Montana Group Continues Fight for Cannabis Legalization
Understandably, COVID-19 has complicated the process of legalizing cannabis for states that have yet to do so. While more than two thirds of American States have legalized the sale and use of cannabis for medicinal and/or recreational purposes, others are slower to reach this milestone. While many advocates remain undeterred by obstacles to the legalization process, social distancing has undoubtedly complicated the road to cannabis legalization, creating unique barriers which other U.S. states have not endured. Campaigns in many states have stalled or even stopped for the coming election year – including those in Idaho, Ohio, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Nebraska. While their advocates remain motivated, coronavirus has proven too difficult to navigate, and advocates in these areas have announced their resolution to continue legalization efforts in 2021. However, some states aren’t so easily dismayed by the unexpected virus – Montana is among the states taking serious initiative toward legalization in the coming year.
New Colorado Bill Could Ban Firing Someone Over Legal Cannabis Use
Recreational cannabis use has been legal in Colorado for some time now. As far as the state of Colorado is concerned, cannabis and nicotine can both be legally consumed by adults above the age of 21. In other words, anything from a blunt to the PAX offerings of your favorite vape shop are totally permitted. Colorado law also says an employer can’t fire someone for things they do legally in the privacy of their own home, but there’s a loophole. Since cannabis is not yet legalized at a federal level, some employers argue that firing someone for off-duty smoking is still legal. State Representative Jovan Melton hopes to change that with a new bill.
Hemp Industry Sees First Changes In Half Century
If you pay attention to Cannabis news you’ve probably noticed all of the excitement surrounding Mitch McConnell and the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill. As of this writing, the bill has yet to be signed, but all media accounts suggest no opposition and expect President Trump to push the new legislation into action within days. Similar or accompanying legislation, however, was passed in Colorado just months ago with Amendment X – that redefined Hemp back to its federal definition. Prior to that Colorado voters had redefined the industrial product with Amendment 64 just a few years prior.
Historic MORE Act Reaches U.S. Congressional Victory
Earlier this month, members of United States Congress made history with their vote on cannabis-related legislature. By a majority of twenty-four to ten, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act was approved by the United States House Judiciary Committee. With this vote, members of Congress have moved to federally deschedule marijuana by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act. If the bill can pass the Senate, states will be allowed to make their own rulings regarding cannabis and enforce them at the state level, free of undue complications from overarching federal limits.
Higher Education: Respected Colleges Offering Cannabis Curriculum
Today’s cannabis industry amasses almost fourteen billion dollars in annual earnings. Employers in the field have noted that there’s no shortage of applicants interested in working for the booming market. However, qualified applicants are harder to come by.
Jamie Warm co-founded Henry’s Original, a distributer and cultivator of marijuana products in Mendocino County, California. Warm explained that liquor and fashion industry regulars tend to have the strongest backgrounds of relevant experience to bring to the booming new cannabis market.
Marijuana and Flying: A Tale of Two Governments
Since the start of 2019, the United States had found itself in an unprecedented situation. More than half of the 50 states now allow some level of legal marijuana use. It’s a stoner’s paradise if there ever was one right? Well, not exactly. Take for instance the issue of flying. Or, more precisely, flying with marijuana. Let’s say you head to our lovely airport in Denver to grab a flight to LA for a weekend of fun in the sun. You’ve got the 1 ounce of cannabis that you’re allowed to carry according to Colorado law in your bag, along with rolling papers, glass pipes and other peripherals you picked up legally at your local head shop. And you’re flying to another state where recreational use of weed is also legally permitted. No problem, right? Wrong.
Crime and Cannabis: Comparing Studies to Lingering Stigmas
Throughout recent years surrounding cannabis legalization, a rather volatile (if quiet) debate has continued to echo down the halls of established mainstream media outlets. One question lies at the heart of the controversy – what social impact, if any, do cannabis dispensaries have on their surrounding communities? The United States and most other countries have had head shops, pipe shops and smoke shops for decades, many of which cater to the cannabis-friendly. For this reason, the concern seems almost strange. At last, the numbers are in to put this issue to rest – so put down that bong and take a look.
The Founding Fathers’ Love of Hemp
We all know that the founding fathers were industrious and pragmatic men. Benjamin Franklin literally wrote the book on practicality – with his famous work “An American Life” still quoted to this day.
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
It should therefore come as no surprise that some of our nation’s most honored founders were enamored with a plant that was equally practical, industrious and versatile – hemp.
Twelve Top Presidential Candidates On Cannabis Legalization
Nearly fifteen months remain until the 2020 Presidential election, but the campaign trail’s already heating up with more than a dozen Democratic hopefuls striving to unseat President Donald Trump in his bid for re-election. While we get to know the current candidates and their take on issues dear to us, it’s worth considering their respective takes on cannabis and efforts toward its legalization – both Federally and in states across the nation. It’s time to explore the question on all of our minds – who’s for 420 in 2020? We’ve listed twelve top presidential candidates and detailed their reported stances on marijuana below.
