Two House lawmakers this week reintroduced bipartisan legislation to support states that enact policies to expunge convictions for past cannabis offenses. The bill, the Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act, was introduced on Wednesday by Republican Representative Dave Joyce of Ohio and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York. If passed, the HOPE […]
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Louisiana Legislators Say They Unknowingly Legalized Hemp Products With THC
Louisiana state Sen. Stewart Cathey and Sen. Jay Morris stated in a recent Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on April 18 that legalizing hemp products with THC was unintended. “Last session we unknowingly created a recreational THC market in Louisiana,” Cathey said at the meeting, according to The Daily Advertiser. “It was not the intent of […]
Colorado Lawmakers Introduce Delta-8 THC Regulation Bill
Two Colorado lawmakers have introduced bipartisan legislation to regulate intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids including the increasingly popular compound delta-8 THC. The measure, Senate Bill 271, was introduced earlier this month by Republican Senator Kevin Van Winkle and his Democratic colleague, Senator Dylan Roberts. Last year, Colorado lawmakers passed legislation authorizing the Colorado Department of Public Health […]
New York Governor Launches Campaign Urging Consumers To Buy Legal Weed
New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday launched a new statewide campaign to encourage consumers to purchase cannabis from the state’s regulated recreational marijuana market. New York legalized adult-use cannabis in 2021, and regulated sales of recreational marijuana began at the state’s first licensed dispensary in Manhattan in late December 2022. “To bolster the public […]
House Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Cannabis Business Tax Relief Bill
Oregon Representative Earl Blumenauer this week introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would allow regulated cannabis companies to take tax deductions commonly enjoyed by businesses in other industries. The bill, known as the Small Business Tax Equity Act, was introduced by Blumenauer on Monday, with bipartisan co-sponsorship by fellow Democrat Representative Barbara […]
Connecticut Bill Would Allow State Tax Deductions for Cannabis Businesses
A bill pending before Connecticut state lawmakers would allow businesses in the state’s nascent cannabis industry to take tax deductions commonly enjoyed by firms in other industries. If passed by the legislature and signed into law, the legislation is projected to save businesses in the cannabis industry $4.7 million in the fiscal year starting July […]
Illinois House Considers Bill Banning Vehicle Searches Based On Weed Odor
Members of the Illinois House of Representatives are considering a bill that would ban police searches of vehicles based solely on the odor of cannabis. The measure, Senate Bill 125, has been assigned to two House legislative committees after gaining the approval of the Illinois Senate in a 33-20 vote late last month. Democratic Senator […]
One-Third of the Colorado Marijuana Workforce Has Been Cut
Marijuana-related jobs are becoming harder to find in Colorado. You’ve likely seen headlines claiming that Colorado marijuana sales are dropping. Alongside this, the state’s cannabis workforce has also fallen by 28 percent according to a recent report. This is a first for the Centennial State, which legalized adult-use cannabis sales back in 2014. While such […]
Poll: Majority of South Carolina Adults Support Medical, Recreational Cannabis
It appears that adults in South Carolina are backing legal medical cannabis, and the majority also support recreational use, according to a new poll. The poll, conducted by Winthrop University, involved interviews with 1,657 South Carolina adults from March 25-April 1. In addition to cannabis, the poll established favorability ratings of politicians and asked residents […]
Finland Bans Sale of HHC Products, Sweden to Follow
Scandinavian countries in Europe are taking steps to halt the sale of psychoactive compounds derived from hemp—most recently hexahydrocannabinol (HHC). According to Senior Inspector at the Finnish Medicines Agency (Fimea), Katja Pihlainen, HHC products have flooded Europe and made their way into Finland. She said that Finland recently classified HHC as a psychoactive substance that’s […]