Political

Politics and impeachment already had slowed things down.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer's (D-Ore.) road map for the current Congress ended in full legalization by the end of 2019.

But instead of a complete overhaul of the nation's cannabis laws in the 116th Congress, one chamber passed one cannabis bill on one issue. Impeachment killed the remaining momentum, and the coronavirus then changed the course entirely, torching the chances of any standalone cannabis legislation passing Congress this year.

Those who thought former Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden might be forced to evolve on cannabis by the far-left Bernie Sanders coalition: You may now exhale. Uncle Joe ain’t budging.

On Monday, the Biden campaign released a six-part policy manifesto: “Lift Every Voice: The Biden Plan for Black America.” In it, Joe Biden describes his administration’s plan to “advance the economic mobility of African Americans and close the racial and wealth and income gaps.”

The political committee Make It Legal Florida is seeking to put a pot measure on the 2022 ballot but needs the Supreme Court to sign off on the ballot title and summary.

With Attorney General Ashley Moody, lawmakers and groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce trying to block the measure, the state Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments about a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow people to use recreational marijuana.

Tuesday, Minnesota House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, introduced legislation that would legalize the adult-use of cannabis.

According to the Minnesota House of Representatives, the legislation is the result of months of public discussions on how to responsibly legalize and regulate cannabis. 

It took almost two years for Massachusetts marijuana company T. Bear, Inc., to receive approval to commence operations, which finally came down on March 20, recounted owner and CEO Angela Brown.

That approval authorized the East Wareham company to start operations on March 24, which happened to end up being the day an order from the governor shut down businesses deemed non-essential, including marijuana companies.

Marijuana legalization efforts in many US states were disrupted after COVID-19 hit. Self-quarantine and social distancing efforts made it impossible for campaign activists to gather signatures. As a result, many states had to drop their legalization campaigns. However, Nebraska might have come up with a new strategy to gather signatures and legalize marijuana this year. Let’s take a look.

As shelter-in-place orders drag on and the U.S. economy limps through the second quarter, investors, economists and politicians are asking important questions about what the post-outbreak economy will look like and how quickly the U.S. can replace the 26 million jobs it has lost in 2020.

Many Americans have been turning to cannabis to help them get through the stress of the COVID-19 outbreak, but there’s a strong case that U.S. marijuana legalization could help the economy recover as well.

Marijuana legalization laws have failed numerous times in New Jersey. Even though the state is smaller, there’s a lot of support to legalize recreational marijuana this year. A recent poll by Monmouth University showed that 62% of adults in New Jersey favor recreational marijuana legalization. This year, lawmakers hoped to put the proposal on the ballot.

The delays are mounting in Mexico's attempt to end cannabis prohibition.

For much of the past half-decade, marijuana has been one of the fastest-growing industries. After generating $3.4 billion in worldwide sales in 2014, global weed sales more than tripled to $10.9 billion by 2018. According to various Wall Street estimates, worldwide pot sales should hit $50 billion on an annual basis by 2030, with North America generating the bulk of this revenue.

Ten senators today joined 34 members of the U.S. House in calling for the ability of the nation’s cannabis companies in states that are “legal” (for medical or adult use or both) to access any upcoming Small Business Administration (SBA) relief funds during the current COVID-19 pandemic.