If the federal government reschedules marijuana as proposed by the Justice Department, that would not legalize cannabis or bring state-regulated markets “into compliance” with federal law, congressional researchers said in a new analysis. However, moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) would... Read more

The Biden administration’s move to federally reschedule marijuana “adds support” for an effort to legalize cannabis in Pennsylvania, the governor’s office says. While moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) would not legalize it, a spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro (D)... Read more

Alaska’s House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly approved amended legislation that would create a state task force to study how to license and regulate psychedelic-assisted therapy in the event of federal approval of substances such as MDMA and psilocybin. After adopting a handful of changes to the bill a... Read more

A former U.S. labor secretary who previously served as mayor of Boston as Massachusetts’s marijuana legalization law came into effect, spoke out against what he described as a “slippery slope” of cannabis reform during a C-SPAN interview this week. Marty Walsh, who also discussed his own substance use disorder... Read more

A Republican senator says marijuana is a “gateway drug,” and Democrats’ moves to legalize it reflect “pro-criminal, anti-American policies” that will “stimulate more crime on American streets.” He also argued that cannabis banking legislation “facilitates an entire infrastructure and an ecosystem for more drug usage in America.” Sen. Bill... Read more

A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) head says the agency’s marijuana rescheduling proposal is “understandable” because it “reflects the reality” of public opinion toward the medical value of cannabis—even if he personally has concerns about the broader move toward reform. In an interview with Fox News this week, former... Read more

The sponsor of a Colorado bill that would have forced social media platforms to ban users for talking positively online about certain controlled substances—including as state-legal psychedelics, certain hemp products and even some over-the-counter cough syrups—abruptly shelved the bill this week. Advocates say their pushback to the proposal “caught... Read more