The White House has confirmed that US President Joe Biden will sign bipartisan cannabis legislation passed by Congress last week, aimed at expanding medicinal cannabis research.
The Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act cleared the Senate unanimously after earlier passing through the House of Representatives over the summer. It is the first standalone cannabis measure Congress has ever approved.
The legislation reduces federal barriers to scientific research on cannabis, a substance still listed as a Schedule 1 controlled substance under federal law.
Under the new law, the Attorney General's office must process applications for cannabis-related studies more quickly and with fewer bureaucratic hurdles, while researchers will have greater ability to obtain the quantities of cannabis needed for their work.
The bill also directs the US Food and Drug Administration to actively support the development of medicines derived from cannabis.
Democratic Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, who co-sponsored the bill alongside Maryland Republican Representative Andy Harris, said: "After working on the issue of cannabis reform for decades, finally the dam is starting to break.
"The passage [of the act] in the House and Senate represents a historic breakthrough in addressing the federal government's failed and misguided prohibition of cannabis.
"For far too long, Congress has stood in the way of science and progress, creating barriers for researchers attempting to study cannabis and its benefits.
"At a time when more than 155 million Americans reside where adult-use is legal… and there four million registered medical marijuana users, with many more likely to self-medicate, it is essential that we are able to fully study the impacts of cannabis use."
In New York, the state's Cannabis Control Board (CCB) granted 36 dispensary licences on Monday — the first batch in a planned rollout of 175. A significant portion of the initial licences were set aside for applicants with prior cannabis convictions, while eight were awarded to non-profit organisations.
CCB chair Tremaine Wright said: "This is a monumental moment and it represents the last leg of the cannabis supply chain that requires licensure."
New York legalised recreational use in March 2021, but the licensing of retail sales has been an ongoing process since then.
Also this week, Oregon's Democratic Governor Kate Brown announced pardons for approximately 45,000 people convicted of simple cannabis possession, while also wiping out more than US$14 million in outstanding fines and fees.
The announcement follows Biden's own pardons last month for those convicted under federal law and in the District of Columbia, with the president urging state governors to follow suit for offences prosecuted at the state level, which account for the large majority of possession cases.
Brown said: "No-one deserves to be forever saddled with the impacts of a conviction for simple possession of marijuana – a crime that is no longer on the books in Oregon."
In Kentucky, Democratic Governor Andy Beshear signed an executive order on Tuesday permitting eligible residents to legally possess and use medicinal cannabis in the state.
Beshear said he turned to executive action after the General Assembly repeatedly failed to pass legislation that would legalise and regulate medicinal cannabis through the normal legislative process.
Taking effect on January 1, 2023, the order identifies 21 qualifying medical conditions that allow residents to use and possess medicinal cannabis, provided a physician issues a written certification following a diagnosis.
Eligible residents are also required to hold a receipt proving their cannabis was purchased in another state, and are subject to a purchase and possession limit of eight ounces.
Qualifying conditions include cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, post traumatic stress disorder, Lou Gehrig's disease and Parkinson's.
Kentucky remains among just 13 US states that prohibit cannabis for both medicinal and recreational use. Beshear also signed a separate executive order governing the sale of Delta-8 THC, which a court recently ruled to be legal in Kentucky.
