Cancel Cannabis? Some Lawmakers In Newly Legal States Sure Are Trying
Cancel Cannabis? Some Lawmakers In Newly Legal States Sure Are Trying
Four of the five states that passed cannabis-centric ballot initiatives on Election Day 2020 have since run into hurdles.
The pathway from ballot question to implementation has only been smooth for one of the five states to pass measures recently Arizona. Adult use sales began on Jan. 22, with many medical dispensaries expanding to adult use to accommodate the newly opened market.
The Copper State sets a new bar by opening its market just a couple months after passing an initiative. Lawmakers from the other four states, however, are stalling the process.
[co-author: Talia Linneman]
Several key Biden nominees have historically favored legalization
First cannabis reform act of the session filed in Congress
Arizona’s adult-use dispensaries begin operations
California credit union offers access to banking services for cannabis businesses
Ireland finally funds its medical cannabis program
And more…
Federal
Biden health nominees have history of supporting legal cannabis - President Biden nominated Rachel Levine to be assistant secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Dr. Levine, currently Pennsylvania’s secretary of health, was instrumental in establishing and then expanding that state’s medical cannabis program, and her HHS nomination
Teachers push back, churches in court, National Guard: News from around our 50 states From USA TODAY Network and wire reports, USA TODAY
Alabama
Montgomery: The state is getting roughly half as much COVID-19 vaccine as it was expecting based on federal plans announced last year, officials said Friday, meaning it would take more than two years to vaccinate the adult population without improvement. The state has 800 approved vaccination sites and is trying to deliver shots as quickly as it can, but supply issues have been the biggest hindrance to state vaccination efforts, said Dr. Scott Harris, head of the Alabama Department of Public Health. “Every state had the idea that they were going to get much more vaccine than they ultimately got,” he said. “I assume this is related to optimistic projections and the inability of manufacturers to keep up that. … There just wasn’t enough vaccine to go around.” Alabama health officials were expecting to get more th