Diane Powers Archives

Advocates for legalizing medical marijuana switched Wednesday from urging Nebraskans to sign their petition to begging them as a July 7 deadline looms to submit signatures to qualify for the ballot in November.

Robert “Lewy” Lewis of Windsor Heights has been in pain since 1974, when he had spinal surgery at the age of 21. To repair a blockage in his spine, surgeons removed eight inches of his vertebrae and then sewed them back on, using about 300 steel stitches.

Supporters of medical marijuana in Nebraska have launched a legal challenge to the state’s requirement that 5% of registered voters in at least 38 counties sign a petition to get the measure before voters on the ballot.

As New Jersey nears the end of its first month of legal recreational marijuana sales, lawmakers have introduced a series of bills aimed at restricting what types of workers can use cannabis off the job.

The Missouri House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to require state regulators to disclose ownership information for businesses granted medical marijuana licenses that the state has withheld from public view.

“No one seems to have gotten it right.” Mayor Eric Adams told a Friday afternoon crowd, of legal cannabis in America. “This is our chance to get it right.” New York City’s mayor addressed attendees of the 2022 Cannabis World Congress & Business Expo (CWCBExpo) on the second day of the three-day event. Adams stressed the social equity focus of New York’s cannabis program.

“It really remains a fundamental injustice,” said Stephen Post, of America’s criminalization of cannabis. “We’re really helping to try to turn around those injustices.” Post works as a campaign manager for Last Prisoner Project (LPP), a nonprofit assisting cannabis prisoners.

Bryan Buckley founded Helmand Valley Growers Company (HVGC) out of a desire to share healing through cannabis. The chief executive told Profiles in Legalization how the cannabis industry found him during a February interview. He saw the damage being done by inadequate treatment of his fellow veterans.

Mark Lozzi seems to choose his words carefully as he speaks. It’s a trait one might expect from someone who built a career out of attention to detail. This attention, after all, is the essence of regulatory compliance.

When people hear Cheech & Chong, they think cannabis. Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin seared their names into the counterculture decades ago with their subversive stoner comedy. Now they’re leaving their outsized mark on legal cannabis.

With recreational sales stalled for the foreseeable future, Virginia’s medical cannabis program remains the only way for most residents to legally acquire marijuana short of growing it themselves. Currently, though, there are only 46,935 registered patients in Virginia, according to data from the Board of Pharmacy.

Keep Reading

Profiles in Legalization

News Posts

Advocates, parents ‘beg’ Nebraskans to seek out and sign petition to legalize medical cannabis

Iowans launch cannabis reform campaign aimed at showing public support

Nebraska medical cannabis backers file legal challenge to petition process

N.J. lawmakers seek to curb cannabis use

Missouri House votes to require disclosure of medical cannabis ownership records

Blog Posts

Big Apple Cannabis: CWCB Returns to New York City for Eighth Year

Last Prisoner Project: Taking Real Action to Help Cannabis Prisoners

Veteran-owned and operated cannabis company on a mission to heal

Cheech Marin & Tommy Chong on Cameo, Expungement and Chicano Art

Tag: Diane Powers

Va. adult-use cannabis stalls and medical users face access challenges