Paul Armentano

A decades-long Danish study has found no significant link between cannabis use and increased age-related cognitive decline in men, challenging persistent stereotypes about cannabis consumers. Key Findings Researchers from the University of Copenhagen followed 5,162 men over an average of 44 years,...

The U.S. Treasury Department has released its quarterly report, revealing that last year, over 830 financial institutions nationwide have officially acknowledged relationships with state-licensed cannabis businesses. According to a report from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana...

Village Farms International, Inc. (NASDAQ:VFF) has been selected as the only cannabis plant-touching operator to testify at the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing on rescheduling cannabis. Out of 25 participants, Village Farms, a US-based leader in...

A new federally funded study has found no evidence to support claims that illicit marijuana is being widely laced with fentanyl, despite recent and persistent assertions to the contrary made by former President Donald Trump‘s running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH). The study, published in The...

The FBI reported that 217,150 arrests for marijuana violations were made in 2023, slightly down from 2022 when the figure stood at 227,108, according to data published in the Bureau’s Crime Data Explorer. Of those arrested in 2023, a staggering 84%—a bit over 200,000 people—were charged with...

This article was originally published by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and appears here with permission. Data published last week in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs finds that adults are more than six times more likely to acknowledge...

Governor John Carney (D) signed HB 285 into law, expanding medical cannabis access in Delaware. The new legislation, effective immediately, allows physicians to recommend medical cannabis to any patient who might benefit, without the need for a state-specific qualifying condition. Additionally,...

For the first time ever, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has reportedly called for ‘botanical cannabis' to be reclassified under federal law. The DEA's decision, as reported Tuesday by the Associated Press, to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the US Controlled Substances...

This article was originally published by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and appears here with permission. Neither the detection of THC nor its metabolites in blood, breath, urine, or saliva is predictive of behavioral impairment, according to a literature...

Paul Armentano, Deputy Director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) authored this op-ed, first published in OtherWords and appears here with permission.  It’s been over a decade since Colorado and Washington became the first two...

Minnesota is moving towards a movement worth following in the U.S. cannabis industry. For the first time in nearly a decade, Minnesota could soon open cannabis dispensaries run by cities and counties, thanks to a novel provision in its cannabis laws.  If realized, the initiative would mark a novel...

By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director Recently, I provided testimony to lawmakers in Maryland in support of legislation to end the discrimination of marijuana consumers in the workplace. Days earlier, I testified for legislators in Hawaii and I called for the automatic expungement of records...

Following President Joe Biden’s Friday announcement that he is pardoning thousands of people convicted of use and/or simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) thanked the president, calling the...

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, state Senate leader Matt Huffman and other GOP leaders who are attempting to dismantle Ohio’s voter-approved cannabis initiative are not unique to Ohio - nor are the Republican threats to disregard the will of the voters when it comes to the...

As Ohio voters approved a ballot initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis, industry leaders and advocates are congratulating their mid-western friends for a job well done. Tim Conder, CEO of TILT Holdings (OTCMKTS: TLLTF), which is already operating in Ohio, said the results reaffirm that...