Month: March 2025

President Donald Trump’s (R) White House suggested in a recent document that Washington D.C.’s voter-approved cannabis decriminalization policy had led to “disorder” in the nation’s capital city.

The fact sheet, first reported by Marijuana Moment, was released accompanying an executive order from President Trump covering the beautification of the nation’s capital city.

“D.C.’s failed policies opened the door to disorder — and criminals noticed,” the White House noted in the document, then listed several policies, including cannabis decriminalization and the abandonment of pre-trial detention practices, as examples. The executive order itself does not mention cannabis outright, but refers to “deploying a more robust Federal law enforcement presence and coordinating with local law enforcement to facilitate … a more robust local law enforcement presence” in the District, highlighting “drug possession, sale, and use,” among other concerns.

The president said during last year’s election that he supported federally rescheduling cannabis — a process that was initiated by the Biden Administration — and that he would vote yes on Florida’s ballot question last year to legalize adult-use cannabis, which ultimately failed to pass. The president, who failed to enact or pursue any significant cannabis reforms during his first four-year term, has not otherwise

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A Senate-approved bill that sought to gut Georgia’s intoxicating hemp products industry stalled in a House committee last week, saving the state’s hemp operators and entrepreneurs from the threat of a crackdown for at least another year, the Capitol Beat News Service reports.

The bill, SB 254, would have banned hemp products from containing any amount of THC as an ingredient. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Bill Cowsert (R), who warned of highly potent hemp products available in the state, arguing that “We are putting loaded guns in people’s hands in the form of a can, or a gummy, and we need to protect them.”

The Senate voted 42-14 to pass the proposal last month.

However, the bill stalled last week in the House Regulated Industries Committee under chair Rep. Alan Powell (R), who said he was reluctant to ban a plant “that God lets grow naturally,” the report said.

Powell heard testimony last week from both Sen. Cowsert and hemp operators, then he returned with his own amended version of the legislation, which removed all of the proposed hemp industry restrictions. Rather, Powell proposed expanding hemp retail sales to state-licensed package stores, or liquor stores.

The bill passed

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A Florida state appeals court this week tossed a drug-trafficking conviction against a man who was caught with two duffel bags containing 50 vacuum-sealed bags of a “leafy green” substance that officials believed to be cannabis, the News Service of Florida reports.

The man, Pete Campbell, was arrested in 2022 at Tampa International Airport after taking a flight from Denver; he was ultimately convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to three years in prison.

But Campbell appealed the conviction, arguing that because the prosecution had only tested material from one of the 50 packages, it should not be considered sufficient evidence to support a federal drug trafficking charge. Campbell also said that he had believed the material was hemp when purchasing it, and the appeals court noted the difficulty of differentiating illegal cannabis from legal hemp without the capabilities of a testing lab.

Chief Judge Daniel Sleet wrote Wednesday’s ruling, which noted that “Every witness who testified for the state admitted that they were unable to identify by appearance or odor alone whether the substance found in Campbell’s duffle bags was illegal cannabis or legal hemp.”

“The detective handling the K-9 (police dog) testified that his K-9 could not identify

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The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management this week submitted its final draft of the state’s adult-use cannabis industry regulations for approval. If the rules are approved by a judge with the Office of Judicial Hearings, cannabis licenses could start being awarded — and businesses could start opening — within weeks.

It’s the biggest step Minnesota has taken toward launching its regulated adult-use cannabis market since lawmakers approved the policy in 2023.

“These rules lay the foundation to ensure Minnesotans can have confidence in a safe, well-regulated cannabis market,” said OCM Interim Director Eric Taubel.

“Our timeline for launching the adult-use market has forecasted completing rules by the end of first quarter 2025. With the rules now in the hands of an administrative law judge for final approval, we’ve reached a crucial milestone. Following approval, prospective businesses will be able to complete their final steps and receive a cannabis license.” — Taubel, in a press release

Minnesota’s cannabis industry launch has been fraught with challenges: the state’s cannabis social equity license lottery was canceled last year following several lawsuits filed by applicants whose applications were denied, and the OCM’s former director, Charline Briner, resigned in January.

Meanwhile, a report filed earlier this

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The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is promoting a video contest for young people to participate in ‘Anti-420 Day,’ an Instagram campaign organized by the youth cannabis prevention group Johnny’s Ambassadors. First reported by Marijuana Moment, the campaign asks high school and college students to submit videos for the contest with the promise that “On April 20, we are going to flood Instagram with our anti-THC messages.”

“Please help us get the word out by sharing your story and/or providing education on why young people should not use THC,” the group said in a press release.

While the DEA is not helping organize the contest, the agency’s website JustTwinkTwice posted a bulletin supporting the campaign, encouraging readers to “Get the word out by sharing your story and/or providing education on why young people should not use THC.”

Meanwhile, the DEA was, until recently, steering the effort to hold a hearing on moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law, a plan put into place under the Biden Administration.

But the hearing was canceled in January by DEA Administrative Law Judge John Mulrooney following complaints about improper communications between DEA officials and anti-rescheduling proponents, and Judge Mulrooney has since

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For the second time this session, the New Hampshire House of Representatives has approved an adult-use cannabis legalization proposal after lawmakers voted 208-125 on Wednesday to advance the bill to the Senate.

House lawmakers last month approved the body’s first legalization bill of the year; the second proposal, HB 198, is a simpler policy that stops short of setting any cannabis retail rules, or even home grow allowances. In fact, while the proposal would still legalize cannabis possession for adults aged 21 and older, it does not offer any legal avenues for acquiring cannabis.

Rep. Jared Sullivan (D), the bill’s primary sponsor, argued that since most people seem to support ending cannabis prohibition in general, and that establishing a regulated marketplace seems to be the more controversial step for many dissenters, it was appropriate to give lawmakers in the Senate another legalization option to consider.

“It is 2025. Let’s stop arresting people and ruining their lives for the possession of cannabis, something that many states in the country have already legalized for possession and in most cases for sale.” — Rep. Sullivan, on the House floor

Even if the Senate chooses to advance the proposal, however, New Hampshire Gov. Kelly

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The number of federal charges for cannabis trafficking has hit an all-time low, according to data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Last year, the federal government charged fewer than 500 people for trafficking cannabis, a 93% decline in such arrests since 2012.

According to the commission report, the average sentence imposed for federal drug trafficking crimes was 82 months. The majority of federal drug trafficking charges were for methamphetamine (45.7%), followed by fentanyl (22%), powder cocaine (19.4%), crack cocaine (3.8%), and heroin (3.3%). Just 2.6% of federal drug cases involved cannabis.

Individuals charged with offenses involving methamphetamine received the longest prison sentences – 100 months. Those charged with fentanyl-related offenses received 76-month sentences; 68 months was the average sentence for crack cocaine charges; 66 months was the average sentence for heroin; 64 months was the average sentence for powder cocaine; and 36 months was the average sentence for cannabis-related charges.

The report found that nearly half of individuals sentenced for drug trafficking were Hispanic (45%), followed by Black (28%), and White (24%) but racial demographics varied by the type of drug involved in the offense: Hispanic individuals were the most common racial group sentenced for powder cocaine and heroin trafficking

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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) on Monday vetoed legislation to establish regulations to implement an adult-use cannabis industry in the state. In his veto message, Youngkin cited “adverse effects on children’s health and safety,” the “failures” of states that have adult-use markets, and concerns about increased crime and psychiatric disorders.

“The proposed legalization, which was vetoed last year, would establish the framework for retail marijuana, which endangers Virginians’ health and safety. States following this path have seen adverse effects on children’s and adolescent’s health and safety, increased gang activity and violent crime, significant deterioration in mental health, decreased road safety, and significant costs associated with retail marijuana that far exceed tax revenue. It also does not eliminate the illegal black-market sale of cannabis, nor guarantee product safety.” — Youngkin in HB2485 veto message

In his veto message, Youngkin cites state data from the Blue Ridge Poison Control Center, which has reported an 85% increase in minors overdosing on cannabis-infused edibles since the Commonwealth legalized cannabis possession in 2021. The governor also points to the proliferation of unregulated sales in California and Colorado, which he claims “fuels gang activity, drives violent crime, and undermines public safety.”

“The financial and societal burdens

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Cannabis sales in Ohio have surpassed $2.5 billion, driven by adult-use sales in the state, according to Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) data outlined by WCMH. More than $390 million of that total is from adult-use cannabis sales over the past seven months.

According to the DCC, two-thirds of all cannabis sales in Ohio since August have been non-medical.

Adult-use cannabis sales in the state are subject to a 10% excise tax, which equates to $37.6 million in cannabis-derived tax revenues for the state this year alone. According to a study conducted by Ohio State University’s Mortiz College of Law, the state could collect around $62 million in tax revenues from adult-use cannabis sales by the end of the year.

In all, 36% of tax funds generated by cannabis sales – or about $13.5 million – are supposed to be designated for municipalities that host cannabis businesses; however, officials are withholding the funds claiming that the voter-approved law did not include the appropriation of funds to towns and cities. A representative for Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has indicated that the withheld funds will be used to improve local jails, fund the 988 behavioral crisis hotline, and for law enforcement.

Ohio

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