Author: News Room

Missouri Republican lawmakers have pre-filed a pair of bills to legalize the medical use of psilocybin and require clinical trials exploring the therapeutic potential of the psychedelic. Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder (R) and Rep. Aaron McMullen (R) introduced similar versions of the legislation for the 2024 session, setting the stage for further consideration of psychedelics reform in the Show-Me State. Under both proposals, adults 21 or older who are diagnosed with a qualifying condition such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or substance misuse disorder could legally access laboratory-tested psilocybin. They also would need to be enrolled, or sought enrollment, in…

Little Five Points Pharmacy, in Atlanta, is one of nearly 120 independent pharmacies in Georgia that recently applied to dispense medical marijuana under a new state program. Then last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sent Little Five Points and other pharmacies across the state a warning that the activity is unlawful because THC remains a Schedule I controlled substance. “I’m very, very, very disappointed with it,” pharmacist Ira Katz, at Little Five Points Pharmacy, told Atlanta First News. “We always felt, as pharmacists, that this is a drug and it should be kept in pharmacy. It should be regulated…

“This is the first try at a serious program that says: Let’s take the plastic and recycle it. Let’s take this environmental concern seriously.”  By Bhaamati Borkhetaria, CommonWealth Beacon One of the state’s cannabis retailers is encouraging customers to recycle the plastic that encases certain cannabis products by offering them a $4 pre-rolled joint for every piece of packaging they return. In the heavily regulated cannabis industry, nearly every product is required to come in child-resistant packaging that is typically made of plastic. Most of that plastic is not recyclable and ends up in the trash or tossed on the…

A pair of bipartisan state senators in Pennsylvania are working to garner support for a legislative proposal that would decriminalize marijuana, downgrading simple possession from a misdemeanor crime to a civil offense. Sens. Sharif Street (D) and Camera Bartolotta (R) plan to reintroduce a bill from last session, SB 107, that would remove the possibility of jail time for possession and use of marijuana and instead impose monetary fines. The penalty for possession would be $25 under the pair’s proposed change, while the fine for consuming cannabis in public would be $100. Street and Bartolotta circulated a co-sponsorship memo on…

Visionary art aims to transcend the boundaries of the physical realm to portray a wider view of awareness through mystical and spiritual themes. Visionary artist Allyson Grey is a conceptual abstract painter whose work is inspired by these themes, and believes parallels between contemporary visionary art and ancient art can be found everywhere. Allyson Grey has spent decades exploring her work as a visionary artist, which stems from a life changing LSD trip where she first experienced “secret writing.” Along with her husband and fellow visionary artist Alex Grey, she co-founded the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors (CoSM), a transdenominational church…

“Let’s puff, puff, pass the bills.” By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current With infused drinks, charcuterie and the blasting beats of Drake, a group of more than three dozen industry advocates, leaders and lawmakers gathered this month to celebrate the anniversary of the first legal marijuana sale. The December 1 celebration at an event space in Cranston’s Rolfe Square also served as a forum to discuss changes they want to see in year two: specifically around ensuring all Rhode Islanders have the chance to take part in this budding industry. “The details are what matters,” Rep. David Morales, a Providence…

A prospective ballot measure that would legalize adult-use marijuana in South Dakota and allow medical dispensaries to serve anyone 21 and older received a final ballot explanation from the state’s attorney general on Thursday—but the chief backer of the proposal says he has no plans to collect signatures or campaign for the change. The measure, sponsored by Rapid City resident Emmett Reistroffer, would allow “individuals 21 of age or older to possess, grow, ingest, and distribute marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia,” according to Attorney General Marty Jackley’s (R) final explanation. Adults could possess up to three ounces of marijuana and grow…

Tina Gordon’s conversations are peppered with the energetic expression “c’mon” as she bounces around the arid hillsides of her mountain farm. We’re dropping into terraced cannabis gardens—the Homestead Garden, Serendipity, the Ancient Garden—in the afternoon heat of a late summer’s day baked in California sunshine. The full-sensory experience at Moon Made Farms begins with the sweeping views of the bullseye where Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity counties meet. This is the cradle of modern-day cannabis cultivation, the world-famous Emerald Triangle. Soon the fragrant aroma of lemon verbena and the bright sour citrus taste of purslane hit my senses as a cooling…

The campaign behind a prospective California ballot initiative to legalize psychedelics filed a final revised measure with state officials this week, making a handful of changes to the proposal following a public comment period that ended late last month. While adults would be allowed to legally grow, possess and use substances like psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline under the measure, they would need physician recommendations to purchase the psychedelics at regulated stores. Among the major changes in the final, revised proposal are the addition of a section requiring that larger psychedelics businesses obtain peace agreements with labor unions.…

“What they can do is they can sue a statewide elected official who is refusing to comply with its constitutional duties when that inaction is unconstitutionally preventing the override process from occurring.” By Blair Miller, Daily Montanan More than six months after Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) vetoed one of the more broadly supported bills of this year’s legislative session just as the Senate voted to adjourn, lawyers for the governor and secretary of state told a judge Thursday they maintain the veto was done properly and that the groups that have sued trying to force an override poll have…