May 07 2024

Federal Marijuana Banking Bill Secures 118th Sponsor

The SAFE Banking Act, aimed at enabling marijuana banking throughout the United States, has secured an additional sponsor, bringing the total to 118.

Congressmember John Garamendi (D-CA) added his support yesterday, bolstering the legislation’s backing within the House of Representatives.

Initially introduced in September by a collective of 10 lawmakers, the SAFE Banking Act continues to gain momentum. The bill allows accredited banks and credit unions to provide a suite of banking services, including debit card processing and loans, to marijuana businesses adhering to state regulations. Despite state licensing, these businesses are currently unable to access banking services due to federal restrictions, compelling many to operate solely with cash and heightening their risk of theft.
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May 07 2024

DEA Administrator Questioned About Marijuana Rescheduling at Congressional Hearing

During a committee hearing today in the US House of Representatives, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram was questioned about the agency’s decision to reschedule marijuana, saying repeatedly that it’d be “inappropriate” to answer such questions.

“Because the formal rulemaking process is ongoing and my role in that process is to determine the scheduling of drugs, it would be inappropriate for me to respond to questions on this rescheduling matter”, Milgram said during her opening statement. Despite these remarks, she was questioned about the DEA’s decision to move marijuana to Schedule III by several lawmakers.

When Congressmember Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) questioned her about the DEA’s decision, Milgram responded “There’s a formal rulemaking process for scheduling or rescheduling controlled substances. That process is ongoing. The next step in that process will be a notice of proposed rulemaking and then an opportunity for public comment.”
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May 07 2024

Maine Marijuana Sales Top $19 Million in April

Licensed marijuana stores in Maine sold products worth over $19 million in April.

According to data from the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy, marijuana sales reached $19,225,160 in April, marking a slight increase from the $19.1 million recorded last month, and nearly $2 million more than the total sales in May 2023. These sales occurred across 356,951 transactions.

The average price per gram of dried marijuana in April fell to an all-time low of $7.18, down $0.13 from March.
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May 07 2024

Montana Reports Over $26 Million in Marijuana Sales for April

In April, Montana saw a total of $26.18 million in marijuana sales, maintaining a strong market presence with consistent sales since legalization.

Recreational marijuana sales contributed significantly, amounting to $22.11 million, while medical marijuana sales were $4.07 million for the month.

April sales mark the 14th consecutive month that marijuana sales have exceeded $25 million in Montana, as reported by the state’s Cannabis Control Division. The combined total for 2024 now stands at around $103 million. The total for 2023 was $319 million, resulting in over $50 million in tax revenue.
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May 07 2024

It’s Official: Florida and South Dakota Will Vote to Legalize Marijuana This November

This November, voters in two states will have the chance to legalize recreational marijuana.

Today, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws submitted approximately 30,000 signatures for their initiative to legalize recreational marijuana for individuals aged 21 and older. This count significantly exceeds the 17,508 signatures required to qualify the measure for the November 2024 presidential election ballot. Although the initiative will not be officially placed on the ballot until the state confirms that a sufficient number of these signatures are valid (from registered South Dakota voters), the group has submitted enough signatures that more than 40% would need to be invalid for the measure to fail to make the ballot.

If enacted, the initiative would permit individuals aged 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and cultivate up to three marijuana plants at a private residence. Additionally, it would authorize a system of licensed and regulated marijuana stores to distribute marijuana and marijuana products.
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May 07 2024

US House Bill to Deschedule Marijuana Continues to Gain Momentum with 88th Sponsor

A bill in the US House of Representatives aimed at descheduling marijuana and facilitating expungements has recently secured its 88th sponsor.

The legislation, known as the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, proposes to eliminate marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances, effectively decriminalizing it across the nation. Congressmember Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) added his support as a cosponsor on May 5, increasing the total sponsorship to 88 since its introduction with 34 original sponsors.

The MORE Act also introduces a federal excise tax of 5% on legal marijuana sales in the initial two years, which is set to rise to 8% in the fifth year. Furthermore, it provides for the expungement of previous marijuana convictions and ensures that marijuana users are not denied public benefits.
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May 06 2024

Marijuana Seizures At Southern Border Down 98% Since 2013, When First State Marijuana Laws Took Effect

Federal law enforcement agents seized a historically low 61,000 pounds of marijuana at the southern border in 2023, representing a massive drop since 2013, the year state-level marijuana legalization laws first took effect in Colorado and Washington (with sales beginning in 2014).

This amount marks a significant 29% drop from 2022 and an even more stark 98% decrease since 2013—a year that saw over 2.4 million pounds of marijuana seized.

This substantial decline in seizures mirrors the rise of the state-legal marijuana markets across the United States, beginning around 2014. These legal markets have profoundly impacted the demand for Mexican cannabis, significantly reducing both its production and exportation.
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May 06 2024

DEA Administrator Didn’t Sign Off On Marijuana Rescheduling Decision, Says Former White House Advisor

A former White House advisor and co-founder of the anti-marijuana group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), Kevin Sabet, claims that the DEA’s decision to move marijuana to Schedule III was not authorized by the agency’s administrator. This, he argues, “breaks with five decades of precedent and established law.”

“BIG: I can now say with full confidence that the Administrator of DEA, Anne Milgram, did NOT sign the rescheduling order, breaking with five decades of precedent and established law and regulations (two confidential sources inside DEA and another outside DEA with intimate knowledge tell me),” Sabet stated on the social media platform X. Sabet, a former advisor to the Obama Administration, is also a co-founder of SAM, one of the largest anti-marijuana groups in the nation.

It is important to note that SAM was among the first to report the DEA’s plans to reschedule marijuana. That said, from a legal, political, and practical standpoint, it likely does not affect the validity of the rescheduling order, as the move has already been confirmed by the Department of Justice.
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May 06 2024

South Dakota Marijuana Legalization Initiative Set for November 2024 Ballot After Sufficient Signatures Collected

A group behind an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana says they’re confident they have collected enough signatures to place their proposal on the November ballot for a public vote.

South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws says they will submit their signatures to South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson tomorrow, the state’s deadline. The group says they will submit well more than the 35,017 signatures required for the measure to be voted on during the November presidential election. Before the measure can be officially certified for the ballot, the state must verify that enough of the signatures are from registered South Dakota voters.

In 2020, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws successful placed a marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot, with it receiving support from 54% of voters. Due to a technicality in the initiative’s language, the measure was thrown out by state courts.
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May 06 2024

New Hampshire Senate Committee Approves House-Backed Bill to Permit Medical Marijuana for Any Condition

A key committee in the New Hampshire Senate has given approval to legislation that would allow medical marijuana for any condition a physician deems necessary.

Today, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed House Bill 1278 with a unanimous 5-0 vote. This measure has already been approved by the state’s full House of Representatives. It now needs to clear one more Senate committee and the full Senate before reaching Governor Chris Sununu’s desk.

Filed by State Representative Wendy Thomas, the proposal would repeal the state’s list of qualifying medical marijuana conditions and replace it with a provision stating that “For adults 21 years of age or older, any debilitating or terminal medical condition or symptom for which the potential benefits of using therapeutic cannabis would, in the provider’s clinical opinion, likely outweigh the potential health risks for the patient.”
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