Author: News Room

State and local marijuana regulators, industry stakeholders and advocates and opponents of legalization took part in a two-day session hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) this week, sharing their perspectives on evolving cannabis policies. This marked the second NASEM Committee meeting for its “Public Health Consequences of Changes in the Cannabis Policy Landscape” series. In September, the conversation featured representatives of several federal agencies who weighed in on the subject. For this week’s round, many of the participants had direct experience regulating marijuana markets at different levels of government. That included cannabis regulators from California,…

“We have a very long backlog of transporters who just actively cannot find contracts or find work.” By Andrew Hensel, The Center Square A bill soon to be sent to Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) makes changes to the licensing policies for cannabis growers and how the product is transported in an effort supporters say is meant to bring equity to the industry. Adult cannabis sales have been legal in Illinois since 2020. Even with limited license holders for the production, transportation and sale, the state’s industry has generated billions of dollars in sales and hundreds of millions in tax revenue…

Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) has announced the launch of a brand new social equity grant program, which will award $1 million to eligible marijuana businesses for education, business needs or community reinvestment. Money for the grant program was appropriated in the state budget for 2023–2024 “to encourage and increase participation in the social equity program, with particular focus to promote and encourage participation in the marihuana industry by people from communities that have been disproportionately impacted by marihuana prohibition and enforcement,” says the grant application posted on Thursday. “I was honored to spearhead social equity funding in the state…

The New York legislature has sent a pair of bills to the governor that would allow hemp seeds to be included in animal feed for pets, horses and camelids such as llamas and alpacas. About five months after the Assembly and Senate passed the legislation from Assemblymember Donna Lupardo (D) and Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D), the identical versions from each chamber were transmitted to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Wednesday. The measures specify that industrial hemp seed that could be added to certain animal feed includes seed hulls and seed meal. Supporters say that the cannabis products could be a…

Nearly seven out of ten registered Florida voters say they support a marijuana legalization initiative that may appear on next year’s ballot depending on the outcome of a legal challenge, with majorities of every demographic surveyed in favor of the reform. The University of North Florida (UNF) poll, released on Thursday, shows that 67 percent of voters back the legalization proposal—which would be more than enough to meet the state’s steep 60 percent voting threshold to pass ballot measures. There was majority support for the issue across each political, gender, race and age demographic that was reported in the survey.…

As lawmakers prepare to take up possible changes to federal hemp laws as part of the next Farm Bill, congressional researchers are cautioning that differing policy priorities among industry stakeholders could complicate the task. In a hemp-focused primer on the large-scale agriculture legislation that was published on Wednesday, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) outlined the current state of the cannabis market since hemp was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill and previewed the different ways that lawmakers, industry interests and advocates are hoping to shape the next version of the legislation. Stakeholders who are seeking to influence policymaking on…

California officials have begun accepting applications for the Cannabis Equity Grants Program for Local Jurisdictions for the coming fiscal year. The grants are part of the state’s effort to use cannabis tax revenue to fund equity programs for people disproportionately impacted by the drug war. The purpose of the program is “to advance economic justice for populations and communities impacted by cannabis prohibition and the War on Drugs by providing support to local jurisdictions as they promote equity in California and eliminate barriers to enter the newly regulated cannabis industry for equity program applicants and licensees,” a description says. The…

Japan’s House of Representatives has signed off on an amendment that would loosen up rules for hemp while tightening regulation of marijuana.Central to the amendment is a provision that will technically allow the production of medical-grade cannabinoids, but sources say that activity will be restricted to products derived from industrial hemp and not marijuana.It is unclear if the law will legitimize the import and sales of over-the-counter extracts and other products made from the hemp plant’s flowers (primarily CBD).Under current Japanese rules, only products made from hemp seeds or stalks are legal, but that has not prevented the development of…

The definitive mouth swab guide.Mouth swab drug tests are quickly gaining popularity amongst employers who want to test their employees for THC consumption, oftentimes replacing more traditional methods of drug tests like urine or hair follicle analysis. These tests are quick, cheap, and accurate, and bosses nationwide are taking notice. These tests can produce accurate results in just a few minutes, but never fear, we’ve got your back.To help make sure you land that big job, or keep the one you have, we’ve partnered with our friends at PassYourTest.com to give you the low down on what exactly a mouth…

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) says that addressing the country’s gun violence epidemic requires a holistic understanding of the “root problems” that are “correlative of violence”—from poverty to housing security to mass incarceration driven by discriminatory marijuana criminalization. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, the senator said that, too often, the conversation around gun violence prevention fails to take into account the laws and policies that “create environments where violence proliferates.” “High lead poisoning levels, high poverty levels, inadequate housing—I could go on and on and on,” Booker said. And taking that a step further, he pointed out that…