Nov 21 2023

Massachusetts: 100,000 More Signatures Submitted for Psychedelic Legalization Initiative

Proponents behind a Massachusetts initiative to legalize psychedelics have submitted 100,000 new signatures.

Mescaline (top left), ibogaine (top right), psilocyn mushrooms (bottom left), DMT ingredient (bottom right).

Last month Massachusetts for Mental Health Options said it had collected over 75,000 verified signatures from registered voters, more than the 74,574 needed to force the state’s legislature to consider the proposal. Now, the group says it has submitted 100,000 new signatures after the state says that some of the initial signatures were invalid due to a technicality.

The proposed law would legalize the possession and personal cultivation of up to one gram of DMT, 18 grams of non-peyote mescaline, 30 grams of Ibogaine, one gram of psilocybin and one gram of psilocin.
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Nov 21 2023

New York: Over $100 Million Sold in First 10 Month of Legal Marijuana Sales

There has been over $100 million worth of legal marijuana sold in New York so far this year.

According to the New York Office of Cannabis Management (NYOCM), there was $104 million in marijuana and marijuana products sold by licensed marijuana stores between January 1 and October 31. This is despite a rough rollout of the state’s legal marijuana industry which has included multiple court orders to halt licensing and hundreds of unlicensed marijuana stores opening throughout the state.

According to the NYOCM, there are 27 licensed marijuana stores throughout the state, with 54 approved cannabis grower showcases allowing marijuana to be sold on a temporary basis at locations such as farmer’s markets. These type of events have brought in $3.4 million in sales.
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Nov 20 2023

“Stop Pot Act” to Withhold Funds from Legal Marijuana States Now Has Five Sponsors in US House

Filed in September, the Stop Pot Act now has five sponsors in the US House of Representatives.

Filed by North Carolina Congressmember Chuck Edwards, the Stop Pot Act would withhold federal funding from states and tribes that have legalized recreational marijuana. The measure was filed with just one cosponsor. Since being filed, the measure has garnered three additional sponsors, bringing the total to five.

By comparison, a measure to fully decriminalize marijuana and remove it as a controlled substance has 69 sponsors. In the US Senate, a federal marijuana banking bill is sponsored by 34% of the entire Senate.
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Nov 20 2023

US House: Federal Bill to Deschedule Marijuana Has 69 Sponsors, 32% of All Democrats

In September House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D), along with four other House members, filed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act (H.R. 5601). It now has 69 sponsors.

Described as “one of the most comprehensive marijuana reform bills ever introduced in the U.S. Congress” by Representative Nadler, the MORE Act would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level by removing it as a controlled substance. The measure also “aims to correct the historical injustices of failed drug policies that have disproportionately impacted communities of color and low-income communities by requiring resentencing and expungement of prior convictions.”

When the measure was filed in September, it had 33 cosponsors. Now, the proposal is sponsored by 69 members of the House of Representative, all Democrats. This represents nearly one out of every three member of the House Democratic Caucus.
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Nov 20 2023

Missouri: $113 Million in Legal Marijuana Sold in October, Year-to-Date Sales Pass $1 Billion

For the ninth straight month there was over $100 million in legal marijuana sold in Missouri.

In total there was $113.1 million in marijuana and marijuana products sold legally in Missouri in October. $95.5 million of this was purchased for recreational use, with the remaining $17.6 million purchased by medical marijuana patients.

Sales totals for October were around $4 million lower than the total for September. The year-to-date total for marijuana sales in Missouri is now approximately $1.1 billion.
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Nov 20 2023

New Hampshire Governor Says Marijuana Legalization is “Inevitable”

It’s “inevitable” that marijuana will be legalized in New Hampshire, according to Governor Chris Sununu (R).

When asked at a recent event about the state potentially legalizing marijuana, Governor Sununu said they are “looking at that”, before saying “that it is inevitable.”

In April New Hampshire’s House of Representatives voted 272 to 109 to pass a bill that would have legalized recreational marijuana for everyone 21 and older. The bill, introduced by Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R) and Minority Leader Matthew Wilhelm (D), failed to advance in the Senate.
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Nov 20 2023

US Senate Leader Says Chamber is “Getting Close” to Vote on Federal Marijuana Banking Act

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who vowed in September that a federal marijuana banking act will be voted on “very soon”, said in a recent interview the chamber is “getting close” to a vote.

The SAFER Banking Act passed the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in September. It is now sponsored by 34% of the entire US Senate and 56% of all Democrats. The measure would allow banks and other financial institutions to provide services to marijuana businesses that are legal under their state’s law.

In a recent interview with Yahoo News. Schumer said that the Senate is “getting close” to a vote on the SAFER Banking Act. The holdup? Schumer is waiting to secure “10 or 11 Republican votes”, given the measure needs 60 votes to pass. Schumer believes that the chamber is “going to get there”, but he’s currently short by a couple votes.
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Nov 20 2023

Snoop Dogg Confirms He is Not Giving Up Marijuana, Announces Promotion of “Smokeless” Stove

Roughly four days after Snoop Dogg says he “Decided to give up smoke”, setting media ablaze, Snoop has clarified his statement.

Last week on Instagram Snoop Dogg made a post stating “After much consideration & conversation with my family, I’ve decided to give up smoke. Please respect my privacy at this time.”

This led to a plethora of media articles, many claiming Snoop Dogg is quitting cannabis, with others speculating about what it could really mean (with many believing he may be promoting a new line of marijuana edibles). Now, Snoop has confirmed that he’s neither giving up marijuana or promoting a new line of marijuana products.
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Nov 19 2023

CBD Reduced Duration of Seizures and Increased Onset Time of Seizures in New Study

A new study found anticonvulsant and anti-inflammatory effects of CBD in an animal model.

“Status epilepticus (SE) is a series of seizures that can lead to serious neurological damages”, states the study, conducted by researchers at  Tehran University of Medical Sciences. “This study aimed to determine the efficacy of various doses of CBD on lithium-pilocarpine-induced SE in rats and possible involvement of multiple pharmacological pathways.”

Researchers “hypothesized that cannabinoid receptors type 1 (CB1) and CB2, as well as GABAA receptors, might have important roles in the anticonvulsant effects of CBD against SE by its anti-inflammatory effects.”
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Nov 18 2023

US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Urges DEA to Reschedule Marijuana

United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is calling on the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance.

(Photo credit: Shutterstock).

Senator Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, has sent a letter to the DEA requesting marijuana be reschedule, while cementing her support for fully descheduling it. Senator Gillibrand is Chair of the Subcommittee on Livestock, Marketing and Agriculture Security as well as Chair of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.

“While I continue to believe that marijuana should be descheduled entirely, I am urging the DEA to, at a minimum, consider rescheduling it from Schedule I to a Schedule III substance,” Senator Gillibrand said in the letter, sent yesterday. “Marijuana is simply not comparable to other Schedule I substances like heroin, LSD, and MDMA. Moreover, marijuana enforcement has for decades disproportionately targeted communities of color.”
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