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Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Approved In Fourth Senate Committee, With More Votes Set For This Week

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A fourth Minnesota Senate committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana, another step along its extended journey to the floor as a House companion also continues to advance.

The Senate Agriculture, Broadband, and Rural Development Committee passed the legislation from Sen. Lindsey Port (D) in a 5-4 vote. The measure is expected to go through a total of 18 panels in the chamber.

Senate Assistant Majority Leader Erin Murphy (D) said at the beginning of Monday’s hearing that Minnesota has “an opportunity to undo some of the harm that has been done and to create a system of regulation that works for Minnesota consumers and Minnesota businesses while ensuring an opportunity in this new market for communities that have been most affected by prohibition.”

“Our main goals are to legalize, regulate and expunge—and we’re working to ensure that this bill does just that,” the senator said, adding that there are ongoing discussions about possible amendments to further improve on aspects of the legislation such as tax policy for the state’s existing hemp industry.

On the House side, the bill is being sponsored by Rep. Zack Stephenson (D) and has advanced through six committees so far. Its next stop is

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Senators Push VA To Create Medical Marijuana ‘Standard Of Care’ As Rescheduling Process Finishes

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A group of nine U.S. senators is calling on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to “expeditiously” develop a standard of care for veterans using medical marijuana and allow the department’s doctors to recommend cannabis to patients in light of the Biden administration’s proposal to reclassify the drug.

In a letter led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) that was sent to VA Secretary Denis McDonough on Friday, the coalition said that the Justice Department’s proposal to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) necessitates a reevaluation of the department’s own marijuana policies.

This comes just a week after a Senate committee approved a relevant amendment to a large-scale spending bill sponsored by Merkley that would allow VA doctors to discuss and recommend medical marijuana to patients living in legal states.

Given that the administration is moving to reschedule cannabis, “we urge the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) to expeditiously produce a VA-approved standard of care for medical cannabis,” the senators wrote. “We also strongly recommend issuing clear guidance allowing and preparing Veterans Health Administration (VHA) providers to discuss, recommend, and assist patients in qualifying for enrollment in state-legal medical cannabis programs following

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Bipartisan Lawmakers Seek To Remove Marijuana Rescheduling Ban From Key Spending Bill

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Bipartisan congressional lawmakers are seeking to remove a controversial section of a spending bill that would block the Justice Department from rescheduling marijuana—one of several cannabis- and psychedelics-related amendments to appropriations legislation that have been filed in recent days.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) announced on Wednesday that she introduced the amendment to strike the rescheduling restriction that’s currently included in the 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) spending bill.

In a video filmed with cannabis lobbyist Don Murphy at the Republican National Committee (RNC) convention, Mace said that “we want to make sure rescheduling happens,” even if her preference would be to fully deschedule marijuana as would be accomplished under her States Reform Act.

“We’re doing all we can,” the congresswoman said.

If you think #cannabis (Schedule 3) isn’t being discussed on the floor of the RNC convention, you’d be wrong. @RepNancyMace pic.twitter.com/qAiaU3226e

— Don Murphy (@donmurphy12a) July 18, 2024

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) also introduced an amendment to the CJS measure that would similarly strike the scheduling restriction section, which was adopted by the House Appropriations Committee earlier this month. That GOP-led panel also rejected a separate amendment to remove the section.

GOP senators have separately tried

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DeSantis’s Marijuana Opposition Campaign In Florida Raises Just $10,000 As Pro-Legalization Committee Rakes In Tens Of Millions

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) recently launched political action committee opposing a marijuana legalization ballot initiative has so far raised only $10,000—just 1/6,000th of the amount of money that’s poured into the effort to pass the cannabis measure.

As of last week, the DeSantis “Florida Freedom Fund” has only raised $10,000 in contributions—all coming from a former Republican congressman representing Pennsylvania, campaign finance records from the Division of Elections records show. By contrast, the Smart & Safe Florida campaign behind the marijuana initiative has raised over $60 million.

Of course, the PAC founded by the governor only launched in May, whereas the cannabis campaign has been active since late 2022. Even so, the early numbers seem to signal a lack of enthusiasm among prospective donors about supporting the effort to derail marijuana legalization, as well as an abortion rights proposal that the DeSantis committee is also seeking to defeat.

Former U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-PA), the DeSantis committee’s sole donor—voted against numerous amendment in Congress to shield state marijuana laws from federal interference. He also opposed measures on cannabis banking and to allow Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to recommend medical marijuana.

The campaign finance data was first reported by

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