Arkansas officials have verified that activists turned in enough valid signatures to put a marijuana legalization initiative on the state’s November ballot. Responsible Growth Arkansas submitted about 193,000 signatures—more than double what’s required to qualify the constitutional amendment—earlier this month. And on Friday, the secretary of state’s office said... Read more

Bipartisan House lawmakers filed a bill on Friday that would create a process to expunge federal misdemeanor marijuana convictions and allow courts to recommend presidential pardons for eligible cases. Reps. Troy Carter (D-LA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) are sponsoring the new Marijuana Misdemeanor Expungement Act, which would require the... Read more

Senate Democrats have released a massive package of spending bills and related reports for the 2023 Fiscal Year, including numerous provisions that deal with issues such as state-level medical marijuana protections, psychedelics research and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) cannabis policy. The newly unveiled legislation from Senate Appropriations... Read more

“How can we pass a new law, which says that marijuana possession is no longer a crime, yet leave so many serving long sentences for that former crime in prison?” By Craig Cesal In 2002 I was convicted of conspiring to distribute marijuana, and although no person was hurt,... Read more

San Francisco lawmakers have filed a resolution to locally decriminalize psychedelics like psilocybin and ayahuasca. The measure also pushes for broader statewide reform. The legislation, sponsored by Supervisors Dean Preston (D) and Hillary Ronen (D), was introduced on Tuesday. If enacted by the Board of Supervisors, San Francisco would... Read more

A bipartisan duo of congressional lawmakers filed a bill on Wednesday to set a federal marijuana research agenda and create a designation for universities to carry out cannabis studies with federal grant money. The legislation from Reps. Scott Peters (D-CA) and Dave Joyce (R-OH) is titled the “Developing and... Read more

Three congressional lawmakers participated in a briefing about the path forward for marijuana banking reform on Wednesday, reaffirming the urgent need for a policy change as a public safety and economic equity issue and addressing the political “momentum” that they’ve built to finally enact reform. The event, organized by... Read more

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has long carried the torch of social justice in marijuana reform efforts, defiantly resisting calls to pass cannabis banking legislation before comprehensive legalization is enacted. But comments the senator made at a committee hearing he convened on Tuesday are catching attention, leaving some with the... Read more