Political

State lawmakers in both parties are pushing to open the cannabis industry to out-of-state investors, a move that would align Washington state with the rest of the West Coast.

Since 2017, legislation to lift Washington’s six-month residency requirement for investors has faced push-back from small business owners — including Seattle’s Uncle Ike’s — who say the industry would be flooded with big money, leading to consolidation and the death of locally owned craft cannabis stores.

Modifications to law would eliminate blister pack requirement, decriminalize previous medical users, sponsor says

A new bill expected to roll out during this legislative session would again modify Utah’s medical marijuana law, changing a controversial form of packaging and decriminalizing previous medical users.

The Virginia Senate advanced a bill that would decriminalize possession of marijuana.

What is social equity in Colorado’s cannabis industry? Regulators look to level the playing field for marginalized communities

With about 40 states expected to allow some form of legalization by the end of December, 2020 is poised to be a breakout year for cannabis.

Cannabis legalization still isn’t guaranteed in 2020. Most of the discussions are at the state level. Democratic presidential candidates support federal legalization except for Joe Biden. Although Republicans don’t support legalization, they want more cannabis research. Cannabis has support from celebrities as well. Now Congress wants to push a few of the cannabis reform proposals for hearing. 

While up to 11 states could ultimately be voting on medical or recreational cannabis this fall, these three are the only guarantees, for now.

Unless you live under a rock where television and internet access is nonexistent, you've probably noticed the big uptick in political advertisements in recent weeks. That's because (drum roll)... it's an election year. Go ahead and let out that collective sigh.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has included cannabis legalization in his budget proposal and plans to work with neighboring states

Cannabis advocates are cautiously optimistic that 2020 will be the year that New York state finally legalizes marijuana for adult recreational use, marking a milestone for the legal business.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has included legalization in his budget proposal for the new fiscal year, projecting it could generate $20 million in revenue in fiscal 2021, growing to $63 million by fiscal 2022 and $188 million by fiscal 2025.

Mexico missed the Supreme Court’s deadline to submit the final marijuana legalization bill in October 2019. The Senate received 13 proposals last year. However, lawmakers couldn’t review and finalize a bill before the October 23 deadline. As a result, they asked the Supreme Court for an extension. Now, Mexico is ready with an amended proposal before the next deadline of April 30.

At least 18 states stand to loosen their marijuana laws this year.

It looks like 2020 could be a very big year for marijuana legalization.

The year began with a bang when Illinois started recreational marijuana sales, after the state became the 10th in the country and the second in the Midwest to legalize marijuana.

The decision to back away from pursuing criminal charges against people with small amounts of pot comes after state lawmakers legalized hemp last year in a way that threw marijuana prosecution into chaos.

The Austin City Council approved a resolution Thursday that will largely end arrests and fines for low-level marijuana possession.