Dec 27 2023

US House Bill to Decriminalize Marijuana Nationwide Has 15 Times More Sponsors Than Stop Pot Act

Competing measures in the US House of Representatives give a clear indication of how much more support nationwide marijuana decriminalization has compared to an effort to thwart state marijuana laws.

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act would fully decriminalize marijuana nationwide by removing marijuana as a controlled substance, while also allowing past marijuana possession charges to be expunged (removed) from people’s records. The measure has 80 sponsors, 75 more than it did when it was filed in September by Representative Jerrold Nadler (D) along with four cosponsors.

The Stop Pot Act was also filed in September. That measure would withhold federal funding from states and tribes that have legalized recreational marijuana. The measure was filed with just one cosponsor; it now has five total sponsors.
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Dec 26 2023

California: Two Bills Protecting Marijuana Users Take Effect January 1

Two separate bills designed to protect marijuana consumers who are seeking employment and those who are already employed both take effect in California in just five days.

Senate Bill 700, signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in October, takes effect on January 1. The new law makes it unlawful “for an employer to request information from an applicant for employment relating to the applicant’s prior use of cannabis.”

The measure would not apply to applicants or employees hired for positions that require a federal government background investigation or security clearance.
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Dec 26 2023

13th Georgia City Decriminalizes Marijuana

East Point, Georgia has officially become the 13th city in the state to decriminalize marijuana possession.

Under the new law those caught possessing up to an ounce of marijuana would, at most, receive a $75 fine or equivalent value of community service, while having no possibility of jail time.

The law was approved by the East Point City Council last week in a unanimous vote. The ordinance is nearly identical to a marijuana ordinance passed in Atlanta and several other Georgia cities.
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Dec 26 2023

Study Finds Marijuana Associated With Improvements Among Those With ADHD

In a newly published study an association between cannabis-based medicinal products and improvements in anxiety, sleep quality, and general health-related quality of life was observed in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology Reports, the study was conducted by researchers at Imperial College London, Sapphire Medical Clinics and King’s College London.

“This study aims to analyze the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and safety outcomes in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients treated with cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs)”, states the study’s abstract.
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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.”
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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.
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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”.
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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.
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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:
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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.
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