Virginia Becomes First Southern State to Approve Cannabis Legalization
Mon / Mar 1st
Virginia is set to become the first Southern state to legalize after lawmakers advanced legislation to undo cannabis prohibition starting in 2024.
Daily news updates on the state of cannabis policy in the US and around the world. Subscribe to our daily newsletter to stay on top of all the latest stories!
Mon / Mar 1st
Virginia is set to become the first Southern state to legalize after lawmakers advanced legislation to undo cannabis prohibition starting in 2024.
Mon / Mar 1st
Lawmakers in New Mexico’s House of Representatives voted to legalize adult-use cannabis last week, setting the state up for another legalization showdown in the Senate after a similar attempt failed there in 2019.
Thu / Feb 25th
An influential Democrat from Kentucky is accused of unethical stock purchases after buying up multiple cannabis stocks prior to endorsing the MORE Act, which was passed by the House in December.
Thu / Feb 25th
In a bipartisan move, Virginia lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing flower products in the state’s medical cannabis program.
Thu / Feb 25th
Maryland’s House Judiciary Committee yesterday considered legislation that would legalize adult-use cannabis, establish sweeping social equity provisions for the industry, and release prisoners currently serving time for cannabis crimes.
Wed / Feb 24th
Organizers behind South Dakota’s highly successful medical cannabis legalization initiative are now seeking to compromise with state lawmakers who want to delay the program for at least a year.
Tue / Feb 23rd
In new amendments to his adult-use cannabis proposal, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is calling for a $100 million Cannabis Social Equity Fund and for establishing cannabis delivery in the state.
Mon / Feb 22nd
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, months after the state voted to legalize, has finally accepted and signed into law the legislature’s cannabis legalization language.
Mon / Feb 22nd
Montana state Rep. Bill Mercer (R) has proposed delaying the state’s voter-approved cannabis legalization initiative until 2023, saying the voters’ decision, “doesn’t make any sense.”
Fri / Feb 19th
For the first time ever, a proposal for legalizing adult-use cannabis has passed through a legislative committee in Minnesota.
Fri / Feb 19th
Multiple lawmakers pushed back against disproven, anti-cannabis rhetoric espoused during a recent meeting of the Florida House Professions & Public Health Subcommittee.
Fri / Feb 12th
Altria Group, the Big Tobacco firm behind Marlboro cigarettes, has registered to lobby on cannabis policy.
Fri / Feb 12th
Virginia’s House and Senate have each passed broad cannabis legalization bills that must be reconciled and combined into final legislation, which would have to then pass both chambers again.
Fri / Feb 12th
As Mississippi awaits a Supreme Court decision on its medical cannabis legalization amendment, state Sen. Kevin Blackwell (R) has proposed a separate bill to legalize the medicinal use of cannabis.
Thu / Feb 11th
A bipartisan proposal being considered in Washington state would cap the potency of cannabis concentrates at 30% THC and raise the minimum age for purchasing extracts to 25 years old.
Thu / Feb 11th
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is further impeding the will of voters after calling for delaying implementation of the state’s voter-approved medical cannabis law by one year.
Wed / Feb 10th
The Washington State Task Force on Social Equity in Cannabis has called for the state to prioritize race over location for equity applicants and to let funds reserved for equity applicants go to current licensees who would meet the program’s requirements.
Wed / Feb 10th
Kathleen Sebelius, the former Health and Human Services secretary for the Obama Administration, has joined the National Cannabis Roundtable.
Tue / Feb 9th
A South Dakota judge has ruled in favor of nullifying a cannabis legalization constitutional amendment approved by voters last November. The dispute moves next to the state’s Supreme Court.
Tue / Feb 9th
A coalition of multi-state operators, tech firms, investor groups, and cannabis advocacy groups announced the formation of the U.S. Cannabis Council, an organization that will push for the federal descheduling and legalization of cannabis.
Mon / Feb 8th
A Minnesota state Rep. has proposed reclassifying medical cannabis as a Schedule 2 substance so patients would be able to legally keep their firearms under federal law.
Mon / Feb 8th
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation reducing the penalties for the possession of psilocybin mushrooms from a third-degree crime to a disorderly person offense.
Mon / Feb 8th
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) revealed his anticipation of cannabis legalization in the state after including revenue from legal cannabis taxes in his 2021-2022 budget proposal.
Fri / Feb 5th
The Idaho Senate approved a measure to constitutionally ban any statewide legalization of non-pharmaceutical psychoactive drugs (including cannabis). The proposal still has to pass the House in a two-thirds vote and would then move to voters via a ballot initiative next year.
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