A former disgraced pharmacist who was sentenced to prison over 20 years ago for diluting drugs for a cheap profit—impacting over 4,000 patients and likely leading to the deaths of AIDS and cancer patients—will soon walk free. The Kansas City Star reports that Missouri native Robert Ray Courtney, 71,... Read more
New York is continuing its slow roll toward expanding the number of cannabis businesses operating throughout the state. On April 12, the New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB) approved 101 more adult-use cannabis licenses, and now the total number of licenses approved in 2024 so far sits at... Read more
A professional organization of physicians who support drug policy reform is calling for the regulation of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids including delta-8 THC, arguing that the safety of products containing the compound is unknown. The recommendation was recently made by Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR), a group of healthcare... Read more
A Democratic senator has introduced a bill to create federal incentives for states, localities and Indian tribes that expunge low-level marijuana records—an equity-focused reform proposal that leadership has repeatedly discussed attaching to bipartisan cannabis banking legislation that’s pending floor action. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) filed the Harnessing Opportunity by... Read more
A group that represents state lawmakers across the U.S. is calling on Congress to “quickly” attach a bipartisan marijuana banking bill to unrelated Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation and pass the reform. In a letter sent to House and Senate leadership on Wednesday, the National Conference of State... Read more
Rates of marijuana use are nearly the same in states that have legalized versus those that maintain prohibition, which suggests that “criminalization does little to curtail its use,” a new Gallup survey found. As advocates have long pointed out, debates about the merits of legalization often ignore the fact... Read more
A new study aiming to explore the efficacy of CBD as a treatment for crack use disorder found that people who took the cannabinoid had better health outcomes and fewer adverse health events compared to those who took more conventional pharmaceutical treatments. “The main implications of this study point... Read more
The hemp market started to rebound in 2023 after suffering significant losses the prior year, the latest annual industry report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) found. USDA’s National Hemp Report for 2023—which is based on survey data from cannabis farmers who reported on the metrics such as... Read more
With a legalization ballot measure set to appear on Florida’s ballot in November, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) again attacked the proposal on Wednesday, warning that the changes would be “not good for families” and “not good for elderly.” He also accused the initiative’s cannabis industry backers as being... Read more
