Author: News Room

A top Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has affirmed that spores that produce so-called magic mushrooms are not, on their own, federally prohibited. DEA’s Drug & Chemical Evaluation Section Chief Terrence Boos was asked about the legal status of the spores in a letter from attorney Michael McGuire in November, and he sent a response on Tuesday that clarified the agency’s position. “If the mushroom spores (or any other material) do not contain psilocybin or psilocin (or any other controlled substance or listed chemical), the material is considered not controlled” under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Boos wrote. “However, if at…

The proposed rules would change the definition of THC to include the percent of THC-A, leading to the potential ban of THC-A and some CBD flower. By Adam Friedman, Tennessee Lookout Tennessee lawmakers passed legislation to begin regulating hemp-derived cannabinoid products last year, banning the selling of them to those under the age of 21. But the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s new rules submitted in December go further and attempt to curb the selling of hemp-derived cannabinoid products like THC-A and CBD flower by changing the rules around what qualifies as THC, the psychoactive ingredient most commonly found in marijuana.…

As Kentucky works to implement a recently passed medical cannabis policy, a lawmaker filed legislation this week that would end all penalties, including arrest, for simple possession and use of recreational marijuana by adults 21 and older. It would also allow adults to grow a small number of cannabis plants at home for personal use. Commercial sales, however, would remain prohibited. The limited legalization measure, HB 72, was introduced Tuesday by Rep. Nima Kulkarni (D), who this time last year introduced a measure that would have let voters decide whether to legalize use, possession and home cultivation. The lawmaker previously…

A year after New York became the country’s second most populous state to commence adult-use marijuana sales, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has released its latest annual report, along with a pair of separate documents focusing on equity in the industry and an enforcement against unlicensed operators. The full annual report, which spans 91 pages, comes a few days after OCM offered a brief snapshot of the state’s first year of legal sales, highlighting that consumers purchased more than 3.5 million cannabis products during the year, with total sales expected to exceed $150 million once December’s numbers are tallied—an…

A Missouri CBD company will pay $370,000 for alleged violations of federal law on pesticides, under an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).CBD American Shaman, Kansas City, Missouri, reached an agreement with the EPA that penalizes the company for selling and distributing six antimicrobial pesticides, including “Shaman Cleansing Wash” and “Shaman Cleaning Gel” during the COVID-19 pandemic.EPA cited the company for failing to register the products as required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Products used to disinfect and sanitize against microbiological organisms are considered pesticides and are regulated under U.S. law.‘Critical’ protectionThe alleged violations were…

Massachusetts officials have certified that activists submitted enough valid signatures to force legislative consideration of a psychedelics legalization initiative before the measure potentially heads to the state’s 2024 ballot. Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin’s (D) office certified that the campaign Massachusetts for Mental Health Options (MMHO) collected 96,277 valid signatures for the reform measure—about 20,000 more than required to put the issue before legislators. Accordingly, the proposal has now been officially transmitted to the legislature. “This brings psilocybin and other breakthrough psychedelic therapies one big step closer to being available to adults dealing with depression, anxiety and other mental…

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is telling lawmakers that it reserves “the final authority” to make any scheduling decision on marijuana following an ongoing review, regardless of what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommends. In a letter sent to Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chair Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), DEA Acting Chief of the Office of Congressional Affairs Michael Miller gave a general overview of the scheduling review process that was initiated under a directive from President Joe Biden in October 2022. That started with a scientific assessment from HHS that reportedly advised DEA to move marijuana from…

Legal marijuana sales in New Mexico set a new monthly record as 2023 came to a close, with adult-use purchases in December climbing to more than $37 million and sales of medical marijuana reaching their highest point since August. All told during 2023—the state’s first full year of legal sales—retailers sold more than half a billion dollars in cannabis products. According to sales figures released on Tuesday through the state Regulation and Licensing Department’s (RLD) Cannabis Reporting Online Portal, or CROP, adult-use retailers in December sold about $37.5 million, while medical dispensaries sold just barely under $13 million—for a total…

Ohio’s Republican governor is adamant that lawmakers must pass legislation as soon as possible to expedite regulated recreational marijuana sales and also ban purchases of intoxicating hemp products. With the legislature coming back into session for the new year, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said “we just need to get something done” to address the adult-use sales rollout timeline under a voter-approved legalization law that took effect last month. It’s a “strange situation” the state has found itself in, he said, with sales currently set to open up in late summer or early fall. DeWine said he supports a bill the…

A Missouri lawmaker has pre-filed a bill for the 2024 session that would prevent police from using the smell of marijuana as the sole basis of a warrantless vehicle or property search. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Ian Mackey (D), would build on the state’s voter-approved cannabis legalization law, reforming law enforcement policies in a way that mirrors steps taken by other jurisdictions like Maryland and New Jersey. Mackey filed an earlier version of the bill in 2021, but it did not advance out of committee. The one-page measure says that “the odor of marijuana alone shall not provide a…