Author: Kyle Jaeger

[ad_1] A California Senate committee has approved a bill to legalize psychedelics service centers where adults 21 and older could access psilocybin, MDMA, mescaline and DMT in a supervised environment with trained facilitators. The Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee passed the legislation from Sen. Scott Wiener (D), with an amendment, in a 7-4 vote on Monday. The “Regulated Therapeutic Access to Psychedelics Act” has been drafted in a way that’s meant to be responsive to concerns voiced by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) last year when he vetoed a broader proposal that included provisions to legalize low-level possession of substances such…

[ad_1] Congressional lawmakers from across the aisle are weighing in on the prospects of a marijuana banking bill—sharing predictions about the prospects of passage, different legislative vehicles to advance the reform and, for one GOP senator, his concern that the cannabis legislation could inadvertently benefit illicit fentanyl traffickers. In a series of interviews posted The Dales Report on Monday, key bipartisan members of the Senate and House shared their views on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act and the ongoing federal marijuana scheduling review. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), the GOP sponsor of the cannabis banking bill, reiterated that…

[ad_1] The White House says it’s now up to the Justice Department to make a final decision on marijuana scheduling, adding that the top federal health agency’s recommendation to reclassify cannabis was “guided by the evidence.” During a press briefing on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the ever-growing federal-state cannabis policy disconnect and whether the administration intends to “improve safety regulations” around marijuana products by supporting legalization. Rather than address the question directly, Jean-Pierre gave a brief overview of the cannabis scheduling review that President Joe Biden directed in October 2022. She pointed out that…

[ad_1] Marijuana companies seeking to shield their in-state activities from federal enforcement are asking a judge to schedule oral arguments in order to respond to arguments the Justice Department made in a recent briefing in the case—including its position that cannabis legalization attracts out-of-state tourism, empowering it to uphold prohibition under the Constitution. The marijuana corporations submitted the request for oral arguments with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Western Division on Friday. This comes about a week after DOJ filed a motion to dismiss the suit with the court. The underlying suit against the federal government is…

[ad_1] A congressional committee is set to vote this week on a GOP-led bill that would instruct the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to notify Congress if any psychedelics are added to its formulary of covered prescription drugs. About a month after the House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee held an initial hearing on the legislation from Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), members will mark up the bill on Tuesday. The panel had also discussed a measure from the subcommittee chair Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) during last month’s hearing, but that proposal isn’t on the Tuesday markup agenda—even though VA voiced support…

[ad_1] A majority of Florida voters say they support a marijuana legalization initiative that will appear on the November ballot—but not enough to reach the steep 60 percent threshold for passage under the state Constitution, according to a new poll. The USA Today/Ipsos survey that was released on Saturday found that 56 percent of Florida registered voters and 49 percent of Floridia adults overall back the cannabis measure. There’s been a mix of polling over the last year on the marijuana legalization initiative, with certain surveys signaling that there is enough support for approval. But this is the first to…

[ad_1] Bipartisan congressional lawmakers from the House and Senate are discussing the possibility of combining cyptocurrency regulation legislation with a marijuana banking bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) raised the topic with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-CA) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) on Thursday, a source familiar with the conversation confirmed with Marijuana Moment. The legislation has yet to be finalized, but the prospect of merging the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act with the stablecoin measure comes amid heightened expectations about the Senate moving the cannabis bill as a standalone, months after…

[ad_1] President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and a top Justice Department official all marked “Second Chance Month” on Friday by separately touting the administration’s mass marijuana pardons—the latest acknowledgement from the White House that cannabis reform is a focus heading into the November election. Amid heightened expectations about a possible federal marijuana scheduling action following the president’s 2022 directive, the president and vice president are again highlighting the administration’s moves to offer cannabis clemency. This latest round of comments and social media posts comes in the middle of a month that the administration has used two years in…

[ad_1] The Justice Department is investigating marijuana-related businesses that allegedly took coronavirus relief loans in violation of federal rules, with third-party actors leveraging a whistleblower policy that allows them to take a portion of settlement money if they report on the cannabis companies. Multiple sources in the cannabis legal space confirmed the trend with Marijuana Moment this week, though they declined to identify active clients involved in the litigation. This evidently involves both direct cannabis businesses that are involved in the production or sale of marijuana as well as ancillary companies that are not plant-touching. One public case that DOJ…

[ad_1] Multiple marijuana companies donated a total of nearly $15 million to a Florida campaign behind a legalization initiative that will appear on the state’s ballot this November, including several multi-state operators, the latest state filings show. The Florida Division of Elections (DOE) released the campaign finance activity report from the first quarter of the year on Thursday, showing $14,875,000 in new contributions from a range of businesses ahead of the state Supreme Court ruling that officially cleared the cannabis measure for the ballot. Trulieve, the main financial backer of the initiative, led the pack again with $9.225 million in…

[ad_1] A House committee is holding a hearing on Thursday at which the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to testify on hemp regulatory issues as members aim to hold him “accountable” amid ongoing industry concerns. The House Oversight and Accountability Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer (R-KY), announced that it had scheduled the hearing with FDA Commissioner Robert Califf last week. Members will weigh in on “ongoing investigations” into FDA’s “response to several issues, including…hemp regulation,” the panel said in a notice. “The Oversight Committee has highlighted several crises occurring on the FDA’s watch which…

[ad_1] The Republican governor of Ohio is renewing his call for lawmakers to pass legislation banning public marijuana consumption—because he says Ohioans don’t want to smell cannabis—and also to prohibit the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids like delta-8 THC. In his State of the State address on Tuesday, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) included the cannabis items in a list of legislative priorities, but he notably did not reiterate his interest in expediting adult-use sales as he’s done several times since voters approved legalization at the ballot last November—though regulators are moving to launch the market ahead of schedule in any…