legislation

Biden approaches trifecta of cannabis reform wish-list

Posted on December 5th, 2022 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

BidenDespite a heretofore uninspiring record, Biden is poised to complete a trifecta of long-sought reforms of federal cannabis law: giving the industry access to financial services, expungement of convictions for possession, and allowing medical research.

Biden pardons all federal offenses of simple cannabis possession

Posted on October 6th, 2022 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

BidenUS President Joe Biden on Oct. 6 pardoned “all prior Federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana.” Biden explained that criminal records for marijuana possession have negatively impacted “too many lives,” particularly those of black and brown people through disproportionate conviction rates.

SAFE Banking Act faces battle in Senate —again

Posted on January 16th, 2022 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , .

capitolCritical legislation that would allow the cannabis industry to access financial services has passed the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives for yet a sixth time—but will likely be killed once again by the Senate, where the Democratic majority is razor-thin.

Advances for cannabis conviction expungement —and obstacles

Posted on November 18th, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

leafNearly 20 states have now approved initiatives or legislation to legalize cannabis, and demands are growing to wipe out past convictions for personal possession. Authorities in some of these states have started to respond—but things are not moving fast enough for advocates of a socially just model of legalization.

Cannabis stocks paradoxically fall on Schumer legalization plan

Posted on July 21st, 2021 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

capitolIt's been a week since Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer of New York, joined by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), unveiled much-anticipated draft legislation to legalize cannabis at the federal level, calling it a "long overdue" move "to right the wrongs of the failed war on drugs." The proposed Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act would remove the plant from the Controlled Substances Act, and allow states to craft their own cannabis policies as they do with alcohol. It would also create a federal regulatory framework and impose an excise tax for cannabis products. It includes measures that would expunge prior convictions and allow those serving time for applicable crimes to petition for resentencing.

Cannabis legalization and the potency question

cannabisAs political and legal space opens for cannabis in state after state, the idea of caps on the potency — whether of flower, extracts or edibles — is gaining currency. But voices in the cannabis industry view this as a phobic response rooted in the flawed assumptions of prohibition.

UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs deschedules cannabis —partially

Planet WatchAt the annual Vienna meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the governing body of the UN Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODCvoted Dec. 2 to strike cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the global treaty regulating drug control policy.

Kamala and cannabis: setting the record straight

Posted on August 12th, 2020 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , .

Kamala HarrisJoe Biden's choice of running mate is Kamala Harris, who will bring a more progressive position on cannabis to the ticket. But if Harris today embraces legalization, she too has capitulated to the drug war establishment in the past—a reality her critics have been quick to exploit. A review of her record reveals an overall evolution toward a more enlightened stance.

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