Federal Policy

The Senate has walked back plans to include bipartisan cannabis banking reforms in the annual national defense bill following an outcry by GOP lawmakers.

The PREPARE Act, the latest cannabis proposal in Congress, would prepare the U.S. for the likely end of cannabis prohibition by directing officials to workshop a framework for federal cannabis regulations.

Top Senate Democrats are reportedly set to attach language from the SAFE Banking Act that would normalize the cannabis industry’s access to banking services to a “must-pass” end-of-year bill like the annual National Defense Authorization Act.

President Joe Biden signed the nation’s first standalone cannabis reforms bill last week, paving the way for researchers to more easily investigate the plant’s medicinal properties.

A bipartisan proposal by Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rand Paul (R-KY) would improve research opportunities for psychedelics by rescheduling any drugs given a “breakthrough therapy” designation by the FDA.

A federal lawsuit filed by an Oregon firm seeks to dispute the constitutionality of state laws prohibiting cannabis exports and imports between legalized states.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and other plaintiffs have filed an appeal after the dismissal of a previous lawsuit over medical cannabis patients’ right to access firearms.

The Senate passed a House-approved medical cannabis research bill yesterday, making it the first standalone cannabis reforms bill ever delivered to the president’s desk.

A cohort of U.S. representatives sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to consider pardons of simple cannabis possession convictions for immigrants.

A new Gallup poll found a record high of 68% of U.S. voters support federally legalizing adult-use cannabis.

A mom in Texas is in the process of being evicted from her federally-funded housing due to the possession and consumption of state-legal medical cannabis.

Cannabis is the sixth-most valuable crop in the U.S., according to the 2022 Leafly Cannabis Harvest Report.

A new survey found that 71% of Americans think adult-use cannabis legalization improves states’ economies.

Legal cannabis might be this century’s largest and most lucrative new industry but without the government subsidies afforded to other industries that center agriculture, energy, and transportation, the cannabis industry is poised for an extinction event of small businesses.

During a Monday appearance on ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers,’ Vice President Kamala Harris (D) said no one should be sent to jail for smoking cannabis. The statement came the week after President Biden issued federal pardons for cannabis possession.

U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is already working with the FDA to review cannabis’ federal scheduling status as directed by President Biden during his pardoning announcement last week.

A new poll released on Wednesday found that 60% of US voters believe cannabis should be federally legal.

The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled last month that importing cannabis paraphernalia into the US is legal, breaking a previous Controlled Substances Act ban.

President Joe Biden issued a pardon for all federal cannabis possession charges on Thursday and said his administration would take steps to consider rescheduling cannabis under federal law.

A federal proposal would give small-scale cannabis companies the ability to operate on a direct-to-consumer model to help the smaller operations compete with large, corporate entities once cannabis is finally legalized nationwide.

The Air Force and Space Force are considering a recruitment policy change that would no longer automatically disqualify new recruits who test positive for cannabis.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed a bill to protect patients’ access to medical treatment even if they test positive for cannabis and the rights of doctors to treat such patients without ramifications from federal law.

The FTC is issuing product refunds for customers who bought CBD products from Kushly Industries LLC after the company made unsubstantiated treatment claims regarding CBD’s effects on ailments ranging from acne to cancer.

A recent memo from the Biden Administration suggests that White House applicants who have invested in the legal cannabis industry may be denied security clearances.