Hawaii’s full House of Representatives has advanced a bill to decriminalize marijuana through its second reading; the measure has already been approved through the state’s full Senate.

Senate Bill 2487 would decriminalize the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana for everyone 21 and older, while reducing the penalty for possessing one to two ounces.

Last month Senate Bill 2487 was passed through the Senate with overwhelming support, the vote being 24 to 1. Today, the proposal was passed through its second reading in the House, with a third and final reading expected next week. If the House does pass the measure through its final reading, as is expected, it will be sent to Governor Josh Green.
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The campaign behind a Florida initiative to legalize marijuana that will be voted on this November has raised over $50 million, more than any previous legalization campaign.

On April 1 the Florida Supreme Court ruled that Smart & Safe Florida’s initiative to legalize recreational marijuana will appear on this November’s ballot. Now, the campaign has announced that they’ve raised an additional $15 million in support of their initiative from new partners, bringing the total to $55 million. For comparison, proponents of California’s Proposition 64 raised $25 million in 2016, while those behind Ohio’s Issue 2 raised just $7 million last year; both initiatives were given approval by voters.

According to a report by MJBizDaily, over $40 million of the $55 million was raised by Trulieve, the leading medical marijuana retailer in Florida with 134 locations statewide. The new donors to the initiative include:
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Congressmember Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, says there’s enough votes in the House of Representatives to pass a federal marijuana banking act, saying that if Republicans want to keep the House they’ll pass it before the election.

The SAFE Banking Act would allow banks and other financial institutions to provide banking services to state-legal marijuana businesses. In the House, the measure has 112 sponsors, more than any other marijuana-related bill in US Congress. In the Senate, the updated SAFER Banking Act has 36 sponsors, and it was was passed through the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs with bipartisan support in September. Last month Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said it’s a key priority of the Senate to pass the SAFER Banking Act this year.

Yesterday, in an interview on The Dales Report’s Trade To Black podcast, Rep. Mace said “I support SAFE 100 percent, [and] I would love to see [Schumer] move it forward.”
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Legislation to establish a psilocybin task force has been overwhelmingly approved by Maine’s full Senate.

Dried psilocybin mushrooms. (Photo credit: Rich Townsend/Getty Images).

As filed, Senate Bill 1914 would have legalized the medical use of psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in “magic mushrooms”. The measure was amended in committee to instead establish a “Commission To Study Pathways For Creating a Psilocybin Services Program in Maine”. Today, the bill was approved through the full Senate by a vote of 23 to six, with six members absent.

SB 1914 now heads to the state’s House of Representatives, with passage in that chamber putting the measure on the desk of Governor Janet Mills.
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The Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) has officially awarded 174 licensed for social equity applicants seeking to operate marijuana businesses.

The MCA recently conducted a license lottery for the social equity licensing round. Out of 1,515 eligible applicants, total of 174 applicants were selected across the micro and standard grower, processor and dispensary categories.

The 174 new licenses marks the first significant expansion of the state’s legal marijuana industry since the state legalized recreational marijuana in 2022.
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The Governor’s Council has officially given approval to a plan introduced last month by Governor Maura T. Healey that would pardon misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions.

The Council voted 7 to 0 today to pass the plan, which Governor Healey calls “the most comprehensive action by a governor since President Joe Biden pardoned federal marijuana possession convictions and called on governors to take similar actions in their states”. Healey says the move could impact hundreds of thousands of people.

Under the approved plan, most people will not need to take any action to have their criminal records updated. The pardons will apply to all adult Massachusetts state court misdemeanor convictions before March 13, 2024 for possession of marijuana (sometimes referred to as possession of a “Class D substance”).
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Legislation to make 4/20 a marijuana tax holiday, including the days leading up to and after it, has been approved by the Washington D.C. Council.

Bill 25-0760 was given unanimous approval yesterday by the full council through a voice vote. The ordinance was filed by Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie on behalf of Mayor Muriel Bowser.

“The popular tax holiday is critical to the District’s effort to attract qualifying patients back to the legal market as well as sustainable and viable medical cannabis program,” says Councilmember McDuffie. The ordinance makes medical marijuana entirely tax-free starting April 15 and ending April 28. April 20, which falls in-between those dates, has been the unofficial marijuana holiday for decades.
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