Author: Ben Adlin

[ad_1] The Supreme Court on Monday heard the case of a defendant seeking to reduce his criminal penalty for firearm possession as the result of the federal government’s legalization of hemp in 2018. At issue are the boundaries of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), a 1984 law that imposes penalties on gun possession for people with past violent felonies or serious drug offenses. Initially the law imposes a 10-year maximum penalty for having a firearm, but after three offenses, a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence kicks in. Like other three-strikes laws, the act was intended to dissuade recidivism by ratcheting…

[ad_1] A New Hampshire commission charged with drafting legislation to legalize marijuana through a system of state-controlled stores decided at its final meeting on Monday not to issue recommendations at all. The conclusion leaves open questions about how lawmakers will proceed with cannabis reform in the coming 2024 session. After months of meetings, the 19-member panel ultimately failed to reach consensus on the issue. Adding to the disarray was a last-minute demand by Gov. Chris Sununu (R)—who has threatened to veto legislation that he disagrees with—that retail storefronts be limited to just 15 statewide and that marijuana businesses be barred…

[ad_1] Advocates in Washington State say they’re looking forward to trying again to enact state-level psychedelics reform during the coming legislative session, especially after an effort earlier this year to broadly decriminalize psilocybin was watered down by lawmakers into a far more limited pilot program for mental health. But for now, much of the activity happening across the state is focused on local frontiers, with organizers working to pass measures in at least six municipal jurisdictions. Efforts are currently underway in the cities of Olympia, Bellingham, Spokane and Tacoma as well as King and San Juan counties, according to Psychedelic…

[ad_1] The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is being urged by public transit groups to quickly build out a system that would allow the use of saliva tests for marijuana and other drugs—a method proponents say will be less intrusive than typical urine-based screenings and more indicative of recent consumption so that people aren’t punished for smoking a joint as much as a month prior to testing. The Department of Transportation (DOT) adopted a rule change earlier this year to allow testing of oral fluid as an alternative to urine drug testing for truckers, commercial drivers, pilots…

[ad_1] A study group in Indiana’s legislature is encouraging lawmakers to authorize a psilocybin pilot program to research psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental health in the 2024 session. A report approved at the final meeting of Indiana’s interim study committee on Public Health, Behavioral Health and Human Services says that while psilocybin is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance at the federal level, the “prevailing view is that psilocybin should not be a Schedule I drug and has proven medical benefits.” The committee recommended that “the Indiana General Assembly take an approach that strikes a balance between access, research, and…

[ad_1] California residents have until Monday to comment on a proposed ballot measure that would create a statewide right to obtain and use psychedelics for medical, therapeutic and spiritual purposes with the recommendation of a doctor. If enacted, adults would be allowed to possess and use the substances in their home as well as cultivate entheogenic plants and fungi on private property. Organizers submitted the Psychedelic Wellness and Healing Initiative of 2024 to state officials late last month and have until November 27 to solicit public comment to the state attorney general, said Dave Hodges, a lead campaign organizer and…

[ad_1] With congressional lawmakers still working to build consensus around marijuana banking reform at the federal level, the governor of New York has signed legislation that attempts to make it slightly easier for financial institutions to work with state-licensed cannabis clients. The new law authorizes the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) to provide financial institutions with information about marijuana business licensees or applicants, which is meant to ease compliance with reporting requirements. Licensees and applicants would first have to consent to information being shared. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D) and Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D), was signed…

[ad_1] Alcohol sales are off-limits in Connecticut on Thanksgiving—but marijuana sales are just fine—according to guidance issued on Wednesday by the state’s Department of Consumer Protection (DCP). Liquor stores will be closed, grocery stores can’t sell beer and even breweries and restaurants are prohibited from selling carry-out drinks. Marijuana retailers, however, can remain open. After apparent confusion over the two policies—with at least one local news outlet mistakenly reporting that sales of both alcohol and cannabis would be paused—DCP issued a clarification stating that “all cannabis establishments may remain open on Thanksgiving Day.” “Cannabis sales at all licensed establishments are…

[ad_1] A study of high school students in Massachusetts found that youth were no more likely to use marijuana after legalization, though more students perceived their parents as cannabis consumers after the policy change. “No statistically significant differences were found in the prevalence of past-30 day cannabis use before and after legalization among adolescents,” says the report, published in the journal Clinical Therapeutics. The proportion of students who reported perceiving that a parent uses cannabis, however, rose from 18 percent to 24 percent after legalization. “Adolescent perceptions of their parents as cannabis users increased after legalization,” the study says, “even…

[ad_1] A new lawsuit from two Jersey City police officers who were fired for testing positive for marijuana says that the city’s policy of punishing law enforcement for off-duty cannabis use—which defies a state-level policy—is merely an effort by Mayor Steven M. Fulop (D) to “win over more conservative voters needed for his gubernatorial campaign.” Fulop, who launched his campaign for governor in April, announced that month that the city would terminate officers who tested positive for THC despite guidance from the state’s attorney general not to test officers for off-duty cannabis use. The new legal challenge seeks to uncover…

[ad_1] Missouri marijuana businesses have now sold more than $1 billion worth of medical and adult-use cannabis products so far in 2023, according to new numbers released by the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services (DHHS). Retailers sold about $95.5 million worth of cannabis products to adults in October, plus another $17.6 million in medical marijuana. While both those represent slight declines from the month before, they brought the state’s total amount of marijuana sold in 2023 to more than $1.1 billion. Broadly, adult-use numbers have slowly risen since recreational sales began in February, while medical marijuana sales have…

[ad_1] With a New Hampshire commission set to propose a bill to legalizing marijuana sales through a system of state-controlled stores by the end of this month, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said last week that the reform is “inevitable” and said the state has “an opportunity to do it right.” “We are looking at that,” Sununu said, according to the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism’s InDepthNH.org. “I’m not a huge believer in the idea. I understand that it is inevitable. And I think we have an opportunity to do it right.” The governor was speaking at an event held…