A bipartisan pair of lawmakers in Pennsylvania have announced that they will soon be refiling legislation that would decriminalize the personal possession of marijuana.

Under the proposed law, introduced by Senators Sharif Street (D) and Camera Bartolotta (R), the personal possession of marijuana would become, at most, a $25 fine. Consuming marijuana in public would be a fine of up to $100.

Under current Pennsylvania law, even a miniscule amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days and jail and a driver’s license suspension of six month

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Although marijuana sales dropped between October and November, so did marijuana prices.

There was $17,635,649 worth of legal marijuana purchased in November, spread out among 315,978 different transactions. This is according to new data released by Maine’s Office of Cannabis Policy.

Although sales were down slightly from the $18.9 million sold in October, the average cost per gram dropped to an all-time low of $7.52, down from the $7.67 average in October and the $7.81 average for the year as a whole. This is the third straight month where the average price per gram dropped to a record low.
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Legislation in the House of Representatives that would decriminalize and fully deschedule marijuana now has 76 sponsors.

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act was filed in September by US Representative Jerrold Nadler (D) along with four cosponsors. By the end of November the number of cosponsors climbed to 73.

On Wednesday, Representatives Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Jesús García (D-IL) and Mark Takano (D-CA) signed on as cosponsors, bringing the total number to 76. This represents 17% of the entire House of Representatives, and over a third of all House Democrats.
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Newly filed legislation would extend the renewal period for medical marijuana licenses held by disabled veterans by 500%.

Oklahoma Senate Bill 1219 was filed by Senator Brenda Stanley (R). It’s been assigned to the Senate Alcohol, Tobacco and Controlled Substances Committee.

According to the bill, “An applicant for a medical marijuana patient license who can demonstrate his or her status as a one-hundred-percent-disabled veteran as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.. [shall have their licenses] valid for up to ten (10) years from the date of issuance.”
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The United States Health and Human Services Department has released an over 250 page document explaining their rationale for wanting the DEA to reschedule marijuana.

In August the Department sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officially requesting marijuana be reclassified as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act, which would effectively legalize it for prescription use across the United States. The letter came in response to a request by President Biden last year for the government to research and consider rescheduling marijuana.

Now, the agency has released documents – albeit heavily redacted documents – that explain why the Department believes marijuana should be moved to schedule III. The release of the documents came after a pair of attorneys requested them through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
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A bipartisan group of lawmakers have refiled the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act.

Filed by Representative Dave Joyce (R) and cosponsored by Representatives Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R), Brian Mast (R), Troy Carter (D) and Earl Blumenauer (D), the measure would fully allow states to legalize marijuana without fear of federal persecution, while protecting those that already have.

Specifically, it would amend the Controlled Substances so that those acting in compliance with state marijuana laws would no longer be committing a federal crime. This includes both marijuana consumers and those operating marijuana businesses.
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Two pieces of legislation designed to help end workplace discrimination against marijuana consumers take effect soon in California.

Signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in October, Senate Bill 700 takes effect in less than a month, on January 1. The new law makes it unlawful “for an employer to request information from an applicant for employment relating to the applicant’s prior use of cannabis.”

The measure would not apply to applicants or employees hired for positions that require a federal government background investigation or security clearance in accordance with regulations “issued by the United States Department of Defense pursuant to Part 117 of Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or equivalent regulations applicable to other agencies.”
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