Legislation that would legalize medical marijuana has been passed by a key committee in North Carolina’s Senate.

North Carolinians suffering from cancer, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and other debilitating illnesses would be able to legally purchase, possess and use medical marijuana, pending the adoption of House Bill 563 by state lawmakers.

The state Senate Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to advance the bill, originally introduced last year to regulate the hemp industry and ban hemp products from school grounds. In an unexpected move, the committee amended the bill to allow physicians to prescribe marijuana for various serious medical conditions.
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The Delaware House of Representatives has approved a bill that allows medical marijuana dispensaries to transition quickly into the recreational market, allowing recreational sales months ahead of schedule.

Today, the House voted 29 to 11 to pass House Bill 408, sponsored by State Representative Ed Osienski, with a companion bill from Senator Trey Paradee. The bill proposes temporary conversion licenses for medical marijuana retailers, enabling them to sell recreational marijuana while maintaining their medical operations.

Rep. Osienski stated, “As we approach the launch of recreational marijuana sales in Delaware, it’s vital to implement policies that support both new and existing retailers. Our experienced centers can smoothly handle this transition, using the fees from conversion licenses to support social equity applicants.”
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Legislation that would have legalized access to psilocybin mushrooms has been vetoed by Governor Katie Hobbs (D).

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (photo credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images).

“Today, I vetoed Senate Bill 1570”, said Governor Hobbs in a public statement. “The state’s psilocybin research advisory board established last year recently issued its annual report with a clear message: although psilocybin may be a promising treatment in the future, we do not yet have the evidence needed to support widespread clinical expansion.”

Hobbs says “Arizonans with depression and PTSD deserve access to treatments that may be seen as outside the mainstream, but they should not be the subject of experiments for unproven therapies with a lack of appropriate guardrails.”
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A campaign seeking to legalize recreational marijuana in North Dakota has reached the signature threshold to place its initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

(Photo credit: New Economic Frontier).

New Economic Frontier says they have collected the 15,582 signatures necessary to place their legalization initiative on the presidential election ballot this November. However, the group will continue to gather signatures until the July 8 deadline in case some of the signatures are invalid (for example, any duplicate signatures or signatures from non-registered voters will be thrown out).

The group gathered over 15,000 signatures in less than two months, with the Secretary of State approving the initiative in late April.

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As the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) continues the process of rescheduling marijuana, Vice President Kamala Harris is urging further reform, while President Biden is taking a more conservative approach.

On May 21, the DEA published its proposal to move marijuana to Schedule III, allowing its compounds and potential whole-plant medicines to be prescribed nationwide once they receive regulatory approval. At the halfway point of the required 60-day public comment period, over 20,000 comments have been submitted, with the vast majority supporting either rescheduling or fully descheduling marijuana.

The Biden/Harris Administration began the rescheduling process by initiating a review via executive order in 2022, and they have praised the Department of Justice’s decision to move marijuana to Schedule III. However, both the president and vice president have called for further reform.
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