Most pastors feel strongly that marijuana should remain illegal even as an increasing number of states legalize medical and recreational use and public perception shifts regarding the plant-based drug, a new study of over 1,000 Protestant pastors has found.
Marijuana Policy
Hawaii Split on Marijuana Legalization, Poll Finds. State residents are evenly divided on whether to legalize marijuana, according to a new Civil Beat/Hawaii News Now poll. Some 43% of registered voters supported legalization, while 42% were opposed. The difference is within the poll s 2.5% margin of error. Still, the trend is toward increasing support. The last time this poll was conducted, in December 2017, only 36% supported legalization, with 55% opposed.
Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Heads for House Floor Vote. An omnibus marijuana legalization bill, House File 600, has successful run the gauntlet of House committee votes, having been approved by 12 different committees, and now heads for a House floor vote this week. If it passes the House, the bill faces bleak prospects in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Mississippi marijuana proposal hits snag over public notice
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUSMay 7, 2021 GMT
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Signature gathering will be delayed for a broad-based marijuana legalization proposal in Mississippi because of an error in notifying the public about the ballot initiative, the secretary of state’s office said Friday.
Initiative 77 would legalize cultivation, possession and use of marijuana, authorize a 7% sales tax on the products and allow marijuana smoking wherever tobacco smoking is allowed. It proposes to replace Initiative 65, the medical marijuana ballot measure that voters approved in November.
Mississippi law requires the secretary of state to publish the title and summary for each proposed initiative within 10 days after those documents are filed The notice must appear in “a newspaper or newspapers of general circulation” in the state.
Action on asset forfeiture in the Congress, and in Alabama and Arizona. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy
Federal Bill to Study Impacts of Marijuana Legalization Filed. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Rand Paul (R-KY) have filed a bill that would create a first-of-its-kind comprehensive study into the impacts and effects of state-legalized medicinal and non-medicinal marijuana programs. The Marijuana Data Collection Act is also being filed in the House by Reps. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) and Don Young (R-AK). It would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, and relevant state health agencies to enter a ten-year arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct, and update, a study on the effects of legalized state marijuana programs biennially. This study would evaluate the impacts and effects of state-legalized medicinal and non-medicinal marijuana programs on state economies, public health, criminal justice
Action on asset forfeiture in the Congress, and in Alabama and Arizona. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy
Federal Bill to Study Impacts of Marijuana Legalization Filed. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Rand Paul (R-KY) have filed a bill that would create a first-of-its-kind comprehensive study into the impacts and effects of state-legalized medicinal and non-medicinal marijuana programs. The Marijuana Data Collection Act is also being filed in the House by Reps. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) and Don Young (R-AK). It would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, and relevant state health agencies to enter a ten-year arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct, and update, a study on the effects of legalized state marijuana programs biennially. This study would evaluate the impacts and effects of state-legalized medicinal and non-medicinal marijuana programs on state economies, public health, criminal justice, and