Mountain High Suckers is beyond proud to announce that our celebrity brand with our friend and partner Josh Blue was awarded Westword’s Best Celebrity Weed Brand of 2022.

“Affordable and effective, the 10-milligram suckers are exactly what most celebrity-blasted cannabis products aren’t: worth the money” – Westword Staff

Mountain High Suckers is proud to partner with Josh Blue to create Josh Blue’s Dream Suckers. Made with the Blue Dream cannabis, it’s Josh’s go-to strain for medicinal effects.

Josh Blue, a Denver-local and stand-up comedian who happens to have cerebral palsy, advanced to the finals of America’s Got Talent to win third place. Check out Josh’s full lineup of hilarious performances on AGT. Josh also recently returned to visit Ellen, where he was the first stand-up comedian ever to appear on the show.

Josh has been using cannabis and our edibles for years to treat his cerebral palsy symptoms. “Some edibles, they’ll creep up on you. It takes a while, and you don’t know if it’s working…but with this, within ten minutes, you’re feeling the effects of it.”

Because our suckers are dual-acting, meaning both through your mouth (sub-lingual) and through your bloodstream, they’re also the perfect edible for medical patients with a quick but long-lasting effect.

Josh also tours in Missouri where Mountain High Suckers recently rolled out more of our collaborated product: Josh Blue’s Dream.

Thanks all for continuing to support Mountain High Suckers and Josh Blue’s Dream!

 

Read the article on Westword at:
https://www.westword.com/best-of/2022/cannabis-and-more/best-celebrity-weed-brand-13810841

Happy almost New Year 2022 everyone!

As the year comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to highlight some of our favorite moments for Mountain High Suckers throughout this whirlwind year.

 

Launched in Missouri and Oklahoma

That’s right – if you’re located in Missouri or Oklahoma you can now find our products on the shelves. This was a long process, but we are so happy to have located great manufacturing partners, completed our licensing and regulation red tape, and new compliant packaging that fit each states’ requirements. We’re still a small business, but stepping into becoming “multi-state operators” was a huge next step for our business. Thanks all involved for making it happen and thanks to all the local fans who patiently awaited our launch!

Launched New Sour & Single Flavor Lozenges

You asked, and we supplied! We launched a brand new line of our improved Sweet Pieces (Rec) and Lozenges (Med) this year featuring new mixed flavor sours and individual mixed berry, watermelon, sour grape and sour lemon flavors. These individual flavors pack the same punch as our original but are made so you can grab a whole bag of your favorite flavors. Check out our updated packaging format and designs there too!

Discontinued Our Award-Winning CBD Line

In an early effort to get our products across state lines in the safest (and legal) ways, we launched our Mountain High Select CBD products in 2020.  We invested an e-commerce shop and despite tasting great, working effective as a broad spectrum hemp product, and being among some of the highest ranked CBD edibles online, we have decided to discontinue that product due to logistical, supply and quality control issues. We will continue to launch our blended THC & CBD products in our current states and hope to expand those opportunities to other states too.

Big Year for Our Partner: Comedian Josh Blue

We’re so proud of our friend and partner Josh Blue for having a dynamite year as a comedian, coming up 3rd on one of the US’s biggest TV show’s: America’s Got Talent. Josh spent the whole year hustling his comedy act on Tour to top off the amazing year for his career. Also, we’re proud to roll out our collaboration product Josh’s Blue Dream in Missouri too. If you’re located in Missouri, look for Josh’s product for one of the few edibles that is Blue Dream strain specific.

Improving Our Brand & Social Media

Last, we want to send out a big thank you to our web & design team at Colorado 420 Websites for continuing to improve our company’s look, and our new partners at YouWho Digital for making our social media and product photography shine. These partners handle everything from spiffing up our logo, keeping our website afloat, creating complaint packaging for our new markets, and doing a fabulous job of making our social media channels approachable. Hit them up for quality services for cannabis.

 

Thanks so much for rolling with us and stay tuned for much more next year!

 

2021 is coming to a close—and seriously, how did that happen so fast? Since it’s that time of year to reflect on the year that was, these were some of the biggest stories in weed in 2021:

The War on Drugs Wages On at the Olympics

Sha’Carri Richardson was denied the chance to compete in the Tokyo Summer Olympics because she tested positive for THC. Richardson dominated the women’s 100-meter qualifying race at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon. However, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) prohibited her from competing after the positive test.

“Richardson’s competitive results obtained on June 19, 2021, including her Olympic qualifying results at the Team Trials, have been disqualified, and she forfeits any medals, points, and prizes,” a statement from the USADA said.

Richardson, who had just learned about her mother’s death, consumed marijuana in Oregon, a legal cannabis state. Despite the lack of evidence that marijuana or THC enhances athletic ability and a petition signed by more than half a million people, Richardson could not compete.

 

Colorado Lawmakers Want to Reduce Access to Medical Marijuana Concentrates

Colorado’s Speaker of the House, Alec Garnett (D-Denver), introduced legislation to tighten rules for medical marijuana and marijuana concentrates. The Colorado Legislature passed HB 1317 in June, and Governor Jared Polis (D-Colorado), signed the bill into law in the same month.

A new state tracking system will monitor medical marijuana patients’ purchases to prevent them from buying more than the allowed daily limit. Additionally, the law lowered the purchase limit on concentrates for medical and recreational to 8 grams per day, down from the previous 40-gram limit. For medical marijuana patients between the ages of 18-20, the limit on concentrates was lowered to two grams per day.

 

Amazon Drops Marijuana Testing for Employees, Supports Legalization

Amazon, one of the largest employers in the United States, dropped drug testing for applicants and employees this year.

“We will no longer include marijuana in our comprehensive drug screening program for any positions not regulated by the Department of Transportation, and will instead treat it the same as alcohol use. We will continue to do impairment checks on the job and will test for all drugs and alcohol after any incident,” the company said in a blog post.

Going one step further, the company said that they would actively lobby Congress to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would legalize cannabis nationally.

Dems Move to Legalize Marijuana Nationwide in 2021, Improve Access to Banking

This may be the biggest story that wasn’t. We’re at the end of 2021, and there still hasn’t been any movement on ending the prohibition on cannabis or improving access to banking.

Several marijuana legalization and banking bills were introduced in the last few years, including the MORE Act and the SAFE Banking Act. In 2020, the House passed the MORE Act, but it never received a hearing in the Senate. The House passed different versions of the SAFE Banking Act five times, but like the MORE Act, it stalled in the Senate.

One of the sponsors of the SAFE Banking Act, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), said in a statement, “[P]eople are still getting killed and businesses are still getting robbed because of a lack of action from the Senate. The SAFE Banking Act has been sitting in the Senate for three years and with every passing day their unwillingness to deal with the issue endangers and harms businesses, their employees, and communities across the country.”

Youth Marijuana Use Shows No Increase with Legalization

In states that have legalized adult-use marijuana, youth marijuana use has not increased.

A study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that teen marijuana use decreased after legalization. Researchers analyzed data from 1.4 million high school students between 1993 and 2017 and found an 8 percent decrease in teen use after states legalized recreational marijuana.

The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) analyzed ten years of data from students in grades 9-12 who reported marijuana use in the previous 30 days. They found that between 2009 and 2019, youth marijuana use has remained essentially unchanged.

“The overall percentage of students who reported using marijuana at least 1 time during the previous 30 days in 2019 was not measurably different from the percentage in 2009…. There was no measurable difference between 2009 and 2019 in the percentage of students who reported that illegal drugs were made available to them on school property.”

The findings are consistent with prior data concerning youth marijuana use.

Love ’em or hate ’em, cannabis and celebrity partnerships are here to stay. Here are a few of the biggest names who have gone all-in on marijuana:

Mike Tyson

One of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, Mike Tyson was once more well known for his controversial behavior than his cannabis advocacy. And, well, maybe he is still more well-known for the whole ear-biting thing, but these days, Tyson has mellowed out. After launching and closing down his first canna-biz –  the Tyson Ranch, he’s ready for the next big thing.

“My life was just miserable, I was out of control. I was fighting with everybody. If someone asked me for an autograph, I’d punch them in the face. I was just a mess, and then after I retired, I started smoking,” Tyson said. “What a mistake that was — I should have smoked my whole career. I should have smoked when I was fighting because it put me in this different state of mind. I’m very relaxed and the more relaxed you are, the better fighter you are at least in my case.”

Iron Mike credits his most recent comeback to cannabis—so much so that he partnered with Columbia Care to release his own cannabis line, Tyson 2.0

 

Allen Iverson

NBA legend Allen Iverson launched the Iverson Collection, a line of cannabis products created in partnership with fellow NBA alum Al Harrington’s cannabis brand, Viola. Not your everyday cannabis, the first strain in the Iverson Collection was designed to taste like Dom Pérignon champagne.

The irony of creating a cannabis line isn’t lost on Iverson, who was once arrested and charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession in Virginia.

“I could hear the people in the crowd calling me weed head on the road. It was bad and now all these years later look where we are and how far we’ve come,” he told Bleacher Report.

 

Josh Blue

And, of course, we can’t talk about cannabis and celebrity partnerships without mentioning Josh Blue. Most recently a finalist on America’s Got Talent, Josh Blue is a stand-up comedian with a long history in the cannabis community. Blue partnered with Mountain High Suckers to create Josh Blue’s Dream Suckers, a THC- and CBD-infused edible.

 

Jim Belushi

A comedian and actor extraordinaire, Jim Belushi didn’t partner with a cannabis company. He went all in and started a cannabis farm in Oregon called Belushi’s Farm. Belushi, who uses cannabis to treat his PTSD, is also a cannabis advocate. In addition to his work with veterans suffering from PTSD, Belushi is also a board member for The Last Prisoner Project, a non-profit committed to cannabis criminal justice reform.

Belushi told High Times, “It’s humiliating to the men and women who are incarcerated from the failed War on Drugs, and it also collapses the fabric of their families. It’s time to get these nonviolent cannabis prisoners out. There are millions of dollars being made in our industry today, and these men and women really are the ones who laid the groundwork for our industry, and they’re in jail.”

 

Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman

Famous stoner comedians Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman are using their celebrity to advocate for federal marijuana legalization. They’ve partnered with Cannabis in Common to pressure lawmakers in Congress to end cannabis prohibition.

“Americans can’t agree on anything can we?” Silverman asked in a promotional video. “Fortunately there is at least one thing most Americans have in common: more than two-thirds of us agree cannabis should be legalized and we have a real shot at getting federal legalization done now if we speak up.”

Rogen launched his own line of cannabis, dubbed Houseplant, in Canada after marijuana was legalized there in 2018.

 

Justin Bieber

Pop star Justin Bieber is the latest celebrity to jump on the cannabis bandwagon by partnering with Palms Premium, a brand of cannabis pre-rolls. The line of pre-rolls is sold under the name “Peaches,” a reference to his song of the same name.

“I’m a fan of Palms and what they are doing by making cannabis approachable and helping to destigmatize it—especially for the many people who find it helpful for their mental health. I wanted to make sure that I was doing something with them that felt genuine and Peaches felt like a good place to start,” Bieber said.

Voting is over, and the results are in. Read on to find out how cannabis initiatives fared in this year’s Colorado elections.

Colorado

Colorado voters rejected a statewide ballot measure that would have increased the sales tax on recreational marijuana. Proposition 119 would have increased recreational marijuana sales tax by 5 percent to fund private after-school and tutoring programs. The initiative failed by 54.41 percent to 45.59 percent.

Peter Marcus, a spokesman for Boulder-based cannabis company Terrapin, said Proposition 119 was a “misguided policy.”

“Despite being significantly outspent by proponents, Colorado voters still soundly rejected using cannabis as a piggy bank for out-of-state special interest projects. Coloradans understand that lawmakers struck an appropriate balance when they planned for cannabis taxes. Disrupting that system would only set successful regulation back. We can’t balance the state budget and education on the backs of cannabis consumers; we need long-term solutions that address structural deficiencies,” Marcus said after Proposition 119’s defeat.

Denver

In Denver, another marijuana sales tax increase was on the ballot. Initiative 300 would have increased the recreational cannabis sales tax by 1.5 percent to fund pandemic research at the University of Colorado Denver City Center.

“Denver voters recognized that this measure — funded by an out-of-town billionaire — taxes people’s pain relief to pay for a random, pandemic preparation program that has no accountability, no oversight, no specific solutions, no connection to the marijuana industry and no relationship to core city services. We are hopeful that the city’s business community will oppose any future efforts to increase taxes on the Denver cannabis industry just as they would for any other industry in the city,” Chuck Smith of the cannabis business organization Colorado Leads told Westword.

An out-of-state special interest group funded the initiative, and CU Denver was not involved in getting the measure on the ballot. The vote was no/against the initiative by 60.35 percent to 39.65 percent.

Golden, Westminster, and Brighton

By a slim 58.68 percent to 49.60 percent margin, voters in Golden decided to lift the moratorium on recreational marijuana dispensaries in the city. Cannabis cultivation, extraction, and manufacturing are still a no-no in city limits. Still, marijuana sales will finally be a reality in Golden after the city council drafts and implements rules.

However, it doesn’t look like adult-use marijuana dispensaries will be coming to Westminster anytime soon. Despite voting “yes” on allowing retail marijuana in the city by 53 percent, voters said “no” to a separate tax measure tied to the initiative.

Brighton was a definite “no” on repealing the ban on recreational marijuana sales. Voters rejected the measure by 53 percent.

Lakewood

Lakewood’s sales tax on recreational marijuana will remain at 19.6 percent after voters rejected a measure to increase the tax rate by an additional 5 percent. If the initiative had passed, the City of Lakewood would have been able to increase the tax on adult-use marijuana by up to 10 percent without further voter approval.

Mead, Lamar, and Wellington

It turns out that 3 wasn’t a magic number in Mead, where voters rejected a ban on medical and recreational marijuana sales for the third time since 2013. 61 percent of voters rejected the measure.

There was better cannabis election news in Lamar, where voters approved two marijuana-related measures. 54 percent of voters approved Ballot Measure 2B, legalizing recreational marijuana sales. 55 percent of voters approved Ballot Measure 2A for a 5 percent local tax on adult-use cannabis sales.

In Wellington, the vote on Initiative 2B is still too close to call. As in, a 3-vote difference too close to call. The initiative would allow medical and recreational sales in Wellington. With a total of 3,341 votes counted so far, 1,672 voters said “yes,” while 1,669 voters said “no” to the measure.

However, it’s not so close when it comes to Initiative 300, the vote on whether to implement a 3.5 percent sales tax on adult-use marijuana purchases. The initiative looks like it will pass, with 231 “yes” votes in the lead.

Marijuana may be legal in Colorado, but there’s a slew of marijuana-related initiatives on the ballot this year.

Colorado

Statewide, Colorado voters will decide whether to increase the sales tax on recreational marijuana to fund after-school and tutoring programs for low-income and underserved youth.

Proposition 119, also known as the State Learning and Academic Progress Initiative (Leap), would give families earning between $25,000 and $50,000 a yearly stipend of $1,500 for after-school programs. Supporters of the initiative say the money would help close income-related learning gaps, which have been particularly exacerbated during the coronavirus pandemic.

If the initiative is approved, it will raise marijuana taxes from 15 percent to 20 percent. Local governments add their own marijuana sales and industry taxes, so the tax on recreational marijuana would go from 26.4 percent to 31.4 percent in Denver.

The state’s largest teachers union, the Colorado Education Association, initially supported the initiative. However, they withdrew their support and adopted a neutral stance over oversight issues and a lack of information about how the program would be implemented. In particular, they noted that the program may not be as accessible for rural students and that it funnels money toward private, for-profit programs while doing nothing to fund public schools.

State marijuana proponents oppose the ballot measure, arguing that increasing an already hefty tax on recreational marijuana could push people to the black market, as well as detract from social equity initiatives.

Denver

In Denver, voters will decide whether to increase the recreational marijuana sales tax by 1.5 percent to fund pandemic research. Initiative 300 would raise around $7 million annually to fund the University of Colorado Denver CityCenter for research.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock opposes the initiative. On Facebook, he wrote, “While we continue to grapple with the impacts of COVID-19, adding a cost burden to just Denver voters seems unfair. Let’s rely on our national research institutions to do this work and share the responsibility more broadly than just Denver taxpayers.”

The initiative was sponsored by a Delaware-registered advocacy group, Guarding Against Pandemics. The University of Colorado was not involved in the initiative, and they don’t have any plan on how to use the funds.

Golden, Westminster, and Brighton

Three Colorado suburbs may finally have the chance to open recreational marijuana dispensaries thanks to initiatives on the ballot in Golden, Westminster, and Brighton.

After recreational cannabis was legalized in the state, the city council in Golden placed a moratorium on adult-use marijuana businesses in the city. If voters approve the measure, recreational dispensaries could open their doors. Marijuana cultivation, extraction, or manufacturing facilities would still be off the table.

Similarly, Westminster banned marijuana sales in 2013. However, ballot measures presented by the city council would all adult-use marijuana dispensaries and create a new local sales tax.

Brighton City Council banned marijuana sales after it was legalized in 2012, but this year voters in the city will vote on whether to allow recreational marijuana dispensaries as well as create a 4 percent local sales tax.

Lakewood

This year it’s all about taxes as Lakewood voters weigh in on a special marijuana sales tax that would help fund the city. If approved, local taxes on recreational marijuana would be set at 5 percent, with the City of Lakewood retaining the right to increase the tax up to 10 percent without further voter approval. Currently, Lakewood’s overall sales tax for recreational marijuana is 19.6 percent. The sales tax increase would raise around $2.9 million per year for Lakewood.

Mead, Lamar, and Wellington

Three rural Colorado towns will also vote this November on whether to allow recreational cannabis sales.

In Wellington, Initiative 2B would allow medical and recreational marijuana sales, and Issue 300 would implement a 3.5 sales tax on recreational marijuana purchases.

A voter-backed initiative in Mead could end the prohibition of marijuana sales in the town. A similar measure failed in 2019.

Lamar has two separate ballot initiatives that would end the ban on medical and recreational marijuana sales. Ballot Question 2B would allow marijuana dispensaries, cultivation, extraction, and manufacturing, while Ballot Issue 2A would create a 5 percent local tax on recreational marijuana sales. The city would have the right to raise adult-use marijuana taxes up to 15 percent without further voter approval.

We wanted to give a shoutout to Mountain High Suckers’ awesome collaborator, Josh Blue.

Josh Blue, a Denver-local and stand-up comedian who happens to have cerebral palsy, advanced to the finals of America’s Got Talent to win third place. Check out Josh’s full lineup of hilarious performances on AGT.

Josh Blue’s appearance on AGT isn’t his first time in the national spotlight. In 2006, he won the 4th season of Last Comic Standing. In 2004, he represented the United States in the U.S. Paralympic Soccer Team in Athens, Greece. He’s done several stand-up specials and has made numerous TV appearances, in addition to the 200+ shows he does a year.

Plus, don’t miss Josh Blue’s long-awaited return to Ellen, where he was the first stand-up comedian ever to appear on the show.

Mountain High Suckers was proud to partner with Josh Blue to create Josh Blue’s Dream Suckers. Made with the Blue Dream cannabis, it’s Josh’s go-to strain for medicinal effects.

Josh has been using cannabis and our edibles for years to treat his cerebral palsy symptoms.

“Some edibles, they’ll creep up on you. It takes a while, and you don’t know if it’s working…but with this, within ten minutes, you’re feeling the effects of it.”

Because our suckers are dual-acting, meaning both through your mouth (sub-lingual) and through your bloodstream, they’re also the perfect edible for medical patients with a quick but long-lasting effect.

A long-time cannabis supporter, Josh explained, “We’ve been treating it like it was legal for years anyway, so it didn’t make too much of a difference when they legalized it. It’s really great, though. You don’t need a medical card or anything like that. There’s dispensaries everywhere, and it’s bringing in a shitload of tax revenue. I think a lot more states will start legalizing it.”

Josh also recently started a tour in Missouri where Mountain High Suckers plans to roll out more of our collaborated product: Josh Blue’s Dream.

Mountain High Suckers is extremely proud of Josh’s recent accomplishments on America’s Got Talent and his continued work with the Colorado cannabis community.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that recreational and medical marijuana legalization does not lead to increased youth consumption. In fact, researchers found that legalization actually leads to lower youth consumption rates.

The study found that in states where recreational marijuana had been legal for two years or more, there was an associated decrease in marijuana use.

According to researchers, “medical marijuana law (MML) adoption was associated with a 6% decrease in the odds of current marijuana use and a 7% decrease in the odds of frequent marijuana use.”

The study further concluded that “estimates of the association between the opening of the first recreational dispensary and marijuana use were qualitatively similar” Meaning, that there’s a clear link between the first marijuana dispensaries opening and a decrease in teen use.

The overall association between legal recreational marijuana and marijuana use among adolescents was “statistically indistinguishable from zero.”

Critics of marijuana legalization often cite concerns about increased youth marijuana use in support of prohibition or more restrictive cannabis laws.

Researchers analyzed data compiled from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 1993 to 2017 in ten medical or adult-use states.

The JAMA results are consistent with other studies on youth marijuana use after legalization. Earlier this year, a federal study by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (CNES) found that states that have legalized adult-use marijuana did not see an increase in either youth marijuana use or availability.

A study published in JAMA Pediatrics in 2019 produced the same findings.

“Consistent with the results of previous researchers, there was no evidence that the legalization of medical marijuana encourages marijuana use among youth. Moreover, the estimates reported…that marijuana use among youth may actually decline after legalization for recreational purposes.”

Additionally, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the number of adolescents admitted to drug treatment programs for marijuana-related issues has fallen in states with legal adult-use marijuana.

Governor Jared Polis (D-CO) sent a letter to the sponsors of a cannabis legalization bill, asking them to consider passing marijuana banking and tax reform first.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Senator John Wyden (D-OR) are co-sponsors of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA). The bill aims to deschedule marijuana and promote social equity.

In his letter, Polis urged the senators to pass the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act before the CAOA.

“I am thrilled that you are bringing forward a long-term, comprehensive solution that deschedules cannabis while enhancing social equity pathways. I hope that you will first focus your efforts on the two biggest barriers to the success of the cannabis industry: banking and IRS Code Section 280E (280E). Legislation to address these issues has more bipartisan support than ever before and can be passed in the short-term as you continue to work on the details of the CAOA.”

Access to banking has been a challenge for the cannabis industry from the beginning. The SAFE Banking Act would protect banks working with the cannabis industry from being penalized or violating federal anti-money laundering and illicit finance laws.

“The cannabis industry is simply too large to be prohibited from banking opportunities, and the Senate must remedy this harm by bringing this measure up for a vote in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs immediately.”

“Congress has the power and traction to address these inequities in the near-term while continuing to refine the CAOA, and I encourage you to efficiently take any opportunity to pass legislation concerning banking or 280E,” the governor wrote.

Polis cautioned the lawmakers against too high of a tax rate in the CAOA.

“It is critical that the tax level is not so cost prohibitive that it undermines the federal legal cannabis systems both already in place and being developed in emerging regulated cannabis states,” he wrote.

“I encourage the bill sponsors to carefully consider the federal excise tax rate so as not to set it so high that it would supplant much needed and relied upon state and local taxes. We should regulate cannabis similarly to alcohol; so it is appropriate for the bill sponsors to continue to look to the alcohol taxation framework for guidance on setting the appropriate tax rate for cannabis.”

The letter was sent in response to a public comment request from the senators who drafted the CAOA.

Researchers could have access to retail cannabis as part of the infrastructure bill passed in the Senate last week.

What does marijuana have to do with infrastructure? Well, nothing, sort of. The provision included in the bill would require the US transportation secretary to develop a public report on the risk of cannabis-impaired driving within two years. As part of creating that report, researchers would have access to high-quality cannabis from state-approved dispensaries.

Scientists studying marijuana have been limited to notoriously poor-quality cannabis from the government-run research facility out of the University of Mississippi. The provision in the infrastructure bill would enable researchers to study the actual marijuana that people are consuming.

Additionally, the public report must include advice to lawmakers on how to set up a “national clearinghouse to collect and distribute samples and strains of marijuana for scientific research that includes marijuana and products containing marijuana lawfully available to patients or consumers in a state on a retail basis.”

In states that haven’t legalized either medical or recreational marijuana, this clearinghouse would ensure scientists’ access to high-quality cannabis from dispensaries in legal states.

If the new marijuana reform rules pass, states with legal medical or recreational marijuana would be required to develop programs to “educate drivers regarding the risks associated with marijuana-impaired driving” and “to reduce injuries and deaths resulting from individuals driving motor vehicles while impaired by marijuana.”

Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) sponsored the marijuana reform amendment that was included in the infrastructure bill.

“Colorado led the way on marijuana legalization,” Hickenlooper said in a press release. “The federal government needs to catch up by lifting outdated restrictions on the scientific study of cannabis so we can prevent driving while high.”

The Senate approved the infrastructure bill containing the marijuana reform provision by a 69-30 vote. Next, the bill will go to the House for approval before heading to President Biden’s desk for his signature.