A key committee in the California Senate has approved legislation to legalize marijuana cafés, following its passage in the full Assembly.

The Senate’s Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee has voted 9 to 2 to pass Assembly Bill 1775, roughly three weeks after it passed the Assembly by a vote of 58 to 6. The measure will now be up for consideration by the full Senate.

Filed by State Representative Matt Haney (D), the proposed law would would “authorize a local jurisdiction, if specified conditions are met, to allow for the preparation or sale of noncannabis food or beverage products, as specified, by a licensed retailer or microbusiness in the area where the consumption of cannabis is allowed, and to allow, and to sell tickets for, live musical or other performances on the premises of a licensed retailer or microbusiness in the area where the consumption of cannabis is allowed.”
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Republicans are seeking to ban hemp compounds such as Delta-8 THC nationwide through an amendment included in a massive spending bill.

Last month, the House Agriculture Committee approved an amendment to a $1.5 trillion Federal Farm Bill that proposes a ban on most hemp products, including all cannabinoids synthesized or manufactured outside of the plant, such as delta-8 THC. However, with the vote on the farm bill likely delayed until 2025, Republicans on a House Appropriations subcommittee have included an identical version of the amendment in a Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill, the text of which was published today. A vote on the bill is expected tomorrow.

The proposed amendment would prohibit nearly all products containing delta-8 and delta-9 THC, as well as other novel cannabinoids derived from hemp.

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In May, Montana continued its robust marijuana market, recording a total of $26.93 million in sales. This figure demonstrates the state’s ongoing strong performance in marijuana sales since legalization.

Recreational marijuana sales played a significant role, contributing $22.86 million, while medical marijuana sales accounted for $4.08 million for the month.

May’s sales mark the 15th consecutive month that marijuana sales have surpassed $25 million in Montana, according to the state’s Cannabis Control Division. The combined total for 2024 has now reached approximately $130 million. In comparison, the total for 2023 was $319 million, generating over $50 million in tax revenue.
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Licensed recreational marijuana sales will begin for the first time in Ohio history before the end of June, possibly as soon as next week.

On Friday, Ohio’s Division of Cannabis Control began accepting applications from currently operating medical marijuana dispensaries seeking licenses to participate in the state’s recreational marijuana industry. This would allow them to sell marijuana and marijuana products to patients, as well as to anyone 21 and older.

According to State Representative Jamie Callender (R-Concord), Chair of the Joint Committee On Agency Rule Review, which is the rulemaking committee for Ohio’s Department of Cannabis Control, licenses are expected to be approved, and sales are expected to begin, by the end of June, possibly as soon as next week.
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DaySavers, “the most compliant and tested pre-rolled cone and rolling paper brand on the market”, announced today their partnership with the Cannabis Research Coalition and The Network of Applied Pharmacognosy (NAP) on a first-of-its-kind study called The Science of Smokeability (SOS), which is looking to pay people to smoke pre-rolls for science.

According to a press release sent today, SOS is a 2+ year series of scientific experiments focusing on analyzing cultivation and processing metrics to evaluate which variables produce the most pleasant and least harmful smoking experience.

Currently, cannabis is cultivated to maximize yield and cannabinoid content. No study to date has ever evaluated how cultivation practices or post-harvest processing impact the smokeability of the final product. The SOS study promises “to contribute significantly to the evolution of the cannabis industry by providing actionable insights that link cultivation and manufacturing practices to consumer experiences.” This research “not only has the potential to improve product quality and consistency, but also promote sustainability, profitability, and a deeper scientific understanding of cannabis as a medicinal and recreational product.”
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Legislation to permanently legalize marijuana farmers markets in New York has been passed by the state’s legislature and sent to Governor Kathy Hochul.

(Photo credit: Ganjapreneur).

The legislation, sponsored by Senator Michelle Hinchey (D) in the Senate and Assemblymember Donna Lupardo (D) in the Assembly, would establish a permanent licensing process for cannabis showcase event permits. A cannabis showcase event “shall mean an event where licensee authorized to conduct retail sales of adult-use cannabis, cannabis products, and cannabis merchandise engages in the sale and showcase of such products away from the licensed premises in demonstrated partnership with a licensed New York state adult-use cannabis cultivator or processor, at showcase events located at farmers’ markets and public markets as defined in section two hundred sixty of the agriculture and markets law or similar such locations, as authorized by the office.

According to its official summary, the measure “provide the NYS Office of Cannabis Management with the authority to draft new regulations that will update and improve upon the regulatory structure of the successful Cannabis Growers Showcase program, which automatically sunset on January 1, 2024.”
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It’s been three weeks since the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) filed its plan in the Federal Register to reschedule marijuana. In that time, over 15,000 people have submitted comments.

Since the DEA’s proposal was filed on May 21, launching a 60-day public comment period that ends on July 22, there have been over 15,000 comments submitted.

A little over half of these comments are urging the DEA to go even further than rescheduling marijuana by descheduling it altogether. This would remove marijuana as a controlled substance, effectively decriminalizing it nationwide. Legislation deschedule marijuana currently has 89 sponsors in the US House of Representatives and 18 sponsors in the Senate.
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The DEA has cancelled a hearing scheduled for today that would have discussed the agency’s proposed plan to prohibit two different psychedelic compounds that scientists are urging them to keep legal.

“As the matter before DEA is currently stayed, no hearing will commence on June 10, 2024,” states a notice by the DEA on the Federal Register, announcing the cancellation of today’s hearing. The agency says the meeting has been postponed indefinitely, and it comes a month after Panacea Plant Sciences (PPS) filed a lawsuit against the DEA in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington seeking to stop the ban.

The proposed rule would place 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-chloroamphetamine (DOC) as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), making them illegal for all purposes including for research and as a medicine. The DEA made a similar attempt to ban these two substances last year, but eventually revoked the effort after a large outcry from from scientists and researchers, many who feel the substances could have medical value.
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