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 operates under a different reality. Many of the Senate’s older, conservative members are still resistant […]
US Congress
State ballot measures to legalize cannabis could add $9 billion to US marijuana market
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 let voters decide whether they want to legalize it. According to a new report from cannabis […]
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 left the decision on the sale of marijuana up to the states. According to a […]
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 in the states. That’s because even if the House measure passes, there’s zero chance the […]
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 war on drugs. Democrats say the timing is perfect: Support has been building for loosening […]
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 the pending vote. The “Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019” — also called […]
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) Banking Act or a similar bill as part of upcoming COVID-19 relief legislation. “This bill would […]
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 states; legal for medical and adult-use in 11 states; and more members of Congress – […]
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 on one issue. Impeachment killed the remaining momentum, and the coronavirus then changed the course […]
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. One piece of legislation would allow Veteran Affairs doctors to recommend medical marijuana prescriptions in […]
