Author: Ben Adlin

[ad_1] Purchases of adult-use cannabis in Montana hit a monthly record in August, according to newly released sales numbers from the state’s Cannabis Control Division. Medical marijuana receipts for the month, meanwhile, were at their lowest since adult-use stores opened in January 2022. Adult-use marijuana sales tallied $23,728,009 in August, the Department of Revenue report shows. Medical cannabis added $4,969,303, for a monthly total of nearly $28.7 million—the highest monthly haul ever recorded for the state’s marijuana industry. All told, state-licensed stores have sold more than half a billion dollars ($516,237,988) worth of legal cannabis since January 2022, bringing in…

[ad_1] A congressional committee next week will vote on a bill to protect people from being denied federal employment or security clearances due to marijuana use—and to provide relief for people who lost opportunities due to cannabis in the past. The House Oversight and Accountability Committee will hold a markup on the legislation, the Cannabis Users’ Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act, on Wednesday, Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced late Friday. “Every year, qualified and dedicated individuals seeking to serve our country are unable to secure federal jobs and security clearances because the federal government has not caught up with the…

[ad_1] Kansas City, Missouri officials have green-lighted using proceeds from a 3 percent municipal tax on marijuana to fund a violence prevention program in the city. The City Council on Thursday approved a proposal to put $458,000 in proceeds from the local cannabis tax, which voters approved in April, toward the city’s Aim4Peace initiative, which works with local communities and survivors of violent crime. All told, the city estimates it should make roughly $3 million each year from legal sales after the tax takes effect next month. Some cannabis consumers told local CBS affiliate KCTV that they’re happy with the…

[ad_1] The Department of Justice (DOJ) has begun issuing formal certificates to individuals whose convictions for marijuana possession were covered under President Joe Biden’s (D) mass cannabis pardon last October. The documents are intended to allow people to demonstrate that they were granted clemency, which could help avoid obstacles to housing, employment, education and child custody caused by a federal criminal conviction. Although neither DOJ nor the Office of the Pardon Attorney has announced the issuance of the certificates, at least some applicants have now received the documents in digital form. One recipient, Kevin B. Gilnack, posted an image of…

[ad_1] A new peer-reviewed study in the journal Nature says treatment with MDMA reduced symptoms in patients with moderate to severe PTSD. The Phase 3 trial findings mean federal regulators could consider approving the drug for wider use as soon as next year, says the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which sponsored the research. “Thanks to the combined efforts of dozens of therapists, hundreds of participants who volunteered in MAPS-sponsored trials, and many thousands of generous donors,” said Rick Doblin, the group’s founder and president, “MDMA-assisted therapy is on track to be considered for approval by the FDA in…

[ad_1] Since an online portal launched in late July, Washington State officials have approved more than $276,000 in reimbursements to people whose past convictions for simple drug possession were vacated following a state Supreme Court decision that struck down the state’s felony drug law in 2021. That’s in addition to more than $9 million already paid out through municipalities. “As the result of this decision, known as State v. Blake, any Blake-related convictions qualify to be removed (vacated) from one’s criminal record, and any legal financial obligations (LFOs) paid as a result qualify for financial reimbursement,” according to the state…

[ad_1] Bipartisan lawmakers are calling on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to sign legislation that would allow the state’s licensed marijuana producers to sell products to tribal retailers, who could then legally sell them on indigenous lands. If the measure becomes law, it would provide the state’s beleaguered cannabis growers and processors with another avenue to offload products amid delays that have caused a bottleneck in the market. Despite legal sales beginning in New York last December, only about two dozen legal retailers have opened statewide. On Wednesday, the chairs of New York’s Senate and Assembly agriculture committees—Sen. Michelle…

[ad_1] The same day California lawmakers signed off on a bill to legalize psychedelics last week, staffers at the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released their review of a proposed ballot initiative that would funnel $5 billion generated from bonds toward psychedelic therapies for mental health. While the proposal would cost California nearly $6.6 billion over 30 years, the new report says, it could also earn the state revenue from new scientific discoveries. Known as the TREAT California Act, the would-be measure would not itself change the legal status of any substances. Rather, it would establish a state agency called…

[ad_1] New York regulators will officially open the state’s cannabis market to all applicants—including big businesses and existing medical marijuana companies—beginning next month, under rules adopted on Tuesday. The move could allow the new retailers to open by the end of the year. But the change, meant to speed the slow rollout of New York’s legal marijuana market, has sparked an outcry among smaller growers and social equity applicants. They say it will undercut the state’s ambitious plan to prioritize small businesses and companies owned by people most directly impacted by prohibition. The New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB)…

[ad_1] Rates of criminal legal referrals to treatment for cannabis use disorder (CUD) among young adults “declined significantly more rapidly” following adult-use legalization of marijuana, according to a new study out of Temple University, a trend authors say is “likely due to falling cannabis-related arrests” among people 18 to 24 years old. However, among adolescents—those 12 to 17—the researchers found that “the trajectory of decline in the proportion of criminal justice referrals did not change significantly following recreational legalization.” To arrive at those conclusions, the study analyzed state-level data from 2008 to 2019 about treatment admissions to programs that received…

[ad_1] A Republican congressman who opposes cannabis legalization is demanding answers about the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’s (HHS) recent recommendation to reschedule marijuana, writing in a letter to the Biden administration that he’s “very concerned” about the agency’s guidance. In a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) lists 11 questions he wants the agency to answer by October 3. The questions include inquiries about how HHS arrived at its rescheduling recommendation, which officials “were consulted with or contributed to” the recommendation and which outside stakeholders had a seat at the table. It also…

[ad_1] Nineteen Latin American and Caribbean nations have issued a joint statement acknowledging the need to rethink the global war on drugs and instead focus on “life, peace and development” within the region. Under the current, punitive approach, the countries said at the Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Drugs over the weekend, “the expected results have not been obtained when combating the world drug problem, leaving in many cases the underlying problems to be solved and exploiting and exacerbating vulnerabilities of our territories and societies.” The 17-point statement is backed by representatives of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa…