Feb 20 2024

Maryland Senate Passes Measure Establishing Gun Rights for Medical Marijuana Patients

Legislation providing gun rights to medical marijuana patients has been approved by Maryland’s full Senate.

In an overwhelming 43 to 2 vote, the Maryland Senate voted today to pass Senate Bill 348, sending it to the House of Representatives. The measure was filed last month by Senator Mike McKay (R).

The legislation states that “a person may not be denied the right to purchase, own, possess, or carry a firearm solely on the basis that the person is authorized to use medical cannabis”.
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Feb 20 2024

Second Arizona Committee Votes to to Legalize Psilocybin Therapy Centers, Full Senate Expected to Vote Soon

A bill to legalize psilocybin therapy centers where the substance can be legally consumed has been passed by a second Senate committee, and is expected to soon be considered by the full Senate.

Dried psilocybin mushrooms.

Senate Bill 1570 has been given approval by the Senate Rules Committee in a 5 to 2 vote. Passage through the committee comes six days after it was passed unanimously by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

The proposed law would legalize psilocybin therapy centers where individuals can come and legally consume psilocybin in a medical, supervised setting, with trained staff constantly available. Licensing for these centers would be handled by the Department of Human Services (DHS).
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Feb 19 2024

New Poll Shows 70% of Nebraska Voters Support Legalizing Medical Marijuana

According to new polling data, a strong majority of registered voters in Nebraska support legalizing medical marijuana.

Nebraska is one of just a dozen states that have not legalized medical marijuana. New polling commissioned by the Neilan Strategy Group, and conducted by Data Targeting Inc., shows that 70% of voters in the state want that to change.

“Nebraskans are clearly ready to legalize medical marijuana,” said Perre Neilan of Neilan Strategy Group.
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Feb 19 2024

Virginia Senate Committee Passes House-Approved Bill to Protect Public Employees Who Use Medical Marijuana

Legislation that would extend a law protecting medical marijuana users from workplace discrimination to include public employees, while expanding the definition to include marijuana products and not just oil, continues to advance in the Virginia Legislature.

The Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor voted 14 to 0 today to pass House Bill 149, which was passed by the full House of Delegates on January 29, with the vote being 78 to 20. If the measure is passed by the full Senate, it will be sent to Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Under current law “No employer shall discharge, discipline, or discriminate against an employee for such employee’s lawful use of cannabis oil pursuant to a valid written certification issued by a practitioner for the treatment or to eliminate the symptoms of the employee’s diagnosed condition or disease”.
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Feb 19 2024

Washington Committee Passes Bill to Address High-THC Marijuana

Washington’s Senate Labor and Commerce Committee has passed a bill designed to address the growing prevenance of what lawmakers call “high-THC cannabis”.

The committee voted today to pass Second Substitute House Bill 2320, sending it to the Ways and Means Committee. The measure was passed by the full House of Representatives earlier this month 92 to 5.

According to its official legislative summary, the measure “Requires the Department of Health to develop optional training for retail cannabis staff as well as a notice that cannabis retailers must conspicuously post at the point of sale for consumers, related to possible health risks and impacts of high-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cannabis and available resources.”
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Feb 19 2024

WA Senate Committee Passes Bill to Exempt Medical Marijuana Patients From 37% Excise Tax

A Washington State Senate committee has voted to pass legislation “providing a tax exemption for medical cannabis patients”.

The Senate Labor and Commerce Committee voted unanimously today to pass House Bill 1453, sending it to the Ways and Means Committee. The measure was approved through the full House of Representatives 85 to 12 last week

The proposed law “Provides a permanent tax exemption from the 37 percent cannabis excise tax for qualifying patients and designated providers with a recognition card on purchases of cannabis products that are labeled as Department of Health (DOH)-compliant product and tested in accordance with the DOH’s rules.”
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Feb 19 2024

FDA Report Says Agency Examined Marijuana Users’ Social Media Posts During Rescheduling Review

In a new report the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), detailed the agency’s review of marijuana as a Schedule I drug.

In August, in a letter addressed to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asked for marijuana to be reclassified as a Schedule III drug under the Federal Controlled Substances Act following a nearly year-long review at the FDA.

Now, the FDA says that when conducting its review, the agency not only examined a plethora of scientific research, they had a team of researchers who spent months analyzing thousands of posts on various social media platforms, many of which were marijuana consumers putting forth anecdotal evidence of its therapeutic and medical benefits.
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Feb 19 2024

Third Hawaii Committee Votes Unanimously to Approve Psilocybin Bill

A third committee in the Hawaii House of Representatives has passed legislation to allow the therapeutic use of psilocybin mushrooms.

Dried psilocybin mushrooms.

The House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee has voted 7 to 0 to pass House Bill 2630, filed last month by State Representative Della au Belatti along with 13 cosponsors. The measure has already been approved by the Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee (10 to 0) the Health & Homelessness Committee (7 to 1).

The measure must now be passed by the House Finance Committee before it can be considered by the full House.
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Feb 18 2024

Connecticut: $25 Million in Marijuana Was Sold Legally in January

In Connecticut, legal marijuana sales were around $25 million.

Data compiled and released by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection shows that there was $24,990,207 in legal marijuana sold in January, $9.37 million of which was sold to medical marijuana patients. This falls short of the record-breaking $27 million sold in December, but is far ahead of the $13.1 million sold in January of 2023.

In 2023, the yearly total came to $274 million, average $22.8 million a month.
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Feb 18 2024

Missouri: $110 Million in Legal Marijuana Sold in January

In Missouri there was around $110 million in marijuana sold through licensed stores in January.

missouri marijuana

According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, there was $109.8 million in marijuana and marijuana products sold in January. $15 million of this was sold to medical marijuana patients, with the remaining $94.8 million sold to recreational consumers.

Given recreational marijuana sales began in February, 2023, this is the first January in Missouri where marijuana sales have been legal for everyone 21 and older and not exclusively to medical marijuana patients. In all 11 months that recreational marijuana has been legal, total marijuana sales have passed $100 million.
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