Political

A highly regarded British think tank focused on reforming drug laws thinks Canada’s legalization and regulation of cannabis has gone well.

Opponents of an initiative that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Arizona have filed a lawsuit to keep the issue off the ballot in November.

The lawsuit, by Arizonans for Health and Public Safety, argues that the initiative’s backers did not accurately describe the measure in a 100-word summary included on petitions that voters signed for it to qualify for the general election.

The group contends that the summary should have included or at least expanded on a range of details in the 16-page initiative.

This is the definitive, continually updated map of where states are in the process of going green. Whether it’s legalizing full recreational use or just medical marijuana, this map will show updates to marijuana legalization as they happen.

How to read this map:

On October 17, 2018, thousands of Canadians waited outside cannabis shops to finally buy the drug legally for the first time in the nation’s history.

That same day, while attention was turned to the shops, the Canadian government promised to undo a great historical wrong: People convicted of single cannabis possession in the past could apply to have those records suspended.

More than a year after legal stores opened, only 436 Canadians have applied to have their cannabis sentences suspended.

Cannabis legalization will likely be an important issue for the U.S. presidential election of 2020.

That's according to a research report by Bank of America Securities analysts Bryan Spillane and Lisa Lewandowski.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic could put the debate on hold, they said.

The analysts break down the hypothesis into four elements, which include congressional activity, the Unity task force formed by Democratic candidate Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, cannabis taxation and legalization measures at the state level. 

November is just around the corner, and neither of our presidential candidates are on board with recreational marijuana legalization at the federal level. Even so, there are some nuances to Joe Biden (D) and President Donald Trump’s (R) cannabis policies you should know about. We broke down the top three things every cannabis-enthusiast needs to know about our 2020 presidential nominees.

Trump:

Marijuana legalization in Idaho had to bear the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. The lockdown forced the state to suspend its medical marijuana campaign. The group responsible for the campaign, the ICC (or the Idaho Cannabis Coalition), failed to collect the required signatures before the May 1 deadline. However, a recent federal court ruling for a separate initiative in the state might have sparked some hopes.

Will Congress act soon to bring a measure of common sense to this country’s cannabis policy? What about the states?

The glacial pace at which the federal government has implemented cannabis policy–particularly in light of the rapid evolution of cannabis laws at the state level–is at the same time predictable and frustrating to those seeking a measure of certainty. And it begs the question: Will Congress act soon to bring a measure of common sense to this country’s cannabis policy? What about the states?

Legalizing marijuana is extremely popular. So why won’t Joe Biden embrace the idea?

Legalization advocates in both Arizona and Nebraska have submitted what is likely enough signatures to qualify adult-use and medical programs, respectively, for their November ballots.

The petition signatures must now be verified by the office of each state’s Secretary of State, with confirmations expected in August.