US Congress Archives - Cannabis Business Executive - Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

I evolved on cannabis — Congress should, too

When I entered the halls of Congress for the first time in 1979, the idea of legislating cannabis was not only off the table; it was nowhere near it. Like most Americans at the time, my understanding of cannabis was…

House passes bill to facilitate medical marijuana research

The House passed bipartisan legislation on Monday that would facilitate scientific research into the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Lawmakers voted 343-75 to approve the bill, with all of the votes in opposition coming from Republicans. Passage of the…

Congress to take up marijuana reform this spring

December 19, 2021
AggregatedNews
Federal
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Congressional Democrats are gearing up for a sweeping set of initiatives aimed at decriminalizing marijuana that they plan to take action on this spring. The federal proposals seek to establish 21st century banking services for the nearly $18 billion industry and purge the criminal…

Why the next Congress is unlikely to legalize marijuana

On Election Day, two staunchly conservative states legalized recreational marijuana. A third of Americans now live in a state where weed is legal for adult use. Fresh Gallup polling says 68 percent of the country favors having legal access to marijuana. But the Senate…

State ballot measures to legalize cannabis could add $9 billion to US marijuana market

September 24, 2020
AggregatedNews
Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, South Dakota
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Despite a delay in the U.S. House of Representatives vote for a bill that would seek to legalize cannabis at the national level, the legal cannabis market in the U.S. still stands to substantially grow as more states plan to…

House vote on marijuana legalization bill postponed after backlash from moderate lawmakers

Democrats in the House of Representatives postponed a planned vote next week on marijuana legalization following a backlash from moderate Democrats. The legislation, the MORE Act, would legalize marijuana at the federal level and expunge some marijuana-related criminal records, though it…

States plow forward with cannabis, with or without Congress

Roughly 1 in 3 Americans could have access to legal recreational marijuana if voters approve state ballot initiatives this November. While a planned House vote on legalizing weed at the federal level is scheduled for later this month, the real action remains…

Marijuana vote poses November risk for Democrats

Democrats are taking an unprecedented gamble this month: voting to legalize cannabis at the federal level. The MORE Act would remove the penalties for marijuana, erase some criminal records and create grant programs for people hit especially hard by the…

Bill to decriminalize marijuana at federal level up for House vote next month

A landmark bill that would decriminalize marijuana use at the federal level is up for vote soon. The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on the legislation in September, according to an email sent out on Friday by Majority Whip James Clyburn. Politico first reported on…

Utah attorney general wants Congress to let marijuana businesses use banks

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes joined a bipartisan coalition of 34 state and territorial attorneys general asking Congress to let legal marijuana businesses access the federal banking system. They are urging Congress to pass the federal Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE)…

Postponing The Green Wave: Cannabis Legalization In 2020

Coming into 2020, policymakers in eight states expressed support for regulated medical or adult-use cannabis sales, and advocacy groups in nine states had efforts underway to include legalization on ballots in November. With cannabis already legal for medical use in 33…

Coronavirus spells doom for federal cannabis legislation

Rep. Earl Blumenauer's (D-Ore.) road map for the current Congress ended in full legalization by the end of 2019. But instead of a complete overhaul of the nation's cannabis laws in the 116th Congress, one chamber passed one cannabis bill…

Congress approves bills that will expand medical marijuana access for veterans

The bills would allow VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana prescriptions to patients while another would kickstart veteran-related cannabis research. A pair of key bills that could expand veterans’ access to medical marijuana passed in a House Committee this week.…

House panel approves marijuana decriminalization, but it faces a long, hard road

A Republican on the House Judiciary Committee said Republicans would oppose the bill and that "it is even less likely that the Senate would take it up." The campaign to decriminalize marijuana overcame a historic congressional hurdle this week, but…

‘H.R. 420’ is a proposed bill that would regulate marijuana like alcohol

A bill introduced in Congress this week that seeks to regulate marijuana like alcohol has been numbered "H.R. 420," a name the bill's sponsor has called a "tongue-in-cheek" reference to cannabis. A press release from U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer — a…