Author: News Room

By its very nature, cannabis isn’t about looking back. A new year means new strains, a new crop, and new states opening their adult-use floodgates. 2024 is looking brighter and brighter, Leafly Nation, but we think it’s also worth looking at how far we’ve come, and what resonated with us in 2023. We can’t keep pushing forward without acknowledging what worked and what didn’t to get us here, right?So, we’ve compiled here our most popular stories of 2023. We saw some trends with our traffic—namely, you all seem to have an interest in optimizing your lives with shrooms, seeking out…

A proposed ballot measure in Colorado would remove marijuana use as a disqualification for concealed carry permits in the state, potentially allowing people who use the drug to carry concealed firearms in public. The measure, backed by the advocacy group Guns for Everyone, is set for a public hearing on Tuesday morning before the state’s Legislative Council Staff (LCS). After that meeting and any subsequent revisions to the proposal’s text, the campaign would need to file the would-be initiative with the secretary of state before activists could begin gathering the required 124,238 valid voter signatures required to qualify for the…

Nebraska activists say they’ve collected enough signatures for a pair of 2024 medical marijuana legalization initiatives from 16 counties, with plans to close the gap on four more by the end of the year as they make a final push for the ballot. Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) has worked to put medical cannabis on the ballot for two prior election cycles, only to come short due to setbacks such as the loss of critical funding last year and intervention by the state Supreme Court in the prior attempt. But advocates got an early start on signature gathering this round…

Democratic, Republican and independent 2024 presidential candidates might disagree on many major political issues, but three hopefuls have each recently used their platform on the campaign trail to promote their visions for psychedelics reform. Marianne Williamson, who is running for the Democratic nomination against incumbent President Joe Biden, has released a comprehensive drug policy platform that broadly condemns prohibition, pledging to legalize “less harmful drugs” including marijuana and psilocybin while providing free access to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to treat drug addiction. Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy reaffirmed his more modest position last week, calling for the decriminalization of ayahuasca and ketamine for…

A multinational investment bank says that marijuana has become a “formidable competitor” to alcohol, projecting that nearly 20 million more people will regularly consume cannabis over the next five years as booze loses a couple million drinkers. It also says marijuana sales are estimated to reach $37 billion in 2027 as more state markets come online. An analysis from the firm TD Cowen says marijuana sales reached $29 billion in 2023, which is approximately 11 percent of what the alcohol industry brought it. That’s up from four percent just five years ago, and marijuana is expected to grow by another…

Nearly two years after a top Italian court blocked a referendum on marijuana legalization and psychedelics reform from going before voters, support in the country is building for a narrower, cannabis-only measure that would allow the home cultivation of four plants, the eventual creation of social clubs and the elimination of penalties for consumers. “Despite the defeat we suffered after the collection of signatures with the legal cannabis referendum, we have decided to insist until things change,” Marco Perduca, an advocate and former Italian senator, told supporters in a recent email, according to a translation. Perduca was one of many…

Issues included “failure to provide documentation that the facility would be operated by eligible individuals.” By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent Missouri cannabis regulators may revoke 11 of the 48 social-equity cannabis licenses issued in October after finding they didn’t meet eligibility requirements. Nine were dispensaries and two were wholesale facilities. Among those who could face license revocation is Canna Zoned, a Michigan company that secured two of the 16 dispensary cannabis licenses—in Columbia and Arnold. Both of Cana Zoned’s licenses have been deemed ineligible, according to information the state provided to The Independent Friday evening. State records show Canna Zoned…

As Delaware gears up for adult-use cannabis, sales of which are set to kick off as soon as next year, the state could also dramatically expand its existing medical marijuana program. A bill introduced in the legislature this week would remove the requirement that patients have one of a designated set of qualifying conditions, instead allowing doctors to recommend marijuana for any condition that they believe it could benefit. Additionally, patients 65 or older could self-certify their need for medical cannabis—without any need for a recommendation from a healthcare provider. The bill, HB 285, was introduced Thursday by lead sponsor…

The U.S. attorney general and a coalition of marijuana businesses represented by an influential law firm have jointly agreed to request a deadline extension for the filing of initial briefs in a much-anticipated lawsuit against the federal government that seeks to block the enforcement of cannabis prohibition against state-legal activity. In the lawsuit, the businesses have claimed that perpetuating prohibition in state markets is unconstitutional, creating undue public safety risks while precluding licensed marijuana businesses from accessing critical financial services and tax deductions that are available to other industries. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the…

“We are proud to end unnecessary industry prohibitions on those who have the legacy skills and expertise to thrive in Massachusetts’s regulated industry—and deserve the economic benefits now that marijuana is legal.” By Nurys Camargo and Ava Callender Concepcion, Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission via CommonWealth Beacon This fall, the Cannabis Control Commission’s regulations to implement Massachusetts’s equity reform law became official, representing the most wide-ranging changes to the Commonwealth’s regulated marijuana marketplace in six years and a historic accomplishment for advocates, operators, regulators and the legislature. As a result, our agency is now entrusted with oversight of local contracts between…