Author: Ben Adlin
[ad_1] Even as federal drug policy reform efforts picked up in 2023, U.S. states continued to lead the country’s push for marijuana legalization during the past year. States passed news legalization measures, launched adult-use retail sales and set a raft of sales records as markets matured. Lawmakers at the state-level also continued to adjust laws around legal cannabis and how to regulate commercial activity and private use. Among the trends in 2023 were efforts at allowing legal marijuana businesses state-level tax deductions, providing protections to workers who consume while off duty and preparing to open up borders to interstate cannabis…
[ad_1] A newly published study of high school students in Canada found that the proportion of those who said marijuana was easy to access fell in recent years, during a period in which the country legalized cannabis for adults and retail sales locations opened across the country while people also spent months social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a growing body of literature examining marijuana use among adults since national legalization in 2018, the six-person team behind the paper, published this month in the journal Archives of Public Health, wrote that “there appears to be a paucity of research dedicated…
[ad_1] Arizona has awarded the first round of Justice Reinvestment Grants to 18 community nonprofits, state officials announced last week. The program, created by the state’s 2020 marijuana law, is funded by revenue from taxes on legal cannabis sales. The grants program supports a variety goals of including public and behavioral health, such as substance use prevention and treatment; workforce development and mentorship programs in economically disadvantaged areas; “addressing the underlying causes of crime” and reducing the state prison population; and developing technology or programs to restore civil rights and expunge criminal records. By statute, the program receives 35 percent…
[ad_1] Plans to legalize medical marijuana in Ukraine have been delayed following actions by the opposition party Batkivshchyna to block the signing of a bill approved by the country’s unicameral legislature earlier this month. The leader of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party, Yulia Tymoshenko, who has consistently opposed the measure, said recently that her party intends to appeal to the Constitutional Court to cancel the legislative vote because “the amendments to the bill were considered in a half-empty chamber,” according to a report in the New Voice of Ukraine. Tymoshenko, a former prime minister of the country, claimed that the proposal…
[ad_1] Dean Phillips, the Minnesota congressman challenging Joe Biden in the Democratic primary, said in a newly published interview that the president is too old and out of touch to understand contemporary cannabis issues. “I think it’s generational,” Phillips said. “People in their 80s do not see things, have not lived things, have not experienced things that younger generations have.” Phillips, 54, was speaking to Newsweek as part of a wide-ranging interview about his presidential ambitions and what differentiates him from incumbent Biden. The criticism comes after Phillips’s suggestion last month that Biden try smoking marijuana himself in order to…
[ad_1] Sales of adult-use marijuana in Maine have already set a new annual record in the first 11 month of 2023, with nearly $200 million worth of legal cannabis products sold during the year, according to the state’s Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP). Through November, says the office’s website, $197,561,133.53 worth of recreational products have been sold over 3,434,477 transactions—315,978 of which occurred last month. The average price per gram of flower for the calendar year through November stands at $7.81 per gram, or about $27.34 per eighth. November itself saw prices slightly lower than the year average, at $7.52…
[ad_1] As Minnesota marijuana regulators continue to gather input about how the forthcoming commercial market should function, the state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has opened a public third survey, asking for opinions around retail cannabis operations and sanitary standards within the industry. OCM was initially planning to circulate a total of five surveys on marijuana consumer and industry topics through next month, with the aim of informing rulemaking under the state’s legalization law enacted earlier this year. Already the agency has solicited input on issues such as cultivation, processing and manufacturing as well as pesticides, fertilizers and environmental controls. Forthcoming…
[ad_1] In an effort to help licensed marijuana businesses and would-be cannabis workers alike, New York’s Department of Labor (DOL) has published dozens of sample job descriptions for positions in the legal industry. The examples are intended to help companies streamline hiring processes and allow prospective employees to assess their qualifications to work in various roles within the emerging cannabis industry, a DOL representative told Marijuana Moment. “The legalization of cannabis has created significant opportunities for New Yorkers, including exciting new careers,” the statement said, adding that the department “is committed to supporting job seekers and businesses statewide as this…
[ad_1] The California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released its review this week of a prospective ballot initiative to legalize psychedelics, outlining not only the plan’s policy implications but also its potential fiscal impacts on the state—which the report calls “various” and “uncertain.” The measure, which proponents submitted the final language for earlier this month, would allow adults to legally grow, possess and use substances like psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline. A person would need a healthcare practitioner’s recommendations to purchase psychedelics at regulated stores. As filed, the so-called Psychedelic Wellness and Healing Initiative of 2024 refers to “entheogenic”…
[ad_1] Sports medicine providers “generally have favorable views toward CBD and cannabis,” and most believe marijuana should be removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of prohibited substances, according to a new survey of 333 doctors published this month. The study also found that most sports medicine physicians who participated support legalizing marijuana for recreational and medical use. That said, there are still “varying views” about cannabis within the field, authors found, and those “appear to be significantly affected by age, practice type, and gender.” Among demographic groups less likely to favor allowing marijuana for recreational use were women,…
Maryland Collects More Than $12 Million In Legal Marijuana Taxes During First Quarter Of Legal Sales
[ad_1] Maryland brought in more than $12 million in marijuana tax revenue during the first three months of legal cannabis sales to adults, which kicked off on July 1. The figures, released this week by the state comptroller’s office, detail revenues from the third quarter of the fiscal year, which spanned from July through September. Sales of recreational marijuana during that period totaled about $158.5 million, according to the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA). More than a third of the tax revenue—35 percent, or about $4.3 million—will be funneled into the state’s Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund, which is intended to…
[ad_1] People in Connecticut can’t legally buy alcohol on Christmas or New Year’s Day, the state Department of Consumer Protection reminded residents this week—but cannabis is A-OK. “If you choose to consume alcohol with your holiday celebrations, be sure to make those purchases ahead of time, and, of course, please drink responsibly,” Department of Consumer Protection (DPC) Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said in a statement on Wednesday. “And, because we regulate many things you may be wondering about, Connecticut Law does not prohibit the sale of cannabis, or limit your ability to place wagers during the holidays.” “No matter how…