federal

California lawmakers voted to keep state and local police from helping enforce federal anti-marijuana laws that conflict with state law. The state Assembly voted Thursday to shield Californians complying with state cannabis regulations like those legally operating a shop selling pot from being...

Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said Wednesday he's open to expanding the use of medical marijuana to help service members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but noted it's strictly limited by federal law. "There may be some evidence that this is beginning to be...

Last week, Gov. Phil Scott vetoed a bill that would legalize possession and cultivation of small amounts of marijuana. Vermont will not be able to further nullify the unconstitutional federal prohibition on cannabis until 2018. Senate Bill 22 (S.22) originally set up a study commission to...

Just as California is settling to its position as the largest state to legalize recreational marijuana, the federal government under President Donald Trump is signaling a possible crackdown on a drug that is still banned under federal law. But pot enthusiasts and entrepreneurs have a vocal...

If a whiff of uneasiness hung over the trade show that drew thousands of marijuana entrepreneurs here last week, it wasn't because they were just around the corner from a White House that has threatened to shut them down. They had bigger worries, like sorting out the legitimate business...

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott will reportedly announce on Wednesday whether or not he's going to sign into law a bill the state legislature sent him legalizing marijuana for recreational use. If he does — and the former race car driver appears to be leaning against putting his name on the bill over...

The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2017 would effectively legalize cannabis on a federal level. The bill currently has 11 co-sponsors, and was originally introduced by former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in 2015. The bill's primary co-sponsor is Rep. Thomas Garrett, a...

Attorney General Jeff Sessions this month announced that the Justice Department will begin charging defendants in federal cases with the stiffest possible sentences, rescinding an initiative by former Attorney General Eric Holder. That policy had prosecutors take offenders' individual...

The latest entrant to the federal NDP leadership race says it's "offensive" the government is allowing people to be charged with marijuana possession while there's a bill before Parliament to legalize it. Jagmeet Singh, who currently sits in the Ontario legislature, said Canada absolutely needs...

Amid all the chaos and confusion of the Trump administration, one certainty abides: Attorney General Jeff Sessions does not like pot. The former Alabama senator once joked that he thought the Ku Klux Klan was "ok" until he found out they smoked weed. During a 2016 Senate hearing, he called...

Marijuana is now legal to at least some extent in 44 states but that's not much consolation to the farmers and merchants who grow and sell the stuff. They're hamstrung by federal regulations that block banks from serving businesses that are engaged in illegal activity -- and since the feds still...

Two members of Nevada’s congressional delegation signed onto cannabis-related legislation this week in a push to legitimize the emerging marijuana industry at the federal level. U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Rep. Dina Titus, both Democrats, co-sponsored bills that would remove federal...

The bipartisan sponsors of a marijuana legalization bill currently before Congress renewed their efforts in the name of criminal justice reform Wednesday as the Trump administration pushes to further punish drug offenders. Reps. Thomas Garrett, Virginia Republican, and Tulsi Gabbard, Hawaii...

A small, bipartisan group of lawmakers is renewing a push at the federal level to legalize marijuana, calling it a criminal justice issue. The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Garrett (R-Va.), would lift the nation's pot restrictions and allow states to decide...

A federal appeals court has sidestepped making a ruling on whether U.S. prison officials can hold people who were convicted of marijuana offenses that were legal under state medical marijuana laws. In a decision Wednesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals focused instead on a...

Arizona is on the verge of authorizing its farmers to start growing hemp. But how quickly fields of the relative of the better-known marijuana plant will start springing up around the state remains unclear. Without dissent the House gave preliminary approval Monday to SB 1337 which directs the...

In a memorandum providing new federal enforcement guidelines for anti-drug laws, Attorney General Jeff Sessions imprudently required government prosecutors to take a freshly hard-line approach. Although respect for the rule of law is essential, and a firm federal hand on nationwide criminal...

When Californians approved Proposition 64 to legalize marijuana in California last November, it was no secret that the drug would remain illegal under federal law. But that fundamental contradiction seemed manageable at the moment because the federal government had largely taken a hands-off...

The "Alaska Grown" label has long been touted as a boost for local agriculture. The iconic logo is stamped on products produced around the state – everything from hot sauce to peonies to potatoes – to promote local Alaska businesses. So why won't you see the label on marijuana? One of the...

Colorado's marijuana industry, both recreational and medical, is growing, and has set new sales records in 10 consecutive months. But the end of the current boom may be dictated by the federal government. While more states are joining the trend toward legalizing marijuana for recreational...