Dec 26 2023

Florida Police Arrest Two Accused of Falsifying Marijuana Legalization Signatures

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) arrested two paid petition circulators for petition fraud crimes related to the marijuana legalization initiative that’s poised to appear on the November, 2024 ballot.

(Photo credit: Shutterstock).

According to a press release, three circulators “submitted dozens of falsified marijuana and gambling initiatives petitions”, including two who worked exclusively on the marijuana initiative. The arrests culminated from multiple statewide investigations led by FDLE’s Election Crime Unit (ECU) inspectors working with the Florida Department of State Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS), and with assistance from local elections supervisors.

FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said, “Our elections process, whether it be for candidates or ballot initiatives, must remain free from those who would commit voter fraud to champion an initiative or candidate. In this case, paid petition circulators were trying to game the voting system. Our Election Crime Unit, working with the Department of State’s Office of Election Crimes and Security, is committed to thwarting these attempts. These illegal activities will not be tolerated.”
Continue reading

Dec 25 2023

Bipartisan US House Bill to Allow Marijuana Banking Gains 98th Sponsor

Federal legislation to allow marijuana banking now has 98 sponsors in the US House of Representatives.

The SAFE Banking Act (H.R. 2891) was filed in April with eight cosponsors. This month the measure gained its 98th sponsor. 74 of the sponsors are Democrats, with 23 being Republicans.

The SAFE Banking Act would provide legal protections to banks and other financial services such as credit unions that provide services to marijuana businesses that are legal under their state’s law.
Continue reading

Dec 23 2023

New York Governor Vetoes Bill to Allow Marijuana Growers to Sell to Tribal Marijuana Stores

Governor Kathy Hochul has vetoed the “Cannabis Crop Rescue Act”.

Governor Hochul vetoed Senate Bill 7295 today, despite widespread support among state lawmakers. The measure was approved through the Senate 53 to 8 vote, and it passed the full Assembly 134 to 6.

The proposed law would allow recreational marijuana cultivators and processors “to sell tested, packaged, and sealed cannabis products or biomass to a cannabis dispensing facility licensed or permitted by a tribal nation for retail sale.” Tribal nations would “not be subject to or limited by aggregate sales or consumption limits otherwise provided for in this chapter”.
Continue reading

Dec 22 2023

President Biden Signs Bill Funding Psychedelic Research

President Joe Biden has officially signed into law legislation that includes provisions to fund psychedelic studies.

Psilocybin (top left), MDMA (top right), ibogaine (bottom left) and DMT (bottom right).

Last week both the Senate and House of Representatives gave approval to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, including provisions that would put millions of dollars into funding the potential medical and therapeutic use of psychedelic substances including psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”) and MDMA (often referred to as ecstasy). President Biden today signed the bill into law.

The psychedelic provisions were introduced by Representative Morgan Littrell (R). Once in effect, they will require the Department of Defense to establish a process for military members who have post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury to take part in clinical psychedelic trials. In addition to psilocybin and MDMA, the trials could include ibogaine and/or DMT.
Continue reading

Dec 22 2023

Coalition of 15 Bipartisan Lawmakers Ask Biden Administration to Help Free American Jailed in Russia for Medical Marijuana

A bipartisan coalition of 15 federal lawmakers have sent a letter to the Biden Administration requesting that they include an American jailed in Russia over medical marijuana in any future prisoner swaps.

Marc Fogel with his wife, Jane Fogel.

Today, United States Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Chief Deputy Whip Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), alongside Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA), as well as Representatives Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Dan Meuser (R-PA), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Matt Cartwright (D-PA), Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Susan Wild (D-PA), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), and Summer Lee (D-PA) urged Secretary Antony Blinken to include Butler County native and Pittsburgh-area resident Marc Fogel in any prisoner swap made with Russia. Fogel has been detained in Russia since August 2021 and is currently serving a 14-year sentence for possession of medical marijuana used to treat his severe back injury, a charge very similar to that of WNBA player Brittney Griner.

In the bipartisan, bicameral letter, the lawmakers wrote:
Continue reading

Dec 22 2023

$25 Million in Legal Marijuana Sold in Montana in November, Almost $300 Million Year-to-Date

In Montana there was over $25 million in marijuana sold legally in November.

In total there was $25,186,590 worth of legal marijuana sold in November, resulting in nearly $5 million in taxes, according to the Montana Cannabis Control Division. This is a slight decrease from the $26.2 million in legal marijuana sold in October.

The vast majority of the sales – $20,802,357 – was sold to recreational consumers, while $4,384,233 was purchased by medical marijuana patients.
Continue reading

Dec 22 2023

Arizona Officials Will No Longer Punish Medical Marijuana Patients for Prenatal Marijuana Exposure

Arizona officials have announced that the medical use of marijuana by a qualified patient while they’re pregnant will no longer automatically trigger a child abuse investigation.

The Arizona Department of Child Safety says that it will no longer investigate reports of marijuana exposure in newborns if the parent has a valid medical marijuana authorization.

The policy shift, taking effect next month, comes after a state Court of Appeals ruled that Arizona’s medical marijuana law protects marijuana use while pregnant because the patient is under a doctor’s care.
Continue reading

Dec 22 2023

Scientists Conducted Over 4,000 Marijuana Studies in 2023, Over 32,000 in Past Decade

Researchers worldwide published over 4,000 scientific papers specific to marijuana in 2023, and they’ve conducted over 30,000 since 2013.

Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in scientific inquiries about marijuana, with researchers publishing more than 32,000 scientific papers about marijuana since January, 2013. Much of this uptick is seen as a a result of researchers’ newfound focus on marijuana’s therapeutic activities as well investigations into the real-world effects of legalization laws.

“Despite claims by some that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in recent years, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know.”
Continue reading

Dec 22 2023

President Biden Issues Proclamation Expanding Marijuana Pardons

President Biden issued a proclamation today expanding on the thousands of marijuana pardons he issued last year.

“America was founded on the principle of equal justice under law”, states a press release from The White House. “Elected officials on both sides of the aisle, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree that our criminal justice system can and should reflect this core value that makes our communities safer and stronger.”

Biden says “That is why today I am announcing additional steps I am taking to make the promise of equal justice a reality.”
Continue reading

Dec 21 2023

US House Bill to Decriminalize Marijuana Nationwide and Allow Expungements Gains 80th Sponsor

Federal legislation that would decriminalize marijuana nationwide along with several other changes has gained its 80th sponsor in the House of Representatives.

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act now has 80 sponsors, 75 more than it did when it was filed in September by Representative Jerrold Nadler (D) along with four cosponsors.

The MORE Act would fully decriminalize marijuana by removing it entirely as a federal controlled substance. The measure would place a 5% excise tax on legal marijuana sales for the first two years, with it increasing to 8% by the fifth year.
Continue reading