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A powerful Congressional committee on Thursday voted to extend federal protections for state-legal medical marijuana. It’s the latest example of how Congress is progressing on cannabis, one small step at a time.

The US House Appropriations Committee passed by voice vote an amendment introduced by US Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) that would ban the Department of Justice from using its funds to intervene with state laws that allow the growth, distribution, and use of cannabis for medical use.

The bill will now be considered by the full House of Representatives.

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Bruce Kennedy ~ Leafly.com ~ 

Most voters in Georgia now say that marijuana should be legal for recreational purposes, according to an exclusive poll commissioned by 11Alive News and conducted by SurveyUSA.

According to the poll, 55% of Georgia voters believe that recreational marijuana should be legalized, while 35% said it should remain against the law.

Two years ago, 48% supported legalizing recreational marijuana. At that time, opposition was at 38%.

Voters also overwhelmingly support the idea of state-regulated cultivation of marijuana in order to produce legal medical cannabis oil, according to the poll, with 71% saying they'd be in favor. 

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U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) believes the end of the battle to legalize marijuana across the United States is fewer than four years away.

"I made a bet that within five years, every state will be able to treat cannabis like alcohol and there will be universal access to medical marijuana," he told a crowd of cannabis business owners at Cultivation Classic in Revolution Hall Saturday afternoon.

"If we do our job, it's game over in 2 years." 

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Katie Shepherd ~ Willamette Week ~

A Milwaukee County Board committee has voted unanimously to put a marijuana referendum on the November ballot.

The Judiciary, Safety and General Services Committee gave their approval to the proposal yesterday.

Milwaukee County is the most populous county in the state of Wisconsin. The election would not by itself end the prohibition of marijuana.

It calls on the State of Wisconsin to legalize cannabis and allow for a regulated and taxed marijuana market. 

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A number of states are expected to vote on far-reaching marijuana ballot measures this year, and recent polling shows that all of them are poised to pass by substantial margins.

A survey released on Thursday, for example, found that 61% of Michigan adults said they favor legalizing cannabis, while only 34% are opposed.

Michigan officials determined last month that activists collected enough signatures to place a marijuana legalization measure on the general election ballot.

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Tom Angell ~ Forbes.com ~ 

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a potential 2020 White House contender, is joining Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who is also speculated to be a possible presidential candidate, in the fight to legalize marijuana under federal law.

Harris announced Thursday that she will be co-sponsoring the Marijuana Justice Act, which Booker introduced in August.

The legislation would eliminate marijuana's status as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substance Act. 

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Aris Folley ~ TheHill.com ~ 

The acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was put through the wringer by lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, pressed repeatedly to answer questions about the federal agency’s outdated marijuana policy.

Here’s a roundup of exchanges between DEA Acting Administrator Robert Patterson and members of the House Judiciary Committee during a hearing on the opioid epidemic.

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Kyle Jaeger ~ MarijuanaMoment.net ~ 

Medical marijuana can be used by Georgians suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and intractable pain, according to a bill signed by Gov. Nathan Deal on Monday.

The legislation, House Bill 65, adds PTSD and intractable pain to the list of conditions eligible for treatment by cannabis oil.

Georgia’s medical marijuana law, first passed in 2015, now covers more than a dozen conditions, including late-stage cancer and seizure disorders. The law allows patients approved by a physician to possess small amounts of cannabis oil.

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Mark Niesse ~ Politics.myajc.com ~

When it comes to cannabis legalization, local politics matter.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has released it’s 2018 Gubernatorial Scorecard ahead of November’s election when many governors will face voters at the ballot box.

The scorecard is similar to NORML’s Congressional grading system which assigns a letter grade from A to F based on a politician’s cannabis-related remarks and legislative action.

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Miroslav Tomoski ~ Herb.co ~ 

While the state of California legalized recreational marijuana earlier this year, cities and towns were still allowed to ban sales of the drug in their jurisdictions. But a new bill could get around some of those local bans.

A new bill in front of the California Senate would allow marijuana companies to deliver their products anywhere in the state, including cities where legal sales are still banned.

According to one analysis, around 40 percent of California residents live 60 miles or more from a legal marijuana dispensary thanks to cities and towns that have banned recreational sales.

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Joseph Misulonas ~ Civilized.Life ~ 

The Maine House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to override Gov. Paul LePage's (R) veto of a measure to allow the commercial sale of marijuana in the state.

The House overrode the veto with a 109-39 vote, according to The Portland Press Herald.

The bill now heads to the state Senate, where lawmakers must vote by a two-thirds margin to overturn LePage's veto.

The newspaper previously reported that senators believe they have the support to overturn a veto. 

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The Missouri House of Representatives voted 112-44 Tuesday to legalize medical marijuana for people with several health conditions, sending the measure to the Missouri Senate.

If enacted, House Bill 1554 would allow people with terminal illnesses verified by doctors to request a registration card from the state that would allow them to possess and use smokeless marijuana.

An amendment attached to the bill expanded access to people with other conditions, including cancer, Parkinson's and epilepsy, even if they're not considered terminal.

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Andy Marso ~ KansasCity.com ~ 

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a longtime opponent of legalizing recreational marijuana, now says the federal government should not interfere in California's legal marijuana market.

In comments to McClatchy Tuesday — in the middle of a 2018 campaign for her seat in a state that has settled into the legal pot market — the California Democrat said she was open to considering federal protection for state-legalized marijuana.

Feinstein's office said her views changed after meetings with constituents, particularly those with young children who have benefited from medical marijuana use.

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Kate Irby ~ McClatchyDC.com ~ 

The top Democrat in the U.S. House says that doctors should more often suggest medical marijuana and yoga to patients in pain instead of doling out so many prescription opioids.

“Doctors say, ‘Don’t tell us how many pills we can prescribe.’ Well maybe we should,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said at a press conference last week.

“Others say there are other ways to relieve stress and relieve pain and that you don’t need opioids in the first place. We are too reliant to transition from them. Marijuana, yoga, all kinds of other things that are homeopathic but are not addictive in this dangerous way.” 

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Tom Angell ~ MarijuanaMoment.net ~ 

The battle to free the weed officially started Thursday when the State Board of Canvassers ruled that a group pushing a proposal to legalize marijuana for recreational use got enough signatures to qualify for the Nov. 6 ballot.

The 4-0 decision by the board was met with cheers by advocates for the proposal.

"The people of Michigan deserve this. They earned it," said Rick Thompson, a board member of the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws or NORML.

"We've faced many trials and tribulations. We've had so many stop and go signs from the federal government. That's why states have to take the reins on the issue and really be the crucibles of democracy that they've always been intended to be."

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Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., is teaming up with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., on a bill that could finally reconcile the current discrepancy between federal and state cannabis laws.

Earlier this year, Gardner protected thriving marijuana industries in states like Colorado by threatening to block all Justice Department nominees after Attorney General Jeff Sessions killed the 2013 “Cole memo,” which effectively allowed states to determine their own cannabis laws.

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Michael Walsh ~ Yahoo.com ~

In Washington, evolution on the marijuana issue is proceeding at warp speed in political terms.

A couple of weeks ago, John Boehner was dining at one of his favorite Washington haunts, Trattoria Alberto on Barracks Row, when in walked Earl Blumenauer, the Democrat from Oregon known as one of the most fervent advocates for legal marijuana in Congress.

In years past, the two men would have had little in common, but earlier that day Boehner announced he was joining the advisory board for Acreage Holdings, one of the largest marijuana corporations in the country.

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James Higdon ~ Politico.com ~ 

We asked every US senator what they thought of marijuana legalization. Here's what we learned.

Last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told VICE News he would introduce a bill to "decriminalize" marijuana, a testament to the slow-but-steady mainstreaming of the drug in America.

Of course, if you live in the Pacific Northwest, California, Nevada, Colorado, DC, or any of the other handful of states that have legalized weed, chances are you've taken the idea of blazing in (relative) peace for granted for some time now.

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Eve Peyser ~ Vice.com ~ 

Former Governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld says it makes a lot of sense for Republicans, like President Donald Trump, to support de-scheduling marijuana.

"I would think it's excellent politics for President Trump. He did say during the campaign in 2016, adult recreation, full adult legalization, is a states' rights issue — and that goes down very well with Republicans," Weld said on CNBC's "Fast Money."

"Including this former Republican," Weld added, chuckling. The former Republican governor of Massachusetts-turned Libertarian has made his newfound feelings about marijuana well-known, since announcing last week he would join former House Speaker John Boehner on the board of medical marijuana company, Acreage Holdings.

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Chloe Aiello ~ CNBC.com ~ 

Politics isn't always red or blue. Lately, it has been green.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., plans to introduce legislation on Friday to decriminalize marijuana on the federal level, adding a high-profile advocate in the effort to decriminalize, legalize and normalize marijuana use in America.

Schumer's legislation would remove marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under a 1970 law that classifies marijuana as dangerous as heroin for legal and regulatory purposes

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Susan Davis ~ NPR.org ~