Lawmakers in Hawaii’s Senate on Monday voted down a bill that would have expanded the state’s existing marijuana decriminalization law, further denying reform efforts by advocates this legislative session following the failure of a separate broader legalization bill early this month. Meanwhile, separate legislation to facilitate expungements of past cannabis offenses is advancing to the governor’s desk. The chamber voted 16–9 to reject the decriminalization expansion bill, SB 2487, which would have decreased the fine for low-level marijuana possession from $130 to $25. The new penalty would ha ..read more

Nearly three in five Americans consider alcohol or tobacco to be “more harmful” to a person’s health than marijuana, according to a new poll. The YouGov survey that was released on Thursday asked respondents about a variety of cannabis use trends. One of the more telling findings is that 64 percent of Americans consider regular alcohol use more dangerous than cannabis, while 63 percent said the same about tobacco. Only 14 percent said marijuana use is more problematic than regular alcohol use. Another 16 percent said cannabis was more dangerous than tobacco. Overall, 53 percent of respondents ..read more

A South Carolina House committee will hold a hearing on a Senate-passed medical marijuana legalization bill this week—raising expectations that lawmakers may finally enact the GOP-led measure in the final days of the 2024 session after months of delay. And a Republican congresswoman from the state is urging supporters to “keep pushing.” The legislation from Sen. Tom Davis (R) has been billed as strictly conservative, but it’s yet to move since being delivered to the House in February. Now the House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee has announced that a Medical Cannabis ..read more

“Legislators also made clear that we should continue using marijuana revenue to fund addiction and recovery services, law enforcement, veterans, wildlife habitat and state parks and trails.” By Blair Miller, Daily Montanan Nearly a year after Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoed (R) a widely supported, bipartisan bill to redistribute Montana’s marijuana revenue and send millions to fund county road projects just as the Senate adjourned for the session, the veto will stand. Lawmakers failed to override the veto of Senate Bill 442, according to polling results released Friday afternoon by the Secretary of ..read more

Lawmakers in Vermont have formally adopted changes to narrow the scope of a House-passed overdose prevention site bill, which in its amended form would create and fund a facility in Burlington where people could use currently prohibited substances in a medically supervised environment—part of a pilot program aimed at quelling the ongoing epidemic of drug-related deaths. After approving a panel amendment last Thursday, the Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted 3–2 to advance the bill, H.72. On Friday, the Finance Committee also voted 4–2 to approve it. It next proceeds to the Senate floor w ..read more

“These victims of the war on drugs deserve to have their names cleared now, today.” By Emma Davis, Maine Morning Star The Maine Legislature passed two bills that would expand eligibility for sealing criminal records, one that drops the age requirements for record sealing and another that allows for sealing now-legal marijuana crimes. While these plans require people to apply to have records sealed, another proposal that would have automated the process failed after criticism that doing so would violate the First Amendment. That bill specifically applied to criminal records for marijuana posses ..read more

The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has unveiled a new legislative agenda that includes marijuana legalization and expungements among a list of priorities that members say Democrats “can pass with congressional majorities” if they keep the Senate and retake the House in the November elections. The Progressive Proposition Agenda that was endorsed by the caucus covers a wide range of domestic policy issues that CPC’s chair, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), says are designed to “motivate people with a vision of progressive governance under Democratic majorities in the House and Senate and a De ..read more

Dozens of marijuana companies and advocacy groups are pushing back against Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-UT) recent claims that the U.S. would be in violation of international drug treaty agreements if it reschedules cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In a letter sent to Romney this month, more than 50 organizations said the senator made “inaccurate claims that neither reflect the current state of medical and scientific knowledge about marijuana nor an accurate application of relevant treaties to proposed reforms.” Signatories—including major marijuana businesses, industr ..read more

“As one of the few majority-Black-owned licensed manufacturers, this support holds profound significance.” By Bhaamati Borkhetaria, Commonwealth Beacon After nearly two years of delays, a social equity fund designed to help struggling marijuana businesses finally began dispensing some money, with Gov. Maura Healey (D) handing out $2.3 million in grants and laying plans to build the fund up to $27.4 million later this year. The Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund was signed into law in 2022 to steer a portion of marijuana tax revenues to “entrepreneurs from communities that have been disproportio ..read more

More than a decade after Colorado voters approved a ballot measure making their state the first in the U.S. to launch legal adult-use marijuana sales, two new polls show that they don’t regret that decision. Roughly two thirds of registered voters (67 percent) recently told the Colorado Polling Institute that they see the reform, known as Amendment 64, as a positive change for the state. A separate survey conducted by Public Policy Polling (PPP) found that more than 7 in 10 (71 percent) Colorado voters think cannabis should be legal and regulated similarly to alcohol, while less than a quarter ..read more