Author: News Room

An Ohio Democratic lawmaker wants to see people who’ve been criminalized over marijuana, as well as those with industry experience, involved in any efforts to amend the state’s voter-approved legalization law, arguing that it shouldn’t be left up to “anti-cannabis” legislators alone to revise the statute. Ohio Senate and House GOP leaders have already previewed plans to pass a package of changes to the law before possession and cultivation becomes legal next month, with a focus on potential revisions affecting tax revenue distribution, public consumption and law enforcement, for example. But Rep. Juanita Brent (D) says it’s important that people…

California residents have until Monday to comment on a proposed ballot measure that would create a statewide right to obtain and use psychedelics for medical, therapeutic and spiritual purposes with the recommendation of a doctor. If enacted, adults would be allowed to possess and use the substances in their home as well as cultivate entheogenic plants and fungi on private property. Organizers submitted the Psychedelic Wellness and Healing Initiative of 2024 to state officials late last month and have until November 27 to solicit public comment to the state attorney general, said Dave Hodges, a lead campaign organizer and the…

New York City’s first drug overdose prevention centers (OPCs) where people can use currently illicit substances in a medically supervised environment have not led to increased crime, despite a significant decrease in arrests as police reprioritize enforcement, according to a new study published by the American Medical Association (AMA). While opponents have argued that establishing the harm reduction centers would drive crime, the study in JAMA Public Health says that “initial data from NYC do not support these concerns.” This builds on prior research on the OPCs that showed early promise in their ability to reduce overdose deaths. Researchers at…

With congressional lawmakers still working to build consensus around marijuana banking reform at the federal level, the governor of New York has signed legislation that attempts to make it slightly easier for financial institutions to work with state-licensed cannabis clients. The new law authorizes the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) to provide financial institutions with information about marijuana business licensees or applicants, which is meant to ease compliance with reporting requirements. Licensees and applicants would first have to consent to information being shared. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D) and Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D), was signed into…

Opening for any performer is a tall task. Now, imagine that performer is Neil Young, the man whose music has helped define decades. Enter Chris Pierce, the artist who opened for Young over this past summer on the Coastal Tour. During these shows, Pierce’s voice, whether it was gentle or booming or both, connected with his audience and kept them in the moment. The storyteller’s soulfulness didn’t go in one ear and out the other; it stayed with listeners after the show was over. With Pierce’s latest album, Let All Who Will, he again strikes the balance between immediacy and…

In Ridley Scott’s historical epic Napoleon, the titular French conqueror, played by Joaquin Phoenix, marches into the deserts of Egypt and orders his soldiers to aim their cannons at the pyramids. The whole scene is a fabrication – one Scott, who directed the equally sensational Gladiator, also starring Phoenix, has already been called out by historians. But even if Napoleon Bonaparte did damage these world wonders, this wouldn’t have been the strangest thing to happen during his excursion into Asia Minor. The imperial French army invaded Egypt in 1798 after capturing the Mediterranean port of Malta with two purposes: to…

Alcohol sales are off-limits in Connecticut on Thanksgiving—but marijuana sales are just fine—according to guidance issued on Wednesday by the state’s Department of Consumer Protection (DCP). Liquor stores will be closed, grocery stores can’t sell beer and even breweries and restaurants are prohibited from selling carry-out drinks. Marijuana retailers, however, can remain open. After apparent confusion over the two policies—with at least one local news outlet mistakenly reporting that sales of both alcohol and cannabis would be paused—DCP issued a clarification stating that “all cannabis establishments may remain open on Thanksgiving Day.” “Cannabis sales at all licensed establishments are allowed…

A Colombian Senate committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana, sending it the full chamber for consideration. The legislation—which has already moved through committee and on the floor in the Chamber of Representatives in recent months—cleared the First Committee of the Senate on Wednesday. This marks the third of eight planned debates before the measure is potentially sent to the president next year. Lawmakers nearly enacted a version of the reform into law earlier this year, but it stalled out in the final stage in the Senate last session, meaning the two-year legislative process needed to start over again.…

“This essentially says that if you’re a wealthy person who wants to engage in the cannabis industry—you will now get additional support from the state.” By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current What constitutes a community that is disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs? That’s the question Rhode Island’s Cannabis Control Commission hopes to better define as it works on initial regulations for recreational dispensaries. To do so, Chairperson Kimberly Ahern said at the commission’s November 3 meeting she would request data from state and federal agencies on which Rhode Islanders would qualify for one of the 12 special licenses…

A study of high school students in Massachusetts found that youth were no more likely to use marijuana after legalization, though more students perceived their parents as cannabis consumers after the policy change. “No statistically significant differences were found in the prevalence of past-30 day cannabis use before and after legalization among adolescents,” says the report, published in the journal Clinical Therapeutics. The proportion of students who reported perceiving that a parent uses cannabis, however, rose from 18 percent to 24 percent after legalization. “Adolescent perceptions of their parents as cannabis users increased after legalization,” the study says, “even before…