Keegan MacDonald

In a continuation of a pattern that we see happening from time to time with members of the federal government, Congressman Yarmuth, Democrat from Kentucky, seemed to benefit from insider knowledge of an expected stock bump when he bought between $1,000 and $15,000 worth of marijuana stock before announcing the MORE act to Congress, which stands for the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act. This was all uncovered in an investigation done by Popular Information.
It is only required for lawmakers to give a range of the amount they invested so we can’t be sure how much Yarmuth had invested, but between the stocks for Canopy Growth, Aurora Cannabis, and Tilray he spent up to $15,000. Since December, these stocks have risen in value significantly, with Tilray rising 3.5 times in value.
In the past, we’ve seen Senators sell stocks as inside knowledge gave them a headstart before the pandemic hit.

Illinois has a program called R3, which stands for restore, reinvest, and renew, that is funneling funs made from marijuana services into paying for public schools in the state, according to Ganjapreneur.
In total, about $858,669 has been allocated so far. This money is going towards legal aid for students, helping incarcerated youth back into society, career coaching, reproductive education, and more programs to help students.
“R3 is so important to me because I felt that it was critical that if we were going to be legalizing a product that has been used for the last 80 years to penalize largely Black and brown people, it was incredibly important that we took some of the resources of the sale of this product and begin to reinvest it in repairing some of those same communities that had been torn down by the war on drugs,” said State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, who aided in the creation of the R3 program.
And that six-figure amount is only what has been allocated for public schools. In total, the program garnered about $31 million of funding for the state, and they expect the number to potentially raise to $65 million in the next year.
Read the source at Ganjapreneur.

In a very long delayed move, New Jersey has finally passed legal marijuana after their Governor signed multiple bills this morning.
Governor Phil Murray was waiting on a proposal that detailed punishment for underage users, and once that reached his desk, he signed all of the bills into law. This is included cannabis legalization, decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana possession, limiting the use of previous marijuana convictions, and creating a regulated cannabis marketplace.

Marijuana will now be legal in NJ.
We’re one step closer to ending this unjust, failed war on drugs that has systematically targeted Black & Brown people & the poor across our state & nation.
Grateful for @GovMurphy, NJ leadership & advocates who fought so hard for this day. https://t.co/nJprUIYq9s
— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) February 22, 2021

The legislation has been delayed and pushed back on ever since it was approved by voters in November, but things were looking good last week when Governor Murphy signaled he would sign the law as long as specific and appropriate punishment was detailed for those underage caught with marijuana. A written warning and small fine was eventually agreed upon.
Congrats, New Jersey!