US Cannabis Policy Updates

As part of an ongoing legal battle after Arkansas’ Board of Election Commissioners blocked a popular cannabis legalization initiative from November ballots, the state Supreme Court will conditionally allow the adult-use question to move forward.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) signed a package of cannabis industry reform bills which includes provisions for tax reforms, expungement, social equity, and changes to industry fees.

Missouri’s cannabis legalization initiative has been cleared for November ballots.

Advocates in Florida launched a new campaign this week to legalize adult-use cannabis in the Sunshine State. The effort is backed by Trulieve, the state’s largest medical cannabis company.

The campaign for legalizing cannabis in Arkansas filed a lawsuit in the state Supreme Court last week after the Board of Election Commissioners rejected the initiative’s name and title, effectively blocking it from ballots.

Commissioners in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia approved an ordinance to reduce the penalty for possession of less than an ounce of cannabis to a $35 fine, the lowest in the state.

Arkansas’ election officials rejected the state’s cannabis legalization initiative ballot name and title, effectively blocking it from November ballots; advocates behind the proposal are planning to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

The Marijuana Misdemeanor Expungement Act, a bipartisan House proposal filed last week, would facilitate the expungement of low-level federal cannabis misdemeanors.

Louisiana’s new medical cannabis laws are now in effect, including provisions for protecting state employees who use medical cannabis, putting the Department of Health in charge of the state’s cannabis program, and prohibiting police from searching homes without a warrant based on the odor of cannabis.

Arkansas’ secretary of state said activists with Responsible Growth Arkansas have gathered sufficient signatures to put a cannabis legalization initiative on the upcoming November ballot.

Officials in Massachusetts passed a package of cannabis reforms including the reduction of ‘impact fees’ charged to cannabis businesses, the retooling of the state’s expungement process, and more.

The Great New York State Fair will allow cannabis consumption in areas where tobacco smoking is allowed. 

The veteran advocacy group Weed for Warriors Project is running campaign ads calling out California politicians for not supporting the legal cannabis industry.

Voters in Killeen, Texas will decide this November whether to decriminalize cannabis possession within city limits.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is continuing to advocate for significant cannabis reforms and recently discussed the racist, classist, and authoritarian history of prohibition.

Voters in Denton, Texas will consider a ballot initiative during the midterm elections that, if passed, would decriminalize low-level cannabis possession by blocking local police from enforcing misdemeanor cannabis crimes.

A bid to put a cannabis legalization question on the midterm ballots in Missouri this year may be in jeopardy after early tabulations suggested the petition may fall short of signature requirements.

The U.S. Senate’s long-awaited cannabis legalization bill was finally filed this morning by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Cory Booker (D-NJ).

The U.S. House passed a package of budget bills including one proposal to allow cannabis TV and radio advertisements in states where cannabis has been legalized.

President Joe Biden recently reiterated that he believes nobody should be imprisoned for “the use of marijuana” and said his administration is working on a “crime bill” to address the issue.

An executive order issued by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) last week protects workers from cannabis-related penalties amid a worker shortage.

Members of the New York City Fire Department will no longer be subject to random drug tests as per a Uniformed Firefighters Association leaked document.

School districts in Rhode Island will have to develop protocols for providing medical cannabis to students according to a revised regulation by the state departments of Education and Health. 

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) signed a bill to protect banks and insurers who work with medical cannabis companies from state interference.