Ben Adlin

1 week ago | marijuanamoment.net | Ben Adlin

Fresh changes to Florida law on ballot initiatives will create new hurdles for advocates aiming to put legislative proposals before voters—including, potentially, the renewed effort to legalize marijuana in the state. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Friday signed a measure into law that tightens requirements around citizen-initiated measures.

1 week ago | marijuanamoment.net | Ben Adlin

Colorado House lawmakers have advanced a Senate-passed bill that would empower the governor to grant pardons to people who’ve been convicted of psychedelics-related offenses while also revising implementation rules and data-tracking provisions for the state’s 2022 voter-approved psychedelics legalization law. Members of House passed SB25-297 on second reading in a voice vote Monday, following Senate passage of the proposal on a 23–12 vote last week.

1 week ago | marijuanamoment.net | Ben Adlin

A Hawaii bill to support research into psychedelic-assisted therapies that had passed both chambers of the legislature in different forms missed a legislative deadline and is now dead for the session, its sponsor tells Marijuana Moment. SB 1042, from Sen. Chris Lee (D), was scheduled for a conference committee meeting, with lawmakers from both legislative chambers set to hammer out differences between versions of the bill passed by the House and Senate.

1 week ago | marijuanamoment.net | Ben Adlin

In a speech delivered last week at an international harm reduction conference, United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called drug decriminalization “a crucial step toward a more humane and effective drug policy,” saying that prohibition and criminalization “are failing some of the most vulnerable groups in our societies.”“We need a transformative approach,” the official said.

1 week ago | marijuanamoment.net | Ben Adlin

A group of New Mexico marijuana businesses is urging a federal judge not to dismiss its lawsuit against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) over the agency’s alleged overreach in seizing state-legal cannabis products and detaining industry workers.