Previously he reported for Marijuana.com and MassRoots, and handled media relations and campaigns for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
“We’ve had discussions.
Shekarchi, meanwhile, said last week that he doesn’t intend to let regional pressure dictate the timeline for when Rhode Island enacts a policy change.
“I’m not in any hurry to legalize marijuana for the sake of legalizing it.
“I need to make sure that we do this right for the taxpayers of Rhode Island and for the medical community, the business community,” the speaker continued.
All of these latest comments come weeks after the state Senate approved a legalization bill from McCaffrey and Health & Human Services Chairman Joshua Miller , which was introduced in March.
Late last year, the Senate Finance Committee began preliminary consideration of legalization in preparation for the 2021 session, with lawmakers generally accepting the reform as an inevitability.
Meanwhile, the governor last week signed a historic bill to allow safe consumption sites where people could use illicit drugs under medical supervision and receive resources to enter treatment.
The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing in March on a legalization bill sponsored by top lawmakers, including the body’s president, majority leader and key committee chairs.
“Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have already legalized recreational cannabis for adult-use.
Lawmakers had worked to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate proposals in the hopes of getting something to the desk of Gov.
As Maryland lawmakers considered the two marijuana legalization bills this past session, a poll found that the state’s residents are on board with the policy change.
For law enforcement to be their most effective, they must build and maintain the trust of their communities.
“Maryland is now lagging behind its neighbors in Virginia and D.C.
Two years later, a decriminalization law took effect that replaced criminal penalties for possession of less than 10 grams with a civil fine of $100 to $500.
In May, the governor vetoed a bill that would have shielded people with low-level cannabis convictions from having their records publicized on a state database.
As for Maryland lawmakers, a House committee in 2019 held hearings on two bills that would have legalized marijuana.
“Cannabis use has had a disparate impact on people of color for too long with no real impact on public safety,” said Chairman Clippinger.
This is the latest funding opportunity to be made available through the Restore, Reinvest, and Renew Program, which was created under Illinois’s cannabis legalization law.
“We have to address the root causes of violence and invest in communities and the people who deserve more resources and opportunities than they have historically been given” Lt.
These grants will increase programming, job opportunities, provide safe spaces, and other positive outlets for youth and emerging adults.
Organizations based in 12 cities across Illinois—including Chicago and Joliet—will receive the funding.
Based on monthly data, Illinois is set to see more than $1 billion in adult-use marijuana sales in 2021.
Illinois began taking in more tax dollars from marijuana than alcohol earlier this year, the state Department of Revenue reported in May.
June was the fourth month in a row that recreational marijuana sales exceeded $100 million, according to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
Illinois officials have emphasized that the tax dollars from all of these sales are being put to good use.
Awarding the new grant money is not all that Illinois is doing to promote social equity and repair the harms of cannabis criminalization.