Author: Ben Adlin
[ad_1] New York regulators have released a preview of proposed rules for home cultivation of marijuana by adults ahead of the plan’s formal consideration by the state Cannabis Control Board (CCB) at a meeting set for Wednesday. The proposal, which comes more than a year after adult-use retail marijuana sales began in New York, would allow adults to grow up to three mature and three immature cannabis plants, with no more than six mature plants and six immature plants per private residence, regardless of the number of adults who live there. Adults would be able to keep up to five…
[ad_1] Sales of adult-use marijuana in Missouri set a new monthly record in December, capping off total cannabis sales for all of 2023 amounting to more than $1.3 billion. Recreational cannabis purchases last month totaled $106.5 million, shattering the state’s previous $98.7 million record set in July. Since cannabis sales to adults 21 and older began in February of last year, Missouri has recorded nearly $1.04 billion in total adult-use sales. The all-time total recorded cannabis sales in Missouri, including medical and adult-use sales, now sits at $1.94 billion, according to the most recent available data from the Missouri Department…
[ad_1] Ohio’s governor says the state’s current marijuana law—under which it is now legal for adults to grow, possess and consume but with no place to purchase regulated cannabis—has created a “goofy situation” and “real mess” in light of the fact that retailers aren’t expected to open for business until at least the end of this year. “It’s legal to consume marijuana. It’s legal to grow marijuana. But you can’t buy the seeds and you can’t buy the marijuana,” Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said Thursday in a media interview. “All this is doing is fostering a bigger black market, because…
[ad_1] The Michigan Chamber of Commerce said Thursday that a rash of recent break-ins at legal marijuana retailers in the state underscores the need for federal cannabis banking reform, which the group says would reduce the risks of theft and fraud that stem from the industry’s current reliance on cash. The chamber joined the Michigan-based marijuana company Common Citizen in calling for congressional lawmakers to pass the Secure and Fare Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, which would remove the threat of penalties facing banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses, whose activity remains illegal under federal law. “With nearly 40…
[ad_1] Asked about a federal ban on firearm ownership by people who use marijuana, Republican presidential hopeful and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he believes the restriction violates the Second Amendment, attempting to portray himself as a more uncompromising defender of gun rights than former President Donald Trump, who leads polls in the Republican primary. “Yeah, I mean, I don’t think that’s constitutional, to be honest with you,” said DeSantis, who has a law degree from Harvard Law School. “If you’re using a legal product, I don’t see how that can nullify a constitutional right.” The comments came at a…
[ad_1] Marijuana regulators from across the country discussed the state of social equity in legal cannabis last week, part of the third meeting of a National Academies commission focused on changes amid the ongoing legalization movement. The latest two-day meeting of the Committee on Public Health Consequences of Changes in the Cannabis Policy Landscape, which follows a pair of earlier gatherings, focused mostly on social equity and justice, including how marijuana regulatory models “have influenced employment, tax revenues, economic indicators, criminal justice interactions, the unregulated market, and access to prevention and treatment resources for cannabis use disorder.” It featured an…
[ad_1] Marijuana use among teens in Washington State’s most populous county declined after legalization of cannabis for adults, according to a new federal study published on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The prevalence of current and frequent use fell significantly among youth in grades 8, 10 and 12 between 2008 and 2021. According to the study, published in CDC’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, current and frequent use of marijuana among teens in King County has fallen significantly since state voters legalized adult-use cannabis by initiative in November 2012. Researchers said legalization and related…
[ad_1] The American Nurses Association is applauding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’s (HHS) recommendation to move marijuana to Schedule III, calling the action “a positive step toward developing an evidence-based approach for marijuana and related-cannabinoids use in disease and symptom management.” “The American Nurses Association (ANA) recognizes this as an accomplishment in realizing the potential for marijuana in health care delivery,” the group said in a press release on Thursday. “This marks the first time HHS has publicly acknowledged marijuana’s medical use.” The professional association, which says it represents more than 5 million registered nurses across the…
[ad_1] The latest iterations of two Washington State marijuana bills were heard in committee on Tuesday as sponsors renewed past efforts to limit high-THC cannabis products and legalize home cultivation of plants for personal use—policies that have been repeatedly proposed but consistently failed to be enacted in recent years. Representatives on the House Regulated Substances and Gaming Committee considered both measures at the hearing, taking testimony from sponsors as well as the public, but did not act on either measure. The panel also took testimony on a third marijuana-related bill, which would have regulators create a data dashboard that would…
[ad_1] A new survey published in the Journal of Cannabis Research found strong majority support for legal cannabis among respondents from both the United States and Canada, along with just under half of people in both countries saying that they consume cannabis. The trends were overall very similar between the two nations even as Canada has federal cannabis legalization and the U.S. does not. The eight-page paper, “Comparison of perceptions in Canada and USA regarding cannabis and edibles,” examines data from surveys of 1,047 Canadian and 1,037 U.S. residents. “The analysis and findings evolved into 4 themes,” wrote the four-author…
[ad_1] Indiana’s Senate Health and Provider Services Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that would fund clinical research trials into psilocybin, making two relatively minor amendments before advancing the legislation. “There’s reason to believe that there is value in psilocybin and, at this point, I want to elevate the discussion,” said Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R), the bill’s sponsor and committee chair. “We need to be taking a look at something like this that is so important to our veterans with PTSD and many other issues.” Charbonneau emphasized that the bill does not change the legal status of psilocybin under…
[ad_1] Michigan’s legal marijuana retailers sold more than $3 billion worth of cannabis in 2023, with stores in December recording stronger sales than ever before. Licensed businesses saw $279.9 million in total sales last month, according to the latest state sales data—a new record, beating out the previous highest monthly haul of $276.7 million set last July. All recorded sales for 2023, including both adult-use and medical purchases, came to $3,057,161,285.85, according to Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA)—or about a third more than 2022’s annual total of $2.29 billion. Recreational sales made up the vast majority of market activity for…