Author: News Room

South Dakota Republican lawmakers have filed a bill to mandate that state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries post a sign at their businesses warning patients that federal law prohibits cannabis consumers from possessing firearms. The legislation, led by Rep. Kevin Jensen (R) and Sen. Jim Stalzer (R) and 10 other legislators, comes at a time when the constitutionality of the underlying federal gun ban for marijuana consumers is being challenged in multiple courts. Under the bill, South Dakota medical cannabis dispensaries would need to post at each entrance to their business and at each register or point of sale a sign that…

The stage is set for another “productive year” in federal marijuana reform—with lawmakers positioned to leverage “tremendous bipartisan investments” from 2023, while pushing the Biden administration to move further on the issue ahead of this year’s election. That’s according to the latest yearly marijuana memo from Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), a founding co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus who is also marking the 50-year anniversary of his legislative marijuana advocacy work. The memo details various achievements from the first half of the 118th Congress, including multiple bipartisan cannabis bills and letters, progress on the administrative review into marijuana scheduling and…

Sam Jay might be from Beantown but she’s been in New York long enough to master its rhythm. When Sam is not in production on various film and TV projects or touring, you can catch her stoned pretending to be a therapist to her talented comedian friends on stage during her live comedy “On Site” show. I met this Bostonian-New York transplant several months ago where all the cool and hip creative types meet in NYC—Soho House. With an invite from a friend and killer stand-up comedian Petey Deabreu, who was previously one of Sam’s “patients,” I pulled up. It…

New York-based 22nd Century Group said it has closed the sale of its GVB Biopharma unit, a CBD maker, taking a massive loss in the transaction. The company sold GVB for an estimated $2.25 million, less than 4% of the roughly $60 million it paid for the Las Vegas-based company in a 2022 stock swap transaction.The sale will reduce 22nd Century’s operating costs going forward, and its debt by $3.2 million, the company said in a press release. An additional $2 million reduction is expected to come from the buyer’s payment of a promissory note due June 2024. 22nd Century…

Hello, Stargazers, and welcome to 2024! Get ready for a new of astral changes and dank strains. As we usher in the new year, Mercury returns to direct motion on January 1. This event signals a time for clearer communication and smoother transactions, especially beneficial for earth signs Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. And Capricorn season illuminates our paths, urging all signs to embrace practicality and determination in their pursuits. Whether you set new intentions or refine existing goals, this is prime time to ground your dreams in reality.Mid-month brings a blend of stability and introspection with the direct movement of…

Backers of a proposed Colorado ballot initiative to allow marijuana users to obtain concealed carry permits for guns will appear at a hearing before the secretary of state’s office on Wednesday to finalize the measure, a last step before they can start gathering voter signatures to put the reform on November’s ballot. The proposal is backed by Guns for Everyone, a Second Amendment advocacy group that offers free concealed carry classes to people in the state. It opposes gun control measures, including both barriers to firearm ownership and concealed carry. Under federal law, being an “unlawful user” of a controlled substance,…

As New York works to significantly expand the state’s regulated marijuana market, a new bill would empower individual municipal governments to shut down unlicensed cannabis businesses and seize their products. The legislation from Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar (D) aims to address the proliferation of illegal operators that have emerged throughout the state amid the protracted rollout of New York’s legalization law. Currently, state regulators with the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) hold enforcement authority to close unlicensed businesses. The newly filed Stop Marijuana Over-proliferation and Keep Empty Operators of Unlicensed Transactions (SMOKEOUT) Act would expand that authority to local governments by giving…

Cannabis consumption prior to exercise can lead to greater enjoyment and an enhanced “runner’s high,” a new study has found—though it is also tied to an increase in feelings of exertion from working out. Published last week in the journal Sports Medicine, the paper from researchers at the University of Colorado found that using marijuana before exercising “may lead to increases in both positive and negative aspects” of the experience. The findings held regardless of whether participants used THC- or CBD-dominant products, although people who used CBD reported a greater sense of enjoyment and less of an increase in exertion.…

As the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers an application to approve MDMA as a prescription drug, new standards from the American Medical Association (AMA) have officially taken effect that assign psychedelics-specific codes to collect data on the novel therapies. AMA approved Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) III codes for psychedelic medicines in July after collaborating with the psychedelics-focused MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (MAPS PBC) and COMPASS Pathways. Those codes, which took effect on Monday, could eventually be used for health providers seeking coverage and reimbursement for psychedelics treatments, pending FDA approval. “Having recently filed a new drug application for MDMA-assisted…

As a new law in Washington State took effect this week to shield most job applicants who legally use cannabis from facing employment discrimination during the hiring process, two lawmakers have filed legislation to roll back those protections for workers in the drug treatment industry. HB 2047, sponsored by Reps. Tom Dent (R) and Lauren Davis (D), would add to the new law’s list of exemptions, which already include law enforcement, jobs requiring a federal background investigation or security clearance, fire departments, first responders, safety-sensitive positions, corrections officers and those in the airline or aerospace industries. Specifically, the bill would…