal marijuana legalization, releasing a policy paper that lays out regulatory priorities as Congress continues to consider ending prohibition. The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) said that lawmakers should draw from the experience of alcohol regulations to develop a framework for marijuana that promotes industry competition, innovation and public safety. The transition from alcohol prohibition to legalization represents “an American success story” that should be replicated with cannabis, it said. The association isn’t suggesting that federal regulations should totally supplant those that have been established in states across the U.S.,…

Oregon regulators have approved the nation’s first-ever psilocybin production license under a novel state-based regulatory framework for broad access to the psychedelic that voters approved in 2020. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) announced on Wednesday that they’ve granted a psilocybin manufacturer license to the woman-owned business Satori Farms PDX LLC. The so-called magic mushrooms produced at the manufacturing facility will help supply future businesses where people can go to have the psychedelic administered in a supervised environment. Regulators were tasked under the historic voter-approved initiative to begin issuing licenses for the manufacturing, testing and administering of psilocybin by January 2,…

The New Hampshire House of Representatives has approved a bill to allow medical marijuana patients to grow their own plants for personal use. Weeks after moving through committee, the full chamber passed the legislation from Rep. Wendy Thomas (D) on a voice vote as part of the uncontested consent calendar on Wednesday. The measure—which would allow patients and designated caregivers to cultivate up to three mature plants, three immature plants and 12 seedlings—now heads to the Senate. Plants would have to be grown in an “enclosed, locked space” at a location that would have to be reported to regulators at…

The chairman of a key Senate committee says lawmakers need to act on marijuana banking legislation “this year,” and his Republican counterpart on the panel agrees that the issue will “come to a conclusion likely in this Congress.” Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) also reiterated that leadership was prepared to “move” on the cannabis reform just before the collapse of a bank this month distracted members, and he disclosed that “the White House wants this fixed,” as far as he’s been told. Both Brown and the committee’s ranking member, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), spoke at the American Bankers…