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A new report published by the the American Medical Association (AMA) finds that neither adult-use marijuana legalization nor the opening of retail stores in U.S. states led to increases in youth cannabis use. Rather, the reforms were generally associated with more young people reporting not using marijuana, along with increases in those who say they don’t use alcohol or vape products either.

The results of the study, published on Monday in the medical group’s journal JAMA Pediatrics, reinforce previous findings that legalizing and regulating marijuana for adults, typically does not increase youth use of the substance—contrary to what opponents of the policy change often argue.

The study drew from data in 47 states, looking at responses from 898,271 teens. “With parent consent,” authors explained, “students from ninth to twelfth grade self-reported prior month use of cannabis, alcohol, cigarettes, and e-cigarettes.”

Passage of recreational cannabis laws (RCL) “was not associated with adolescents’ likelihood or frequency of cannabis use,” the analysis found, “although negative total effect estimates indicated significantly lowered use following RCL.” Nor were increases associated with the launch of recreational cannabis retail sales (RCR).

The study was authored by a five-person team from Boston College and the University of Maryland at College Park.

Legalization “was associated with modest decreases in cannabis, alcohol, and e-cigarette use.”

To their knowledge, they wrote, “this study is the first to evaluate associations between RCL and RCR policies and adolescent substance use through 2021.”

“Results,” the study concludes, “suggest that legalization and greater control over cannabis markets have not facilitated adolescents’ entry into substance use.”

Over time, it seems adult-use marijuana laws led to lower odds of any cannabis use. “Each additional year of RCL,” the study says, “was associated with 8% higher odds of zero cannabis use (lower likelihood of any use), with non-significant total estimates.”

The opening of retail markets, meanwhile, was associated with 28% higher odds of zero cannabis use,” with each additional year of “RCR exposure” associated with 8 percent higher odds of zero cannabis use.

“Considering other substances, RCL showed a negative total effect estimate for alcohol use,” the study continues, while “no significant results emerged for cigarettes.”

As for vaping, it continues, each additional year of adult-use marijuana legalization laws being in place “was associated with 16% increased odds of zero e-cigarette use, with a negative total effect estimate.” A regulated retail cannabis market, meanwhile, “was associated with 42% increased odds of zero e-cigarette use, with each additional year of RCR associated with 20% increased odds of zero use, both showing significant negative total effect estimates.”

From a youth health perspective, not all of the study’s findings are positive. One outcome associated with the launch of retail stores was that youth who already used marijuana did so more frequently after the market opened.

Specifically, the change was associated with “26% higher frequency of use among users, combining to a nonsignificant total effect estimate” when considered along with the increased likelihood of zero cannabis use. Each additional year of retail markets being open was also associated with “8% higher frequency of use, with a nonsignificant total effect estimate.”

“Using the most recently available 2011 to 2021 data, we found limited associations between RCL and RCR with adolescent substance use, extending previous findings,” the report says. “RCL was associated with modest decreases in cannabis, alcohol, and e-cigarette use. RCR was associated with lower e-cigarette use, and with lower likelihood but also increased frequency of cannabis use among users, leading to no overall change in cannabis use.”

The team’s report concludes that “given the negative health consequences associated with early and heavy use of these substances, and results suggesting users of cannabis may be increasing their frequency of use in response to retail availability, greater attention is warranted to sources and trajectories among frequent youth users of cannabis.”

The subject of youth use has been a contentious topic as more states consider legalizing marijuana, with opponents and supporters of the reform often disagreeing on how to interpret results of various studies, especially in light of the sometimes mixed results in the latest JAMA paper and others.

Recently released data from a Washington State survey of adolescent and teenage students found overall declines in both lifetime and past-30-day marijuana use since legalizations, with striking drops in recent years that held steady through 2023. The results also indicate that perceived ease of access to cannabis among underage students has generally fallen since the state enacted legalization for adults in 2012.

A separate study late last year also found that Canadian high-school students reported it was more difficult to access marijuana since the government legalized the drug nationwide in 2019. The prevalence of current cannabis use also fell during the study period, from 12.7 percent in 2018–19 to 7.5 percent in 2020–21, even as retail sales of marijuana expanded across the country.

In December, meanwhile, a U.S. health official said that teen marijuana use has not increased “even as state legalization has proliferated across the country.”

“There have been no substantial increases at all,” said Marsha Lopez, chief of the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) epidemiological research branch. “In fact, they have not reported an increase in perceived availability either, which is kind of interesting.”

Another earlier analysis from CDC found that rates of current and lifetime cannabis use among high school students have continued to drop amid the legalization movement.

A study of high school students in Massachusetts that was published last November found that youth in that state were no more likely to use marijuana after legalization, though more students perceived their parents as cannabis consumers after the policy change.

A separate NIDA-funded study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2022 also found that state-level cannabis legalization was not associated with increased youth use. The study demonstrated that “youth who spent more of their adolescence under legalization were no more or less likely to have used cannabis at age 15 years than adolescents who spent little or no time under legalization.”

Yet another 2022 study from Michigan State University researchers, published in the journal PLOS One, found that “cannabis retail sales might be followed by the increased occurrence of cannabis onsets for older adults” in legal states, “but not for underage persons who cannot buy cannabis products in a retail outlet.”

The trends were observed despite adult use of marijuana and certain psychedelics reaching “historic highs” in 2022, according to separate data released last year.

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A group of physicians who support drug policy reform say in a new position paper on the widespread accessibility of delta-8 THC and certain other cannabinoids derived from federally legal hemp that further regulation of the lesser-known chemicals is crucial in order to protect public health.

“Our understanding of these compounds is limited,” says the paper, from the group Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR), a nonprofit that generally advocates for the legal regulation of drugs such as marijuana rather than prohibition. “Many have never been observed in nature and their toxicology is unknown.”

“Our stance at D4DPR,” it says, “is that all intoxicating cannabinoids should be subject to a regulatory framework to ensure public safety.”

Bryon Adinoff, the group’s president, told Marijuana Moment that the paper is intended to help bridge the policy gap between hemp—legalized federally through the 2018 Farm Bill—and marijuana, which remains federally illegal.

“The reason we got into this problem is by making this artificial distinction between two plants, hemp and cannabis, that are identical plants. One has low amounts of THC and one doesn’t,” Adinoff said. “That’s what got us into this mess.”

“If we said, ‘OK, we’re going to regulate intoxicating compounds, and we’re going to do them all the same, then we’d never have run into this problem,” he added. “I think we need a different regulatory process for cannabis that can be used for other plant medicines, such as psychedelics, as well.”

The paper recommends implementing “a regulatory framework for all intoxicating cannabinoids, regardless of their source (hemp, cannabis, laboratory synthesis, or via bioreactors/fermentation).”

It warns that attempting to prohibit the new cannabinoids would be counterproductive.

Regulators, the paper says, must “recognize that an outright ban on minor cannabinoids (rather than their regulatory control) will result in a continuation of the drug war, leading to negative outcomes on public health.”

Such regulations would include establishing licensing requirements for businesses selling the products, taxation to fund oversight and health initiatives, prohibition of sales or marketing to children, the requirement of childproof containers, clear labeling of intoxicating effects and mandatory lab testing for purity and potency, the paper says.

“As many of these cannabinoids are newly described and difficult to detect,” it adds, “research into toxicology, clinical safety, and laboratory testing standards must be conducted.”

As the paper notes, delta-8 THC—as opposed to the delta-9 THC in marijuana—”remains legal and unregulated, with limited testing and taxation, lacking warnings about its intoxicating effects, without dosing limits, and easily accessible to minors.” On top of that, “numerous new ‘minor cannabinoids’ have been synthesized from CBD, including ∆-10 THC, tetrahydrocannabinol THCO), hexahydrocannabinol HHC, tetrahydrocannabiphoral THCP, and tetrahydrocannabivarin THCV… Our understanding of these compounds is limited; many have never been observed in nature and their toxicology is unknown.”

“We don’t get our lettuce like this,” Adinoff said. “Most of the things we buy are regulated, and overall we come out ahead… We’re not seeing really bad outcomes, but I still think we’d be better with a regulated system.”

D4DPR recommends that all states without a regulatory framework for minor cannabinoids to align them “with those in place for cannabis.” For states without either medical marijuana or legal adult-use cannabis, the group recommends that delta-9 THC “should be included in this framework,” a gentle call for an end to prohibition.

At the federal level, the group says cannabis ought to be descheduled “to eliminate the confusion between hemp and cannabis and establish a minimal regulatory structure that can be adapted by individual states.”

The paper comes on the heels of a letter from attorneys general from 20 states and Washington, D.C. earlier this year that asked congressional leaders to take action on intoxicating hemp products. Federal lawmakers should amend the definition of hemp, they wrote, and clarify that states can take their own measures to regulate the plant and its derivative products.

Only a handful of states have taken steps to independently regulate intoxicating hemp products—among them, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Florida and South Dakota.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), who signed the new letter, said in a press release that “our children deserve better.”

“The 2018 Farm Bill, however well-intentioned, created a loophole that has led to the proliferation of products, often containing synthesized cannabinoids, that are more intoxicating than legal and regulated cannabis products,” he said. “These products often take the form of candy and are designed to appeal to young people and children. California prohibits intoxicating cannabinoids in hemp products, whether naturally derived or synthetic.”

Congressional researchers cautioned last November that varying policy priorities among industry stakeholders could make the task of updating the federal Farm Bill more difficult.

Regardless of the strict legal definition dividing marijuana and hemp, what’s available on the market is harder to definitively distinguish. A recently published analysis of smokable hemp products by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that the vast majority of samples–about 93 percent—contained more than 0.3 percent THC, meaning they in fact qualified as federally illegal marijuana.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) also put out a solicitation in 2022 seeking portable marijuana analyzers to quickly identify cannabinoid profiles and help distinguish between marijuana and hemp.

USDA last month announced a new hemp “roadmap,” which includes a call for a public–private hemp consortium to streamline research into hemp products. The agency also recently approved a new genetically modified version of hemp that does not produce THC or CBD but is designed to have higher levels of the cannabinoid CBG. It’s at least the second type of genetically modified hemp to get the OK after another modified plant, which produces lower levels of THC and CBC, was approved in October.

Read the full D4DPR position paper below:

Biden ‘Not Doing Enough’ To Protect State Marijuana Laws, Congressman Says As Feds Seize Products From Licensed Businesses

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Legal sales of marijuana in Michigan tallied a new monthly record in March, according to recently released data from state cannabis regulators, with retailers recording nearly $289 million in purchases during the month. Sales of medical marijuana, however, continued to decline.

Adult-use marijuana purchases in Michigan totaled $286.8 million during March 2024, accounting for 99 percent of all receipts for the month. By category, flower made up the bulk of sales, at $131.4 million, followed by vape cartridges ($54.4 million), inhalable concentrates ($33.9 million) and infused edibles ($26.3 million).

As of the end of March, the state had 785 active retailer licenses.

Medical marijuana sales for March came in at $2.1 million, with 213 active “provisioning center” licenses, according to the Cannabis Regulatory Agency reported.

March’s new overall and adult-use sales figures beat previous records set in December, when Michigan was among a number of states that saw a surge of sales to close out 2023. The state saw more than $3 billion in legal sales for the year.

Earlier this year, state officials announced they’d send some of the recent state tax revenue from marijuana sales to fund schools, cities and transportation, distributing a new batch of more than $290 million.

Though Michigan and most other states with legal adult-use cannabis markets have seen declines in medical marijuana patient enrollment, the number of registered cannabis patients nationwide has nevertheless been increasing in recent years, according to a recent federally funded study by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the University of Michigan.

Between 2020 and 2022, the number of enrolled medical marijuana patients in the U.S. increased by a third (33.3 percent). All told, the country had more than 4.1 million registered patients in 2022, up from about 3.1 million in 2020.

Only two of 15 jurisdictions with legal adult-use marijuana markets, however, saw patient registrations rise during the study period: Massachusetts and Maine. All others saw enrollment fall.

Meanwhile in Michigan, state officials said last November that tax revenue from legal marijuana grew by 49 percent compared to the previous year, surpassing the amount of revenue made from alcohol sales. Marijuana sales incur a 10 percent excise tax—among the lowest rates in the nation—as well as a 6 percent state sales tax.

“The tax funding for municipalities and counties that comes from the marijuana excise tax is a very important benefit of the legal cannabis industry in Michigan,” Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) Executive Director Brian Hanna said. “The CRA is committed to doing our part in supporting our licensees so that they can continue to grow the local economy throughout the state with good-paying jobs and increased revenues for local government budgets.”

Late last year, CRA announced the launch of a new social equity grant program that will award $1 million to eligible marijuana businesses for education, business needs or community reinvestment.

Separately, a change approved last July by the state Civil Service Commission took effect in October to end pre-employment marijuana testing for most government employees. The shift also gave people who’ve already been penalized over positive THC tests an opportunity to have the sanction retroactively rescinded.

Also in October, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed a pair of bills into law to allow state-licensed marijuana businesses to conduct trade with tribal cannabis entities. Both took effect immediately.

Meanwhile, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce said earlier this year that a rash of recent break-ins at legal marijuana retailers in the state underscores the need for federal cannabis banking reform, which the group says would reduce the risks of theft and fraud that stem from the industry’s current reliance on cash.

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Following the passage of a marijuana legalization bill on Thursday by New Hampshire’s House of Representatives, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) is signaling that he’s against the legislation in its current form but could still ultimately get on board if changes are made in the Senate.

The comments from the governor’s office came in response to the House’s 239–136 approval of HB 1633, sponsored by Rep. Erica Layon (R). The measure would legalize and regulate marijuana through state-licensed “agency stores,” but Sununu has said he wants to see a state-run or state-franchised model that would give the government control over the look and feel of each store as well as product prices.

“Governor Sununu has been crystal clear about the framework needed for a legalization bill to earn his support, focusing on harm reduction and keeping it out of kids’ hands,” his office said in a statement to local news outlet WMUR after Thursday’s vote. “The legislation passed today doesn’t get us there but the Governor looks forward to working with the Senate to see if we can get it done.”

Layon, the bill’s sponsor, said she’s repeatedly reached out to the Sununu’s office in recent months to discuss provisions of the proposal. But so far she’s been snubbed by the governor, even as his office communicates with other lawmakers about the bill.

“The bill that passed the House reflects the Governor’s guidelines as I understood them, until his last minute embrace of a franchise model,” she told Marijuana Moment on Friday. “I made dozens of attempts to meet with the Governor and his staff to get into the policy details, but the best meeting I achieved was a walk-and-talk with him through the halls of the Capitol.”

The situation has pitted Republicans against Republicans, with Layon and supporters at odds with Sununu and his allies in the Senate. Failure to reach agreement could threaten the legalization bill entirely despite what appears to be majority support for the policy change.

Statement from the office of @GovChrisSununu indicating he wants to see @TheNHSenate go to work on the cannabis legalization bill the @NHHouseofReps approved today rather than simply declare it DOA #NHPolitics #WMUR pic.twitter.com/SdBkWOKbq0

— Adam Sexton (@AdamSextonWMUR) April 11, 2024

 

In a choice between the two competing models, a House subcommittee earlier this month rejected a sweeping amendment that would have replaced Layon’s plan with a franchise model. That amendment was offered by subcommittee vice chair Rep. Dan McGuire (R) despite him telling the panel he didn’t entirely agree with the proposed changes.

“We are told from the governor and from our contacts in the Senate that this is what they want: the franchise model,” he said at the time. “We are also told they will not vote for the version the House passed, and we are told that they are either unwilling or incapable of making significant changes in the Senate.”

Sununu’s latest comments suggest he believes the Senate can in fact make those changes.

But Layon now says adjustments backed by Senate Republicans like Sen. Daryl Abbas—who chaired a failed state commission on legalization late last year—may not find support in the House if an amended version of her bill makes it back to the chamber.

“Dozens of House members will not accept the language rejected by the House Finance committee,” she said.

“There is a real danger that the House may not accept what comes back from the Senate,” Layon added, “so I look forward to talking with my colleagues to ensure that anything we receive can pass without a Committee of Conference.”

Layon has spent months workshopping and building support for the plan despite warnings from some in the Senate—most notably Abbas—that her proposal will be dead on arrival unless it includes a state-run franchise system under which the government would control the look, feel and general operations of retail stores.

But House lawmakers have decided to stick with Layon’s approach.

Rep. Chuck Grassie (D) applauded Layon at an earlier subcommittee hearing for what what he called “a Herculean effort…to get the governor and the Senate on board.”

“If the Senate has problems with passing a bill, I don’t see why we have to do their hard work here for them,” Grassie said at the time. “I think they need to debate this. They need to make up their mind on a bill, and they need to send something back to us if we want to see cannabis legalization in the state of New Hampshire.”

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Layon has previously told Marijuana Moment that she never expected her proposal to be the only bill introduced this session to legalize marijuana.

“I initially intended that this bill sort of be a counterpoint to what the special committee was going to deliver and what Sen. Abbas was going to introduce,” she said. “The fact that he didn’t introduce it and this is the only shot at legalization this year, I just really wanted to work hard in a good faith effort to get to something that I was comfortable with and that match the requirements of the governor as best I understood them.”

The governor said at a recent event, meanwhile, that he thinks legalization is “inevitable” in New Hampshire, adding that policymakers have “seen the mistakes other states have made so as not to walk down that path.”

“People just want the accessibility for adults, keeping it away from kids,” Sununu said. “If they can meet those rough stipulations, I would sign it, because I think that’s one of the safest systems you’re going to get.”

He added that as a legalization skeptic, he’s better positioned to consider a thoughtful bill.

“There’s no better person to help design a system that could be fraught with problems and risk specifically to kids than the guy that’s most scared of it,” he said.

Last year Sununu said he supported a system of state-run retail stores, but lawmakers on a state study commission last year instead pivoted to the idea of a franchise system, which the governor has said he’s willing to entertain. Officials at the Liquor Commission have said it would be far less costly for private franchisees to build out a system of retail stores than to ask the Liquor Commission to take on that task itself.

Lawmakers worked extensively on marijuana reform issues last session and attempted to reach a compromise to enact legalization through a multi-tiered system that would include state-controlled shops, dual licensing for existing medical cannabis dispensaries and businesses privately licensed to individuals by state agencies. The legislature ultimately hit an impasse on the complex legislation.

Bicameral lawmakers also convened the state commission tasked with studying legalization and proposing a path forward last year, though the group ultimately failed to arrive at a consensus or propose final legislation.

The Senate defeated a more conventional House-passed legalization bill last year, HB 639, despite its bipartisan support.

Last May, the House defeated marijuana legalization language that was included in a Medicaid expansion bill. The Senate also moved to table another piece of legislation that month that would have allowed patients and designated caregivers to cultivate up to three mature plants, three immature plants and 12 seedlings for personal therapeutic use.

After the Senate rejected the reform bills in 2022, the House included legalization language as an amendment to separate criminal justice-related legislation—but that was also struck down in the opposite chamber.

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An amendment to a Nebraska tax bill on Wednesday reduced a proposed tax on hemp and CBD that was initially set at 100 percent. The new rate, 25 percent, is significantly lower but still far greater than sales tax rates that most states impose on the federally legal products.

The change to LB 388’s hemp tax rate was approved by the legislature as part of a broader amendment offered by the same lawmaker who first included the 100 percent provision, Sen. Lou Ann Linehan (R). It was adopted on a 28–6 vote.

The underlying tax bill as amended did not receive a vote this week, with a final reading and vote expected next Thursday.

Sen. Anna Wishart (D), who’s backed past efforts to end marijuana prohibition in the state, told Marijuana Moment in an email that the rate change was the result of negotiations between lawmakers and representatives of Nebraska’s CBD industry.

“The 100% tax was unworkable for CBD companies in our state. They were concerned it would drive them out of business,” Wishart said. “In talking with representatives from a group of CBD companies in the state, I worked with them and other senators to negotiate the tax down to 25%.”

Linehan’s office did not immediately respond on Thursday to Marijuana Moment’s request for comment about the change, although last month she had similarly told local media that the 100 percent hemp tax proposal was just a starting point for negotiations.

“Are we going to keep it 100 percent? No, we’re not,” the senator said at the time. “I’ve already had one of our members tell me that, you know, elderly people like lotions and creams, and it helps with pain. So like I said, we just have to look with it.”

Some lawmakers had said in n earlier debate on the proposal that the tax was out of step with rates set on CBD and hemp products in other states and that, if the goal of the bill was to raise revenue, Nebraska should consider legalizing and regulating marijuana.

“I looked around. I saw some statistics on other states—neighboring states—and it’s a lot lower. Definitely not 100 percent,” Sen. Terrell McKinney (D) said. “So we’re not going to be comparable to our neighboring states if we tax it at 100 percent.”

“Honestly speaking, what we really need to have a conversation about in our state, in the state of Nebraska, is our refusal to open ourselves up to other revenue streams,” he continued. “One revenue stream that we should open ourselves up to is the legalization of marijuana.”

Neither medical nor adult-use cannabis are legal in Nebraska, though activists are working to change that this year.

“We have a brain-drain issue,” said Sen. Jen Day (D), “and we refused to recognize that and address it from the other policy perspectives that caused the issues with brain drain—one of those being the fact that we have chosen year after year after year not to legalize even medical cannabis in the state.”

“Through the end of 2022, states have reported a combined total of more than $15 billion in tax revenue from legal adult-use cannabis sales,” she noted.

Adam Morfeld, a former Nebraska state senator who now co-chairs the advocacy group Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, posted to social media ahead of this week’s amendment that the situation showed that the state’s “policies dealing with hemp, CBD and marijuana are so backwards.”

Shocker. Our policies dealing with hemp, CBD and marijuana are so backwards. https://t.co/VDQUIpNIUC

— Adam Morfeld (@Adam_Morfeld) April 10, 2024

The underlying sales tax bill is part of a broader debate on how lawmakers wanted to balance sources of state revenue. Residents, many lawmakers have argued, have complained that property taxes are too high, and proponents of the bill have said raising sales taxes would prevent further state reliance on property taxes to fund schools. Opponents, however, criticized the bill’s overall increase in taxes, with some Democrats noting that sales taxes in particular would hit poorer Nebraskans hardest.

Some lawmakers have lamented that the complex measure’s many provisions seemed to come out of nowhere, although sponsor Linehan and others said on the floor last month that the details were taken from other bills that lawmakers had introduced and debated. The hemp and CBD tax, for instance, ostensibly came out of LB 1341, introduced in January by Sen. Justin Wayne (D) and apparently never acted on by lawmakers.

That bill as introduced indeed would have increased taxes on consumable hemp, but only to 7.5 percent.

The proposal comes as the state, like many others across the country, witnesses an explosion of hemp-derived products, including intoxicating cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC. Late last year, the state’s attorney general, Mike Hilgers (R), filed suit against retailers in the state over their sale of delta-8 products.

Meanwhile, activists are hoping to qualify two medical cannabis initiatives for November’s ballot.

A recent poll by the campaign found 70 percent support in the state for legalizing medical marijuana.

Organizers at Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) have been petitioning for the change since July, about two months after turning in a pair of complementary ballot proposals to the secretary of state’s office.

The governor has already voiced opposition to the reform effort, saying in September that legalization “poses demonstrated harms to our children,” and that medical cannabis should only be accessible if its approved by FDA.

Late last year, NMM told Marijuana Moment that the governor’s argument was a “cop out,” and she says the campaign will let voters decide for themselves.

One of NMM’s earlier campaigns gathered enough signatures for ballot placement in 2020, but the measure was invalidated by the state Supreme Court following a single-subject challenge. Supporters then came up short on signatures for revised petitions in 2022 due in large part to the loss of funding after one of their key donors died in a plane crash.

Nebraska lawmakers, including campaign co-chair Sen. Anna Wishart (D), have also attempted to enact the reform legislatively, but cannabis bills have consistently stalled out in the conservative legislature.

Wishart’s medical cannabis bill received a hearing in the unicameral Judiciary Committee in February, but it did not advance. She attributed the inaction to changes in committee membership. An earlier version of the measure ultimately stalled out in the GOP-controlled legislature amid a filibuster that supporters could not overcome.

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Hawaii’s Senate on Tuesday passed a marijuana expungements bill that would create a single-county pilot program aimed at clearing certain past offenses, voting 24–1 to send the proposal, HB 1595, back to the House ahead of a legislative deadline later this week.

On two other marijuana-related measures, meanwhile—including a proposal to expand the state’s decriminalization of cannabis and separate legislation to create an expungements-focused task force—the chamber voted to hold off on adopting changes made by the House. If the Senate does not ultimately agree to the amendments, the bills will be sent to a bicameral conference committee.

The latest actions come after a separate proposal to legalize marijuana in Hawaii fizzled out earlier this month.

As originally introduced, Rep. David Tarnas’s (D) expungements bill, HB 1595, would have directed the state to automatically expunge tens of thousands of arrest and conviction records for low-level marijuana possession. But the Senate Judiciary Committee last month gutted the proposal, replacing the statewide plan with a pilot program in Hawaii County that would apply only to non-conviction arrest records.

“This bill is a good first step by setting up a pilot project to expunge non-conviction arrest records of low-level cannabis-related offenses in one county,” Tarnas told Marijuana Moment in an email on Tuesday. “Lessons learned from this experience will help as the expungement effort expands statewide and to also include records of conviction of low-level cannabis-related offenses as well.”

Hawaii County comprises the Big Island and is the state’s second most populous after Honolulu County, home to about 14 percent of the state’s population.

The bill now goes back to the House to consider changes made in the Senate.

The measure’s current scaled-back approach is the product of an amendment from Attorney General Anne Lopez (D). Her office told Marijuana Moment in an interview last month that the issue was budgetary, claiming, “There simply isn’t the money available for new kinds of projects that aren’t deemed necessary or crucial to the recovery” following massive wildfires that tore through Maui last August.

“With one expunger working at the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center,” said Dave Day, special assistant to the attorney general, “we felt that a pilot project to show how that would work, and potentially what resources would be required for a larger expungement program, would be appropriate.”

In a report from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which restricted the scope of the bill, the panel said it “supports the intent of this measure and believes that such a pilot project regarding the expungement of non-conviction arrest records is a significant first step” in addressing individuals’ efforts to expunge past arrest records.

The full, statewide version of the bill was expected to bring relief to “approximately 30,000 people” eligible for expungements under the original proposal, Tarnas said earlier in the session. He clarified this week that “there are currently over 50,000 arrests and 30,000 convictions currently in the system for low-level cannabis-related offenses,” according to the state attorney general’s office.

“Criminal records are like paper prisons,” he told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday, “which create significant barriers for people to access jobs, housing, education, public services, insurance and other aspects of community life. Expungement helps people move on with their lives, get back to work, and participate fully in civic life.”

As last week began, some observers speculated that the bill would not be taken up in committee in time to meet a legislative deadline. But lawmakers added it to the Ways and Means Committee calendar last Thursday, breathing new life into the proposal.

Leaders at ACLU of Hawaii told Marijuana Moment at the time that leaders were “jazzed that the advocacy paid off.”

Groups providing written testimony in support of the measure included MPP, the Chamber of Sustainable Commerce, the Community Alliance on Prisons, the Democratic Party of Hawaii, ACLU of Hawaii, Opportunity Youth Action Hawai’i, the Japanese American Citizens League, the Last Prisoner Project (LPP), the Hawaii Innocence Project and a number of individuals. None of the submitted testimony opposed the bill.

As for the other marijuana bills considered by the Senate on Tuesday, SB 2487 would expand the state’s current decriminalization law by decreasing the fine for low-level marijuana possession from $130 to $25. That would apply to up to an ounce of cannabis—up from three grams under current law.

Possession of more than one ounce would still carry criminal penalties, and a new violation would punish public cannabis consumption with a $130 fine.

SB 2706, meanwhile, would create a so-called Clean Slate Expungement Task Force that would be charged with crafting legislation for a state-led record-clearing program. It would include certain officials—including the attorney general, chief justice, public defender and various prosecutors—as well as representatives from various advocacy groups, including ACLU, LPP, the Hawaii Innocence Project and others.

While the expungements bill does not explicitly mention cannabis, marijuana-related offenses are widely expected to be included in the would-be task force’s discussions.

As for the broader legalization proposal that fell through earlier this month, supporters and opponents have both pointed out that this session has marked the furthest any legalization measure has made it through Hawaii’s legislature.

The more-than-300-page bill was formally introduced in both chambers in January and is based on a legalization plan written by state Attorney General Anne Lopez (D), who was appointed in December 2022 by Gov. Josh Green (D), a supporter of legalization. It would have allowed adults 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and up to five grams of cannabis concentrates.

The bill’s sponsor in the House, Tarnas, has already committed to bringing a revised bill next session.

“During the interim, I look forward to working with the Attorney General’s office to improve the language of the bill to address issues brought up during the House debate on this bill,” he told Marijuana Moment in an email. “I will be collecting factual information about public safety and public health concerns, including the assertion of some opponents that legalization would actually result in an increase in cannabis use by youth as well as an increase in fatal car crashes attributable to cannabis use.”

As for those claims, Tarnas continued, “I think the evidence shows that there is no evidence of any increase in use of cannabis by youth in legalization states, but I will gather the data and present it next session. Similarly, I think the evidence from legalization states shows that there has not been any demonstrable increase in car crashes by drivers that is attributable solely to cannabis use. But, I will gather the data on this topic and present it next session.”

While most of opposition to the bill came from law enforcement, some Democratic leaders also vocally opposed the reform. Matayoshi, for instance—the Democratic majority whip who also opposed decriminalization—said before last month’s House floor vote that he didn’t think colleagues “should vote with reservations or vote in favor of this bill just to see it move along.”

“We can’t be voting on a bill that has some good parts but also has an incredible harm to our society in the form of legalizing recreational marijuana,” he said.

Last year the Senate passed a separate legalization bill that later stalled the House, but advocates were hopeful this year’s proposal could get further. Gov. Green said last month that legalization is a “big social issue that remains” to be addressed in the state, signaling that he’d likely sign a bill to end cannabis prohibition if lawmakers send him one.

Democrats in control of Hawaii’s Senate had said in January that cannabis legalization is one of their top priorities this legislative session, framing the reform as a means to boost the state’s economy.

Hawaii residents themselves seem to support the change. A recent Hawai’i Perspectives survey by the Pacific Resource Partnership found 58 percent support for legalization.

Advocates previously struggled under former Democratic Gov. Dave Ige, who resisted legalization in part because he said he was reluctant to pass something that conflicts with federal law. But since Green took office, activists have felt more emboldened. The current governor said in 2022 that he’d sign a bill to legalize cannabis for adults and already had ideas about how tax revenue could be utilized.

Last April, Hawaii’s legislature also approved a resolution calling on the governor to create a clemency program for people with prior marijuana convictions on their records.

As for other drug policy matters, lawmakers in February advanced a bill that would provide certain legal protections to patients engaging in psilocybin-assisted therapy with a medical professional’s approval. The measure would not legalize psilocybin itself but would instead create an affirmative legal defense for psilocybin use and possession in the case of doctor-approved use under the guidance of a trained facilitator.

Democrats Have ‘Better Ideas’ For Marijuana Policy Than The GOP, Poll Of Cannabis Consumers Finds

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.

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Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) has signed legislation to suspend the jurisdiction’s 6 percent tax on medical marijuana around the 4/20 cannabis celebration, declaring a two-week tax holiday on purchases from April 15 through April 28.

Bowser returned the 4/20 medical cannabis tax holiday legislation to lawmakers on Tuesday after signing it a day earlier. Supporters say the tax holiday would encourage patients and caretakers to shop at legal, licensed dispensaries rather than obtain marijuana through the illicit market.

The District Council unanimously approved the proposal earlier this month.

“The popular tax holiday is critical to the District’s effort to attract qualifying patients back to the legal market,” Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I), who introduced the measure on behalf of Bowser’s office, said at the time.

Members of the panel said roughly 200 unlicensed dispensaries currently exist in the District, and about 70 of those have applied to transition into the regulated market.

A letter submitted by the mayor said the tax holiday bill also supports the District’s medical marijuana industry.

A prior medical cannabis tax holiday was included in a 2022 bill designed to help address rising cannabis costs at licensed dispensaries and combat “the continuing threat posed by illicit cannabis storefronts and delivery services,” according to a companion resolution.

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Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

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In separate actions last week, the council also defeated a proposal that would have adjusted rules around locating medical marijuana dispensaries near schools. Members also considered a measure to extend the District’s cannabis enforcement authority while Congress reviews a regulation bill adopts by the council earlier this year.

Retailers must already be 300 feet from schools or recreation centers, but a recent policy exempts certain medical cannabis retailers from that requirement if they’re located in a commercial or industrial zone.

Some members of the D.C. Council have suggested that marijuana more broadly should be legal in the District, but that policy change has been repeatedly blocked by a congressional rider preventing D.C. leaders from regulating an adult-use cannabis market.

Last month, federal lawmakers again approved funding legislation extending the rider to prevent broader legalization in the District.

Biden ‘Not Doing Enough’ To Protect State Marijuana Laws, Congressman Says As Feds Seize Products From Licensed Businesses

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In a new federal lawsuit filed against the leaders of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a Rhode Island cannabis company is asking the court to prevent an administrative law judge for the agency from reviewing the firm’s application to manufacture marijuana for research purposes, calling the matter “an unconstitutional proceeding led by an unconstitutional decisionmaker.”

MMJ BioPharma Cultivation Inc. has previously taken legal action against the federal government, filing a petition for a writ of mandamus last year in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that alleged DEA’s yearslong licensing application process has hamstrung the company’s business and stymied innovation that could benefit patients.

The company says it applied to legally grow marijuana for research and development purposes back in 2018, aiming to produce medicine for clinical trials focused on treatment of multiple sclerosis and Huntington’s disease, but so far its been unable to secure the necessary approvals.

The immediate issue in the new lawsuit is whether an order by the government for MMJ BioPharma to show cause in relation to a manufacturing registration application should go before a DEA administrative law judge.

In the 21-page complaint, filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, the company says it would suffer irreparable harm if it went before the DEA administrative law judge, whom it contends “was appointed in violation of the Appointments Clause of Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution and is not accountable to the President.”

The Constitution mandates that Article II “officers” such as the administrative law judge (ALJ) “be appointed either by the President or the Head of their Department, the Attorney General of the United States,” the suit argues. “DEA ALJs are appointed by neither.”

Rather, the administrative law judge presiding over MMJ BioPharma’s hearing “was selected from a group of candidates provided by the White House Office of Personnel Management (‘OPM’) and appointed by the DEA Administrator upon recommendation from DEA’s Chief ALJ.”

The suit names as defendants U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, DOJ and DEA themselves, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram and DEA Administrative Law Judge Teresa Wallbaum.

Neither agency immediately returned Marijuana Moment’s requests for comment on the suit on Thursday evening.

MMJ BioPharma President Duane Boise described the situation as “horrific.”

“Her office is in the DEA, she gets paid by the DOJ, and [she] never went through the process to appoint a judge,” he told Marijuana Moment. “And here she sits ruling on all these cases.”

“The DEA is law enforcement. They’re supposed to uphold the law, not interpret it,” Boise added. “There is a federally legal way to do this. We are doing it… And we’re still getting blowback.”

Citing a 2023 Supreme Court decision, Axon v. Federal Trade Commission, the lawsuit says “MMJ is entitled to seek relief in this Court to address its constitutional challenges to avoid compounding the ‘here-and-now injury’ from being subjected to this illegitimate proceeding—a harm that is ‘impossible to remedy once the proceeding is over, which is when appellate review kicks in.'”

MMJ’s BioPharma’s hearing before the DEA administrative law judge was supposed to kick off April 10, but following the filing of the federal lawsuit, that matter has been temporarily put on hold as of Friday.

While the government in the DEA matter opposed delaying the review, Wallbaum, the administrative law judge wrote that “a stay is appropriate” in the matter.

“Respondent’s challenge to this tribunal’s authority under Axon, which now allows federal courts to entertain interlocutory structural challenges, is a sufficiently new issue that makes it challenging to gauge the likelihood of success,” she wrote in an order granting MMJ BioPharma’s requested stay.

More broadly, the company also claims in its lawsuit that DEA has repeatedly dragged its heels on its applications to move forward, alleging the agency failed to submit MMJ BioPharma’s application to the Federal Register within a required timeframe and missed other determination deadlines.

During a more-than-two-year time period following a pre-registration DEA investigation, for example, the company’s lawyers’ say MMJ BioPharma was “unable to receive an approval or denial (via a show cause order) of their applications. This was almost five years from the date of MMJ’s initial applications.”

It continues:

“During this time period, and despite numerous attempts to follow-up and check the status of the registration approval determinations for manufacturing and importing, DEA personnel expressed to MMJ that they have not yet made final determinations and they have no idea when that determination will be made. At one point during this period, DEA personnel responded ‘why do you want to know?’ when MMJ inquired regarding the status of the registrations.”

Other outreach to DEA Administrator Milgram, the DEA’s customer line and other personnel went unanswered, the company claims.

“Throughout this entire time period, counsel for MMJ and MMJ representatives reached out to the DEA and DEA counsel multiple times, requesting any feedback as to what was still required by the DEA for the registration,” its lawsuit says. “This outreach was most often met with silence, or with extremely confusing or contradictory responses from the DEA.”

The delays have not only hurt the company by stalling its plans but also hurt patients who could benefit from further research, it adds: “Countless patients who have been affected by Multiple Sclerosis and Huntington’s Disease are waiting on the potentially life-restoring treatments associated with development of these pharmaceuticals.”

Boise, MMJ’s president, said in a press release that “we are dealing with heartless individuals at the DEA who continue to hinder marijuana research and development.”

“MMJ has meticulously followed the law, yet the DEA fails to do the same,” he said. “Ultimately, it is the patients in need who suffer due to government inaction.”

A ruling against MMJ BioPharma by the DEA administrative law judge could ultimately force the company to close its doors, it claims.

“Time and time again,” the lawsuit says, “the process is obfuscated by the DEA and its agents despite MMJ’s obvious desperation to obtain clarity on the alleged ‘requirements.'”

It asks the federal district court to “declare unconstitutional the statutes, regulatory provisions, and policies providing for the appointment and removal of DEA ALJs as applied by DEA and DOJ.” It also wants the court to order judicial review of the company’s order to show cause and a “finding that MMJ met its burden for issuance of the manufacturer registration under applicable law.”

Barrington, Rhode Island-based attorney Megan Sheehan is representing the company in the matter.

In November 2022, a federal judge in Rhode Island dismissed the company’s civil suit against the government for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

MMJ BioPharma isn’t alone in its frustration over the federal government’s protracted cannabis bureaucracy. For years, bipartisan congressional lawmakers have bemoaned DEA’s delays, especially for its failure to license more cultivation for research purposes.

In 2019, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), slammed DEA as the “epitome of ineptitude,” saying the agency was “failing the American public” by failing to reschedule cannabis.

A year later, 11 bipartisan members of Congress sent a letter saying that DEA’s sluggishness was costing America jobs.

Lawyers for MMJ BioPharma argue that DEA has failed to meet its obligations under federal law, including cannabis research legislation, the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act (MCREA), that President Joe Biden signed into law late last year in order to expedite the research licensing process.

And in recent years, several more research growers have obtained licenses. Today DEA lists eight “bulk approved marihuana growers” on its website, though critics say production is still severely limited.

Read MMJ BioPharma’s full complaint against the federal government below:

UN Never Bothered Canada About Legal Marijuana Violating Treaties, Prime Minister Says As U.S. Weighs Rescheduling’s International Implications

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Missouri’s House of Representatives gave final approval to a budget bill on Thursday that would spend $10 million from state opioid settlement funds to study the use of psilocybin to treat opioid use disorder. It’s part of a growing push by state governments to support more psychedelics research.

The bill for a short time would have instead put the $10 million toward grants to study ibogaine, another psychedelic, as a possible treatment for opioid use disorder. But earlier this week on the House floor, that provision was adjusted to fund psilocybin research instead.

Money for the program would come from state opioid settlement funds, the result of multiple lawsuits filed against the opioid industry and peripheral businesses.

Rep. Chad Perkins (R), who’d supported the ibogaine research plan, told Marijuana Moment he thought the initial proposal was a “worthy and prudent investment” but is nevertheless optimistic about the shift to study psilocybin.

“I had several concerned individuals reach out and provide me with information regarding the potential benefits of ibogaine,” he told Marijuana Moment in an email. “After some research, I believed it was a worthy and prudent investment for the state to combat opiate addiction.”

“I’m not disappointed,” he said of the substitution of psilocybin for ibogaine in the bill, HB 2010. “I believe that bringing more exposure to the benefits of psychedelics has been an ancillary effect of the pursuit of this budget item. This issue will hopefully raise the profile of psychedelics and provide a foundation on which we can base future policy decisions.”

Neither Perkins nor Rep. Cody Smith (R), the sponsor of the underlying budget bill who brought the psilocybin amendment on the floor,  responded to questions about whether the legislation might see further changes—including to reintroduce the ibogaine provision—once the Senate takes it up in the coming weeks.

Smith explained on the House floor this week why the ibogaine proposal was nixed, saying the change resulted from a conversation he had with the state Department of Mental Health last week.

“They had concerns about the ibogaine research they had read, and there are concerns about the dangers involved in that research,” Smith said. “However, they are interested in the psilocybin piece. And we’ve seen many other states use their opioid settlement funds to that end.”

The provision in its current form would take a one-time $10 million deduction from the state’s Opioid Addiction Treatment and Recovery Fund and use that money to award grants to research universities in to study psilocybin as a treatment for substance use disorder.

Advocates cheered the inclusion of the psychedelic research funding in the House-passed legislation.

Tim Jensen, president of the board of directors for the Grunt Style Foundation, a nonprofit that supports military veterans and their families, said the group commended Perkins and state lawmakers “for examining the path forward on psilocybin and ibogaine as a modality to address these issues.”

Eapen Thampy, a lobbyist and founder of the group Psychedelic Missouri, added that recent clinical research “has indicated psilocybin users may be able to significantly decrease their dependance on opiates.”

“An ongoing phase 1 trial at the University of Wisconsin is examining safety of psilocybin as an intervention for opiate use disorder,” he said in an email to Marijuana Moment, “but more research is needed on efficacy of this treatment. We hope to continue advancing Missouri’s interest in advancing these kind of treatments.”

In the coming decades, Missouri is set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in opioid-related settlement funds. Psychedelic medicine proponents have been working to encourage states to use those millions to fund further research into ibogaine and other entheogens.

An earlier plan to use $42 million from Kentucky’s opioid settlement fund for ibogaine research, for instance, ultimately fell through late last year after the state’s new attorney general replaced then-Kentucky Opioid Commission Chairman Bryan Hubbard, who was spearheading the ibogaine initiative, with a former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official. Hubbard and others have since shifted attention to other states, including Missouri and Ohio.

A Stanford University study published earlier this year found that military combat veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) saw “dramatic” and “life-changing” improvements in their symptoms and cognitive functioning immediately after receiving treatment with ibogaine. In response to the increased demand for research, DEA has proposed a dramatic escalation in the production quota for ibogaine and other psychedelic compounds in 2024.

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Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
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Lawmakers in a growing number of other states are also considering psychedelics legislation this session, with many focusing on psilocybin.

For example, the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates have both passed legislation to create a psychedelics task force responsible for studying possible regulatory frameworks for therapeutic access to substances such as psilocybin, mescaline and DMT, sending the proposal to Gov Wes Moore (D). It would be charged specifically with ensuring “broad, equitable and affordable access to psychedelic substances” in the state.

Vermont’s Senate recently passed a measure that would establish a working group to study whether and how to allow therapeutic access to psychedelics in the state. If the bill is enacted, a report from the working group would be due to the legislature in November with recommendations on how to regulate the substances.

The Indiana governor also recently signed a bill that includes provisions to fund clinical research trials into psilocybin.

Utah’s governor allowed a bill to authorize a pilot program for hospitals to administer psilocybin and MDMA as an alternative treatment option to become law without his signature.

An Arizona House panel also approved a Senate-passed bill to legalize psilocybin service centers where people could receive the psychedelic in a medically supervised setting.

The Maine Senate approved legislation to establish a commission tasked with studying and making recommendations on regulating access to psychedelic services.

A Connecticut joint legislative panel approved a bill to decriminalize possession of psilocybin.

A bipartisan bill to legalize psychedelic service centers in California was recently amended in a number of different ways as supporters prepare for an expected committee hearing this month.

The governor of New Mexico has endorsed a newly enacted resolution requesting that state officials research the therapeutic potential of psilocybin and explore the creation of a regulatory framework to provide access to the psychedelic.

Alaska lawmakers are considering legislation to create a task for to study how to regulate access to psychedelics following federal approval.

An Illinois committee also recently held a hearing to discuss a bill to legalize psilocybin and allow regulated access at service centers in the state where adults could use the psychedelic in a supervised setting—with plans to expand the program to include mescaline, ibogaine and DMT.

Lawmakers in Hawaii are also considering a bill that would provide some legal protections to patients engaging in psilocybin-assisted therapy with a medical professional’s approval.

New York lawmakers also said that a bill to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy in that state has a “real chance” of passing this year.

A Nevada joint legislative committee held a hearing with expert and public testimony on the therapeutic potential of substances like psilocybin in January. Law enforcement representatives also shared their concerns around legalization—but there was notable acknowledgement that some reforms should be enacted, including possible rescheduling.

The governor of Massachusetts recently promoted the testimony of activists who spoke in favor of her veterans-focused bill that would, in part, create a psychedelics work group to study the therapeutic potential of substances such as psilocybin. Last month a Massachusetts joint legislative committee held a hearing to discuss an initiative that would legalize psychedelics that may appear on the November ballot if lawmakers decline to independently enact it first.

Currently, there are no psychedelic drugs that are federally approved to prescribe as medicine. But that could soon change, as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently agreed to review a new drug application for MDMA-assisted therapy on an expedited basis.

At the start of this year, VA separately issued a request for applications to conduct in-depth research on the use of psychedelics to treat PTSD and depression.

In October, the agency also launched a new podcast about the future of veteran health care, and the first episode of the series focuses on the healing potential of psychedelics.

FDA also recently joined scientists at a public meeting on next steps for conducting research to develop psychedelic medicines. That came months after the agency issued historic draft guidance on psychedelics studies, providing scientists with a framework to carry out research that could lead to the development of novel medicines.

Study Finds Natural Psychedelic Mushrooms Produce ‘Enhanced Effects’ Compared To Synthesized Psilocybin, Suggesting Entourage Effect

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Sales of legal marijuana in New Mexico set a new monthly record in March, with combined adult-use and medical marijuana purchases totaling more than $52.5 million.

Of that, a record $39.4 million came from adult-use sales, according to the Regulation and Licensing Department’s Cannabis Control Division, while medical marijuana purchases comprised another $13.0 million.

The new combined record is more than $2 million more than the state’s previous high-water mark of $50.5 million in combined medical and adult-use sales, which was set last December. The adult-use sales figure, meanwhile, is just under $2 million more than the past monthly record of $37.5 million, also set last December.

By dollar amount, about three quarters (75.2 percent) of all sales in March came from recreational purchases.

Sales numbers in March 2023 also set total and adult-use sales records at the time.

The top cities in terms of all-time medical marijuana sales, according to state data, are Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces. Leading adult-use cities, meanwhile, are Albuquerque, Sunland Park and Las Cruces.

The average transaction value among adult-use consumers in March was $42.50—down from $44.66 a year earlier. Medical marijuana transactions were notably higher on average, at $51.81 last month—also down slightly from $53.10 a year ago.

Last month, New Mexico officials celebrated recording more than $1 billion in total sales since the launch of the state’s adult-use cannabis market.

That includes both medical and adult-use cannabis receipts going back to April 2022, when the recreational market opened for business. The state does not publish medical cannabis dispensary sales data prior to that date.

“This is a huge milestone for New Mexico’s cannabis industry,” Regulation and Licensing Department Superintendent Clay Bailey told Marijuana Moment at the time. “Consumers have proven that they support this industry and the businesses that have worked hard to put our state on the map when it comes to legal, regulated cannabis sales.”

Measured another way, New Mexico sold more than a half-billion-dollars’ worth of marijuana during the first full calendar year of the adult-use market when figures from medical sales were included.

Meanwhile, the governor said in February that she “endorses” a newly enacted resolution requesting that state officials research the therapeutic potential of psilocybin and explore the creation of a regulatory framework to provide access to the psychedelic. Earlier this year, the Senate unanimously passed the measure from Senate Minority Whip Craig Brandt (R) and Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D).

Michael Coleman, director of communication Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) office, said the governor “generally supports innovative and responsible research and treatment to address depression, addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health challenges.”

The Senate passage of the psychedelics resolution comes one year after the House Health and Human Services Committee approved a similar bill that called for the creation of a state body to study the possibility of launching a psilocybin therapy program for certain patients. That measure did not advance further in the 2023 session, however.

Last year the state Senate also voted to let drive-through marijuana stores remain open. A proposal by the body’s Judiciary Committee would have prohibited sales of cannabis through a drive-thru window.

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