Author: Kyle Jaeger
[ad_1] A GOP congressman is claiming that the head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) opposes marijuana rescheduling—despite the fact that her agency officially concurred with a recommendation to implement the reform as well as the director’s repeated public comments criticizing research barriers imposed by cannabis’s current Schedule I status. While Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) said during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday that NIDA Director Nora Volkow is “adamantly opposed” to rescheduling cannabis, the agency declined to substantiate that position in a statement to Marijuana Moment—instead pointing to the director’s past remarks and other materials describing…
[ad_1] Another new poll is showing signs of trouble for a Florida marijuana legalization initiative that will appear on the November ballot—this one showing that fewer than 50 percent of voters currently intend to support the measure. This is the second poll released in the last week showing insufficient support for approval. In order to pass on the ballot, the constitutional amendment needs to reach a high 60 percent threshold. The latest survey from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Mainstreet Research found that a 47 percent plurality of voters back the cannabis initiative, compared to 35 percent opposed and 18…
[ad_1] Rates of marijuana use are nearly the same in states that have legalized versus those that maintain prohibition, which suggests that “criminalization does little to curtail its use,” a new Gallup survey found. As advocates have long pointed out, debates about the merits of legalization often ignore the fact that the war on drugs has not stopped people from using cannabis. The difference largely comes down to whether the products are regulated by states or not. And the Gallup polling data released on Thursday reinforces that point. Overall, one in 10 American adults say they’ve used marijuana 10 or…
[ad_1] A Democratic senator has introduced a bill to create federal incentives for states, localities and Indian tribes that expunge low-level marijuana records—an equity-focused reform proposal that leadership has repeatedly discussed attaching to bipartisan cannabis banking legislation that’s pending floor action. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) filed the Harnessing Opportunity by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act on Thursday. It would establish a federal grant program to help jurisdictions around the country facilitate cannabis clemency for people who’ve been convicted of offenses that have since been made legal. If enacted, the Justice Department would run a new State Expungement Opportunity Grant Program, which…
[ad_1] A group that represents state lawmakers across the U.S. is calling on Congress to “quickly” attach a bipartisan marijuana banking bill to unrelated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation and pass the reform. In a letter sent to House and Senate leadership on Wednesday, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) said lawmakers should move forward with plans to use the FAA measure as a vehicle for the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act. “The inability of legal state cannabis businesses to receive financial services from the federal banking system creates an unsafe position for these legal…
[ad_1] A Senate committee has approved a resolution calling for the release of a U.S. citizen incarcerated over marijuana in Russia, emphasizing that he was a lawful medical cannabis patient in Pennsylvania using state-legal products as an opioid alternative. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the legislation sponsored by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) during an executive session on Tuesday. The concurrent resolution also calls on President Joe Biden’s federal government to step up efforts to secure his release. The measure says the 14-year sentence that Marc Fogel received after being convicted of “drug smuggling” over possession of a half-ounce of…
[ad_1] The hemp market started to rebound in 2023 after suffering significant losses the prior year, the latest annual industry report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) found. USDA’s National Hemp Report for 2023—which is based on survey data from cannabis farmers who reported on the metrics such as acreage, yield, production, price and value of hemp—shows that industrial hemp value reached $291 million last year, which represents an 18 percent increase from 2022. Last year’s report showed major industry losses in the value and cultivation of the non-intoxicating cannabis crop across every metric that it analyzed. Stakeholders placed…
[ad_1] A Democratic senator on Wednesday pressed Attorney General Merrick Garland about a bipartisan marijuana banking bill, seeking his perspective on a controversial section concerning broader financial regulations. During a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) asked the attorney general for his opinion of Section 10 of the original Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act. “Section 10 of the original legislation would have compromised law enforcement and national security by requiring banks to notify customers when the government requested termination of an account,” Reed said. “In essence,…
[ad_1] Democratic senators, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), are “trying to recruit Republicans” to join them in the push for federal marijuana legalization, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) said at an event ahead of 4/20, which another lawmaker said is a holiday that should be celebrated “every day” this year as advocates work to get reform “across the finish line.” At a press briefing organized by the Last Prisoner Project (LPP) on Wednesday, multiple congressional champions of cannabis legalization marked progress in the fight to end prohibition. As Schumer, Wyden and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) prepare…
[ad_1] Researchers are asking a federal court to block the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from proceeding in its attempt to ban two psychedelics, arguing that the agency’s administrative approach to the proposed scheduling is unconstitutional. Panacea Plant Sciences (PPS) filed a complaint and request for injunctive relief against DEA in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington last week. The legal challenge focuses on the agency’s recent scheduling of an administrative hearing to receive expert input on its controversial plans to classify 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-chloroamphetamine (DOC) as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).…
[ad_1] North Dakota activists have filed an initiative to put marijuana legalization on the state’s 2024 ballot, pitching their reform proposal as a “conservative” alternative to the cannabis laws in surrounding states such as Minnesota and Montana. The committee New Economic Frontier announced on Tuesday that it submitted its petition with the state, teeing up a potential signature drive two years after voters rejected an earlier legalization proposal at the ballot. Under the new measure, adults 21 and older would be able to possess up to one ounce of marijuana flower, four grams of concentrate and 300 milligrams of edibles…
[ad_1] A congressional committee has approved a pair of GOP-led marijuana and psychedelics bills focused on military veterans’ access. About a month after the House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee held an initial hearing on the legislation, members passed both proposals as part of an en bloc package with other measures under unanimous consent on Tuesday. The medical cannabis measure, sponsored by the subcommittee chair Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), is titled the Veterans Cannabis Analysis, Research, and Effectiveness (CARE) Act. “My bill proposes research on non-opioid pain relief options for veterans with chronic pain and PTSD,” Miller-Meeks told colleagues ahead of…