Last week, the Texas State House of Representatives passed House Bill 1535 to expand permissive medical use of low-THC cannabis by patients with a medical condition approved by the Health and Human Services Commission. The bill would broaden the State’s medicinal cannabis program, or the Compassionate Use Program.
Read MoreIn 2014, the Florida Legislature authorized the medical use of low-THC cannabis, the Charlotte’s Web strain, and directed the Florida Department of Health to authorize five “dispensing organizations” to provide patients with the drug.
Read MoreThis week, State Representative La Shawn Ford announced a bill* that he hopes will allow the Illinois dispensary rollout to move forward and advance social equity goals. While these are great goals, we think the bill will not accomplish either.
Read MoreTexas is heading for a boom—it is attracting tech businesses and growing its population, as individuals transplant from other states looking for a lower cost of living and better quality of life. Texas also has a fledgling medical cannabis program that may be headed for a boom as well. Texas’s medical cannabis program is small in both patient size and product offering, but there is a seed that can sprout growth.
Read MoreIn a historic move, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the MORE Act today, a federal marijuana decriminalization bill. Not surprisingly, the votes largely went along party lines—222 Democrats, five Republicans, and a Libertarian voted in favor, while 158 Republicans and six Democrats voted against the measure.
Read MoreYesterday, Mexico’s Senate approved a bill that moves it closer to becoming the third country to legalize recreational cannabis. While the bill still needs to be approved by the Chamber of Deputies before it goes to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s desk, there is renewed optimism that the three-year-old legalization process may soon be completed.
Read MoreIt’s not an exaggeration to say that the only consistent thing in the past few American elections has been support for cannabis legalization. Democrats, Republicans, and independents in red, blue, and purple states all seem ready to decriminalize and legalize cannabis. 2020 was no different; voters approved cannabis legalization measures in every state offering them on the ballot.
Read MoreOn September 21, 2020, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the “Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act” or “MORE Act.” We have written about the MORE Act previously here and here. The MORE Act does not legalize marijuana nationwide, but it does remove cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (thus decriminalizing it under federal law and allowing states to decide whether to legalize). It also requires the expungement of certain marijuana-related criminal records and provides for grants to communities impacted by the War on Drugs.
Read MoreIn a rare move, the Supreme Court of Florida has asked for a second round of oral arguments in the Florigrown matter. As we wrote about here, this case will determine whether Florida’s medical marijuana licensing framework, which effectively requires vertical integration by each licensee, is constitutional.
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