Lawmaker pushes marijuana industry tax reform; Former GOP rep: My party’s wrong on cannabis; FL homegrow; VA record sealing; Poll: Cannabis & alcohol
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
Congressional Cannabis Caucus Co-chair Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) asked members of the House Ways & Means Committee to reform “outdated” laws that force the marijuana industry to pay higher taxes and instead “treat cannabis businesses like any other small businesses that operate in so many of our districts.”
Cannabis businesses are hopeful that an upcoming Senate Banking Committee hearing on debanking will bring attention to the marijuana industry’s financial services access issues, and they are sharing their stories in response to the panel’s request for info.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), President Donald Trump’s initial pick to be attorney general, said his party is “wrong on marijuana reform”—but he declined to smoke a joint with Bill Maher, joking that it would “mess with all the molly I took on the way” to the interview.
The Virginia Senate Courts of Justice Committee approved a bill to seal marijuana possession records, while defeating separate legislation to let police begin conducting searches based on the smell of cannabis again.
A Florida Republican senator filed a bill to let medical cannabis patients grow their own medicine at home, while also enacting new restrictions on certain hemp-derived cannabinoid products.
Marijuana helps to reduce alcohol drinking, most consumers say in a new poll from NuggMD—with 54 percent reporting that they “tend to drink less or not at all” when using cannabis.
Bipartisan members of Congress sent a letter pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to work to free American citizen Marc Fogel, who is jailed in Russia for possessing medical cannabis he used to treat pain.
/ FEDERAL
The Drug Enforcement Administration highlighted an article about a small group of Pennsylvania physicians being responsible for a third of the state’s medical cannabis recommendations.
/ STATES
A spokesperson for New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) said she continues to oppose legalizing marijuana.
Oklahoma’s attorney general said a state immigration law being considered by a federal appeals court is “critical in our efforts to stamp out the pestilence of illegal marijuana grows and their associated criminal activities.”
A Pennsylvania senator tweeted, “Since being in office I have been, and remain, committed to making adult use legal and equitable in Pennsylvania.”
New York budget officials are projecting that legal marijuana revenue will reach $339 million in Fiscal Year 2027, $363 million in 2028 and $374 million by 2029.
Minnesota marijuana regulators issued an annual report to lawmakers.
Missouri regulators sent a newsletter with updates on various cannabis issues.
Vermont regulators will consider recommendations for marijuana business licensure on Wednesday.
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/ LOCAL
Los Angeles, California officials are extending the deadline for marijuana businesses to pay annual license application fees.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Polish medical cannabis prescriptions have significantly reduced since telemedicine restrictions were put in place.
Himachal Pradesh, India officials approved a report recommending the regulated cultivation of cannabis for industrial, scientific and medical purposes.
The mayor of Grenoble, France is proposing a national referendum on cannabis legalization.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review concluded that “cannabis has the potential to change the therapeutic landscape for neurological illnesses like seizures, provided that science and regulation continue to progress.”
A review provides “initial support from human studies that psilocybin potentially leads to beneficial effects on biomarkers of” major depressive disorder.
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review editorial board said Pennsylvania could “stay divided” on marijuana legalization for the foreseeable future.
/ BUSINESS
AYR Wellness Inc. has a new president.
/ CULTURE
The late actor Paul Reubens said in an interview for an upcoming documentary that he “spent my entire adult life hiding I was a huge weed head.”
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Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.
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