Cannabis Politics

Members of a campaign funded by Mormon attorney Walter J. Plumb filed a lawsuit in Utah state court on Wednesday in an attempt to remove a measure legalizing medical cannabis from the November ballot, according to a Salt Lake Tribune report. The ballot measure would legalize cannabis use for only specific chronic illnesses like cancer and HIV, […]

In November, the United Nations will perform a deep review of cannabis’ scheduling status under the 1962 Single Convention treaty, which coordinates international drug laws, reports Marijuana Moment‘s Tom Angell. The UN World Health Organization’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence found in a pre-review in June that there was sufficient scientific evidence to support a full critical […]

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), after months of considering qualified candidates, has hired activist Steve Hawkins to the position of executive director, the organization announced today via press release. Hawkins has spent three decades as an advocate, policy strategist, nonprofit leader, and foundation executive in the movement for criminal justice reform. His experience in public […]

North Dakota voters will get their chance to vote on adult-use cannabis legalization this November, according to the Associated Press. Cannabis advocates collected and submitted more than 14,600 valid voter signatures in favor of the ballot initiative, said North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger. They only needed 13,500. The proposal seeks to legalize cannabis for […]

Missouri voters will get to choose from three different medical cannabis legalization initiatives this November, according to the Bolivar Herald Free Press. Two of the initiatives are constitutional amendments and the third is a statutory amendment. Petition 2018-041 is a constitutional amendment that would: Legalize and regulate the use of cannabis for medical purpose Create licensing […]

Lawmakers in Indiana are considering allowing farmers to grow hemp under the state’s industrial hemp pilot program, according to an Associated Press report. Currently, only researchers at institutions of higher education can grow the crop. Don Zolman, CEO of Zolman Farms in Kosciusko County, told members of the Interim Study Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources […]

Lawmakers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) — a tiny U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean, near Guam — have voted in favor of cannabis legalization, Tom Angell reports for Forbes. The bill, if signed into law, would end cannabis prohibition for adults and establish a taxed-and-regulated system for the plant; the bill also […]

The office of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a 57-page brief on Friday arguing that an appeals court should rule in favor of the legislature’s decision to ban the smoking of marijuana products under the state’s new comprehensive medical cannabis regime, the News Service of Florida reports. The memo argues that the Legislature “considered important […]

Oklahoma advocacy group Green The Vote has admitted to lying about the number of signatures they’ve collected to put a cannabis legalization question before voters. The revelation was made via Facebook video early on Tuesday, and confirmed in a follow-up video by Isaac Caviness, long-time president of Green The Vote. The group announced last month […]

A 58-person steering committee, including many prominent conservatives, announced a campaign to put a voter initiative for the legalization of medical cannabis on the 2020 Mississippi state ballot, Mississippi Today reports. The campaign, “Medical Marijuana 2020,” was officially registered by Ashley Durval, who made headlines in 2014 when she fought for her daughter’s right to access CBD […]

Pennsylvania state Rep. Jake Wheatley plans to introduce a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis and expunge the records of people convicted of minor cannabis crimes, according to a report by the Pittsburgh CityPaper. Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis market launched in February. Earlier this month, the Auditor General of Pennsylvania released a report indicating that an adult-use market would generate […]

Christian Bax, Director of Florida’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), has resigned, the News Service of Florida reports. Bax was often blamed for delays and difficulties in awarding licenses in Florida’s young medical cannabis market. One of Bax’s staunchest critics is John Morgan, an Orlando trial lawyer who was the primary backer of Florida’s medical cannabis […]

A bipartisan bill in the U.S. House of Representatives would, if passed, prevent the federal government from terminating employees who use cannabis within the laws of the state in which they reside, Tom Angell of Marijuana Moment reports. The bill was introduced on Thursday by Reps. Charlie Crist (D-Florida) and Drew Ferguson (R-Georgia). The bill would protect all […]

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (MCCC) made an official announcement Thursday reminding municipalities who are seeking agreements with adult-use cannabis businesses to stay within the law when it comes to negotiating financial terms, the Associated Press reports. The MCCC said it has seen “anecdotal” evidence of communities exploiting cannabis businesses with excessive taxation and fees, which is […]

Medicinal cannabis products will be available by prescription in the United Kingdom this fall after the government relaxed drug laws surrounding the plant’s chemical compounds this week, The Independent reports. The move was prompted by several stories this summer about parents encountering trouble at the border after traveling overseas to acquire life-saving, cannabis-based epilepsy medicine for […]

Oklahoma Secretary of State James Williamson said on Monday that the chances of voters seeing the state’s adult-use legalization question on November’s ballot are very slim, according to a Tulsa World report. In fact, advocates have prepared two separate cannabis initiatives for the ballot. The first, State Question 796, would codify legal medical marijuana into the Oklahoma Constitution […]

New Jersey’s Attorney General Gurbir Grewal wrote in a letter to municipal prosecutors they should seek an adjournment of all cannabis-related offenses until at least September 4, 2018, NJ.com reports. Grewal is seeking the adjournment so that his office can develop appropriate guidance for prosecutors regarding cannabis offenses, but the move effectively decriminalizes cannabis possession in the state […]

In an op-ed piece on Friday, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) declared that “Marijuana should be legal in all 50 states.” Rep. Ryan was recently revealed to be assembling a team of political consultants and operatives in preparation for a bid for the presidency, The Intercept reports. In the op-ed, Rep. Ryan rails against cannabis prohibition and the […]

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale has released a special report that says Pennsylvania‘s legal cannabis market would comprise more than $1.66 billion, which, if taxed at 35 percent, would produce $581 million dollars in tax revenue for the state, according to a report by WGAL Lancaster. The numbers in DePasquale’s report are based on an average yearly […]

A joint legislative committee of Florida lawmakers has approved an additional $13.3 million in funding for the Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), even though lawmakers have been frustrated with the office for moving slowly on the medical cannabis system’s implementation, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The money is intended for a seed-to-sale tracking system, to cover […]

In Michigan — where, in November, voters will both elect a new governor and decide whether to legalize adult-use cannabis — governor candidates are sharply divided along party lines over the issue of cannabis legalization, according to a Michigan Radio report. There are four Republicans, three Democrats, and two Libertarians currently in the gubernatorial race; the Republicans have […]

The Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter has advised the state’s Board of Health that emergency rules passed last week regarding medical cannabis, including a complete ban on smokable products, is against the will of voters and outside the Board’s authority, according to KOCO 5 report. The Board’s decision was controversial and resulted in the immediate resignation […]

GreenWave Advisors has analyzed data from the DEA and Homeland Security regarding cannabis plant seizures over the last several years and determined that the illicit market for cannabis in the U.S. is shrinking, according to a High Times report. Cannabis consultant Dustin Moore said the data could indicate a variety of causes, including a shift from imported illegal […]

Thailand’s government is currently debating a bill that would legalize medical cannabis, according to a Bloomberg report. Thailand, like many Southeast Asian countries, currently has extremely strict drug trafficking laws. However, as recently as the 1980s, Thailand was one of the world’s foremost cannabis exporters. Thailand’s government is a military junta, or dictatorship, where civilian political power answers […]