Cannabis Legalization News

Hemp executives with Save Florida Hemp say they have pledged to donate $5 million to the Republican Party of Florida to help defeat the upcoming cannabis legalization vote after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a proposal that would have wiped out the hemp industry almost entirely.

Cannabis advocates in North Dakota submitted more than 22,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office in support of putting an adult-use cannabis legalization question on November ballots. The initiative needs 15,582 valid signatures to qualify.

Nebraska cannabis advocates have submitted more than 114,000 signatures for their petition to legalize medical cannabis in the state.

Arkansas advocates submitted more than 111,000 signatures in support of a ballot initiative that would dramatically expand the state’s medical cannabis program, including provisions to remove application fees for patients and enable home grows.

The political action committee formed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to oppose the state’s cannabis legalization vote in November fundraised just $10,000 during its first five weeks.

The North Carolina Senate gave final approval to a medical cannabis legalization bill this week, sending the proposal to the House for consideration. Notably, the proposal would not legalize adult-use cannabis even under federal reforms.

Cannabis policy reforms in the U.S. have led to about 2.5 million pardons or expungements for cannabis-related convictions, according to a recent NORML tally.

Three pharmaceutical companies in Zimbabwe have started to manufacture cannabis medicines under the country’s five-year-old industrial hemp reforms.

Recent New Hampshire polls found that 65% of state residents either “strongly” or “somewhat” support legalizing adult-use cannabis; the sentiment contrasts House lawmakers’ recent decision to table a cannabis legalization bill, effectively killing the proposal.

North Carolina state senators have once again approved language to legalize medical cannabis. Senators must vote on the proposal one more time on Monday before the bill moves to the House, where its future is uncertain.

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.