Author: News Room

Hawaii’s attorney general has released a comprehensive proposal to legalize adult-use marijuana—with lawmakers already expressing interest in advancing it as advocates call for revisions to bolster equity provisions and remove language that could perpetuate criminalization. Attorney General Anne Lopez (D), who announced her office’s support for cannabis legalization in April and pledged to work with the legislature to enact the reform, unveiled the 294-page legislation on Friday. Under the proposal, a regulatory framework would be established to allow adults 21 and older to possess, cultivate and purchase marijuana from licensed retailers. Hawaii lawmakers have introduced legalization legislation in recent sessions,…

Ohio’s Senate president says he is working with bipartisan lawmakers in both chambers to quickly develop and pass legislation to revise the state’s voter-approved marijuana legalization law before key provisions take effect next month, arguing that it’s what “the public generally wants” because voters likely didn’t think through the specifics of the reform they authorized. While the cannabis initiative passed with 57 percent support at the ballot this month, Senate President Matt Huffman (R) says most voters only had a superficial understanding of the measure, simply deciding “are we going to legalize marijuana or not.” “Now did the voters, for…

With a New Hampshire commission set to propose a bill to legalizing marijuana sales through a system of state-controlled stores by the end of this month, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said last week that the reform is “inevitable” and said the state has “an opportunity to do it right.” “We are looking at that,” Sununu said, according to the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism’s InDepthNH.org. “I’m not a huge believer in the idea. I understand that it is inevitable. And I think we have an opportunity to do it right.” The governor was speaking at an event held in…

“We were pushing our rights. We’re just sick of being held down. And every economic opportunity, we’re held back from.” By Max Nesterak, Minnesota Reformer About three months ago, Mahnomen County sheriff’s deputies and White Earth tribal police raided Todd Thompson’s tobacco shop, seizing around seven pounds of cannabis, along with $3,000 in cash, his cell phone and surveillance system. The August 2 raid happened the day after recreational marijuana became legal across the state and was the first major enforcement action under the new law. But no charges have been filed in the case—and the state may not have…

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says that bringing a marijuana banking bill to the floor is a matter of securing more GOP votes—a task he says is made more difficult by the fact that some lawmakers are afraid that their constituents, “particularly the older ones,” don’t want them to embrace reform despite overall majority voter support. In an interview with Yahoo News that was published over the weekend, Schumer said marijuana legalization is an issue whose “time has come,” adding “the people are on our side,” as demonstrated by the recent vote in Ohio that saw a strong majority elect…

A top federal health official is offering some pointed critiques of the U.S. drug criminalization model, stressing how politicizing addiction has fostered a system of incarceration that increases overdose risk while biasing research that could reveal the benefits, as well as the risks, of substances such as marijuana and psilocybin. She also rebuked treatment approaches that focus exclusively on abstinence. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Director Nora Volkow made the comments in an appearance last month at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference, speaking on a panel with Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) Executive Director Kassandra Frederique. One of the conversation…

Medical marijuana and opioids are “equally efficacious” at mitigating pain intensity in patients with chronic pain, according to a new study in the Journal of Cannabis Research—but cannabis also provided more “holistic” relief, such as by improving sleep, focus and emotional wellbeing. Researchers said their findings support the hypothesis that medical cannabis (MC) “alleviates pain through holistically altering the pain experience” rather than “only targeting pain intensity.” “The results of the present study support the hypothesis that the effects of MC on pain experience are more holistic than those of opioids,” their report says. “MC may alleviate pain through affecting…

While the cannabis industry continues to grow and more markets cultivate their medical and/or recreational programs, it has served to foster vast amounts of creativity and innovation throughout all facets of the industry. Edibles in particular are a growing category of interest in the U.S., with a value of $9.6 billion in 2023, and the potential to reach up to $20.60 billion by 2028, according to an August analysis by ReportLinker. However there’s a niche in the edibles industry that’s continuing to grow: cannabis dining events. While there are still many limitations to cannabis infused dining, such as restrictive laws…

A loophole in cannabis law is again at the center of a squabble – this time in Missouri, where state officials recently recalled more than 45,000 marijuana products made from hemp derivatives.The state Division of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) revoked the marijuana manufacturing license of Robertsville-based Delta Extraction for illegally importing marijuana from out-of-state sources which it sold along with Missouri-grown marijuana. The cannabis regulator also said the Delta products violated other rules.Delta admitted it purchased material from other states, but said those imports were hemp-derived THC-A, a synthetic compound made from hemp that can be used to create high-producing delta-9…

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is calling on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to act with “great urgency” to reschedule marijuana in line with a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In a letter sent to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram last week, the senator said that while she remains “under the strong conviction that marijuana should be descheduled entirely,” the agency should, “at a minimum,” move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). That’s the recommendation HHS delivered to DEA following an 11-month scientific review into marijuana that it carried…