A federal marijuana banking bill, which is sponsored by 32% of the entire US Senate, is now being actively supported by Bank of America, Mastercard and the National Rifle Association (NRA).

In September the SAFER Banking Act (S.2860) passed the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs with bipartisan support, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowing to put it to a vote of the full Senate “very soon”.  The proposed law would provide legal protections for financial institutions, including banks and credit unions, that provide financial services to marijuana businesses that are legal under their state’s law.

Recently the CEO of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging them to pass the bill into law, and a bipartisan group of 22 attorneys general sent a similar letter to congressional leaders late last month.
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Licensed marijuana stores in Canada sold CA$464.2 ($339) million worth of marijuana and marijuana products in August, a 4% increase over July’s sales total and a 10% increase compared to June.

According to Statistics Canada, total marijuana sales got within $36 million of reaching half a billion dollars for the first time. Year-to-date marijuana sales are now at CA$3.34 billion, a significant increase over the CA$2.9 billion sold during the same period in 2022. This marks a 13% increase.

Ontario remained the top jurisdiction for marijuana sales, rising 7% to CA$188.5 million. This was followed by British Columbia with marijuana sales increasing 4% to CA$73.9 million.
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According to Colorado officials, licensed marijuana retail outlets had a 99% success rate during a string of recent underage sales checks.

According to the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED), which is part of the Colorado Department of Revenue, there has been 285 compliance checks for underage sales conducted at marijuana stores so far this year. Marijuana stores failed in just 1% of these checks.

“While any failure is unacceptable, we are pleased to report this very high compliance rate which is on par with the compliance percentage from 2022″, the MED said in an e-mail.
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Legislation allowing Michigan to enter into marijuana agreements with Indian tribes while exempting them from the state’s marijuana excise tax has been signed into law by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Governor Whitmer signed Senate Bill 180 into law today. The proposal, filed by Senator Roger Hauck, were passed by the House of Representatives 90 to 15 and they passed the Senate 29 to 9.

The proposed laws allow “the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) to enter into an agreement with an Indian tribe pertaining to marijuana related business”, and it specifies “that sales of marijuana by a tribal marijuana business on Indian lands would be exempt from the State’s 10% excise tax on marijuana.”
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According to a new report using data from over 13,000 dispensaries across the United States, Oregon has the cheapest medical marijuana in the country.

At an average cost of $6.91 per gram, Oregon’s average medical marijuana prices are half the national average of $13.90. In second in terms of affordability is Maine, with an average gram price of $8.06, followed closely by Colorado at $8.19.

“The comprehensive study on the average price-per-gram of medicinal marijuana has revealed encouraging results,” said Josh Lamb, CMO for Leafwell. “Across various states, patients and individuals seeking medicinal relief will find a diverse landscape of affordable options.”

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A federal marijuana banking bill gained another cosponsor this week in the US Senate.

The SAFER Banking Act is now sponsored by 32% of the entire US Senate, with Senator Tammy Baldwin joining as a cosponsor yesterday (the first new sponsor since October 4).

Late last month the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs passed the SAFER Banking Act (S.2860), with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowing to put it to a vote of the full Senate “very soon”. Since the committee’s approval the measure has gained nine additional cosponsors.
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With California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent veto of a bill to legalize psychedelics, the city of Eureka is taking action of their own.

Dried magic mushrooms.

The Eureka, California City Council has voted unanimously to pass a resolution to essentially decriminalize the personal possession of certain psychedelics by making it the lowest enforcement priority. This is similar to what Seattle did with marijuana back in 2003, nearly a decade prior to Washington State legalize the plant.

Eureka is now the fifth city in California to decriminalize psychedelics, joining Oakland, Santa Cruz, Arcata and San Francisco. Eureka is located in Northern California with a population of around 26,000.
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According to new data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), marijuana arrests increased slightly last year.

(Photo credit: Shutterstock).

Despite recreational marijuana being legalized in 23 states and medical marijuana legalized in over a dozen more, marijuana arrests saw an uptick between 2021 and 2022.

According to the FBI, there were 227,108 people arrested for a marijuana-related charge in 2022. Around 209,000 of these were for simple possession. Arrests in 2022 were 3.47% higher than in 2021.
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