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

It's been a big week. New York legalized cannabis. New Mexico legalized cannabis. Virginia may speed up legalizing cannabis. The Biden administration is getting pushback on how it treats staffers who used cannabis. North Dakota won't legalize cannabis, via legislation anyway. And finally, there's a new version of "Chopped," with a green ingredient.

new york

We've been reporting that New York is about to legalize for so long that it would take a whole blog post to list every mention. Well, yesterday it happened. The legislature passed a bill, and Governor Cuomo (D) signed it.

new mexico

Some very big news that may get lost in the hoopla over New York is that New Mexico also legalized. Like New York, the legislature passed a bill, and sent it to Governor Lujan Grisham (D) for her signature.

virginia

The legislature passed a legalization bill in late February, so you might think this story ended then. Not so fast, or, actually, not fast enough. Governor Northam (D) wants Virginians to be able to possess and grow cannabis by July of this year, rather than waiting until 2024. The legislature will consider this idea when it reconvenes later this month.

biden staffers

We reported last week that some members of the Biden staff got into trouble over past marijuana use. House Democrats sent a letter to the President late last week, asking him to reconsider the administration's employment policy.

north dakota

Where would this column be without the Dakotas? We've mentioned one or the other in eight of our posts this year alone. This week, it's North Dakota's turn in the spotlight. After a legalization bill went down to defeat last week, Senator Dick Dever, (R-Bismarck) introduced a bill to put the question to voters in 2022. Needless to say, further bulletins as events warrant.

and finally

The Food Network has a new edition of its popular "Chopped" show. "Chopped 420" will feature cannabis among the mystery ingredients.

Stay safe and be well everyone - we'll see you next week!

Originally Published by Seyfarth Shaw, April 2021

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.