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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During tonight’s primary elections, voters in seven Missouri cities and one county gave approval to ballot propositions establishing local marijuana taxes.

Marijuana was legalized in Missouri in 2022, with marijuana stores opening in February, 2023. The law allows those 21 and older to purchase and possess up to three ounces of marijuana, while allowing them to cultivate up to six marijuana plants for personal use. Recreational marijuana is taxed at 6%, in addition to the state’s 4.2% statewide sales tax.

The state’s marijuana law allows localities to establish a city-wide marijuana tax, if given approval by voters. During tonight’s election, voters in Desloge, Dent County, Breckenridge Hills, Cool Valley, Fenton, Marthasville, Pagedale, Velda City and Winchester voted on ordinances to implement a 3% marijuana tax, with all but Breckenridge Hills voting in favor.
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