The United States House of Representatives has past a $460 billion package of spending bills; included among them is a provision prohibiting the federal government from interfering with state-level medical marijuana laws.

The House voted 339 to 85 to pass the package of bills, sending them to the Senate. Included in the portion of the bill covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies is a provision that makes it illegal for the federal government to interfere with state medical marijuana laws. The provision has been included in  multiple spending bills approved in previous years, but with a new Speaker of the House some advocates were concerned it could be removed.

Specifically the provision states:
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US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says the Senate will “work very hard” to pass the SAFER Banking Act prior to the November election.

(Photo credit: J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press).

“We believe very strongly in so many things, and we are going to continue to work on the agenda that we put before us”, said Schumer at a recent press briefing. “We first have to fund the government, the supplemental is very important. But after that, you will see us turn to many of the bills that we passed: the SAFER Act, safety on the rails, so many other things.”

Schumer added “As you know, many of the bills we’ve passed are bipartisan… we’re going to work very hard on many different things.”
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A joint committee in Connecticut’s Legislature held a public hearing today on legislation to decriminalize the personal possession of psilocybin mushrooms.

Dried psilocybin mushrooms in a bowl.

The Joint Committee on Judiciary conducted a hearing today for House Bill 5297, which states that “Any person who possesses or has under such person’s control less than one-half ounce of psilocybin shall, for a first offense, be fined one hundred fifty dollars, and for a subsequent offense, be fined “not less than two hundred dollars or more than five hundred dollars.”

The measure clarifies that law enforcement officer issuing a complaint for a violation of subsection (a) of this section “shall seize the psilocybin and cause such substance to be destroyed as contraband in accordance with law.”
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Congressmember Adam Schiff had a conclusive victory in yesterday’s primary election, and is now poised for victory in November.

(Photo credit: Andrew Harnik / Associated Press).

In the race to replace the late Dianne Feinstein, Congressmember Adam Schiff is now the clear favorite after coming first in the primary with 33% support. Republican Steve Garvey beat out Congressmembers Katie Porter and Barbara Lee (who got 14% and 7% respectively) to come second and advance to the general election. Given Democrats outnumber Republicans roughly two to one, it’s now all but certain that Adam Schiff will become the next US Senator from California.

For marijuana reform advocates, this will be a welcome change. Despite being a Democrat and considered a progressive on many issues, former Senator Feinstein remained opposed to legalizing or even decriminalizing marijuana nationwide throughout her full career, despite her state legalizing marijuana in 2016. Feinstein was in the US Senate from 1993 to 2023.
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A US House bill to deschedule marijuana and allow expungements has gained its 87 sponsor.

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act would remove marijuana as a federal controlled substance, decriminalizing it nationwide. Yesterday, Congressmembers Steve Jorsford (D-NV)  joined as a sponsor for the MORE Act, bringing the total to 87. When the measure was filed it had 34 sponsors.

The only other marijuana-related bill in US Congress with more sponsors is the SAFE Banking Act with 104.
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In South Carolina, legislation to legalize medical marijuana is under consideration by a key House Committee.

Senate Bill 423 has been assigned to and is being considered by the House Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs, weeks after it was passed by the full Senate in a 26 to 17 vote. Filed by Senator Thomas Davis with a bipartisan coalition of 11 cosponsors, the measure would establish the South Carolina Medical Cannabis Program, creating “a seed-to-sale system to provide for the sale of medical cannabis to treat a qualifying patient’s debilitating medical condition or to alleviate symptoms.”

The law would allow patients to possess an “Allowable amount of medical cannabis” or “allowable amount of cannabis products”, defined as:
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Legislation filed in Kentucky would greatly expand the list of qualifying medical marijuana conditions.

Senate Bill 337 was filed last week by Senator Steve West (R), who was the lead sponsor for the medical marijuana legalization bill that was enacted in 2023. Senate Bill 337 was assigned to the Committee on Committees the same day, and assigned to the Health Services Committee on March 1.

Under the proposed law, the number of qualifying medical marijuana conditions would expand from six, to 21. New qualifying conditions would include arthritis, HIV, AIDS,  fibromyalgia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, irritable bowel disease, sickle cell disease, cachexia or wasting syndrome, neuropathies, muscular dystrophy, Huntington’s disease, glaucoma and all terminal illnesses.
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Hawaii’s full Senate passed two marijuana-related bills today, one to decriminalize the substance and one to legalize it entirely.

The Senate voted 19 to 6 today to pass Senate Bill 3335, sending it to the House of Representatives. The proposed law would legalize the possession, personal cultivation and license distribution of recreational marijuana for those 21 and older. The Hawaii Cannabis Authority and Cannabis Control Board would be established within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and tasked with overseeing licensing and regulations for the legal marijuana industry.

The measure would place a 14% tax on recreational marijuana sales, with the tax being 4% for medical marijuana. It would allow those with convictions for marijuana-related crimes that would be legal under the bill to have the charges expunged from their record.
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