Author: Ben Adlin
[ad_1] Nebraska’s unicameral legislature spent hours on Wednesday evening debating a proposed tax bill containing a provision that would set a 100 percent tax rate on CBD and consumable hemp products—part of a broader package of sales tax changes meant to bring in more money to state coffers in an effort to offset property taxes. While the bill’s sponsor now says in response to criticism that the 100 percent tax rate is not set in stone, no alternative came up during the lengthy floor discussion. Other lawmakers did push back against the hemp and CBD tax at various points in…
[ad_1] With both chambers of Maryland’s legislature having recently passed bills to establish a psychedelics task force to study legal access to substances like psilocybin and DMT, committees in the opposite chambers have now received those measures and voted to advance them along in the lawmaking process. On Wednesday, the House Health and Government Operations Committee approved SB 1009 on a voice vote, with no discussion on the proposal at the hearing. The full Senate approved that psychedelics bill earlier this month in a unanimous 45–0 vote. The House companion, meanwhile—HB 548, which passed that chamber on a 136–1 vote…
[ad_1] Vermont’s Senate passed a measure that would establish a working group to study whether and how to allow therapeutic access to psychedelics in the state. If the bill is enacted, a report from the working group would be due to the legislature in November with recommendations on how to regulate the substances. Senators on Wednesday approved the legislation, S. 114 during third reading on a voice vote. It now advances to the House of Representatives. Lawmakers did not discuss the measure ahead of the final vote, but sponsor Sen. Martine Larocque Gulick (D) said ahead of the bill’s second reading…
[ad_1] A New Hampshire House subcommittee on Wednesday rejected a sweeping amendment to a marijuana legalization bill—declining to pivot to a franchise system that would be overseen by the state and which would bring the overall proposal more in line with the wishes of the governor, who reiterated this week that he views legalizing cannabis as “inevitable.” Instead, the panel moved forward with a so-called agency store model—which would more closely resemble a typical commercial marketplace—despite warnings that the approach would doom the bill in the Senate. The hearing of the House Finance subcommittee was one of the last stops…
[ad_1] With a bill sitting on his desk that would legalize the retail sale of marijuana in Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said recently that people “must be smoking something” if they think he’s going to sign it into law. It’s the latest and clearest comment from the governor on where he stands on the legal sales proposal, which supportive lawmakers have spent months working to craft and pass through the legislature. The legislation, SB 448 in the Senate and HB 698 in the House, was formally transmitted to Youngkin’s desk on March 11, and he has through April 8 to act it.…
[ad_1] Lawmakers in New Hampshire on Tuesday heard public testimony on a newly proposed amendment to a marijuana legalization bill that that would transform the measure into a state-controlled franchise model of commercial sales, a novel framework that has the support of Gov. Chris Sununu (R). The 38-page striking amendment from Rep. Dan McGuire (R) would replace the current text of HB 1633 from Rep. Erica Layon (R), who has warned that the franchise model—under which the state would oversee day-to-day operations of private licensees—could put New Hampshire at legal risk in the event of lawsuits or federal prosecution. The…
[ad_1] Vermont’s Senate has given preliminary approval to a measure that would establish a working group to study whether and how to allow therapeutic access to psychedelics in the state. If the bill is enacted, a report from the working group would be due to the legislature in November with recommendations on how to regulate the substances. Senators on Tuesday approved the legislation, S. 114, during second reading on a voice vote. It still needs to pass on a subsequent third reading vote in order to advance to the House of Representatives. “This bill will start the state of Vermont…
[ad_1] As Hawaii’s legislative session kicked off in January, lawmakers in both chambers introduced a sprawling, 300-plus-page proposal to legalize marijuana. Since then, committees have held hearings on the legislation, made amendments and listened to hours of public testimony. And though the Senate passed a version of the bill earlier this month, the reform now hangs in the balance following a neck-and-neck vote last week on the House floor. The massive bill was based on draft legislation by the office of Attorney General Anne Lopez (D), who was appointed in late 2022 by Gov. Josh Green (D), a supporter of…
[ad_1] A Senate-passed marijuana legalization bill in Hawaii has survived a close vote on the House floor, with members narrowly advancing the proposal to its final legislative committee as some lawmakers who oppose the reform warned of dire threats to public safety and everyday life in the state. After nearly an hour and a half of discussion Friday, the chamber voted 25–23 to refer the bill in its current form to the House Finance Committee, where some lawmakers have indicated it could face a critical reception. Of those 25 yes votes, three members formally expressed reservations with the plan. Some…
[ad_1] A panel of lawmakers in Vermont has advanced a measure that would establish a working group to study whether and how to allow therapeutic access to psychedelics in the state. If the bill is enacted, a report from the working group would be due to the legislature in November with recommendations on how to regulate the substances. The Senate Appropriations committee approved S. 114 on a 6–0 vote last week. The panel did not adopt any amendments, though members at one point floated the idea of reducing the working group’s number of planned meetings from eight down to five.…
[ad_1] A new study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has found that a citrusy-smelling terpene in marijuana could help ease anxiety and paranoia associated with THC. The findings, researchers say, could help unlock the maximum therapeutic benefit of THC and protect public health. Published in the latest issue of the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, the new paper says that subjects who vaporized the terpene D-limonene along with a dose of THC experienced less anxiety and paranoia compared to those who consumed THC alone. “Ratings of anxiety-like subjective effects qualitatively decreased as D-limonene dose increased,” the…
[ad_1] Since the U.S. Census Bureau first launched a map detailing the proportion of state revenue made up by marijuana tax money last fall, the agency has continued tracking the data, allowing further comparisons to be made over time. In the fourth quarter of 2023, for example, New York recorded about $14.8 million in excise tax on marijuana sales, making up a comparatively slim 0.02 percent of the state’s total tax revenue for the quarter. That’s an increase, however, of 49 percent compared to the preceding quarter—an indication of the potentially massive New York market still slowly getting off the…