federal policy

The U.S. Border Patrol has been giving lifetime bans at the border to those associated with Canada’s legal cannabis industry, according to The Star Vancouver. Because the border is under federal jurisdiction — even in states like Washington that have legalized cannabis — Border Patrol agents are required to obey U.S. federal requirements and issue […]

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate voted 86-to-11 to pass its version of the 2018 Farm Bill, The Washington Post reports. The Farm Bill, which provides $428 billion in subsidies and other funding, includes language for the federal legalization of industrial hemp. However, some hurdles remain before the bill can be fully passed, despite overwhelming bipartisan support […]

The Senate’s top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York), has introduced legislation that aims to end cannabis prohibition and let states decide for themselves the legality of the plant. The Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act would decriminalize cannabis by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act; however, the federal government would maintain the authority to prevent […]

U.S. Senators voted 86-5 on Monday in favor of legislation that establishes protections for veterans seeking state-legal medical cannabis therapies, according to a report by Marijuana Moment‘s Tom Angell. The measure was added to legislation funding large parts of the federal government, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, through the fiscal year 2019. Specifically, the provision protects […]

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Wednesday that the nation’s adult-use cannabis industry will officially launch on October 17, The Hill reports. The landmark legislation, which passed its final hurdle in the Senate this week with a 52-29 vote, makes cannabis possession and consumption legal for adults 18 and older throughout the nation. “Today I’m also […]

Fulfilling a popular campaign promise of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada has officially voted to legalize the adult possession and use of cannabis, according to a CNN report. In a 52-29 vote on Tuesday afternoon, the Senate advanced bill C-45 for the last time, accepting changes put forward in the House of Commons and sending the bill […]

Lawmakers in Canada’s House of Commons voted 205-82 in favor of Bill C-45, aka The Cannabis Act, on Monday, CBC reports. The legalization bill now returns to the Senate, which has already approved an earlier version of the bill but now must try to reconcile with changes made in the House. Last time the Senate worked […]

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Rules once again blocked two amendments crafted to fight the opioid crisis from being brought to the floor for a vote, Marijuana Moment‘s Tom Angell reports. The two amendments — one pushing the VA to research medical cannabis and one preventing the federal government from blocking access […]

Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee voted down a measure designed to protect banking institutions that are willing to work with cannabis businesses, according to a Forbes report by Tom Angell. The measure would have stopped the Treasury Department from penalizing a financial institution solely for doing business with a company in the cannabis industry, […]

Last week, Canada’s Senate approved the House of Commons’ bill to legalize cannabis but attached several amendments limiting the scope of legalization, including one that allows provinces to ban home cultivation and another imposing heavy advertising restrictions on cannabis companies. Now, the House of Commons has rejected a number of the Senate’s amendments — including […]

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry advanced the 2018 Farm Bill on Wednesday in an overwhelmingly supportive 20-1 vote, according to a Marijuana Moment report. “It’s a landmark piece of legislation that will benefit farmers and communities throughout our country. I’m particularly excited that the legislation being considered today includes provisions from the Hemp Farming Act […]

The Senate Agricultural Committee unveiled its version of the 2018 Farm Bill last Friday, which includes a push to fully legalize industrial hemp, according to a Harvest Public Media report. The Senate’s Farm Bill has so far this year been a bipartisan project spearheaded by committee chairman Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) and ranking minority member Sen. […]

Lt. Gen. Chuck Lamarre, chief of military personnel in the Canadian Armed Forces, said in a recent interview with the CBC that the Canadian military is not in a position to impose an outright ban on adult-use cannabis. However, Lamarre indicated that restrictions will be more wide-ranging on cannabis consumption than on alcohol. The Canadian […]

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously and without amendment passed a resolution recognizing the economic potential of industrial hemp. The non-binding measure was passed in recognition of Hemp History Week, according to reporter Tom Angell’s investigation for Forbes. This is the third year in a row that the U.S. Senate has adopted non-binding resolutions recognizing the […]

It’s, so far, been a banner year for hemp policy as Alaska, Kansas, Arizona, and Oklahoma each passed industrial hemp legislation during their respective sessions while two other states – New York and South Carolina – expanded their programs; while one state program, Wisconsin, came online. Illinois, too, is just one Senate concurrence vote away […]

A Montana hemp farmer has secured a contract to use federally-controlled water to irrigate her plants, the Associated Press reports. Kim Phillips had battled the Helena Valley Irrigation District and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for more than a year to use water from the Canyon Ferry Reservoir to water her 12-acre hemp crop. “It […]

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has made it official: the agency will not approve any alcohol formulations containing CBD or THC. The announcement coincides with a report last week that the agency ordered a California brewery to cease production of its CBD infused brews. But isn’t CBD legal in all 50 states? No, […]

The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau have ordered a California brewery to cease production of their CBD-infused beer because hemp is a non-standard beer ingredient, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Black Hammer Brewing unveiled Toke Back Mountain on Apr. 20 and released eight more CBD-infused beers, which owner Jim Furman said became […]

U.S. Attorney for Oregon Billy Williams has announced five priority areas of enforcing federal law in the state, including what his office sees as threats to public safety and interstate trafficking, the Argus Observer reports. Williams outlined his concerns about the state’s industry in a January op-ed in the Oregonian and those concerns are reflected […]

The House Appropriations Committee has passed the so-called Joyce Amendment, which restricts Department of Justice funding for prosecuting state-approved medical cannabis programs. The passage marks the first time the committee has addressed the issue, and the first time such an amendment has passed through regular order in the committee. “Today marks a victory for medical […]

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer told canna-business owners that he believes cannabis will be treated like alcohol throughout the U.S. in five years during an appearance at the Cultivation Classic in his home state, Willamette Week reports. He said if lawmakers who support legalizing do their job “it’s game over in two years.” “If Democrats control […]

The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee has unanimously voted to advance a measure to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to research medical cannabis, according to a Stars and Stripes report. The bi-partisan measure was introduced last month by the committee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Tim Walz, and Republican committee chairman Rep. Phil Roe, who is also […]

Last month, the federal Small Business Administration released a new policy indicating that direct cannabis businesses, indirect cannabis business, and hemp businesses would be locked out of the federal agency’s lending services, according to Green Market Report’s Debra Borchardt. Last week, Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer wrote to SBA Administrator Linda McMahon urging her to repeal […]

Cannabis advocates are raising money for a super PAC called Texans Removing Outdated and Unresponsive Politicians, aimed at ousting Texas Republican Rep. Pete Sessions, who chairs the House Rules Committee and has blocked cannabis reform legislation from reaching the floor for a vote, the Washington Examiner reports. The effort is being led by Marijuana Policy Project […]