Author: News Room

As Kentucky advocates step up their push for medical marijuana legalization in the upcoming session, the governor is educating police about the scope of the executive order protecting certain patients who possess cannabis purchased in other states that he issued last month. Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said his administration is distributing what are known as “palm cards” to officers, with information about what will be permissible under his executive order that goes into effect on Sunday, January 1. At a press briefing on Thursday, he said that the cards are “very simple” for law enforcement to understand and should give…

New York’s first legal adult-use marijuana sales got underway on Thursday, with the inaugural purchase being made by the state’s top cannabis regulator. Broader sales to the general public are set to begin later in the afternoon at the symbolic time of 4:20 PM, officials said. Adults 21 and older will be able to make cannabis purchases at the Manhattan-based storefront run by the nonprofit organization Housing Works, which focuses on addressing AIDS and homelessness issues. The governor and regulators confirmed the location and open date last week, touting the administration’s fulfilled promise to launch the recreational market this year—albeit…

Snoop Dogg announced today that Death Row Records—the legendary West Coast hip-hop platform featuring artists like Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur, Nate Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, and so on—is entering the cannabis game with Death Row Cannabis.  What kind of strains can we expect? Death Row Cannabis will initially launch a trove of OG strains including Runtz, Strawberry Gary, and Tropicana Cookies. The first drop arrives in limited edition commemorative metallic bags featuring the iconic hooded prisoner figure seated in an electric chair on the front—the image found on the Death Row Records logo if you look closely.  Specifically designed for…

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has concluded that psychedelics like MDMA and psilocybin show promise in the treatment of certain mental health conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and severe depression. In a recent report from VA’s Evidence Synthesis Program (ESP), officials said that their review of more than 2,500 “potentially relevant articles” turned up 38 key studies that back the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. The report determined that “MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD may improve symptoms and lead to remission for some individuals in the short-term,” while psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy “for depression also shows some promise.” VA caveated, however,…

December was a wild one. From searching the streets of Bangkok for the heat, to the Harvest Ball’s premiere of the Dank Tank, to a whole lot of holiday parties, I’m exhausted. I usually try to take the back half of December to try and recover & prepare for the upcoming year, but it never really works out. This year was no exception. I don’t know why I still expect holidays to be relaxing. But Thailand was wild! I’m working on a piece covering our adventure that you’ll all be able to read sometime next month, but the long and…

On Dec. 20, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit Humboldt County, Calif., part of the Emerald Triangle region that is arguably the heart of the U.S. cannabis industry, well-known for its legacy operators, ideal growing conditions and top-notch genetics.It felt like yet another blow to California, which has struggled considerably in 2022, a year where the persistent challenges of competition from the illicit market, high taxes, price compression, compliance standards and local cannabis business opt-outs have pushed the world’s largest cannabis market to the brink.“It’s just a recipe for disaster,” Jocelyn Sheltraw, who serves on the Board of Directors of the California…

Certain psychedelics are now officially legal to possess and grow in Colorado under state law, with the governor formally declaring the results of a ballot initiative that voters approved last month. Gov. Jared Polis (D) issued the proclamation on Tuesday, along with seven others for separate ballot measures, about a week earlier than he’s required to do under the state Constitution. While there are still several steps that must be taken to fully implement other aspects of the reform—which also involves creating “healing centers” for supervised psychedelic sessions—possession, cultivation and sharing of certain substances by adults 21 and older is…

South Dakota activists have taken the first step toward putting marijuana legalization on the state ballot for the third time in as many election cycles. The new measure, if it goes before voters and is approved, would allow current medical cannabis dispensaries to sell marijuana to any adult over the age of 21. Voters rejected the campaign’s most recent reform initiative last month, but advocates say low turnout during a midterm election and insufficient funding were largely to blame, pointing out that an earlier 2020 legalization proposal was approved by voters before being invalidated by the state Supreme Court amid…

A region of California known for some of the world’s best cannabis continues to experience drought and high heat. Wildlife in parts of Oregon is, for now, less vibrant than it once was. And East Coast hurricanes are decimating crops in a pinch. These are realities for cannabis and hemp growers growing outdoors in 2022. The few sources Cannabis Business Times spoke with for this story say weather catastrophes are becoming more frequent and severe than has been the norm for decades, and that climate change is the culprit for many of those shifts.Humboldt County comprises part of a temperate…

A top Wisconsin Republican lawmaker says the governor risks jeopardizing a chance to pass bipartisan legislation allowing medical cannabis if he follows though with a pledge to put broader legalization of marijuana for recreational use in his upcoming budget proposal. While Gov. Tony Evers (D) has said that enacting a more limited medical marijuana program could represent an area of bipartisan compromise in the next session, he’s also intent on advancing broader reform. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) says that could be a problem. “If he really wants to generate consensus, he needs to get off his liberal bandwagon and…