The government of New Zealand passed a law that removes many restrictions on medical cannabis on Tuesday. While it will take up to a year for the new regulations and licensing policies established by the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill to be rolled out, the law also establishes an exception and statutory defense [...]

Leaders of the House and Senate Agricultural Committee reached a bipartisan compromise and released the text of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 on Monday evening, which Congress will vote on as early as Wednesday. The bill notably eliminates a work requirement for beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) proposed by the House and [...]

Judge Edgardo Ramos, of the US District Court in Manhattan, issued a permanent injunction on Friday, blocking the Department of Justice (DOJ) from enforcing three immigration-related conditions on grants distributed in eight jurisdictions. This order stops short of a nationwide ban from the grants conditions, and only impacts New York City, the state of New York, New Jersey, [...]

New Jersey’s Medical Marijuana overhaul bill passed the Senate’s Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee on Monday, and now heads to the State Legislature’s joint appropriations committee. The Medical Marijuana bill seeks to revise requirements for authorizing and accessing medical marijuana, establish requirements for institutional caregivers, revises permit requirements for alternative treatment centers, and [...]

The Justice Department filed a memorandum in response on Wednesday to CNN’s lawsuit over the revocation of Jim Acosta’s access, stating that the White House reserves the right to select which journalists receive interviews and are called upon during press conferences. “No journalist has a First Amendment right to enter the White House,” lawyers said in [...]

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions submitted his resignation letter to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly Wednesday at the request of President Donald Trump. In the letter, Sessions touted the record numbers of “violent offenders and firearm defendants” the Justice Department prosecuted while under his watch. Trump announced via twitter that Matthew Whitaker, Chief [...]

Alabama and West Virginia voters passed ballot measures on Tuesday to eliminate taxpayer funded abortions. Oregon, the third State to have an abortion related ballot measure this election cycle, did not receive adequate support to ban abortion funding. Alabama’s state legislature proposed a ballot measure to establish a state policy prohibiting state funds from being used for [...]

The US Department of Justice announced on Monday its plan for the upcoming Election Day. The Civil Rights Division plans to monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws by deploying personnel to 35 jurisdictions across 19 states. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the efforts are aimed “to protect the rights of millions of Americans to [...]

US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a statement on Monday conveying “deep concern” over an Alabama court’s failure to preserve an original recording of jury instructions for a capital murder case. Sotomayor concurred with the US Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari in the case of Tawuan Townes because without the tape Townes could not show [...]