The era of pre-employment marijuana screenings for most would-be state workers in Michigan officially came to a close on Sunday as a code change approved in July took effect.

The change is the result of an amendment unanimously approved in July by the Michigan Civil Service Commission, which also gives people who’ve already been penalized over positive THC tests an opportunity to have the sanction retroactively rescinded. Commission Chair Jase Bolger said at the time that the intention is to treat cannabis more like alcohol.

A person who either “overindulges in alcohol” or uses marijuana on a Friday night is “likely not under the influence of either” when they come back to work on Monday, he said, “so we’re going to treat them the same.”

The reform was first proposed in May, with commissioners opening up a public comment period to solicit feedback. It amended language that said state agencies must drug test applicants for cannabis and other Schedule I and II substances by adding an exception saying that “appointing authority shall not require testing for marijuana for a pre‐employment drug test of a new hire to a position that is not test‐designated.”

Some jobs will still require applicants to be tested, including those requiring a commercial driver’s license or operating heavy equipment or machinery, law enforcement and corrections officers, healthcare providers, people working with controlled substances and positions involving hazardous or explosive materials.

It’s estimated that just under a third of state jobs—about 14,000 of 48,000 positions—will still require testing.

It will also remain a civil service violation to be at work under the influence of marijuana, with testing permitted in circumstances where at-work impairment is suspected.

The commission in July also addressed what it described as a “related issue” under the code. The prior rules made it so people who test positive for cannabis as part of an application process for classified positions lose their conditional offers of employment and face a three-year ban on applying to other state agencies.

Under the new rule that the commission adopted, “a person with an active three‐year sanction based on a positive result for marijuana from a pre‐employment drug test for a non‐test‐designated position may request the sanction’s prospective rescission as provided in the regulations.”

In 2022, the state denied 151 people who had already received conditional job offers after they tested positive for marijuana, according to The Detroit Free Press, which raised the issue in February as the state faced difficulties filling a large number of jobs.

As a result of the rule change, just over 200 people who are currently barred from state government jobs can now become eligible by emailing officials, the paper reported.

Michigan voters approved adult-use marijuana legalization in 2018, with legal sales beginning the next year.

In 2021, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) submitted a legal opinion to another state commission, arguing that residents fired from the jobs for marijuana use outside the workplace are still eligible by law for unemployment benefits.

Between adult-use and medial marijuana sales, Michigan sold nearly $277 million in cannabis products in July, beating a record set the month before.

The state is seeing these consistent record-setting sales even as the average cost of marijuana has remained at record lows, with the price of an ounce for adult-use cannabis now hovering around $98. In December 2021, by contrast, the cost of an ounce was about $180.

Meanwhile a bill recently introduced in the legislature would legalize psychedelic plants and fungi so long as activities like cultivating and distributing the substances are done “without receiving money or other valuable consideration.”

And earlier this month, state lawmakers called on the U.S. Congress, Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to prioritize research and investment in “non-technology treatment options”—including psychedelics—to treat psychological trauma from military service.

Here’s How The Marijuana Banking Bill Was Amended During This Week’s Senate Committee Markup

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“Unless Congress acts, the Biden administration’s plan to merely reschedule marijuana is likely to supercharge the rise of national cannabis conglomerates while strangling local community-scale businesses.”

By Bruce Barcott and Shaleen Title

The SAFE(R) Banking Act vote and the Biden administration’s review of the federal status of marijuana have garnered headlines and applause from many drug reform advocates and cannabis industry leaders. But without congressional action to protect small businesses, federal marijuana reform threatens to give an unfair advantage to a handful of national corporations while hobbling thousands of local farmers and neighborhood shopkeepers.

Under current law, state-licensed marijuana companies are denied the use of basic financial services. That means no checking accounts, no tax credits, no small business loans. For the cannabis industry’s emerging billion-dollar corporations, that’s not a problem. They’re able to expand and gobble up smaller companies (and their licenses) using private equity money and funding rounds in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Small businesses can’t compete on that scale. Unless Congress acts, the Biden administration’s plan to merely reschedule marijuana is likely to supercharge the rise of national cannabis conglomerates while strangling local community-scale businesses.

This should be a bipartisan win-win. Support for small business and marijuana legalization are two rare issues where Republican and Democratic voters find common ground. A recent Gallup poll found Republican support for legalization now tops 51 percent, while 81 percent of Democrats want to end pot prohibition. Both parties compete to be seen as the one true BFF of Main Street mom-and-pops.

And yet party leaders on both sides are poised to embrace a lose-lose. In a study recently published by Ohio State University’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, we found that America’s $26 billion legal cannabis industry is quickly consolidating into the hands of a few well-financed national players. In 2018, the seven largest multistate cannabis companies accounted for only 3 percent of the legal industry’s annual revenue. By the end of 2022, that share had grown to nearly 18 percent.

If the trend continues, the cannabis industry might soon resemble America’s beer industry: a market dominated by a handful of global corporations with small businesses competing for an ever-shrinking slice of the pie.

Here’s how that could happen. Last year President Biden launched a review of marijuana’s status as a Schedule I drug. Late last month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reportedly recommended that marijuana be reclassified as a lower-risk Schedule III substance (alongside steroids, ketamine and Tylenol with codeine), instead of the nonsensical Schedule I status (heroin, LSD) it was shoehorned into by the hippie-hating Nixon administration.

If the Drug Enforcement Administration agrees with HHS, a down-scheduling would compel the Internal Revenue Service to stop treating legal state-licensed companies like Miami Vice-era cocaine smugglers. That’s no small thing. Congress created the federal tax code’s Section 280E in the early 1980s specifically to penalize companies selling substances listed as Schedule I or II. As a result today’s state-licensed cannabis companies are effectively taxed at rates ranging from 60 percent to 90 percent.

Although moving marijuana to Schedule III would offer tax fairness to all legal operators, it wouldn’t change their status as federal criminals. Basic banking services would remain forbidden to them. And for the first time, it would create a new path to federally legal, FDA-approved status—a path that only major pharmaceutical companies can likely afford.

In every other industry, small businesses utilize a portfolio of programs to help them compete in a robust marketplace. The engine that drives America’s economy is the government-backed small business loan. These financial instruments, partially guaranteed by the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) and secured by local banks, turn promising business plans into thriving, wage-paying operations. They allow prosperous companies to expand. When disaster strikes, they help businesses recover.

SBA loans are available to all American entrepreneurs—except those running state-legal cannabis companies. Even with Schedule III status, banks would risk running afoul of anti-money laundering statutes. SBA officials would remain bound by marijuana’s still-technically-illegal federal status.

Congress and the White House don’t need to reinvent the wheel. There are simple solutions available. Small businesses could be allowed to engage in interstate commerce now, before Amazon and Philip Morris get into the industry. They could be allowed access to grants and loans. Even SAFER, a modest banking reform measure, could give America’s state-licensed, tax-paying and law-abiding small cannabis companies a fair shot at success if it was amended to allow for SBA loans.

America’s 33 million small businesses deserve the chance to compete and prosper. Our communities are stronger when local entrepreneurs thrive amid their national competitors—in every industry.

Bruce Barcott is the author of Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America. Shaleen Title, a former member of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, is founder and director of Parabola Center for Law and Policy.

GOP Senator Tells Schumer To Stop Prioritizing Marijuana Banking Bill, As Another Inflates Criminal Justice Amendment Plans

The post Give Small Business a Fighting Chance Against Mega Marijuana (Op-Ed) appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

A cannabis banking bill was revised in several different ways under an amendment adopted by the Senate Banking Committee during Wednesday’s markup, according to text that has not yet been officially posted by the panel but which was obtained by Marijuana Moment.

As the debate started, the committee first approved the amendment from Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH), which was described as a mix of technical changes and revisions requested by bipartisan members. It touches on issues related to federal guidance for banks that serve cannabis industry clients, rephrased protections for financial institutions and regulators’ enforcement discretion, among other topics.

Here’s how the committee amended the marijuana banking bill

The Treasury secretary would be given one year, instead of 180 days, to issue updated guidance to financial institutions that work with cannabis businesses that was first released under the Obama administration in 2014. That guidance requires banks, credit unions and depository institutions to submit Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) if they service the cannabis industry.

The bill was amended with technical changes to language on how marijuana-related transactions should not be considered “proceeds from an unlawful activity.”

A new section was added stipulating that the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) must testify to Congress about anti-money laundering efforts within a year of the bill being enacted.

Federal home loan banks are now included under a list of financial institutions that would be protected from being penalized by federal regulators simply for working with state-legal cannabis businesses.

Language was also revised that relates to a required federal report on “availability of access to financial services for minority-owned, veteran-owned, women-owned, Tribal community-owned, and small State-sanctioned marijuana businesses.”

Much of the focus of negotiations has been on Section 10 of the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, which concerns preventing federal regulators from taking discriminatory enforcement action against any industry—language favored by Republicans.

That section was amended in several respects. One key change that seems responsive to issues raised by Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) would strike a provision that would have given regulators discretion to request or impose penalties for a reason “determined to be valid in the discretion of the agency.”

The section was further revised to include businesses owned by government agents of China and Russia in a list of potential “national security and illicit finance threats” that may warrant suspicion by regulators.

Advocates were encouraged to see that the SAFER Banking Act as introduced last week contained a new subsection that would have required financial institutions to create rules or guidance on increasing access to banking services for rural, low- or middle-income and tribal communities. That language was removed under Brown’s amendment, however.

Next steps for the SAFER Banking Act

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has pledged to bring the cannabis banking bill to the floor “as quickly as possible,” and he’s committed to attaching legislation to incentivize state and local cannabis expungements and gun rights for marijuana consumers.

It’s become clear, however, that lawmakers intend to seek further revisions when it reaches the floor and potentially crosses over to the House.

For example, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) of the House Financial Services Committee where the bill would likely be referred upon Senate passage, told Punchbowl News, that even after being amended, Section 10 still gives “broad discretion” to banking supervisors that could enable politically motivated discrimination.

“In its current state, the SAFER Banking Act will not make it through the House,” he said.

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Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), meanwhile, sent a letter to Schumer on Thursday to express concern about the Senate’s “ongoing prioritizing of legislation relaxing marijuana laws” over a separate measure the GOP senator favors to permanently prohibit fentanyl analogues.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is also stirring the pot over the cannabis banking bill, with an inflated interpretation of Schumer’s floor remarks on Thursday about his plans to amend the legislation with “criminal justice provisions.”

While Schumer has so far only discussed amending the bill to include the expungements and gun rights provisions, Cotton said the majority leader wants to add provisions “letting drug traffickers out of prison.”

Additionally, Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Budd (R-NC) and James Lankford (R-OK) sent a letter to Senate leadership on Tuesday that argued the SAFER Banking Act would result in the cannabis industry producing higher potency products that would be harmful to youth and compromise “the integrity of the United States banking system.”

On the other side of the aisle, Banking Committee member Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) has pushed for provisions meant to bolster the bill’s social equity provisions. After his proposed amendments were rejected during the committee markup, he was the sole Democrat on the panel to vote against the overall legislation.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan coalition of 22 state attorneys general is also calling on Congress to pass the cannabis banking reform.

Read the text of the Brown amendment to the SAFER Banking Act that was adopted in committee below:

New Jersey Officials To Put $5.5 Million In Cannabis Revenue Toward Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program

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“None of these numbers are lining up. None of the labs are adding up. We have no idea where the extra volume is coming from.”

By Darrell Ehrlick, Daily Montanan

One of Montana’s few in-state laboratories that had participated in the rollout of the recreational and medical marijuana programs said that it has closed its doors, largely based on concerns the owners have with scientific accuracy of testing the formerly banned substance.

Stillwater Laboratories owners Ron and Kristine Brost said they’re concerned that a software program the state uses may inadvertently approve large lots of marijuana without complying with the state’s testing standards, leading to a market that has increased the volume of marijuana without a commensurate increase in testing. Furthermore, they told the Daily Montanan the huge increase in sales statewide since the implementation of recreational marijuana should have resulted in an equally large jump in testing, but they said those numbers don’t match.

However, Kristan Barbour, the director of the state’s cannabis program with the Department of Revenue, said that while the initial launch of the state’s recreational program, which happened after it was legalized for medical cardholders, had some bumps as it transitioned from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services to the Department of Revenue, that testing is tracking with sales and the department is in the process of hiring more staff to keep tabs on the budding industry.

One of the former lab owners’ most pressing concerns is that the state has made the laboratories the de facto marijuana police.

“They’ve used the labs as proxy regulators because they don’t want to touch the stuff,” Kristine Brost said. “They don’t want to touch marijuana because of the federal ban.”

The problem has been documented in other states that have had legalized marijuana programs longer than Montana, like Colorado and California, where large batches have escaped testing, leading to uncertainty about the drug’s potency.

Nathan Kosted, who was employed at Stillwater Labs until it shuttered, said the biggest problem may have been moving the cannabis program from one department to another.

“Their purpose is tax collection,” Kosted said. “They haven’t seen anyone vomiting or freaking out. The DOR is in the business of regulating income and taxation.”

Stillwater Labs spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to ramp up for what it believed would be more testing after the state legalized recreational marijuana. State lawmakers also placed a moratorium on out-of-state operators. State officials argued that limiting the number of retailers, growing operations and testing would help protect consumers and allow the state to get the process correct.

“Testing was the reason,” Kristine Brost said. “It was because of our ability to test that it was made legal. Testing was the center.”

Barbour pushed back against the notion that the Cannabis Control Division within the state’s Department of Revenue was only focused on the financial side of the operations. In fact, she said no one within the Cannabis Control Division is responsible for taxes of any type.

“This is handled by an entirely separate division called the Business and Income Taxes Division,” Barbour said. “Our program is regulatory in nature and the focus of that work is public health. This has been an evolving process as our program is still young in its development.

“We have already seen advantages of the laboratory program staff collaborating more closely with inspectors, legal experts, and the administrative team to help build out a more robust laboratory auditing program. We are working on updating testing and lab rules, creating and refining data analytics for better monitoring of testing results, and identifying areas where further investigation is warranted.”

METRC vs. metrics

The Brosts said that a software program used by the state, METRC, has glitches, or ways to skirt the testing. State law requires that marijuana must be tested in lots of no more than five pounds. However, they said that a software glitch can apply the test results that would normally be used to approve five pounds for as much as 50 pounds.

Stillwater Labs said that they didn’t encounter products that were laced with anything like fentanyl or other drugs, but said consumers may not be certain exactly what they’re receiving when it comes to things like potency.

“METRC doesn’t care,” said Ron Brost. “It’s a multi-state program.”

That’s true, Barbour said. Because she told the Daily Montanan that since the marijuana field is fairly new, software companies have been racing to manufacture products that track marijuana from growing operations to harvest to testing to selling. But every state has its own set of rules and regulations, Barbour said. That means the Department of Revenue continues to work with METRC to adapt the program to state law.

However, Barbour said that with the addition of more staff because of the transition from the DPHHS, they are investigating any number of issues with retail operations. Like other software programs in different industries, she told the Daily Montanan that nothing prevents a bad actor from inputting false entries into the system.

She said the department has been working with the software vendors to close any state-specific loopholes (different states require testing batches of marijuana of various amounts).

Barbour confirmed that Montana is aware of the issue, and said House Bill 128, sponsored by Rep. Josh Kassmeier (R-Fort Benton) helped create a Cannabis Control Division Inspection Unit that is looking into the irregularities.

“Harvest test lots identified in the report where tested lot quantities exceeded the five-pound lot requirement, and greater than five pounds of flower sourced from these test lots was sold at licensed dispensaries are being considered for further investigation and possible enforcement action,” she said.

Testing vs. sales

Barbour said it wasn’t until July 1 of this year that the program fully switched from the DPHHS to the Department of Revenue—something mandated by lawmakers, and determined by the beginning of the state’s fiscal year.

Stillwater Labs said that it consulted with other labs throughout the state, and they’re concerned that the volume of marijuana being tested should be increasing by roughly the amount that sales are rising.

“Based on the revenue that the DOR is collection, there should be two to three times more marijuana being tested than is currently,” said Ron Brost.

“None of these numbers are lining up. None of the labs are adding up,” Kristine Brost said. “We have no idea where the extra volume is coming from.”

Barbour provided numbers to the Daily Montanan that showed that from 2021 to 2022, there was a 29 percent increase in samples tested. That was the time period in which recreational marijuana became legal in Montana, and represents the single biggest jump in testing since the state legalized any form of marijuana, Barbour said.

Barbour said that sales versus testing may follow the same general pattern, but that tracking the numbers in a lock-step fashion isn’t how the system works. She said that before the rollout of legalized recreational marijuana, many dispensaries sent products for testing in smaller amounts. However, the state allowed lots of as much as five pounds to be tested at once. Since recreational marijuana, more dispensaries and cultivators have tested their product in larger lots, closer to the maximum five-pound lots, taking advantage of the testing capacities.

“Cultivators and manufacturers were likely able to lower their average testing cost, per unit of product produced,” Barbour said. “This is a cost accounting principle that occurs in all manufacturing and production-oriented industries, and cannabis certainly was not immune from experiencing the benefits of economies of scale with regards to their lab testing costs in 2022. As production and corresponding revenue increases, certain operating expenses will decrease as a ratio of unit produced.”

From 2021 to 2022, the Cannabis Control Division reported an increase of 51.1 percent in the testing package size. In other words, the average cannabis testing lot size increased, demonstrating that many testing lots prior to recreational marijuana were less than the maximum of five pounds.

Barbour also said that in that same time period, there was a 194 percent increase in source-infused product quantity. This would likely cover things like edibles and tinctures.

From pre-rolls to rollout

Rep. Mike Hopkins (R-Missoula) carried much of the cannabis legislation in 2023, trying to mix and match ideas from a multitude of opinions about how the state should regulate recreational marijuana, which included moving the department from the DPHHS to the Department of Revenue. Some of the controversial debate also swirled around how much deference should be given to already-established dispensaries and cultivators.

In the end, Hopkins said Montana has set the standard for rolling out a smooth transition to recreational marijuana sales.

“Personally, from what I have heard from constituents who go into the dispensary, is that they’re very satisfied with the product,” he said. “The state had to set up this whole new industry, and it’s currently working very well. That doesn’t mean the discussion or conversation will end.”

Hopkins said he believes the rollout of the marijuana programs in Montana has hit fewer snags than Colorado or California.

He said Montana lawmakers were interested in helping grow local businesses while keeping marijuana out of every storefront.

He said ultimately what software any state uses or where the cannabis division is housed doesn’t make as much difference as the policies and procedures.

“You know, I look at it: Government is government. You can have whatever name you want and whatever agency,” Hopkins said. “It’s about the standards and the practice. Are they doing a good job, and I think they are.”

This story was first published by Daily Montanan.

Montana Governor Asks Court To Deny Challenge To His Veto Of A Marijuana Revenue Bill

Photo courtesy of National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The post Former Marijuana Testing Lab Owners Say Montana Is Ignoring Rules On Testing Products For Potency And Safety appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

New Jersey officials have announced the availability of $5.5 million in marijuana revenue to support a hospital-based violence intervention grants program.

Grants will be awarded beginning next year, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin (D) said in a press release. Launched in 2020, the New Jersey Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program connects survivors of violent crime, including gun violence, with community-based organizations that provide support services “starting at their bedside.”

“These innovative violence intervention programs allow providers to tend to vulnerable victims of violent crimes in the early days of their road to recovery in order to break the patterns of violence that have tragically taken the lives of too many New Jerseyans,” the governor said in a statement. “We will continue to do what we can to support this work to prevent and overcome violence in our communities across the state.”

The original funding for the program came from federal funds, and the state received an additional $10 million infusion through the American Rescue Plan last year. But officials are now using cannabis impact zone funding from the state’s Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Fund, which was created to reinvest in communities most impacted by marijuana criminalization.

Last month Murphy and Platkin announced that the same cannabis fund would cover a third of a separate $15-million grant program aimed at interrupting and preventing violent crime. The fund, which was established through the state’s marijuana legalization law, consists of monies from taxes on legal sales, industry fees and civil penalties.

Hospital-based violence intervention programs empower communities to interrupt cycles of victimization and violence. Thrilled to announce another $5.5 million to continue this initiative, which is all possible due to @GovMurphy’s leadership and support. https://t.co/bIP2X1Eoha

— Attorney General Matt Platkin (@NewJerseyOAG) September 21, 2023

Platkin said that hospital-based programs “are essential aspects of our comprehensive approach to public safety, and they empower communities to interrupt cycles of victimization and violence.”

“Through this funding, we are making clear that we will use every tool and resource available to combat gun violence and violent crime that affects too many of our communities,” he said in a press release.

Hospital-based service providers can apply for the new round of funding through October 18. Applicants can seek no more than $995,000 per project. An informational webinar is scheduled for September 29, which the state says will be recorded and posted online by October 3.

New Jersey is among a majority of states with legal cannabis that route at least some portion of revenue toward community reinvestment.

California last month announced it was opening applications for $48 million in marijuana tax-funded community reinvestment grants, which support job placement, legal assistance, treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, referrals to medical care and other services for communities that have been disproportionately affected by the drug war. That program, which awards grants of up to $3 million, is funded exclusively through state cannabis revenue.

In June, California regulators at the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) announced the award of $4.1 million to 18 local governments through a first-of-its-kind program to support cannabis business licensing programs and curb the illicit market.

DCC also recently awarded nearly $20 million in research grants, funded by marijuana tax revenue, to 16 academic institutions to carry out studies into cannabis—including novel cannabinoids like delta-8 THC and the genetics of the state’s numerous “legacy” strains. And in February, state officials announced the award of $15 million in grants to support local efforts to promote equity in the marijuana industry.

Meanwhile, Illinois paid out $45 million in grants last year under its Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program, which was established under the state’s adult-use cannabis legalization law. Funds went to 148 programs run by organizations operating on relatively small budgets in communities designated as socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Arizona sets aside 10 percent of marijuana tax revenue for a justice redevelopment fund, which funds public health services, counseling, job training and other social services for communities that have been adversely affected by marijuana arrests and criminalization. Applications for the state’s first round of grants under that program became available in March.

Bill To Legalize Marijuana In Germany Advances After State Representatives Fail To Block It

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.

The post New Jersey Officials To Put $5.5 Million In Cannabis Revenue Toward Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

Opponents of a proposed bill to legalize marijuana in Germany did not muster enough support to block the measure in legislative body representing states, meaning it will now continue through the process.

Germany’s legislature is composed of two main bodies: the Bundestag, which is comprised of democratically elected lawmakers, and the Bundesrat (or Federal Council), which has members representing individual states. On Friday, the legalization bill was brought up in the latter chamber, where legislators urged the adoption of amendments but did not prevent it from advancing.

The federal government, where the bill originated, will now respond to the Bundesrat’s comments, after which point the legislation will go to the Bundestag for possible enactment, according to The Legal Tribune Online.

The Bundesrat representative of Bavaria’s motion to put the bill on pause was rejected, as was a measure that would have required the formal consent of the chamber before legalization can be enacted. Another proposed amendment to increase the age limit for legal cannabis possession from the current draft that says 18 also failed.

The majority of state government representatives did agree that there is a “structural enforcement deficit” in the legislation, according to a translation. They’re seeking revisions to ensure that the federal government implements regulations in a way that does not cause states to take on administrative costs.

Committees of the Bundesrat made a total of 80 recommendations for revisions to the legalization proposal. That includes amendments to mitigate impaired driving, establish safety standards for cultivation facilities and ban the sale and use of alcohol at cannabis clubs.

Public education provisions should include “realistic financing modalities, especially for mandatory prevention and early intervention measures,” the Federal Council majority said. “Closing loopholes in criminal liability” is another priority.

Now the chamber’s comments will go to the federal cabinet, which drafted the legalization legislation. It will be tasked with preparing a counter-statement, and then the bill will go to the main legislative chamber. If it passes in the Bundestag, the Bundesrat can debate the proposal, but it cannot stop it from taking effect.

The federal cabinet already approved the draft law last month, initiating the process that sent it to the Bundesrat, which only has direct jurisdiction over measures that deal with revenue, state operations or amending the Constitution.

The legalization measure was spearheaded by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. The proposal, which was unveiled in July, would allow adults to legally possess cannabis and cultivate a maximum of three plants for personal use.

It would also create social clubs that could distribute marijuana to members, with purchase limits for people over the age of 21 of 25 grams of cannabis per day—up to a total of 50 grams per month—and a lower 30 grams per month limit for those between the ages of 18 and 21.

Those facilities could not be located within 200 meters of a school, and each given city or district could only have one club for every 6,000 residents, and there would be a limit of 500 members per club. A social club permit would be valid for up to seven years, with the possibility of receiving an extension after five years. Membership to the clubs would have to last at least two months under the draft bill.

A summary of the legislation also outlines estimates of the costs of implementing and regulating the program, as well as savings from reduced enforcement and new revenue that’s expected to be created through wage taxes from people working at cannabis clubs.

Officials are also planning to introduce a complementary second measure that would establish pilot programs for commercial sales in cities throughout the country. That legislation is expected to be unveiled sometime in the second half of the year after its submitted to the European Commission for review.

The measure as previously described by officials would allow cannabis sales at retailers in select jurisdictions as part of the pilot program that would allow the country to assess further reform over five years. Specifically, officials would study the impact of the shops on consumption trends and the illicit market. Localities would need to opt in to allow the stores to operate.

Several medical and law enforcement associations have voiced opposition to the legalization proposal, but Lauterbach, the health minister, has emphasized that the reform will be coupled with a “major campaign” to educate the public about the risks of using cannabis.

He first shared details about the revised legalization plan in April. The next month, he distributed the legislative text to cabinet officials.

Formal legislation detailing the government’s previously announced framework was initially set to be released by the end of the first quarter of 2023, but that timeline was extended “due to scheduling reasons” as officials worked to revise it in order to avoid a potential conflict with international laws.

Lawmakers who have pushed the government for far-reaching cannabis legalization policies reacted mostly positively to the government’s April announcement spelling out certain policy proposals, though some did point out areas they’d like to see improved.

The health minister said in March that German officials had received “very good feedback” from the EU on the prior reform framework.

Germany’s Federal Cabinet approved the initial framework for a legalization measure late last year, but the government wanted to get sign-off from the EU to ensure that enacting the reform wouldn’t put them in violation of their international obligations.

The framework was the product of months of review and negotiations within the German administration and the country’s “traffic light” coalition government. Officials took a first step toward legalization last summer, kicking off a series of hearings meant to help inform legislation to end prohibition in the country.

A group of German lawmakers, as well as Narcotics Drugs Commissioner Burkhard Blienert, visited the U.S. and toured California cannabis businesses last year to inform their country’s approach to legalization.

The visit came about two months after top officials from Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands held a first-of-its-kind meeting to discuss plans and challenges associated with recreational marijuana legalization.

Leaders of the coalition government said in 2021 that they had reached an agreement to end cannabis prohibition and enact regulations for a legal industry, and they first previewed certain details of that plan last year.

A novel international survey that was released last year found majority support for legalization  in several key European countries, including Germany.

Petition To Repeal South Dakota’s Medical Marijuana Law Contains Error And Must Be Thrown Out, Opponents Say

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Backers of a 2024 ballot measure to legalize adult-use cannabis in South Dakota are calling on state officials to scuttle a separate initiative effort that would repeal the state’s existing medical marijuana law.

South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, which is working to qualify a recreational marijuana proposal for next year’s ballot, said in a recent letter to Secretary of State Monae Johnson (R) that petitions in support of the medical cannabis repeal measure failed to follow state requirements and should be refiled.

The effort to repeal the state’s voter-approved 2020 medical marijuana law is being led by conservative activist Travis Ismay, who is also seeking to put an additional measure before voters that would block South Dakota from having future ballot questions to legalize any federally prohibited substance.

The pro-legalization South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, however, believes the medical cannabis repeal petition fails to adhere to state rules.

“We strongly believe that the rules of our state’s initiative process should be applied consistently to all South Dakotans,” says the letter from Matthew Schweich, executive director of the pro-legalization group. “Therefore, we respectfully recommend that your office take the following action: revoke Ismay’s approved petition and direct him to refile it.”

Specifically, Schweich asserts the petition in support of the medical marijuana repeal measure failed to include the full list of statutes that the would-be initiative seeks to undo, instead referring to “Exhibit A for the 95 sections that will be repealed.” The letter points to a statute that requires petitions contain “the full text of the initiated measure.”

“Our interpretation of this statute is that a reference to additional text, in this case an exhibit, is not permissible,” Schweich wrote. “And even if a reference were permitted, in this instance ‘Exhibit A’ is not included anywhere on the petition. Furthermore, ‘Exhibit A’ is never defined in any previous initiative-related filing by Ismay with your office, the South Dakota Legislative Research Council, or the South Dakota attorney general.”

Ismay did not immediately respond to Marijuana Moment’s request for comment on the allegations.

Schweich told Marijuana Moment on Thursday that while he has “no concerns” that voters would ultimately repeal the medical marijuana law that they approved in 2020 if the new prohibitionist measure gets on the ballot next year, “the motivation behind this letter is just to ensure that everybody’s following the same set of rules.”

“I’ve gone to great efforts to follow all these rules, including rules I totally disagree with,” he said. “I do think changes need to be made with regard to the rules on the formatting of petitions. However, while the rules are in place, you have to follow them—and I just don’t think it’s fair for opponents to cut corners.”

Last month South Dakota’s attorney general, Marty Jackley (R), released a ballot summary for the proposed initiative to repeal the state’s medical marijuana program. “If approved, that repeal makes all possession, use, cultivation, manufacture, and sale of marijuana and marijuana products a crime,” it says, noting that the change would “not affect laws dealing with hemp.”

In order to qualify for the 2024 ballot, the initiative must receive at least 17,509 valid signatures from registered voters.

Even if Ismay gathers enough signature to qualify either of his proposed measures, its seems unlikely that voters would go along with them at the polls. The 2020 medical marijuana measure was approved with nearly 70 percent support.

That said, voters did reject an adult-use cannabis legalization ballot measure last year after approving an earlier version in 2020 that was ultimately invalidated by the state Supreme Court.

Ahead of last year’s election, a poll found that 51 percent of South Dakotans planned to vote against the legalization measure, while 40 percent said they’d be supporting it and 10 percent remained undecided. That was the third poll in a row showing the legalization measure behind.

After voters approved medical cannabis legalization in 2020, Gov. Kristi Noem (R) tried to get the legislature to approve a bill to delay implementation for an additional year. But while it cleared the House, negotiators were unable to reach an agreement with the Senate in conference, delivering a defeat to the governor.

In response, Noem’s office started exploring a compromise, with one proposal that came out of her administration to decriminalize possession of up to one ounce of cannabis, limit the number of plants that patients could cultivate to three and prohibit people under 21 from qualifying for medical marijuana.

In the 2022 legislative session, the House rejected a legalization bill that the Senate had passed, effectively leaving it up to activists to get on the ballot again.

A Marijuana Interim Study Committee, headed by legislative leaders, was established to explore cannabis policy reform, and the panel in November 2021 recommended that the legislature take up legalization. The House-defeated legislation was one of the direct products of that recommendation.

Currently more than 11,500 people in South Dakota hold medical marijuana cards—nearly double the 6,000 cardholders that state officials expected to enroll in the program by 2024.

American Nurses Association Officially Recognizes Cannabis As A Formal Specialty Practice Area

Photo courtesy of WeedPornDaily.

The post Petition To Repeal South Dakota’s Medical Marijuana Law Contains Error And Must Be Thrown Out, Opponents Say appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

A professional organization representing more than 5 million nurses in the U.S. has announced its formal recognition of cannabis as a nursing specialty practice area.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) said in a press release about the change on Wednesday that cannabis nurses play an important role in providing patients with education and guidance on incorporating marijuana into treatment.

“This recognition highlights the essential role and special contribution of cannabis nurses to the health care system and promotes enhanced integration of cannabis therapies for health care consumers across diverse health care settings,” ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy said.

The group bills itself as “the sole reviewing body of specialty nursing scope of practice and standards of practice.”

ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PHD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN announced the official recognition of Cannabis Nursing as a Specialty Nursing Practice today!

Read ANA’s statement which includes a quote from ACNA President Rachel Parmeleehttps://t.co/RHggfqBvRR* pic.twitter.com/zc0K3qYFOg

— American Cannabis Nurses Association (@CannabisNurses) September 28, 2023

The organization also gave a nod to a separate group, the American Cannabis Nurses Association (ACNA), which advocates for research, education and policy reform around medical marijuana. ANA credited that group for “pioneering the cannabis nursing field” and “contributing to the broader landscape of nursing practice and patient care.”

Rachel Parmelee, the president of ACNA, said the group was “deeply gratified by the groundbreaking establishment of cannabis nursing as an ANA-recognized nursing specialty.”

“Nurses are the largest group of health professionals, providing an opportunity to change the health care paradigm and include diverse wellness modalities beyond traditional Western medicine,” Parmalee said in a statement. “Cannabis nursing requires specialized knowledge and competencies to navigate care and address the stigma associated with medical cannabis use to support a healthy society. We seek to create lasting, transformative change that enriches both specialized and general nursing practices, ultimately serving the well-being of patients nationwide.”

In its announcement, ANA also expressed its support for “the urgency of clinical research to inform patients on the efficacy of marijuana and related cannabinioids,” pointing to a 2021 position statement from the organization on the therapeutic use of cannabis.

Among other things, that statement called for “relisting marijuana as a federal Schedule II controlled substance for purposes of facilitating research,” developing evidence-based standards for dosing and use, protecting patients from civil or criminal penalties for marijuana use and exempting care providers from criminal prosecution, civil liability or professional sanctions for discussing or recommending marijuana.

Broadly speaking, America’s nurses have been generally supportive of legalizing marijuana. A survey back in 2018, which polled 1,054 nurses, found that 82 percent endorsed legalizing medical marijuana, while 57 percent supported legalization for adult use.

Despite some expansion of cannabis research in recent years, significant obstacles remain. Earlier this month, multiple federal agencies participated in a wide-ranging discussion about marijuana research barriers under prohibition, efforts to create a regulated pathway for CBD, state initiatives to promote social equity and more.

Agencies that participated were the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH).

One prominent theme was the significant challenges facing scientists who want to research marijuana due to the plant’s Schedule I status under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

A recent report in the journal PLoS ONE found that patients with chronic health conditions experienced significant improvements in overall quality of life and reductions in fatigue during the first three months of medical marijuana use.

Federal Officials Talk Psychedelics Research Challenges At Workshop Hosted By Top Health Agency

The post American Nurses Association Officially Recognizes Cannabis As A Formal Specialty Practice Area appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

Schumer & GOP clash on marijuana banking; Feds talk psychedelics research; Study: Drug decrim doesn’t boost overdose deaths

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

The House of Representatives approved two amendments encouraging research on the benefits of psychedelics for military service members and veterans, as well as one amendment on labeling of pharmaceutical drug interactions with marijuana.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said a committee-passed marijuana banking bill has “momentum” and that he plans to bring it to the floor “soon” and attach “very significant criminal justice provisions.”

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) are slamming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for prioritizing marijuana banking legislation. Grassley wants him to focus on a fentanyl criminalization bill instead, and Cotton falsely says Democrats want to add provisions “letting drug traffickers out of prison.”

Federal officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration discussed the challenges and opportunities of psychedelics research at a government-hosted workshop.

A new study published by the American Medical Association found that state-level drug decriminalization does not lead to more drug overdose deaths, contrary to fears expressed by prohibitionists.

• “Laws decriminalizing drug possession in Oregon and Washington were not associated with changes in fatal drug overdose rates.”

The Washington State Senate Labor & Commerce Committee held a hearing on the possibility of using biometric data such as facial recognition and fingerprinting to verify the age of customers buying marijuana or alcohol.

The Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission on Friday will consider a dispute between marijuana regulators and a cannabis company that stemmed from a recent product recall.

/ FEDERAL

Attorney General Merrick Garland attended an event celebrating the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 50th anniversary.

Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and John Fetterman (D-PA) coauthored an op-ed criticizing the war on drugs.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) discussed his support for a marijuana banking bill.

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) tweeted, “All @SenateBanking Dems blocked my amendment to the SAFER Banking Act to prevent drug cartels from laundering fentanyl & meth proceeds via marijuana sales, despite lethal drugs—most coming from Mexico across the southern border—killing more than 100,000 Americans per year.”

The House bill to federally legalize marijuana got four new cosponsors for a total of 60.

/ STATES

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) tweeted, “High-paying jobs + paid leave + good schools + adult-use cannabis + reproductive freedom = the best state.”

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) spoke at a cannabis conference.

Oregon’s attorney general issued a press release about a letter she and other state attorneys general sent calling on Congress to pass marijuana banking legislation.

Massachusetts’s treasurer vaguely addressed her reasons for suspending the state’s top marijuana regulator.

A former Michigan House speaker was sentenced to 55 months in federal prison for soliciting and accepting bribes in his role as the former chair of the Medical Marijuana Licensing Board.

Wisconsin’s Senate minority leader met with Minnesota lawmakers who led the charge to legalize marijuana in that state. Separately she held events as part of her ongoing “Grass Routes” tour.

Georgia regulators have been significantly overcounting the number of medical cannabis patients in the state.

Connecticut regulators sent a warning letter about sales of high-THC hemp products and synthetic cannabinoids.

Alabama regulators are asking a court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a company that is challenging their medical cannabis business licensing award process.

Maine regulators held a listening session to hear marijuana industry stakeholder concerns.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife took action against illegal marijuana grow sites.

—
Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—

/ LOCAL

Seattle, Washington’s mayor issued an executive order saying that police who are considering arresting people for drug possession or public use should first determine whether the person poses a “threat of harm to others.”

A judge blocked Menominee, Michigan officials from issuing additional marijuana business licenses.

/ INTERNATIONAL

The French government is reportedly not likely to propose legislation legalizing medical cannabis once a pilot program ends next year.

Bavaria, Germany’s health minister said he wants to enact strict local controls if the country legalizes marijuana.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study concluded that “activation of the peripheral cannabinoid system may be useful to alleviate neuropathic and visceral pain associated with antitumoral treatment.”

A study found that “CBD…exhibits potent anti-inflammatory effects.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

An American Enterprise Institute staffer authored an op-ed calling on New York officials to conduct high-profile arrests of illegal marijuana business operators.

/ BUSINESS

Harvest of OH filed a court brief alleging that Trulieve Inc. and affiliates acted as an unlawful enterprise to implement a hostile takeover.

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. commenced a marketed offering of subordinate voting shares, with Canaccord Genuity agreeing to purchase C$16,200,000 worth.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. entered into an agreement to sell shares for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$33.8 million.

A group of Chinese immigrant workers are suing a Navajo businessman and a Taiwanese entrepreneur over allegations they were forced to work trimming marijuana.

Sunnyside workers in Illinois reached tentative agreements for union contracts with Teamsters Local 777.

Dragonfly Wellness employees in Salt Lake City, Utah voted to join the United Food and Commercial Workers.

Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox.

Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

The post House passes cannabis & psychedelics amendments (Newsletter: September 29, 2023) appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

The main questions addressed on Friday will be: Was there a credible threat to public health? And should Delta’s suspension be lifted now that potentially dangerous products are pulled from the shelves?

By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent

Recalls on cannabis products have become common in other states where marijuana is legal.

But when Missouri regulators issued their first recall last month, veterans of the industry were surprised. While recalls most commonly involve a company cooperating with regulators to understand the issue—was there bacteria in the product, or perhaps a wrong label—that was not the case in Missouri.

Products were immediately pulled from the shelves, and the manufacturer’s operations were suspended, as the state alleged “inversion”—illegally importing marijuana or converted hemp products into the state.

On Friday, the saga comes to a head, with the state and marijuana manufacturer Delta Extraction facing off before the Administrative Hearing Commission over whether Missouri overstepped its authority.

According to commission officials, a decision won’t be made until after a transcript of Friday’s hearing is available, which can take up to 30 days. Both parties will have an opportunity to submit briefs, and then the commission will issue a ruling.

Marijuana dispensaries and warehouses across Missouri are holding on to more than 62,000 recalled products in special vaults.

Lisa Cox, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which regulates the state’s cannabis program, said the products are being held “until the department determines the product is safe, may be remediated or must be destroyed.”

What typically happens in a recall

During Delta’s appeal process, the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation has said regulators learned about the company’s activities—that it was adding out-of-state hemp-derived THC to marijuana products—through an anonymous tip.

How they verified its credibility was through the software the state uses to track information about marijuana products, called Metrc.

From the moment the marijuana plant starts to sprout, it gets a tag that goes into Metrc, and that plant’s yield is tracked until it finds its way into a vape pen or joint.

Because marijuana products are so closely tracked in Metrc at various stages of production, a “traceability” recall like this is pretty rare, said Matt Regusci, technical director of the St. Louis-based Cannabis Safety & Quality, an accredited cannabis certification program.

“Typically companies are just following the rules because they don’t want to lose their product,” he said. “This is usually very spelled out in each state’s regulations on how they’re tracking it from seed to sale.”

Traceability issues are usually “one-off cases,” he said, as a result of human error—because an employee typed in the wrong weight or amount into the system.

But it’s normally not the reason for a “huge recall like this,” he said.

“It’s kind of up there with white-collar crime,” Regusci said. “It’s very difficult to catch, without some sort of whistleblower saying that something’s going on.”

Delta Extraction filed a lawsuit against the state in an attempt to stop the recall. A Missouri judge dismissed the case, ruling that the Administrative Hearing Commission needed to finish its process before the court intervenes.

“Lawsuits do happen,” Regusci said, regarding recalls. “Particularly in an industry like this, where everybody’s kind of new to it… As more of these entities start figuring out more of what they need to do on both sides, we’re going to see less and less lawsuits.”

Another notable difference in this situation was that the state immediately suspended the company’s license, which experts say is not typical.

“It’s rare for the state to issue a suspension order on the front end of things,” said attorney Clark Wu, an Arizona-based who specializes in hemp and cannabis law. “Normally what happens in other states in the recall process is the state will issue some form of what’s called a deficiency notice.”

What’s on the table

On Friday, the commissioner will be looking into both state’s authority to issue the immediate suspension of the company’s operations and the recall.

The company, Delta Extraction, is a Robertsville-based licensed marijuana manufacturer that specializes in making THC distillate, a highly potent and pure form of THC used for things like vape pens, infused pre-rolled joints and edibles.

On August 2, the state regulating agency suspended Delta Extraction’s operations after accusing the company of sourcing untested “marijuana or converted hemp from outside of a Missouri licensed cultivation facility.”

And the state issued a product recall on August 14.

According to the commission, the main questions addressed on Friday will be: Was there a credible threat to public health? And should Delta’s suspension be lifted now that potentially dangerous products are pulled from the shelves? And is the investigation as it relates to a credible and imminent threat to public health or safety still ongoing?

By law, the only way the state can issue an immediate suspension—rather than give 30 days notice—is a threat to public health or safety.

Carole Iles of the Administrative Hearing Commission addressed this in her preliminary order on August 29, denying a stay of Delta’s suspension.

Iles wrote that the state constitution allows for immediate suspension of operations by a marijuana licensee “in instances where there is a credible and imminent threat to public health or public safety.”

And according to the state’s cannabis regulations, a threat could include a situation where the product wasn’t “compliantly tested” or “a credible report, such as from law enforcement, that diversion or inversion of marijuana product is occurring at the licensed facility.”

The state’s rules don’t define “inversion,” Iles said, but a state regulator gave an acceptable definition in testimony—that it occurs when cannabis seeds, plants or products made from them come into the regulatory market from outside the system. This includes when “hemp-derived chemically modified ‘converted’ cannabinoids” are added to products, she said.

Iles also stated in her order that the information about a possible threat was credible because Metrc reports verified that, “Delta was incorporating hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol into its marijuana products in violation of emergency rule.”

The emergency rule was in effect from February 3 until the final rule took effect on July 30.

“The regulation prohibited manufacturers from including in their products any THC produced by the conversion of THC-A or CBD from any source other than marijuana grown in Missouri by a Missouri-licensed cultivator,” Iles said in her order. “The use of THC produced from THC-A or CBD from industrial hemp plants was prohibited.”

This story was first published by Missouri Independent.

House Approves Psychedelic Research And Marijuana Labeling Amendments As Part Of Spending Bills

Photo by Kyle Jaeger.

The post Missouri Regulators And Marijuana Company To Face Off Over Product Recall At Administrative Hearing appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

Republican senators stepping up efforts to stall marijuana banking legislation, with one member writing a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) criticizing his legislative priorities and another making misleading claims about planned amendments to the bill.

While the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act passed the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday with bipartisan support, longstanding prohibitionists in the chamber are making their opposition known in different ways.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to Schumer on Thursday to express concern about the Senate’s “ongoing prioritizing of legislation relaxing marijuana laws” over a separate measure the GOP senator favors to permanently prohibit fentanyl analogues. He attached 11 other letters from families of people who’ve died from opioid overdoses that voice support for the fentanyl legislation.

“Instead of addressing this crisis, the Senate appears to be turning its attention to legislation designed to ease the movement of marijuana money through the financial system, and provide access for Wall Street to invest billions of dollars into this industry,” Grassley wrote.

“Further complicating matters,” the senator said, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has advised the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). He complained that “the Senate has not considered the interplay between reclassification and the SAFE Banking Act.”

The letter also referenced recently released data from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network that found a record number of banks and credit unions are reporting that they’re servicing cannabis businesses.

“Many of these service requests occurred in California, a state that serves as a cautionary tale for marijuana legalization,” Grassley argued. “There, marijuana legalization ‘triggered a surge in illegal cannabis on a scale California has never before witnessed’ and ‘criminal enterprises operate with near impunity.’ All the while, driver fatalities testing positive for drugs increased to half of all driver fatalities.”

While Schumer recently called on supporters to push for federal marijuana legalization in a campaign email blast, neither the SAFER Banking Act nor a Schedule III reclassification would federally legalize cannabis.

“Congress should develop tools to dismantle violent crime, fentanyl distribution networks, and the cartels. Instead, you are advancing legislation, now titled the ‘SAFER Banking Act,’ which could equip criminal actors with resources to expand their influence,” Grassley’s letter concludes. “I was disheartened to hear of your plan to ‘bring the SAFER Banking Act to the Senate floor with all due speed.’ I encourage you to abandon it and take up the worthy cause of [Fentanyl Related Substances] scheduling. As always, I remain eager to work with my Democrat and Republican colleagues to end the fentanyl epidemic.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is also stirring the pot over the cannabis banking bill, with an inflated interpretation of Schumer’s floor remarks on Thursday about his plans to amend the legislation with “criminal justice provisions.”

Schumer has so far only discussed amending the bill to include measures incentivizing state-level cannabis expungements and protecting gun rights for marijuana consumers, but Cotton said Schumer wants to add provisions “letting drug traffickers out of prison.”

Drug overdoses are at a record high, and a huge amount of marijuana trafficking benefits the same cartels sending fentanyl to the U.S.

— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) September 28, 2023

“The beneficiaries of Schumer’s leniency will not be low-level criminals charged with marijuana possession. There are essentially none in federal prison,” he said. “It will be hardcore, repeat traffickers who have committed many other crimes.”

Republicans should have no part in Democratic efforts to encourage more crime.

— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) September 28, 2023

While Schumer has pledged to quickly bring the SAFER Banking Act to the floor, it has not been scheduled and no amendment text has been filed.

The majority leader has talked about attaching the bipartisan Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement (HOPE) Act to the bill—which he reiterated in a tweet about two hours after Cotton’s post—but the standalone bill filed this session would not involve releasing anybody from prison. And it targets local and state records, so it’s unclear what Cotton meant when he said “federal prison.”

The @SenateBanking Committee passed our SAFER Banking Act.

It'll connect cannabis businesses to resources like bank accounts, creating a safer, more transparent environment.

And when we bring it to the floor, we'll add the HOPE Act which expunges nonviolent cannabis offenses.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 28, 2023

Marijuana Moment reached out to Cotton’s office for clarification, but representatives were not immediately available.

Grassley and Cotton aren’t the only GOP marijuana hardliners to speak out against recent reform developments.

For example, Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Budd (R-NC) and James Lankford (R-OK) sent a letter to Senate leadership on Tuesday that argued the SAFER Banking Act would result in the cannabis industry producing higher potency products that would be harmful to youth and compromise “the integrity of the United States banking system.”

Separately, Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Steve Daines (R-MT), the lead GOP sponsor of the marijuana banking bill, filed legislation last week that would prevent federal agencies from rescheduling cannabis without tacit approval from Congress.

Despite the vocal opposition from Senate drug warriors, insiders are confident that the SAFER Banking Act in its current form has enough bipartisan buy-in to clear the full chamber if it’s brought up for a vote. And the amendments Schumer has committed to pursuing—on expungements and gun rights—generally enjoys bipartisan support as well.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan coalition of 22 state attorneys general is also calling on Congress to pass the cannabis banking reform.

Read Grassley’s letter to Schumer on the SAFER Banking Act below: 

Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

Federal Officials Talk Psychedelics Research Challenges At Workshop Hosted By Top Health Agency

The post GOP Senator Tells Schumer To Stop Prioritizing Marijuana Banking Bill, As Another Inflates Criminal Justice Amendment Plans appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

“I think with the biometrics, it’s just a matter of time before it’s coming in,”

By TJ Martinell, The Center Square

The Washington State legislature may consider legislation giving the State Liquor and Cannabis Board further rulemaking authority regarding the use of biometric age verification by private entities selling alcohol or cannabis products.

“I think with the biometrics, it’s just a matter of time before it’s coming in,” Director of Policy and External Affairs Justin Nordhorn told the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee at its Monday meeting. “How we do that is important.”

Biometric age verification is a process by which a person’s identity is confirmed online or in-person through fingerprints or facial analysis. Its use is currently permissible in Washington, and it is used by various companies including Amazon One and CLEAR, which allows airport passengers to use scans of their eyes or fingerprints to skip government security lines once they’ve signed up with a government ID or passport.

In 2017, the Legislature passed House Bill 1493, regulating the commercial use of biometric data. In 2020, the Legislature enacted Senate Bill 6280, which requires state and local agencies that use biometric technologies to adhere to certain requirements, including an accountability report and notifying the Legislature when it intends to use that technology.

However, while biometric age verification under existing state law may be used to supplement, it cannot be used as the sole form of identification in lieu of a driver’s license of state-issued ID.

Nordhorn told the committee that “we’re pretty neutral on the concept of biometric, but there are some challenges that we see and there are also some risk issues.”

He noted, “Facial recognition, it’s not necessarily equitable across the board,” with one company reporting a 10 percent failure rate to successfully identify a person. If many people leave their credit cards and IDs at home as the use of that technology becomes more mainstream, it could create issues if biometric age verification is required but fails to recognize the person, he added.

Nordhorn said that one of the easiest places to implement the technology would be grocery chains that, like Fred Meyer, already require all customers purchasing alcohol products to have their driver’s license scanned.

However, he added that “when we’re looking at oversight of that technology, is there any audit functions or reporting options that probably need to be considered? If you’re having these types of scans or all of your personal ID provided to somebody, what are the security? Does the state have access to it or not?”

Nordhorn said the lack of rulemaking authority is why “we don’t believe we’re in a good position to develop those rules,” adding that the State Department of Licensing would need to be involved in the discussions.

When Sen. Drew MacEwen (R-Shelton) inquired whether the legislature or the state board would have to figure out the practical, logistical and security issues, Norhorn said “we don’t have to have all the answers.”

One lawmaker to express reservations was Sen. Steve Conway (D-Tacoma), who said, “I’m concerned about getting so many different ways of age verification, that we lose control over it.”

The State Liquor and Cannabis Board first took up the issue in June in response to a request from Claire Mitchell, a partner at the law firm Stoel Rives, which represents food and beverage businesses that serve alcohol, to amend five different sections of state law.

This story was first published by The Center Square.

Washington State Has Approved Nearly $10 Million In Refunds For Vacated Drug Possession Convictions, Courts Say

Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

The post Washington State Could OK Use Of Fingerprint Scans And Facial Recognition To Buy Marijuana And Alcohol appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

At a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) workshop about psychedelic medicine earlier this month, the director of mental health for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) said she thinks research into psychedelic-assisted therapy needs to more closely resemble real world scenarios. Requiring subjects to have specific diagnoses and pass strict screening protocols, she said, makes it impossible to accurately generalize the effects of such treatment on patients.

“There has been great interest in this,” said Rachel Yehuda, who is also a professor of psychiatry and neurobiology who chairs the psychiatry department at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “However, one of the things that has been truly disheartening to me is that there’s so many ways to be screened out based on psychological and medical exclusions.”

“Maybe we’re being ultra-conservative, because psychedelics, they still have that taint of being potentially dangerous and Schedule I compounds,” Yehuda continued, “but when we talk about, for example, people of color not being represented, I thought for sure we were going to solve this problem.”

In her own research at a VA facility in New York, for example, only about a third of patients are white, Yehuda said. But because of screening for comorbidities, which are more common in vulnerable populations, many people of color end up being excluded from psychedelic studies. “We have many, many patients who are Latina and African American,” she said, “but because of many health inequities, a lot of them screened out.”

Yehuda was speaking as part of a panel on the “practical aspects of psychedelics research,” one of three sessions at the September 14 HHS workshop called “Exploring the Ethical and Practical Considerations of Psychedelics Research” and hosted by the department’s Office of Human Research Protections. Other sessions focused on ethics and laws around psychedelics, as well as how to safeguard public trust and prevent a “psychedelics bubble.”

“I’m just wondering whether we are designing our trials in a way that is hospitable to all the people that we really want to study so that our results can be generalizable,” Yehuda said during the discussion. “I’m getting emails all the time [from people] who are desperate and tell me their life story,” she said. “By the second paragraph, I know that they’re going to screen out because we’re not taking those complex cases with comorbidities. And I think that’s an ethical issue.”

Yehuda also discussed some of the difficulties around blind studies, in which subjects, and often researchers, are supposed to be ignorant of whether an experimental therapy or a placebo is being used. In the psychedelics space, placebos can be difficult to design because the substances typically produce a noticeable experiential reaction, Yehuda said. On the other hand, she noted that research into psychotherapy techniques typically isn’t designed around blind trials. “The question is, what are we trying to control for in studies that use active placebos?” she asked.

She noted that unlike with some pharmaceutical trials, research into psychedelics has typically paired the experience with some form of more traditional therapy, such as talk therapy. “Nobody—nobody—has done a trial where they’re just giving a psychedelic and then saying, ‘See ya!’ and they’re not doing the adequate preparation, support or integration,” Yehuda said.

Initially, Yehuda said she was skeptical of psychedelics as a tool for mental health treatment, she said. Now she’s more concerned with “what’s the difference between people who respond and don’t respond,” she said.

“An even better question—and this is a study we’re about to undertake—is a dose optimization study,” Yehuda continued, “which asks, ‘Is it really that you’re not a responder, or did you just not get enough of the therapy?'”

A second government official—R. Cameron Wolf, a senior advisor for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Protection and the Office of Prevention Innovation—moderated the conference’s third session, which focused on safeguarding public trust in psychedelics and preventing what organizers called “another psychedelics bubble.”

While Wolf primarily asked questions of the panelists, he also observed some similarities between the current psychedelics movement and the circumstances around HIV in the 1980s and ’90s.

“Most of my career has been focused on HIV and scaling up both domestically and internationally programs for prevention, care and treatment, particularly targeted towards key populations and vulnerable populations,” Wolf said, noting “some of the parallels” between that work and the current state of psychedelics.

“There was so much desperation,” he said. “So many people were on death’s door and really looking for answers, looking for treatments, looking for life-saving options, and they were willing to try anything regardless of safety.”

Once more effective medications arrived on the scene beginning in the mid-1990s, Wolf noted, the driving issue changed to one of access. “Even when, in 1996, we had effective combination treatments with protease inhibitors coming out that literally brought people back from the dead,” he explained, “still issues about access and equity—and then how to tailor and target programs towards those most vulnerable—continued.”

“I’ll end by saying this is just the beginning,” Wolf said.

The discussion is unfolding amid an evolving scientific understanding of how psychedelics work and what mental health benefits they might have. The same week as the event, researchers published Phase 3 findings in the journal Nature showing that treatment with MDMA reduced symptoms in patients with moderate to severe PTSD. The findings put MDMA on track for consideration by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as soon as next year.

A separate study published last week, meanwhile, found that the use of psilocybin was associated with “persisting reductions” in depression, anxiety, alcohol misuse—as well as increases in emotional regulation, spiritual wellbeing and extraversion.

That followed a separate study from the American Medical Association (AMA) showing that people with major depression experienced “clinically significant sustained reduction” in their symptoms after just one dose of psilocybin.

Another study published last month found that administering a small dose of MDMA along with psilocybin or LSD appears to reduce feelings of discomfort like guilt and fear that are sometimes side effects of consuming so-called magic mushrooms or LSD alone.

A first-of-its-kind analysis released in June offered novel insights into the mechanisms through which psychedelic-assisted therapy appears to help people struggling with alcoholism.

At the federal level, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) recently started soliciting proposals for a series of research initiatives meant to explore how psychedelics could be used to treat drug addiction, with plans to provide $1.5 million in funding to support relevant studies.

House Committee Clears Psychedelics Research And Marijuana Pharmaceutical Labeling Amendments For Floor Votes

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says the bipartisan committee vote to advance a marijuana banking bill on Wednesday “underscores how much momentum we have right now” as he plans to bring the legislation to the floor “soon” and attach “very significant criminal justice provisions.”

In a floor speech on Thursday, Schumer said he’s “really proud of the bipartisan deal we produced” ahead of the Senate Banking Committee markup that saw the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act pass in a 14-9 vote.

“The next step is to bring SAFER Banking to the floor for a vote, which I will do soon,” he said. “I worked long and hard for years to get us to this point, and now the Senate is one step—one crucial step—closer to helping cannabis businesses operate more efficiently, more safely and more transparently in the states that allow cannabis to be sold.”

“SAFER Banking’s bipartisan vote in the Banking Committee underscores how much momentum we have right now on cannabis banking—and how important the issue is for so many business owners and communities across the country,” Schumer said. “No industry has the ability to thrive if its businesses can’t access basic banking infrastructure, especially not an industry growing as quickly and one as new as the cannabis industry.”

The majority leader also reaffirmed his commitment to attaching criminal justice reform provisions to the legislation. While he didn’t specify, and said he’d “talk more about that at a later time,” he’s previously described adding measures to incentivize state-level cannabis expungements and protect gun rights for marijuana consumers.

“Cannabis must always be in the business of promoting entrepreneurs, promoting small businesses, promoting job growth. SAFER Banking will do that precisely in the cannabis industry,” he said, adding that it will “connect cannabis businesses to resources like bank accounts and small business loans, creating a safer and more transparent environment in which they can grow.”

“When I go to the floor, we will add very significant criminal justice provisions to the bill as well, and that is important as well,” he said.

While the committee passage of the cannabis banking bill has received substantial bipartisan praise, other lawmakers have been critical of the revised deal and some are questioning whether it will even make it to the House of Representatives.

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a member of the Banking Committee, filed a pair of amendments at Wednesday’s meeting meant to bolster the bill’s equity provisions. But they were not adopted, leading the senator to vote against the legislation, as well as taking the unusual step of opposing a standard motion to allow staff to make technical and conforming amendments to get the measure in shape for the floor.

“Let’s be clear: the ‘SAFER Banking’ bill only makes life safer for the bankers & businesses, some of whom have been illegally profiting off of cannabis for years, while regular folks sit in jail cells for using or selling cannabis,” Warnock said in an X post on Wednesday.

Let's be clear: the "SAFER Banking" bill only makes life safer for the bankers & businesses, some of whom have been illegally profiting off of cannabis for years, while regular folks sit in jail cells for using or selling cannabis.

Watch my full remarks from @SenateBanking pic.twitter.com/1pnZFx1ovI

— Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (@SenatorWarnock) September 27, 2023

Another amendment that was defeated based on a ruling that it was not germane to the committee came from Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN). It would have created additional civil penalties for marijuana operators that are involved in illicit fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking.

“This is a very real concern. These cartels are moving fentanyl and methamphetamine right alongside marijuana sales, and there’s a loophole in this law,” Hagerty said on Wednesday. “I’m shocked that this Committee is willing to let this go through. This is supporting fentanyl and methamphetamine sales. This is an easy fix. I’m shocked at the result here.”

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), another Banking Committee member who voted against the bill, told Politico that “I don’t think this legislation leaves the Senate anyway. I just don’t think this thing has any legs at all.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who opposes marijuana reform, criticized the Democratic majority for focusing on the cannabis banking measure.

“As Congress seeks to avoid #SchumerShutdown, this is his priority: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says now is the time for Congress to pass legislation that would allow banks and credit unions to work with the legal cannabis industry,” he said in a post on X.

As Congress seeks to avoid #SchumerShutdown, this is his priority: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says now is the time for Congress to pass legislation that would allow banks and credit unions to work with the legal cannabis industry. @BGOV

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) September 27, 2023

But other congressional lawmakers, as well as top state officials, are expressing optimism about the bill’s path forward, which they say is necessary from a financial and public safety perspective.

“The inability of state-legalized cannabis businesses to access banking services is dangerous,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) said on Wednesday. “Operating as a cash-only enterprise is perfectly fine for my grandkids’ lemonade stand, but it is inadequate for an industry this controversial.”

The inability of state-legalized cannabis businesses to access banking services is dangerous. Operating as a cash-only enterprise is perfectly fine for my grandkids’ lemonade stand, but it is inadequate for an industry this controversial. pic.twitter.com/UEm9lmqaDs

— Sen. Kevin Cramer (@SenKevinCramer) September 27, 2023

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) said that “outdated federal law continues to prevent the industry from accessing fundamental services like banking and insurance,” and the SAFER Banking Act will help to “right this wrong.”

While NV has regulated the cannabis industry since 2017, outdated federal law continues to prevent the industry from accessing fundamental services like banking and insurance.

Today our bipartisan bill to right this wrong advanced out of committee. pic.twitter.com/bB0e6DXnWW

— Senator Jacky Rosen (@SenJackyRosen) September 27, 2023

At the state level, governors and top officials are also touting the committee vote to advancing the cannabis bill.

Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said that marijuana businesses “deserve to be safe and secure,” underscoring why Congress should pass the SAFER Banking Act “now.”

Cannabis businesses deserve to be safe and secure. That's why we need Congress to pass the #SAFERBankingAct now. This bipartisan bill allows cannabis businesses to access the financial services they need to operate safely and legally. It's time. https://t.co/kSokrbMlLU

— Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) September 27, 2023

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) similarly said the legislation “will provide more certainty to our small businesses in the cannabis industry.”

I am thrilled the Senate has finally taken up this important piece of legislation that will provide more certainty to our small businesses in the cannabis industry. I thank the Senators who voted in favor of this bipartisan bill. https://t.co/EwOvJxX4LP pic.twitter.com/xItN1TwyHZ

— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) September 28, 2023

Ahead of the committee markup, a bipartisan coalition of 22 state attorneys general also called on Congress to pass marijuana banking reform legislation.

House Approves Psychedelic Research And Marijuana Labeling Amendments As Part Of Spending Bills

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Removing criminal penalties for simple drug possession appears to have no significant impact on fatal overdoses, according to a new study published by the American Medical Association that analyzed the effects of decriminalization policies in Oregon and Washington State.

“Our analysis suggests that state decriminalization policies do not lead to increases in overdose deaths,” said Corey Davis, an adjunct professor at the Department of Population Health at the New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine and a senior investigator for the new report.

The findings, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, come on the heels of another recent study co-authored by Davis that found that decriminalization in the two states resulted in reduced arrests for drug possession and did not lead to an uptick in arrests for violent crimes.

“These two studies show that drug decriminalization measures in Oregon and Washington reduced arrests and did not increase overdose deaths,” Davis said. “Taken together, these findings signal reduced harm to people who use drugs and possibly their communities as well.”

“Legal changes to remove or decrease criminal penalties for drug possession are not associated with the fatal drug overdose rate 1-year post implementation.”

Researchers examined a year’s worth of post-decriminalization data on overdose deaths from the two states, comparing them to control groups consisting of states with similar overdose rates. “After the investigators found no statistical significance in overdose death rates between Oregon, Washington, and the control group,” says an NYU medical school release, “the investigators conducted a sensitivity analysis incorporating an additional seven months of provisional data. The findings did not change.”

In short, fatal overdose rates in Oregon and Washington were roughly the same as what would have been expected in absence of the policy change.

Authors of the new report acknowledged the need for further study on medium- and long-term effects of decriminalization as well as how reduced penalties impact different racial and ethnic groups.

“This study is an important first look at the impact of drug decriminalization on overdose, but continued monitoring is needed,” said Spruha Joshi, an epidemiology professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and a co-lead author of the study.

Joshi noted that in Oregon, for example, the state’s decriminalization law also drastically increased funding for treatment and recovery services—money that didn’t go out until after the researchers’ study concluded.

“Laws decriminalizing drug possession in Oregon and Washington were not associated with changes in fatal drug overdose rates.”

“In addition to reducing penalties for drug possession, Measure 110 in Oregon directed hundreds of millions of dollars of cannabis revenue to increasing access to programming aimed at reducing overdose risk. However, these funds were not distributed until after our study period,” Joshi said. “It will be important to continue to monitor overdose rates as more data become available to assess the impact of the distribution of these funds.”

The report notes that Oregon’s rollout of approximately $287.3 million for behavioral health services “was slow and most was distributed between April and September 2022, after our study period.”

“Funded programming has the potential to decrease risky drug-related behaviors and support pathways to addiction recovery, which can reduce nonfatal and fatal drug overdose,” researchers wrote.

This study is greater proof that you can’t blame a local policy for a national issue.

Overdoses rose in Oregon, but no more than states that punished people who use drugs.

Oregon invested millions in addiction services & social supports while others locked up people.

— Drug Policy Alliance (@DrugPolicyOrg) September 27, 2023

While the study evaluates Oregon and Washington together, the nature of decriminalization in the two states was markedly different.

In Oregon, voters passed Measure 110 in 2020 to remove criminal penalties for drug possession and expand access to drug treatment and recovery services.

In Washington, meanwhile, criminal penalties for simple possession disappeared in late February 2021 as the result of an unexpected state Supreme Court decision that overturned the state’s felony drug possession law. Less than three months later, lawmakers again criminalized possession as a misdemeanor.

In May of this year, Washington further adjusted its laws to increase criminal penalties and further fund treatment programs. Last week the Seattle City Council passed a local measure authorizing prosecution of simple drug possession as well as public consumption.

Authors of the new study contend that despite the less-than-three-month period of formal decriminalization, Washington’s new drug possession law is “markedly different” than the previous statute because it “reclassifies most drug possession crimes from felonies to misdemeanors and substantially reduces the types of objects that qualify as drug paraphernalia.” It also encourages law enforcement to divert cases for assessment, treatment or other services besides criminal prosecution.

Washington and Oregon had the 33rd and 34th highest fatal overdose rates in the country, respectively, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 2021, the most recent available.

Amid the ongoing overdose crisis and visible homelessness, public support for decriminalization in Oregon is flagging. While 58 percent of voters cast ballots in favor of Measure 110, polling recently released by opponents found that 61 percent of respondents now feel the measure has been a failure.

Earlier this month, a coalition of liberal and conservative business and political leaders unveiled a ballot proposal that would undo core parts of Measure 110 by recriminalizing possession of certain drugs and creating a new offense for public consumption of illegal substances.

Legislators already made some adjustments to Oregon’s decriminalization law this year, passing a package of reforms in June to provide an oversight council with more staff and administrative aid from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).

A January audit of the decriminalization measure by the secretary of state found that OHA needed to provide more support and better coordination. It concluded at the time that it was too soon to tell whether Measure 110 programs could curb the state’s drug problems.

House Approves Psychedelic Research And Marijuana Labeling Amendments As Part Of Spending Bills

Photo courtesy of Jernej Furman.

The post State-Level Drug Decriminalization Did Not Increase Overdose Deaths, Study Published By American Medical Association Finds appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to approve a series of psychedelics and marijuana amendments as part of spending bills, and a Democratic congressman is again seeking to revise separate measures to end cannabis testing for federal workers.

On the same day that a Senate committee passed a marijuana banking bill, the House took up amendments to appropriations legislation that were recently cleared for floor consideration by the Rules Committee.

Both psychedelics measures were attached to a spending bill covering the Department of Defense (DOD) in voice votes on Wednesday.

One, sponsored by Reps. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) and Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), would provide $15 million in funding for DOD to carry out “Psychedelic Medical Clinical Trials.” The second amendment, from Crenshaw alone, lays the parameters for the trials, which would involve active duty service members with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injuries (TBI). The Defense Health Agency would need to send a report to Congress with its findings.

Notably, a Democratic congresswoman argued against the proposal, citing DOD concerns about trials involving active duty service members.

Luttrell said ahead of the voice vote on his amendment that he can “personally attest to the benefits in treating post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy through the use of psychedelic substances.” The congressman, who is a military veteran, has previously disclosed his own experience with psychedelic-assisted therapy.

“There’s a stigma that exists within the [House] that I believe stems from a lack of education experience around the clinical use of plant-based, or psychedelic, medications,” he said. “I understand that when many of my colleagues hear the word ‘psychedelics,’ they think of mushrooms and so on. This isn’t what we are talking about today.”

Watch the House floor discussion and debates on the two psychedelics amendments—with one unrelated measure in between—in the video below:

“Unfortunately, the stigma has led to the slow or no adoption of medical procedures that may have saved countless lives, and our service members, veterans and first responders,” Luttrell said. “It is our duty to explore all options when the lives of our nation’s most precious resources our sons, our daughters, our mothers, our fathers, brothers and sisters are at stake.”

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) then rose in opposition to the amendment, saying that while she doesn’t “oppose the study of many of these drug” and has supported research into medical cannabis, she’s against the proposal due to administrative and logistical concerns that she attributed to DOD.

“The department is concerned about a study involving active service members,” she said. “They acknowledge—and I’m glad that they do—that the benefits are being pursued by veterans. The implementation for active duty service members would be much more challenging at this time because it involves a question around clearances, legal hurdles and logistics [that] would just appear to hamper the success of a pilot program or study with active duty.”

“For this reason, the Defense Health Agency does not believe it could even be implemented,” she said. “I support working with the Department of Veterans Affairs to look at anything we can do to help welcome our service men and women home to find the help that they need, but currently with the way that this is amendment is written, I reluctantly cannot support the gentleman’s amendment.”

Luttrell said that, as a veteran and someone who’s studied cognitive issues associated with service, he appreciated the congresswoman’s perspective—but in light of the daily toll of suicide among veterans and active duty members, and the deficiencies with existing treatments, it’s important that Congress act boldly.

“As we transition out of these wars that we fought for so many years, we have to do something more aggressive. And I say clinical studies and clinical trials inside the DOD because it is applicable and it is appropriate,” he said. “We have some of the most brilliant researchers on the planet. They can study this and move this effectively so we can treat the men and women that serve our country.”

“I hate the fact that the word ‘psychedelic’ scares everybody. I hate that word myself. And when I try to think of a creative term to title this with, it always circles back to the word ‘psychedelics,’ and that’s unfortunate. It is,” he said. “But we have to look past that. I’ve never done a drug in my entire life—matter of fact, I would tell nobody, no one, to do this because the aggressiveness of it is so life-changing. But it’s effective and that’s why I continue to push forward. I think it’s time, and its effectiveness needs to be implemented now.”

Crenshaw also spoke on the floor on Wednesday, stating that the directive to facilitate clinical trials represents a “simple yet important step,” and “there’s no reason that we should not be looking into the benefits of this research for our men and women that are already currently serving our country actively.”

My amendment to the Defense Appropriations Act was just adopted by a voice vote.

It takes the simple yet important step of directing the Defense Health Agency to report to Congress options for our service members to participate in VA psychedelic-assisted therapy clinical trials. pic.twitter.com/oD6FHpQpO0

— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) September 27, 2023

“This is not about legalization. This is not about recreational use,” he said. “It’s about honoring our promise to our military families and confronting the high incidence of suicide in the military and veteran community.”

The congressman also referenced recent clinical research findings on MDMA that signaled Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval could be on track for as early as next year.

We owe our service members this much for risking their lives to protect our country.

— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) September 27, 2023

“We should be listening to the stories. They have come up on Capitol Hill multiple times. For the members who say, ‘Well, we need to learn more. We don’t know enough’—well then why would you get in the way of more research?” he asked. “We shouldn’t make them come up here and spill their guts anymore. We should listen to them and we should act on it.”

“So I unapologetically support this research. We shouldn’t think twice about it,” he said. “We owe this to our service members. We owe it to their families. And this is a really small but a positive step in the right direction.”

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the House separately approved a cannabis amendment to a spending bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (Ag-FDA) that’s sponsored by Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA).

The measure “express[es] the intent that FDA begin requiring drug manufacturers to label prescribed pharmaceuticals with any known drug interactions with marijuana,” the summary says. It was approved without debate as part of an en bloc package with other proposals.

The idea is to have a warning label on certain prescription drugs, similar to the existing labeling requirements for pharmaceuticals with alcohol interactions. A staffer for the sponsor told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday that the goal is “to be educational and provide information to ensure the health and wellbeing of patients.”

There are some questions about the feasibility of requiring such labeling, however, given limited understanding of possible drug interactions with the Schedule I substance.

The text of all three of the approved drug policy amendments do not explicitly provide for the reforms they focus on. Rather, they simultaneously increase and decrease funding in unrelated parts of the bills, which is a common tactic in appropriations legislation by members who want to send a message to federal agencies about key priorities without actually altering legislative text.

The House will also soon take up additional appropriations bills covering the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, as well as Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies. As he’s done with multiple spending bills this session, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) recently filed amendments to both of those measures that would prohibit the use of funding to test federal job applicants for marijuana at those agencies.

The Rules Committee has consistently blocked the congressman’s proposals as part of several other spending bills so far this session, so it would be surprising if these last two would be made in order.

—
Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—

The amendment was blocked by the committee from being considered under appropriations for Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies (MilCon/VA), for example. However, bipartisan lawmakers have cheered the House’s passage of the underlying legislation that included separate marijuana and psychedelics measures.

One of those House-passed amendments would allow VA doctors to issue medical cannabis recommendations to veterans, and the other would encourage research into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA.

The Senate Appropriations Committee also adopted a measure to its version of the MilCon/VA legislation that would similarly free up VA doctors to issue medical marijuana recommendations, increasing the chances of the reform making it into the final package to be signed into law.

Meanwhile, a report attached to the spending legislation by the House Appropriations Committee also includes a section noting that “VA has clarified that nothing in VA statutes or regulations specifically prohibits a veteran whose income is derived from state-legalized cannabis activities from obtaining a certificate of eligibility for VA home loan benefits.”

Over in the Senate, lawmakers passed defense legislation in July that contains provisions to bar intelligence agencies like the CIA and NSA from denying security clearances to applicants solely due to their past marijuana use. But other cannabis proposals, such as one from Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) to allowed medical marijuana use by veterans, did not advance as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

More than a dozen marijuana and psychedelics amendments to the House version of the NDAA were blocked by the Rules Committee in July. That includes a measure introduced by Garcia that would have prevented security clearance denials for federal workers over prior cannabis use.

However, last week the House Oversight and Accountability Committee passed a standalone bipartisan bill that would prevent the denial of federal employment or security clearances based on a candidate’s past marijuana use.

3 In 5 Ohio Voters Support Marijuana Legalization Measure Ahead Of November Election, New Poll Finds

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OH marijuana poll; House caucus pushes hemp fix in Farm Bill; MA psychedelics ballot push; Study: Legalization didn’t increase youth use

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

The Senate Banking Committee approved a marijuana banking bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has pledged to bring it to the floor along with amendments on expungements and gun rights for cannabis consumers.

Senate Majority Leader Schumer Schumer (D-NY) said he will bring the committee-approved marijuana banking bill to the floor “very soon”—but a group of Republican senators say they will fight to kill the measure.

A bipartisan group of 22 state attorneys general sent a letter urging congressional leaders to pass the marijuana banking bill, which they say will bolster public safety and aid states’ ability to collect tax revenue.

The New Democrat Coalition—a pro-business, center-left group of nearly 100 House Democratic lawmakers—is calling on Congress to use the next Farm Bill to reduce regulatory burdens on industrial hemp growers.

A new poll found that Ohio likely voters support the marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot, 59 percent to 36 percent.

Massachusetts activists filed two versions of a psychedelics legalization ballot initiative—one allowing home cultivation and one not—and after conducting polling they are pursuing the more expansive measure that will let people grow their own entheogenic plants and fungi.

A new study published by the American Medical Association examined whether Canada’s legalization of marijuana affected use rates among high-risk young adults, finding that “rather than detecting increases, however, the results revealed decreases overall.”

• “This study aligns with research from U.S. jurisdictions which have largely found that legalization has not drastically altered consumption patterns among youths and young adults.”

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R), Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) and Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) said they oppose Democratic senators’ request to provide a “streamlined” process to mass pardon marijuana convictions.

/ FEDERAL

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said on the Senate floor that he knows a couple whose daughter died after smoking fentanyl-laced marijuana.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) spoke about growing support for marijuana policy reform.

The Senate marijuana banking bill got 10 new cosponsors for a total of 22.

The House bill to federally legalize marijuana got 10 new cosponsors for a total of 56.

/ STATES

The Montana legislature’s Economic Affairs Interim Committee held a hearing on the state’s marijuana program.

A Pennsylvania senator tweeted, “We’re gearing up to pass Adult Use in Pennsylvania. We might be slow but we’re going to get it right.”

The Minnesota representative who sponsored the bill that created the state’s marijuana legalization law says the top regulator for the program needs to have a strong regulatory background.

Michigan regulators issued a bulletin about a recall of marijuana products due to non-compliant creation and packaging.

New York’s top marijuana regulator said he expects the state to issue more than 1,000 marijuana business licenses in a coming application round.

Massachusetts regulators pushed back on lawmakers’ claims about “scandals” with their oversight of the marijuana industry.

Rhode Island regulators published a bulletin on warnings required to be displayed at medical cannabis businesses.

Minnesota regulators said the state now has 1,250 registered hemp product businesses.

Oregon officials are ending two grants funded by the state’s voter-approved drug decriminalization law.

Alaska’s Advisory Task Force on Recreational Marijuana will meet on Tuesday.

Washington State regulators will host discussions on rulemaking concerning cannabis samples on October 6 and 11.

—
Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—

/ LOCAL

Bell County, Texas officials are urging a court not to hold oral arguments on its lawsuit that seeks to overturn Killeen’s voter-approved marijuana decriminalization law.

The St. Paul, Minnesota City Council voted to ban marijuana and tobacco smoking in city parks and within 25 feet of public buildings and workplaces.

Detroit, Michigan police raided a self-described “psychedelic church.”

/ INTERNATIONAL

The Victoria, Australia Legislative Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on proposals to reduce hemp industry regulations.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study found that “marijuana use one to six times/week was inversely related to the risk of kidney stones in males.”

A review concluded that psychedelic-assisted therapy “could offer an effective and safe alternative in treating many disorders, including various substance use disorders, PTSD and comorbid conditions, Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), Major Depressive Disorder (MMD) as well as depression and anxiety in life threatening diseases.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

The Ohio Republican Party’s chairman criticized activists behind a marijuana legalization ballot initiative.

/ BUSINESS

TILT Holdings Inc. has a new permanent CEO and board chair.

4Front Ventures Corp. is launching a program to allow dispensary customers to round up their purchase to the nearest dollar to donate to The Weldon Project and Mission [Green].

The Cannabist Company Holdings Inc. changed its OTC Market ticker symbol to “CBSTF.”

MediPharm Labs Corp. launched medical cannabis products in the Australian market.

/ CULTURE

Amy Sedaris spoke about using cannabis with Andy Cohen.

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The post Cannabis banking to Senate floor soon (Newsletter: September 28, 2023) appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

“Making sure Nebraskans can move on from past mistakes and are fully able to find good jobs is one of the most effective anti-recidivism tools, and is critical for our shared public safety goals.”

By Paul Hammel, Nebraska Examiner

A trio of state senators renewed their call Tuesday for the State Board of Pardons to adopt a “streamlined” process for people to be forgiven for minor marijuana convictions that do not involve violence.

In a letter, State Sens. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, and Terrell McKinney and Justin Wayne, both of Omaha, said that a “second chance” should be afforded to minor drug offenders by removing barriers to better jobs, education and professional licenses.

“Making sure Nebraskans can move on from past mistakes and are fully able to find good jobs is one of the most effective anti-recidivism tools, and is critical for our shared public safety goals,” stated the letter, which follows a similar request in June.

But in responses to questions from the Examiner on Tuesday, the three members of the board—Gov. Jim Pillen (R), Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) and Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R)—all said that they oppose any process to provide a “blanket” pardon for dozens of people at once.

President issued federal pardon

That is an apparent reference to action taken by President Joe Biden 11 months ago, when he issued a presidential proclamation pardoning all federal convictions for simple marijuana possession offenses.

At the time, Biden called on governors to follow suit, and provide pardons for state convictions for minor possession of pot—a request that then-Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) and then-Attorney General Doug Peterson (R) called the “wrong direction.”

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Pillen said that the current governor opposes issuing blanket pardons for any offenses, including drug offenses.

“Each case brought before the board is considered on its own merits, and involves weighing individual circumstances, including whether the person has demonstrated a record of law-abiding conduct, before a pardon is granted,” said spokeswoman Laura Strimple.

Hilgers and Evnen provided similar comments.

Answer not responsive

Conrad said later Tuesday that she appreciated the clarification from the three Republicans on the Pardons Board. But, she said, the request from the three senators—all Democrats—wasn’t for a blanket pardon, but for creation of a clear, simpler process to obtain a pardon for a misdemeanor pot conviction that might have occurred years ago.

“I look forward to learning more about what their plans actually are to develop and publicize a process for Nebraskans with past, simple possession charges to get a clean slate,” Conrad said.

That, she added, would align with stated interest from the governor and attorney general to address “smart justice reform” and the state’s workforce shortage.

Perhaps 29,000 convicted

This could impact a lot of people—statistics provided by the state court system indicate that upwards of 29,000 people were convicted of offenses involving marijuana during the past 12 years.

The statistics did not delineate how many of those offenses were misdemeanors—possession of less than a pound—but Conrad said that its clear that tens of thousands Nebraskans have such minor marijuana offenses on their records.

The senator said she’s heard Pillen “talk passionately” about providing a second chance for criminal offenders, and the Board of Pardons could do something about that by adopting a pardon process for simple marijuana possession that would not require hiring an attorney.

‘Step up and do more’

“We should at least be able to come together and start a conversation about folks who made a mistake in the past,” Conrad said. “We really need to have the Pardons Board step up and do more.”

The exchange comes as the Pardons Board prepares to meet on Wednesday at the State Capitol.

The board is scheduled to consider 27 requests for a commutation (lowering a sentence) or a pardon (an official forgiveness) of past criminal convictions. The pleas usually involve people who are seeking to apply for a better job or a college scholarship, or want to restore their rights to bear arms or go hunting with a relative or child.

The Legislative Research Office, in a recent report to the three senators, indicated that at least 26 states have adopted “marijuana record-clearing laws” of some kind.

In Colorado—a state in which marijuana for recreational use is legal—Gov. Jared Polis (D) issued a blanket pardon in 2021 for anyone convicted of possession of two ounces or less of marijuana.

The Rocky Mountain state also has a “clean slate” law—as do at least 11 other states, including Minnesota and Oklahoma. The Colorado law, passed in 2022, allows for automatic sealing of minor arrest records and convictions if a person has led a crime-free life for a set amount of time—four years for a petty offense.

The goal is to remove a black mark from a job application that could prevent someone from being hired.

The letter from the senators does not call for adoption of a clean slate law, but instead urges the Pardons Board to “proactively grant pardons” for minor marijuana offenses as an “act of grace and goodwill to those former offenders who have changed their ways.”

Conrad said the three constitutional officers on the Pardons Board have the power to do that without the need for a legislative bill. However, an interim study is underway on pardoning drug offenses, and such studies typically are a prelude to the introduction of legislation.

Hilgers, the attorney general, in his response Tuesday said that a blanket pardon would include some people who did not request a pardon, and could ignore other potential crimes and other parts of their record.

It would be “inconsistent with [the Pardons Board’s] responsibility,” he said.

This story was first published by the Nebraska Examiner.

‘God Almighty,’ No One Should Be In Prison Over Marijuana Possession, Biden Says At Congressional Black Caucus Event

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Roughly three out of five Ohio voters support a marijuana legalization measure that will appear on November’s ballot, according to a newly released poll, with nearly two thirds of respondents saying they believe legalization in the state is “inevitable.”

With less than two weeks before widespread early voting kicks off, 55 percent of respondents said they “definitely” or “probably” will vote yes on the legalization initiative, while about 34 percent “definitely” or “probably” will oppose it. Only about 11 percent remain undecided, says the survey of 843 likely voters, which was commissioned by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol and conducted in mid-August by FM3 Research.

All told, including those who said they “lean” yes, 59 percent of respondents favor passage of Issue 2, which would legalize and regulate marijuana for adults 21 and older.

The new report says the findings are “remarkably consistent” with other publicly released polls on legalization, pointing to two other recent surveys, by Fallon Research in August and Suffolk University in July, which also showed 59 percent support for the policy change.

Public sentiment has also generally held steady over time, with 57 percent support in 2019, 61 percent support in 2020 and 63 percent support in 2022, the report says.

Differences in support are starkest along party lines, the new poll found. Among Democrats, 76 percent of voters said they were definitely or probably yes votes, compared to 47 percent of independents and 42 percent of Republicans.

Similarly, 80 percent of people who identified as liberal said they’ll definitely or probably vote yes, compared to 55 percent of moderates and 38 percent of conservatives.

Within the Republican bloc, more moderate and liberal GOP voters tend to support the measure, with 54 percent of those definitely or probably in support. Of conservative Republicans, only 38 percent definitely or probably favored the reform.

“Our supporters come from all backgrounds: Democrats, Republicans, veterans, patients, mothers and fathers,” campaign spokesperson Tom Haren said in a statement released with the survey. “They know that our plan to regulate and tax adult-use marijuana is good for Ohio and good for Ohioans. This poll shows that when it comes to marijuana, Ohio voters’ opinion is clear. I feel confident we’ll see that in the election results.”

In addition to legalizing and regulating adult-use marijuana, Issue 2 would establish a 10 percent cannabis sales tax, with revenue going toward social equity and jobs programs as well as education and treatment around substance use disorders.

Late last month, state officials approved ballot language for Issue 2 and have since published campaign arguments in favor and against.

A state-approved summary notes that the initiative would establish a social equity program, protect the identities of people who participate in the adult-use market, maintain employers’ and landlords’ rights to prohibit cannabis use “in certain circumstances,” protect financial institutions that work with licensed marijuana businesses and impose a tax on cannabis sales.

If approved, legalization could bring in $404 million in annual tax revenue for the state, according to an analysis by researchers at Ohio State University.

One of the state’s congressional representatives, Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown (D), said last week that he’s still undecided on the measure. “But I will—in the next couple, three weeks—really sit down and read it and figure out what to do” when it comes time to vote on the marijuana ballot initiative, he said.

Brown’s noncommittal response came in contrast to that of a Republican congressman who represents Ohio’s 14th district. Rep. Dave Joyce (R), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, has affirmed that he will be voting “yes” on Issue 2, and he’s encouraged “all Ohio voters to participate and make their voices heard on this important issue.”

Here are the key provisions of the legalization ballot measure on the November’s ballot:

• The initiative would legalize possession of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis for adults 21 and older, and they could also have up to 15 grams of marijuana concentrates.
• Individuals could grow up to six plants for personal use, with a maximum 12 plants per household.
• A 10 percent sales tax would be imposed on cannabis sales, with revenue being divided up to support social equity and jobs programs (36 percent), localities that allow adult-use marijuana enterprises to operate in their area (36 percent), education and substance misuse programs (25 percent) and administrative costs of implementing the system (three percent).
• A Division of Cannabis Control would be established under the state Department of Commerce. It would have authority to “license, regulate, investigate, and penalize adult use cannabis operators, adult use testing laboratories, and individuals required to be licensed.”
• The measure gives current medical cannabis businesses a head start in the recreational market. Regulators would need to begin issuing adult-use licenses to qualified applicants who operate existing medical operations within nine months of enactment.
• The division would also be required to issue 40 recreational cultivator licenses and 50 adult-use retailer licenses “with a preference to applications who are participants under the cannabis social equity and jobs program.” And it would authorize regulators to issue additional licenses for the recreational market two years after the first operator is approved.
• Individual municipalities would be able to opt out of allowing new recreational cannabis companies from opening in their area, but they could not block existing medical marijuana firms even if they want to add co-located adult-use operations. Employers could also maintain policies prohibiting workers from consuming cannabis for adult use.
• Further, regulators would be required to “enter into an agreement with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services” to provide “cannabis addiction services,” which would involve “education and treatment for individuals with addiction issues related to cannabis or other controlled substances including opioids.”
• With respect to social equity, some advocates are concerned about the lack of specific language on automatic expungements to clear the records of people with convictions for offenses that would be made legal under the legislation. That said, the measure does include a provision requiring regulators to “study and fund” criminal justice reform initiatives including expungements.

Among the measure’s opponents, the Ohio Association of Health Commissioners, which represents Ohio’s 112 local health departments, recently became one of the latest groups to come out against the initiative. The Ohio Children’s Hospital Association and Adolescent Health Association, as well as law enforcement and some business groups, are also urging voters to oppose the reform.

A study published last month found that only about 1 in 10 Ohio prosecutors are likely to take advantage of a separate recently enacted law that allows them to independently seal the records of people with low-level drug convictions—and most of those say they’d focus on cannabis-related offenses—according to a new study.

Ohio voters rejected a 2015 measure, on a 64–36 vote, that would have amended the state’s constitution to legalize marijuana and give control of the market to a small group of producers. Organizers for the current campaign said they drew on lessons learned from that failure in crafting the current initiative.

Read the full FM3 Research survey report below:

Young Adults Had ‘Significant Reductions’ In Marijuana Use After Legalization, Study Published By American Medical Association Finds

The post 3 In 5 Ohio Voters Support Marijuana Legalization Measure Ahead Of November Election, New Poll Finds appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

A bipartisan coalition of 22 state attorneys general is calling on Congress to pass a marijuana banking bill that cleared a key Senate committee on Wednesday.

In a letter sent to congressional leaders on Tuesday, the top law enforcement officials of nearly half the states in the U.S. said they have a “strong interest in enabling economic growth and stability while simultaneously protecting the physical and economic wellbeing of constituents working in this industry.”

Citing the fact that a majority of states have legalized cannabis in some form, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in profit, the attorneys general said marijuana policy is “evolving rapidly and the industry is growing even faster.”

“The current federal laws present a risk of criminal and civil liability to banks providing services to state-licensed cannabis dispensaries and related businesses,” they wrote. “This risk has significantly inhibited the ability of financial institutions to provide services to regulated cannabis operators and leaves those businesses struggling to find financing.”

“Further, where the public perceives that regulated businesses can only conduct business in cash, employees and customers are at greater risk of violent crime in pursuit of that cash,” the letter says. “Several jurisdictions have seen a spike in robberies of cannabis businesses, some of which have resulted in deaths. Steady access to regulated banking is essential to the economic success of these businesses and the physical safety.”

Existing federal policy additionally complicates state tax collection and oversight of the marijuana industry, the top state law enforcement officials said. The Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act that passed the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday and now heads to the floor “would ensure that state governments do not forfeit hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue that the cannabis industry generates.”

“To address these challenges, we ask that the Senate advance the SAFER Banking Act or similar legislation that would establish a safe harbor for depository institutions providing a financial product or service to a regulated business states that have regulations to ensure accountability in the cannabis industry. An effective safe harbor would bring billions of dollars into the banking sector, enabling law enforcement, federal, state, and local tax agencies, and cannabis regulators in thirty-eight states and several territories to more effectively monitor and ensure compliance of cannabis businesses and their transactions.”

“Our banking industry must be given the tools to address the needs of businesses throughout the states and territories. This will enable the evolution of a banking system for legalized cannabis-related businesses that is both responsive and effective in meeting the demands of our economy,” the letter concludes. “We look forward to working with you as Congress moves forward in this process and to lending our voice and expertise as you develop legislation.”

The letter was led by Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown (D), Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb (D) and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R). It was also signed by the attorneys general of Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Arizona, Massachusetts, California, Maine, Colorado, Michigan, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico, Washington State, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

That’s a significantly expanded list of signatories compared to last year, when just the attorneys general of Colorado and Ohio wrote to Senate leadership, imploring action to resolve the cannabis industry banking problem.

In 2021, another group of four bipartisan attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leaders arguing that any effort to federally legalize marijuana should be done in a manner that respects the autonomy of states while providing necessary resources to ensure that cannabis is effectively regulated.

The focus of the latest letter, however, is on the SAFER Banking Act, which is advancing to the floor following a committee markup on Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has vowed to bring  it to the floor “as quickly as possible.”

Read the letter the attorneys general sent to congressional leader on marijuana banking below:

Massachusetts Activists Pursue Psychedelics Legalization Initiative With Home Grow After Polling Two Versions

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.

The post 22 State Attorneys General Call On Congress To Pass Marijuana Banking Bill That’s Heading To Senate Floor appeared first on Marijuana Moment.