Author: News Room

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is working on updating a directive that’s set to expire this month concerning military veteran participation in state-legal medical marijuana programs—and congressional lawmakers are telling the department to “not interfere” in such activity. Lawmakers declined to put cannabis banking and a number of other drug policy reforms in a spending bill package released on Tuesday—but the relevant appropriations report attached to the legislation notes that VA is “in the process of updating” a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) directive that stipulates the agency’s doctors can discuss marijuana use with veteran patients and that benefits…

Cannabis sales in the state of Washington declined by about $120 million over the past year, according to a recent market analysis report, marking the first time regulated sales of pot have dropped in a decade. Retail sales of marijuana fell by more than 8% from July 2021 through June 2022, according to a report on the cannabis markets in Washington, California, Colorado and Oregon from cannabis data analysis firm Headset. The drop in retail cannabis sales in Washington followed two years of strong growth, largely fueled by the boost in sales associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting…

A cannabis research center is coming to the Windy City.Illinois and Chicago officials and the Discovery Partner Institute (DPI), which is part of the University of Illinois system, announced Dec. 15 that a Cannabis Research Institute (CRI) is opening in the city to “further boost Illinois’ global standing as a science hub,” according to a press release.The CRI’s goal is to provide the cannabis industry with “evidence-based” and “research-driven” data that covers various topics related to social equity, crop management, and the medicinal and health benefits of cannabis consumption, according to the release.Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said this is an…

A majority of Texas voters support legalizing marijuana, and about four in five residents feel cannabis should be legal for either medical or recreational use, according to a new poll. The University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll additionally found that a strong majority (72 percent) back decriminalizing marijuana by making the offense punishable by a citation and fine without the threat of jail time. As lawmakers prepare for the 2023 session, the survey sends a clear message that Texas voters are eager for reform, with 55 percent saying that they believe cannabis possession should be legal for any purpose either…

The decision establishes a precedent for how to regulate the substance for the rest of Canada, and potentially other countries.  Quebec became the first province to cover psilocybin-assisted therapy under medical insurance last week. This is further evidence for the medical benefits of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms, and a further step in the push to legalize psilocybin and other psychedelics.  Psilocybin has shown tremendous potential in treating numerous conditions, including severe depression, alcohol and drug addiction, end-of-life anxiety, and more. Several magic mushroom stores have opened up in Canada and the US as of late—and have been…

The U.S. Congress has failed to act on a banking bill that would have led the way to financial services for hemp and marijuana companies. The bill, the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, will not be part of an omnibus spending package after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, didn’t call it to a vote in the Senate. Passage was expected While marijuana industry representatives had conceded that a broader measure on cannabis would not be passed by the current Congress, they had tipped the SAFE Act for passage. The House of Representatives has seven…

The city launched a task force to weed out unlicensed dispensaries. They seized 100,000 products and $4 million in two weeks.Last Thursday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a new initiative to drive unlicensed marijuana stores out of New York. With New York’s legal cannabis stores expected to open late next week, Adams said a new joint task force will use raids, civil penalties, and summons to push the state’s fake dispensaries out of business–without criminalizing the offenders.“Unlicensed cannabis stores are threatening a budding economic opportunity for our city,” Mayor Adams said at City Hall on Thursday. The joint…

The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act may be in peril as Congress works to approve a federal spending deal that may or may not include the cannabis banking reform legislation.The omnibus spending bill is set to pass in the coming days, with some lawmakers pushing to include SAFE Banking in the deal to allow federally regulated financial institutions to work with state-legal cannabis businesses.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tried to tack the SAFE Banking Act onto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) earlier this month, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell,…

The governor of Minnesota says he expects the state to legalize marijuana “by May.” But the House speaker is tempering those expectations, putting the timeline for reform in the range of sometime in the next two years. Gov. Tim Walz (D) has been especially bullish about legalization since winning reelection during the November election, which also saw the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party take a slim majority in the Senate while retaining its control of the House. He’s previoulsy described the issue as a top priority that he hopes to see advance in the legislature as “one of the first items” to reach…

The majority of Missouri’s medical cannabis operators have applied for a new license to serve the adult-use market since the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) started accepting applications Dec. 8.Regulators have received applications for comprehensive licenses from 318 of the state’s 322 medical cannabis licensees, according to an OzarksFirst.com report.A comprehensive license will allow medical cannabis cultivators, manufacturers and dispensaries to serve the broader adult-use market in addition to registered patients.The DHSS has 60 days to approve the applications.A spokesperson for the department told OzarksFirst.com that state officials are currently focused on finalizing the state’s adult-use cannabis regulations,…