Welcome back to the The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what's happening in the world of legalized marijuana.
In the race to be the next state to legalize recreational marijuana, Illinois has pulled ahead. The state Senate has passed an adult-use cannabis bill, which now moves on to the state House. The legislation is supported by the governor, so it looks as if this will happen.
New York, which looked ready to legalize earlier this year, has had some difficulties of late. But things may be starting to turn around. Lawmakers have made some tweaks to legislation that would allow recreational use.
Meanwhile, legislators in North Dakota are taking a pro-active approach to the question, by studying the implications of legalization. Although an initiative to approve recreational use was defeated last year, the question may appear on the 2020 ballot, and legislators want to be ready if it is approved.
As for medical marijuana, the Texas legislature has approved an expansion to the state's program. New Jersey has also approved expansion. The news was less good in Alabama, where a bill to legalize medical cannabis seems to have stalled in the state House. And, despite strong support in the legislature, the Iowa governor has vetoed medical marijuana expansion in the state.
From the "well, that's unexpected" files, the governor of Utah took the federal government to task over its treatment of medical marijuana and banking specifically. "They ought to be ashamed," he said. And this from someone who originally opposed medical cannabis in his state.
And while we're on the subject of politicians, you may be wondering what former Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is doing, now that he's no longer in Congress. Wonder no longer: he's now a shareholder and advisory board member at BudTrader.
See you next week!
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