Category: Hemp
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420 Events in MD, Virginia, and D.C. (2021)
Note: This article was published in 2021. Follow this link to check out 420 events for 2022. Maryland 4/20 – Cali Vibes hosted by Jahfarii & Dj Suplex. The Garage, 6 East Lafayette Avenue Baltimore. 7pm-11pm. LINK. 4/20 – Got 5 On It: Game Night – 420 Edition!. Virtual event presented by Explore Maryland Cannabis.…
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Schumer Teases New Federal Cannabis Reform Bill, Hinting At Legalization
These days it feels like weed keeps hitting the jackpot. Fresh on the heels of New York legalizing recreational cannabis, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced on Saturday that he was working on new federal cannabis reform legislation. Building on the momentum in his home state, Schumer said he would “soon” introduce a bill…
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Mexico’s Path To Cannabis Legalization, Explained
Last week’s episode of The Outlaw Report podcast was a conversation with Elias Lisbona Jassan, an attorney and drug policy reform advocate in Mexico City. He gave listeners a quick history of drug prohibition in Mexico and a deep dive into the current move towards legalization. Since that episode ran, it seems even more likely…
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Quick Hit: Final Rule For Domestic Hemp Production Published
Back in January, the United State Department Of Agriculture (USDA) published its final rule on establishing its Domestic Hemp Production Program, as enabled in the 2018 Farm Bill. The rule allows both individual states and Indigenous tribes to begin domestically producing hemp and explains the requirements for record-keeping regarding hemp production, testing, plant disposal, hemp…
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Virginia Lawmakers Vote to Legalize Cannabis in 2024 in Last Minute Compromise
On Feb. 27, in the waning hours of a busy session, the Virginia General Assembly approved legislation to legalize adult recreational cannabis use. After working to resolve differences between two complex bills from Democrats, the legislature accepted a compromise that will allow recreational pot possession when the commercial market launches in 2024. Some advocates criticize…
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Bipartisan Bill From Congress Would Legalize CBD Supplements
Earlier this month, United States Representatives Kurt Schrader, a Democrat from Oregon, and Morgan Griffith, a Republican from Virginia, introduced HR 841 or the Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act to the House. HR 841 would, the bill says, “make hemp, cannabidiol derived from hemp, and any other ingredient derived from…
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Virginia Bill Would Let Communities Opt Out of Cannabis Legalization
As Virginia’s 2021 cannabis legislation evolves and advances, one delegate sponsors a bill that would allow localities to opt out of legalization, potentially establishing a regulatory patchwork across the Commonwealth. HB 2315’s sole sponsor is Del. Daniel Marshall, a Republican from Virginia’s 14th District. Some advocates say allowing individual localities to opt out of legalization…
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Senate Democrats Announce Plans To Legalize Cannabis
On Monday Feb. 1, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Cory Booker and Ron Wyden announced that they would soon be releasing “a draft discussion bill outlining how best to legalize and regulate cannabis and cannabis commerce in a post-prohibition America.” The announcement arrived months after the House voted on the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment…
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Maryland General Assembly Will Consider Multiple Cannabis Bills in 2021
The General Assembly will consider passing a number of cannabis-related bills in 2021, that would further reduce the prosecution of individuals for cannabis use in the workplace or the justice system, including outright legalization. Despite the majority of Marylanders being in support of legal cannabis, it may be difficult for the legislature to establish an…
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Legalize It Right: Advocates Critique Governor Northam’s Cannabis Plan
On Jan. 13, Governor Northam released a 400-page bill outlining a process to legalize recreational adult cannabis use in Virginia by 2023. The following evening, ACLU Virginia and Marijuana Justice hosted a discussion called, “Legalize Marijuana Right,” which featured local and national speakers from the cannabis space. While the online forum was planned before Northam’s…
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Beyoncé Gives $10,000 to Black-owned MD Cannabis Company
Beyoncé’s foundation BeyGood and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) have given a Maryland-based cannabis company a grant for $10,000. The BeyGood/NAACP grants specifically support Black-owned businesses affected by COVID-19 and The Gift, a cannabis company operating out of Beltsville, Maryland were one of the grantees. In a press release, The…
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Regulations To Expand Hemp Growing in Maryland Adopted
At the end of October, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) announced that it has adopted regulations to expand the state’s industrial hemp program. These regulations, first introduced over the summer, move Maryland’s Hemp Program into compliance with the 2018 Farm Bill and will allow farmers to begin to farm industrial hemp “as an agricultural…