Members of the Philadelphia City Council have voted overwhelmingly in favor of municipal legislation prohibiting certain employers from requiring prospective hires to pass a pre-employment drug screen. Council members decided 15 to 1 in favor of the measure, Bill No. 200625, which “prohibits employers from requiring prospective employees to undergo testing for the presence of […]
Democratic Governor Ralph Northam signed legislation into law today legalizing adult-use marijuana possession and establishing an enactment date for commercial marijuana production and retail sales. Virginia NORML Executive Director Jenn Michelle Pedini spoke alongside the Governor at the ceremonial bill signing. “Today, together, we celebrate an extraordinary victory for cannabis justice in the Commonwealth.” Pedini, […]
NORML criticized statements made today by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who reiterated the President’s position that cannabis should be rescheduled under federal law (to Schedule II) rather than descheduled (removed) from the Controlled Substances in a manner similar to tobacco and alcohol. “It is impractical at best and disingenuous at worst for the […]
The SAFE Banking Act would improve the safety of legal marijuana marketplaces and foster more entrepreneurship in the emerging legal industry Members of the House of Representatives voted today in favor of a stand-alone piece of legislation, The SAFE Banking Act, to remedy the ongoing inconsistencies between state and federal marijuana laws. In a vote […]
In the first four months of 2021, four states — New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, and Virginia — have legalized the adult-use marijuana market. Over 40 percent of all Americans now reside in a state where possessing marijuana is legal and seven in ten voters now say that it should be legal nationwide. Nonetheless, […]
Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), along with Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chairs Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Dave Joyce (R-OH), have once again introduced The Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act (S. 1183 / HR 2588), bipartisan legislation to expand and facilitate medical cannabis access to military veterans suffering from chronic pain, PTSD, and other serious medical conditions. Presently, V.A. doctors are […]
Republican Governor Eric Holcomb has signed legislation into law to provide a legal defense for those motorists charged with violating the state’s marijuana per se traffic safety law. The legislation provides an affirmative defense for those motorists who test positive for the presence of either THC or its metabolite, but who are not responsible for […]
Some seven-in-ten Americans believe that “the use of marijuana should be made legal in the United States,” according to national polling data compiled by Quinnipiac University. That percentage is the highest level of support ever reported in a nationwide poll. Sixty-nine percent of respondents expressed support for legalizing marijuana. That percentage rises to 70 percent […]
The Mississippi Supreme Court hears oral arguments today in a legal challenge that seeks to nullify a November vote legalizing the production and dispensing of medical cannabis to qualified patients. On Election Day, 73 percent of Mississippi voters decided in favor of Measure 65, which establishes a system of state-licensed dispensaries to engage in the retail dispensing of […]
NORML regrets the passing of Steve Fox, a longtime marijuana policy advocate and strategist. Steve Fox spent the better part of the past two decades leading both statewide and federal policy reform efforts during his tenure at various organizations, including the Marijuana Policy Project, SAFER (Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation) – a group he cofounded […]
