By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner

State lawmakers scheduled three eastern Nebraska public forums this weekend to allow the public to weigh in on medical cannabis and proposed state legislation.

State Sens. John Cavanaugh (D) of Omaha, Rick Holdcroft (R) of Bellevue and Ben Hansen (R) of Blair plan to host the series this Saturday in La Vista, Sunday in Omaha and Monday in Lincoln. Attendants will be able to hear updates on the status of medical cannabis legislation, namely Hansen’s Legislative Bill 677, and “share their thoughts.”

The schedule is as follows:

• Saturday, May 3, from 1–3 p.m. at the Carpenters Union Hall in La Vista (10761 Virginia Plaza, La Vista).
• Sunday, May 4, from 1–3 p.m., at the University of Nebraska at Omaha Thompson Alumni Center (8800 Dodge St., Omaha).
• Monday, May 5, from 5–7 p.m., at Southeast Community College (8800 O St., Lincoln).

The hosts plan to accommodate everyone who wishes to speak during the two-hour events.

In November, about 71 percent of Nebraskans legalized medical cannabis with a physician’s recommendation, and 67 percent of Nebraskans voted for a regulatory scheme.

“Since the legislature has failed to act at this point, I want to give the citizens an opportunity to have their voices heard by their elected representatives,” Cavanaugh told the Nebraska Examiner.

Hansen said the town halls are meant to help inform the public about the legislative process and receive feedback, answering questions and hearing concerns.

General Affairs Committee

Hansen’s LB 677 seeks to help the ballot measures build better guardrails, with help from supporters who put the measures on the ballot.

His bill would delay full implementation of the regulatory law to give the new Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission time to craft regulations that, without funding, officials have said is near impossible to get done by the voter-set July 1 deadline or begin licensing by October 1.

LB 677 has stalled in the Legislature’s General Affairs Committee that Holdcroft chairs. Cavanaugh is the vice chair.

Holdcroft, who has said he would support a narrowed LB 677, said he is looking for “back and forth” at the public forums, such as whether to allow smoking or how many dispensaries should be permitted.

At an April 17 meeting of committee members, the committee considered a narrower committee amendment that sought to create a list of qualifying conditions, restrict who can recommend medical cannabis, exclude smoking as permissible for medical cannabis and prohibit sales of natural cannabis flower or bud.

None of the eight committee members tried to attach the amendment to LB 677. Advancing the bill as-is failed along ideological lines, 3–5.

‘A little bit of limbo’

Five days later, Hansen filed an amendment to add post-traumatic stress disorder as a qualifying condition and allow sales of flower and bud, the latter of which is a line in the sand for Hansen. Hansen also filed what is known as a “pull motion” that would advance LB 677, with at least 25 votes in the full 49-member legislative body and start the three-round debate.

The latest Hansen amendment would not allow smoking THC products to be sold.

Hansen said he is “stuck in a little bit of a limbo” trying to figure out the route to go, preferring to go through committee instead of the “little more aggressive maneuver” of a pull motion. He said he feels it would be a “disservice” to Nebraskans if the bill isn’t at least discussed.

“I’m hoping that Sen. Holdcroft, myself and the General Affairs Committee can kind of have a kumbaya moment a little bit here and move something forward that we can both agree on, which I’m assuming we both won’t like,” Hansen said.

Speaker John Arch (R) of La Vista, who sets the daily legislative agenda, declined to say if he would schedule Hansen’s pull motion as those discussions continue.

‘Uphold the voice of the people’

Crista Eggers, executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, said her team is “very appreciative” of lawmakers’ efforts to give voters a chance to voice their feelings on the issue.

“While we find it disheartening that Nebraskans are being asked to ‘clarify their vote,’ we hope this final effort makes it clear: Nebraskans support medical cannabis. They knew what they were voting for,” Eggers said. “They now are demanding lawmakers to uphold the voice of the people.”

LB 677 faces a tight timeline and fiscal situation in the waning days of the 2025 legislative session. Debate on the state’s budget bills—with a major hole to still fill—is set to begin May 6. The final budget must pass by May 15.

Lawmakers are set to adjourn for the year on June 9.

Any legislation would require at least 33 votes to become law because lawmakers are seeking to amend laws that voters approved via ballot initiative.

Also co-hosting the public forums are State Sens. Ashlei Spivey of Omaha, John Fredrickson of Omaha, Jane Raybould of Lincoln, Victor Rountree of Bellevue, Margo Juarez of Omaha, Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, Megan Hunt of Omaha, Myron Dorn of Adams, Merv Riepe of Ralston, Wendy DeBoer of Omaha, Tom Brandt of Plymouth, George Dungan of Lincoln and Danielle Conrad of Lincoln.

This story was first published by Nebraska Examiner.

Nebraska Senator Requests Investigation Into Spending By Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative Opponents

Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

The post Nebraska Senators Schedule Town Halls To Discuss Medical Marijuana Bills appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

By the end of the year, says OCM’s 2024 Market Report, 260 retail locations were operational statewide, stocking more than 500 brands of product. All told, since the launch of the retail market, licensed stores had sold more than $1 billion in legal marijuana.

Including sales so far in 2025, New York’s legal cannabis market is now close to reaching $1.5 billion worth of purchases.

New York last year “witnessed significant sales growth and a substantial increase in tax revenue generated from licensed cannabis sales,” the new report says, “reinforcing the positive impact of a well-regulated cannabis market.”

“This market report reflects the dynamism of New York’s cannabis industry—an industry that is shifting rapidly as the market matures and encounters both opportunities and challenges,” Felicia A.B. Reid, the office’s acting executive director, said in a statement Tuesday. “But, as ever, OCM is deeply committed to ensuring that the industry is reflective of New Yorkers and creating meaningful and forward-looking opportunities for communities historically affected by cannabis prohibition.”

As for the state’s efforts toward building an equitable cannabis industry, the new state report says that social and economic equity (SEE) applicants hold 55 percent of licenses, including 81 percent of retail dispensary licenses and 58 percent of microbusiness licenses.

2024 Market Report, NY Office of Cannabis Management

Meanwhile operators licensed under the Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) program, designed to acknowledge disproportionate enforcement of cannabis laws against some communities, “accounted for 70% of open retailers at the end of 2024,” OCM said.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, sales were strongest in densely populated areas, such as Manhattan, Queens and Long Island.

The report is designed to provide regulators at the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) with information necessary to oversee and adjust the state system and promote the “the goals of inclusion, fairness, and sustainability set forth in the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA),” according to an OCM press release.

“The comprehensive data from this report enable us to understand the current state of the market and proactively advance regulatory and policy decisions that enhance the long-term viability of New York’s cannabis sector,” said John Kagia, OCM’s executive deputy director of market policy, innovation and analytics. “With insights on sales trends, product diversification, and consumer behavior, we’re equipping the CCB to support businesses navigating the market’s competitive pressures and evolving demands.”

The market has continued to expand since the end of the year, says OCM’s press release about the new report. As of April of this year, it says, 368 retailers have been licensed statewide, with total sales “nearing $1.5 billion.”

2024 Market Report, NY Office of Cannabis Management

In addition to updates on operational retailers, sales and licensing, the report also touches on market trends such as purchasing behaviors and consumers’ increased use of non-flower products, such as vape products and edibles.

Flower products, including prerolls, accounted for less than half (45 percent) of sales, which the report says reflects “the strong demand for value-added products, including vaporizers, edibles, and concentrates, [which] has grown.”

The findings align in part with a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that found significant decreases in the use of flower, concentrates, oil, tinctures and topicals among U.S. consumers in certain states. That report also found increases in the use of edibles, beverages and vape cartridges.

For those who do by flower in New York, nearly two-thirds (63 percent) buy products in 3.5-gram packages, or an eighth of an ounce.

2024 Market Report, NY Office of Cannabis Management

About 23 percent of flower sales, meanwhile, were of brands owned by state-licensed medical marijuana operators, known in New York as registered organizations (ROs). Prices of flower products from ROs were typically more expensive than those from adult-use brands, especially for larger packages.

As for prerolled joints, most (80 percent) were one gram apiece, with half-gram prerolls (15 percent) making up most of the remainder. Packages with five or more prerolls were most common, making up 60 percent of sales. Single joints made up 33 percent of preroll sales, meanwhile.

2024 Market Report, NY Office of Cannabis Management

The most popular flavors for edibles, meanwhile, were raspberry (7 percent), watermelon lemonade (5 percent), blueberry (5 percent), peach (4 percent) and watermelon (4 percent). Beverages were most popular in cans (78 percent), followed by concentrated drops (9 percent), powder (6 percent), tea bags (5 percent) or shots (2 percent).

Among the recommendations in the new OCM report include continuing to educate consumers about the legal market.

“Most of New York’s legal cannabis demand will come from consumers transitioning from the illicit market to the regulated market, not from new consumers who began using cannabis after it was legalized,” it says. “The legal market is still in its early stages of growth, having captured less than one-fifth of the estimated total addressable demand in the State.”

“Many consumers are unfamiliar with the products and brands they are encountering in the regulated market and rely on their experiences in the illicit market to inform their product purchases,” it continues. “Consumer education can therefore play a critical role in informing customer purchase decisions and enabling consumers to better understand the effects and experiences associated with regulated products.”

Ahead of the 4/20 holiday earlier this month, regulators rolled out a “higher education” campaign meant to provide adults with information about how to “make informed, responsible decisions about cannabis,” including how to locate state-licensed retailers.

The office also advises that “Continued enforcement against the illicit market is critical to building a health regulated market,” pointing to what it describes as successful enforcement efforts in 2024. Last spring, for example, officials in New York City launched Operation Padlock, an enforcement initiative meant to shutter illegal storefronts. Within months, licensed shops that were open before the operation began saw sales climb 105 percent, according to an OCM survey.

OCM also recommends in the new report that all adult-use cultivators—not just ROs and certain others—be permitted to grow marijuana in indoor facilities, though it acknowledged that allowance could increase the industry’s energy footprint.

“Authorizing adult use cultivator licensees to transition to indoor cultivation facilities will address the limited availability of indoor grown flower and increase supply chain stability,” the report says. “This will ensure that all cultivators can grow in the environments best suited for their business models and address the market 61 imbalance created by having only a limited number of growers authorized to grow indoors.”

Big picture, federal policy changes “will shape the next chapter of legal market growth,” officials wrote, though they noted those changes “could still be years away.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), for example, “had indicated that it would consider rescheduling in 2025,” the report says, “however the start of the hearings process has been delayed by procedural challenges.”

Earlier this month, a group of doctors who support drug policy reform withdrew its lawsuit against DEA over the rescheduling process, in part to avoid “more delay” in the already-stalled proceedings, the organization said.

With DEA’s rescheduling process stalled indefinitely—tied up in a separate administrative challenge from pro-reform witnesses—plaintiffs said maintaining the lawsuit “could have resulted in more delay.”

Even if rescheduling proceeds, the OCM report says, the administrative process “will likely take years to finalize as the proposed rules navigate the federal review process and the likely legal challenges that will follow.”

“OCM is working to better understand the full potential implications of federal reform, and to prepare the market for changes that may be necessary under a new federal regime,” it adds. “Where appropriate, OCM will also continue to offer federal policymakers New York’s assessment of how current and proposed federal rules impact the operations and outlook of New York’s legal market.”

Earlier this month in New York, meanwhile, state cannabis regulators and labor officials announced the launch of a workforce training program aimed at “providing comprehensive safety education to workers” in the state’s legal marijuana industry.

Separately, OCM’s press secretary recently indicated the office is working on plans to expand permitting and licensing rules that could allow adults to buy and consume marijuana at movie theaters. Authorizing sales of cannabis products at theaters would set New York apart as it continues to build upon the state’s legalization law.

Days before that, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed a pair of companion bills into law that are meant to expand New York’s marijuana farmers market program, allowing for more partnerships between licensed cannabis businesses and standalone “pop-up” events.

New York initially authorized cannabis farmers market events in 2023, aiming to expedite consumers access as traditional retailers were being approved and help producers bring their products directly to market. Last December, Hochul separately signed legislation to revive the program after it sunsetted in January 2024.

The farmers market events as originally authorized were largely responsive to the slow roll-out of New York’s adult-use marijuana program, which faced multiple delays in implementation amid litigation. But the state’s industry has gradually expanded, with officials in January touting $1 billion in total sales since the market launched.

State officials also recently launched a grant program that will award up to $30,000 apiece to retail marijuana businesses to help cover startup costs.

Also, earlier this year, a collective of businesses licensed under the CAURD program called on Hochul to forgive tens of millions of dollars in high-cost loans issued under a governor-created social equity loan fund.

Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D) said in December that there’s a need to extend financial aid to CAURD license holders, many of whom are struggling under the high-cost loans.

Critics—including the NAACP New York State Conference, Black Cannabis Industry Association, Minority Cannabis Business Association, Service Disabled Veterans in Cannabis Association, Drug Policy Alliance, NYC NORML and VOCAL-NY—wrote to the governor earlier that month to express dismay at what they described as marijuana regulators’ “efforts in service of big corporations at the expense of small business and equity outcomes.”

The advocates said at the time that since the departure of the state’s first chief cannabis regulator, Chris Alexander, last may May, state officials had demonstrated a “shift toward corporate interests at the expense of small business, justice-involved entrepreneurs, and Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licensees who are directly impacted by prior marijuana arrest.”

Last month, regulators also launched a new resource meant to connect licensed marijuana businesses with banks that are willing to work with the industry, even as federal prohibition continues to pose barriers to financial services.

In 2023, the governor signed legislation that aims to make it slightly easier for financial institutions to work with state-licensed cannabis clients.

The law authorized OCM to provide financial institutions with information about marijuana business licensees or applicants, which is meant to ease compliance with reporting requirements. Licensees and applicants would first have to consent to information being shared.

A recent budget proposal from Hochul aims to empower police who claim to smell marijuana to force a driver to take a drug test—a plan that’s drawing pushback not just from reform advocates but also from the state’s Assembly majority leader and the governor-appointed head of OCM.

Meanwhile in New York, the state Senate earlier this month approved a bill to expand housing protections for registered medical marijuana patients, aiming to prevent evictions based solely on their lawful use of cannabis.

Senators this session have also introduced a bill for the 2025 session to broadly decriminalize drug possession.

Several psychedelics bills have also been filed in New York—including one calling for the legalization of certain entheogenic substances such as psilocybin and ibogaine for adults 21 and older.

The governor argued in June, meanwhile, that there’s a direct correlation between stepped-up enforcement and “dramatically” increased legal sales. A report by state officials last year found both “growing pains” and “successful efforts” in New York’s marijuana market launch.

White House Drug Czar Could Endorse Marijuana Legalization Under New Bill To Repeal ‘Ludicrous’ Restriction

The post New York Marijuana Sales Near $1.5 Billion Total As Number Of Stores Nearly Tripled Last Year, State Report Says appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

At a Last Prisoner Project (LPP) event outside the Capitol on Tuesday, Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN)—co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus—talked about the group’s legislative priorities for marijuana reform. Beyond the new bill, that will also include bipartisan legislation to end federal prohibition in legal states and free up the industry to access banking services.

The lawmakers’ “Evidence-Based Drug Policy Act” would take aim at a federal statute prohibiting the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) from promoting reform around Schedule I drugs.

The current law states that no funds provided to ONDCP can be used for “any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in schedule I,” further requiring the office’s director to “take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form)” that is in Schedule I and has not been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Under the two-page bill, that statutory language included in section 704(b)(12) of the ONDCP Reauthorization Act would be repealed.

Titus said on Tuesday that the legislation would “remove outdated restrictions, which are just ludicrous.”

“They’re not allowed to sponsor any research on Schedule I drugs. They can’t even talk about it, to show you how ridiculous is,” she said. “And by law, they have to actively oppose the legalization of any substance that is Schedule I and not approved by the FDA. We’re trying to remove that prohibition.”

Marijuana legalization “is not some out-of-nowhere kind of issue. This is something that is truly mainstream,” Titus said. “So if we can get rid of that policy, we can begin to do research on some of the advantages, or how marijuana can be used and what are the medical implications so when they say, ‘Oh, we don’t know—we don’t know what it’ll do, it might be dangerous’—you can counter that with good research.”

Whether the Trump administration’s recently appointed drug czar would exercise the authority to advocate for reform under the bill if enacted is uncertain. However, ONDCP Director Sara Carter has previously called medical marijuana a “fantastic” treatment option for seriously ill patients and said she doesn’t have a “problem” with legalization, even if she might not personally agree with the policy.

In a press release, Omar said that “our nation’s drug policies have been shaped by stigma.”

“The American people overwhelmingly support cannabis reform, and yet the federal government continues to tie the hands of its own experts,” she said. “The Evidence-Based Drug Policy Act is about bringing our laws into the 21st century, ensuring that the Office of National Drug Control Policy can do its job guided by facts, not outdated ideology. We need drug policy to follow the science and reflect the reality on the ground in states across the country.”

The legislation is also being backed by a wide range of advocacy organizations, including the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), Nevada Cannabis Association, National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), NORML, Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), Parabola Center for Law and Policy, Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR), U.S. Cannabis Roundtable (USCC), Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA).

“The Drug Policy Alliance is proud to support the Evidence-Based Drug Policy Reform Act because it removes unnecessary barriers to ensure that the Office of National Drug Control Policy is empowered to develop drug policy based on evidence, not outdated political mandates,” Cat Packer, director of drug markets & legal regulation at DPA, said.

“To advance policies that support public health, promote fairness, and meet the needs of the American people, ONDCP must be free to study the full range of public policy approaches—including the impacts of cannabis policy changes such as legalization and regulation,” she said.

Titus on Tuesday separately talked about another bill that she recently filed alongside fellow Cannabis Caucus co-chair Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) titled the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) 2.0 Act.

“This just says, ‘Let the federal government get out of the way,’” she said. “The states are moving ahead. They’re doing it through referenda. They’re doing it through state legislatures. Why is the federal government dragging so far behind?”

The congresswoman also noted that she sent a letter to congressional appropriations leaders recently that calls for language to be added to spending legislation that prevents the use of DOJ funds to interfere in any state cannabis program.

“We want to be sure that they can’t undo things,” she said. “The progress towards this is stalled in the executive department. Despite what Trump said on the campaign trail, we don’t see much of it moving. So it’s going to be up to us to do it in Congress.”

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That appeared to be a reference to the president’s endorsement of marijuana rescheduling and industry banking access ahead of his November election victory. In the months since, Trump has been notably silent on the issue—and the DEA rescheduling process remains stalled.

“We must decriminalize cannabis nationwide,” Omar said at the LPP event on Tuesday. “We must expunge federal cannabis convictions. We must also invest in communities that have endured the wars of these unjust policies for decades.”

Meanwhile, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Trump’s first pick for U.S. attorney general before he withdrew from consideration, said on Monday that there’s a “winning coalition” of libertarian-leaning Republicans and Democrats to federally legalize marijuana—but only if Democrats drop their push for social equity and “reparations.”

Since Gaetz withdrew, however, Trump picked former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) to run DOJ, and the Senate confirmed that choice. During her confirmation hearings, Bondi declined to say how she planned to navigate key marijuana policy issues. And as state attorney general, she opposed efforts to legalize medical cannabis.

Adding to the uncertainty around the fate of the rescheduling proposal, Trump’s nominee to lead DEA, Terrance Cole, has previously voiced concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linked its use to higher suicide risk among youth.

Meanwhile, although shutting down licensed marijuana dispensaries doesn’t “rise to the top” of his priorities, a U.S. attorney who recently warned a Washington, D.C. cannabis shop about potential federal law violations says his “instinct is that it shouldn’t be in the community.”

Separately last week, an activist who received a pardon for a marijuana-related conviction during Trump’s first term paid a visit to the White House, discussing future clemency options with the recently appointed “pardon czar.”

A marijuana industry-backed political action committee (PAC) also has released a series of ads over recent weeks that have attacked Biden’s cannabis policy record as well as the nation of Canada, promoting sometimes misleading claims about the last administration while making the case that Trump can deliver on reform.

Its latest ad accused former President Joe Biden and his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of waging a “deep state war” against medical cannabis patients—but without mentioning that the former president himself initiated the rescheduling process that marijuana companies want to see completed under Trump.

The current acting administrator of DEA, Derek Maltz, has separately made a series of sensational claims about marijuana, calling it a gateway drug that sets children up to use other substances, suggesting marijuana use is linked to school shootings and alleging that the Justice Department “hijacked” the cannabis rescheduling process from DEA.

Earlier this month, DEA notified an agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process is still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled as the matter sits before Maltz.

Meanwhile, a recent poll found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms. And notably, they’re even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.

The survey showed that majorities of overall voters (70 percent) and GOP voters (67 percent) back rescheduling cannabis.

The survey was first noted by CNN in a report last month that quoted a White House spokesperson saying the administration currently has “no action” planned on marijuana reform proposals, including those like rescheduling and industry banking access that Trump endorsed on the campaign trail last year.

The White House has also said that marijuana rescheduling is not a part of Trump’s drug policy priorities for the first year of his second term—a disappointment for advocates and stakeholders who hoped to see him take speedier action.

Meanwhile, former marijuana prisoners who received clemency from Trump during his first term staged an event outside the White House earlier this month, expressing gratitude for the relief they were given and calling on the new administration to grant the same kind of help to others who are still behind bars for cannabis.

Read the text of the Evidence-Based Drug Policy Act below: 

Supreme Court Gives Trump Administration More Time To Consider Challenging Marijuana And Gun Ownership Ruling

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On an episode of his One America News program “The Matt Gaetz Show” on Monday, Gaetz spoke with Mason Tvert, a partner at the drug policy reform firm Strategies 64, about the politics of cannabis and why Congress has so far been unable to advance legislation that aligns with voters’ will.

“I’ve been in those discussions, and a lot of people would look at this and say, ‘Gosh, most Americans don’t believe that marijuana should be criminal. There’s a rising consensus around that. Why can’t libertarian-leaning Republicans get together with pro-legalization Democrats and achieve a winning political coalition?’” he said.

“Here’s my theory for the case on that: Unfairly, marijuana has had to carry on its back the political burden of reparations,” Gaetz said. “A lot of lawmakers in the Congressional Black Caucus favor reparations, and they want the revenue from marijuana taxation or licenses to function as the distribution system for racial reparations.”

Deschedule Marijuana https://t.co/0iU4SzBhD0

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) April 29, 2025

The former congressman bucked that theory himself while he was in office, breaking ranks with GOP members by twice voting in favor of Democratic-led marijuana legalization bills that did incorporate equity provisions. That said, he did voice similar criticism at the time despite giving the measures his support.

“I just think that it divides the coalition, right? You obviously have a winning coalition with libertarian-leaning Republicans like me and Democrats who favor legalization,” he said. “But when you insist upon marijuana legalization laws also doing as some have insisted—which is giving licenses to certain Black farmers or making sure that the revenue from taxation goes into Black communities more than into white communities—then you lose the libertarians, and I think that’s one of the reasons why we don’t have the safe banking law.”

Tvert, for his part, said that “cannabis prohibition had a much greater negative impact on communities of color and certain populations of people,” pointing out that many advocates believe that “those people should be insured a place at the table when it comes to creating these laws, and, of course, when it comes to owning these businesses.”

He also noted that “cannabis has been illegal for about 100 years, and it’s not going to be easy to flip the switch here.”

Gaetz responded with a jab at the age demographics of Congress, saying “yeah sometimes it seems like some of those senators have been around for about the same period of time.”

In March, the former congressman separately said that “meaningful” marijuana reform is “on the horizon” under the Trump administration, praising the president’s “leadership” in supporting rescheduling.

Advocates and stakeholders were generally encouraged when Trump picked Gaetz to lead the Justice Department following his election, even if the pick was controversial for unrelated reasons. Having an attorney general who proactively championed reform would have represented a major shift, and many felt it would have boded well for seeing through the rescheduling process.

Since then, however, Trump picked former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) to run DOJ, and the Senate confirmed that choice. During her confirmation hearings, Bondi declined to say how she planned to navigate key marijuana policy issues. And as state attorney general, she opposed efforts to legalize medical cannabis.

Adding to the uncertainty around the fate of the rescheduling proposal, Trump’s nominee to lead DEA, Terrance Cole, has previously voiced concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linked its use to higher suicide risk among youth.

Meanwhile, although shutting down licensed marijuana dispensaries doesn’t “rise to the top” of his priorities, a U.S. attorney who recently warned a Washington, D.C. cannabis shop about potential federal law violations says his “instinct is that it shouldn’t be in the community.”

Separately last week, an activist who received a pardon for a marijuana-related conviction during Trump’s first term paid a visit to the White House, discussing future clemency options with the recently appointed “pardon czar.”

A marijuana industry-backed political action committee (PAC) also has released a series of ads over recent weeks that have attacked Biden’s cannabis policy record as well as the nation of Canada, promoting sometimes misleading claims about the last administration while making the case that Trump can deliver on reform.

Its latest ad accused former President Joe Biden and his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of waging a “deep state war” against medical cannabis patients—but without mentioning that the former president himself initiated the rescheduling process that marijuana companies want to see completed under Trump.

The current acting administrator of DEA, Derek Maltz, has separately made a series of sensational claims about marijuana, calling it a gateway drug that sets children up to use other substances, suggesting marijuana use is linked to school shootings and alleging that the Justice Department “hijacked” the cannabis rescheduling process from DEA.

Earlier this month, DEA notified an agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process is still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled as the matter sits before Maltz.

Meanwhile, a recent poll found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms. And notably, they’re even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.

The survey showed that majorities of overall voters (70 percent) and GOP voters (67 percent) back rescheduling cannabis.

The survey was first noted by CNN in a report last month that quoted a White House spokesperson saying the administration currently has “no action” planned on marijuana reform proposals, including those like rescheduling and industry banking access that Trump endorsed on the campaign trail last year.

The White House has also said that marijuana rescheduling is not a part of Trump’s drug policy priorities for the first year of his second term—a disappointment for advocates and stakeholders who hoped to see him take speedier action.

Meanwhile, former marijuana prisoners who received clemency from Trump during his first term staged an event outside the White House earlier this month, expressing gratitude for the relief they were given and calling on the new administration to grant the same kind of help to others who are still behind bars for cannabis.

Supreme Court Gives Trump Administration More Time To Consider Challenging Marijuana And Gun Ownership Ruling

The post Trump’s First Attorney General Pick Shares ‘Theory’ About Why Marijuana Hasn’t Been Federally Legalized Yet appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

Rep. Candace Newell (D)—who has made repeated attempts to end criminalization—discussed her latest legislation in an interview with Louisiana First News that aired on Saturday, describing a proposed three-year pilot program that is “designed to test and evaluate parameters of the implementation of a permanent adult-use cannabis program,” according to a legislative analysis.

“Aside of just wanting to have legalized recreational marijuana, I’m also looking at another revenue source in the state of Louisiana,” Newell said. “I’m talking about statewide, across the board, education on the product—the use of the product, the dangers of it and how it can be beneficial.”

The sponsor added that, from her perspective, “what we’ve seen is the states where they’ve done just the full blanket legalization and regulation that that is failing.”

At the same time, she emphasized the potential revenue stream from legalizing and taxing cannabis for adults.

“We can have that additional revenue and continue to stand up and support the programs that we already have in place—and not constantly putting the funding of those programs on the back of our taxpayers,” she said.

Under the legislation, the Louisiana Department of Health would be responsible for overseeing the pilot program, which would be designed to evaluate “potential challenges, limitations, or risks that could arise before a potential permanent rollout.”

The idea would be to provide an “opportunity to gather real-time feedback and data to assess the effectiveness of the temporary pilot program and potential permanent program, as well as identifying any unintended consequences.”

Only existing medical cannabis dispensaries that were licensed as of August 1, 2022 in select regions would be eligible to participate in the pilot program.

“No later than ninety days before the commencement of the pilot program, each retail permit holder in a region authorized… shall notify the department of its intent to participate in the pilot program and identify one retail location in the region that will participate in the pilot program,” the bill text says. “The designated retail location may serve qualified patients purchasing recommended marijuana for therapeutic use and consumers of adult-use cannabis.”

Meanwhile, another measure filed this session, sponsored by Rep. Edmond Jordan (D), would also set the state up for an adult-use marijuana legalization program. However, the intent of the legislation is to create the tax infrastructure for a legal marketplace, without detailing core components of the system.

—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of 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.
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The bill filings come nearly a year after the Republican governor of Louisiana signed bills to decriminalize marijuana paraphernalia and enact restrictions on the hemp market.

That came on the same day that Gov. Jeff Landry (R) vetoed a measure that would have allowed him and future governors to issue pardons for people with past cannabis convictions, he gave final approval to the paraphernalia decriminalization proposal from Rep. Delisha Boyd (D).

As it stands in Louisiana, possession of up to 14 grams (or half an ounce) of marijuana is decriminalized, punishable by a $100 fine without the threat of jail time.

In 2022, former Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) also signed into law a measure that was designed to streamline expungements for people with first-time marijuana possession convictions.

Advocates In Hawaii Pull Support For Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill Due To Changes By Conference Committee

The post Louisiana Lawmaker Proposes Marijuana Legalization Pilot Program As ‘Revenue Source’ For The State appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

An order by Justice Brett Kavanaugh last week granted government lawyers an extension until June 5 to decide whether to appeal a February ruling from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer had previously requested the extension, telling the high court that the government needed more time to consider the case.

“The Solicitor General has not yet determined whether to file a petition for a writ of certiorari in this case,” said Sauer’s three-page filing. “The additional time sought in this application is needed to continue consultation within the government and to assess the legal and practical impact of the court of appeals’ ruling.”

The case concerns a defendant, Keshon Daveon Baxter, who was found in possession of both a firearm and a bag of marijuana. The government charged him under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), which prohibits gun ownership by “unlawful” users of controlled substances.

Baxter argued in district court that the prohibition was itself illegal, contending both that “unlawful” use was too vague in the statute to be enforceable and also that the government’s ban on drug users’ possession of firearms was unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.

The lower court rejected both arguments—a ruling Baxter appealed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

It a February opinion, an Eighth Circuit panel upheld the portion of the district court’s decision denying Baxter’s vagueness claim but reversed the lower court’s ruling on the constitutionality of the firearms ban. However, judges wrote that there were insufficient factual findings in the record “for this Court to review Baxter’s as-applied Second Amendment challenge.”

Nevertheless, the Eighth Circuit wrote, “We reverse the district court’s ruling on Baxter’s as-applied Second Amendment challenge and remand to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

Had the Supreme Court not granted the government’s extension, in the case, U.S. v. Baxter, a decision whether to appeal the Eighth Circuit ruling would have been due May 6.

Sauer, an appointee of President Donald Trump, formally assumed his role as solicitor general earlier this month. He previously helped represented Trump in his landmark case on presidential immunity.

Second Amendment advocates at the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), which has tracked a number of the cannabis-related court cases, told Marijuana Moment in an email last week that the group was “encouraged” by the government filing.

“We are encouraged that the solicitor general is reconsidering the government’s position following President Trump’s ‘Protecting Second Amendment Rights’ Executive Order,” the group said at the time. “As we have explained in various briefs like the one in U.S. v. Daniels, historically, Americans were only ever disarmed for being dangerous, and 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) should thus be held unconstitutional.”

“This conclusion is supported by thorough original research,” FPC added, “and we hope the government’s litigation position in these cases will properly account for the law’s lack of legal and historical foundation.”

One risk to appealing the ruling is that if the Supreme Court does take the case, justices may in fact rule unfavorably to the government, possibly cementing that § 922(g)(3) is—in at least some cases—unconstitutional.

A number of federal courts in recent months have cast doubt on the legality of § 922(g)(3), finding generally that while the ban on gun ownership among drug users may not be entirely unconstitutional, there’s scant historical precedent for such a broad restriction of Second Amendment rights on an entire a category of people.

Earlier this year, for example, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled that the ban was unconstitutional as applied to two defendants, writing that the government failed to establish that the “sweeping” prohibition against gun ownership by marijuana users was grounded in historical precedent.

In another recent case, an Eighth Circuit panel dismissed a three-year prison sentence against a person convicted for possession of a firearm while being an active user of marijuana. Judges in that case ruled that government’s prohibition on gun ownership by drug users is justified only in certain circumstances—not always.

“Nothing in our tradition allows disarmament simply because [the defendant] belongs to a category of people, drug users, that Congress has categorically deemed dangerous,” their ruling said.

In another case earlier this year, a Fifth Circuit panel ruled that the firearms ban was unconstitutional as applied to least one defendant. That ruling came on the heels of a string of other judicial decisions casting doubt on the legality of the ban.

A federal judge in El Paso, for instance, ruled late last year that the government’s ongoing ban on gun ownership by habitual marijuana users is unconstitutional in the case of a defendant who earlier pleaded guilty to the criminal charge. The court allowed the man to withdraw the plea and ordered that the indictment against him be dismissed.

Another panel of judges, on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, heard oral arguments in November in the government’s appeal of a district court ruling that deemed the gun ban unconstitutional.

Much of the panel’s discussion at oral argument in that case surrounded whether the underlying dispute was a facial challenge to the gun ban or an as-applied challenge. And, as in other cases, judges zeroed in on whether or not that defendant was actually under the influence of marijuana while in possession of a firearm.

In a separate federal court case, Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers recently made arguments that the ongoing firearm restriction for cannabis users is “analogous to laws disarming the intoxicated” and other historical laws “disarming many disparate groups that the government believed presented a danger with firearms.”

That brief was the latest response to a case filed by a Pennsylvania prosecutor who’s suing the federal government over its ban on gun ownership by cannabis users. It came two weeks after lawyers for the official, Warren County District Attorney Robert Greene, asked the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to allow the matter to proceed to trial.

In a number of the ongoing cases, DOJ has argued that the prohibition on gun ownership by marijuana users is also supported by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, U.S. v. Rahimi, that upheld the government’s ability to limit the Second Amendment rights of people with domestic violence restraining orders.

DOJ has made such arguments, for example, in favor of the firearms ban in a case in a case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In that matter, a group of Florida medical cannabis patients contends that their Second Amendment rights are being violated because they cannot lawfully buy firearms so long as they are using cannabis as medicine, despite acting in compliance with state law.

DOJ under President Joe Biden consistently argued that medical marijuana patients who possess firearms “endanger public safety,” “pose a greater risk of suicide” and are more likely to commit crimes “to fund their drug habit.”

It remains unclear how the Trump administration will approach the cases. At a NRA conference in 2023, Trump suggested there might be a link between the use of “genetically engineered” marijuana and mass shootings. He listed a number of controversial and unproven factors that he said at the time he would direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate as possibly causing the ongoing scourge of mass shooting afflicting the country.

“We have to look at whether common psychiatric drugs, as well as genetically engineered cannabis and other narcotics, are causing psychotic breaks” that lead to gun violence, he said.

DOJ has claimed in multiple federal cases over the past several years that the statute banning cannabis consumers from owning or possessing guns is constitutional because it’s consistent with the nation’s history of disarming “dangerous” individuals.

In 2023, for example, the Justice Department told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that historical precedent “comfortably” supports the restriction. Cannabis consumers with guns pose a unique danger to society, the Biden administration claimed, in part because they’re “unlikely” to store their weapon properly.

Last year, Biden’s son Hunter was convicted by a federal jury of violating statute by buying and possessing a gun while an active user of crack cocaine. Two Republican congressmen challenged the basis of that conviction, with one pointing out that there are “millions of marijuana users” who own guns but should not be prosecuted.

The situation has caused confusion among medical marijuana patients, state lawmakers and advocacy groups, among others. The National Rifle Association’s (NRA) lobbying arm said recently that the court rulings on the cannabis and guns issue have “led to a confusing regulatory landscape” that have impacted Americans’ Second Amendment rights.

“Marijuana use is no longer limited to the domain of indigenous religious customs or youth-oriented counterculture and now includes a wide variety of people who use it for medicinal or recreational reasons,” said the advocacy group, which does not have an official stance on cannabis policy generally. “Many of these individuals are otherwise law-abiding and productive members of their communities and want to exercise their right to keep and bear arms.”

Meanwhile, some states have passed their own laws either further restricting or attempting to preserve gun rights as they relate to marijuana. Recently, for example, a Pennsylvania lawmaker introduced a bill meant to remove state barriers to medical marijuana patients carrying firearms.

Colorado activists also attempted to qualify an initiative for November’s ballot that would have protected the Second Amendment rights of marijuana consumers in that state, but the campaign’s signature-gathering drive ultimately fell short.

As 2024 drew to a close, the ATF issued a warning to Kentucky residents that, if they choose to participate in the state’s medical marijuana program that’s set to launch imminently, they will be prohibited from buying or possessing firearms under federal law.

The official said that while people who already own firearms aren’t “expected to” turn them over if they become state-legal cannabis patients, those who “wish to follow federal law and not be in violation of it” must “make the decision to divest themselves of those firearms.”

Since then, bipartisan state lawmakers have introduced legislation that would urge Kentucky’s representatives in Congress to amend federal law to clarify that users of medical marijuana may legally possess firearms, though no action has since been taken on that bill.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said in January that he supported the legislature’s effort to urge the state’s congressional delegation to call for federal reforms to protect the Second Amendment rights of medical marijuana patients, but the governor added that he’d like to see even more sweeping change on the federal level.

“I think the right way to deal with that is not just to focus on that issue, but to change the schedule of marijuana,” Beshear said at a press conference. “What we need to change is the overall marijuana policy by the federal government.”

Trump-Appointed U.S. Attorney Says His ‘Instinct’ Is Medical Marijuana Dispensary Shouldn’t Be ‘In The Community’ As He Warns Of Federal Prosecution

The post Supreme Court Gives Trump Administration More Time To Consider Challenging Marijuana And Gun Ownership Ruling appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

It warns, for example, that while cannabis-based medications are legal in a growing number of jurisdictions, mere possession of those substances in other areas can lead to travel delays, denial of entry and even arrest and prosecution.

The new guidance, published online last week, appears in the 2026 edition of the CDC Yellow Book, which contains health information for international travel. Two chapters—around substance use and traveling with restricted medications—urge healthcare professionals to “educate international travelers” about “local laws that restrict medications and ensure they have necessary documentation.”

Even traveling within the U.S., notes the chapter on substance use, flying with marijuana products remains illegal, regardless of whether the products are for medical use.

“It is illegal to take marijuana (defined as cannabis products with more than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight) on a domestic flight,” the agency says. “However, in the United States as of early 2024, a traveler can take products with less than this amount of THC that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration in a carry-on or checked bag.”

It advises travelers to check ahead of time when it comes to other modes of transport, such as cruise ships, which may or may not allow low-THC products aboard.

“Similarly, reviewing the legal status of marijuana and cannabis products with less than 0.3% delta-9 THC in a destination country is important prior to departure,” the guidance says.

The other Yellow Book chapter, on travel with restricted medications, says that if a traveler’s medicine “is on the Drug Enforcement Administration controlled substances schedule in the United States, a traveler or their healthcare professional should determine whether it is prohibited or restricted at an international destination.”

It adds, however, that “even if a medication is not controlled in the United States, it still may be prohibited in another country.”

That could be the case with CBD, which is no longer a scheduled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) but is still regulated in some jurisdictions.

“Although U.S. and international policies have become more lenient concerning the use of cannabidiol (CBD), a compound found in the cannabis plant, international travelers should be aware of local laws when packing CBD-containing products,” the chapter says, “including but not limited to gummies, lotions, oil, and vape cartridges. Often classified as an herbal supplement, CBD itself is not psychoactive but is still controlled in some countries.”

CDC also points out that CBD products sometimes contain THC—whether intentionally or through contamination—which, even at trace amounts, can make them illegal.

“Even if CBD is legal in a country, a CBD-containing product may be illegal if it also contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), another compound found in the cannabis plant and the main psychoactive component of marijuana,” the advisory says.

It adds that some countries, like the U.S., determine whether a CBD product is legal based on its concentration of THC.

Unfortunately, CDC acknowledges that “No single resource exists where an international traveler or travel medicine specialist can access information to determine whether a medication is prohibited or restricted at a destination.”

It advises travelers and their healthcare providers check multiple sources, including the International Narcotics Control Board website, U.S. Embassy websites in destination countries, a State Department website and others.

“If a traveler’s question is not addressed by the aforementioned websites, the Inter­national Pharmaceutical Federation (fip@fip.org), a Netherlands-based organization with a database of senior pharmacists, can sometimes facilitate communication by forwarding an inquiry from a traveler to the appropriate point of contact in the destination country’s government,” CDC says.

Separately, a CDC report published earlier this month evaluated federal data on cannabis use among thousands of U.S. adults, finding that while smoking marijuana remains the most common way to consume it, methods such as eating, vaping and dabbing are growing in popularity.

Overall in 2022, 15.3 percent of adults reported current marijuana use, while 7.9 percent reported daily use. Among users, most (79.4 percent) reported smoking, followed by eating (41.6 percent), vaping (30.3 percent) and dabbing (14.6 percent).

About half of all adults who used marijuana (46.7 percent) reported multiple methods of use—most typically smoking and eating or smoking and vaping.

A separate CDC report last year found a decline in teen use over the past decade, as dozens of states moved to legalize cannabis.

As of 2023, for example, 17 percent of high-school students reported using marijuana within the past month. In 2013, that figure was 23 percent.

Though youth use rates ticked up and down by a few percentage points from survey to survey over the 10-year timespan covered by that CDC report, the overall trend was that past-month use among high-school students declined since 2013.

Notably, male students showed a more marked drop in marijuana use over the past decade, with rates falling from 25 percent in 2013 to 15 percent in 2023. Among female students over the same time period, rates decreased from 22 percent to 19 percent.

Another earlier analysis from CDC found that rates of current and lifetime cannabis use among high school students have continued to drop amid the legalization movement.

Another recent federal report, published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), found that consumption among minors—defined as people 12 to 20 years of age—had fallen slightly in the past year. Despite methodological changes that make comparisons over time difficult, it also suggests that youth use has fallen significantly in the past decade.

Meanwhile at the international level, an ongoing review by the World Health Organization could eventually lead to the rescheduling of coca leaves, the raw ingredient for cocaine.

And last year a handful of countries—primarily in Europe—began embracing medical and adult-use marijuana programs.

Among them, countries such as Ukraine and Slovenia took steps to expand access to medical marijuana. German and Polish officials, meanwhile, moved toward broader, nonmedical access to cannabis among adults.

Meanwhile, a United Nations (UN) report published in June acknowledged that marijuana legalization in the U.S. and Canada may have helped to shrink the size of illicit markets.

Dozens of United Nations (UN) human rights also last year urged member nations to focus less on punishment and criminalization and more on harm reduction and public health while specifically calling for “decriminalisation of drug use and related activities, and the responsible regulation of all drugs to eliminate profits from illegal trafficking, criminality and violence.”

“The ‘war on drugs’ has resulted in a range of serious human rights violations, as documented by a number of UN human rights experts over the years,” said the statement from UN special rapporteurs, experts and working groups. “We collectively urge Member States and all UN entities to put evidence and communities at the centre of drug policies, by shifting from punishment towards support, and invest in the full array of evidence-based health interventions for people who use drugs, ranging from prevention to harm reduction, treatment and aftercare, emphasizing the need for a voluntary basis and in full respect of human rights norms and standards.”

Former Texas Governor And U.S. Senator Meet With State Lawmakers To Form National Ibogaine Access Plan

The post As International Drug Laws Change, CDC Warns Travelers To Check Legal Status Of Marijuana, CBD And Other Substances appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

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Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible…

Your good deed for the day: donate to an independent publisher like Marijuana Moment and ensure that as many voters as possible have access to the most in-depth cannabis reporting out there.

Support our work at https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment

/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin spoke about his decision to send a threat letter to a locally licensed medical cannabis dispensary, saying his “instinct is that it shouldn’t be in the community.”

The Florida House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill to waive medical cannabis patient registration fees for military veterans, and to make it so all patients only have to renew their cards every two years instead of annually.

A Hawaii legislative conference committee reached an agreement on a bill to revise the state’s medical cannabis law by allowing some doctors to recommend marijuana for any condition—though advocates oppose new provisions on penalties and access to medical records.

The Rhode Island House Health & Human Services Committee held a hearing on a bill to require healthcare facilities to allow on-site medical cannabis use by terminally ill patients.

A poll shows that 70 percent of New Hampshire residents support legalizing marijuana—with majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents on board—as the Senate prepares to consider a House-passed legalization bill this week.

A new study found that “Black-owned” labeling on marijuana products increases interest among white consumers but not Black ones, suggesting that “Black ownership signals credibility to out-group consumers, but stigma may suppress in-group identification.”

Montana lawmakers sent Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) a bill to allow Indian tribes and the governor’s office to enter into compacts to regulate marijuana on individual reservations, including with respect to details such as tax revenue distribution, dispensary operations and cultivation limits.

/ FEDERAL

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration staffers responsible for the National Survey on Drug Use and Health were laid off.

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) tweeted photos of herself speaking at a cannabis event, saying, “It’s past time for the federal government to catch up with the American people and legalize adult-use marijuana nationally. Until then, Congress should keep its #HandsOffDC’s cannabis policy.”

/ STATES

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) sent a letter asking state officials to “coordinate closely with one another to strengthen enforcement and regulatory action” concerning “psychoactive marijuana byproducts.”

Vermont’s lieutenant governor is asking lawmakers to amend a cannabis bill to allow growers to sell directly to consumers and to allow public consumption of marijuana anywhere tobacco use is legal.

Kentucky’s auditor accused the Kentucky Democratic Party of trying to “intimidate” her from continuing an investigation into regulators’ medical cannabis licensing process by filing Open Records Act requests to her office.

A Minnesota Republican representative authored an op-ed urging President Donald Trump to reschedule marijuana.

Alabama regulators are being sued over their failure to establish a medical cannabis patient and caregiver registry.

Pennsylvania’s health secretary approved recommendations to add traumatic brain injury and type 2 diabetes mellitus as medical cannabis qualifying conditions for research purposes only.

Michigan regulators issued a health and safety reminder about medium-chain triglyceride oil in marijuana vape cartridges.

California regulators filed proposed changes to cannabis tax rules.

Washington State  regulators published guidance on new cannabis sample rules.

The New York Cannabis Advisory Board will meet on Thursday.

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Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of 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.

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/ INTERNATIONAL

A UK court ruled that Border Force officials wrongly seized cannabis-based medication.

Germany’s health minister tweeted about a study showing that after Canada legalized marijuana, “consumption increased slightly, while the particularly harmful, very frequent use decreased slightly.”

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

The results of case studies “support prioritizing [cannabis-based products for medicinal use] in cases of” drug-resistant epilepsy.

A study found that “kombucha infused with 30% cannabis leaves possessed less acetic acid, ethanol, and carbon dioxide and gave a better odor and taste.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

The Michigan Cannabis Industry Association is calling for a freeze on new marijuana business licenses.

/ BUSINESS

4Front Ventures Corporation provided an update on its previously announced application for a management cease trade order.

Canadian retailers sold C$404.7 million worth of legal marijuana products in February.

/ CULTURE

Wiz Khalifa is facing a fine for smoking marijuana onstage at a concert in Romania.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

The post Cannabis store doesn’t belong in the community, Trump US attorney says (Newsletter: April 29, 2025) appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

But the latest version of the bill, HB 302—approved Friday by a conference committee consisting of members of both legislative chambers—offers a narrower path to medical marijuana for patients with conditions not already listed in the program. For those patients, a recommendation would need to come from their “primary treating medical provider” rather than a provider who specializes in cannabis.

“It is making changes to the medical medical cannabis law by expanding access,” Rep. Gregg Takayama (D) said at the committee hearing, “by allowing treating physicians and nurses to go beyond the specified medical conditions if they feel it’s appropriate.”

After briefly describing the bill, Takayama quipped: “I’ve been waiting all session to say this has been a tremendous joint effort.”

Advocates, however, say the change mandating that only “primary treating medical providers” could recommend marijuana—combined with others made in the conference committee that would establish a new felony charge for unlicensed dispensary operation and give the state Department of Health sweeping authority to review patients’ medical records—has led them to reconsider their stance on the bill.

The group Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), for example, now opposes HB 302 after previously submitting testimony in support of earlier versions. Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for MPP, noted that data suggest that only a small subset of Hawaii doctors are currently willing to recommend cannabis.

“About 6% of actively treating physicians are recommending medical cannabis in Hawaii,” she told Marijuana Moment, with fewer than 250 doctors statewide having issued recommendations. “So in practice, the vast majority of patients have to go to a specialist for their medical cannabis recommendation.”

The provision could also complicate the process of obtaining a medical marijuana recommendation for patients without a primary care physician, veterans whose primary care doctors work for the federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and others.

MPP likely would have supported the bill despite those changes, O’Keefe said, but the conference committee also made a number of other changes in the revised bill that the group says go too far.

First, the bill authorizes the Department of Health to “inspect a qualifying patient’s medical records held by the physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or hospice provider who issued a written certification for the qualifying patient.”

Providers who don’t comply with a department request for a patient’s records could see their ability to issue medical cannabis revoked.

Another change establishes a new Class C felony for unlicensed operation of a dispensary, adding another major charge on top of the state’s existing laws against illegal distribution of marijuana.

Additionally, the conference committee-revised bill would appropriate $750,000 “or so much thereof that may be necessary” to recruit and hire five investigator positions and one analyst position “to enforce, and mitigate nuisances relating to, illegal cannabis and hemp products.”

Another provision in the bill would allow patients to be recommended medical marijuana through telehealth visits rather than having to establish an in-person relationship with a provider.

The conference committee’s bill now proceeds back to the House and Senate chambers for floor votes on Wednesday. If lawmakers sign off on the revised bill, it would then proceed to the governor’s desk. It’s possible the measure could see further adjustments, but both chambers would need to approve identical amendments in order for them to be adopted.

O’Keefe said that she was disappointed that rather than move toward broader legalization of marijuana—which remains illegal for adults in Hawaii—lawmakers are moving instead toward a more tightly regulated medical program.

Prior to the conference committee’s changes, the state Senate passed the measure on a 24–1 vote earlier this month. That followed unanimous passage by the House in early March. Between those two votes, however, a pair of Senate committees amended the bill, making changes House lawmakers later rejected. The conference committee was formed to iron out the disagreement.

Among the Senate’s changes, one provision amended the bill to effectively allow medical marijuana to be recommended for any condition that a doctor or advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) believes it would benefit. Currently providers can recommend marijuana to treat only those maladies on a specific state list.

The provision would have redefined “debilitating medical condition” to mean “any condition determined by the certifying physician or advanced practice registered nurse to be appropriate for the medical use of cannabis.”

That would have opened the door to wider access for patients who might have conditions that stand to benefit from medical marijuana but whose ailments haven’t been specifically recognized by state officials.

Instead, the revised bill keeps the existing list of “debilitating conditions” but also allows a patient’s “primary treating medical provider” to recommend marijuana for other conditions if the provider “is primarily responsible for the treatment and ongoing care of the qualifying patient and has determined that the potential benefits of the medical use of cannabis are likely to outweigh the associated health risks.”

Earlier in the legislative session, the state Department of Health took issue with the medical marijuana expansion bill.

“While the Department supports allowing medical providers to use their professional judgment in diagnosing and treating patients,” it said in previous written testimony, “there is limited scientific evidence supporting the use of cannabis for conditions beyond those currently listed in statute. The Department is particularly concerned about potential risks to patient safety, including adverse drug interactions between cannabis and a patient’s existing treatment plan.”

To remedy those concerns, the department recommended an amendment stating that only a patient’s treating provider be authorized to certify patients for nonspecified conditions—a suggestion lawmakers had declined to take up until the conference committee.

The move to allow healthcare providers to recommend medical cannabis to patients for any condition they see fit is in line with a plan announced last year by Gov. Josh Green (D) to expand access to marijuana in light of the legislature’s failure to pass recreational legalization measures.

“This would make it very available—that’s marijuana—for those who choose it in their lives,” the governor said in an interview, “and it would still keep kids safe, which has been everyone’s priority.”

At the same time, Green reiterated his support for full recreational legalization.

“I think for adults who can responsibly use marijuana, it should be legal,” he said.

Meanwhile, a separate bill to create a two-year pilot program to support clinical research into psychedelic-assisted therapies, including substances such as psilocybin and MDMA, is also pending before a conference committee.

Lawmakers also recently sent a bill to the governor that would help speed the expungement process for people hoping to clear their records of past marijuana-related offenses—a proposal Green signed into law earlier this month.

That measure, HB 132, from Rep. David Tarnas (D), is intended to expedite expungements happening through a pilot program signed into law last year by Gov. Josh Green (D). Specifically, it will remove a distinction between marijuana and other Schedule V drugs for the purposes of the expungement program.

The bill’s proponents said the current wording of the law forces state officials to comb through thousands of criminal records manually in order to identify which are eligible for expungement under the pilot program.

Hawaii’s Senate back in February narrowly defeated a separate proposal that would have increased fivefold the amount of cannabis that a person could possess without risk of criminal charges. The body voted 12–11 against the decriminalization measure, SB 319, from Sen. Joy San Buenaventura (D).

Had the measure become law, it would have increased the amount of cannabis decriminalized in Hawaii from the current 3 grams up to 15 grams. Possession of any amount of marijuana up to that 15-gram limit would have been classified as a civil violation, punishable by a fine of $130.

A Senate bill that would have legalized marijuana for adults, meanwhile, ultimately stalled for the session. That measure, SB 1613, failed to make it out of committee by a legislative deadline.

While advocates felt there was sufficient support for the legalization proposal in the Senate, it’s widely believed that House lawmakers would have ultimately scuttled the measure, as they did last month with a legalization companion bill, HB 1246.

Last session, a Senate-passed legalization bill also fizzled out in the House.

This year’s House vote to stall the bill came just days after approval from a pair of committees at a joint hearing. Ahead of that hearing, the panels received nearly 300 pages of testimony, including from state agencies, advocacy organizations and members of the public.

This past fall, regulators solicited proposals to assess the state’s current medical marijuana program—and also sought to estimate demand for recreational sales if the state eventually moves forward with adult-use legalization. Some read the move as a sign the regulatory agency saw a need to prepare to the potential reform.

Hawaii was the first U.S. state to legalize medical marijuana through its legislature, passing a law in 2000.

Former Texas Governor And U.S. Senator Meet With State Lawmakers To Form National Ibogaine Access Plan

The post Advocates In Hawaii Pull Support For Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill Due To Changes By Conference Committee appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

In an interview with NBC4 that was released on Friday, Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin—who is currently going through a Senate confirmation process for the job—talked about his decision to send a letter to the owners of a dispensary that suggested they could face prosecution by the Trump administration’s Justice Department.

“Your dispensary appears to be operating in violation of federal law, and the Department of Justice has the authority to enforce federal law even when such activities may be permitted under state or local law,” the letter from Martin to Green Theory said.

“Persons and entities owning, operating, or facilitating such dispensaries (as well as premises grow centers),” it added, “may be subject to criminal prosecution and civil enforcement actions under federal law.”

Thank you @nbcwashington for your story on @USAO_DC‘s work! Watch here: Interim DC US attorney looking into location of marijuana dispensary https://t.co/ZEjtgDM4DS

— U.S. Attorney DC (@USAO_DC) April 28, 2025

The federal attorney said in the new interview that his action was prompted in part by messages he received from parents who complained about the proximity of the dispensary to certain schools. While compliant with D.C. rules, he said the distance violated the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act that prohibits cannabis shops within 1,000 feet of school campuses.

“You apply the facts to the law, but you do it in the context of what the community is going through at that moment,” he said.

“I want to get to the bottom of it. I think—look, my instinct is that it shouldn’t be in the community based on what I saw from the parents,” Martin said. “But I think people and businesses deserve the opportunity to look at it and interact.”

He added that, “If you want to change the law, we can go to Congress, you and I can say that. I happen to think that’s a good law.”

Martin’s letter to Green Theory requested a response by May 12 with answers to three questions:

• Are you aware of the federal laws related to marijuana dispensaries and their locations near schools?
• Have you addressed these issues with federal law enforcement officials?
• Can you produce documentation regarding your compliance with federal law?

“I am concerned that you are in violation of federal laws,” Martin wrote in his letter, “which are intended to protect children. To that end, the need to address this issue is serious.”

NBC4 noted that while Martin says he has a good relationship with D.C.’s mayor and police chief, he didn’t notify either of them about his letter to the cannabis dispensary before sending it.

Key to the dispute, a current federal budget rider is intended to prevent DOJ from using funds to interfere with state medical marijuana programs. The so-called Rohrabacher–Farr amendment, named after the lawmakers who sponsored it, prohibits DOJ from spending money “to prevent [states with legal medical marijuana] from implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.”

Green Theory was reportedly one of the first in D.C. to transition from being an illicit so-called “gifting shop”—which attempted to use a loophole to sell non-regulated marijuana to adults—to become part of the District’s licensed medical marijuana program.

The dispensary at one point sought to allow onsite marijuana use, with a business plan that envisioned “a vibe similar to the world-famous Amsterdam Coffee Shops.” Since then, however, co-founder Robert Martin said the business no longer intends to allow onsite consumption.

Under D.C.’s own cannabis rules, dispensaries can’t operate within 300 feet of schools, though commercially zoned areas—where schools may be located—are exempt.

In a March 2024 letter, the District’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) argued federal law does not interfere with its medical marijuana program, which the agency said had “been subject to congressional review, and has not been disapproved or repealed.”

Regarding the Rohrabacher–Farr budget provision, regulators wrote in the letter, “It is well established that cannabis is federally illegal, and that persons and entities may be subject to federal controlled substance laws. Nevertheless, Congress has also decided to repeatedly enact a budget rider protecting the District’s and other state’s medical cannabis programs that are currently in effect.”

Late last month, meanwhile, the White House called the District’s move to decriminalize marijuana an example of a “failed” policy that “opened the door to disorder.”

In a fact sheet about an executive order that Trump signed—which is broadly aimed at beautifying the District and making it more safe—the White House listed several local policies in the nation’s capital that it takes issue with, including cannabis reform. That’s despite the president’s previously stated support for a states’ rights approach to marijuana laws.

“D.C.’s failed policies opened the door to disorder—and criminals noticed,” it says, citing “marijuana decriminalization,” as well as the District’s decision to end pre-trial detentions and enforcement practices around rioters, as examples of such policies.

The executive order itself doesn’t mention marijuana specifically. But it says the directive will involve “deploying a more robust Federal law enforcement presence and coordinating with local law enforcement to facilitate the deployment of a more robust local law enforcement presence as appropriate in areas in or about” D.C., and that includes addressing “drug possession, sale, and use.”

Recreational cannabis possession and personal cultivation is legal in D.C. under a voter-approved ballot initiative, though commercial sales of non-medical marijuana remain illegal.

Because of a different congressional rider that’s been renewed annually since that vote, the District hasn’t been able to use its local funds to implement a system of regulated recreational cannabis sales, so officials have taken steps to expand the city’s existing medical marijuana program as a workaround.

During Trump’s first term in the White House, he maintained that D.C. rider to keep blocking cannabis sales in his budget requests, as did his successor, former President Joe Biden.

Also during his earlier term, Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, rescinded Obama-era guidance that generally advised federal prosecutors not to interfere with state marijuana laws.

As advocates and industry stakeholders have waited to see how the Trump administration will navigate cannabis policy issues during the current term—and whether the president will push for reforms such as rescheduling and banking access as he endorsed on the campaign trail last year—the fact his White House’s first public mention of marijuana in its D.C.-focused fact sheet linked decriminalization to disorder sent a different message.

Now, the new letter from the U.S. attorney raises new questions about the Justice Department’s stance on cannabis under Trump.

Meanwhile last week, an activist who received a pardon for a marijuana-related conviction during Trump’s first term paid a visit to the White House, discussing future clemency options with the recently appointed “pardon czar.”

Separately, a marijuana industry-backed political action committee (PAC) has released a series of ads over recent weeks that have attacked Biden’s cannabis policy record as well as the nation of Canada, promoting sometimes misleading claims about the last administration while making the case that Trump can deliver on reform.

Its latest ad accused former President Joe Biden and his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of waging a “deep state war” against medical cannabis patients—but without mentioning that the former president himself initiated the rescheduling process that marijuana companies want to see completed under Trump.

Adding uncertainty to that process, Trump’s pick to lead DEA, Terrance Cole, is on record repeatedly voicing concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linking its use to higher suicide risk among youth.

The current acting administrator, Derek Maltz, has separately made a series of sensational claims about marijuana, calling it a gateway drug that sets children up to use other substances, suggesting marijuana use is linked to school shootings and alleging that the Justice Department “hijacked” the cannabis rescheduling process from DEA.

Earlier this month, DEA notified an agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process is still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled as the matter sits before Maltz.

Meanwhile, a recent poll found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms. And notably, they’re even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.

The survey showed that majorities of overall voters (70 percent) and GOP voters (67 percent) back rescheduling cannabis.

The survey was first noted by CNN in a report last month that quoted a White House spokesperson saying the administration currently has “no action” planned on marijuana reform proposals, including those like rescheduling and industry banking access that Trump endorsed on the campaign trail last year.

The White House has also said that marijuana rescheduling is not a part of Trump’s drug policy priorities for the first year of his second term—a disappointment for advocates and stakeholders who hoped to see him take speedier action.

Meanwhile, former marijuana prisoners who received clemency from Trump during his first term staged an event outside the White House earlier this month, expressing gratitude for the relief they were given and calling on the new administration to grant the same kind of help to others who are still behind bars for cannabis.

Pennsylvania Governor Will Put Marijuana Legalization In His Budget, But Top GOP Senator Remains Skeptical

The post Trump-Appointed U.S. Attorney Says His ‘Instinct’ Is Medical Marijuana Dispensary Shouldn’t Be ‘In The Community’ As He Warns Of Federal Prosecution appeared first on Marijuana Moment.