Author: News Room

Republican House lawmakers have filed the first piece of marijuana reform legislation for the 118th Congress, proposing to allow medical cannabis patients to purchase and possess firearms. Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) introduced the bill, which appears to be the same as a measure originally filed in 2019 that did not advance. It’s being cosponsored by Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), who is a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) . While the full text isn’t yet available, the bill shares the short title of the “Second Amendment Protection Act” that Mooney filed in the 116th Congress.…

“It’s weird that it’s legal to possess it but you can’t sell it.” By Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury At a sleek new store called Cannabist in Richmond’s Carytown shopping district, anyone with an easy-to-obtain medical cannabis card can buy a full range of marijuana products strongly regulated by the Virginia Board of Pharmacy. Right across the street, a vape shop has a sign advertising largely unregulated delta-8, which also gets users high but doesn’t run afoul of current marijuana laws because it’s derived from hemp plants. A grocery store a short distance away offers a variety of milder CBD products…

A New Jersey state senator has introduced a bill to regulate delta-8 THC, calling the synthetic compound “the bathtub gin of the cannabis space” as he warned many such products might not be safe. Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, a Republican from Monmouth, lamented that the U.S. Congress has so far failed to clarify the status of CBD and delta-8 in legal and regulatory frameworks, noting “You can get this stuff online, at the gas station, the pharmacy, bodega. It’s everywhere now.” The d-8 loophole Federal lawmakers failed to account for delta-8 THC, which is produced synthetically from hemp-derived CBD, when they legalized hemp…

A Republican New Hampshire lawmaker has filed a bill to legalize the possession and use of psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD by adults 21 and older. As state legislators across the U.S. pursue psychedelics reform for the 2023 session, the New Hampshire bill from Rep. Kevin Verville (R) has entered the mix. The legislation stipulates that the “possession or use of a hallucinogenic drug by a person 21 years of age or older shall not be an offense.” It would also specifically reduce penalties for LSD manufacturing and possession by people under 21. While the bill doesn’t explicitly list the…

Damian Marley continues to honor the Marley legacy in his own way as an artist carving his own path. The Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter and producer remains at the forefront of the reggae genre for his music, collaborations, producing of other artists, and his very own reggae cruise. The Welcome To Jamrock Reggae Cruise set sail last month for its seventh installment, the first annual voyage since the cruise was put on hiatus due to the worldwide COVID pandemic. In advance of the ship’s departure, we were able to catch up with Marley via Zoom and learn more about his music…

By Mike Gianakos Against all odds, High Times became an internationally known magazine, now celebrating 45 years of continuous publication with more than 500 issues. There is no question that the publication far exceeded the wildest, most ambitious expectations of the men and women who first introduced it to the world back in the mid-1970s. High Times was founded in 1974 by the political activist and ace marijuana smuggler Thomas King Forcade. Forcade, it is said, was the first activist to use pieing as an act of protest, back in 1970. He was a brilliant and savvy media mind who…

The governor of New York recently signed legislation mandating that the state immediately reschedule or deschedule Schedule I drugs like MDMA and psilocybin if they’re reclassified under federal law. The companion Assembly and Senate bills, signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) late last month, are meant to “provide for parity between the New York State schedule and the federal schedule when certain drugs are approved for medical treatment,” a memo from the sponsors says. Assemblymember Donna Lupardo (D) and Sen. Gustavo Rivera (D) sponsored the identical proposals in their respective chambers, carrying them through the committee process and to the…

About one in five people who are abstaining from alcohol as part of “Dry January” say they’re using cannabis as an alternative to help get through the month, according to a new survey. While most observers (33 percent) of the month-long alcohol break say they’re not replacing booze with anything, 21 percent said that they’re opting for cannabis and CBD products, the poll from CivicScience found. When it comes to replacing alcohol for #DryJanuary, roughly 60% of alcohol abstainers are evenly split between non-alcoholic beverages, cannabis/CBD products, and soda/seltzer products. See the full story here: https://t.co/K5n2NHlx9P pic.twitter.com/5MwjIwL0iX — CivicScience (@CivicScience)…

“We are working through our process and an announcement will be coming soon.” By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent The constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana in Missouri won voter approval in November but created a schism among social-justice activists over the question of racial and economic equity. Some believe the new law will empower minority marijuana business owners, while others worry it will cement an already distrusted, inequitable business licensing system in place. Much rides on who is selected for chief equity officer by the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), the state agency tasked with overseeing the marijuana program.…

A federal agency released a report on Thursday that urges states that have legalized marijuana to include warning labels on cannabis products that caution against driving while impaired—noting that federal prohibition is a barrier to nationalizing such consumer education to mitigate public safety risks. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report provides an in-depth overview of the “crash risk associated with different drugs, including alcohol, and the prevalence of their use among drivers,” as well as “countermeasures to reduce impairment-related crashes.” One countermeasure that NTSB recommended to states across the U.S. is to mandate marijuana labeling to inform consumers about…