marijuana
States with legal pot consider how to protect cannabis workers
Most cannabis dispensaries are cash-only businesses, constantly at risk of being robbed. Indoor growing facilities use harsh lighting, and plants get sprayed with pesticides. Those conditions can create daily hazards for cannabis workers, which is why labor organizers are trying to unionize them as legalization spreads and the marijuana workforce grows. “Cannabis consumers might assume […]
Motley marijuana laws drive consumers — and revenue — across state lines
SOUTH BELOIT, Ill. — Less than half a mile south of the Wisconsin border in Illinois, the Sunnyside Cannabis Dispensary bustles with activity. Cars with license plates from Wisconsin, Minnesota and other pot-banning states slide in and out of the shop’s expansive parking lot. The bright and airy retail store is an easy hop off […]
Attempt to help states ease banking for marijuana businesses stumbles in Congress
The annual Defense Department policy bill members of Congress released late Tuesday did not include measures to loosen federal marijuana restrictions, to the disappointment of advocates. That leaves few avenues to pass marijuana measures seen as boons to states where the drug is legal before Congress adjourns for the year. As one of the last […]
317,793 arrests for marijuana possession in 2020 despite the growing legalization movement
More than 300,000 people were arrested for cannabis possession in 2020, FBI records show. Meanwhile, the drug is being legally sold for a profit in 19 states. That arrest number may sound high, but arrests have actually been going down each year since 2010 as more states legalize medical or recreational use of the drug. […]
Arkansas medical marijuana sellers sue advising attorneys for alleged fraud
The owners of an Arkansas medical cannabis dispensary have filed a fraud lawsuit against the attorneys they claim sought them out as clients to apply for licenses to sell the drug, according to a complaint filed Nov. 4 in St. Francis County Circuit Court. Marshall Wright of St. Francis County and Josh Landers of Saline […]
Weed on the ballot: Voters could approve legal marijuana in 5 more states
Midterm voters in five states will determine if they should join the growing list of places where recreational marijuana use is allowed, even as any use of the drug is still illegal under federal law. Referendums to legalize recreational use of marijuana are on Nov. 8 ballots in Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, South Dakota and North […]
Biden to pardon all federal offenses for simple marijuana possession, review criminalization
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday announced executive actions that would pardon thousands of people with prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. Biden then called on governors to follow suit with state offenses for simple marijuana possession, saying that “just as no one should be in a Federal prison solely due to the possession of […]
Arkansas pro-marijuana activists oppose latest recreational effort
The staunchest opposition to this year’s recreational marijuana ballot initiative comes from an unexpected group — Arkansas’ most prominent advocates for cannabis legalization. This band of activists is willing to wait at least another two years to transition the drug’s status in the state from strictly medical to recreational. To them, a vote for the […]