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

Activists behind proposed citizens initiatives to legalize marijuana in Missouri and in South Dakota have provided officials with the requisite number of signatures to qualify their campaigns for the November ballot. In Missouri, the group Legal Missouri 2022 turned in more than 385,000 signatures on Sunday. That is more than double the total 171,592 necessary to place the proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot. In South Dakota, representatives with the group South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws also recently submitted over 19,000 signatures from voters. Advoc.... View more in new window

Austin voters say adios to no-knock warrants, Colombias most powerful cartel gets unruly after its leaders extradition to the US, and more. Colombian drug lord Otoniel upon his arrest last October. Colombian National Police Marijuana Policy Missouri Activists Turn in Double the Signatures Needed for Marijuana Legalization Initiative. Activists with Legal Missouri 2022, the folks behind a marijuana legalization constitutional amendment, announced Sunday that they had turned in more than 385,000 raw voter signatures in a bid to get the measure on the November ballot. That .... View more in new window

America Competes Act, banking access, banking reform, cannabis businesses, cannabis industry, cannabis legalization, Congress, consumers, Federal, federal policy, patients, SAFE Banking Act, safety, social equity, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate Urge your U.S. Senators and member of Congress to keep SAFE Banking in the final version of the America COMPETES Act Late last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed provisions of the SAFE Banking Act as part of the America COMPETES Act, marking the sixth time cannabis banking legislation has been approved by th.... View more in new window

As more states transition from marijuana criminalization to a regulated retail marketplace, struggles over the structure of retail sales markets have become a foremost concern. Inabilities in establishing and enacting clear and timely regulations regarding the application and acceptance process for business licenses have caused significant delays in the actualization of retail markets in many states. Additionally, the issue of social equity in these emerging cannabis markets is also becoming a cause of concern, with multiple states failing to award an adequate percentage of.... View more in new window

A U.S. sprinter who was suspended from competing in the 2021 summer Olympics over a positive marijuana test is challenging the recent decision to allow a Russian skater to continue to participate in this months winter games despite the discovery that shed tested positive for a banned performance enhancement drug. ShaCarri Richardsons suspension last year drove an international conversation about the global sports policy barring Olympians from using cannabis, and its even prompted a scientific review of the policy by the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA. But now the runner .... View more in new window

Chuck Schumer is trying to get his marijuana legalization bill finalized, an Illinois bill would fix a bizarre situation around expungement of past marijuana offenses, and more. Ten senators have asked the Biden administration to get moving on demilitarizing the police. Creative Commons Marijuana Policy Top Senate Democrats Seek Input on Finalizing Marijuana Legalization Bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer D-NY, Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden D-OR and Sen. Cory Booker D-NJ have sent a letter to their fellow senators inviting them into the drafting process as.... View more in new window

The governor of Texas said on Monday that he doesnt believe people should be incarcerated over low-level marijuana possession, effectively endorsing decriminalization on the same day that Austin officials certified a ballot initiative to enact the reform on the local level. But he also went on to incorrectly suggest that lawmakers have already adopted the policy statewide. Its not the first time that Gov. Greg Abbott R has expressed support for moderate cannabis reform, but its a notable remark from a Republican governor nonetheless. Pressed about broader cannabis legaliza.... View more in new window

A new bill to legalize medical marijuana was introduced in Mississippi on Tuesday and is set to be considered by a Senate committee as soon as Wednesday afternoon. A medical cannabis program could be up and running by later this year if the long-awaited legislation becomes law this session. The bills route to passage, however, is precarious. Gov. Tate Reeves R has already threatened to veto the measure over its proposed purchase limits, which he says are too high, and some other state officials remain wary. But supportive lawmakers have said theyre confident theyll have th.... View more in new window

Kansas Democrats propose constitutional amendments to legalize medical and recreational marijuana, an Indiana lawmaker files a medical marijuana bill, and more. Kansas Democrats Announce Plan for Marijuana Legalization, Medical Marijuana Constitutional Amendments. House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer D and Assistant Minority Leader Jason Probst D announced on Thursday they will introduce a pair of constitutional amendments to put the issues of marijuana legalization and access to medical marijuana directly to the voters. Democratic lawmakers next door in Iowa announced a sim.... View more in new window

Legislation permitting licensed retailers to sell marijuana products to those ages 21 or older took effect on Saturday, January 1. Under the new law, customers may purchase up to one ounce of marijuana per transaction, or the THC equivalent in other forms: 800 milligrams of edibles or eight grams of concentrate. Cannabis products are subject to a 20 percent tax rate. The use of cannabis in public is punishable by a civil fine. Marijuana possession or use on federal parklands is subject to criminal penalties. Adults in Montana voted to regulate the retail marijuana marketp.... View more in new window

The federal monopoly on cannabis manufacturing for research has finally been broken, with two companies telling Marijuana Moment this week that theyve harvested cannabis with the blessing of the Drug Enforcement Administration DEA. For more than 50 years, only a single facility at the University of Mississippi has been permitted under a federal agreement to grow marijuana for study purposes. In recent years, DEA said it would be taking steps to end that monopoly and authorize additional manufacturers. Several companies received conditional approvals for their applications .... View more in new window

Connecticut regulators announced on Tuesday that they will start accepting certain marijuana business license applications at the beginning of next month. The news follows a meeting of the states Social Equity Council SEC, where members approved a technical assistance plan for the cannabis industry that will involve outreach and providing resources to people interested in participating in the market. That plans finalization was a necessary condition to trigger the start of the licensing process under the legalization law signed by Gov. Ned Lamont D last year..... View more in new window

New state and local laws amending marijuana policies will take effect on the first day of the new year. MONTANA: Licensed retailers can begin providing marijuana products to adults on January 1. Voters initially passed a pair of initiatives legalizing the adult-use market in November, 2020. Provisions permitting adults to possess and grow personal use quantities of cannabis without penalty took effect earlier this year. PENNSYLVANIA: Starting January 1, certain employers in the city of Philadelphia will no longer be able to test applicants for marijuana as a condition of .... View more in new window

Canadians spent more than $364 million on retail cannabis products in the month of October, according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada. It marks a 35 per cent increase in sales, year-over-year, and a nearly three per cent increase from Septembers sales record of $354 million. The figures come a week after the latest quarterly report from the Ontario Cannabis Store , which noted that legal sales overtook the illicit market for the first time in the quarter running July to Sept. Ontario, which now has more than 1,200 authorized cannabis stores, led the country .... View more in new window