Marijuana Moment

Senate Panel Set To Vote On Veterans Marijuana Research Bill This Week

Published

2 years ago

February 13, 2023

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A U.S. Senate committee is scheduled to vote on a bill to promote cannabis research for military veterans this week.

The VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act, which is intended to mandate studies by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to explore the therapeutic potential of cannabis for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain, is on the agenda for a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee business meeting on Thursday.

The bill is being sponsored by panel Chairman Jon Tester (D), along with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R).

If the legislation is approved it will be the first time a U.S. Senate committee has marked up a standalone marijuana reform bill.

A congressional source close to the negotiations told Marijuana Moment that a House companion version will also be introduced this week.

Key revisions from prior versions of the legislation appear to give the department significant leeway to determine for itself whether it’s capable of conducting clinical trials and, if so, how to carry them out. The significant change appears to be responsive to concerns expressed by VA officials who testified against the earlier proposals.

“The text of both the Senate and House versions of the bills is expected to

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Live 2024 Marijuana Election Results

Published

3 weeks ago

November 4, 2024

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Marijuana Moment is tracking several statewide cannabis and drug policy reform initiatives on 2024 ballots, in addition to a number of local measures. Stay tuned to this page for results as votes are counted.

Make sure to follow Marijuana Moment on Twitter for live news and analysis, and check our homepage for individual articles about each ballot measure as races are called.

And subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox. It’s the best way to make sure you don’t miss key cannabis developments.

Thanks to support from FundCanna, we have trackers and maps below so you can watch the results as they come in.

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Willie Nelson Urges Dallas Voters To Decriminalize Marijuana At The Ballot Next Month

Published

1 month ago

October 11, 2024

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Cannabis icon and music legend Willie Nelson is urging voters in Dallas to pass a marijuana decriminalization measure that will appear on their local ballots in November.

“Marijuana is an herb and a flower, not a crime,” Nelson said in a press release distributed by Ground Game Texas, which is organizing cannabis campaign, on Friday. “Proposition R in Dallas is about fairness and freedom. It’s long past time to end the criminalization of weed in Texas, and I’m proud to support Ground Game Texas in their efforts. Vote for Prop R and let’s move forward together.”

If approved, the initiative would prevent Dallas police from making arrests or issuing citations for Class A or B misdemeanor cannabis possession offenses, unless it’s part of a high priority felony investigation for narcotics or violent crime.

Further, it says “Dallas police shall not consider the odor of marijuana or hemp to constitute probable cause for any search or seizure.”

The city manager and chief of police would be required to prepare quarterly reports on the implementation of the policy change, with information about any marijuana possession arrests or citations that would be submitted to the Dallas City Council.

Voters in the Texas cities of Lockhart and Bastrop

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Delaware Officials Receive More Than 1,200 Applications For Marijuana Business Licenses, ‘Substantially’ More Than Expected Ahead Of Market Launch

Published

2 months ago

October 3, 2024

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Delaware officials say they have received more than 1,200 applications for marijuana business licenses ahead of a lottery for retailers—which is “substantially” more than they anticipated after opening up the application window in August.

From August 19 to September 30, the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner (OMC) took in 1,269 paid license applications, with fees totaling about $4.1 million. The first licensing lottery for retailers is set to take place on October 24.

“For three of the license categories—Open Testing Lab, Social Equity Testing Lab, and Micro Manufacturing Licenses for Sussex County—the number of applications received matched or fell below the available licenses in those categories; therefore, no lottery will be required,” OMC said.

Due to the “significant interest” in retail licenses, however, the office said it will “conduct a separate lottery for all Retail licenses and any other license categories not reviewed in time for the first lottery in October. This lottery phase is tentatively scheduled for late November or early December.”

A total of 125 licenses will ultimately be issued, including 30 retailers, 60 cultivators, 30 manufacturers and five testing labs. Earlier this month, regulators also detailed what portion of each category is reserved for social equity applicants,

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