Justice

LOS ANGELES-- The Colorado Senate has approved a bill aimed at regulating psychedelic substances, following a voter-endorsed initiative. The proposed legislation would establish guidelines for the legal use of psilocybin and psilocyn in authorized therapeutic centers under the supervision of trained professionals. The bill also outlines licensing standards for businesses involved in producing, testing, storing, ...

DOVER, DELAWARE - In a historic move, Delaware has become the 22nd state to legalize recreational use of cannabis, joining a growing number of states that have taken steps to decriminalize and regulate the drug. The legislation, which passed the Delaware Senate on Thursday and the House on Friday, allows adults aged 21 and over ...

ALABAMA -- Alabama is gearing up to launch its medical cannabis industry later this year, with up to 17 companies expected to be granted licenses to cultivate and process cannabis for patients in the state. The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission has announced that it will issue licenses to companies to grow plants in enclosed facilities ...

LOS ANGELES-- Former Michigan House Speaker Rick Johnson and three others have been charged with federal corruption charges related to the state's legal cannabis industry. The charges are likely to signal just the beginning of a much broader investigation. All four defendants have accepted plea deals, which highlight the early challenges of launching Michigan's legal ...

LOS ANGELES-- On April 20, a group of cannabis advocates will gather at the Capitol Visitors Center of the Congressional Auditorium for a policy forum. The event, which is symbolically scheduled on the unofficial cannabis holiday, will bring together activists and leaders from government, business, healthcare, veterans groups, and civil rights organizations to discuss the ...

LOS ANGELES-- Cannabis industry trade groups are pushing for a Senate hearing on the upcoming SAFE Banking Act, even though it hasn't been reintroduced in the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives yet. The bill is designed to give state-legal cannabis companies access to the wider U.S. banking system. A letter from five marijuana industry ...

LOS ANGELES--In response to persistent corruption concerns in California's cannabis industry, the state government is launching a new crackdown in several jurisdictions that have not yet been identified. This move follows allegations of bribery, pay-to-play schemes, and other wrongdoing at the city and county level. State Auditor Grant Parks informed California lawmakers on Wednesday that ...

LOS ANGELES-- Clinical research firm Reunion Neuroscience Inc. has filed a lawsuit against Mindset Pharma Inc. in federal court, alleging that the latter copied its psychedelic formula and presented it as its own invention while applying for a patent. Reunion is seeking to have its Chief Scientific Officer, Nathan Bryson, added as an inventor of ...

MICHIGAN-- Skymint, the brand name for Green Peak Innovations Inc., has been placed into receivership by a Michigan judge after the company failed to pay back loans provided by SunStream’s affiliate Tropics LP since March last year. Skymint owes investors at least $135 million, and several investors have sued the company, alleging that it had ...

LOS ANGELES-- Three US states are making progress in legalizing cannabis possession for people aged 21 and above, as the debate on cannabis legalization continues across the country. In Hawaii, lawmakers have passed Senate Bill 669, which seeks to legalize the use, production, and retail sales of cannabis for adults. However, the future of the ...

WASHINGTON, DC--The Justice Department is fighting back against a recent ruling that overturned a longstanding federal law banning cannabis users from possessing firearms. In early February, a federal judge in Oklahoma deemed the 1968 law unconstitutional, stating that using cannabis does not exhibit any of the characteristics historically associated with firearms regulation. The judge argued ...

MICHIGAN-- Skymint, one of Michigan's largest cannabis cultivators and retailers, is now under the control of a receiver as the industry faces an increasingly difficult market in the state. The Ingham County Circuit Court in Lansing appointed Gene Kohut, a partner at Detroit-based business advisory firm Trust Street Advisors, as the receiver in what could ...

NEW YORK-- New York’s state Cannabis Control Board has announced it will double the number of “justice-involved” retail permits from 150 to 300, in an effort to expand the market and support social equity retailers. While the move was partly driven by the fact that many qualified applicants can now afford to pay for their ...

RICHMOND-- Virginia lawmakers have approved strict new regulations on products containing delta-8 THC, a hemp-derived cannabinoid. The legislation, which was hammered out on the last day of the General Assembly session, will require sellers of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products to obtain a state license. The new regulations also prohibit the sale of products with more ...

NEW HAVEN–Yesterday, on January 1, 2023, almost 40,000 citizens of Connecticut with cannabis-related offenses would have their records completely or partially deleted in an act called ‘’The Clean Slate Act.’’ According to the legalizing legislation that Connecticut adopted last year, thousands of people will have their low-level cannabis offenses automatically dismissed as effective January 1.  ...

DENVER –In this week's midterm elections, the Mile High State of Colorado appears to be on track to legalize magic mushrooms after the group opposing the ballot question conceded defeat.  Though the result was still too close to call officially as of Thursday afternoon with 89% of the ballots counted, Proposition 122 was winning with ...

DALLAS– Five Texas communities had their municipal ballot measures approved by voters, ending local enforcement of minor cannabis infractions. The propositions were approved by voters in the cities of Denton, Killeen, San Marcos, Elgin, and Harker Heights.  The regulations specifically prohibit local law enforcement from issuing citations or making arrests for the majority of cannabis-related ...

ANNAPOLIS–Maryland voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum (Question 4) directing state lawmakers to establish rules and regulations governing the production and sale of cannabis to adults. “Maryland voters have overwhelmingly rejected the failed policy of prohibition and voted for the common sense policy of legalization,” commented NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri, “For far too many decades, ...

NEW YORK- According to an internal memo from earlier this week that an FDA spokesperson provided to the financial publication, MarketWatch, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has appointed Norman Birenbaum, the former director of cannabis programs for New York State, as its first senior public health adviser on cannabis research and regulation initiatives.  Douglas ...

WASHINGTON, D.C.– President Joe Biden is beginning the process of decriminalizing cannabis and fulfilling a campaign promise to overturn earlier federal possession convictions. He is also beginning to relax the drug's official categorization. Senior administration officials predicted that thousands of Americans would be impacted by Biden's decision to pardon all previous federal crimes of simple ...