Author: Kyle Jaeger
[ad_1] Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), a Republican 2024 presidential candidate, says that he would “end” the war on drugs if elected, emphasizing the need for a treatment-based approach to people experiencing addiction—while at the same time maintaining that he’d seek to increase enforcement against those who sell drugs. During a recent town hall event hosted by CNN, a mother who said her son is in jail after struggles with fentanyl asked Christie what he would “do about the war on drugs, which has obviously failed so miserably.” “End it,” the former federal prosecutor replied, despite his opposition…
[ad_1] Bipartisan and bicameral New Hampshire lawmakers have reached an agreement on creating a commission that will study the feasibility of legalizing marijuana through a state-run model and proposing legislation to enact the reform. Members of a House-Senate conference committee voted on Wednesday to incorporate the cannabis commission compromise into a bill that must now be approved on the floor of both chambers by a legislative deadline of June 29. The legislation that the committee took up initially only required a commission to study the novel state stores idea for cannabis, a model that the Republican governor recently endorsed. But…
[ad_1] Nevada regulators have approved the state’s first conditional licenses for marijuana consumption lounges—bringing three operators one step closer to opening the cannabis social use spaces for adults. The Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) first announced in November that it had granted 40 prospective consumption lounge licenses for businesses that had submitted the requisite documentation. With Tuesday’s action, three of those entities have now moved on to the next phase, receiving authorization to continue building out the lounges, which could then open pending a final inspection and local approval. The businesses that received the conditional licenses are Planet 13, The…
[ad_1] A bill to legalize marijuana in Colombia has stalled out for the year after the Senate failed to advance it with enough support during a final vote on Tuesday—even though a simple majority of senators who were present voted in favor. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Juan Carlos Losada, was previously approved in the both chambers last year as part of the two-year process that constitutional amendments must undergo. It then passed the Chamber of Deputies again in May and advanced through a Senate committee this month. But while it received a majority of the votes on the floor…
[ad_1] Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is “confident” Congress will be able to pass a bipartisan marijuana banking bill this session—and other Democratic senators also echoed that point, according to a cannabis industry entrepreneur who spoke with the lawmakers recently. After speaking at an event focused on higher education last week, Schumer was approached by the CEO of the Colorado-based cannabis company Simply Pure, Wanda James, who became the first Black woman in the country to own a licensed marijuana dispensary in 2009. In a phone interview on Tuesday, James told Marijuana Moment that she spoke with the majority…
[ad_1] California marijuana regulators announced on Tuesday that they have awarded $4.1 million to cities and counties across the state to support local cannabis business licensing programs working to address unmet consumer demand and help curb the illicit market. The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) unveiled the first-of-its-kind program in February, committing to provide about $20 million total to localities through its Local Jurisdiction Retail Access Grant. The $4.1 million in grants that it has now awarded to 18 jurisdiction represents the first phase of the program. “The Local Jurisdictional Retail Access Grant program will help provide access to regulated…
[ad_1] The governor of Wisconsin has signed a large-scale bill that contains a controversial provision blocking the ability of local governments to put non-binding advisory questions on the ballot—a policy that’s been used over the years to demonstrate widespread public support for marijuana legalization. Gov. Tony Evers (D) gave final approval to the legislation—which is principally focused on revenue sharing and increasing funding for localities—on Tuesday, without explicitly mentioning the advisory question issue. The local referenda have been used to take the temperature of voters on a number of issues, including those championed by Democrats like cannabis legalization and abortion…
[ad_1] A pair of congresswomen will soon be reintroducing a bill to federally decriminalize all currently illicit drugs and facilitate mass expungements. Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) and Cori Bush (D-MO) announced on Saturday—the 52nd anniversary of President Richard Nixon declaring a war on drugs—that they will again be filing the Drug Policy Reform Act. The lawmakers first introduced the bill in 2021. While it didn’t advance, it marked the first congressional bill designed to comprehensively end drug criminalization and take a public health, rather than criminal justice, approach to substance use. “52 years ago, President Richard Nixon initiated a…
[ad_1] A GOP senator says that while he supports a bipartisan marijuana banking bill, he feels that Democratic leadership is being generally uncooperative, casting doubts on the prospects of passage. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), said that he’d be a “yes” vote on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act if it reaches the floor. “We need to get it passed, but the Democrats obviously control the Senate floor, and there is no way we can get it down there,” the senator, who won his seat after defeating former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a primary election, said. “You…
[ad_1] A key House committee is calling on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “continue and increase” enforcement against CBD companies that make unsanctioned claims about the benefits benefits of cannabidiol as the agency works with Congress to develop a regulatory pathway for the product. The panel separately noted the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’s (VA) efforts to improve education around home loan benefit protections for military veterans who work in state-legal marijuana markets. Those issues are addressed in new reports attached to annual spending legislation approved by the House Appropriations Committee last week. The bill itself to fund the…
[ad_1] The governor of Nevada has signed a large-scale marijuana reform bill that more than doubles the legal personal possession limit, consolidates licensing rules and broadens eligibility for participation in the market by people with prior felony convictions. Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) gave final approval to the legislation from Sen. Dallas Harris (D) on Wednesday, less than a week after lawmakers formally sent it to his desk. The measure makes a series of revisions to the state’s existing marijuana laws, in part by increasing the possession and purchase limit for cannabis from one ounce to 2.5 ounces. The amount of…
[ad_1] President Joe Biden marked the holiday Juneteenth by issuing a proclamation that promotes his mass marijuana pardon and scheduling review directive. As the country commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black people, the president’s proclamation touts various efforts by his administration to address racial discrimination, including last year’s cannabis clemency move. “I have taken action on marijuana reform by pardoning prior District of Columbia and Federal simple marijuana possession offenses and directed a review of marijuana scheduling,” Biden said on the federal holiday, which was established under legislation he signed in 2021. The president has repeatedly promoted the cannabis actions,…