marijuana legalization

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New York on Track to Legalize Recreational Pot

An agreement is expected to be signed into law soon

(Newser) - New York is poised to join a growing number of states that have legalized marijuana after state lawmakers reached a deal to allow sales of the drug for recreational use, the AP reports. The agreement reached Saturday, which is expected to be signed into law in the coming days, would...

New York's Deal Sets Up $4.2B Recreational Pot Market

Plan includes a social equity component to help people hurt by past practices

(Newser) - New York lawmakers have reached an agreement with Gov. Andrew Cuomo that would make recreational marijuana legal in the state. Officials said the change should help eliminate a longtime inequity—Black and Hispanic people are arrested on minor marijuana charges much more often than white people are—while setting up...

1st Southern State Legalizes Recreational Marijuana

Virginia joins a growing list

(Newser) - Virginia has become the sixteenth state, and first in the South, to legalize marijuana. Per the AP , state lawmakers gave final approval Saturday to a bill that will legalize marijuana for adult recreational use. With a compromise bill clearing the House and Senate, Virginia joins 15 other states and the...

This Columbia Prof Has Used Heroin, Regularly, for 5 Years

Carl Hart makes a scientific case in 'Drug Use for Grown-Ups'

(Newser) - Carl Hart is a psychology professor at Columbia University, a well regarded researcher, and "an unapologetic drug user" who has been using heroin regularly for five years. So the 54-year-old reveals in Drug Use for Grown-Ups, which he released in January. Unapologetic is right. As the Guardian reports, Hart...

'Cultural Embarrassment:' Jamaica Running Low on Weed

Rain, drought, pandemic, legalization, fewer farmers all mean less ganja on the island

(Newser) - Jamaica is running low on ganja. Heavy rains followed by an extended drought, an increase in local consumption, and a drop in the number of marijuana farmers have caused a shortage in the island's famed but largely illegal market that experts say is the worst they've seen. "...

House Makes Landmark Move on Marijuana

Votes for first time to decriminalize, though it's not going anywhere in the Senate

(Newser) - Reflecting changing attitudes among Americans, the House voted Friday to decriminalize marijuana. The measure, approved with support from both parties on a 228-164 vote, also would expunge nonviolent convictions related to marijuana offenses, the New York Times reports. And the drug would no longer be covered by the Controlled Substances...

Legal Weed Is a Go in These 4 States

NJ, Ariz., Mont., SD vote to legalize

(Newser) - A New Jersey constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis won Tuesday, NJ.com reports. With nearly 60% of precincts reporting, more than 67% of ballots came back with a yes vote, as had been expected. "Legalization is the result of years of hard work from a diverse group of individuals...

One State May Be First to Decriminalize Hard Drugs

Oregon votes on measure, while 4 other states may legalize marijuana

(Newser) - The march toward legal marijuana has a chance to move forward in four more states on Tuesday, while Oregon ponders a groundbreaking move on harder drugs. Details:
  • Hard drugs: Oregon may become the first state to decriminalize hard drugs, reports the AP . Under the ballot measure, people caught with small
...

Study Recommends Minimum Legal Age for Cannabis Use
Here's the 'Optimal' Minimum
Legal Age for Pot Use
new study
May 14, 2020 9:01 AM CDT

Here's the 'Optimal' Minimum Legal Age for Pot Use

It should be no lower than 19, Canadian researchers say

(Newser) - Every US state that has legalized marijuana has made the minimum age 21, in line with the drinking age. New research out of Canada suggests it may be OK to go a little lower. In a study published in the journal BMC Public Health , researchers say they determined "19...

LA County Wipes Out 60 Years of Pot Convictions

Judge approves erasure of 66K convictions

(Newser) - Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey says she has helped correct the "inequity of the past" by wiping out 66,000 marijuana convictions. A motion signed by LA County Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta this week erases 62,000 felony convictions from as far back as 1961, when...

First Day of Legal Pot Sales in This State Was a Big One

Nearly $3.2 million of cannabis was sold in Illinois on Wednesday

(Newser) - It was freezing in many parts of Illinois on New Year's Day, but that didn't stop droves of people from standing in line for the state's first day of legal marijuana sales. And the day brought in a hefty haul: NBC Chicago reports that, per the state'...

NYC Mayor Slams 'Infuriating' Claim on Murdered Student

Bill de Blasio says NYPD union chief shouldn't be 'shaming' Tessa Majors with marijuana claim

(Newser) - A 13-year-old suspect is in custody related to the murder of Barnard College freshman Tessa Majors , with police still seeking other suspects, but her killing has become what the New York Daily News calls a "political football," drawing in New York City's mayor, the head of the...

Legalizing Pot May Decrease Teen Use
Legalizing Pot May 
Decrease Teen Use
study says
Jul 9, 2019 7:21 PM CDT

Legalizing Pot May Decrease Teen Use

Study looked at self-reported data on teen drug use between 1993 and 2017

(Newser) - Think legalizing pot will lead to more teens using the drug? Think again. A new US study finds that pot legalization laws may actually decrease teen pot use, Reuters reports. The study, reported in JAMA Pediatrics , looked at survey data on substance use that had been collected from 1.4...

Company Takes a Tough Pot Stand on 4/20

Ben & Jerry's wants weed convictions expunged

(Newser) - On marijuana's unofficial holiday, Ben and Jerry's took a tough political stand. "It's hard to celebrate 4/20 when so many people of color are still being arrested for pot," the ice cream chain tweeted on Saturday, per KRIS-TV . "We have to do better."...

Research Compares Effects of Pot, Cigarette Smoking

Public health officials consider fallout of changing marijuana laws

(Newser) - As more states make it legal to smoke marijuana, some government officials, researchers and others worry what that might mean for one of the country's biggest public health successes: curbing cigarette smoking. Though there are differences in health research findings on tobacco and marijuana, AP reports, the juxtaposition strikes...

Poll: More and More, Everybody Wants to Get (Legally) Stoned

Growing majority across all age groups now favor legal marijuana

(Newser) - A growing majority of Americans say marijuana should be legal, underscoring a national shift as more states embrace cannabis for medical or recreational use. Support for legal marijuana hit 61% in 2018, up from 57% two years ago, according to the General Social Survey, a widely respected trend survey that...

Most Democratic Hopefuls Agree on One Thing

That one thing is marijuana legalization

(Newser) - A growing list of Democratic presidential contenders want the US government to legalize marijuana, reflecting a nationwide shift as more Americans look favorably on cannabis, the AP reports. Making marijuana legal at the federal level is the "smart thing to do," says California Sen. Kamala Harris, a former...

Cory Booker Bill Would Legalize Pot Across US

Senator introduces Marijuana Justice Act, and several fellow 2020 candidates are on board

(Newser) - Those who back the legalization of marijuana should be cheered by this development: A major candidate for president just introduced a bill to make the drug legal on the federal level—and several of his fellow candidates are on board. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker introduced the Marijuana Justice Act,...

Doctors Raise Warning About Marijuana Lollipops

70-year-old man unfamiliar with THC doses has a heart attack

(Newser) - Doctors see a cautionary tale about marijuana edibles in the case of a 70-year-old man in Canada. He ate an entire pot lollipop in the hope that it would ease his arthritis, reports Live Science . Instead, it brought on hallucinations so fearful that the man ended up having a non-fatal...

Looks Like New York Will Be Next to Legalize Pot

Governor wants law on the books for recreational marijuana early next year

(Newser) - “Let’s legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana once and for all." The speaker of those words on Monday was none other than New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who as recently as last year opposed the legalization of something he viewed as a "gateway drug,"...

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