A key House committee on Thursday approved a bill to federally legalize marijuana and promote social equity. The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act cleared the House Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by the legislation’s sponsor, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), on a 26-15 vote. The tally fell largely along party lines, with all Democrats […]| Marijuana Moment
Wednesday is the deadline to submit comments on a draft Senate bill to federally legalize marijuana, and feedback has flooded in from a broad array of advocates and industry stakeholders. While legalization proponents have widely celebrated the introduction of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), they have some suggestions for improvement—principally as it concerns […]| Marijuana Moment
A former U.S. attorney general says that the country is “clearly on the path to decriminalizing marijuana” at the federal level as more states continue to advance reform. Eric Holder, who served as the nation’s top law enforcement official under President Barack Obama, spoke on a drug policy panel hosted by Ohio State University’s Moritz […]| Marijuana Moment
A much-anticipated bipartisan Senate bill to legalize marijuana in Pennsylvania that has been months in the making was formally introduced on Friday. It’s the latest in a string of reform measures that lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have been promoting in recent days. Sens. Dan Laughlin (R) and Sharif Street (D) unveiled the […]| Marijuana Moment
Minutes after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and colleagues unveiled a much-anticipated draft marijuana legalization bill on Wednesday, the White House press secretary reiterated that President Joe Biden remains opposed to the reform. However, she notably said the president would be “encouraged” by efforts to advance more incremental reform such as decriminalizing possession, as he […]| Marijuana Moment
(d) International treaties, conventions, and protocols requiring control; procedures respecting changes in drug schedules of Convention on Psychotropic Substances(1)| LII / Legal Information Institute
President-elect Joe Biden is reportedly set to nominate Judge Merrick Garland—who seems to feel that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) should be deferred to when it comes to the science and classification of marijuana—to serve as the next U.S. attorney general. But according to press reports, he’s also selecting two civil rights activists who embrace […]| Marijuana Moment
President-elect Joe Biden has picked the current attorney general of California to lead serve as the next federal secretary of health and human services, a position that could play a central role in loosening laws prohibiting marijuana. That seems to be good news for legalization advocates, as Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) has a considerable […]| Marijuana Moment
President Joe Biden’s pick for attorney general said on Monday that it is not “a useful use of limited resources” to go after people who are complying with state marijuana laws. He also citied cannabis enforcement as an example of the racially discriminatory impact of the criminal justice system. Judge Merrick Garland, whose views on […]| Marijuana Moment
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday reaffirmed that he does not feel the Department of Justice should be using its limited resources to go after people using marijuana in compliance with state law. During a House Appropriations subcommittee meeting, Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA) asked the official about what steps his agency could take to stop […]| Marijuana Moment