Democratic Senators Elevate Federal Cannabis Reform To High Priority

On February 1, Senators Cory Booker and Ron Wyden, alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement announcing that marijuana reform bills would be merged as Congress moves toward some form of federal cannabis legalization. In the wake…

Bernie Sanders: If you want police reform, legalize marijuana

National leaders and lawmakers have held ongoing conversations around criminal justice reform and racial injustices following George Floyd’s death by Minneapolis police. According to Sen. Bernie Sanders, one obvious place to start is legalizing marijuana. Sanders gave a speech on…

Cory Booker goes after Joe Biden for his stance on marijuana laws

The debate over the legalization of marijuana came up in one of the buzziest moments in Wednesday’s Washington Post-MSNBC Democratic presidential debate when Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) chided former vice president Joe Biden for his recent comments on it. What…

Legalizing Marijuana, With a Focus on Social Justice, Unites 2020 Democrats

People in Colorado still remember John Hickenlooper’s crack after the state legalized marijuana, a move he opposed: “Don’t break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly.” But Mr. Hickenlooper, the governor at the time of the 2012 initiative allowing recreational…

Beto O’Rourke calls for federal marijuana legalization ahead of likely 2020 bid

Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke called for the legalization of marijuana nationwide Monday in an email to supporters that comes ahead of an expected bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. The former Texas congressman's call came as part of a…

Where the 2020 presidential candidates stand on marijuana legalization

If there's one thing that united Democrats and Republicans in the Reagan era (besides their unfortunate fixation with perms), it was their near universal hatred of weed. Everybody was a cop back then. Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidate for president in 1984, called…

Pot for All: How Congress Is Trying to Make Weed Legal

From decriminalization to opening up the banking industry, both sides of Congress are preparing cannabis bills – but with much different approaches Over the past decade, marijuana legalization has happened at break-neck speed at the state and local level. And yet,…

Bernie Sanders Backs Bill To Punish States With Bad Marijuana Laws

Several potential rival presidential candidates are teaming up on legislation to end the federal war on marijuana. On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is signing on as a cosponsor of the Marijuana Justice Act, introduced last year by Sen.…

The Impact of the Sessions Memo on Contracts with Cannabis Businesses

By Michael H. Sampson and Gregory D. Vose A court may refuse to enforce a contract, or a contractual provision, that contravenes public policy. Accordingly, in the context of marijuana, more than one party looking to escape a contract –…

Decriminalization Takes Historic Turn as Tool to Fight War on Drugs, Argument for Cannabis Legalization

September 4, 2017
David Hodes
Compliance and Regulations, International
0 Comments

In an historic first, on August 10, a major Latino group - the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) - called for the decriminalization of cannabis at both the state and federal level, affirming the importance of decriminalization as…

Cannabis Emerges as Highlight in 2020 Presidential Campaign

SAN FRANCISCO — Marijuana legalization just moved from the fringes of the last presidential campaign to center stage in 2020. Between a sweeping new package of legislation introduced last week by one of the top Democratic presidential prospects and, on…