US Cannabis Policy Updates

South Dakota’s highest court ruled against the state’s successful cannabis legalization initiative, which was passed by a majority of voters last November.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said recently that he sympathizes with veterans who have turned to medical cannabis for relief and that the VA is “looking into” improving cannabis access for veterans.

Germany’s incoming coalition government is set to legalize adult-use cannabis nationwide and license dispensaries to conduct regulated sales.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said lawmakers behind his federal cannabis bill want to ensure smaller businesses have access to the cannabis industry, that states expunge records for nonviolent cannabis crimes, and that funds generated go to restorative justice initiatives.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) filed a bill with other GOP lawmakers to federally legalize adult-use cannabis this week but some Republicans are less-than-excited by the proposal.

In a letter to President Joe Biden this week, several Democrats in the Senate requested the president use his executive authority to pardon all individuals with non-violent federal cannabis convictions.

Detroit voters decided to decriminalize psilocybin and the therapeutic use of other entheogenic plants during last week’s election.

A Republican-led cannabis legalization effort is aiming to federally deschedule cannabis and expunge some nonviolent cannabis crimes but stops short of social equity considerations.

The Seattle City Council voted yesterday to decriminalize the use, possession, and home cultivation of psilocybin, making it the largest U.S. city so far to enact such reforms.

President Biden received a letter this week signed by more than 150 celebrity entertainers, politicians, law enforcement officials, and advocates requesting clemency for federal cannabis offenders.

Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is facing criticism for late filing a personal financial report which details her six-figure stake in a Florida medical cannabis company.

Ohio cannabis advocates are set to start gathering signatures after the Ohio Ballot Board formally approved a cannabis legalization ballot initiative.

The Wyoming Libertarian Party and the cannabis advocacy organization Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis Education have begun the process of getting medical cannabis legalization on 2022 ballots.

The New Orleans City Council approved language to retroactively and proactively pardon all low-level cannabis cases in the city, effectively nixing some 10,000 cannabis convictions and decriminalizing cannabis moving forward.

A key Senate committee approved language that would let VA doctors make medical cannabis recommendations for veterans in states with medical cannabis programs.

North Carolina’s medical cannabis bill has passed the Senate Finance Committee, its second victory so far on its way to a potential floor vote in the Senate.

Democratic senators unveiled the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act today, which seeks to federally legalize cannabis and contains social justice elements aimed at undoing the harms of prohibition.

The group behind South Dakota’s initiative to legalize cannabis is gearing up for another adult-use proposal while waiting for the Supreme Court to decide whether the state’s successful 2020 bid was constitutional.

Mexico’s highest court on Monday overruled cannabis prohibition, effectively decriminalizing the plant for adults nationwide.

Connecticut is officially the latest state to shed cannabis prohibition this year after Gov. Ned Lamont signed the state’s cannabis legalization bill into law.

Louisiana’s decriminalization measure makes the possession of up to 14 grams of cannabis flower a misdemeanor punishable by a $100 fine with no possibility for jail time.

Connecticut’s legalization bill stalled in the House yesterday but state leaders are planning to hold a special session to consider and pass the legislation.

Cannabis activists and industry representatives in Washington D.C. are disappointed by the Biden Administration’s continued ban on adult-use cannabis sales in the District.

The California Senate has approved a bill to legalize the possession of psychedelics including LSD, MDMA, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and others.