Author: Ben Adlin

[ad_1] New Mexico officials are celebrating a new milestone for the state’s marijuana industry, with retailers hitting recording more than $1 billion in total sales since the launch of the state’s adult-use cannabis market. February’s sales totals included more than $35 million in adult-use purchases—the second-highest monthly amount on record, according to figures from the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department’s Cannabis Control Division. The state’s medical marijuana market, meanwhile, recorded over $12 million in sales. With those additions, the cumulative amount sold in the state reached $1.01 billion. That includes both medical and adult-use cannabis receipts going back to…

[ad_1] A Vermont legislative panel continued its consideration on Thursday of a bill that would legalize psilocybin in the state and establish a work group on how to further regulate psychedelics for therapeutic use. Though members of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee took no formal action on the measure, S. 114, they heard invited testimony and signaled their openness to making a number of changes to the underlying proposal—including removing the legalization portion and instead making that an issue for the work group to study. “It could be that decriminalization is going to get in the way of therapeutic…

[ad_1] A pair of Senate committees in Hawaii has advanced a bill that would legalize marijuana in the state, adopting a number of amendments to the underlying proposal before sending it to the chamber floor where a vote is expected next week. Last year the Senate passed a separate legalization bill that later stalled the House, but advocates are hopeful this year’s proposal could get further. Gov. Josh Green (D) said last month that legalization is a “big social issue that remains” to be addressed in the state, signaling that he’d likely sign a bill to end cannabis prohibition if lawmakers…

[ad_1] Marijuana use is associated with lower odds of subjective cognitive decline (SCD), according to a new study, with people who consume cannabis for recreational or medical purposes reporting less confusion and memory loss compared to non-users. The study—which showed that recreational cannabis use is “significantly” linked to lower SCD—is especially notable given that past research has connected subjective decline to the development of dementia later in life. The results, which were published in the journal Current Alzheimer Research this month, indicate that THC’s impacts on cognitive function may be more complicated than popularly assumed. “Compared to non-users,” the study…

[ad_1] Following last year’s decision by members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (ECBI) to legalize cannabis for adult use, the tribe has set a target date to open retail sales: April 20, 2024. If all goes as planned, the launch will mark the first-ever legal marijuana sales within the borders of North Carolina. “It’s the national cannabis holiday, right?” Lee Griffin, human resources director for the tribe’s marijuana business, Qualla Enterprises, said of the 4/20 start date during a ECBI tribal council work session on Wednesday. “Across the country, it’s the biggest revenue date annually” for cannabis. “It’s…

[ad_1] A day after the Virginia legislature sent a retail marijuana sales bill to Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), a spokesperson in his office told Marijuana Moment that there’s no new update on the governor’s stance on the issue, instead citing earlier comments in which he said he doesn’t “have any interest in” signing cannabis commerce legislation. While some supporters hope he’ll allow the measure to become law, others have predicted Youngkin will veto the bill. Reached by email on Thursday, Christian Martinez, the governor’s press secretary, was tight-lipped. “I would refer you back to the Governor’s comments during the gaggle…

[ad_1] Lawmakers in Virginia have given final approval to legislation to prevent the state from using marijuana alone as evidence of child abuse or neglect. The change is meant to protect parents and guardians from discrimination around cannabis use and possession, which the commonwealth legalized in 2021. On Monday the Senate signed off on SB 115, which the House passed 54–45 last week. An identical measure, HB 833, has also been approved by both chambers. The legislation now goes to Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who can sign the bill into law, veto it, suggest amendments or allow it to take effect…

[ad_1] A Maryland House of Delegates committee considered a Republican-led bill on Tuesday that would reinstate the ability of law enforcement to stop and search vehicles over the smell of marijuana. Democrats pushed back strongly against the proposal, however, noting the state’s history of police disproportionately stopping people of color. The panel did not take action on the measure, HB 320, which supporters first unveiled in November. Members instead spent more than half an hour debating the issue and taking testimony from law enforcement and civil rights advocates. As cannabis legalization that took effect last year, Maryland changed a number…

[ad_1] The Virginia House of Delegates and Senate approved identical versions of legislation to legalize retail cannabis sales on Wednesday, putting the reform one procedural step away from the governor’s desk—actions that come a day after a committee’s amendments had threatened to upend bicameral agreement on the cannabis issue. After either of the two chambers signs off on the legal sales bill passed on the opposite floor—a move expected to happen on Thursday—the measure will next proceed to Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). The governor, however, has previously said he has no interest in moving forward with the Democrat-led plans. After…

[ad_1] At least four U.S. states are on track to consider adding female orgasmic disorder (FOD) as a specific qualifying condition for medical marijuana, with supporters pointing to a growing body of research showing that cannabis can significantly improve orgasmic frequency, ease and satisfaction in people with FOD. Ohio is already in the process of weighing the change. The State Medical Board earlier this month announced that FOD, along with autism spectrum disorder, would move forward for expert review and public comment following petitions submitted online. Comments are being accepted through Thursday. Regulators in Illinois, meanwhile, are set to meet…

[ad_1] A new notice this week from the U.S. Army reminds military members that President Joe Biden’s (D) recent pardons for federal marijuana possession offenses don’t apply to violations of military drug policies. “The proclamation does not cover military drug offenses under 10 U.S.C 112a,” says a blog post that the Army’s directorate of prevention, resilience and readiness published on Monday. “and therefore does not result in a pardon for military personnel, nor does it apply to the civilian drug-testing program.” The post is referring to an pardon proclamation issued by the president in December that expanded a previous round…

[ad_1] Supporters of legalizing retail marijuana sales in Virginia are scrambling after a Senate committee on Tuesday moved to adopt amendments to pending legislation to enact the reform. In making the changes, senators brought the House-passed measure away from a negotiated compromise reached last week—a move that could eventually send the issue to a bicameral conference committee to hammer out the differences. To avoid that, lawmakers are now exploring how to bring the bill back into alignment with its Senate-passed counterpart that is now pending in the House. Already the House has pressed pause on the Senate legal sales measure,…