Legislation to establish employment protections for legal consumers of cannabis has been prefiled in the Oklahoma Legislature.

Oklahoma State Representative Forrest Bennett (D) has prefiled House Bill 1714 for the state’s 2025 legislative session, set to begin on February 3. The measure would provide employment protections for individuals who lawfully consume marijuana. Currently, that would apply to medical marijuana patients, but it would extend to recreational consumers if the state were to legalize it down the road.

House Bill 1714 prohibits employers from discriminating against job applicants based on their lawful off-the-job use of marijuana. Specifically, it addresses the results of drug tests that indicate nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites, ensuring such findings cannot be grounds for denying employment. The bill, however, includes several exemptions for safety-sensitive positions and those requiring federal government background checks or security clearances.
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The University of California San Diego (UCSD) continues to seek participants for six clinical trials focused on marijuana and its compounds.

Each study explores unique aspects of marijuana’s potential therapeutic effects. In one trial, researchers are examining the brain mechanisms behind cannabis-induced pain relief. This study seeks to identify how vaporized cannabis alleviates acute pain by focusing on neural activity and the pathways activated during pain relief. Insights from this research could enhance the development of targeted pain therapies.

Another trial investigates the effects of cannabis on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in people with HIV. This two-phase study involves assessing chronic cannabis use’s impact on ART drug levels, mood, and cognitive function in 120 participants, followed by a controlled phase where cannabis or a placebo is administered to evaluate its acute effects on ART metabolism and neurotoxicity.
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U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, sent Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary-Nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a 34-page letter detailing her concerns with his nomination and asking him to reiterate his support for legalizing marijuana and other reforms.

In total, Warren asked RFK Jr. to answer 175 questions ahead of his committee nomination hearing before the Finance Committee, with several involving cannabis and cannabis law.

“As a presidential candidate, you said that if elected you would legalize marijuana and use the tax revenue to fund programs for people seeking treatment pertaining to use of controlled substances”, said Warren in the letter. “Section 6 of the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act has a provision that would require the Secretary of HHS to make grant money available for substance use disorder. In the Senate, I am a cosponsor of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), which would provide hundreds of millions of dollars for substance use disorder treatment programs. Do you support the MORE Act and the CAOA?”
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Virginia officials are urging lawmakers to seal all criminal records related to simple marijuana possession and streamline the record-sealing process for cannabis paraphernalia offenses as the 2025 legislative session begins.

(Photo credit: Shutterstock.com).

The Virginia State Crime Commission (VSCC) recently approved several recommendations on record-sealing policies, including those focused on marijuana.

Colin Drabert, VSCC’s Deputy Director, says the proposals ensure “that all possession of marijuana offenses are sealed, regardless of whether they’re a conviction or not a conviction, without the entry of a court order.”
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State Representative Nicole Macri, joined by 14 Democrats and 5 Republicans, has filed House Bill 1433 in the Washington House of Representatives to legalize psilocybin for therapeutic use.

The measure mirrors the language of Senate Bill 5201, introduced last week by Senator Jesse Salomon, establishing it as a companion bill.

If passed, the legislation would create a regulated system permitting licensed facilitators to administer psilocybin in supervised therapeutic settings. Inspired by Oregon’s psilocybin therapy law, the proposal seeks to address mental health conditions such as depression, PTSD, and anxiety through evidence-based treatments.
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There was $10.86 million in legal marijuana sold in Vermont in November, according to data released by the Vermont Department of Taxes. These sales brought the state $1.52 million in excise tax revenue.

For 2024, marijuana sales now stand at $127, with all-time sales surpassing $260 million.

Vermont legalized marijuana in 2018, becoming the first state to approve recreational marijuana through its legislature rather than a ballot initiative. The law allows adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow up to two mature and four immature marijuana plants for personal use.
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Philip Morris International (PMI), the world’s largest tobacco company, has deepened its involvement in the cannabis sector.

Through its subsidiary, Vectura Fertin Pharma (VFP), PMI announced a partnership with Avicanna Inc., a Canadian biopharmaceutical company specializing in cannabinoid-based products. The collaboration, highlighted in a recent press release, focuses on advancing medical cannabis research and improving patient accessibility in Canada.

“Avicanna and Vectura Fertin Pharma are collaborating to establish a joint Scientific and Medical Affairs Committee focused on improving the understanding of medical cannabis access and applications in Canada”, states the release. “This committee will work closely with Canadian healthcare professionals to facilitate research studies and deliver evidence-based educational resources.”
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Thousands remain in federal prison due to nonviolent marijuana-related crimes. President Biden, who says no one should be in jail for marijuana, has just a day to commute their sentences.

In 2022, Biden pardoned thousands of marijuana offenses, clearing the records of those charged federally with marijuana offenses. However, none of these pardons actually reduced the sentences of or allowed for the release of anyone currently in prison for marijuana. Biden’s lack of marijuana commutations is in contrast to the numerous times he has said “no one should be in jail for marijuana”.

Cannabis justice advocates have been urging President Biden to use his clemency power to release every federal cannabis prisoner before the end of his term.
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