[author: Susan Ryan]

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

Let’s start off on Capitol Hill, where the MORE Act made its way out of the House Judiciary Committee this week.  This bill would end the federal prohibition of cannabis and remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act.  Of course, we’re still a long way from legalization; see the iconic “I’m Just a Bill” video, if you need a refresher on how a bill becomes a law.

Moving on to the state of New Jersey, you will remember that the legislature was unable to pass a legalization bill earlier this year.  Lawmakers have now decided to hand the question to the voters with a ballot initiative.

In Michigan, the state has issued its first recreational cannabis licenses.  Sales are expected to start on December 1.

Meanwhile in hemp news, pollen drift is causing problems for hemp and marijuana growers.  The science behind this is beyond the scope of this blog, but suffice to say, the mingling is not good.

And in political news, marijuana was a topic at Wednesday night’s Democratic Presidential debate.  Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) brought up former Vice President Joe Biden’s views on cannabis legalization.  Biden indicated he favored decriminalization and expungement, along with further research on marijuana.  Biden has previously expressed concerns that cannabis is a “gateway drug.”

See you next week!