Author: Ben Adlin

[ad_1] Hawaii’s Senate on Tuesday passed a marijuana expungements bill that would create a single-county pilot program aimed at clearing certain past offenses, voting 24–1 to send the proposal, HB 1595, back to the House ahead of a legislative deadline later this week. On two other marijuana-related measures, meanwhile—including a proposal to expand the state’s decriminalization of cannabis and separate legislation to create an expungements-focused task force—the chamber voted to hold off on adopting changes made by the House. If the Senate does not ultimately agree to the amendments, the bills will be sent to a bicameral conference committee. The…

[ad_1] Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) has signed legislation to suspend the jurisdiction’s 6 percent tax on medical marijuana around the 4/20 cannabis celebration, declaring a two-week tax holiday on purchases from April 15 through April 28. Bowser returned the 4/20 medical cannabis tax holiday legislation to lawmakers on Tuesday after signing it a day earlier. Supporters say the tax holiday would encourage patients and caretakers to shop at legal, licensed dispensaries rather than obtain marijuana through the illicit market. The District Council unanimously approved the proposal earlier this month. “The popular tax holiday is critical to the District’s…

[ad_1] As more states legalize marijuana, a new federal report shows that the number of positive drug tests among commercial drivers fell last year compared to the year before, dropping from 57,597 in 2022 to 54,464 in 2023. At the same time, however, the number of drivers who refused to be screened at all also increased by 39 percent. The record-high number of refusals comes as the transportation industry faces a nationwide shortage of drivers, which some trade groups have said has only been made worse by drug testing policies that risk flagging drivers even when they’re not impaired on the…

[ad_1] Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has signed legislation to allow public sector workers like firefighters and teachers to use legal medical marijuana without fear of losing their jobs. The move comes days after the governor vetoed separate bills to legalize recreational cannabis sales. The governor signed HB 149, sponsored by Del. Dan Helmer (D), and SB 391, from Sen. Stella Pekarsky (D), on Monday, his deadline for action on the measures. The governor, however, also vetoed a separate Senate bill on Monday that would have prevented the use of marijuana alone from being considered evidence of child abuse or…

[ad_1] After a proposal to legalize marijuana in Hawaii fizzled out last week, lawmakers are moving forward with more modest cannabis reforms. On Friday, the House approved a Senate-passed a bill to expand the state’s limited decriminalization of possession, while a Senate committee approved a scaled-back expungements bill that would create a single-county pilot program aimed at clearing certain past offenses. A separate bill to create a broader expungements-focused task force, meanwhile, also passed out of the House and now returns to the Senate. The decriminalization bill, SB 2487, would decrease the fine for low-level marijuana possession from $130 to…

[ad_1] A recently published analysis of smokable hemp products by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that the vast majority of samples–about 93 percent—contained more than 0.3 percent THC, meaning they in fact qualified as federally illegal marijuana. Under the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp nationwide, cannabis products must contain less than 0.3 percent THC in order to be defined as hemp. Those with higher THC levels remain federally prohibited as a Schedule I controlled substance. The distinction is especially important, the report says, in determining whether cannabis seized by law enforcement is legal…

[ad_1] In a new federal lawsuit filed against the leaders of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a Rhode Island cannabis company is asking the court to prevent an administrative law judge for the agency from reviewing the firm’s application to manufacture marijuana for research purposes, calling the matter “an unconstitutional proceeding led by an unconstitutional decisionmaker.” MMJ BioPharma Cultivation Inc. has previously taken legal action against the federal government, filing a petition for a writ of mandamus last year in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that alleged DEA’s yearslong licensing…

[ad_1] Missouri’s House of Representatives gave final approval to a budget bill on Thursday that would spend $10 million from state opioid settlement funds to study the use of psilocybin to treat opioid use disorder. It’s part of a growing push by state governments to support more psychedelics research. The bill for a short time would have instead put the $10 million toward grants to study ibogaine, another psychedelic, as a possible treatment for opioid use disorder. But earlier this week on the House floor, that provision was adjusted to fund psilocybin research instead. Money for the program would come…

[ad_1] Though the effort to legalize marijuana in Hawaii fell short this year, lawmakers are moving forward on other cannabis-related legislation, including plans to expand the state’s limited decriminalization law and establish a task force on expungement. This week House lawmakers gave initial approval to both the decriminalization bill, SB 2487, as well as a separate measure, SB 2706, that would create a task force to develop a state-initiated program to clear past criminal records, including for cannabis offenses. Both pieces of legislation passed second readings on the House floor on Wednesday, with final third reading votes expected in that…

[ad_1] An Alaska House committee this week advanced a bill that would create a state task force to study how to license and regulate psychedelic-assisted therapy in the event of federal approval of substances such as MDMA and psilocybin. The House State Affairs Committee approved the legislation on Tuesday without objection following the adoption of an amendment that changed the proposed name of the task force and clarified its objective. The measure next proceeds to the House Rules Committee. The amendment “simply changes the name of the task force to make it clear what the task force will be taking…

[ad_1] Lawmakers in Missouri’s House of Representatives have given preliminary approval to a budget bill that would spend $10 million from state opioid settlement funds on research grants to study the use of psilocybin to treat opioid use disorder. The measure, HB 2010, underwent several amendments in the House on Tuesday and is scheduled for a third reading and likely floor vote on Thursday. An addition made in a House committee last week would have put the $10 million toward studying the psychedelic ibogaine as a treatment for opioid use disorder, but on Tuesday on the House floor, that provision…

[ad_1] Leaders in Washington, D.C. have approved legislation to suspend taxes on medical marijuana around the 4/20 cannabis celebration, declaring a tax holiday on purchases from April 15 through April 28. The District Council approved the tax holiday unanimously on a voice vote on Tuesday, also taking action on a number of other cannabis-related proposals, such as a proposed dispensary buffer zone around schools in commercial and industrial zones. “The popular tax holiday is critical to the District’s effort to attract qualifying patients back to the legal market as well as sustainable and viable medical cannabis program,” said Councilmember Kenyan…