“Virginia’s firefighters, emergency services providers, and civil servants across the Commonwealth deserve the same job protections currently provided to private employees for their lawful and responsbile use of medical cannabis. This is a long overdue victory.”
The post Virginia: Governor Approves Bills To Expand Employment Protections, Vetoes Parental Rights Protections appeared first on NORML.
“These findings belie that claim that cannabis is a so-called ‘gateway drug’ and reinforces the notion that, for many individuals and for patients especially, it acts as a exit drug.”
The post Analysis: Medical Cannabis Associated with Decreased Use of Opioids, Alcohol, and Tobacco appeared first on NORML.
The bill decriminalizes the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis and/or up to five grams of cannabis concentrates — imposing a maximum fine of $25.
The post Hawaii: Lawmakers Move Forward with Legislation Expanding Marijuana Decriminalization appeared first on NORML.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed stopped off before attending the Giants home opener today to welcome participants in the first SF Weed Week, to be held throughout the city on April 13 – 20th.
The kickoff press conference was held in conjunction with a Cannabis Mylar Art Exhibit, showcasing over 1,000 commercial mylar product packages from the legal and illicit market, at the Mirus Gallery & Art Bar at 540 Howard Street. It was organized by cannabis journalist David Downs and attended by about 100 supporters from the Bay Area and beyond.
Downs said he got the idea for a “Weed Week” after hearing about Beer Week in the city, and by Amoeba Records in-store events. “Cannabis growers are rock stars. Strains are celebrities. We’re treating them accordingly,” he said. SF Week Week events will be held on 7 consecutive nights at 7 different dispensaries, showcasing 7 new cannabis strains.
Wearing a Giants jersey and bright orange suit, Breed said she was grateful to be part of, “an opportunity that is so San Francisco.” She added, “When you think about San Francisco, you think about fun, you think about excitement, you think about joy. And the cannabis community, even before it was legalized in California, has been such an important part of that.”
Mentioning the Beat poets in North Beach and the Summer of Love in the Haight as examples of San Francisco culture that have spread across the world, Breed said today’s efforts would help “transform the conversation and open up opportunities for people to experience joy through cannabis.” She joked that SF Weed Week should be held at the same time as Restaurant Week (because, the munchies).
Cannabis businesses are projected to bring in $789 million to the city in 2024/25 Breed said, mentioning that SF has approved 52 business permits through their equity program, and has given out $11 million in grants for equity programs in cannabis. She said SF Weed Week was an opportunity to “support our dispensaries and small business, and use this as a way to bring tourists and other people back to our city for an eperience that only San Francisco can provide.”
Speaking about some flap her office got when the official 4/20 Hippie Hill event in Golden Gate park was cancelled this year, Breed clarified, “I love 4/20…what we did instead of cancelling it we created an event where people can come together safely. We didn’t enforce our ’no smoking in the park’ rules; we allowed people to come together….4/20 is an organic event that has come together not because the city says it’s so, but because the community makes it happen….So as we embark upon this new SF Weed Week, I’m excited to see something like this happen in a more formalized way.”
After she spoke, Breed posed for pictures with the crowd, holding a cannabis bud bouquet presented to her by local cultivator Sense.
The mayor acknowledged the contributions of the Brownie Mary Democratic Club and Cal NORML board member David Goldman, president of the SF BMDC, who also spoke at the event. Goldman mentioned the club’s monthly meetings that host candidates for local office, letting them know that “our community is strong and it votes.” Follow SF BMDC on Instagram at BMSF415.
Goldman’s partner Michael Koehn, an Air Force veteran, spoke about the importance of passing AB 2555 to extend SB 34 compassion programs that provide no-cost medicine to veterans and others. Also speaking on the topic was Nicole Redler of ReCompass, who organizes compassion programs.
Downs invited all back at 4:20 for the official Mirus Gallery show opening, and noted that the show would be up all month, and the gallery will serve as a gathering point for people attending SF Weed Week events
“Our sense of justice and our principles of fairness demand that public officials and the courts move swiftly to right the past wrongs of cannabis prohibition and criminalization.”
The post Minnesota: State Poised to Expunge Over 60,000 Marijuana Convictions appeared first on NORML.
“I count him among the early heroes, and martyrs, of the marijuana legalization movement,” NORML Founder Keith Stroup said. “May he rest in radical peace.”
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“A majority of Floridians, like most voters nationwide, support repealing our failed marijuana prohibition laws and replacing them with a system of legalization and regulation. This is a long-overdue opportunity for them to finally make their voice heard where it matters — at the ballot box.”
The post Florida: Voters Will Decide Marijuana Sales Measure This November appeared first on NORML.
The legislation provides discretion to physicians to issue medical cannabis recommendations to any patient who may benefit from it. It also allows those ages 65 or older to self-certify for a registration card absent a doctor’s recommendation.
The post Delaware: Lawmakers Advance Medical Cannabis Expansion Bill to Governor’s Desk appeared first on NORML.
“Governor Youngkin has just shown Virginians exactly how out of touch he is with the widely-accepted science and policy research on cannabis in the US. The only protection Youngkin’s veto provides is to the illicit market that has ballooned during his time office.”
The post Virginia: Governor Vetoes Legislation Licensing Marijuana Sales appeared first on NORML.
“There’s no ‘buyers remorse’ among the public when it comes to legalizing cannabis.”
The post Pew Poll: Adults Overwhelmingly Oppose Marijuana Criminalization appeared first on NORML.