With the election less than three months away, it won’t be long before Massachusetts voters will have the opportunity to make their state just the third to legalize certain psychedelics such as psilocybin.

Question 4, put forth by the nonprofit Massachusetts for Mental Health Options (MMHO), 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. Possessing up to twice this amount would be punishable by a fine of up to $100.

The initiative aims to “expand mental health treatment options in Massachusetts by providing new pathways to access natural psychedelic medicine therapy,” including “creating access to natural psychedelic medicine therapy and removing criminal penalties for personal possession of these medicines.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, has selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her vice presidential candidate, marking the first time in U.S. history that both members of a major party’s presidential ticket openly support the legalization of marijuana.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Kamala Harris, a former US senator and attorney general from California, has long been a vocal advocate for marijuana reform. During her tenure in the Senate, she co-sponsored the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would have descheduled marijuana at the federal level, and expunge certain cannabis-related convictions. Although she opposed legalization as attorney general, Harris announced her support for legalizing marijuana in 2019, a stance that has remained consistent ever since.

Earlier this year Harris said “we need to legalize marijuana“, becoming the first vice president to ever declare support for legalization while in office.
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The Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation announced a recall Tuesday for thousands of marijuana products sold to dispensaries by NGWMO, LLC, a cultivation facility based in Marceline.

The recall includes 2,649 products from the brand Twenty Twenty. Products include dried marijuana flower, ground flower, and pre-rolls. The full recall list can be found by clicking here.

According to a DCR news release, the products were recalled due to non-compliant testing before being sold to patients and consumers. While the items were tested at the unprocessed bud and flower stage, they were not tested at the final product stage, as mandated by state law. As of Tuesday, no adverse effects had been reported.
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July broke the monthly record for recreational marijuana sales in Rhode Island.

According to the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulations, there was $8.04 million worth of recreational marijuana sold in July, in addition to $2.04 million in medical marijuana sales. Although the combined $10.08 falls narrowly short of the record-setting $10.20 million sold in December, the $8.04 million in recreational marijuana sold is a new monthly record for the state.

This brings the total sales for 2024 to $68,597,681, with an average transaction amount of $37.02. Last year, the total sales amounted to $107,816,615, contributing approximately $15 million in tax revenue.
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A key Senate committee has passed legislation that would continue to prohibit Washington D.C. from allowing recreational marijuana sales.

The Senate Appropriations Committee recently voted to approve the 2025 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Act. The measure, which was advanced by a unanimous vote of 27 to 0, includes a provision that prevents D.C. from implementing a 2014 law that legalized recreational marijuana within the district, including licensed retail outlets. Although the portion of the law allowing marijuana to be possessed is currently in effect, the US Congress has prevented the opening of marijuana stores for a decade.

The provision states:
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A bipartisan coalition of 19 U.S. Senators and 61 Members of the House of Representatives have sent letters to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and President Biden, urging swift and scientifically-based approval of MDMA-Assisted Therapy (MDMA-AT) for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

MDMA, often referred to as “ecstasy”.

Led by Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), alongside Reps. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Lou Correa (D-Calif.), Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas), and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), the letters highlight the urgent need for new PTSD treatments, especially for veterans. This initiative is backed by 15 additional senators and 57 more members of the House, reflecting widespread bipartisan support.

“MDMA-AT has shown incredible promise, with 71% of phase-three trial participants no longer meeting a PTSD diagnosis after three eight-hour sessions of MDMA-AT”, states a press release from Rep. Bergman. “Moreover, 86.5% of participants experienced “clinically significant” improvements in their PTSD symptoms. These results are more than double that of the current best treatment for PTSD.”
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