Author: Ben Adlin

[ad_1] Minnesota’s top cannabis regulator gave a committee of lawmakers an update on implementation of the state’s adult-use marijuana law on Tuesday, touching on matters such as staffing up the new office and the forthcoming launch of a new business license application portal. But issues such as who would qualify for equity advantages under the plan drew ire from some Republicans on the panel. Sen. Jordan Rasmusson (R), for example, questioned why proposed equity rules would allow people with past criminal convictions for selling marijuana to not only operate retail outlets but also receive social equity status in licensing. “You’d…

[ad_1] A Virginia House panel has delayed its consideration of a Senate-passed marijuana legalization bill in order to give backers of two competing legal sales proposals that were approved in votes on the floor of their respective chamber more time to hammer out a compromise. As a House General Laws subcommittee began discussion Tuesday of the Senate bill—SB 448 from Sen. Aaron Rouse (D)—the sponsor of a separate House measure announced that the two camps are now actively crafting a deal. “We’re working with Sen. Rouse right now on coming up with a compromise retail cannabis bill,” said Del. Paul…

[ad_1] Vermont lawmakers last week began consideration of a bill that would legalize psilocybin in the state and establish a work group on how to further regulate psychedelics for therapeutic use. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee took no immediate action at the hearing, with chair Sen. Ginny Lyons (D) saying the panel would most likely hear further testimony on the proposal either this week or next week. “S.114 I think may be a bill that has the potential to be acted upon pretty quickly,” Lyons said. “We’ll see what we think about it.” Sen. Terry Williams (R) asked whether…

[ad_1] A Republican member of Maine’s House of Representatives is attempting to oust the state’s top marijuana regulator, claiming that Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) Director John Hudak is “unfairly and unjustly executing state law.” OCP under Hudak’s direction, according to Rep. David Boyer (R), has inconsistently applied regulations, set steep licensing costs and penalties for licensed businesses and at times retaliated against operators who tried to raise concerns. Hudak—a former Brookings Institution fellow who focused on marijuana at the think tank—also has conflicts of interest, Boyer claimed, that should disqualify him from some matters. The lawmaker is currently circulating…

[ad_1] Missouri sold more than $1.4 billion worth of legal cannabis during the first year of recreational sales. That’s about $1.13 billion in adult-use purchases, according to state data released by the Department of Health and Senior Services, and another $280 million in medical marijuana transactions. The state launched legal marijuana sales to adults 21 and older in February of last year. Retailers’ best month of the year was December, during which consumers bought $106.5 million in regulated cannabis products. During January of this year, stores sold $94.8 million in adult-use marijuana—lower than any month since last May. Medical marijuana…

[ad_1] An Alaska Senate committee on Friday advanced a bill that would create a task force to study how to license and regulate psychedelic-assisted therapy in anticipation of eventual federal legalization of substances like MDMA and psilocybin. Before taking action on the bill, which the panel first considered earlier this month, members of the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee adopted a substitute from its sponsor, Sen. Forrest Dunbar (D). The committee then moved the amended bill out of committee “with individual recommendations” and a new fiscal note that reduced the estimated cost of the task force to zero. The changes…

[ad_1] Lawmakers in Hawaii are continuing to advance a bill that would provide some legal protections to patients engaging in psilocybin-assisted therapy with a medical professional’s approval. The measure, HB 2630 from Rep. Della Au Belatti (D), would not legalize psilocybin itself. Instead, it would create an affirmative legal defense for psilocybin use and possession in the case of doctor-approved use under the guidance of a trained facilitator. Hawaii’s House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee on Wednesday voted 7–0 to advance the proposal, with one member who voted yes expressing reservations on the bill and five other members absent. Two…

[ad_1] Two different bills to legalize and regulate retail marijuana sales in Virginia cleared a key a crossover deadline last week, increasing hopes among advocates that lawmakers can find consensus on launching a regulated market and send implementation legislation to Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). The road to the two measures in their current form has been winding, arguably beginning in 2021, when the state legalized cannabis use and possession. The legislation that passed that session also included a framework for legal sales, but Republicans, after winning control of the House and governor’s office later that year, subsequently blocked the required…

[ad_1] South Dakota’s Gov. Kristi Noem (R) signed a bill into law this week that would roll back employment protections medical marijuana patients slightly, allowing employers to take action against people who test positive for THC if they work in a safety-sensitive position. The bill, SB 12, also clarifies that discipline or termination for violating a drug-free workplace policy is not grounds for an employment discrimination or wrongful termination claim. The change adds clear boundaries to the state’s workplace drug law, which says that “a registered qualifying patient who uses cannabis for a medical purpose shall be afforded all the…

[ad_1] Two Minnesota Republican state lawmakers are claiming that home cultivation of cannabis as the result of the legalization law enacted by the Democratic legislature and governor last year could lead to a power failure as grow lights put an overwhelming strain on the state’s electrical grid. “Now, I hope most of you are not familiar with the marijuana grow operation,” Rep. Paul Novotny (R) said at an event last weekend, “but I will tell you that it takes a ton of electricity.” “Get ready for blackouts and brownouts. That’s what’s going to happen,” added Sen. Eric Lucero (R), who…

[ad_1] Members of an Alaska House panel gave initial consideration on Tuesday to a proposal that would establish a state task force to explore how to legalize and regulate the therapeutic use of psychedelics in the state, a change supporters say is intended to prepare for eventual federal rescheduling of substances such as MDMA and psilocybin. While the committee took no formal action on the bill, HB 228, some members used the hearing to express sharp skepticism about the need for the task force—as well as the underlying issue of psychedelic-assisted therapy itself. Sponsor Rep. Jennie Armstrong (D) told members…

[ad_1] During a brief executive session on Wednesday, New Hampshire’s House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee approved to a bill that would legalize and regulate marijuana in the state, moving the measure forward despite ongoing concerns over how Gov. Chris Sununu (R) will greet the bill. Committee members voted 17–3 to advance HB 1633, which next heads to the House floor. The panel did not discuss the proposal in depth before taking action during executive session. Members adopted two small changes offered by the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Erica Layon (R), then proceeded to vote on the amended bill. One change…