Category: Federal
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FDA Orders Juul E-Cigarettes Off U.S. Shelves
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday announced it would pull Juul e-cigarette products from American shelves in an effort to curb youth vaping. Regulators said the popular vaping company must remove its Juul e-cigarette device and four types of flavored nicotine pods from the market or face enforcement. The decision doesn’t make…
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FALSE ALARM: Cannabis Co-Chair Says No Concrete Plan To Combine Expungement Bill With SAFE Banking Act
Recent headlines about a new catch-all marijuana package being crafted at the Capitol have been overstated. Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) says there’s no real effort to merge the SAFE Banking Act with his bill to expunge cannabis records. Rather, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had broad conversations with Republicans about weed, including a wide…
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Blumenauer Says ‘Strong Support’ Growing In Senate For Cannabis Banking Reforms
You may soon be able to legally use your credit card to buy cannabis. That’s because momentum is building behind a measure to allow weed businesses access to basic financial services, like accepting credit cards or even opening a company bank account. All eyes remain on the Senate, where the bipartisan and popular SAFE Banking…
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Activists Urging Psilocybin Access For Terminally Ill Patients Arrested At DEA Headquarters
Around two-dozen activists rallied on Monday outside the headquarters of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Arlington, Va. to protest the agency’s refusal to grant people with terminal illnesses access to experimental drugs like psilocybin and MDMA. For several hours, the demonstrators blocked entrances to the federal building, shouting slogans like “DEA, get out…
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Jonathan Wall Cannabis Trial Kicks Off With A Protest, Strict Courthouse Rules And Jury Selection
A high-profile federal cannabis trafficking trial kicked off on Monday with jury selection, strict rules for spectators and an eye-catching scene outside the Edward A. Garmatz United States Courthouse in downtown Baltimore. Jonathan William Wall, a 27-year-old Maryland native, is facing at least 10 years in prison for helping to move thousands of pounds of…
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The Federal Cannabis Trial You Should Be Watching In Maryland
Maybe you saw the ad in The Washington Post: “Who will be the last person incarcerated for marijuana in the United States?” Or you heard about the man from one of the many publications that have highlighted his detention. Jonathan William Wall is a Maryland native whose federal cannabis distribution indictment and upcoming court trial…
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AOC Presses Biden To Use Presidential Powers To Reform Cannabis Policy
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants President Biden to flex his muscles as commander-in-chief to get cannabis reform and other policy changes done before it’s too late. The New York Democrat took to Twitter on Monday to urge the president to explore new ways of pushing his agenda through, noting that “time is running out” for Democrats.…
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Federal Cannabis Prosecutions Hit New Lows As Fentanyl Cases Skyrocket
Federal cannabis prosecutions continued to decline in 2021, hitting fresh lows as fentanyl and methamphetamine cases climbed to record highs, according to a preliminary report released this week by the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC). Over the last decade, prosecutions by the U.S. government for weed trafficking or possession have steeply and consistently declined. The USSC…
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Cannabis Banking Reforms Delayed Once Again After Being Stripped From Defense Bill
In a 363 to 70 vote, House lawmakers on Tuesday night passed a new version of a bicameral defense spending bill that doesn’t include cannabis banking reforms, sparking disappointment and frustration among advocates and stakeholders. Back in September, the House had approved an initial version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with provisions to…
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AOC Joins Forces With GOP Lawmaker On Bill To Help States Expunge Cannabis Records
The number of cannabis bills making their way through Congress keeps growing. A bi-partisan pair of House lawmakers, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Dave Joyce (R-OH), introduced federal legislation on Thursday that would offer states financial and administrative support to expunge pot-related offenses. The Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act would allow the U.S.…
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Why The Republican Cannabis Legalization Bill Could Have Better Odds Than Democratic Proposals
After years of Democrats steering the cannabis conversation on Capitol Hill, federal legalization is officially no longer a one-party issue. On Monday, South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace and Republican colleagues unveiled the States Reform Act, which would remove cannabis from the list of drugs scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act, impose a 3% federal tax…
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Republicans Unveil Competing Cannabis Reform Bill With Lower Taxes, Less Focus On Social Equity
House Republicans led by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) on Monday unveiled a cannabis bill that is poised to compete with similar legislation proposed by Democrats earlier this year. Dubbed the States Reform Act, the bill is being framed by Republicans as a compromise or middle-ground between the simple descheduling of cannabis and wide-ranging reforms sought…