Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez has released a proposed roadmap for legalizing marijuana.

In March legislation to legalize recreational marijuana was passed by Hawaii’s full Senate in an overwhelming 22 to 3 vote. However, as it has in past years the measure stalled in the House of Representatives. Now, AG Lopez has released a roadmap that she believes will help breakthrough the roadblocks that have stood in the way of legalization.

Under current Hawaii law, marijuana is legal for medical purposes, but not recreationally. Recently the state approved the 25th medical marijuana dispensary.
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New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed into law a bill to allow marijuana businesses in New York City to take tax deductions they would otherwise be able to take if they were federally legal.

(Photo credit: Jake Offenhartz/Gothamist).

Four days after it was sent to her desk, Governor Hochul has signed Senate Bill 7508 into law. Filed by Senator Luis Sepulveda, the measure passed the Senate 43 to 18, and the full Assembly 116 to 29.

The new law alters the Administrative Code of the City of New York to allow marijuana businesses to take deductions for an amount equal to the deductions that are disallowed under Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code for the taxable year. Section 280E explicitly disallows businesses that are illegal under federal law, even if they’re legal under state law, from taking standard tax deductions.
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An initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in South Dakota has been filed with the secretary of state, the second such initiative this year.

In September South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley approved the final summary language for an initiative to legalize marijuana that proponents are hoping to put to a vote in 2024. Now a separate legalization initiative has been filed, with proponents also hoping to put the issue before voters in 2024.

The newly filed initiative would allow those 21 and older to possess up to three ounces of marijuana and up to 24 grams of concentrates, while also allowing them to grow up to six marijuana plants. The initiative filed earlier this year would similiarly apply to those 21+ and would allow for the cultivation of up to six plants, but it would legalize two ounces of dried marijuana instead of three, and it would allow for less marijuana concentrates.
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The next state to legalize marijuana will be the 25th to do so, and there are a few potential options.

Earlier this month Ohio became the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana. When it comes to the question of which state will be number 25, Florida would be a reasonable answer, with a legalization initiative set to appear on the November, 2024 presidential election ballot. However, there are at least a few other states that may take action through their legislatures prior to the November, 2024 election, which would give Florida voters the opportunity to push legal marijuana states into the majority.

The most likely states to beat Florida to the punch, based on the current political landscape and current and forthcoming legislation, include:
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The University of Minnesota has officially launched a state-funded Cannabis Research Center.

The university’s new Cannabis Research Center is designed to examine and report on the public health effects of the state’s new marijuana legalization law. The center will inform lawmakers and state agencies  about potential policy decisions related to legal marijuana.

Minnesota lawmakers passed a marijuana legalization bill earlier this year. The portions of the law allowing those 21 and older to legally possess and cultivate marijuana took effect August 1, with marijuana retail outlets expected to open sometime in 2025.
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The South African National Assembly has given approval to a bill that would legalize the possession and personal cultivation of marijuana.

Earlier this week the National Assembly passed a bill that would allow adults to legally possess and cultivate marijuana. However, the measure would not allow marijuana to be legally sold.

The Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill now heads to the National Council of Provinces for a vote of concurrence.
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Maine’s Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) today released a report regarding its recent audit testing of cannabis and cannabis products in Maine’s Medical Use of Cannabis Program (MMCP).

According to the report, out of 120 samples, OCP found that 50 samples, or 42%, contained at least one contaminant that would have failed testing according to the mandatory testing standards set for Maine’s Adult Use Cannabis Program (AUCP).

Some samples failed testing for more than one contaminant, and some failed testing for multiple contaminants within a given analyte category. Overall, testing showed 30 failures for yeast and mold, 26 failures for pesticides, four failures for heavy metals, and one failure for filth and foreign materials.
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Pennsylvania’s full House of Representatives has passed a Senate-approved bill to allow all licensed marijuana growers and processors to sell marijuana directly to patients.

With Ohio recently legalizing recreational marijuana, a majority of US residents now live in legal marijuana states, according to a new report.

Conducted by the firm Carnevale Associates, the report found that 53.1% of Americans live in states where recreational marijuana has been legalized. When it comes to medical marijuana, 245.9 million Americans – or 74% of the entire US population – live in states where it’s legal.

Carnevale Associates was founded by John Carnevale, an attorney who worked at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) over the course of three separate presidencies.
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U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley and Raphael Warnock joined Representative Earl Blumenauer and 16 other lawmakers in a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Director Andrea Gacki.

The letter is asking FinCEN to update its “out-of-date guidance on marijuana-related businesses to promote fairness in financial services for marijuana businesses operating in states where marijuana is no longer illegal.”

Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.),  Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), and Katie Porter (D-Calif.) signed the letter.
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