Arkansans took a poll and they are in favor of recreational cannabis. Should Arkansas voters get the opportunity to decide on cannabis legalization at the ballot later this year, a new poll suggests the proposal just might have enough support to pass. The latest edition of the Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll found that 53.5 percent of registered voters there believe that cannabis should be legal for adults aged 21 and older. Thirty-two percent said that cannabis should only be legal for medicinal purposes, while only 10.5 percent said that it should be broadly illegal for any reason. Dr. Jay Barth, an emeritus professor of politics at Hendrix College who helped organize the survey, said that over “our time of polling, perhaps no issue has shown more movement than have Arkansans’ attitudes on marijuana legalization,” noting that the shift in attitudes dovetails with two separate efforts to legalize medical cannabis in the state. “After an attempt at the legalization of medical marijuana failed at the ballot box in 2012, Arkansas voters narrowly passed a revised proposal in 2016.

420 Intel – Marijuana Industry News, 02/17/2022 19:00:00

Open article: https://420intel.com/articles/2022/02/18/majority-arkansas-voters-back-cannabis-legalization

The New York Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to provide provisional marijuana cultivator and processor licenses for existing hemp businesses that take certain steps to promote equity in the emerging industry. Sponsored by Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D), the legislation aims to simultaneously expedite the process of standing up New York’s adult-use market while supporting efforts to reach ambitious equity goals with respect to cannabis business participation. It passed in a 50-13 vote. Meanwhile, the Assembly is scheduled to take up an identical companion measure on Wednesday, meaning the legislation could be sent to the governor’s desk imminently. Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D), who took the lead on the adult-use legalization bill that was enacted last year, is sponsoring her chamber’s version of the licensing bill. “Last year, with the historic passage of the MRTA, New York set the foundation for a legal cannabis industry predicated on social equity, inclusion, and ensuring that economic success stays local,” Hinchey said in a press release. “To achieve these goals and create a truly circular economy, we need New York farmers to begin the growing process now so that when cannabis dispensaries open, we can fill shelves with quality New York-grown products.”

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 02/16/2022 11:10:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-york-senate-approves-marijuana-licensing-and-equity-bill-with-assembly-vote-imminent/

The New Hampshire House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill to legalize marijuana through a state-run model. But pro-legalization advocates are sounding the alarm about the specifics of the proposal. The legislation from Rep. Daryl Abbas (R) cleared the chamber in a 235-119 vote, despite facing resistance from people on both sides of the broader cannabis debate. The action comes about a month after the House passed a separate, non-commercial legalization bill that’s also elicited criticism. The bill is “a compromise by many who favor recreational cannabis and many who like me that have traditionally opposed recreational cannabis,” Abbas said on the floor. It “creates a policy like no other state that works for and serves the people of New Hampshire.” “The time for talking is over,” he said. It’s time for us together to take action and to deliver this.” Under the proposal, which must still go before the House Finance Committee because of its fiscal components and then receive another floor vote before advancing to the Senate, adults 21 and older would be able to purchase cannabis from state-run dispensaries operated by the New Hampshire Liquor Commission.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 02/16/2022 14:27:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/bill-to-create-state-run-marijuana-shops-in-new-hampshire-approved-by-house/