Category: Politics
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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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D.C. Cannabis Growers Say It’s High Time For A New Testing Lab
D.C.’s medical cannabis industry is poised for growth this year as local regulators open up a fresh round of licensing to entrepreneurs hoping to cash in on medicinal weed. Last month, D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) announced an open application period for the registration of two new cultivation centers, one dispensary, and two testing…
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In New York and Baltimore, Elected Officials Embroiled in Scandals Get Behind Drug Reform
New York has legalized cannabis for recreational use. It is a move that makes New York the fifteenth state to legalize and will contribute to undoing decades of racial disparities in cannabis arrests. The legalization law, passed by the Senate and signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo on Mar. 30, creates a regulated, commercial…
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Psychedelics Decriminalization Initiative Takes Effect in D.C.: Now What?
As Washington D.C. moves closer to launching a regulated commercial cannabis market, plant-based psychedelics are taking a major step toward legal accessibility. On March 15, Initiative 81, a local decriminalization measure that voters supported in 2020, officially took effect. It makes “non-commercial planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, and/or possessing entheogenic plants…
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Advocate Weighs in on D.C.’s Dueling Legalization Bills
Over the past few weeks, Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson have both introduced dueling bills allowing for a commercial regulated cannabis market in the District. The bills suggest the commercial cannabis industry that has eluded the District since 2014—when Initiative 71 passed but the Harris Rider prevented regulated adult use—could happen…
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The Outlaw Report Podcast: Queen’s Gambit
The Outlaw Report podcast host Scott Cecil is joined by Queen Adesuyi, the Policy Manager for the Drug Policy Alliance, the leading drug policy reform advocacy organization in the United States. Queen updates Scott on what’s happening in Congress and when we can expect movement on The MORE Act. Then they turn to D.C. policy…
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Amid Dueling Adult-Use Bills, Medicinal Cannabis Expands in D.C.
Last year, when the Alcohol Beverage Registration Administration (ABRA) took over Washington D.C.’s medicinal cannabis program, it was framed as a step that would make commercial, regulated cannabis easier to enact once lawmakers were ready to enact it. But a recent announcement suggests ABRA has a concerted effort in expanding the medical cannabis program as…
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D.C. Council Chairman Mendelson Releases Comprehensive Cannabis Legalization and Regulation Act of 2021
There are now dueling bills to establish a regulated cannabis market in Washington D.C. On Friday, Feb. 26, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser released The Safe Cannabis Sales Act of 2021 and on Monday, Mar. 1, DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and councilmembers Charles Allen, Mary Cheh, Christina Henderson, Kenyan McDuffie, Brianne Nadeau, and Brooke Pinto…
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A First Look At Washington D.C.’s Safe Cannabis Sales Act of 2021
On Friday Feb. 26, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser sent the Safe Cannabis Sales Act of 2021 to D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and the rest of the council. The Safe Cannabis Sales Act of 2021 would allow commercial, regulated cannabis sales in D.C.—something that has eluded D.C. since 2014 when voters legalized cannabis. Back…
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D.C. Lawmakers Get Green Light to Work On Recreational Cannabis Regulations
Since the D.C. Attorney General gave district lawmakers the green light to work on cannabis regulations for the recreational program passed by residents in 2014, advocates are urging they include reparative measures addressing the historic harm to Black and brown communities caused by racist enforcement of cannabis prohibition. In a report published by the D.C.…
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Psychedelic Reform Movement Goes Federal, Spurred By D.C. Success
Among many changes underway in the nation’s capital, a new nonprofit seeks to increase understanding of and access to natural and synthetic psychedelic medicines at the federal level. The Plant Medicine Coalition (PMC) was co-founded and will be led by local advocate Melissa Lavasani. As chairwoman of Decriminalize Nature D.C., she proposed the successful Ballot…
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The Year in Cannabis: Washington D.C.
The year in cannabis in Washington D.C. was one of incremental change with a number of policies and initiatives put forth that will likely lead to major reforms later on. It was appropriate for 2020, a year in which due to COVID-19 and widespread mismanagement of the pandemic, the District was in emergency mode much…