Cannabis Legalization News

New Hampshire’s latest effort to legalize adult-use cannabis is likely dead for the year after House lawmakers voted on Thursday, the last day of the legislative session, to table the legalization proposal.

Some Florida medical cannabis doctors and advocates are warning that due to the nature of the state’s upcoming cannabis vote — and to a potential “poison pill” in the state’s original medical cannabis law — legalizing adult-use cannabis this November could make it harder for cannabis patients to get their medicine.

Voters in Slovenia last weekend approved two non-binding cannabis measures: one to legalize adult-use cannabis, and another to let medical cannabis patients grow their own cannabis plants at home.

A recent FOX News poll found that 66% of Florida voters said they would vote yes on the upcoming constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis for adults; the amendment will require at least 60% support to pass.

The Tribal Council for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina last week voted to allow adult-use cannabis sales to anyone aged 21 or older.

The New Hampshire House and Senate have reportedly reached a compromise on a cannabis legalization bill; lawmakers have until Thursday, the end of the legislative session, to finalize a deal.

South Dakota voters will get another shot at legalizing adult-use cannabis this November after the secretary of state said they validated enough petition signatures to put a legalization question on the 2024 general election ballot.

Despite the federal government estimating some 10,000 citizens would be eligible for conviction relief when Canada legalized cannabis, just 845 pardons for cannabis crimes have been issued since 2019.

The New Hampshire Senate has passed an adult-use cannabis legalization proposal containing a state-run dispensary system favored by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu.

A New Jersey appeals court ruling found that the state’s cannabis legalization law is not preempted by federal law but warned that “residents and marijuana businesses … act at the risk that their activities might be prosecuted by federal authorities.”

Joe Biden has announced that the US Justice Department is moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III. In his announcement, he stated that he is committed to “righting the wrongs” of prohibition, though Schedule III status doesn’t do anything specific to help those currently incarcerated.

Cannabis advocates in Kansas announced they have formed the Cannabis Justice Coalition, which will support candidates for local office who support cannabis legalization and the expunging of cannabis criminal records.

The Florida GOP Executive Board unanimously passed a resolution over the weekend opposing the cannabis legalization amendment set to appear before voters during this November’s election.

Senate Democrats have again filed the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which seeks to legalize cannabis at the federal level and automatically expunge federal non-violent cannabis offenses.

Cannabis advocates in North Dakota have been cleared by the secretary of state’s office to start collecting voter signatures to put a legalization question on November ballots.

Minnesota House lawmakers last week passed social equity cannabis licensing provisions and other adjustments to the state’s upcoming adult-use cannabis program.

Cannabis advocates in North Dakota submitted a petition to put an adult-use cannabis question before voters this November; the campaign needs to collect 16,000 valid signatures by July 8 to qualify.

In a recent poll of more than 1,000 Florida adults, just 49% of respondents said they would vote “yes” on the state’s upcoming cannabis legalization amendment. The results suggest a tough road ahead for the legalization campaign as constitutional amendments in the state require 60% supermajority support.

Lawmakers in the New Hampshire House of Representatives have voted for the third year in a row to legalize adult-use cannabis. The governor said he will not support the bill, however, unless changes are made in the Senate.

Pennsylvania could generate more than $1 billion in new taxes over five years if the state were to legalize adult-use cannabis sales, according to an official report.

Hawaii lawmakers in the House Finance Committee rejected the state’s Senate-approved adult-use cannabis legalization proposal, killing the bill for the year.

Florida voters will see cannabis legalization on the ballot this November after the state’s Supreme Court rejected the attorney general’s arguments against the amendment’s ballot summary language.

Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has vetoed the state’s proposal to legalize adult-use cannabis sales, extending the illicit market’s monopoly on cannabis sales for at least another year.