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Companies awarded medical cannabis licenses in Alabama are seeking a court order to allow them to begin operations, AL.com reports. The bid is supported by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC), which has attempted three times since June 2023 to award the licenses but lawsuits have hampered the process.  In a motion to Montgomery County Circuit Judge James Anderson, attorneys for the AMCC are asking him to lift the most recent temporary restraining order that has blocked companies from beginning operations.   “Lost in the interminable medical cannabis litigation are the thousands of patients for whom the Compassion Act was enacted.” — AMCC attorneys…

North Dakota’s tax commissioner estimates that adult-use cannabis taxes in the state could reach $7.281 million every two years based on a 5% sales tax rate, the Associated Press reports. The proposed ballot measure does not include a tax rate – a decision that will ultimately be left to lawmakers.  During a discussion last week with Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus and a panel of lawmakers, Steve Bakken, who is leading the initiative to legalize cannabis in the state, presented estimates for tax revenue, based on data from six other states, extrapolated for North Dakota. He estimated annual revenues between a low of…

“With President Biden’s term coming to a close, this administration has precious little time to fulfill its promise of justice reform.” By Weldon Angelos and Edwin Rubis President Joe Biden’s decision to grant clemency to his son, Hunter Biden, while failing to deliver on his promise to help those incarcerated for marijuana offenses, reveals a troubling double standard. As advocates for justice reform who have lived the devastating realities of the federal justice system, we find this decision not only disappointing but deeply hypocritical. Hunter Biden’s legal troubles included a gun-related offense, yet he now enjoys the freedom granted by…

Since January, California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force (UCETF) has seized more than $191 million worth of illegal cannabis across 13 of the state’s counties, with $70.7 million of that total occurring since July.  In a statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said that the task force has seized more than 42,000 pounds of cannabis since the start of the year.  “Through the UCETF, California continues the charge in cracking down on the illicit cannabis market for the safety of consumers and the support of the legal cannabis industry.” — Newsom in a press release  Bill Jones, chief of the California…

The National Football League (NFL) has reached an agreement with its players union to further reform its marijuana policies, significantly reducing fines for positive tests while increasing the allowable THC threshold for players. About four years after NFL ended the practice of suspending players over cannabis or other drugs as part of a collective bargaining agreement, the league has again revised its Substances of Abuse Policy and Performance Enhancing Substances Policy as the state-level legalization movement continues to expand. Effective Friday, the THC limit constituting a positive drug test will increase from 150 ng/ml to 350 ng/ml, the NFL Players…

Officials in Nebraska said last week that the campaigns to legalize and regulate medical cannabis in the state will qualify for the November ballot, the Associated Press reports. Advocates submitted signatures for two ballot initiatives: one to legalize medical cannabis, and one to establish a regulated medical cannabis industry. Both initiatives had surpassed 89,000 verified signatures and had met the requirement of 5% distribution in at least 51 counties per state law, Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s office said in a press release. “After years of hard work, we are beyond excited that Nebraskans will finally have the opportunity to…

The Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association (ICIA) and Wisconsin Tribal Task Force on Cannabis on Tuesday announced the launch of its Wisconsin Wellness campaign, aimed at legalizing medical cannabis in the state, according to a Daily Cardinal report. Wisconsin is the only Upper Midwest state without some form of cannabis legalization.  During a press conference on Tuesday, Wisconsin Tribal Task Force on Cannabis Founder Michael Decorah noted that there’s currently no legislation in Wisconsin seeking to enact the reforms. Decorah added that those in need of medical cannabis often have to travel to nearby states – such as Michigan and Illinois,…

A newly published report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) finds that psilocybin-assisted therapy in a group of frontline clinicians during the COVID-19 pandemic “resulted in a significant, sustained reduction of symptoms of depression.” “In this randomized clinical trial, we aimed to investigate whether psilocybin therapy could improve symptoms of depression, burnout, and PTSD in clinicians who developed these symptoms from frontline clinical work during the pandemic,” authors wrote in the new report, adding that their findings “establish psilocybin therapy as a new paradigm of treatment for this postpandemic condition.” The study, published on Thursday in the…

A coalition of health professionals that advocates for cannabis reform is asking a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) judge to halt marijuana rescheduling hearings until a federal court is able to address a series of allegations they’re raising about the agency’s witness selection process. On the same day the DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney issued a ruling that laid out the timeline for merit-based hearings on the Biden administration’s rescheduling proposal, attorneys for the group Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR) notified his office that it filed a petition with a federal court challenging DEA’s denial of its participation…

The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) has expanded a recent recall of cannabis products sold at retail stores statewide due to the presence of harmful bacteria, yeast, and mold. The recall initially began on October 11, 2024, focusing on the strain “Frosted Cookies,” produced by Massachusetts-based Nova Farms. The contaminated products were sold at 14 adult-use stores between September and early October. As of October 24, 2024, the recall has grown to include more stores and products, including a second strain, “Frozay.” The recalled products include pre-ground flower, pre-rolls, and blunts, which failed microbial testing for bacteria and mold.…