Tag: Main Blog
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Virginia Legalization Workgroup’s Report Released
On Monday, November 30, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam released “Report to the Virginia General Assembly and Governor of Virginia: Impact on the Commonwealth of Legalizing the Sale and Personal Use of Marijuana,” the Virginia Legalization Workgroup’s nearly 500-page report on how to go about legalizing cannabis in the state. The report had to be completed…
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The MORE Act, Explained
It was about a year ago that The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act—The MORE Act—first passed the House Judiciary Committee with a vote of 24-10. Introduced on July 23, 2019, the MORE Act would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, effectively decriminalizing it nationwide and make it much easier for states to legalize…
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Virginia Ends Searches Based on Cannabis Smell Alone and Plans To Push Legalization
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Virginia’s House and Senate are all in agreement over House Bill 5058 and Senate Bill 5029, which will prevent law enforcement from searching people, people’s homes and/or vehicles solely due to cannabis smell. The bill recently passed the House and the Senate and was then amended slightly by Northam. That…
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Following Cannabis Legalization Wave, MORE Act Will Finally Get a Vote
Less than a week after an election that expanded cannabis legalization with voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, South Dakota all approving ballot measures (not to mention Oregon voting to decriminalize all drugs), the Democrat-controlled Congress has announced they will vote on The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE) next month. The MORE Act…
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D.C. Mayor Won’t Approve Psychedelics Decriminalization Even If Voters Support It
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she is not in favor of moving forward with the initiative that would decriminalize psychoactive drugs such as psilocybin, ayahuasca and other “natural plant medicines” even if voters approve of it on Election Day. “It seems like the issue is not an organically D.C-created initiative,” Bowser said at a…
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D.C. Cannabis Dispensary Employees Join Union
The first Black-owned dispensary in D.C. is also the first to unionize. As excited employees looked on, Norbert Pickett, CEO and owner of DC Holistic Wellness signed the 5-year bargaining contract with United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 on October 21. “Here at DC Holistic Wellness, we want our workers to have a…
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D.C. Cannabis Industry Optimistic About ABRA’s New Role In Regulation Oversight
Stakeholders in the D.C. cannabis industry are optimistic about the recent change of regulatory oversight from the Department of Health (DOH) to the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA). ABRA assumed the responsibility of cannabis industry from DOH on October 1. Rabbi Jeffrey Kahn, owner of Takoma Wellness, the first dispensary that opened in the District,…
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D.C. Loosens Medicinal Cannabis Delivery Restrictions As Covid-19 Concerns Continue
Back in April, Washington D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser and the Department of Health (DOH) announced that they would allow medicinal dispensaries in the District to deliver cannabis to patients for the first time. This was in response to Covid-19, in which it was imperative that in-person interaction was limited especially among the most vulnerable. Now,…
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Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission Finally Awards Grower and Processor Approvals
The much-anticipated Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission meeting where a number of growers and processors received Stage One pre-approvals for licenses went on for more than four hours. These licenses have been nearly two years in the making—the result of a 2018 law introduced to prioritize minority-owned businesses and begin to correct the fact that virtually…
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Cannabis Commission’s Policy Committee Meeting; Maryland Dispensary Shake-Ups
The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC) Policy Committee meeting from last week went deep on the complicated ins and outs of testing that even members of the committee were still wrapping their heads around. Primarily, this was about the ongoing development of a technical authority for testing medicinal cannabis and all that it entails. “The…
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House Vote on MORE Act Postponed Until After the Election
The House of Representatives decided to delay a planned vote on landmark cannabis legislation The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE) until after the election, citing the need to pass a Covid-19 relief package beforehand and concern that voting on a cannabis bill could be a political liability before the November election. Under the…
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One Tent Health Provides HIV Screening, Voter Registration—and CBD Gummies
“I was kind of always looking for ways to help people whenever I can,” said Mackenzie Copley, who founded One Tent Health, a nonprofit that provides free and easy access to HIV testing, after observing the difficulties that many people experience when they are tested for HIV. To start, there is getting the test itself,…