Congress: marijuana banking on “back burner”; FL legalization sigs; NY gov signs cannabis bill; MA prohibition measure; Hemp & marijuana cooperation

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Your good deed for the day: donate to an independent publisher like Marijuana Moment and ensure that as many voters as possible have access to the most in-depth cannabis reporting out there.Support our work at https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment/ TOP THINGS TO KNOWSeveral key House and Senate lawmakers told Marijuana Moment that they haven’t heard anything recently to indicate that cannabis industry banking legislation will advance anytime soon—with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) saying it is “on the back burner.”The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled a closed-door meeting for next month to discuss a case filed by marijuana businesses seeking to overturn federal prohibition.New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed a bill to “modernize” the medical cannabis program—granting reciprocity to out-of-state residents, extending patient registrations to two years, streamlining the certification process and lowering the age limit for home cultivation.An industry-funded Florida marijuana campaign says it is “confident” its legalization initiative will qualify for the 2026 ballot, with more than 1 million signatures submitted—even after state officials threw out more than 200,000 petitions.The Massachusetts Cannabis Business Association is urging voters who think they may have been misled into signing a ballot petition to roll back the state’s marijuana legalization law to ask their local election clerks not to certify their signatures.

As Americans increasingly choose marijuana over alcohol, mainstream media sources like The Wall Street Journal are taking note of cannabis culture trends like the Thanksgiving “cousin walk” tradition.The National Cannabis Industry Association’s Adam Rosenberg and Dentons’s Eric Berlin reveal in a new Marijuana Moment op-ed that hemp and marijuana business leaders have been meeting for a series of closed-door discussions—informally called “The Commission”—to rally behind “a united vision of an industry built on safety, fairness, accountability and consistency.”

• “Hemp and marijuana leaders who often find themselves on opposite sides of public debate are coming into the same room and aligning on the foundations of a modern legal marketplace.”

/ FEDERALCustoms and Border Protection included a warning in holiday-related travel guidance saying that “marijuana remains illegal in the United States federally. Do not cross the border with any marijuana or marijuana products.”The Environmental Protection Agency said a comment about greenhouse gas emissions from the cannabis industry is not germane to a rule on an Arizona air plan.Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) inserted comments into the Congressional Record explaining her opposition to a recently enacted federal ban on hemp THC products.Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) touted his work to get a provision about military veterans’ use of GI bill benefits for courses or job training related to careers in the cannabis industry included in a report attached to spending legislation./ STATESMissouri’s attorney general launched an investigation into sellers of unregulated hemp products.The New Jersey Governor’s Council on Substance Use Disorder hosted an event about community responses to cannabis legalization.Oregon regulators filed proposed changes to marijuana business license application rules.New York regulators posted guidance about marijuana business license application queues.Minnesota regulators published guidance on cannabis transportation to testing facilities.Massachusetts regulators launched a new public education effort about cannabis terpenes.Oklahoma regulators provided clarity about the authentication process for their new medical cannabis portal.
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/ LOCALOsseo, Minnesota officials are planning to open a city-run marijuana dispensary.The 143rd Judicial District, Texas district attorney authored an op-ed criticizing a new federal ban on hemp THC products./ INTERNATIONALGermany’s justice minister complained that “young people can smoke marijuana practically without consequences.”/ SCIENCE & HEALTHA study found that cannabis-based medicinal products “treatment over 24 months was associated with improvements in health-related quality of life and was well-tolerated in patients with” multiple sclerosis.A study of rats found that “acute psilocybin exerted a rapid antidepressant-like response” and that “repeated psilocybin induced long-lasting antidepressant-like effects.”/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSISThe U.S. Hemp Roundtable is proposing a federal regulatory framework for hemp products.Americans for Safe Access published an updated travel guide for medical cannabis patients./ BUSINESSOrganigram Global Inc. has a new CEO.

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Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.