Apr 27 2024

The 3 States On Track to Place Medical Marijuana Initiatives On This November’s Ballot

Voters in two states are set to decide on recreational marijuana initiatives this November, while three additional states are on track to consider measures related to medical marijuana.

Of the 12 states that currently do not allow medical marijuana, Nebraska and Idaho are poised to have its voters consider legalizing it this November. Meanwhile, Arkansas voters may get the opportunity to vote on a measure to expand its existing medical marijuana program.

Here’s a closer look at these states and their specific initiatives:
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Apr 27 2024

US Homeland Security Secretary to New Mexico Governor on Legal Marijuana Seizures: “Who cares? They make a lot of money”

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham says she is ‘offended’ by US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas’ recent comments regarding the Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) decision to seize legal marijuana and arrest employees working at state-licensed marijuana stores.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (photo credit: Eddie Moore/Associated Press).

Last week, we reported that Governor Grisham confronted Secretary Mayorkas about the CBP’s decision to begin seizing massive amounts of marijuana from state-licensed businesses in New Mexico, while sometimes also detaining or arresting employees. During their discussion, Secretary Mayorkas informed Governor Grisham that federal law remains unchanged, indicating that such seizures are likely to continue.

Now, in leaked audio posted on the social media platform X by an account named Chaos Coordinator, Governor Grisham says that when she pushed Mayorkas on why they are going after legal marijuana, he commented “Oh who cares? They make a lot of money”.
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Apr 26 2024

President Biden and Vice President Harris Are Set to Make Marijuana a Big Issue This Election

President Biden and Vice President Harris have ramped up their support for marijuana law reform in recent weeks and months, and it appears unlikely they’ll slow down as we get closer to the November election.

Although former President Trump did not go after legal marijuana states  —choosing to take a hands-off approach—his administration took no action to reform marijuana laws, and his first attorney general rescinded a Department of Justice memo protecting state marijuana laws. President Biden and Vice President Harris are already seizing on this, choosing to compare Trump’s inaction with their decision to take a more proactive approach.

The comparisons have already begun, with Vice President Harris saying at an event yesterday that Trump “took marijuana reform backwards”, while noting the accomplishments of the Biden/Harris Administration. The Biden/Harris campaign then sent an e-mail to supporters making note of Harris’ comments. These type of comparisons will only intensify in the coming weeks, with multiple nationwide polls released in recent months showing that around 2/3rds of American voters support legalization, including a majority of Republicans.
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Apr 26 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris Says Trump “Took Marijuana Reform Backwards”

An e-mail sent yesterday by the reelection campaign for President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris says former-President Donald Trump “took marijuana reform backwards”.

“Today at the White House, Vice President Harris hosted Kim Kardashian and others to hold a roundtable discussion on criminal justice reform”, begins the e-mail. “It comes after last month’s White House discussion on marijuana reform, led by Vice President Harris.”

The e-mail says the administrations stances on criminal justice is in “stark contrast with the Trump administration’s failures on criminal justice reform”, including:
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Apr 25 2024

The 3 States On Track to Legalize Marijuana in 2025

While a handful of states still have a legitimate chance to legalize marijuana this year, others are unlikely to do so this year but are on track to see significant movement toward legalization in 2025.

There are current two states set to have initiatives to legalize marijuana on this November’s ballot, with at least two other states with a shot at legalizing this year via their state’s legislature. The states listed below are not necessarily on track to legalize marijuana this year, but have ongoing efforts that are viable enough that a vote in 2025 is complete possible.

That said, here are the 5 states on track to legalize marijuana in 2025:
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Apr 25 2024

North Dakota Secretary of State Gives Approval to Marijuana Legalization Initiative

North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe has given approval to an initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana, allowing proponents of the measure to begin collecting signatures in hopes of putting it to a vote during the November 2024 or 2025 election.

The nonprofit political committee New Economic Frontier now has one year to collect 15,582 signatures from registered North Dakota voters in order to put their marijuana legalization measure to a vote. If the signatures are gathered by July 8, the initiative will be voted on this November. If signatures are collected after July 8 the measure would be placed on the 2025 general election ballot.

The official ballot title issued by Howe for the initiative states:

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Apr 25 2024

Study Finds Cannabis Might Be Useful in Patients With Neurodegenerative Disorders

In a groundbreaking study published by the journal Neurodegenerative Disease Management, researchers from Australia have shed light on the potential of medicinal cannabis in managing neurodegenerative disorders.

neurodegenerative disorder marijuana

A digital model of a neurodegenerative disorder (photo credit: wsu.edu).

“Currently, there exist no curative treatments for neurodegenerative disorders”, states the study. “Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in the use of medicinal cannabis to improve neurological conditions.”

Neurodegenerative disorders encompass conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease.
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Apr 25 2024

Poll Finds 71% of Colorado Voters Support State’s Decision to Legalize Marijuana

Over a decade after Colorado legalized recreational marijuana, a strong majority of voters want marijuana to remain legal.

A statewide survey of hundreds of registered Colorado voters was conducted between April 8 and 9 by Public Policy Polling. It found seven out of 10 (71%) voters think marijuana should be a legal product for adults, similar to alcohol, and fewer than one in four (23%) think it should be illegal. Support for legalization is 16% higher than it was when it was passed by voters in 2012.

These results appear to be in line with the Colorado Polling Institute’s March 2024 Statewide Poll, which found two out of three voters (67%) see the passage of Amendment 64, which allowed the regulation, sale, and taxing of marijuana, as a good thing.
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Apr 25 2024

DEA Remarks Suggest They Will Reschedule Marijuana, Leading to Public Comment Period

The DEA has told several senators that the agency is following the necessary procedures in their marijuana rescheduling review, including a forthcoming “public comment period and a hearing”. These would only be necessary if the DEA actually decides to reschedule marijuana.

A group of 21 lawmakers from the US House and Senate recently sent a letter to the DEA urging them to “promptly” deschedule marijuana. Several of the lawmakers, including Senator Elizbeth Warren, say they received a letter from the DEA earlier this month saying that the agency will “follow the procedures that Congress set forth in the Controlled Substances Act, including an opportunity for a public comment period and a hearing.”

These comments may seem pretty straightforward, but they’re a potential window into what the DEA has planned in the coming weeks and months.
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Apr 25 2024

Ben & Jerry’s Urges Governors to Grant Clemency for Marijuana Offenses

The massively popular ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s has clarified its support for legalizing marijuana, while calling on governors to issue pardons and commutations for marijuana offenses.

“The failed policies of the War on Drugs – including harsh sentences, overcriminalization, and surveillance of Black and Brown communities – have perpetuated racial disparities in the criminal legal system and contributed to decades of mass incarceration”, says Ben & Jerry’s on their website. “Countless people are locked behind bars or haunted by convictions for marijuana-related offenses even in states where cannabis is legal. We believe in cannabis legalization, but only if it’s got justice baked right in.”

The companiy goes on to say “Let’s make 4/20 a day we can all can celebrate. Together we must call on Governors to use their power of clemency to pardon people for marijuana-related offenses under state laws. You can learn more about Clemency from our friends at the ACLU vist the ACLU website.”
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