Earlier this week, the 2022 session for Florida’s legislature kicked off. Although this year is a short session that ends in just three months, lawmakers have already filed several cannabis-related proposals, and many remain pending from the 2021 session.

Texas’ 2021 legislative session adjourned on Monday, May 31. Although several cannabis reform bills were introduced this year, only one very modest reform — HB 1535 — was approved by the legislature. The bill now heads to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk for action.

It’s been four years since the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Tom Wolf legalized medical cannabis. But Pennsylvania still has an unscientific law on the books that criminalizes driving with cannabis in one’s system. Because THC can stay in the body for a week, completely sober drivers — including medical cannabis patients — can be wrongfully branded with a DUI conviction!

Tell your state lawmakers you support SB 1206. Good news! Last month, Sen. Camera Bartolotta sponsored legislation (SB 1206) that would reform Pennsylvania’s DUI laws to stop criminalizing medicinal marijuana patients for driving long after any impairing effects of cannabis have worn off.Urge your state lawmakers to sign on as a cosponsor for SB 1206.Pennsylvania legalized the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes in 2016. However, state law continues to criminalize drivers for having any amount…

On Monday, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed HF 2589 into law, expanding the list of medical conditions that qualify for Iowa’s Medical Cannabidiol Program, revising the amount of THC that can be possessed, and making other changes — both good and bad — to the program. The new law, which took effect today, makes the following changes: Revises the 3% THC cap to instead allow products with a total of 4.5 grams of THC every 90 days, with exceptions for cases where providers specify a specific, greater…

If you live in Florida, contact your representatives and ask them to vote NO on HB7117. Just two weeks after the legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis repealed a ban on smoking medical cannabis in the face of a lawsuit, the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would limit cannabis flowers to just 10% THC. The bill, HB7117, now heads to the Florida House floor. Please ask your representatives to protect patients and vote NO on HB7117! This THC limit would leave patients behind who respond…

Opponents of marijuana legalization often rely on misleading arguments and fear tactics in their attempts to diminish support for sensible marijuana policy reform. In the run-up to the election for Proposal 1, the adult-use legalization initiative that recently passed in Michigan, the prohibitionist group Healthy and Productive Michigan went even further by publishing television ads with demonstrably false claims. In their first TV ad, opponents claimed that Prop 1 would allow marijuana products…

In a small step forward for patients who could benefit from medical cannabis, the definition of “marijuana” under Kansas law was changed by SB 282 to exclude cannabidiol (CBD). However, because state law separately bans tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), it will be difficult for medical cannabis patients to take advantage of this provision, because most CBD products contain at least trace amounts of THC (“hemp” is sometimes defined as 0.3% THC or less). The bill itself does not provide for in-state access…

Yesterday, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) signed a bill that will significantly expand the number of patients who qualify for the state's low-THC medical cannabis oils. Beginning on July 1, HB 65 will allow patients with intractable pain and adults with PTSD to qualify for the program, which allows registered patients to possess cannabis oils with no more than 5% THC content. Georgia’s most passionate legislative champion of medical cannabis — Rep. Allen Peake (R) — sponsored both HB 65 and another…

The University of Utah Health and the University of California San Diego recently announced separate plans to begin new phases of research on medical marijuana. In Utah, the study will focus on the individual effects of cannabinoids on brain processes, while UC San Diego researchers will probe possible treatments for autism with marijuana. Both projects have been made possible by grants from the Ray and Tye Noorda Foundation in partnership with the Wholistic Research and Education Foundation. The…