Republican Governor Phil Scott has signed legislation into law providing financial assistance to social equity applicants seeking to enter the retail marijuana industry. Senate Bill 25 appropriates $500,000 from the General Fund to establish a ‘Cannabis Business Development Fund.’ The Fund shall provide “financial assistance, loans, grants, and outreach to social equity applicants” who are […]
Marijuana arrests in Virginia fell by approximately 50 percent in 2020 following the enactment of legislation decriminalizing minor cannabis offenses. Data provided by the Virginia Department of State Police reports that police made 13,674 marijuana-related arrests in 2020. That’s 48 percent below 2019’s totals, when police made 26,470 marijuana-related arrests. Among those arrested in 2020, […]
State-authorized sales of marijuana products have yielded $7.9 billion in new tax revenue, according to an analysis by the Marijuana Policy Project. “Legalizing marijuana for adults has been a wise investment,” authors conclude. “Since 2014, when sales began in Colorado and Washington, legalization policies have provided states a new revenue stream to bolster budgets and […]
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed legislation into law, House Bill 89, expanding the pool of patients eligible for medical cannabis access. The new law, which takes effect on July 21, permits physicians to authorize patients with moderate or severe insomnia to use medical marijuana. It also permits adults and/or pediatric patients with autism spectrum disorder […]
Following nearly a five-year delay, the US Drug Enforcement Administration has publicly announced its intent to grant marijuana cultivation licenses to a handful of third-party applicants. Since 1968, only the University of Mississippi has been federally licensed to engage in the growing of cannabis for FDA-approved clinical research. Scientists familiar with the product have consistently said that […]
Democratic Gov. Jared Polis today signed legislation, House Bill 1090, into law eliminating civil penalties for activities involving the possession of up to two ounces of either cannabis flower or concentrates. State law previously permitted adults to legally possess up to one ounce of either marijuana flower or concentrates for recreational purposes without penalty. By contrast, possessing […]
Regulators have amended state rules to expand the pool of patients eligible to receive medical cannabis authorizations. Members of the Ohio State Medical Board have approved requests to expand the list of qualifying conditions to include: arthritis, chronic migraines, and complex regional pain syndrome. Physicians in the state may authorize medical cannabis to patients suffering […]
House and Senate lawmakers have advanced legislation, House Bill 1090, eliminating civil penalties for activities involving the possession of up to two ounces of cannabis. State law permits adults to legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana for recreational purposes without penalty. By contrast, possessing between one and two ounces of cannabis is classified […]
Over 60 percent of patients in Texas who self-identify as medical marijuana consumers report that they have used it to replace prescription medications, according to survey data compiled by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Nearly 2,900 people participated in the survey. Sixty-one percent said that they “replaced” prescription opioids and/or benzodiazepines with medical […]
“[T]he implementation of medical marijuana laws (MMLs) and recreational marijuana laws (RMLs) reduced morphine milligram equivalents per enrollee by seven percent and 13 percent, respectively.”
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