Category: Politics
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Erin Palmer Wants To Bring D.C.’s Weed Gifting Shops ‘In The Daylight’
Erin Palmer is well aware she’s got a huge task ahead of her. The 40-year-old ethics lawyer and mother-of-three is hoping to unseat D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, a three-term incumbent who she readily admits is “an institution” of District politics. But Palmer isn’t interested in engaging in the vitriolic discourse that often animates important…
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Virginia Lawmakers Approve ‘Opaque’ Budget Deal Creating New Cannabis Crimes
Virginia lawmakers on Wednesday approved a budget package for the state’s upcoming fiscal year that includes last-minute amendments to create new crimes for cannabis possession and impose tougher restrictions on hemp products like CBD. The amendments would make possessing more than four ounces of weed in the commonwealth a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine…
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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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Delaware Governor Vetoes Weed Legalization Bill In Rebuke Of His Own Party
In a controversial move, Delaware Gov. John Carney (D) on Tuesday vetoed a historic bill to legalize cannabis possession that comfortably cleared the state legislature earlier this month. The measure, which passed the General Assembly after years of failed attempts at legalization, eliminates penalties for adults 21 and older who possess up to one ounce…
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Virginia Weed Patients Soon Won’t Need To Register With The State. That’s A Big Deal.
Cannabis advocates in Virginia were laser-focused last month on stopping a bill that threatened to devastate the commonwealth’s hemp industry while creating new crimes for pot possession. Their efforts paid off when the measure was narrowly voted down by the General Assembly, but the passage of another consequential piece of weed legislation may have gotten…
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The Sesh: Martin Mitchell On The Rise Of Weed To The Political Mainstream
In American political life, cannabis has recently gone from a somewhat taboo topic to a key issue at the center of many politicians’ platforms. In Congress, weed legalization is now regularly debated on both sides of the aisle, with Republicans and Democrats vying to become the party that finally reforms federal cannabis laws. But the…
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Super Potent Opioid ‘Iso’ Hits D.C. Amid Surging Overdose Deaths
Federal authorities are warning a new drug as potent as fentanyl — a synthetic opioid partly responsible for a nationwide surge in fatal overdoses — is now circulating in the D.C. region. Per a Wednesday report by FOX 5, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says it discovered isotonitazene — known as “Iso” or “Toni”…
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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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D.C. Mayoral Debate Glosses Over Cannabis, Zeroes In On Opioid Epidemic
The top three candidates for D.C. mayor duked it out on Wednesday evening during a debate on WAMU’s The Politics Hour moderated by local radio legend Kojo Nnamdi and news veteran Tom Sherwood. Over the course of 90 minutes, incumbent Mayor Muriel Bowser, At-Large Councilmember Robert White and Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White argued their…
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Virginia Lawmakers Drop Bill To Create New Weed Crimes, Crack Down On Delta-8
The Virginia Senate on Wednesday voted to shelve a bill that would have created new crimes for possessing weed while imposing stricter restrictions on the commonwealth’s hemp industry. S.B. 591, introduced in January by Sen. Emmett Hanger, a Republican representing Mount Solon, initially sought to prohibit the sale of weed edibles shaped like candy in…
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How Youngkin Turned A Simple Bill Into A ‘Monster’ For Virginia’s Hemp Industry
When first introduced by Virginia Senator Emmett Hanger, S.B. 591 wasn’t the apocalyptic measure that some in the hemp industry now see it as. The bill didn’t include anything about Delta-8 and hardly mentioned hemp. Initially, it mostly dealt with regulating the commonwealth’s medical cannabis industry by prohibiting the sale of weed products in candy-like…
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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…