Author: AggregatedNews

[ad_1] Millions of people in the U.S. report using marijuana daily or nearly every day, according to an analysis of national survey data, and those people now outnumber those who say they are daily or nearly-daily drinkers of alcohol. Alcohol is still more widely used, but 2022 was the first time this intensive level of marijuana use overtook daily and near-daily drinking, said the study’s author, Jonathan Caulkins, a cannabis policy researcher at Carnegie Mellon University. “A good 40% of current cannabis users are using it daily or near daily, a pattern that is more associated with tobacco use than typical…

[ad_1] “It doesn’t feel like this really has anything to do with what their role is,” said Ben Lewinger, executive director of the New Mexico Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. “They’re supposed to detain people entering the country illegally, and then detain narcotics and other dangerous items also entering the country illegally.” The wave of seizures mark a clear departure from long-standing federal policy, wherein law enforcement officials have largely taken a hands-off approach to enforcement in the 38 states that have legalized medical or recreational cannabis possession in conflict with federal law. [Read More @ Politico] [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Senate Democrats reintroduced broad legislation on Wednesday to legalize cannabis on the federal level, a major policy shift with wide public support, but it is unlikely to be enacted this year ahead of November’s elections and in a divided government. The bill, which amounts to a Democratic wish list for federal cannabis policy, would end the federal prohibition on marijuana by removing it from a controlled substances list. The government currently classifies the drug as among the most dangerous and addictive substances. The legislation would create a new framework regulating cannabis and taxing the burgeoning cannabis industry, expunge certain federal marijuana-related offenses from…

[ad_1] South Carolinians’ hopes for legalized medical cannabis has likely been snuffed out this year. The S.C. House of Representatives is likely to adjourn May 9 without spending a single moment debating a decade-old proposal by Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, to legalize medical marijuana. A House ad hoc committee appointed to study the legislation adjourned April 30 without taking a vote on the bill. Rep. Sylleste Davis, the Moncks Corner Republican who chairs the committee, told reporters after the hearing the group is unlikely to meet again in the five working days left before the end of the 2024 legislative…

[ad_1] WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, The Associated Press has learned, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country. The DEA’s proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use. The agency’s move, confirmed to the AP on Tuesday by five people familiar with…

[ad_1] The long-serving congressman from Portland, who has become the top marijuana advocate on Capitol Hill, believes the issue could boost President Biden’s support with young voters. As a 23-year-old serving his first term in the Oregon state legislature, Representative Earl Blumenauer cosponsored the first bill in the country to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. More than 50 years later, the congressman from Portland is preparing to retire after nearly three decades on Capitol Hill, and mounting a lonely campaign to persuade his fellow Democrats, including President Biden, to press for legalization of marijuana at the federal level as a…

[ad_1] Ohioans will likely be able to buy recreational marijuana as soon as mid-June, earlier than the timeline outlined by the initiated statute they voted to pass last fall, and existing medical marijuana dispensaries say they plan to be prepared for the state’s non-medical green light. The state’s joint committee on agency rule review (JCARR) meets May 13, when it’s scheduled to vote on its first batch of rules from the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Cannabis Control. Among those are rules for the application process medical dispensaries need to go through to get licensed to sell to any…

[ad_1] A North Dakota ballot initiative group can gather signatures to put a proposal legalizing recreational marijuana to a statewide vote in the fall, the state’s top election official said Thursday, in the latest legalization effort in the conservative state. The New Economic Frontier needs to submit 15,582 valid signatures to Secretary of State Michael Howe by July 8 to make the November general election ballot. Otherwise, the group has one year to gather enough signatures to make the next statewide election. The 20-page statutory measure would legalize recreational marijuana for people 21 and older to use at their homes and, if permitted, on…

[ad_1] A bill to increase the amount of marijuana a person can possess before facing stiff criminal penalties failed 15-9 in the Hawaii Senate on Monday. It was the second defeat of a measure at the Legislature this session to allow more people to possess pot. A bill to allow recreational use of marijuana for people 21 years and older died earlier this month. The reasons for shelving Senate Bill 2487, the decriminalization measure, were similar to Senate Bill 3335, the recreational marijuana bill. Opponents said more marijuana would end up in the hands of youth, it would discourage Asian tourists from visiting,…

[ad_1] Confidential documents obtained by THE CITY reveal how Chicago Atlantic Group became one of the biggest beneficiaries of the state’s legalization program. Last June, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that a much anticipated deal had finally been reached to fund a $200 million public-private fund that would finance cannabis dispensaries run by the people who have been the most impacted by the war on drugs. “Today’s announcement reinforces New York’s commitment to building partnerships that benefit New Yorkers and setting right the wrongs of the past,” Hochul said at the time. But an investigation by THE CITY — based on…

[ad_1] April 20 is a day recognized globally for celebrating cannabis culture, but it’s also like the cannabis industry’s Black Friday. Dispensaries offer deals designed to inspire people to flood their stores to stock up. However on Saturday, dispensaries across the state using an inventory platform called Dutchie were hamstrung for hours by technical challenges, which caused many of their registers to go down or move at snail pace. It was the second year in a row that a 4/20 sales surge caused the system to crash. “Imagine running a restaurant where you have one burner working and you normally have…

[ad_1] Japan’s cannabis market expanded sixfold over four years to ¥24 billion ($154 million) in 2023, a trend that is expected to accelerate with the amendment in December of cannabis laws, market research firm Euromonitor International said in a recent report. The growing sales of products using CBD (cannabidiol), a compound found in marijuana, are attributed to the rising demand for products that offer relaxation, sleep and stress relief, the firm said, estimating the current number of CBD users in Japan at 588,000. Many users see CBD as alternatives to tobacco and alcohol, often using them to relax while watching…