Mar 27 2024

Massachusetts Initiative to Legalize Psychedelics Receives Committee Hearing, May Appear on November Ballot

An initiative to legalize certain psychedelics is receiving consideration in a joint legislative committee. The measure may appear on the November ballot if rejected by lawmakers.

Mescaline (top left), ibogaine (top right), psilocybin mushrooms (bottom left), and DMT (bottom right). All four would be legalized under the initiative put forth by Massachusetts for Mental Health Options.

In January Massachusetts for Mental Health Options (MMHO) submitted over 96,000 valid signatures for their psychedelics initiative, well more than the roughly 74,000 needed to force a vote of the legislature. Today, the  Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions held a public hearing on the measure, with a potential vote coming in the near future.

If the initiative is not passed by the full legislature by May 1, MMHO will be given until July to collect an additional 12,429 signatures. If they’re successful, the proposal will be put to a vote of the people in this November’s presidential election.
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Mar 27 2024

Montana Marijuana Sales Pass $25 Million for 12th Straight Month

There was over $25 million in legal marijuana sold in February in Montana.

There was $25,091,075 worth of legal marijuana sold in February, according to the Montana Cannabis Control Division. This is almost identical to the $25,110,065 sold in January, and it marks the 12th consecutive month where sales were above $25 million. Sales data for February was released by the Cannabis Control Division just a few days after data for January was released.

Of the $25.1 million in legal marijuana sold in February, $20,943,884 was purchased by recreational consumers, and $4,147,191 was purchased by medical marijuana patients.
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Mar 27 2024

Study: CBD Combined With THC a Better Anticonvulsant Than Either Compound By Itself

Cannabidiol (CBD) combined with delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was better at reducing seizures than either compound alone in an animal model, according to a new study.

Published in the peer-reviewed journal Cells, the study was conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto and the University Health Network in Toronto, The study was also published online by the US National Library of Medicine with the title Cannabidiol Exerts Anticonvulsant Effects Alone and in Combination with Δ9-THC through the 5-HT1A Receptor in the Neocortex of Mice.

“Cannabinoids have shown potential in drug-resistant epilepsy treatment; however, we lack knowledge on which cannabinoid(s) to use, dosing, and their pharmacological targets”, states the study’s abstract. “This study investigated (i) the anticonvulsant effect of Cannabidiol (CBD) alone and (ii) in combination with Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), as well as (iii) the serotonin (5-HT)1A receptor’s role in CBD’s mechanism of action.”
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Mar 27 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris Says Administration “Changed Federal Marijuana Policy”

Nearly 50 days ago Vice President Kamala Harris said “We changed federal marijuana policy”. Now, a campaign official gives some insight into what she meant.

(Photo credit: Getty Images).

“We changed federal marijuana policy, because nobody should have to go to jail just for smoking weed”, said Harris on February 9 in a campaign video posted on the social media platform X. Despite the statement causing confusion among proponents of federal marijuana reform, on February 25 a campaign official told us the VP has “no plans” to remove the video. Over a month later and the video remains live, viewed over 435,000 times.

Since publication of the video, the Vice President has been questioned by numerous marijuana reform advocates seeking clarification on what she meant by the statement, given no federal law change has occurred under President Biden. This includes Cannabis Freedom Party (CFP) co-founder Jim Mcmahon saying that VP Harris is “willfully lying to the American public”.
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Mar 27 2024

Global Cannabis Stock Index Up 50% Since October

The Global Cannabis Stock Index has seen a large increase in value over the past six months.

The Index ended the day valued at 10.49, the first time it’s been above 10 since September. The current value marks a  51% increase over the value from exactly five months ago on October 27, when the market was valued at 6.93.

In just the past 30 days the market has seen an increase in value of roughly 20%.
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Mar 27 2024

Florida Supreme Court Has Until April 1 to Decide Fate of Marijuana Legalization Initiative

The Florida Supreme Court has until Monday, April 1 to decide the fate of Amendment 3, an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana.

Last year the nonprofit political group Smart & Safe Florida campaign submitted 967,528 valid signatures on their initiative to legalize recreational marijuana, more than the 891,523 signatures required to put the measure a on the November, 2024 presidential election ballot. This was confirmed by the Florida Division of Elections.

Following the signatures being validated, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a legal challenge with the state Supreme Court, asking them to remove the legalization initiative from the November ballot based on technicalities in the proposal’s text. The Supreme Court has until April 1 to come to a decision on this issue.
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Mar 27 2024

Pew Poll Finds 88% of US Adults Support Legalizing Medical and/or Recreational Marijuana

An overwhelming share of U.S. adults say marijuana should be legal for medical and/or recreational use, according to a new nationwide Pew Research Center Poll.

Nearly six-in-ten Americans (57%) say that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational purposes, while roughly a third (32%) say that marijuana should be legal for medical use only. Just 11% of Americans say that the drug should not be legal at all, according to Pew.

While a majority of Americans continue to say marijuana should be legal, there are varying views about the impacts of recreational legalization. About half of Americans (52%) say that legalizing the recreational use of marijuana is good for local economies; just 17% think it is bad and 29% say it has no impact.
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Mar 27 2024

US Lawmakers Send Letter to AG Expressing “Frustration” In Lack of New Guidance Protecting State Marijuana Laws

A pair of US Representatives have expressed “frustration” that the Department of Justice has not reissued enforcement guidance that discourages federal interference with state marijuana laws, saying the current situation has led to a “legal limbo.”

The letter was sent to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, and signed by Congressmembers Earl (D-OR) Blumenauer and Barbara Lee (D-CA).

“We write to share our frustration that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has not reissued overdue protections against federal interference in state-legal marijuana markets”, states the letter. “We urge you to correct this oversight and reissue a memo making clear DOJ’s limited resources will not be spent prosecuting those acting in accordance with state or Tribal law.”
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Mar 27 2024

Republican Senators Led by Mitt Romney Urge DEA to Reject Rescheduling Marijuana

A group of Republican Senators sent a letter today to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requesting they reject a request to reschedule marijuana.

US Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today led his Foreign Relations Committee colleagues, Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-ID) and Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), in a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram “highlighting concerns over HHS’s recommendation to reschedule marijuana from a schedule I to schedule III-controlled substance.” The DEA is currently conducting a review of whether or not marijuana should be moved to Schedule III.

Specifically, they argued that efforts to reschedule marijuana “should be driven by facts, not the administration’s favored policy, and questioned whether doing so would violate the Controlled Substances Act and U.S. treaty obligations under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.”
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Mar 27 2024

SAFE Banking Act Gains Two New Sponsors, Bringing Total to 109 (Representing 25% of the Entire US House)

Federal legislation to allow marijuana banking now has 109 sponsors in the US House of Representatives, representing 25% of the entire chamber.

The SAFE Banking Act now has 109 sponsors, with Congressmembers David Trone (D-MD) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME) signing on yesterday as the measure’s newest cosponsors. In the Senate, the SAFER Banking Act, has 36 sponsors, representing 36% of the entire chamber.

Both the SAFE and SAFER Banking Acts would provide explicit federal protections to banks and other financial institutions that provide banking services to marijuana businesses that are legal under their state’s laws.
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