Proponents of an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in North Dakota have already gathered over half of the required signatures to make the November 2024 ballot.

In late April, North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe gave approval to the initiative, sponsored by the nonprofit political committee New Economic Frontier. This gave the group one year to collect 15,582 signatures from registered North Dakota voters in order to put their marijuana legalization measure to a vote. If the signatures are gathered by July 8, the initiative will be voted on this November. If signatures are collected after July 8 the measure would be placed on the 2025 general election ballot.

Now, the group says that they have collected and internally verified around 8,500 signatures, over 50% of the required amount. Given these were collected in just five weeks, the group says they’re “optimistic” that they can make this year’s presidential election ballot.
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The application process for medical marijuana dispensaries wanting to also sell recreational marijuana has officially been launched by the Ohio Department of Cannabis Control (DCC).

Starting today, the CCC is accepting applications that will allow recreational marijuana sales to begin as soon as this month.

“Pursuant to the initiated statute approved by Ohio voters in November 2023, the initial non-medical cannabis license applications are only open to current medical marijuana license holders”, states the new webpage, posted by the Ohio Department of Commerce. The page says that “Each current medical marijuana cultivator, processor, testing laboratory, and dispensary that wishes to participate in the non-medical cannabis market at their current location must apply for a dual-use cannabis license.”
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According to new polling, a vast majority of voters in Florida support Amendment 3, an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana.

Amendment 3, which will be voted on this November, would allow individuals aged 21 and older to “possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise.” The proposed limits would permit possession of up to three ounces of dried marijuana flower and up to five grams of marijuana concentrates.

Licensed marijuana retail outlets would be authorized to distribute the plant, with existing state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries also permitted to “acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell, and distribute such products and accessories.”
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Barring some unforeseen circumstances, New Hampshire is all but certain to become the 25th state to legalize recreational marijuana.

Today, a conference committee consisting of members from both the House and Senate approved compromise legislation (House Bill 1633) that would legalize recreational marijuana for those 21 and older. This follows both chambers previously approving the same bill with slightly altered language. Now, the only step remaining before the measure is sent to Governor Chris Sununu is for the House and Senate to each give the bill one final vote.

Communication staffers for both Senate President Jeb Bradley and House Speaker Sherman Packard have stated that their chambers will vote to give the bill final approval before the June 13 deadline, and Governor Sununu has confirmed he will sign it into law once they do.
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A key committee in the New Jersey Senate has given approval to legislation to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin mushrooms.

Dried psilocybin mushrooms.

The Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee voted 6 to 2 today to pass Senate Bill 2283, sponsored by Senate President Nick Scutari (D).

Originally, the bill would have allowed individuals 21 and older to “possess, store, use, ingest, inhale, process, transport, deliver without consideration, or distribute without consideration, four grams or less of psilocybin.” However, it was amended before passage to focus on the medical use of psilocybin.
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A nonprofit organization seeking to put a medical marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot in Nebraska has collected 75% of the required signatures.

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana says they’ve collected 65,000 signatures for their initiative to legalize medical marijuana and their companion initiative to protect physicians who recommend marijuana. This is 75% of the 87,000 signatures needed for the proposals to be voted on in November. However, the group aims to collect at least 30,000 more signatures by the July 3rd deadline to ensure enough valid signatures (as any signatures not from registered Nebraska voters and any duplicates are discarded).

Last month, the group announced they had reached an important milestone by collecting the minimum required signatures across at least 38 of the state’s 93 counties for both initiatives, a legal requirement for making the November ballot.
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In Missouri, legal marijuana sales topped $120 million for the third time.

In May, $123.7 million worth of marijuana and marijuana products were sold legally in Missouri, just shy of the record $124.7 million sold in March.

Of the total sales in May, $108.2 million came from recreational consumers, while $15.5 million was purchased by medical marijuana patients.
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A bicameral conference committee in the New Hampshire Legislature has reached an agreement on the text of a bill to legalize recreational marijuana, with the governor saying he’ll sign it into law.

In March, the House of Representatives passed House Bill 1633 with a vote of 239 to 136. In May, the Senate amended the measure and passed it by a vote of 14 to 10. The House then rejected these changes, leading to the establishment of a conference committee consisting of members from both chambers.

Today, the committee decided to merge the two versions of the bill. The measure will now undergo one final vote in both the House and Senate before being sent to Governor Chris Sununu, who has expressed his intention to sign it into law.
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Legislation that would deschedule marijuana and allow for the expungement of past marijuana offenses now has a combined 107 sponsors in the United States House of Representatives and Senate.

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, filed in April 2023, now has 89 sponsors. The measure aims to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act, while expunging the records of individuals with prior marijuana convictions. Additionally, the MORE Act would establish a federal excise tax on legal marijuana sales. In the House, the SAFE Banking Act is the only marijuana-related bill with more sponsors than the MORE Act.
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The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (ECBI) has officially voted to legalize recreational marijuana sales, allowing their marijuana superstore to open soon to everyone 21 and older regardless of if they’re a tribal member.

(Photo credit: Will Hofmann/Ashebille Citizen Times).

In September members of the EBCI voted overwhelmingly in favor of a referendum that asked “Do you support legalizing the possession and use of cannabis for persons who are at least twenty-one (21) years old, and require the EBCI Tribal Council to develop legislation to regulate the market?”

Now, the council has officially passed a law adopting the referendum into law, allowing recreational marijuana sales to begin by August. The vote was 8 to 2.
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