As the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) continues the process of rescheduling marijuana, Vice President Kamala Harris is urging further reform, while President Biden is taking a more conservative approach.

On May 21, the DEA published its proposal to move marijuana to Schedule III, allowing its compounds and potential whole-plant medicines to be prescribed nationwide once they receive regulatory approval. At the halfway point of the required 60-day public comment period, over 20,000 comments have been submitted, with the vast majority supporting either rescheduling or fully descheduling marijuana.

The Biden/Harris Administration began the rescheduling process by initiating a review via executive order in 2022, and they have praised the Department of Justice’s decision to move marijuana to Schedule III. However, both the president and vice president have called for further reform.
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Vermont’s Legislature has overridden Governor Phil Scott’s veto of an overdose prevention center bill.

House Bill 72 was approved by the Vermont House of Representatives in January with a vote of 96 to 35. On May 1, the measure passed the Senate 21 to 8, sending it to Governor Phil Scott, who vetoed the bill on May 30.

Today, both the House and Senate voted with the necessary two-thirds majority to override the veto, enacting the measure into law.

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The Science of Smokeability (SOS) study continues to seek participants interested in getting paid to smoke free joints and contribute to ongoing research.

The SOS is a series of scientific experiments focusing on analyzing cultivation and processing metrics to evaluate which variables produce the most pleasant and least harmful smoking experience. The study will take place over the course of at least two years, potentially longer. The study is being conducted through a collaboration with DaySavers, “the most compliant and tested pre-rolled cone and rolling paper brand on the market,” the Cannabis Research Coalition, and The Network of Applied Pharmacognosy (NAP).

In the week since announcing the study, hundreds have already signed up to participate. However, with the selection being done through a random lottery, anyone who enters now has just as much of a chance as someone who signed up on day one. Continue reading

Tripartisan and bicameral legislation to allow marijuana banking now has 160 sponsors in the United States Congress.

The SAFE Banking Act (H.R. 2891) in the House of Representatives has 124 sponsors, the highest number for any marijuana-related measure in Congress. In the Senate, the updated SAFER Banking Act has 36 sponsors. Together, these 160 sponsors represent 30% of the entire Congress.

Both measures would provide federal protections for banks and credit unions that offer financial services to state-legal marijuana businesses. These businesses include medical marijuana dispensaries in the 38 states where they are legal, and recreational marijuana stores in the 23 states where they are authorized. Additionally, both measures would allow state-legal marijuana businesses to take standard IRS tax deductions, a practice currently forbidden. Continue reading

Legislation that would legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin mushrooms has been given approval by a key Assembly committee.

The Assembly Health Committee passed Assembly Bill 3852 today, moving it along in the legislative process. The move comes a little over a week after the Senate Heath Committee voted to approve a companion measure.

Initially devised as a way to legalize the personal use of psilocybin for everyone 21 and older, the measure was amended to apply exclusively to the medical/therapeutic use of the substance.
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Bipartisan legislation that would make Pennsylvania the 25th state to legalize recreational marijuana will soon be unveiled.

Filed by State Representatives Emily Kinkead and Aaron Kaufer, House Bill 2500 would establish a legal framework for the recreational sale of marijuana, prioritizing licensing for disadvantaged groups. It also seeks to expunge past criminal charges related to marijuana distribution.

“We know across the board that having marijuana be illegal has done only harm in our communities,” Kinkead told WESA, a local NPR affiliate. “And we’re recognizing that it has medicinal properties, [and] the world has not ended in all the states that have legalized it recreationally.”
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