Federal Policy

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.

Republican Congresswoman Virginia Foxx has made six investments in Marlboro cigarettes’ parent company, Altria Group Inc., which in turn, has invested $1.8 billion into a Canadian cannabis producer.

Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture announced the state’s industrial hemp program will transfer to federal control next year.

Mississippi’s Agriculture Commissioner rejected the premise that his agency could facilitate the state’s medical cannabis program due to the plant’s federal Schedule 1 status.

U.S. Navy veteran Howard Bailey, who was deported to Jamaica over a cannabis conviction, has returned home after more than a decade.

Theory Wellness in Massachusetts will pay almost $300,000 in restitution and penalties for violating state wage and hour laws.

The U.S. Department of Energy has invested in Hempitecture, a firm that manufactures a hemp wool insulation product that is highly thermal resistant and has a low carbon footprint.

Included in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed by the Senate on Tuesday are provisions that would let researchers study cannabis from state-licensed dispensaries instead of the low-grade cannabis grown at government facilities.

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

Charles Koch plans to use $25 million of his $45 billion fortune to influence cannabis legalization reforms by the end of the year.

Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said he doesn’t think there is “value” to society by incarcerating people for cannabis use.

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.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson vetoed a measure that would have let medical cannabis companies deduct normal business expenses when filing their state taxes.

The FBI has updated its hiring policy to not exclude potential candidates for using cannabis outside of a year and candidates will not be disqualified for using cannabis prior to their 18th birthday.

A White House committee is recommending changes to business categories that would re-classify cannabis retail stores alongside smoking shops, among other updates.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said on Monday that the federal “prohibition on interstate use or cultivation of marijuana may no longer be necessary or proper.”

A new study shows an increase in the number of U.S. military veterans using cannabis, although Veteran Affairs doctors still cannot recommend it to patients at agency-run hospitals.

The bill would decriminalize all drugs at the federal level and shift authority for the substances from the Attorney General to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

When submitted for independent testing by Leafreport, more than half of Delta-8 products were shown to contain Delta-9 THC above limits allowed under U.S. federal law.

Amazon announced in a blog post yesterday that it supports the MORE Act, a federal cannabis legalization bill, and will stop drug testing prospective employees for cannabis use.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) reintroduced the MORE Act on Friday, which seeks to end cannabis prohibition and establish new federal social equity provisions and opportunities.

The Acting Solicitor General of the United States Elizabeth Prelogar filed a brief this week supporting IRS investigations into state-legal cannabis companies under Section 280E.

A Senate bill is seeking to finally regulate the production and sales of hemp-derived CBD products including infused foods, beverages, and dietary supplements.