Category: Politics
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Recreational Pot Sales In Virginia Could Begin This September
Lawmakers in the Virginia Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would allow existing medical dispensaries to sell cannabis to adults come Sept. 15, moving up the start date for recreational sales a full 16 months from its current 2024 deadline. The decision to provide a speedier path to legal sales marks a departure from the…
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Legalization Framework Bills Formally Introduced in Maryland House, Senate
Several weeks after Maryland’s legislative session began, three state lawmakers have introduced separate bills that would create a framework for adult-use legalization in the state. Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore) and Sen. Jill Carter (D-Baltimore) formally introduced their respective proposals late last week, and Sen. Brian Feldman (D-Montgomery County) introduced another measure on Monday, setting the…
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Maryland Lawmakers Again Attempt to Protect Gun Ownership Rights for Medical Cannabis Patients
For the fifth year in a row, Maryland lawmakers are working to pass legislation to protect medical weed patients’ gun freedoms. Sen. Michael Hough (R-Frederick and Carroll counties) is sponsoring SB 286, which would prohibit authorities from enforcing federal law against Maryland medical cannabis patients who purchase, own, possess and carry firearms. Federal law currently…
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D.C. Council Creates Tax Holiday For Medical Weed Businesses To Counter ‘Threat’ Of Gray Market Competition
The D.C. Council on Wednesday unanimously approved an emergency bill that establishes a tax holiday week for medical weed businesses around April 20, and allows seniors to sign up for a cannabis card without a doctor’s note. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, who introduced the temporary measure, said it was necessary in light of an ongoing…
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After Spate Of Deadly Fentanyl Overdoses In D.C., ‘Harm Reduction’ Advocates Say It’s Time To Decriminalize All Drugs
Advocates say tragic incidents like last week’s deadly spate of overdoses in Southwest D.C. could be avoided by decriminalizing drugs and implementing policies that seek to protect, rather than punish, people suffering from addiction. Three people died near Nationals Park on Friday after a potent batch of fentanyl led to at least 10 overdoses, according…
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Virginia Senate Committee Kills Psilocybin Decriminalization Bill
A nascent effort to decriminalize psilocybin in Virginia fell short Monday after a state Senate committee voted to indefinitely table the legislation. After two January hearings on SB 262, which would have lowered possession of psilocybin and psilocin from a felony offense to a misdemeanor punishable with a $100 civil fine, the Virginia Senate Judiciary…
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Virginia: Push To Decriminalize Psychedelics Falters, But Still Alive
A bill seeking to decriminalize possession of plant-based psychedelics in Virginia hit a snag this week in the House of Delegates, though counterpart legislation in the Senate remains alive and is headed for a committee vote next week. SB 262, co-sponsored by state Sens. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) and Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon), and HB 898, from…
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Virginia House Committee Shelves Bill To ‘Defelonize’ Drug Possession
Lawmakers in Virginia’s House of Delegates unceremoniously shelved a bill on Friday that would have reduced criminal penalties for the possession of drugs. In a 6-2 vote, the House’s Courts of Justice Subcommittee #1 approved a motion for HB 612 to be “laid on the table” – meaning the measure is now unlikely to be…
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Virginia: Bill To Decriminalize Psilocybin Draws Early Support From Lawmakers
Virginia lawmakers from both sides of the aisle on Wednesday expressed early support for a bill that would decriminalize possession of psychedelic mushrooms, so long as it’s specifically for medical uses. Senate Bill 262, co-sponsored by state Sens. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) and Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon), proposes to reduce the criminal penalty for possession of psilocybin…
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Virginia Lawmakers Propose Ban On Candy-Like Weed Edibles To Prevent Child Exposures
No more weed gummy bears? A pair of Virginia lawmakers wants to ban candy-like cannabis edibles that could appeal to children. Sen. Emmett Hanger (R-Mount Solon) filed legislation co-sponsored by Sen. Bill Stanley (R-Franklin) last week that would prohibit the sale or manufacture of cannabis products “that depict or are in the shape of a…
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Virginia: Republicans Propose To Scrap Social Equity Fund, Undo Other Cannabis Reforms
As Virginia’s new legislative session gets under way, Republicans – emboldened after taking back the governor’s mansion and the House of Delegates – are taking aim at cannabis reforms passed by the General Assembly last year. GOP state lawmakers have pre-filed several measures that would roll back provisions from last year’s legalization bill, zeroing in…