Jan 31 2025

Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Sees “Path Forward On Cannabis”

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is set to include marijuana legalization in his upcoming budget request, marking the third consecutive year he has advocated for the reform, with House Leader Matt Bradford (D) saying he sees “a path forward”.

Next week, Governor Shapiro is set to release his proposed 2025-2026 budget, which he has promised will include the legalization of recreational marijuana. House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D) has expressed confidence that legalization could move forward this session, after years of attempts from proponents.

“Yes, our numbers are close, but we are confident that we can get our numbers together and show that there is a path forward on cannabis,” says Bradford.
Continue reading

Jan 31 2025

Virginia Senate Passes Bill to Legalize Recreational Marijuana Sales

Virginia has approved legislation that would legalize recreational marijuana.

By a vote of 21 to 19, the Senate advanced Senate Bill 970 to the state’s House of Representatives. Approval through the House would send the measure to Governor Glenn Youngkin, who has promised to veto the bill. The legislature can override a veto, but only with a 2/3rds majority.

Sponsored by State Senators Aaron Rouse (D), Jennifer Carroll Foy (D), and Lashrecse Aird (D), Senate Bill 970 would establish a retail marijuana market in Virginia, which remains the only one of the 24 states with legal marijuana to prohibit retail sales.
Continue reading

Jan 31 2025

Psilocybin Shows Strongest Evidence for Treating Alcohol Use Disorder in Psychedelic Therapy Review

A new systematic review highlights the potential of psychedelic-assisted therapy for substance use disorders, finding psilocybin to be the most promising treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Psilocybin mushroom.

Researchers from King’s College London, the University of Birmingham, and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust reviewed 37 studies involving 2,035 participants, assessing treatments with LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, ayahuasca, ketamine, ibogaine, and MDMA.

According to the study, published in the journal Addiction, “A two-centre, placebo-controlled, phase 2 superiority RCT of psilocybin for AUD, and a two-centre, double-blind, four-arm, placebo-controlled phase 2 RCT of ketamine for AUD yielded the best evidence of efficacy.”
Continue reading

Jan 30 2025

New Mexico Bill Would Restrict Workplace Cannabis Testing for Medical Marijuana Patients

A bill to prohibit employers from considering an employee impaired based solely on the presence of cannabis metabolites in their system has been filed in New Mexico.

House Bill 230, introduced today by Representatives Reena Szczepanski (D) and Elizabeth Thomson (D), has been assigned to the House Health & Human Services Committee.

The proposal bans random drug testing for marijuana, allowing testing only in cases where an employer has reasonable suspicion of impairment while on the job or after an accident involving another person or significant property damage. Any positive test for marijuana would need to be reviewed by a medical review officer to determine if there is a legitimate medical explanation.
Continue reading

Jan 30 2025

New York Bill to Legalize Medical Psilocybin Filed Today, Companion Measure Already Filed in Senate

A bill to legalize the medical use of psilocybin in New York was introduced today by Assemblymember Patrick Burke (D) and referred to the Assembly Health Committee.

The measure, Assembly Bill 3775, serves as a companion to Senate Bill 495, which was filed on January 8 and sent to the Senate Finance Committee.

The legislation would create a framework for the medical use of psilocybin, allowing patients to receive supervised treatment under the guidance of certified facilitators, including mental health professionals, physicians, and other qualified practitioners. The bill outlines licensing requirements, research initiatives, and legal protections for patients and facilitators participating in the program.
Continue reading

Jan 30 2025

New Mexico Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Establish Medical Psilocybin Program

Legislation to create a program for the medicinal use of psilocybin was introduced today in the New Mexico Senate.

Dried psilocybin mushrooms.

Senate Bill 219, the Medical Psilocybin Act, would allow those in New Mexico to receive psilocybin-assisted treatment for certain behavioral health conditions, including major treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, end-of-life care, and other conditions approved by the Department of Health.

“When we’re facing epidemic levels of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other debilitating mental health conditions, we owe it to those suffering to explore promising new treatments like psilocybin,” says State Representative Elizabeth Thomson (D). “By establishing a highly regulated, state-run program, we can provide alternative options to those not responding to traditional treatment, in a safe, controlled environment.”
Continue reading

Jan 30 2025

Study: Opening Recreational Marijuana Stores Has No Impact on Emergency Room Visits

A study being published soon by the International Journal of Drug Policy, published online ahead of print by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, analyzes the impact of recreational marijuana retailer allocation on emergency department visits in Ontario.

(Photo credit: Pablohart / Getty Images).

Researchers from York University, Western University, and the University of Toronto conducted a longitudinal study using health administrative data from ICES (a nonprofit research institute), covering all Ontario residents with public health insurance.

The study examined 278 communities, using Forward Sortation Areas (FSAs) as a proxy, and tracked 11,156,100 adults aged 18 and older from January 2016 to March 2023. The randomized lottery system used to allocate marijuana retailers provided a natural experiment, allowing for a comparison of emergency department visits in FSAs with and without retail stores.
Continue reading

Jan 30 2025

North Carolina’s Only Legal Marijuana Store, Located on Tribal Land, Open Nearly 150 Days to Everyone 21+

The Great Smoky Cannabis Company in Cherokee, North Carolina—the only legal marijuana retailer in the state—has been open for nearly 150 days, generating millions in sales without any reported arrests.

The store, operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), remains the state’s sole outlet where recreational marijuana can be legally purchased, as North Carolina has not legalized marijuana at the state level for recreational or medical purposes. The EBCI’s store is open to anyone 21 and older regardless of tribal or medical status.

Since launching in early September, the store has generated millions in sales. They offers a range of products, including flower, edibles, and concentrates, sourced from the tribe’s cultivation facility. Despite marijuana being illegal under state law, EBCI’s sovereign status allows the tribe to regulate cannabis sales on its land. Up to this point, there has not been a single reported marijuana possession arrest connected to marijuana purchased legally at the Great Smoky Cannabis Company, and no police checkpoints have been setup outside tribal land as some feared.
Continue reading

Jan 30 2025

Heavy Drinking Alters Brain Function—But Adding Cannabis May Not Make a Difference

A study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence suggests that co-using alcohol and cannabis does not produce additional changes in brain connectivity compared to heavy alcohol use alone.

(Photo credit: RespectMyRegion.com).

For the study, researchers from the University of California conducted a secondary analysis of three clinical laboratory studies, examining resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in 60 individuals.

Participants were categorized into three groups: controls with no regular drug use (16), heavy alcohol users (27), and individuals who regularly used both alcohol and cannabis (17). Resting-state fMRI scans were analyzed to assess connectivity differences in the salience network, a brain system associated with attention and addiction.
Continue reading

Jan 30 2025

Scotts Miracle-Gro to Separate Cannabis Arm Into Independent Company

Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. is preparing to separate its cannabis-focused subsidiary, Hawthorne Gardening Co., into a fully independent company—a decision executives believe will enhance its financial value.

This marks a departure from the previous stance of Scotts CEO Jim Hagedorn, who had favored keeping Hawthorne within the parent company despite the marijuana industry’s instability, according to Green Market Report.

With Hawthorne’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) expected to reach approximately $20 million this year, Scotts’ leadership determined that the business would operate more effectively on its own.
Continue reading