DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to update federal regulations governing the use of certain hemp-derived ingredients in food, beverages or dietary supplements. Congress legalized the production and sale of industrial hemp and hemp derivatives, including hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD), when it passed Wyden Read the full article…
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) on Tuesday blocked lawmakers from considering an amendment on the floor of the US Senate that sought to permanently remove the threat of federal intervention in states that regulate marijuana sales. The amendment, offered by Colorado Republican Cory Gardner, was largely identical to Senate Bill 3032: The STATES Act, which creates an Read the full article…
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reaffirmed on Friday that provisions lifting the federal prohibition of hemp will be included in the engrossed language of H.R. 2: The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (aka the 2018 Farm Bill). The must-pass legislation is currently being debated by leadership in conference committee. “If there’s a Farm Read the full article…
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday announced his resignation from the Justice Department. Sessions was a longstanding, vocal opponent of marijuana policy reform, who once opined, “Good people don’t smoke marijuana.” As Attorney General, his office rescinded the 2013 Cole memorandum which directed prosecutors not to interfere in state-sanctioned marijuana activity. However, that action encouraged numerous Read the full article…
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Sixty-six percent of Americans believe that “the use of marijuana should be made legal,” according to nationwide polling data compiled by Gallup. The total marks an increase in support of almost 30 percent since 2012, when Colorado and Washington became the first two states to legalize adult marijuana use, and is the highest level of support Read the full article…
UPDATED: 10/09/2018 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforces the laws of the United States and U.S. laws will not change following Canada’s legalization of marijuana. Requirements for international travelers wishing to enter the United States are governed by and conducted in accordance with U.S. Federal Law, which supersedes state laws. Although medical and recreational Read the full article…
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Congressman Rod Blum (R-IA) announced the Clean Slate Act, HR 6669, along with 22 original cosponsors, to seal the records for marijuana charges one year after the sentence is completed. The Clean Slate Act is important legislation that would ease the burden felt by those unjustly suffering the Read the full article…
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Representatives Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) and Carlos Curbelo (FL-26), along with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), introduced bipartisan legislation to evaluate states’ marijuana policies. The Marijuana Data Collection Act directs the National Academy of Sciences to create a federally recognized report on state-level marijuana legalization policies, including both medical and non-medical use, and their Read the full article…
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Regulators at the US Food and Drug Administration on Monday granted market approval to Epidiolex, a prescription medicine containing a standardized formulation of plant-derived cannabidiol (CBD) for the explicit treatment of two rare forms of severe epilepsy: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome. The proprietary extract formulation – developed by the British biotechnology firm GW Pharmaceuticals – had Read the full article…
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Governors in Alaska, Kansas, and Oklahoma have each signed legislation in recent days establishing programs to permit the cultivation of industrial hemp. In Alaska, Independent Gov. Bill Walker signed legislation into law establishing a pilot program “to study the growth, cultivation, [and] marketing of industrial hemp.” Senate Bill 6 creates a legal distinction between hemp and marijuana Read the full article…