Category: Politics
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Maryland: Regulators Advance Discount Cannabis Plan For Vets And Medicaid Recipients
Maryland cannabis regulators have advanced a framework for providing discounted cannabis to eligible registered patients, including veterans and state Medicaid recipients. The Policy Committee of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission unanimously approved a proposed framework for the Compassionate Use Fund on Thursday. The fund, established through a broader industry-expansion bill in 2018, allows registered patients…
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Maryland: Advocates Want Cannabis To Instantly Become Legal If Voters Approve A 2022 Referendum
Maryland advocates say a ‘yes’ result in a 2022 state referendum on cannabis legalization should make weed legal on the spot. At a Tuesday meeting of Maryland’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), members discussed policy recommendations for the General Assembly’s next legislative session. At the center of the…
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Sign-ups For Virginia’s Medical Weed Program Have Doubled In Six Months
While Virginia lawmakers work out a timeline for the launch of recreational cannabis sales, the state’s medical weed program continues to grow at a steady clip. Over the last six months, the number of people signed up for a medical cannabis card in the commonwealth has more than doubled — from 15,076 registered patients in…
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Maryland: Annapolis Lobbyists Launch Trade Group For Minority-Owned Cannabis Businesses
As Maryland’s momentum builds for full-on cannabis legalization in 2022, a pair of lobbyists from both sides of the aisle have formed an association to represent minority business interests in the industry. As first reported by Maryland Matters this week, former Maryland Republican Party chair John Kane and ex-Prince George’s County Del. Michael Arrington, a…
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In Photos: Pot Advocates Stage Capitol Hill Protest, Urge Senate To Lift D.C. Sales Ban
A group of roughly 50 cannabis advocates from across the D.C. region demonstrated on Tuesday afternoon outside the Russell Senate Building on Capitol Hill, calling on U.S. Senators to lift a ban on recreational weed sales in the District and to legalize the drug at the federal level. The protestors paraded a 51-foot inflatable joint…
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A Political Shake-Up Could Impact the Future of Pot Legalization in Virginia
Note: This story was first published by District Fray Magazine as part of a collaboration with The Outlaw Report on Take Me Down to Cannabis City, an insider’s guide to the legalization of cannabis in Virginia. Virginia took a big leap toward cannabis reform last spring by passing legislation that authorized pot possession and home…
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D.C. Council Announces Hearing On Bill To Legalize Recreational Cannabis Sales Despite Congressional Ban
The D.C. Council will move forward with legislation to legalize recreational cannabis sales despite a lingering Congressional ban on retail weed in the nation’s capital. In a notice published on Friday, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Councilmembers Kenyan McDuffie and Charles Allen announced that a public hearing on the Comprehensive Cannabis Legalization and Regulation…
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Will Virginia’s Towns And Counties Opt-Out of Retail Weed?
Note: This story was first published by District Fray Magazine as part of a collaboration with The Outlaw Report on Take Me Down to Cannabis City, an insider’s guide to the legalization of cannabis in Virginia. Weed shops are at Virginia’s doorstep, but not everyone is rolling out the welcome mat. As state regulators prepare…
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In Photos: Here’s What You Missed At This Year’s National Cannabis Festival
Crowds were greeted with an uplifting herbal aroma on Saturday as they approached D.C.’s RFK Stadium for the fifth annual National Cannabis Festival. But just in case people didn’t recognize the smell, there was a 20-foot-long inflatable sign by the entrance that read “CANNABIS” in giant red-and-white letters. Consumers, advocates, and industry professionals have congregated…
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Virginia Gov. Northam Makes Picks For Three New Boards To Oversee Cannabis Legalization
Gov. Ralph Northam on Monday announced appointments to three newly-created boards charged with overseeing the future of recreational cannabis in Virginia in the wake of legalization earlier this month. On July 1, the commonwealth authorized the possession and home cultivation of pot for adult Virginians following the passage of sweeping new cannabis laws by the…
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Some D.C. Dispensaries Say They Face Flower Shortages Because Growers Restrict Their Supply
Every week, Norbert Pickett orders cannabis from each of D.C.’s eight cultivators to restock the shelves of his small medical dispensary, Cannabliss, located on the East side of the Anacostia River in Deanwood. With the help of his wife and business partner, Collette Leonard, he selects various flower strains, oils, edibles, and other pot products,…
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The Outlaw Report Podcast: What’s Next for Cannabis in the DMV?
This week, The Outlaw Report Podcast host Scott Cecil is joined by local cannabis policy reform advocate, Martin Mitchell, who serves as President of the Prince George’s County Young Democrats, and is a candidate for City Council in Laurel, MD. Martin and Scott discuss next steps for cannabis reform in Maryland in the wake of…