Author: Kyle Jaeger
[ad_1] States that legalize marijuana see a “moderate relative decrease” in immigrant deportation rates compared to states where the drug remains illegal, according to a new study, as well as a slight decrease in overall cannabis-related arrests. The Columbia University researchers behind the study, published in the journal BMC Public Health, said the findings show recreational cannabis laws (RCLs) could “help to mitigate some of the unintended immigration-related consequences of cannabis prohibition.” “Arrest trends in both legalization and non-legalization states were relatively similar, and generally stable over the period,” authors said. “For the deportation outcome, trends suggested that the overall…
[ad_1] Bipartisan congressional lawmakers are asking the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to produce a plan to begin providing MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans as soon as the psychedelic is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In a letter sent to VA Under Secretary Shereef Elnahal on Tuesday, Reps. Morgan McGarvey (D-KY), Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) and seven other members said FDA could approve alternative treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) such as MDMA “as soon as this summer,” demanding planning on VA’s part. “We’re concerned that if VA is not prepared to implement emerging psychedelic-assisted therapies when they…
[ad_1] Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura isn’t planning to run for elected office again in the foreseeable future, choosing instead to commit his “total focus” to his newly launched cannabis brand. But if he was running, he tells Marijuana Moment that he’d make cannabis legalization a top campaign issue to align with the uniquely “loyal” base of consumers eager for reform. And if he had it his way, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) would not be the agency making drug scheduling decisions. It wasn’t always the case that politicians felt comfortable courting the marijuana community. Ventura knows that all too…
[ad_1] Nearly three in five Americans consider alcohol or tobacco to be “more harmful” to a person’s health than marijuana, according to a new poll. The YouGov survey that was released on Thursday asked respondents about a variety of cannabis use trends. One of the more telling findings is that 64 percent of Americans consider regular alcohol use more dangerous than cannabis, while 63 percent said the same about tobacco. Only 14 percent said marijuana use is more problematic than regular alcohol use. Another 16 percent said cannabis was more dangerous than tobacco. Overall, 53 percent of respondents said they…
[ad_1] A South Carolina House committee will hold a hearing on a Senate-passed medical marijuana legalization bill this week—raising expectations that lawmakers may finally enact the GOP-led measure in the final days of the 2024 session after months of delay. And a Republican congresswoman from the state is urging supporters to “keep pushing.” The legislation from Sen. Tom Davis (R) has been billed as strictly conservative, but it’s yet to move since being delivered to the House in February. Now the House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee has announced that a Medical Cannabis Ad Hoc Committee will take…
[ad_1] The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has unveiled a new legislative agenda that includes marijuana legalization and expungements among a list of priorities that members say Democrats “can pass with congressional majorities” if they keep the Senate and retake the House in the November elections. The Progressive Proposition Agenda that was endorsed by the caucus covers a wide range of domestic policy issues that CPC’s chair, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), says are designed to “motivate people with a vision of progressive governance under Democratic majorities in the House and Senate and a Democratic White House.” Under a criminal justice section,…
[ad_1] Lawmakers across the U.S. are adding their voices to the chorus of marijuana reform supporters celebrating the cannabis holiday 4/20 on Saturday. As mainstream brands and advocacy groups promote various campaigns that seek to leverage the popularity of the expanding reform movement, elected officials are touting their work to advance legalization and other policy changes around cannabis. Saturday might be a time of celebration within the cannabis community, but politicians have increasingly used it as a platform to advocate for more reform as the issue gains more bipartisan support. Officials at various levels of government are again playing into…
[ad_1] The governor of New Mexico spoke with the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week and expressed concern about a recent surge of Border Patrol seizures of marijuana from state-licensed businesses, Marijuana Moment has learned exclusively. But the top Biden official simply reiterated that federal cannabis laws haven’t changed, indicating that the seizures will continue. The office of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) shared details about the conversation with Marijuana Moment, adding that her administration is “working on a strategy to protect New Mexico’s cannabis industry” from adverse federal enforcement actions. The governor spoke with…
[ad_1] President Joe Biden has been “very, very clear” about his support for decriminalizing marijuana, the White House said on the eve of 4/20. But currently, the administration is waiting for the Justice Department to complete its review into cannabis scheduling and doesn’t have any additional updates on advancing reform or further expanding pardons. During a briefing on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked to respond to advocates’ criticism that Biden has not yet fulfilled his campaign pledge to federally decriminalize marijuana, even though he has taken meaningful steps by directing the scheduling review and granting hundreds…
[ad_1] A federal traffic safety agency has published an overdue report to Congress identifying barriers to marijuana research toward developing impaired driving detection technology—pointing out that rescheduling “may ease researcher access to products” for studies even though they will continue to be prohibited from accessing cannabis from state-licensed dispensaries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the report on Friday, about five months after a congressionally imposed deadline. The agency, under the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), was given the research mandate upon enactment of a broader infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. The…
[ad_1] This Saturday will be the “last 4/20 celebration that cannabis will be on Schedule I,” a Democratic congressman predicts, adding that he’s “quite confident” the GOP House will take up a bipartisan cannabis banking bill if lawmakers “break this loose in the Senate.” Rep. Earl Blumenauer, founding co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, spoke to reporters during a briefing on Friday, discussing marijuana policy progress and his message to Democrats that they should seize upon the popularity of the issue ahead of the November election. “The public is not waiting anymore. They have led the charge in state after…
[ad_1] The cannabis holiday 4/20 is upon us again, and that means a new series of marijuana-themed promotions and campaigns from mainstream corporations that seek to leverage the popularity of the expanding reform movement. As cannabis has become more normalized—with nearly half of the states in the U.S. having enacted adult-use legalization at this point—companies and organizations have grown increasingly emboldened to lean into the occasion, including national players such as KFC and Jimmy Johns promoting 4/20-coded deals. It’s starting to get on the nerves of prohibitionists, too. Ahead of 4/20, the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) even put…