Tag Archives: marijuana

NYC Battles Thousands Of Unlicensed Weed Shops

Gothamist reports: A new boots-on-the-ground survey from Councilmember Gale Brewer’s office found more than twice as many illicit cannabis shops operating on the Upper West Side as in late 2022, the last time her staff canvassed the area. Brewer is one of city government’s biggest crusaders against NYC’s unlicensed cannabis shops, and the informal headcount comes as city and state …

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Analysis: 74% Of Americans Have Access To Legal Weed

Changing America reports: Although marijuana is illegal under federal law, 54% of Americans live in a state where recreational use of marijuana is legal, according to an analysis from the Pew Research Center. The analysis revealed that 74% of Americans live in a state where marijuana is legal for either medical or recreational use. Additionally, 79% of Americans live in …

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FL Bill To Cap THC In Legal Weed Dies In Committee

Florida Politics reports: An effort to cap THC levels in marijuana if Florida voters legal it for adult personal use is dead this Legislative Session. The Senate Health Policy Committee bill (SB 7050) emerged earlier this month in the upper chamber. The effort had moved out of its first stop on a 7-3 vote. Just as that committee declined to …

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German Lawmakers Vote To Legalize Recreational Weed

Courthouse News reports: A divided Bundestag on Friday voted to make Germany the first major European Union country to legalize the possession and purchase of small amounts of cannabis for recreational purposes. Starting April 1, people 18 and older will be able to grow up to three marijuana plants and possess up to 25 grams (about 1 ounce) of cannabis …

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FL Moves To Cap THC In Case Weed Becomes Legal

Florida Politics reports: A bill capping the level of delta-9 THC in the event voters decide to legalize adult-use marijuana moved forward by a 13-4 vote in its first House stop in the Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee. In processed substances, such as vapes, shatter and wax, the cap would be 60% delta-9 THC if this bill passes. For practical purposes, that …

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Texas AG Sues Five Cities For Decriminalizing Weed

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing five cities — Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Denton — to block their ordinances decriminalizing low-level marijuana possession. In 2022, voters in the five cities approved policies that would end arrests and citations for possession of less than four ounces of marijuana. An initiative spearheaded by Ground Game …

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Senate Dems Press Biden Admin To Deschedule Weed

NBC News reports: Senate Democrats are putting new pressure on the Biden administration to ease federal restrictions on marijuana in a new letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration on Tuesday as it considers rescheduling cannabis after it was federally classified more than five decades ago. The letter, from 12 senators led by Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and John Fetterman, D-Pa., and …

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New York Soon To Issue Rules On Home-Grown Weed

Gothamist reports: The Cannabis Control Board will vote on regulations that would let New Yorkers who are at least 21 years old cultivate up to six mature plants — meaning they have visible buds — and six immature plants per residence. Home cultivators would be able to keep up to 5 pounds of flower that’s been trimmed from those plants, …

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DeSantis: Legal Weed Will Likely Make Florida Ballot

Marijuana Moment reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) says a marijuana legalization initiative will be on the state’s November ballot, predicting a favorable legal outcome for activists in the Supreme Court in the face of a challenge from the attorney general who is seeking to block the vote. Days before dropping out of the race for the 2024 Republican presidential …

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Federal Scientists Recommend Decriminalizing Weed

The New York Times reports: Marijuana is neither as risky nor as prone to abuse as other tightly controlled substances and has potential medical benefits, and therefore should be removed from the nation’s most restrictive category of drugs, federal scientists have concluded. The recommendations are contained in a 250-page scientific review provided to Matthew Zorn, a Texas lawyer who sued …

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DeSantis Repeats Claim Legal Pot May Contain Fentanyl

Florida Politics reports: During an interview on The Big Show on KCPS, the Governor pointed to Colorado as an illustration of how legalized cannabis in that early adopter state didn’t destroy the illegal market for the product. Last month on the trail, he suggested that patients in Florida’s Medical Marijuana Program use medical conditions as a “pretext” for getting high. …

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New York State To License 500 More Weed Dispensaries

Gothamist reports: New York cannabis officials will be handing out up to 1,445 new business licenses in the coming weeks, including at least 500 for dispensaries. Other licenses will go to marijuana growers, processors, wholesalers and microbusinesses after the application window for licenses closed earlier this month. In this new round, the state is prioritizing businesses that already have leases …

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Biden To Issue Pardons For Some Marijuana Offenses

NBC News reports: President Joe Biden will sign a proclamation to pardon certain marijuana offenses Friday, building on broader action he took last year for thousands of people convicted of possession under federal law, the White House said. The new pardons target “additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law,” Biden said in a …

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Comer Signals GOP Shift On Legalized Weed In DC

Politico reports: House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) told reporters on Wednesday he would support allowing Washington D.C. to tax and regulate legalized marijuana “if that is what the city wants.” The comments came after a meeting with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser largely centered around rising crime concerns in the nation’s capital. However, the rhetoric is significant as congressional …

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New Jersey Defies Feds With Highway Warning Signs

Gothamist reports: New Jersey transportation officials have posted quirky, holiday-themed highway safety warnings for drivers, even though the federal government ordered the state to remove similar signs last year. “Only Rudolph should be lit, drive high get DUI,” one of this year’s digital signs reads. “Reckless drivers are worse than fruitcake,” says another. In 2022, the Federal Highway Administration told …

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Massive Florida Grow House Sets Stage For Legal Weed

The Orlando Sentinel reports: The pungent, sticky sweet smell of marijuana is the first thing visitors notice when they enter the 750,000-square-foot grow house that Trulieve built east of Tallahassee. Giant holding tanks filled with water are injected with a proprietary blend of fertilizer and sent on their way through a network of pipes to feed the fledgling plants, which …

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OH Becomes 24th State To Legalize Recreational Weed

The Associated Press reports: Ohio voters approved a measure legalizing recreational marijuana on Tuesday, defying Republican legislative leaders who had failed to pass the proposed law. Passage of Issue 2 makes Ohio the 24th state to allow adult cannabis use for non-medical purposes. The new law will allow adults 21 and over to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces …

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15 GOP Reps To DEA: Don’t Lessen Weed Restrictions

Via email from hate group leader Tony Perkins: On Monday, Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) along with 14 other senators and congressmen sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) demanding that it deny the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) request to reschedule marijuana as a lower-risk Schedule III drug. The letter comes as a growing chorus of …

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GOP Rep Seeks To Defund States With Legalized Weed Because It Causes “Suicide, IQ Loss, & Schizophrenia”

Via press release from GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards: U.S. Congressman Chuck Edwards (NC-11) today introduced the Stop Pot Act to withhold certain federal funding from states and tribes that permit the use of recreational marijuana. The Stop Pot Act will withhold 10 percent of federal highway funds for governments that violate federal law under the Controlled Substances Act, which prohibits …

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HHS Recommends Easing Federal Weed Restrictions

The Washington Post reports: The nation’s top health agency is recommending easing restrictions on marijuana in what could portend a landmark shift in federal policy on cannabis. The Department of Health and Human Services has recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration that marijuana be reclassified as a lower-risk, Schedule III controlled substance. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I controlled substance, …

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