Author: News Room

“This is about improving their quality of life, as well as the family’s quality of life, and the right to try a natural, plant-based medicine.” By Gloria Gomez, Arizona Mirror Arizonans with autism and post-traumatic stress disorder could add marijuana to their medical toolkit under a proposal that expands who can access the drug. Currently, people with severe medical conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease or seizures can apply for a medical marijuana card. While adult recreational use is legal in the Grand Canyon state since Arizonans voted to allow it in 2020, qualifying for a medical marijuana card means…

“As the department that has the most boards and commissions among all state agencies, I am confident in the individuals that have been appointed and in their ability to serve the public interest of Colorado.” By Lindsey Toomer, Colorado Newsline The nominees for a 15-member panel that will oversee Colorado’s new framework for legalized access to psychedelic mushrooms were given initial approval by a Colorado Senate committee last week. The Natural Medicine Advisory Board is tasked with helping Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) develop rules and regulations to implement the Natural Medicine Health Act, which Colorado voters passed last…

The North Dakota legislature has sent a bill to the governor that would allow patients admitted to hospice care to self-certify as medical marijuana patients. The legislation from Rep. Mary Schneider (D) cleared the House in an 86-6 vote last month and the Senate unanimously in a 45-0 vote last week. It now heads to the desk of Gov. Doug Burgum (R). Under the proposal, terminally ill patients could use proof of their admittance in hospice care in lieu of a doctor’s written recommendation to register as a medical cannabis patient. As introduced, the measure would have given the self-certification…

As Zimbabwe continues to shape rules and laws for the hemp industry, the country needs to simultaneously build out infrastructure and expand research while spreading risk by moving beyond CBD into the production of food and fiber products. Amended legislation in Zimbabwe earlier this year removed industrial hemp from the country’s list of dangerous drugs and set the defining line between marijuana and hemp at 1.0%. That THC limit puts Zimbabwe in the vanguard of nations around the world that have broken with the long-standing convention observed by most countries, which sets the THC limit for hemp at 0.3%. Zimbabwe opened…

A Washington State House committee advanced legislation on Tuesday that would protect job applicants in the state from being discriminated against for using marijuana. The bill, which already passed the full Senate last month, would forbid most employers from rejecting applicants simply for testing positive for cannabis on pre-employment drug tests. Workers could still be fired for a positive marijuana test that occurs after they’re hired, however. Lawmakers on the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee voted 6–3 along party lines to approve the measure, SB 5123. Committee chair Rep. Liz Berry (D) said before the final vote that the…

New York lawmakers have approved a bill that would require public health insurance providers in the state to include medical marijuana as a covered prescription drug and authorize private insurers to do the same. The Assembly Health Committee passed the legislation from Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D) in an 18-7 vote on Tuesday. It now heads to the Ways & Means Committee before potentially advancing to the floor. The measure would amend state statute to define cannabis as a “prescription drug,” “covered drug” or “health care service” for health insurance purposes. Medical marijuana would need to be covered by public…

A California Senate committee has approved a bill to legalize possession of certain psychedelics and facilitated use of the substances. The legislation from Sen. Scott Wiener (D), which was refiled in December after a more expansive version was derailed last session, cleared the Senate Public Safety Committee in a 3-1 vote on Tuesday and next heads to the Appropriations Committee. Meanwhile, a Republican lawmaker recently filed a new, narrower Assembly bill aimed at providing access to psychedelic therapy for military veterans. It hasn’t yet been scheduled for any committee action. The broader measure that is advancing would legalize the “possession,…

The head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) won’t commit to completing a scientific review into marijuana’s federal scheduling status by the unofficial cannabis holiday 4/20—but he did say that the process will take into account shifts in what the drug “means” to Americans over the last several decades. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra discussed his agency’s role in an ongoing cannabis scheduling review that the president directed last year during an interview with KDKA-TV that aired on Monday. The question on the minds of many advocates is just how long it will take the Food and…

The lead GOP Senate sponsor of a marijuana banking bill wants bankers to “unleash and army” of lobbyists on Capitol Hill to push for the passage of the reform legislation through the Senate this Congress. During a speech at the American Bankers Association (ABA) Washington Summit on Tuesday, the senator talked next steps for the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act that he’s working to advance alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and other lawmakers. Daines said he believes there’s a “chance” it can pass under regular order in the Senate by going through the committee process. “This…

Five children taken from a Black family after a traffic stop in Coffee County will remain in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services following a hearing in juvenile court on Monday. Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were pulled over by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for tinted car windows and driving in the left lane on I-24 without passing as they tried to make their way from their home in Georgia to a family funeral in Chicago last month. After a search of the family’s car turned up five grams of marijuana—a misdemeanor in Tennessee—Williams was arrested. Clayborne was…