DEA cannabis rescheduling hearing delayed until 2025 (Newsletter: November 1, 2024)

Vance talks psychedelics & marijuana with Rogan; FDA cannabis event; MA psychedelics poll; Study: Jobs & cannabis use; FL gov’s anti-legalization push

Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day.

Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible…

Subscribers who value this daily dispatch enough to show their support with a few dollars help us keep doing this. Please chip in and help ensure Marijuana Moment’s continued operations.
https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment

/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s marijuana rescheduling hearing is being delayed by an administrative law judge until at least January or February of next year.

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) asked Joe Rogan for advice on how to expand veterans’ access to psychedelics, saying he’s “fascinated” by their therapeutic potential and reiterating that he doesn’t want to “throw people in prison” for marijuana.

Food and Drug Administration officials hosted a webinar to provide healthcare professionals with “insights into the landscape of the cannabis marketplace”—including differences between marijuana and hemp, the plant’s chemical makeup, therapeutic benefits and safety concerns.

A new poll shows that Massachusetts likely voters narrowly support the psychedelics legalization initiative on the November ballot, 50 percent to 44 percent.

The Georgia Senate Study Committee on Veterans’ Mental Health and Housing held a hearing on the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics for military veterans with PTSD and other conditions.

A new study from federal officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that workers in food service and construction are among the most common consumers of marijuana, while law enforcement and health care providers are the least likely to use cannabis.

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Massachusetts Rep. Shirley Arrigia (D) authored an op-ed urging voters to approve the psychedelics legalization initiative on the November ballot in order to help veterans struggling with mental health issues.

A member of the Florida Statewide Council on Opioid Abatement said he is “concerned” about reports that Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) administration is improperly using opioid settlement funds to campaign against the marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission voted to reverse rules requiring that all marijuana deliveries be handled by two drivers in a vehicle.

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission again delayed a vote on increasing marijuana social equity fees amid concerns that it could lead to higher prices for consumers.

/ FEDERAL

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West tweeted, “We commit to ending the war on drugs, legalizing marijuana, and focusing on restorative justice rather than punishment.”

Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) said Florida ballot measures to legalize marijuana and protect abortion rights will help Democrats’ efforts to turn out supportive voters.

Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Republican challenger Russell Prescott discussed marijuana policy during a debate.

/ STATES

Florida’s lieutenant governor argued that the marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot would “have significant implications for the quality of life” on college campuses. Separately, the pro-legalization campaign released a new ad.

West Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Patrick Morrisey, currently the state attorney general, said there needs to be more research done on cannabis before the state could legalize it.

Texas’s attorney general agreed to temporarily halt a lawsuit seeking to overturn a local marijuana decriminalization law in Killeen.

The North Dakota campaign working to pass the marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot released a new ad.

A California appeals court ruled that property owners can’t be forced to let a neighbor transport cannabis over an easement on their land.

Delaware regulators published the list of marijuana business license lottery winners.

—
Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,500 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—

/ LOCAL

The Minneapolis, Minnesota City Council approved marijuana business rules.

The Santa Cruz County, California Board of Supervisors directed staff to prepare legislation to allow marijuana consumption lounges.

/ INTERNATIONAL

Frankfurt am Main and Hanover, Germany are moving ahead with legal marijuana sales pilot projects.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study demonstrated “the promising therapeutic benefits of CBD and THC isolated from the Lebanese C. sativa plant on breast cancer cells in vitro.”

A case study suggested that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy “may offer a scalable, safe and effective approach for treating [methamphetamine] dependence.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

A new Whitney Economics report projects that New York could support at least 1,000 more licensed marijuana retailers if officials cracked down on illicit operators.

/ BUSINESS

Compass Pathways plc is reducing its workforce by approximately 30 percent and reported a quarterly net loss of $38.5 million.

Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox.

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.