Feb 20 2024

Washington House Committee Passes Bill to Allow Larger Marijuana Signs and Billboards

Washington’s House Committee on Regulated Substances and Gaming has passed a bill that would allow larger marijuana signs and billboards.

The committee voted 7 to 3 today in favor of Senate Bill 5363, sending it to the House Ways and Means Committee. The proposal has already passed the full Senate in a 48 to 1 vote.

According to an official summary of the bill, the Liquor and Cannabis Control Board (LCB) “may not regulate the size of retail signs, whether indoor or outdoor, and billboards for licensed cannabis retailers.”
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Feb 20 2024

Every Federal Marijuana Bill Currently Active in US Congress

There’s over a dozen marijuana-related bills currently active in the United States Senate and House of Representatives.

In December, 2022, President Biden signed the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act into law, making it the first standalone piece of marijuana legislation to ever be signed by a US president.

Since then, lawmakers have filed multiple marijuana-related bills seeking to bring further reforms to America’s marijuana laws.
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Feb 20 2024

Arizona Made Over a Quarter of a Billion Dollars in Marijuana Tax Revenue in 2023

Arizona made over $250 million in tax revenue from the legal distribution of marijuana in 2023.

According to data released by the Arizona Department of Revenue, the state made $23,737,758 in taxes from legal marijuana sales in December. This brings the total for 2023 to $252,872,787.

The total amount of marijuana taxes made since the start of legal marijuana sales in 2021 now stands at $757,471,288.
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Feb 20 2024

Maryland Senate Passes Measure Establishing Gun Rights for Medical Marijuana Patients

Legislation providing gun rights to medical marijuana patients has been approved by Maryland’s full Senate.

In an overwhelming 43 to 2 vote, the Maryland Senate voted today to pass Senate Bill 348, sending it to the House of Representatives. The measure was filed last month by Senator Mike McKay (R).

The legislation states that “a person may not be denied the right to purchase, own, possess, or carry a firearm solely on the basis that the person is authorized to use medical cannabis”.
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Feb 20 2024

Second Arizona Committee Votes to to Legalize Psilocybin Therapy Centers, Full Senate Expected to Vote Soon

A bill to legalize psilocybin therapy centers where the substance can be legally consumed has been passed by a second Senate committee, and is expected to soon be considered by the full Senate.

Dried psilocybin mushrooms.

Senate Bill 1570 has been given approval by the Senate Rules Committee in a 5 to 2 vote. Passage through the committee comes six days after it was passed unanimously by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

The proposed law would legalize psilocybin therapy centers where individuals can come and legally consume psilocybin in a medical, supervised setting, with trained staff constantly available. Licensing for these centers would be handled by the Department of Human Services (DHS).
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Feb 19 2024

New Poll Shows 70% of Nebraska Voters Support Legalizing Medical Marijuana

According to new polling data, a strong majority of registered voters in Nebraska support legalizing medical marijuana.

Nebraska is one of just a dozen states that have not legalized medical marijuana. New polling commissioned by the Neilan Strategy Group, and conducted by Data Targeting Inc., shows that 70% of voters in the state want that to change.

“Nebraskans are clearly ready to legalize medical marijuana,” said Perre Neilan of Neilan Strategy Group.
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Feb 19 2024

Virginia Senate Committee Passes House-Approved Bill to Protect Public Employees Who Use Medical Marijuana

Legislation that would extend a law protecting medical marijuana users from workplace discrimination to include public employees, while expanding the definition to include marijuana products and not just oil, continues to advance in the Virginia Legislature.

The Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor voted 14 to 0 today to pass House Bill 149, which was passed by the full House of Delegates on January 29, with the vote being 78 to 20. If the measure is passed by the full Senate, it will be sent to Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Under current law “No employer shall discharge, discipline, or discriminate against an employee for such employee’s lawful use of cannabis oil pursuant to a valid written certification issued by a practitioner for the treatment or to eliminate the symptoms of the employee’s diagnosed condition or disease”.
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Feb 19 2024

Washington Committee Passes Bill to Address High-THC Marijuana

Washington’s Senate Labor and Commerce Committee has passed a bill designed to address the growing prevenance of what lawmakers call “high-THC cannabis”.

The committee voted today to pass Second Substitute House Bill 2320, sending it to the Ways and Means Committee. The measure was passed by the full House of Representatives earlier this month 92 to 5.

According to its official legislative summary, the measure “Requires the Department of Health to develop optional training for retail cannabis staff as well as a notice that cannabis retailers must conspicuously post at the point of sale for consumers, related to possible health risks and impacts of high-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cannabis and available resources.”
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Feb 19 2024

WA Senate Committee Passes Bill to Exempt Medical Marijuana Patients From 37% Excise Tax

A Washington State Senate committee has voted to pass legislation “providing a tax exemption for medical cannabis patients”.

The Senate Labor and Commerce Committee voted unanimously today to pass House Bill 1453, sending it to the Ways and Means Committee. The measure was approved through the full House of Representatives 85 to 12 last week

The proposed law “Provides a permanent tax exemption from the 37 percent cannabis excise tax for qualifying patients and designated providers with a recognition card on purchases of cannabis products that are labeled as Department of Health (DOH)-compliant product and tested in accordance with the DOH’s rules.”
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Feb 19 2024

FDA Report Says Agency Examined Marijuana Users’ Social Media Posts During Rescheduling Review

In a new report the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), detailed the agency’s review of marijuana as a Schedule I drug.

In August, in a letter addressed to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asked for marijuana to be reclassified as a Schedule III drug under the Federal Controlled Substances Act following a nearly year-long review at the FDA.

Now, the FDA says that when conducting its review, the agency not only examined a plethora of scientific research, they had a team of researchers who spent months analyzing thousands of posts on various social media platforms, many of which were marijuana consumers putting forth anecdotal evidence of its therapeutic and medical benefits.
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