A Republican senator in Pennsylvania has formally introduced a bill meant to remove state barriers to medical marijuana patients carrying firearms after previewing the legislation and soliciting co-sponsors earlier this year. Sen. Dan Laughlin (R) introduced SB 1146 on Wednesday, which state Senate Republicans noted in a press release... Read more
While uncertainty remains around how New Hampshire’s Senate will receive a House-passed measure to legalize adult-use cannabis, lawmakers separately took up a batch of bills this week that would make changes to the state’s existing medical marijuana system. Among them are proposals to allow patients to grow marijuana at... Read more
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
