With dozens of declared candidates ready to take on President Trump in Nov. 2020, America’s aspiring chief executives are scrambling for ways to catch the eyes of primary voters. So why not use cannabis as a sorting device? (AP, Leafly) Cannabis used to be a liberals-only issue, but not anymore. In fact, President Trump’s only […]
Max Savage Levenson
Posts by 'Max Savage Levenson'
After failing to pass a progressive adult-use cannabis bill, the Legislature instead closed out the year’s session with a decriminalization measure. The bill includes language that will clear some past criminal convictions, but critics are already warning that the measure may not do much at all to address racially-motivated policing. And historically, New York has […]
After a dramatic final week of New York’s legislative session during which cannabis advocates oscillated between optimism and defeat, the state’s adult-use cannabis bill is dead. Despite a last-minute push to get the bill over the finish line, as well as a poll showing that the majority of New Yorkers support legalization, lawmakers could not […]
As frantic, last-minute negotiations continue in Albany over New York’s adult-use cannabis bill, legislators have simultaneously primed a trio of backup bills to provide incremental improvements in case the legalization bill doesn’t pass. Leaders were still one or two votes shy of passing adult-use legalization as of Tuesday night. This year’s regular session is scheduled […]
It’s official: The Crunchwrap is losing ground to the blunt wrap. RELATED STORY As of 2019, Legal Cannabis Has Created 211,000 Full-Time Jobs in America With the opening of more and more state-legal markets, cannabis sales are quickly catching up with that of more established products, brands, and services. New data compiled by Marijuana Business […]
A new federal spending bill introduced by House Democrats over the weekend may break two logjams in one fell swoop. One provision in the bill would provide legal protections for banks that work with the cannabis industry, while another would allow Washington, DC—where cannabis is legal but retail sales are prohibited—to finally launch a commercial […]
In an appearance before Congress yesterday, Attorney General William Barr offered a brief respite from the acrimonious battle over the Mueller Report when he addressed a rare point of political consensus: cannabis reform. Barr personally supports prohibition, but says a STATES Act solution would be better than the current stalemate. During a Senate Appropriations hearing […]
The STATES Act, one of the leading efforts to end cannabis prohibition at the federal level, has stepped back into the spotlight. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) this week reintroduced the bipartisan bill, which would allow states to craft their own policies on cannabis. While it wouldn’t legalize the drug nationally, it […]
The New York State budget has been finalized, and adult-use cannabis legislation will not be included. Legalization seemed like a done deal back in January. Then the wheels came off the bus. Not long ago, legal cannabis in New York seemed like a done deal. In January, Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared that legalization would be […]
It’s official: New York has cut its adult-use cannabis legalization measure from the state’s budget bill for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins April 1. During an interview earlier this week with WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was of two minds: He sought both to remain positive, claiming that legalization will pass by June, […]
