Author: News Room

Bipartisan congressional lawmakers have introduced a new bill that seeks to end what they say is a “discriminatory” federal policy that bars people with prior felony drug convictions from owning or leading legal hemp businesses. Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), David Trone (D-MD), Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) are sponsoring the “Free to Grow Act,” which narrowly addresses that past conviction provision of the 2018 Farm Bill that federally legalized hemp. Pingree said in a press release on Tuesday that, despite legalization, “the industry’s growth is being stunted by red tape, discriminatory policy, and regulatory uncertainty.” “The upcoming Farm…

Missouri lawmakers have approved a GOP-led bill in committee to promote research into the therapeutic potential of certain psychedelics such as psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine. The panel was initially scheduled to also take up an additional measure to provide legal protections to people using psilocybin for medical reasons, but that more far-reaching proposal was removed from consideration. The House Veterans Committee approved HB 1154 from Rep. Dan Houx (R) in a 11-0 vote, just about a week after holding a hearing at which members took testimony on the two reform proposals. “There’s been extensive research done on this. This has…

A drastic imbalance between revenues and expenses shows publicly traded companies are overstretched in the European CBD market and continue to rack up massive losses, a UK cannabis analyst says in a recent report on the sector. Eleven public companies researched by London-based Prohibition Partners had combined operating losses of €62 million for 2021. Six of those companies increased their operating losses by an average of 400%, while losses of three others averaged 65% that year, according to the report. “Virtually no public company operating in the European CBD market is making an operating profit as of mid-2022. Indeed, as…

Thousands and thousands of pounds of cannabis already leave California every year thanks to the illicit market. We’re America’s number one plug. But can we move some legally for once?The regulator for the world’s biggest legal cannabis market thinks the feds won’t mind, and now awaits a potential green light from the state’s attorney general.Will America drop the charade and engage in free cannabis trade? Will the US Constitution’s Commerce Clause force states’ hands? Listen to Leafly Senior Editor David Downs breaking it down for National Public Radio affiliate KCRW in Santa Monica, CA. We’ve been doing a three-year-running ‘This…

The Law Library of Congress, the largest law library in the world, recently issued a milestone report on hemp regulations, comparing how countries around the world approach issues such as cultivation, product testing and licensing legal businesses. “Demand and production of hemp are growing worldwide and are forecast to show significant growth in the next decade,” Tariq Ahmad, a foreign law specialist for the Law Library of Congress, wrote in a blog post for the library. The report, he said, “explores the regulation of industrial hemp in select jurisdictions around the globe.” While Congress effectively legalized the cultivation and use…

Far more New Yorkers believe that consuming alcohol is a serious public health problem compared to the minority who feel the same about marijuana, according to a recent survey conducted by state officials. There’s also majority support for the state’s adult-use cannabis law, and a plurality of New Yorkers additionally favor having marijuana retailers open up in their communities. The New York Department of Health’s annual chronic disease survey that was released late last month examined public opinion on a wide range of issues, including marijuana and other drug policy matters. One of the takeaways that the department featured in…

“We felt it was really important to provide the veterans in the state access to medical marijuana.” By Cameron Arcand, The Center Square Legislation approved by the Arizona Senate could significantly change medical marijuana card costs and accessibility if passed into law, including for veterans. Senate Bill 1466 would cut the cost of a medicinal marijuana card from $150 for both the initial and renewal every two years down to $50, but it would be free for veterans. The legislation passed with bipartisan approval on Thursday. The legislation includes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which commonly affects veterans, and Autism Spectrum Disorder…

The U.S. government is appealing a federal judge’s recent ruling that deemed the ban prohibiting people who use marijuana from possessing firearms to be unconstitutional. In a filing submitted on Friday, the Justice Department informed the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma that it would be challenging the ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The two-page document from U.S. Attorney Robert Troester and Assistant U.S. Attorney David McCrary does not touch on the reasoning behind the appeal, which will be fleshed out in a subsequent filing before the appeals court. The development…

A new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on federal legislation intended to expand research into using cannabis to treat PTSD and chronic pain in military veterans says the proposal would result in negligible costs to the government but may also fail at its goal of ushering in additional studies. The CBO report, published on Thursday, consists of a short analysis of the Senate bill, S.326, which would mandate the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) research and report to Congress on the therapeutic potential of cannabis for veterans. It would also authorize, but not require, VA to conduct…

Oklahoma voters are heading to the polls on Tuesday to decide on a ballot measure that would legalize marijuana for adults. In most counties throughout the state, the cannabis measure—State Question 820—is the only thing that voters will see on their ballot—a unique situation in the history of legalization initiatives. Advocates tried to put the reform on the November 2022 ballot, but delays in signature verification by officials and the state Supreme Court’s subsequent decision in litigation meant that it missed the window to qualify for that cycle. In October, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) called a special election for the…