Nevadas Supreme Court rules against employees who smoke marijuana, Ireland is about to see its first pilot drug checking program, and more. Marijuana Policy Nevada High Court Rules Recreational Marijuana Is Not Lawful Off-Duty Conduct. In a decision last Thursday, the state Supreme Court ruled that recreational marijuana use is not lawful off-duty conduct in upholding the firing of a Las Vegas casino dealer who tested positive for marijuana. State employment law provides protections for lawful off-duty conduct, but the court held that since marijuana remains federally il.... View more in new window

And then there were five: With an announcement Monday by the secretary of state that a New Approach North Dakota marijuana legalization had qualified for the ballot, the number of states where legalization is on the ballot climbs to five. The others are Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Another marijuana legalization effort in Oklahoma is awaiting confirmation that it has gathered sufficient valid voter signatures to qualify for the ballot. New Approach North Dakota easily cleared the state`s signature requirement of 15,582 valid voter signatures, with .... View more in new window

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser D has signed a bill that bans most workplaces from firing or otherwise punishing employees for marijuana use. The mayor sent the measure back to the District Council on Tuesdays deadline for action, about a month after the local lawmakers approved the legislation from Councilmember Trayon White D. It must still undergo a congressional review period before formally becoming law. The reform is designed to expand on a previous measure lawmakers approved to protect local government employees against workplace discrimination due to their us.... View more in new window

Arkansas voters are poised to see a marijuana legalization initiative on the states November ballot, with activists on Friday turning in what they say are more than double the required signatures to qualify the measure. Responsible Growth Arkansas submitted just over 190,000 signatures to the secretary of states office for the constitutional amendment, which would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to an ounce of cannabis from licensed retailers. They just need 89,151 valid signatures to qualify for ballot placement. Steve Lancaster, a spokesperson for .... View more in new window

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North Dakota Marijuana Legalization Initiative Campaign Says It Has Sufficient Signatures, Will Hand Them in Monday. David Owen, the chairman of Legalize ND, the group trying to qualify a marijuana legalization initiative for the November ballot, said Thursday that the group has gathered at least 21,400 raw voter signatures and will probably add more before turning them in on Monday, the deadline for turning in signatures. The initiative needs 15,582 valid voter signatures to qualify, leaving a fairly comfortable cushion to make the ballot even if some signatures are invali.... View more in new window

In 2021, Nevada state lawmakers passed a bill legalizing cannabis consumption establishments, also known as lounges, under two categories of licensing: one for retail cannabis consumption lounges, under which existing retailers will be able to sell products to be consumed on-site, and another for independent cannabis consumption lounges that will open as standalone lounges and sell single-serving and ready-to-consume products. Yesterday, the NV Cannabis Compliance Board CCB voted unanimously to approve regulations for the licensing and operation of cannabis consumption lo.... View more in new window

The House Committee on Appropriations voted today to approve an amendment that would prevent the Department of Justice from interfering with legal adult-use marijuana programs as part of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations legislation for Fiscal Year 2023. The bipartisan amendment, introduced by Reps. Barbara Lee D-CA and David Joyce R-OH, with the non-committee support of past champions Reps. Earl Blumenauer D-OR, Tom McClintock R-CA, and Eleanor Holmes Norton D-DC, would bar the DOJ from using resources to interfere with the ability of sta.... View more in new window

Today marks the one year anniversary of legalization in Virginia and multiple changes to marijuana law take effect. Public Possession Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin signed the 2022 budget bill which contains language recriminalizing activities involving the personal possession of over four ounces of marijuana in public. Under the new law, the public possession of over four ounces, but less than one pound of cannabis is a Class 3 misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine. Second or subsequent offenses are Class 2 misdemeanors punishable by up to 6 months in jail and/or a .... View more in new window

A new law took effect in Minnesota on Friday that allows adults 21 and older to buy edibles infused with hemp-derived cannabinoids, including small amounts of THC. The codification of the cannabis edibles policy through the legislation, which also imposes regulations on the sale of delta-8 THC products, in a state without a recreational marijuana law on the books is a novel developmentand its one thats led a key GOP senator to call for a rollback of the law even though he voted for it. For reform supporters, the policy change is viewed as a solid step in the right directi.... View more in new window

The Ohio Supreme Court rejects a police backpack search for marijuana, the Massachusetts Senate has approved an asset forfeiture reform bill, and more. Marijuana Policy Bipartisan Lawmakers File Marijuana Banking Amendment to Must-Pass Defense Bill in Latest Reform Push. Led by Rep. Ed Perlmutter D-OR, sponsor of the House-passed version of the Secure and Fair Enforcement SAFE Banking Act HR 1996, a bipartisan group of lawmakers are pushing an amendment to the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act to attach that legislation to the must-pass bill. This is the secon.... View more in new window

A bipartisan coalition of 23 state attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leaders on Wednesday, demanding action to prevent the sale of copycat marijuana products that resemble popular food brands. The letter, led by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares R and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford D, says that the top state prosecutors are gravely concerned about the dangers of copycat tetrahydrocannabinol THC edibles in our communities, particularly the risk they pose to our children. While the attorneys general dont all agree on the best regulatory approach for.... View more in new window

Marijuana Policy Texas GOP`s New Platform Opposes Marijuana Legalization. At its state convention in Houston last weekend, the Texas Republican Party adopted a platform plank opposing marijuana legalization, even though recent polling shows two-thirds of all Texans and 51 percent of Republicans favor it. The convention did, however, endorse moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II of the federal Controlled Substances Act. The party also adopted several other drug policy planks, including opposing needle exchange programs, requiring drug testing for welfare recipient.... View more in new window

Faced with an unrelenting drug overdose crisis, British Columbia BC is now set to become the first Canadian province to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs, effective for a three-year period beginning January 31, 2023, Health Canada announced Tuesday. The agency has approved a request from BC for an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act CDSA to remove criminal penalties for small-time drug possession. Vancouver, epicenter of British Columbia`s drug overdose crisis. Creative Commons The move will decriminalize the possession of up to 2.5.... View more in new window

Tell your senator to get medical cannabis across the finish line With the end of the 2022 legislative session fast approaching, time is critical to urge the Senate to get Kansans access to safe and legal medical cannabis. In May 2021, the Kansas House of Representatives passed a medical cannabis bill, 79-42. The bill stalled in the Senate. In March of this year, Sen. Robert Olson introduced SB 560 in an effort to revive the efforts to create a medical program. Eventually, the language was adopted into SB 12, previously passed legislation. A conference committee was called.... View more in new window