Marijuana Moment

Vermont Governor Happy With Process On Marijuana Sales Legalization Bill Expected On His Desk ...

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 19:26:26 GMT

The governor of Vermont said on Friday that he is impressed with how lawmakers approached negotiations over a marijuana sales legalization bill that will likely be sent to his desk next week, though he stopped short of committing to sign it.

Vermont legalized possession of up to one ounce of cannabis and cultivation of two plants in 2018, but there are currently no regulations in place that allow for retail sales. Both chambers of the legislature previously approved the new commercialization bill, S. 54, and a bicameral conference committee worked to hash out differences in recent weeks. And shortly after they finalized a compromise version, it was sent to the House floor, where it was approved on Thursday.

The Senate is expected to take up the final measure next week. If approved there, the bill will head to the desk of Gov. Phil Scott (R).

The governor was asked during a press briefing whether he felt the legislation contains adequate public safety provisions that he’s requested.

“The bill hasn’t been my top priority. [It’s] obviously a priority for the legislature and legislative leadership,” he said. “And so it’s been passed [by the House]. I will give great credit to those who I don’t believe had any thoughts of me and some of my concerns, but they’ve done so. They’ve moved forward.”

He drew a contrast to a climate change bill that he indicated was not thoughtfully constructed to take his input into account and which he vetoed.

“I reflect on the Global Warming Solutions Act and the difference between the two bills, and them addressing the concerns I had with the regulation of marijuana—regulation and taxation bill—versus the Global Warming Solutions Act. It’s a stark difference,” he said.

Watch the governor discuss the marijuana tax-and-regulate bill, starting around 1:13:05 into the audio below:

Scott said he was encouraged by how the conference committee navigated the marijuana bill and reached compromises.

“They created a panel, and maybe advocated some of their position there, but it’s coming back,” he said, referring to a new cannabis regulatory body that would be created by the legislation. “Any suggestions by the marijuana panel that they put into their bill is going to come back to the legislature, and they’re going to vote on it, and they’re going to consider that. I mean, that’s the way to do things.”

“They’ve come a long ways. I’ll be considering that over the next—when we do receive the bill, we haven’t received it yet. But I’ll consider that,” Scott said. “And again, they’ve come a long ways and we’ll see what happens.”

It’s been an open question whether the governor will ultimately sign off on the tax-and-regulate bill given that he vetoed an early version of a non-commercial marijuana legalization bill. He reluctantly approved a revised version after legislators agreed to include a number of provisions he requested.

An outstanding concern for Scott in this latest bill is how to mitigate the risk of impaired driving. He wants police to be able to conduct roadside saliva tests for THC—despite the shaky science about its efficacy and civil rights concerns. In conference, the panel compromised on allowing saliva testing, but officers would have to get a warrant and the tests couldn’t be conducted at roadside.

“I’ve never been philosophically opposed to a retail market, I just have concerns about that,” the governor told WCAX in a separate new interview. If marijuana sales are legalized, Scott said it will be important to “make sure we’re doing this the right way with our eyes wide open and that we’re protecting the citizens of Vermont.”

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman (D), who is running against the incumbent governor, has been a strong advocate for establishing a regulated cannabis market in the state. He told the local news outlet that the “hybrid” compromise on saliva testing “doesn’t cross the line for me,” despite his general reservations about the practice.

Under the proposed cannabis sales bill, marijuana would be subject to a 14 percent excise tax, in addition to the state’s six percent sales tax.

S. 54 also contains some social equity provisions such as prioritizing marijuana business licenses for minorities, women and people disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. An independent regulatory commission would additionally be tasked with promoting small business participation in the market.

A new Cannabis Control Commission would be responsible for issuing licenses for retailers, growers, manufacturers, wholesalers and labs. The body would also take over regulation of the state’s existing medical cannabis industry from the Department of Public Safety .

A 30 percent THC limit would be imposed on cannabis flower, while oils could contain up to 60 percent THC. Flavored vape cartridges would be banned.

Local jurisdictions would have to proactively opt in to allow marijuana businesses to operate in their area. Municipalities would also be able to establish their own regulations and municipal licensing requirements.

A timeline for the legislation states that it would formally take effect on October 1, 2020—but regulators would then have to make a series of determinations about rules and licensing before retail sales would launch. Dispensary licenses would have to be issued on or before October 1, 2022.

A fiscal analysis on the final bill projects that Vermont will generate between $13.3 million and $24.2 million in annual cannabis tax revenue by Fiscal Year 2025. Licensing fees will lead to additional funds for the state, but the regulatory board created by the legislation will set those levels at a later date. For now, the Joint Fiscal Office estimates the fees could lead to another $650,000 in revenue every year. Municipalities hosting marijuana businesses will also be able to levy additional local fees.

Previously, Scott expressed interest in using new cannabis tax revenues to fund an after-school program he’s pursuing.

Outside of the cannabis sales legalization bill, the House approved separate legislation this month that would provide for automatic expungements of marijuana convictions and allow people to possess and grow more cannabis without the threat of jail time than is currently allowed. The Senate could give approval to the latest version next week, setting it up to also head to Scott’s desk.

Majority Of Republicans Support Marijuana Legalization Bill That Democrats In Congress Delayed Vote On

Photo courtesy of WeedPornDaily.

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Hemp Farmers Now Eligible For USDA Coronavirus Relief Program

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 17:23:41 GMT

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Friday that it is expanding its coronavirus relief program for farmers—and this time around, hemp cultivators are eligible for benefits.

In May, USDA said it would be making $19 billion available for agriculture producers to assist them amid the pandemic. But it excluded hemp and several other crops, stating that they don’t qualify because they didn’t experience a five percent or greater price decline from January to April. Industry stakeholders contested that point, arguing that there’s insufficient data to establish that given how young the newly legal market is. They said they were suffering just like other sectors.

It seems the department got that message and chose to accommodate the industry. A new round of funding through USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) includes a payment category for “flat-rate crops” that lists hemp as eligible.

“Crops that either do not meet the 5-percent price decline trigger or do not have data available to calculate a price change will have payments calculated based on eligible 2020 acres multiplied by $15 per acre,” USDA said in a notice. “These crops include alfalfa, extra long staple (ELS) cotton, oats, peanuts, rice, hemp, millet, mustard, safflower, sesame, triticale, rapeseed, and several others.”

Jonathan Miller, general counsel at the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, told Marijuana Moment that the group is “thrilled” to see USDA take this step, though some stakeholders are saying that the calculation the department is using to determine benefits under the program “might not be as generous as for some other crops.”

“This is a very significant development for the industry,” he said. “We just want to be sure that our farmers are treated fairly just like other farmers.”

The office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has championed the industry and helped advance the crop’s legalization, highlighted the policy change.

#Kentucky #hemp & tobacco farmers are now able to receive aid from @SenateMajLdr McConnell’s #CARESAct. Starting Monday, growers can apply for relief at their local @usdafsa office. Thanks to @realDonaldTrump & @SecretarySonny for looking out for farmers.https://t.co/3XzFIpXpSz

— Senator McConnell Press (@McConnellPress) September 18, 2020

The Virginia Department of Agriculture also touted the news.

.@USDA announced the release of another $14 billion under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, and this time, #hemp #farmers are eligible to apply. #CFAP #CFAP2 https://t.co/TzonZeqqR1

— VDACS (@VaAgriculture) September 18, 2020

In April, Congress approved a COVID-19 package that made hemp businesses eligible for federal disaster relief through the Small Business Administration (SBA).

For the past two years since hemp was federally legalized through the 2018 Farm Bill, USDA has been hard at work developing regulations and reaching out to the industry to ensure that the market has the resources to thrive.

This month, for example, it reopened a 30-day public comment period on its proposed rules for the crop in order to gain additional feedback on a number of provisions that stakeholders had expressed concern about. SBA recently asked USDA to extend that comment window. The department’s rule for hemp, when finalized, is set to take effect on October 31, 2021.

In July, two senators representing Oregon sent a letter to Perdue, expressing concern that hemp testing requirements that were temporarily lifted will be reinstated in the agency’s final rule. They made a series of requests for policy changes.

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) called on USDA to delay the implementation of proposed hemp rules, citing concerns about certain restrictive policies the federal agency has put forward in the interim proposal.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) last month wrote to Perdue, similarly asking that USDA delay issuing final regulations for the crop until 2022 and allow states to continue operating under the 2014 Farm Bill hemp pilot program in the meantime.

As it stands, the earlier pilot program is set to expire on October 31. The senators aren’t alone in requesting an extension, as state agriculture departments and a major hemp industry group made a similar request to both Congress and USDA last month.

Perdue has said on several occasions that DEA influenced certain rules, adding that the narcotics agency wasn’t pleased with the overall legalization of hemp.

As all of this rulemaking continues, USDA has been systematically approving hemp plans from states and tribes. Utah is the latest state to have its proposal approved.

Majority Of Republicans Support Marijuana Legalization Bill That Democrats In Congress Delayed Vote On

Photo courtesy of Brendan Cleak.

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Majority Of Republicans Support Marijuana Legalization Bill That Democrats In Congress Delayed ...

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 16:27:37 GMT

A majority of U.S. voters across party lines support the passage of a comprehensive federal marijuana legalization bill that was expected to receive a House floor vote before being postponed on Thursday, according to a new poll.

The survey found that 59 percent of Americans—including 53 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of Democrats—favor the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would federally deschedule cannabis and promote social equity.

Despite that bipartisan support, certain moderate Democratic lawmakers convinced House leadership that holding a vote on the bill next week, as was initially expected, could damage them politically heading into the election. They felt that advancing the reform legislation before passing another coronavirus relief bill looked bad for them—a position that advocates say is nonsensical given the widespread popularity of the issue.

This is the second time Data for Progress and the Justice Collaborative Institute asked Americans about drug policy reform and the MORE Act specifically. Their last poll, which was conducted in May, showed that 62 percent of respondents backed the bill. Support also transcended party lines in the earlier survey, with 60 percent of Republicans and 74 percent of Democrats agreeing it should be passed.

“The decision to push back a vote on the MORE Act not only calls Democrats’ prioritization of racial and criminal justice into question, but it also shows a complete disregard for the will of the majority of the American people who are ready for reform,” the Justice Collaborative said in a press release. “Failing to pass legislation decriminalizing marijuana use could be an electoral risk come November.”

While the House won’t take up the MORE Act next week as initially anticipated, leadership has given the bill’s supporters an “ironclad commitment” that it will get a floor vote in the fall, according to Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Barbara Lee (D-CA). That will likely take place after the election.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said that “the MORE Act remains a critical component of House Democrats’ plan for addressing systemic racism and advancing criminal justice reform, and we are committed to bringing it to the Floor for a vote before the end of the year.”

The new poll—which involved interviews with 1,212 likely voters from September 11-14—also looked at support for more broad drug policy issues. For example, 60 percent said that “we should treat drug use as a public health issue and not a criminal justice issue.”

Sixty-seven percent of voters said the federal government should respect the rights of states to set their own marijuana policies. That support was also bipartisan, with 63 percent of Republicans and 73 percent of Democrats agreeing with the sentiment.

A majority of voters said police shouldn’t be arresting people for possessing cannabis for personal use (59 percent) or selling small quantities of marijuana (55 percent).

Finally, the poll asked people whether they feel that “legalized marijuana has become too corporate and it is only benefiting wealthy investors.” Half said they did feel that way, 26 percent said they disagreed and 23 percent said they didn’t know.

Interestingly, Republicans were more likely to say the industry is being corporatized (57 percent) than Democrats (48 percent).

The survey findings underscore the evolving political reality of drug policy reform: it’s popular with most Americans and it’s increasingly bipartisan. But it also reveals the splintering between public sentiment and congressional action, as evidenced in part by the MORE Act vote postponement. That select centrist Democratic members felt the optics of passing the popular bill would derail their reelection campaigns seems to highlight the disconnect.

Congressional Research Service Highlights Four Consequences Of Federal Marijuana Prohibition

Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.

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Federal Deadlines Loom For Public Comments On Marijuana Research, Hemp, CBD And Drug Testing

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 14:15:22 GMT

Four federal agencies currently have public comment periods open for proposed cannabis and drug-related regulations—with the deadline for one closing on Monday.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) are each accepting input from stakeholders on separate proposed rules that they’ve published in recent weeks.

FDA

For FDA, the proposed regulations concern research guidance on developing cannabis-based drugs. The draft document was reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget and released in July. The deadline to submit feedback is September 21.

Much of the guidance—which is “limited to the development of human drugs and does not cover other FDA-regulated products”—covers the basics of conducting federally authorized research for drug development purposes such as where researchers are allowed to obtain cannabis and the importance of demonstrating the ability to “consistently manufacture a quality product.”

As of Friday, only 26 comments have been received. The director of the University of Mississippi’s National Center for Natural Products Research submitted a comment stating that while “the development of botanical drugs presents many challenges for the pharmaceutical industry and for researchers, the guidance from FDA on botanical drugs has paved the way for important new clinical research possibilities, and these certainly afford a solid basic platform for cannabis-derived botanical products.”

However, he said that “the additional barriers imposed by the controlled substance regulatory environment are essentially paralyzing.”

In particular, Ikhlas Khan said FDA’s draft guidance “highlights the difficulties we all face in the application of the strict limit of the single compound THC in a complex mixture to determine if that material is a DEA controlled substance, or not.” Recognizing that the issue would have to be resolved by DEA, however, he said “we believe a clear and unified voice from the FDA leadership, supported by NIH, other agencies, and the research community could help to get these simple and concrete steps pushed forward for the benefit of public health and safety.”

The Biopharmaceutical Research Company also weighed in, voicing support for FDA’s proposed rules. The organization said that “this draft guidance document is a positive and well supported step in the advancement of scientific understanding of cannabis-derived drugs.”

USDA

USDA recently reopened a comment period on its rules for hemp it proposed following the crop’s federal legalization under the 2018 Farm Bill. The decision to allow additional feedback—on top of the more than 4,600 comments it received during the original comment period—came amid intense pressure from stakeholders who’ve expressed serious concerns about certain proposals.

In the new announcement, the department listed 12 areas where they’re seeking additional feedback, including several that industry representatives have identified as especially consequential. People have until October 8 to send their input, but the federal Small Business Administration is pushing back and urged Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to extend that deadline for at least an additional 30 days.

More than 400 additional comments for the proposed rule have been submitted since the docket reopened, and many of those appear to be iterations of the sample message crafted by the advocacy group U.S. Hemp Roundtable. It specifically urges USDA to “encourage the DEA to withdraw from this regulatory process and focus its attention on serious drug issues, as Congress intended.”

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has on several occasions stated that DEA influenced some of the more restrictive regulations it included in its original interim final rule, adding that the agency didn’t seem especially enthused about hemp’s legalization in the first place.

“I believe that the IFR is both overreaching and overly restrictive for an industry that has successfully demonstrated its ability to comply with state and federal laws,” the pre-written Hemp Roundtable message says. “I urge the DEA to withdraw the IFR.”

DEA

DEA also submitted proposed regulations on hemp and CBD. In the interim final rule, the agency explains how it plans to redefine marijuana to exclude hemp, among other statutory changes. DEA emphasized throughout its proposal that the proposed regulations are only meant to align their policies with the Farm Bill, but some stakeholders suspect that they’re really setting the stage to crack down on the newly legal market.

The deadline to send comment for those proposed regulations is October 20. So far, the agency has received more than 2,200 submissions—and about half of those concern one proposal that stakeholders worry could impact a lesser-known—but apparently increasingly popular—cannabinoid: delta-8 THC.

SAMHSA

Finally, SAMHSA has draft rules out that would expand workplace drug testing requirements by enabling federal agencies and certain other employers to analyze workers’ hair for traces of prohibited substances. Advocates have criticized the proposal, arguing that it could set the stage for racially discriminatory workplace consequences. So far, 33 comments have been sent, and the deadline to weigh in is November 9.

Congressional Research Service Highlights Four Consequences Of Federal Marijuana Prohibition

Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.

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Congressional Research Service Highlights Four Consequences Of Federal Marijuana Prohibition

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 13:04:02 GMT

A new report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) identifies multiple problems caused by conflicting federal and state marijuana laws.

Those issues include a lack of access to financial services for state-legal cannabis businesses and challenges accessing marijuana for research purposes, CRS said.

The Schedule I status of marijuana means that the substance is strictly regulated by federal authorities,” the report, published last week, states. “Yet, over the last several decades, most states and territories have deviated from across-the-board prohibition of marijuana, and now have laws and policies allowing for some cultivation, sale, distribution, and possession of marijuana.”

CRS looked at four key areas where the federal-state conflict has created policy complications.

First it said universities might be disinclined to take on cannabis study initiatives out of fear of losing federal funds. Colleges receiving federal dollars are statutorily obliged to proactively discourage drug use, and so they also run a risk if they permit students to consume medical cannabis as authorized by the state.

General research is also hampered by federal prohibition, CRS said, as the requirements to obtain cannabis for studies is onerous. What’s more, scientists face difficulties accessing a “different strain, potency, or quality of marijuana for their research than what is lawfully available” at the only federally authorized cannabis manufacturing facility at the University of Mississippi.

A bipartisan bill designed to streamline the process of cultivating research-grade marijuana and obtaining it for studies was approved by a House committee earlier this month. It would also allow researchers to get cannabis from state-legal dispensaries rather than rely exclusively on the government’s marijuana.

The CRS report also talks about how, despite Treasury Department guidance for banks on the rules for servicing marijuana businesses, “many financial institutions remain reluctant to openly enter into relationships with state-authorized marijuana businesses due to the Schedule I status of marijuana.”

Finally, CRS said people in general face the threat of prosecution under federal law for cannabis-related activity, regardless of their states’ policies. That gives “rise to a range of other issues including eligibility for student financial aid, housing and food assistance, gun ownership, visas, and employment,” the report says.

The Capitol Hill research office also discussed how the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has consistently refused to change the scheduling status of marijuana and rejected requests to loosen restrictions. Recently, seven members of Congress and a coalition of advocacy groups urged the Supreme Court to take up a lawsuit challenging DEA’s scheduling decision with respect to cannabis.

Both DEA and Congress have the authority to enact a scheduling change, but the legislative route would enable lawmakers to circumvent certain procedural requirements that an administrative reform process have to follow.

“If marijuana remains a controlled substance under the CSA under any schedule, that would maintain the existing conflict between the federal government and states that have legalized recreational marijuana, though moving marijuana to a less restrictive schedule could help mitigate conflicts between federal law and state medical marijuana laws,” CRS said.

The report notes that if Congress were to deschedule cannabis, “it could seek to regulate and tax commercial marijuana activities.”

That’s one of the objectives of a bill that was expected to receive a House floor vote next week but has since been delayed until later this fall. The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act would end cannabis prohibition and contains a series of social equity provisions.

House Postpones Vote On Bill To Federally Legalize Marijuana Until After Election

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Congress delays legal cannabis vote (Newsletter: September 18, 2020)

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 10:21:35 GMT

VT House approves legal marijuana sales deal; SBA pushes USDA on hemp comments; Cannabis consumers step up voter registration

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

House Democratic leaders postponed a planned vote for next week on a bill to federally legalize marijuana—a decision apparently spurred by moderate members who feared advancing the issue ahead of the election—but Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said the body is “committed” to passing the bill “later this autumn.”

The Vermont House of Representatives voted to approve a bill to legalize marijuana sales. After an expected Senate vote on the bicameral compromise next week, the legislation will finally head to the governor’s desk.

The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to keep its public comment period on hemp rules open for even longer.

“Producers indicated that the current comment period falls in the middle of the harvest season for much of the mid-Atlantic and southern hemp growers, excluding those who grow indoors. Because the harvest season is one of the busiest times for hemp producers, this places a strain on their ability to both manage their small business and dedicate the time and attention necessary to provide the detailed comments that AMS is requesting.”

A new poll found that a bare majority of Arizona registered voters support the state’s marijuana legalization ballot measure. Military and veteran households were especially likely to back legal cannabis in the survey.

Spark The Vote is a new effort aimed at registering cannabis consumers to vote and keeping them involved in the political process—from marijuana policy to presidential elections and everything on the ballot in between. So far, the effort, led by the Cannabis Consumer Policy Council, has signed up 31 marijuana retail operations across eight states that have agreed to host voter registration and education resources.

/ FEDERAL

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations official blamed an uptick in marijuana seizures at the northern border in part on Canada’s marijuana legalization law.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute tweeted, “#NIH-funded study finds that patients with #sicklecell who use medical marijuana for pain tend to have fewer hospitalizations.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) tweeted, “Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats are pushing to send cash to illegal aliens, roll back restrictions for marijuana, and push vote by mail onto millions of Americans. How does that have anything to do with COVID-19?”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said that House Democrats’ plans to vote on a marijuana legalization bill were “a complete dereliction of duty and a disservice to the American people.”

The House bill to expand marijuana research got one new cosponsor for a total of 21.

Florida Democratic congressional candidate Pam Keith tweeted, “I support legalization of cannabis. (And restorative justice for those who have been prosecuted for its use). That is all.”

/ STATES

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) tweeted, “Like our neighbors in PA, we’re seeking to legalize adult-use marijuana the right way – with social justice leading the way. This would: Move NJ away from unfair drug laws Ensure fairness for minority-owned businesses Create a stronger, fairer state”

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) opposes marijuana reform, but Democratic challenger Woody Myers supports decriminalizing marijuana and legalizing medical cannabis.

Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor tweeted, “Some: Stop talking about legal cannabis + help our businesses + jobs! Most: Legal cannabis will generate $100’s of millions each year to help small businesses + PA farmers + PA veterans + thousands of unsubsidized jobs. Also, most PA residents want this.”

Mississippi’s agriculture commissioner spoke about why he opposes a medical cannabis ballot measure.

The New Hampshire House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted to recommend the full body consider a marijuana legalization bill next session.

Michigan regulators announced a recall of medical cannabis products that failed testing for yeast and mold.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture appointed new members to the Hemp Advisory Committee.

West Virginia regulators expect to begin issuing medical cannabis cultivation permits next week.

Washington State regulators took actions on rules concerning marijuana vapor products, processor and retailers licenses and vitamin E acetate.

California regulators are accepting proposals for research projects on the implementation of marijuana legalization from public universities.

Oregon regulators are surveying marijuana businesses about the impact of recent wildfires.

—
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—

/ LOCAL

Richmond, Virginia’s mayor tweeted about speaking at the National Cannabis Policy Summit, saying, “It’s not enough to stop the destruction of Black communities through possession charges – we have to make sure those same communities receive restorative economic justice.”

/ INTERNATIONAL

Health Canada granted an exemption for another church to legally import and use ayahuasca.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study found that “orally administered cannabis extract had a pharmacological effect of weight loss in diet-induced obese mice.”

A study of people’s perceptions about cannabis warning labels found that “warnings about psychosis and addiction were less believable than impaired driving.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

The National Safety Council and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, American Trucking Associations and other organizations sent a letter calling on House leaders to delay a planned vote on a bill to federally legalize marijuana until hearings can be held on workplace safety issues.

The Lincoln Star Journal editorial board slammed Nebraska lawmakers for failing to legalize medical cannabis.

/ BUSINESS

Lift & Co. Corp. filed for bankruptcy.

MediGrow LLC’s lawsuit against Maryland’s medical cannabis licensing system was dismissed by a federal judge.

/ CULTURE

Comedian Larry the Cable Guy tweeted, “I read where the have a marijuana suppository. Yikes! This is why I’m glad I never did that stuff. I can’t imagine being at a house party when they started passing that around. You’d have that one stoner so messed up he would accidentally insert a chimichanga mini.”

Facebook posts about a mouse that apparently passed out after munching on cannabis leaves went viral.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

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Vermont Bill To Legalize Marijuana Sales One Step Away From Governor’s Desk After House Vote

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 20:00:44 GMT

The Vermont House of Representatives on Thursday approved a finalized version of a bill to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana sales in the state.

While both the House and Senate had previously passed the bill, S. 54, a bicameral conference committee had to be convened to resolve differences between their respective versions. And following a series of meetings and compromises, negotiators on the panel reached a deal on Tuesday, sending the final proposal back to the floor of both chambers for final consent.

The House approved the compromise legislation in a 92-56 vote. It’s expected to be taken up by the Senate next week, and if it passes there as well, it will head to the the desk of Gov. Phil Scott (R).

Vermont legalized possession of up to one ounce of cannabis and cultivation of two plants in 2018, but there are currently no regulations in place that allow for retail sales.

Under the proposed bill, cannabis would be subject to a 14 percent excise tax, in addition to the state’s six percent sales tax.

A 30 percent THC limit would be imposed on cannabis flower, while oils could contain up to 60 percent THC. Flavored vape cartridges would be banned.

The three House and three Senate members charged with negotiating the final bill had at times contentious meetings where they hashed out issues such as tax rates, local control, advertising, saliva testing of drivers and even an unrelated seat belt enforcement provision the House unsuccessfully pushed to insert.

The governor hasn’t indicated whether he’s supportive of the newly revised legislation, but a top legislator said earlier this year that he’s been “at the table” in earlier negotiations and has expressed interest in using some tax revenue to fund an after-school program he’s pursuing. That said, Scott only reluctantly signed the legalization of possession and homegrow into law after vetoing an earlier version, and it’s not clear if the road safety provisions in the final commercialization bill will be enough to satisfy concerns he has voiced about impaired driving.

Slim Majority Of Arizona Voters Support Marijuana Legalization Ballot Measure, New Poll Finds

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House Postpones Vote On Bill To Federally Legalize Marijuana Until After Election

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 18:56:26 GMT

A bill to federally legalize marijuana will no longer receive a previously announced vote in the House of Representatives next week.

In an at least temporary blow to reform advocates, the legislation was not included in a weekly floor schedule posted by the office of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) on Thursday. This comes two weeks after Hoyer said a vote was being planned for the week of September 21. It’s now expected to be taken up during the lame duck session after the election.

It appears that the decision was influenced by certain moderate Democrats who’ve expressed concern that voting on a cannabis reform bill while another round of coronavirus relief legislation is still unresolved would be bad optics for their reelection campaigns.

There were some signals earlier this week that leadership was on the fence about advancing the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, with Hoyer saying on Tuesday that the priorities were passing a continuing resolution and COVID-19 relief bill.

That said, a representative from his office told Marijuana Moment at the time that the schedule hadn’t yet changed.

But now it’s been confirmed: the MORE Act will not get a vote next week.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), cochair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said on Wednesday that she was open to delaying the vote if it meant that more members would sign onto it, but she also told Marijuana Moment that lawmakers would be “doing everything we can over the next week to build broad coalitions of support to ensure that happens sooner rather than later.”

The MORE Act would federally deschedule cannabis, expunge the records of those with prior marijuana convictions and impose a federal five percent tax on sales, revenue from which would be reinvested in communities most impacted by the drug war.

It would also create a pathway for resentencing for those incarcerated for marijuana offenses, as well as protect immigrants from being denied citizenship over cannabis and prevent federal agencies from denying public benefits or security clearances due to its use.

Two-thirds of Americans favor legalizing marijuana, according to a Gallup poll released late last year. That includes a majority of Republicans (51 percent) and a supermajority of Democrats (76 percent).

Despite the delay, which was first reported by Politico and The Hill, if and when the bill does eventually come up for a vote, it stands to have at least some bipartisan support.

Rep. Don Young (R-AK) recently said he was “confident” it would pass the chamber.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the sole GOP cosponsor on the bill, said earlier this month that he would be voting “yes” on the MORE Act, though he expressed criticism about a provision that would impose a federal excise tax on marijuana sales to be reinvested in communities most impacted by the drug war, calling them “reparations.”

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) also said “I intend to vote yes on the bill” in a recent interview with Politico. “With respect to timing, I do find it ironic that the only small businesses the Democrats seem to be worried about is cannabis shops, but I would support this bill whenever it is brought to a vote,” he said.

McClintock, along with Gaetz, voted for the MORE Act when it was marked up by the Judiciary Committee last year.

The bill stood a chance to bringing on other GOP supporters as well.

A spokesperson for Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) told Marijuana Moment that he “supports decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level and removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act” and “believes that states individually should be able to determine their own marijuana policies, not the federal government” but would “wait and see what final bill the House Democrats put on the floor and if they will attempt to amend it” before deciding whether he would vote yes.

A total of 31 Republicans House members voted in favor of a floor amendment in July that would prevent the Department of Justice from interfering with state marijuana laws.

Meanwhile, opponents to legalization, including Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) and the prohibitionist group Smart Approaches To Marijuana, are celebrating the development.

With all the work Congress should be doing, taking valuable time to legalize a gateway drug to opioid use would not have been a good idea. https://t.co/doLTcmkZ5J

— Rep. Andy Harris, MD (@RepAndyHarrisMD) September 17, 2020

This vote delay is the latest disappointment that reform advocates have experienced from the Democratic party of late. They were hopeful, for example, that the party would nominate a presidential candidate who would support legalization after most primary contenders went on record in favor of the change—but nominee Joe Biden remains opposed and backs more modest proposals such as possession decriminalization and expungements.

The Democratic National Committee’s platform committee in July voted against an amendment that would’ve added legalization as a 2020 party plank—a move that some suspect was influenced by a desire not to formally endorse a policy opposed by Biden.

In light of that, some advocates are concerned that if the Democratic House doesn’t go on record by passing bold marijuana reform this year, it may be reluctant to send a would-be President Biden a legalization bill that he does not want in 2021.

Marijuana Consumer Group Launches Nationwide Get-Out-The-Vote Campaign

Image element courtesy of Tim Evanson.

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Slim Majority Of Arizona Voters Support Marijuana Legalization Ballot Measure, New Poll Finds

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 16:14:30 GMT

The campaign behind an initiative to legalize marijuana in Arizona has their work cut out for them in the coming weeks, as a new poll shows that just a slim majority of voters support the ballot measure.

According to the poll, which was conducted by Monmouth University, 51 percent of respondents said they back the proposal, while 41 percent are against it. Six percent are undecided, while another three percent of voters said they would skip the cannabis measure on the ballot.

Via Monmouth University.

The firm ran multiple scenarios, and found that support dips to 49 percent and opposition rises to 43 percent in a high turnout model, while a low turnout situation puts the measure at 47 percent for and 47 percent against.

With weeks before the election, activists will have to do what they can to make their margin of support more comfortable. That said, a separate survey that a different polling company released in July found that significantly more Arizonans support the policy change, with 62 percent saying the state should legalize cannabis.

For this latest poll, Democrats were the most likely to back the initiative at 67 percent. Fifty-nine percent of independents and 32 percent of Republicans said they would vote for the measure.

Sixty percent of voters aged 18 to 49 said they will vote for the legalization measure, and a majority of to-64 year-olds did as well. Voters over 65 oppose it by a margin of 34 percent to 59 percent.

Interestingly, households with military service members or veterans were especially supportive of the proposal, with 57 percent of respondents in that group saying they favor legalization, with only 47 percent of non-military or vet households being on board.

The poll also showed Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump in the state, 48 percent to 44 percent.

Last month, Trump voiced concern that putting marijuana measures on state ballots boosts Democratic turnout and makes Republicans lose elections.

The survey involved interviews with 420 Arizona registered voters from September 11-15 and has a margin of error of +/- 4.8 percentage points.

Activists turned in about 420,000 raw signatures for the cannabis legalization initiative in July, and it officially qualified last month.

Under the measure, adults could possess up to an ounce of marijuana at a time and cultivate up to six plants for personal use.

The initiative also contains several restorative justice provisions such as allowing individuals with prior marijuana convictions to petition the courts for expungements and establishing a social equity ownership program

Cannabis sales would be taxed at 16 percent. Tax revenue would cover implementation costs and then would be divided among funds for community colleges, infrastructure, a justice reinvestment and public services such as police and firefighters.

The Department of Health Services would be responsible for regulating the program and issuing cannabis business licenses. It would also be tasked with deciding on whether to expand the program to allow for delivery services.

Arizona voters narrowly rejected an earlier marijuana legalization initiative in 2016.

Marijuana Consumer Group Launches Nationwide Get-Out-The-Vote Campaign

Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

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Marijuana Consumer Group Launches Nationwide Get-Out-The-Vote Campaign

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 14:23:17 GMT

With the launch of a nationwide get-out-the-vote campaign this week, marijuana legalization advocates hope to muster cannabis consumers as a powerful voting bloc this November and maintain that momentum for elections to come.

Spark the Vote, a new effort by the nonpartisan Cannabis Consumer Policy Council (CCPC), is deploying in eight states, organizers said in a video presentation on Wednesday, with plans to expand further. On-the-ground “action teams” will be stationed at marijuana retail stores and cannabis-friendly businesses, they said, to register consumers to vote and encourage them to stay politically active. The initiative will also host virtual education and organizing sessions.

“Cannabis voters are an incredibly diverse and growing voting bloc that have already made real impacts in state and local elections,” the campaign said in a press release. “In an era where presidential elections are regularly decided by less than a million votes, cannabis consumers have a huge role to play in local, state and federal elections.”

Initially the program will launch in Arizona, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey and Utah, the group said. All those states have legalized medical marijuana, and all but New Jersey and Utah have legalized cannabis for adults, with New Jersey set to vote on an adult-use legalization referendum in November.

Tommy Chong + GOTV Webcast + New Team Members! – https://t.co/JDsA7uErjk pic.twitter.com/JNGYKX933L

— Spark The Vote 2020 (@Spark_The_Vote) September 16, 2020

In a Zoom call on Wednesday to announce Spark the Vote, CPCC Executive Director Nate Bradley said that after working for the increasingly influential cannabis industry for seven years, he came to believe “it’s imperative that we consumers have that same voice.”

“One of the things that we’ve seen over the last few years, as the movement to end cannabis prohibition has begun to move across the country and the world as a whole: A lot of people have started to believe the fight is over,” Bradley said. “The reality is that it’s only just starting.”

Marijuana advocates and organizers have long stressed the untapped potential of voters who support legalization. Recent polling shows nearly two-thirds of Americans favor making cannabis legal for all adults, with considerable support across party lines. More than 90 percent of Americans, meanwhile, said marijuana should be legal for either medical or recreational purposes.

Nearly half (46 percent) of cannabis consumers identify as politically independent, according to Jimmy Fremgen, Spark the Vote’s campaign director, “further underlining the point that we are not just Democrats, we are not just Republicans, we are all over the political spectrum and we are poised to make an impact up and down the ballot in 2020.”

With a number of key issues being considered at various levels of government right now—including state-level legalization measures, cannabis banking and an expected House of Representatives vote next week on federal legalization—the project hopes to push politicians into offering more than lip service to the cannabis community.

“Pandering on legalization is just not going to cut it for candidates this year,” Fremgren said.

CCPC has partnered with a number of organizations to launch the project, including the United Core Alliance, which focuses on social equity in cannabis, and Turnout Nation, which builds tools to encourage voter turnout. Legalization advocacy group Americans for Safe Access is also involved, as are the Teamsters, the Cannabis Voter Project and the Cannabis Equity Alliance.

“We really need equity and representation moving forward into this cannabis space,” Brandon Bolton, director of the United Core Alliance, said on Wednesday’s Zoom call. “Spark the Vote actually is assisting us in learning how we can reform the policy for social equity.”

Sabrina Fendrick, who works as the public affairs officer for Berkeley Patients Group, the nation’s longest continuously operating dispensary, is heading up the project’s retail partnerships.

“We’ve never been able to engage cannabis consumers like this before in such a concentrated effort,” Fendrick, who previously served as a staffer for NORML, said, adding that Spark the Vote is “going to be invaluable to ensuring that our consumers, our constituencies, have a voice and are represented in the public debate.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Bradley, CCPC’s executive director, told Marijuana Moment that 31 retail locations across eight states were expected to participate in the program at launch, although partnerships in Arizona and New Jersey were still pending confirmation. Some of the partners already confirmed include A Therapeutic Alternative, Berkeley Patients Group, Caliva and Higher Path in California; Mission Dispensary locations in Illinois, Massachusetts and Michigan; NuLeaf in Nevada; and Dragonfly Wellness in Utah.

“In the last five minutes I got a text saying that the SPARC chain of dispensaries are coming online,” he told Marijuana Moment in an email Wednesday. “Right before that I got word that the Hudson Valley Cannabis Industry [Association] was joining.” A number of other retail and industry partners are listed on the campaign’s website.

Despite the diversity of political opinions held by marijuana consumers and Spark the Vote’s nonpartisan approach, Fremgen, the campaign director, said there are certain issues on which many in the cannabis community agree: “They care about the cost of health care,” he said, noting that many veterans use cannabis. “We care about access to good jobs, social and criminal justice, the environment and many more issues.”

Fendrick at Berkeley Patients Group said the initiative continues the “activism and a heightened sense of social responsibility” that helped legalize cannabis in the first place.

“Social justice, compassion and citizen participation is part of our company’s story,” she said, as well as part of the greater social backdrop that helped fuel the legalization movement in the 1980s and ’90s, when marijuana emerged as a potent tool to manage HIV/AIDS and cancer.

Kimberly Cargille, executive director for the Sacramento-based dispensary A Therapeutic Alternative, said in a statement that the get-out-the-vote efforts have been designed to avoid close personal contact in order to limit the spread of COVID-19,

“These socially distanced stations,“ Cargille said, “will help get thousands of cannabis consumers safely registered, and mobilized in a way that will legitimize cannabis as a long-overdue mainstream policy issue.”

Kamala Harris Says Biden Admin Won’t Half-Step Marijuana Reform But Pledges Mere Decrim

Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen

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Federal Agency Tells USDA To Keep Hemp Rules Open For Comment Even Longer

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 12:43:41 GMT

The federal Small Business Administration (SBA) is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to lengthen a public comment period it recently reopened for proposed hemp rules.

USDA announced it was reopening the comment period last week, citing intense demand from stakeholders who have expressed concern about a number of specific regulations. The department outlined 12 areas where they’re seeking additional feedback, including several that industry representatives have identified as very consequential.

But while they’re giving interested parties 30 days to send additional input after the original comment period—which saw more than 4,600 submissions—SBA’s Office of Advocacy said in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Friday that it’s not enough time for small businesses. They’re asking for at least 60 days.

“Advocacy is concerned that the current comment period does not allow for small businesses to prepare the types of detailed analyses and data that the agency is requesting,” the office wrote. “Advocacy heard from several hemp producers in Arizona, North Carolina, New York, and Vermont, and state farm bureaus who are concerned about the length and timing of the latest comment period.”

It’s also harvest season in the mid-Atlantic and south, SBA said, and that “places a strain on their ability to both manage their small business and dedicate the time and attention necessary to provide the detailed comments” USDA is requesting. Further, waiting for the close of harvest season could help inform responses.

“Finally, the ongoing global pandemic as well as many other ongoing natural disasters nation-wide have presented additional strains and unique challenges to agricultural operations. Producers are experiencing delays in shipping and transport, labor challenges, and difficulty in managing familial obligations coupled with farming,” the letter states.

“Advocacy urges [USDA] to extend the public comment period to allow for small businesses to meaningfully participate in this rulemaking process,” it concludes. “The information that [USDA] is seeking is comprehensive and detailed and requires additional time and preparation.”

While SBA has been an advocate for hemp farmers, the same can’t be said for the marijuana industry. For example, the agency in March that marijuana businesses are not eligible for disaster relief loans to lessen the blow of the coronavirus pandemic.

All told, it appears that USDA is taking seriously the feedback it’s received and may be willing to make certain accommodations on these particular policies. The department’s rule for hemp, when finalized, is set to take effect on October 31, 2021.

Perdue has said on several occasions that DEA influenced certain rules, adding that the narcotics agency wasn’t pleased with the overall legalization of hemp.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, hemp industry associations pushed for farmers to be able to access to certain COVID-19 relief loans—a request that Congress granted in the most recent round of coronavirus legislation.

However, USDA has previously said that hemp farmers are specifically ineligible for its Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. While the department initially said it would not reevaluate the crop’s eligibility based on new evidence, it removed that language shortly after Marijuana Moment reported on the exclusion.

Two members of Congress representing New York also wrote a letter to Perdue in June, asking that the agency extend access to that program to hemp farmers.

Hemp farmers approved to produce the crop do stand to benefit from other federal loan programs, however. The department recently released guidelines for processing loans for the industry.

Read SBA’s letter to USDA on extending the hemp rules comment period below:

Advocacy Hemp Extension Com… by Marijuana Moment

Missouri Sends $2.1M In Medical Marijuana Revenue To Military Veterans Health Programs

The post Federal Agency Tells USDA To Keep Hemp Rules Open For Comment Even Longer appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

VT legal cannabis sales bill finalized (Newsletter: September 17, 2020)

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 10:28:14 GMT

Lawmakers push SCOTUS to take marijuana case; MS’s confusing cannabis ballot Qs; Record IL sales; PA lt. gov. challenges NJ to grow better marijuana

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

Vermont House of Representatives Senate negotiators have finally reached a deal on a bill to legalize marijuana sales. The full House is expected to vote on the final proposal as soon as Thursday, with the Senate likely sending it to the governor’s desk next week.

Seven members of Congress and several reform groups filed briefs urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case against the Drug Enforcement Administration that challenges marijuana’s federally restricted classification.

The lawmakers’ brief argues the Court needs to act because enacting marijuana reform through legislation is “made practically impossible by complicated political realities”—a point that could be undermined if the House approves a cannabis descheduling bill next week.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D), appearing at a rally alongside Gov. Tom Wolf (D) said that farmers in his state can grow better marijuana than those in New Jersey can, and that’s one reason lawmakers should hurry up and legalize it before voters next door in the Garden State do so.

The way medical cannabis appears on Mississippi’s ballot is a confusing, two-step set of questions. And that was exactly the intent of lawmakers who advanced a competing measure to undermine support for the activist-driven original, advocates say.

Illinois set a new monthly marijuana sales record again in August, with more than 1.3 million cannabis products sold, amounting to nearly $64 million in total sales— with out-of-state visitors accounting for more than $17 million of that.

/ FEDERAL

Officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration met with representatives of the National Industrial Hemp Council, who shared concerns about the agency’s new proposed hemp rules.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) tweeted, “There are far too many racial disparities in our criminal justice system. We must keep fighting for change. If Democrats retake the Senate, I am going to do EVERYTHING I can to end the federal prohibition on marijuana and undo harms of the War on Drugs.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted, “Cannabis should be legalized & records should be expunged ASAP. It’s strange that the more conservative step of decriminalization is seen by some as too controversial or ‘risky.’ Each day we postpone is a day we let communities be ravaged & profiled. It must end. #LegalizeIt”

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) tweeted, “I’ve been a long-time supporter of legalizing marijuana, and the MORE Act gets us one step closer. Looking forward to voting YES.”

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) tweeted, “In our state the price for the failed drug war has been paid disproportionately by Black and Latino Texans. We can do much better. @RolandForTexas is running for the Texas Senate and has put cannabis legalization at the forefront of his campaign.”

The House bill to deschedule marijuana and fund programs to repair the harms of the drug war got three new cosponsors for a total of 111.

/ STATES

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s (D) team plans to hold meetings with stakeholders who are concerned about the state’s marijuana business licensing process.

The Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee approved a House-passed bill to prevent police from conducting searches based on the smell of marijuana.

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that a rejected medical cannabis business license applicant can see its application scores.

California regulators released a unified marijuana license search tool.

Washington State’s WorkSource program is blocking some job listings for not only marijuana businesses, but also for people who work in the cannabis industry and are looking to hire child care workers.

Colorado regulators adopted emergency coronavirus-related rules for marijuana businesses.

Florida’s Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee’s Seed Certification Subcommittee will meet on September 23.

Michigan regulators are holding a marijuana business social equity resource workshop on September 24.

—
Marijuana Moment is already tracking more than 1,500 cannabis 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

Portland, Maine officials sent a reminder that marijuana businesses must be licensed to operate in the city.

/ INTERNATIONAL

Barbados’s government revealed details of a marijuana decriminalization plan.

A Colombian House committee approved a bill to allow marijuana use.

Brazilian lawmakers heard presentations from Canadian and Israeli lawmakers about their countries’ experiences with medical cannabis.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study identified a “significant substitution effect between light cannabis and anxiolytics, sedatives, opioids, anti-depressants and anti-psychotics.”

The first clinical trial on psilocybin therapy with simultaneous administration and one-on-one patient support to treat depression in cancer patients was launched.

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

The National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, Family Research Council and other groups sent a letter calling on House leadership to cancel a planned vote to federally legalize marijuana.

The Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis projected that legalizing marijuana would boost the state’s GDP by between $953 million and $1.7 billion and generate $188 to $223 million in new tax revenue for the state in the fifth year of sales, while creating more than 10,000 jobs within three years.

Green Flower for Business, Foundation of Cannabis Unified Standards and Association of Food and Drug Officials are partnering to train state and local regulators about cannabis issues.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute published a report highlighting what it says is a “double standard” whereby marijuana is treated more favorably than nicotine.

/ BUSINESS

Playboy launched a line of CBD products.

AdvisorShares and CB1 Capital Management LLC formed a strategic partnership.

Trulieve Cannabis Corp. acquired Pennsylvania medical cannabis businesses.

MedMen Enterprises Inc. announced it got an additional $20 million from lenders and investors.

Canopy Rivers Inc. announced that its joint venture PharmHouse Inc. received creditor protection from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Vireo Health changed the name of its Minnesota Medical Solutions cannabis dispensaries to Green Goods.

A lawsuit against Travis and Leah Maurer over a venture to start a marijuana cultivation operation and dispensary that was filed by Randy Quast has been dismissed in the couple’s favor.

Terrapin donated $30,000 to help Boulder, Colorado’s live music venues impacted by coronavirus-related closures.

/ CULTURE

Musician David Crosby tweeted, “If smoking marijuana causes short-term memory loss, what does smoking marijuana do?”

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency tweeted, “CBD from hemp extract is not necessarily safer than a marijuana extract.”

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Top Pennsylvania Official Says State’s Farmers Can Grow Better Marijuana Than New Jersey’s

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 19:54:57 GMT

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) said on Wednesday that farmers in his state can grow better marijuana than people in New Jersey—and that’s one reason why the state should expeditiously legalize cannabis before voters next door in the Garden State enact the policy change this November.

The top state official made the quip during a marijuana reform rally, where Gov. Tom Wolf (D) also reiterated his call for the legislature to advance adult-use legalization legislation.

“New Jersey is going to vote to legalize marijuana, and 40 percent of our population will live within 30 minutes drive or less of legal marijuana,” Fetterman said. “The governor and I think our legal marijuana is better. We think our farmers would grow better legal marijuana than New Jersey. We think we should reap the benefits, not New Jersey.”

Much of the focus of the two top officials’ speeches concerned these regional considerations.

“To date, eleven states in the United States and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for adult use, and many more are giving serious consideration to legalization proposals, including our next door neighbor New Jersey,” Wolf said. “They have a referendum scheduled to be on the ballot in November 3. New Jersey citizens are going to vote in that referendum, and if they vote to legalize it, we will have given up the opportunity to gain the revenue that will definitely go across the border to New Jersey.”

Wolf and Fetterman both argued that implementing a legal cannabis program would be especially helpful as a revenue generator to aid in Pennsylvania’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

A Serious policy.

With Serious solutions.

For Serious times.

Legalize it.

— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) September 16, 2020

“Pennsylvanians are not the only ones who see the benefits of legalizing recreational marijuana,” the governor said. “Right now more than ever, states and municipalities all across the country have a desperate need for the economic boost that cannabis can provide.”

I'm with @FettermanLt to again ask the PA legislature to take action on adult-use marijuana.

I'm pro-legalization. Profits could help small businesses recover from #COVID19, boost historically disadvantaged businesses, and restore justice to those harmed by criminalization. pic.twitter.com/sUSzuFRxaV

— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) September 16, 2020

“I urge the legislature to join me in building a foundation now to strengthen Pennsylvania’s economy by legalizing cannabis for adult use,” he said.

Focusing on the benefits of restorative justice and revenue generation, @GovernorTomWolf and @FettermanLt again today called on the legislature to take up legalization of adult-use cannabis.https://t.co/3kTK8CE12Q

— Office of the Governor (@GovernorsOffice) September 16, 2020

Fetterman said that legalizing marijuana is “serious policy for serious times.”

“Now, I have put this challenge out again to the legislature,” he said. “We’re talking about generating billions in long-term revenue for Pennsylvania. We’re talking about generating tens of thousands of jobs. We’re talking about substantial criminal justice reform that leads to over 20,000 arrests of our fellow Pennsylvanians every year. We’re talking about freedom.”

“I don’t understand why this is even an issue, especially during this pandemic,” he said. “Let’s get serious. Let’s implement a serious policy that’s going to address all the areas that Pennsylvania needs addressed right now through legalizing cannabis here.”

Earlier in the day, Rep. Jake Wheatley (D) and Sen. Sharif Street (D) discussed their support for legalization at a rally with activists.

We want the revenue, but legalizing recreational marijuana is about letting people decide how to live their own lives, and about removing the criminal stigma from a failed War on Drugs. pic.twitter.com/qzArkA4fmx

— Jake Wheatley (@RepWheatley) September 16, 2020

Joined @NORML and Legalize PA to call for colleagues in the PA House and Sen to finally end the prohibition of cannabis in Pennsylvania.

End the war on drugs, end the war on people. #coronavirus #CannabisCommunity pic.twitter.com/0SdAVyELVy

— Sen. Sharif Street (@SenSharifStreet) September 16, 2020

The governor has on several recent occasions pushed for marijuana legalization. Earlier this month, he took a shot at the GOP-controlled legislature for failing to get the job done earlier this month, for example. He also floated the idea of passing a bill that would allow the state itself to sell the cannabis to consumers.

While Wolf initially opposed adult-use legalization, he came out in support of the policy change last year. That shift came after Fetterman led a statewide listening tour last year to solicit public input on the issue.

Shortly after the governor announced that he was embracing the reform, a lawmaker filed a bill to legalize marijuana through a state-run model.

A majority of Senate Democrats sent Wolf a letter in July arguing that legislators should pursue the policy change in order to generate revenue to make up for losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to state shelter-in-place and social distancing mandates, Wheatley announced that he would be introducing a revised legalization bill for the session.

The lawmaker, who filed a similar bill last year, wrote that his proposal will be “the most comprehensive and well-vetted legislation providing for a legal adult-use cannabis industry.” It would also provide for expungements and releasing people from prison for non-violent drug offenses.

Outside of Pennsylvania, other leaders are recognizing that taxing and regulating marijuana can provide a much-needed economic boost amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said in May that the state needs to explore every option for economic relief, and that includes passing cannabis legalization. She made that point again last week.

New Jersey’s governor said in July that legalizing cannabis could simultaneously help the state recover economically from crisis while also promoting racial justice.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) was asked in May about whether marijuana legalization could serve as a tool for economic recovery and he expressed support for the proposal, stating that while the legislature hasn’t yet accomplished the policy change, “I believe we will” down the line.

Illinois (Yet Again) Breaks Monthly Marijuana Sales Record

Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

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Congressional Lawmakers Ask Supreme Court To Hear Marijuana Lawsuit Against DEA

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 17:49:16 GMT

Seven members of Congress and a slew of marijuana reform groups have submitted legal documents urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) refusal to change the federal classification of cannabis.

In an amicus brief filed on Tuesday, the lawmakers sided with the plaintiffs and said the prohibition of marijuana is unconstitutional and should be resolved by the Court. The Schedule I status of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act “creates an unconstitutional framework that unfairly burdens their constituents,” the brief states.

The original lawsuit against DEA was filed in 2017 by a coalition of medical cannabis patients and activists, including Alexis Bortell and former NFL player Marvin Washington. It was rejected in a series of rulings by lower courts, but attorneys for the plaintiffs said those decisions made it clear their only source of acceptable relief would come from the Supreme Court.

That’s because both a U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit previously determined that advocates would have to first seek administrative relief through existing channels such as a petition asking DEA directly to reclassify cannabis. But the plaintiffs said they wouldn’t go that route because they believe the request would be denied by DEA and because the agency would, at best, reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II drug, which they say could create additional harms in terms of patient access to the plant.

It’s not clear whether the Supreme Court will take the case, but the batch of amicus briefs could give added weight to the case, particularly when members of Congress are calling for action. The nine justices are scheduled to discuss whether to grant a hearing during a private October 9 conference.

The lawmakers wrote that because “many states have legalized medicinal (and recreational) uses of cannabis, the continued rigid federal criminalization of any cannabis use creates a system that infringes on Constitutional rights—the right to interstate travel, to participate in civic life, to contract and engage in interstate commerce, to make life-saving and life-sustaining medical decisions without government intervention, and to make decisions guided by a clear, nationally-consistent regulatory scheme.”

“This Court must take action to remedy the unconstitutional system that has unfairly burdened Petitioners and similarly-situated patients who lawfully use medical marijuana under the supervision of a physician and pursuant to state law. While a legislative solution is theoretically possible, various unsuccessful Congressional attempts to deschedule marijuana have made clear that legislative action is made practically impossible by complicated political realities. Because the current federal scheme violates federal law and infringes on Constitutional rights, the Court should grant certiorari to resolve this matter.”

Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) each signed the amicus brief.

That makes the language of the filing as it concerns “complicated political realities” preventing legislative change somewhat curious, as Blumenauer and Lee are cochairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and have expressed confidence that a bill to federally legalize marijuana that’s due for a House vote next week will pass. Blumenauer went so far as to say on Tuesday that he feels it even stands a chance of clearing the GOP-controlled Senate.

If the legislation does advance through at least one chamber of Congress prior to the justices’ discussion of the case next month, that could undermine the legal argument that the courts are the only place where advocates stand a reasonable chance of forcing a change to marijuana’s federal scheduling.

Additional briefs in support of the lawsuit have been filed by NORML, International Cannabis Bar Association, National Cannabis Industry Association, Arcview Group, Last Prisoner Project, Americans for Safe Access, Minority Cannabis Business Association and others.

The Justice Department, in a short filing on Monday, declined an opportunity to respond to the petition.

DEA has on numerous past occasions denied petitions to change marijuana’s status under the CSA, most recently in 2016.

The current case isn’t the only cannabis-related lawsuit DEA has faced in recent years. Scientists sued the agency last year, alleging that it had deliberately delayed approving additional marijuana manufacturers for research purposes despite pledging to expand the number of those facilities in 2016.

A court mandated that DEA take steps to make good on its promise, and that case was dropped after DEA provided a status update.

In March, DEA finally unveiled a revised rule change proposal that it said was necessary due to the high volume of applicants and to address potential complications related to international treaties to which the U.S. is a party.

The scientists behind the original case filed another suit against DEA, claiming that the agency used a “secret” document to justify its delay of approving manufacturer applications.

That was born out when the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel document was released in April as part of a settlement in the case, revealing, among other things, that the agency feels that its current licensing structure for cannabis cultivation has been in violation of international treaties for decades.

Separately, a federal court recently ruled that California regulators must comply with a DEA subpoena demanding information about marijuana businesses that they are investigating.

Read the lawmakers’ amicus brief on the marijuana lawsuit against DEA below:

Amicus Brief DEA suit by Marijuana Moment

House Marijuana Vote In Question Following Leadership Remarks, But ‘Schedule Hasn’t Changed’

Photo elements courtesy of rawpixel and Philip Steffan.

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Illinois (Yet Again) Breaks Monthly Marijuana Sales Record

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 16:32:13 GMT

Marijuana sales in Illinois broke yet another monthly record in August, according to a report from the state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation that was released on Tuesday.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Illinois has seen escalating cannabis sales month-over-month. In August, consumers purchased more than 1.3 million marijuana products for a total of nearly $64 million. More than $17 million of those sales came from out-of-state visitors.

In July, the total sales reached about $61 million—the previous record. The new adult-use sales figures don’t include data about purchases made through the state’s medical cannabis program.

This latest data seems to support the notion that the state’s marijuana market is “recession-proof” and “pandemic-proof,” as a top regulator said last month.

Via Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

State officials have emphasized that while the strong sales trend is positive economic news, they’re primarily interested in using tax revenue to reinvest in communities most impacted by the drug war. Illinois brought in $52 million in cannabis tax revenue in the first six months since retail sales started in January, the state announced last month, 25 percent of which will go toward a social equity program.

“We were not doing this to make as much money as fast as we possibly could,” Toi Hutchinson, senior cannabis advisor to Gov. J.B Pritzker (D), said last month. “We were actually doing this for people,” with a focus on supporting communities most impacted by the drug war.

In May, the state also announced that it was making available $31.5 million in restorative justice grants funded by marijuana tax revenue.

That said, ensuring an equitable market as promised hasn’t been easy. Regulators are facing lawsuits after dozens of would-be social equity licensees were denied an opportunity to participate in a licensing lottery over alleged problems with their applications. The state said it would approve 75, but only 21 ultimately qualified—and critics complain that the resources it takes to submit an acceptable application creates barriers for the exact people the special licenses are supposed to help.

Lawyers behind one suit recently said that they would be willing to drop it if the state would give the rejected applicants an opportunity to fix their submissions to be eligible for the lottery.

For now, the out-of-state sales data seems to support Pritzker’s prediction during his State of the State address in January that cannabis tourism would bolster the state’s coffers.

Prior to implementation, the pardoned more than 11,000 people with prior marijuana convictions.

Over in Oregon, officials have been witnessing a similar sales trend amid the global health crisis. Data released in May showed sales of adult-use cannabis products were up 60 percent.

Vermont Lawmakers Finally Reach Deal On Marijuana Sales Legalization Bill

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Vermont Lawmakers Finally Reach Deal On Marijuana Sales Legalization Bill

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 15:40:09 GMT

A Vermont panel of House and Senate negotiators have reached a final compromise deal on a bill to tax and regulate marijuana sales in the state.

While Vermont legalized possession of up to one ounce of cannabis and cultivation of two plants in 2018, there are currently no regulations in place that allow for retail sales. That would change under S. 54, which previously cleared both chambers of the legislature before being sent to the bicameral conference committee to reconcile differences.

The panel has held a series of meetings on the legislation in recent weeks, with members negotiating key provisions such as tax rates, local control, saliva testing and advertising. Each side offered a bevy proposals and counterproposals in the final housrs of negotiations before reaching an agreement late Tuesday. Rep. Jeannette White (D), a conferee, confirmed to Marijuana Moment that the conference report was signed by all six members of the panel.

Here are the main compromises on remaining issues reached by the bicameral group of lawmakers:

-The excise tax rate on marijuana will be set at 14 percent, in addition to the state’s six percent sales tax. The Senate agreed to give up a proposal to have two percent of that 14 percent go to local jurisdictions; instead, those municipalities would receive funds through license and distributor fees.

-In order to conduct a saliva test for suspected cannabis-impaired driving, police would need to obtain a search warrant and the sample couldn’t be taken at roadside. The Senate opposed saliva testing, despite Gov. Phil Scott’s (R) insistence on it, but conceded on the condition that the House drop unrelated language it wanted about seatbelt enforcement.

-The House agreed to drop a section that would have outright prohibited cannabis businesses from advertising. Regulators will work with the state attorney general and health department to come up with rules for advertising.

“There are issues that I disagree with, others I agree with—such is the nature of compromise. The one issue I continue to disagree with is how we are sending revenue to the towns,” White told Marijuana Moment. “The Senate proposal was that the towns that host any type of establishment should share in the revenue. The House insisted on fees which will be added to the establishments thus increasing the ultimate cost to the customers.”

“But I signed on to the report because it finally starts a regulated and taxed system in Vermont—years after working on it,” she said. “So if it gets passed we will have something to tweak over the next couple years, if it doesn’t pass we have nothing to tweak. So I will continue to work on this next session.”

Sen. Dick Sears (D), the chairman of his chamber’s Judiciary Committee and the lead sponsor of S.54, told The Bennington Banner, which first reported on Tuesday’s agreement, that the bill is “not perfect,” but there’s been “a lot of compromise, a lot of give and take on both sides to get to a place where we could reach agreement.”

The bill will now head back to the House and Senate floors for final votes on the compromise language before being sent to the governor’s desk. Scott hasn’t indicated whether he’s supportive of the newly revised legislation, but a top legislator said earlier this year that he’s been “at the table” in earlier negotiations and has expressed interest in using some tax revenue to fund an after-school program he’s pursuing. That said, he only reluctantly signed the legalization of possession and homegrow into law after vetoing an earlier version, and it’s not clear if the road safety provisions in the final commercialization bill will be enough to satisfy his concerns.

A 30 percent THC limit would be imposed on cannabis flower, while oils could contain up to 60 percent THC. Flavored vape cartridges would be banned.

Local jurisdictions would have to proactively opt in to allow marijuana businesses to operate in their area—a concession made by the Senate, which instead wanted to require towns that didn’t want cannabis commerce to opt out. Municipalities would also be able to establish their own regulations and municipal licensing requirements.

“This was a difficult compromise for legislators, who faced pressure from many different directions,” Matt Simon, New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, told Marijuana Moment. “We applaud them for sticking with the task and completing it. The need for a regulated cannabis market in Vermont has never been more urgent, and this bill has come too far to fail—it would be a terrible shame if Vermont doesn’t finish the job and pass S. 54 into law.”

The bill is on the House notice calendar for Wednesday, meaning a floor vote could be taken as soon as Thursday. After that, the Senate will take up its final consideration, likely sending the proposal to Scott’s desk sometime next week.

Outside of the cannabis sales legalization bill, the House last week gave preliminary approval to separate legislation that would provide for automatic expungements of marijuana convictions and allow people to possess and grow more cannabis without the threat of jail time than is currently allowed. It’s now on the Senate notice calendar, which allows for a vote as early as Thursday.

Read the text of the marijuana tax-and-regulate bill as finalized by the conference below:

S.54 Conference Report by Marijuana Moment

GOP Congressional Candidate In Texas Goes All-Out For Marijuana Reform Ahead Of Election

Photo courtesy of WeedPornDaily.

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Mississippi Medical Marijuana Ballot Language Threatens To Confuse Voters With Two Questions

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 12:26:11 GMT

Medical marijuana is on the ballot in Mississippi. The problem for advocates, however, is that the way the ballot is constructed could make the issue seriously confusing to voters.

That’s by design, Jamie Grantham, communications director for Mississippians for Compassionate Care (MCC), told Marijuana Moment.

Shortly after the campaign officially qualified their initiative for the ballot, lawmakers approved legislation to place an alternate legalization measure before voters. Advocates say the competing ballot question is deliberately vague and could lead to a significantly more limited cannabis system if it passed over the activist-led proposal.

The result of the inclusion of an alternative is a convoluted ballot that requires voters to answer a two-step set of questions on cannabis: first, they must fill out a bubble to “vote for approval of either, or against both” measures. Then they’re prompted to “vote for one” and given the choice of the activist-driven Initiative 65 and lawmakers’ alternative measure 65A.

Immediately, there’s a logistical question. For those who voted against approving either, the use of the word “and” in the next question might lead some to think they have to select one. And if they did make a selection despite their opposition, it’s unclear whether those votes would still be counted. Alternatively, some voters who are trying to fill out their ballots quickly may skip the first question and go right to filling out the bubble for Measure 65 and then have their support discounted.

The difference in language preceding the legalization options could also cause problems. Both measures were analyzed by the state’s Legislative Budget Office, and because the activist campaign’s is more detailed, officials were able to come up with estimated costs and revenue. A big block of text goes over those numbers prior to the question itself, with costs getting more prominent billing than revenue. In the first year of implementation, the measure will cost more than it will bring in—a possible roadblock to supporting the measure for some voters—though in subsequent years there’s anticipated to be a $10.6 million annual net gain.

But for the legislature’s alternative, the analysts simply said the “cost or revenue impact associated with this initiative is undeterminable.”

Via Mississippi Secretary of State.

While it’s possible some voters might be inclined to choose the ostensibly simpler version, MCC’s Grantham sees it differently. In a state that strongly conservative, voters care about the financial impact of reform—and she says the lack of an analysis for the alternative will demonstrate to residents that it’s an unserious proposal.

But Grantham recognizes that the ballot isn’t the straightforward “yes/no” on the activist-driven initiative that they’d hoped for.

“That’s been our concern the entire time,” she told Marijuana Moment. “That’s really the whole point with the legislature putting 65A on the ballot is that they’ve never put forth a program legislatively. They’ve blocked more than 20 proposed bills over the last few decades to do so legislatively. And then as soon as Initiative 65 qualifies, the put 65A on the ballot in order to confuse voters and dilute the vote so that neither measure meet the required amount of votes to pass.”

The ballot initiative law allowing for an alternative is “a backdoor for the legislature” to undermine the will of the voters and shut down reform they disagree with, she argued. “These are just people that don’t want medical marijuana. None of their arguments have any foundation, they really don’t.”

Matthew Schwiech, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project, told Marijuana Moment that the ballot “reflects our expectations, and it’s going to be very important for the campaign to explain the process to voters and to make the case for Initiative 65.”

He also agreed with Grantham about the fiscal language, stating that “when a voter reads the fiscal analysis, it will be fairly easy to understand. I think it’s written in a way that avoids technical jargon. And I think that it is an advantage to give clarity to voters on the fiscal impact.”

To combat any potential confusions for voters when they head to the polls, MCC is stepping up educational outreach, with activists traveling throughout the state to talk about the need for the policy change and how to navigate the ballot. They’re also sharing information across social media, including a comparison chart breaking down the differences between the versions.

Via MCC.

But with only weeks left until the November election, time is of the essence if the campaign hopes to make it clear to voters across the state how to fill out the jumbled ballot.

Schweich said he’s not especially concerned about potential voter drop out due to confusion over the ballot language and setup.

“Ballot drop off is impacted by a number of factors. The length of the ballot overall, the placement of the ballot question itself and the familiarity that voters have with ballot initiatives—some states have ballot initiatives often, some states, it’s less frequent. So it’s difficult to say what the drop off might be in Mississippi,” he said. “I will say that, looking at the ballot, there’s only two pages of candidates and then you get straight to the initiatives. I think the layout with the three measures is fairly clear.”

“What this really comes down to is the campaign explaining that you just have to vote for approval and then you have to vote for 65,” he said.

What the campaign has on its side, at least, is clear voter support based on recent polling. Eighty-one percent of respondents said in a recently released poll that they support medical cannabis legalization generally, and the activist-led initiative is significantly more popular than the competing alternative.

If the campaign’s measure passes, it would allow patients with debilitating medical issues to legally obtain marijuana after getting a doctor’s recommendation. The proposal includes 22 qualifying conditions such as cancer, chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, and patients would be allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana per 14-day period.

In June, lawmakers introduced yet another medical cannabis alternative resolution that would’ve similarly posed a threat to the activist-driven reform initiative. But, to advocates’ relief, the legislation didn’t advance before lawmakers went home for the summer.

Missouri Sends $2.1M In Medical Marijuana Revenue To Military Veterans Health Programs

Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

The post Mississippi Medical Marijuana Ballot Language Threatens To Confuse Voters With Two Questions appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

House cannabis vote schedule ‘hasn’t changed’ despite concerns (Newsletter: September 16, ...

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 10:12:59 GMT

Harris talks marijuana decrim; CDC meets with medical cannabis patients; TX GOP candidate runs on legalization; Booker pushes descheduling vote

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

The office of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told Marijuana Moment the “schedule hasn’t changed” for a planned vote on a federal marijuana legalization bill next week despite rumblings of concern from moderate Democrats. Hoyer himself said, though, that while he supports the proposal, “we’ve got to get the CR and COVID-19 done, because they’re absolutely critical to the welfare of our country,” referring to legislation to keep the government funded and avoid a shutdown.

Meanwhile, Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said the cannabis issue didn’t come up on a caucus call today. And Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the lead sponsor of the bill, said he wants the vote to proceed as planned, while Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) indicated that a delay would be OK.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) held a virtual meeting to build support for the planned House vote to federally legalize marijuana.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) argued that a Joe Biden administration won’t be “half-steppin’” with “incrementalism” but she also stopped short of pledging marijuana legalization, saying they would only decriminalize cannabis and expunge prior records.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been meeting with medical cannabis patients as part of a broader series of listening sessions on alternative pain treatments.

Texas Republican congressional candidate Tre Pennie is calling for federal cannabis legalization and investments in communities harmed by the war on drugs, and he shared his plan exclusively with Marijuana Moment.

“If done right—with proper federal regulation, oversight, and training, we can begin to lift failing communities out of poverty, reduce minority incarceration rates related to marijuana offenses and create sustainable markets resistant to online marketplace monopolies.”

/ FEDERAL

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) tweeted, “The time has come to decriminalize marijuana in this country.” He also tweeted, “I’m fighting for the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act in the Senate. It ends federal prohibition. It addresses much-needed criminal justice reforms. It provides opportunities for minority- and women-owned small businesses.”

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) tweeted, “It’s past time for Congress to bring our country’s harmful and outdated marijuana laws into the 21st century. Senate Democrats are committed to doing just that.”

West Virginia Democratic Senate candidate Paula Jean Swearengin tweeted, “The addiction epidemic has taken too many lives in WV & across this nation. Now with our economy struggling, we are seeing even MORE deaths of despair. We can revitalize and diversify our economy AND present new alternative treatments by legalizing #cannabis & enacting #M4A”

New York Democratic congressional candidate Mondaire Jones tweeted, “Let’s legalize it, Senator. 2021 ”

Indiana Democratic congressional candidate Andy Ruff tweeted, “Decriminalizing marijuana leaves the supply side illegal and does nothing to help Hoosier farmers. That’s why I support full LEGALIZATION. It gives #IN09 much needed tax revenue AND allows our ag community to tap into its unsurpassed knowledge and skills.”

/ STATES

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said there’s been no date set for a marijuana business licensing tiebreaking lottery and that he’s focused on “fairness” and getting “equitable results.” Regulators said they are continuing to “review questions” that have been raised about the process.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) denied allegations in a House Democratic report that his office interfered with lawmakers’ investigation into the state’s medical cannabis program.

The Vermont House of Representatives gave its final approval to a bill to facilitate marijuana expungements and allow people to possess and grow more cannabis without the threat of jail time.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard arguments in a case on whether redacted portions of medical cannabis business license applications should be disclosed.

The Montana commissioner of political practices is probing North Fund, which has given more than $2.9 million to a marijuana legalization campaign in the state.

Washington, D.C. continues to see racial disparities in marijuana enforcement under legalization.

Iowa regulators published a market analysis of the state’s limited medical cannabis program.

Alaska regulators will discuss marijuana enforcement issues on Wednesday.

Oregon regulators released an updated list of approved pesticides for cannabis.

Maine regulators released summaries of the marijuana sampling and testing processes.

Florida’s Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee’s Patient Advocacy Subcommittee will meet on September 21.

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

/ LOCAL

A Dallas, Texas City Council member is planning to introduce a marijuana decriminalization proposal.

Oakland, California is funding a cannabis manufacturing incubator for social equity operators.

/ INTERNATIONAL

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern explained why she won’t reveal how she plans to vote on the country’s marijuana legalization referendum.

Colombian lawmakers debated marijuana legislation.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study found that “CBD increases serotonin receptor activity in crayfish as seen with SSRIs, thus could be of use in treating anxiety.”

The National Science Foundation awarded a three-year, $591,628 grant to study new uses for hemp.

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

The Nebraska Democratic Party tweeted about ongoing efforts to legalize medical cannabis in the state.

The Washington Post editorial board cheered Virginia lawmakers’ passage of legislation preventing police from conducting searches based on the smell of marijuana alone.

Sensible Change MN released a voter guide for Minnesota’s upcoming legislative elections.

/ BUSINESS

Canopy Growth Corp., Canopy Rivers Inc. and TerrAscend Corp. are being sued for allegedly committing fraud, civil conspiracy and breach of fiduciary duty, among other things, as part of a cannabis supply agreement.

Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. announced a dividend of $1.17 per share of common stock.

A lawsuit alleging that Canna Brand Solutions caused a vaping-related lung illness was dismissed by a Washington State judge.

/ CULTURE

Kendall Jenner admitted that she is a “stoner.”

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.

The post House cannabis vote schedule ‘hasn’t changed’ despite concerns (Newsletter: September 16, 2020) appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

House Marijuana Vote In Question Following Leadership Remarks, But ‘Schedule Hasn’t Changed’

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 21:30:07 GMT

Marijuana reform advocates are getting concerned as rumors about the potential cancellation of a cannabis legalization vote on the House floor that’s been planned for next week continue to circulate and expand.

And they didn’t get much peace of mind when House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) on Tuesday seemed to signal that now might not be the right time to put the legislation to the floor. That said, a representative for his office later told Marijuana Moment that, as for now, nothing about the schedule has changed.

While leadership announced earlier this month that they intended to hold a floor vote on Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act during the week of September 21, there’s been some pushback from certain moderate Democrats in vulnerable reelection races who feel that advancing cannabis reform before the next round of coronavirus relief legislation would come back to bite them, even if they’re personally supportive of the proposal at a time a majority of American voters back legalizing cannabis.

Hoyer said on a press call that Democrats are “really focused on the [continuing resolution] and on the COVID-19, which are the two critical pieces of legislation that in this three-week period we have to pass,” referring to legislation to keep the government funded and avoid a shutdown at the end of this month.

“I’m a support[er] of the MORE Act, but we’ve got to get the CR and COVID-19 done, because they’re absolutely critical to the welfare of our country,” he said. “There are a lot of bills that are possible which are—which are important bills, good bills, but we’re focused on COVID-19 and the CR, because that keeps government open, and it gives assistance to millions of people who absolutely need it.”

A spokesperson for Hoyer’s office told Marijuana Moment that they didn’t have anything to add on the leader’s remarks, but that “the schedule hasn’t changed.”

Also on Tuesday, Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) was asked about the MORE Act and said that the bill did not come up on a caucus call earlier in the day.

“We didn’t discuss the MORE Act on the call today or the timing of some of the bills that are going to be on the floor next week,” he said.

“With respect to some of the other items on the legislative agenda—particularly as it relates to next week—I’m just trying to get to tomorrow,” Jeffries added said. “That’s the approach that many of us have taken in the context of the long national nightmare that has been the Trump administration since January 20 of 2017.”

He also pushed back against criticism from the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), which put out a a press release on Monday highlighting some apparent Democratic discontent with plans to hold a vote on the MORE Act.

“I think the comment about marijuana is just silliness,” he said. “They care more about the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected.”

But it is the case that there has been some splintering over the pending scheduled vote; it’s just not clear the extent to which there’s been pushback and whether it’s enough to convince leadership to pull the bill following the public announcement of their intention to hold it this month.

“At a time when people are really struggling just to pay the bills and to get through this health crisis, [COVID relief] should be our priority,” Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) told The Hill, adding that he’s told Democratic leadership the legislation is “probably something I would support but we should do it later on.”

Another unnamed lawmaker said that certain colleagues feel that holding a vote on the bill doesn’t make sense at this time because “it’s not something that you can get passed into law,” presumably referring to its prospects in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) seemed less convinced that the MORE Act stands no chance in the Senate during a virtual meeting on Tuesday that also involved Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). He said “I think we’re going to see not just a strong vote in the House, but I think there’s a chance that this is going to move through the Senate, with the leadership of Senator Booker.”

An aide to a senior Democrat who was also unnamed told The Hill flippantly that “prioritizing weed smokers over funding the government and providing relief to families and small businesses doesn’t make much sense to the American people.” The official added that while there are certain concerns about provisions of the bill, the ultimate issue “is the timing of this.”

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), sponsor of the MORE Act, acknowledged that there are discussions about delaying the vote, but told Politico that he’s feels the legislation should advance as planned.

“I’m not in favor of” a delay “because I think we can do it now,” the congressman said. He also dismissed concerns about the optics of voting on marijuana reform at this time because the issue “polls pretty well.”

But Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), cochair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, took a different stance and expressed openness to pushing the vote back if it could ultimately increase the vote count.

“We want to make sure the bill has the maximum number of votes. So the timing is not that crucial,“ she told Politico. “Whatever it takes to get unity and maximize our votes, we need to do that.”

In clarifying those comments, Lee told Marijuana Moment that legalization is “not an unpopular issue,” referring to polling data showing voter support and the growing number of states enacting reforms.

“Especially as the country reckons with its history of racial injustice, this should be seen as a prime opportunity to address a form of systemic racism,” she said. “Each day we gain more and more cosponsors, giving me no doubt that we are going to finally correct this historic injustice once and for all. We’re doing everything we can over the next week to build broad coalitions of support to ensure that happens sooner rather than later.”

A representative for Lee’s office told Marijuana Moment that they would check in with the congresswoman for clarification, but did not have comment by the time of publication.

This would not be the first time the leading advocate for reform has disappointed advocates, however, as she also recently voted against a Democratic National Committee platform committee amendment that would’ve added cannabis legalization as a 2020 party plank.

Legalization advocates are pushing House leadership to move ahead with the vote next week.

“Congress has the ability and responsibility to walk and chew gum at the same time. The House can and must pass a bill that will bring justice to millions of Americans while continuing to work on other priorities,” Queen Adesuyi, policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance, told Marijuana Moment. “Taking a vote on the MORE Act will not preclude the House from working on the CR or another COVID-19 package, which by the way, the House already voted on back in May but is now wasting away in the Senate.”

“The MORE Act is not simply a bill about the marijuana plant—it’s about addressing the unjust criminalization of a substance that has led to the economic and social devastation of millions of Americans and whole communities in the middle of a global pandemic,” she said.

Matthew Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project, told Marijuana Moment that the group is “confident that Congress will pass comprehensive marijuana reform legislation in the near future.”

“The precise timing of the MORE Act vote will not change the fact that 66 percent of Americans support marijuana legalization and a growing number of states are enacting marijuana reform policies,” he said.

Should the legislation be formally scheduled and head to the floor for a vote, it wouldn’t be entirely partisan, as three GOP members have already publicly said they will vote in favor of the proposal.

The latest to say as much, Rep. Don Young (R-AK), said he’s “confident” it will pass the chamber.

McClintock, along with Gaetz, voted for the MORE Act when it was marked up by the Judiciary Committee last year.

This story was updated to include comment from Lee and to correct a quote misattributed to Hoyer by another outlet.

Kamala Harris Says Biden Admin Won’t Half-Step Marijuana Reform But Pledges Mere Decrim

Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

The post House Marijuana Vote In Question Following Leadership Remarks, But ‘Schedule Hasn’t Changed’ appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

Watch Live: Cory Booker And Other Lawmakers Discuss Marijuana Legalization Bill Ahead Of House Vote

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 16:15:57 GMT

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and several other leading advocates for marijuana reform are taking part in a virtual meeting on Tuesday to discuss cannabis policy ahead of a House of Representatives vote on a comprehensive legalization bill.

The senator is being joined by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby and Drug Policy Alliance Executive Director Kassandra Frederique for the conversation, which was organized by The Appeal and NowThis.

The main topic at hand is the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, a bill that would federally deschedule cannabis and promote restorative justice. House leadership recently announced that the legislation would be getting a floor vote next week.

Watch the lawmakers and advocates discuss marijuana reform and the MORE Act below:

Booker is an original cosponsor of the Senate version of the legislation, which was introduced by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), now Joe Biden’s vice presidential running mate. Blumenauer, meanwhile, is the architect of a step-by-step blueprint to federal legalization and a leading champion of marijuana reform in Congress.

There have been some reports that Democratic support for holding a vote on the MORE Act at this time has waned somewhat, with certain members reportedly voicing concern that passing the bill amid the coronavirus pandemic could be bad optics. But so far there’s been no indication from leadership that the legislation is being pulled.

Democrats won’t be the only ones voting in favor of the reform, as three GOP members so far have gone on the record saying they will be “ayes” when it comes to the floor. The latest to say as much, Rep. Don Young (R-AK), said he’s “confident” it will pass the chamber.

McClintock, along with Gaetz, voted for the MORE Act when it was marked up by the Judiciary Committee last year.

If the House approves the bill, there will still be an open question about whether the Republican-controlled Senate would follow suit. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is a strong advocate for hemp, but he’s maintained steadfast opposition to broader marijuana reform. That said, he did hold closed-door meetings with industry representatives last year.

McConnell’s office on Monday sent a press release highlighting some apparent Democratic discontent with plans to hold a vote on the MORE Act.

It’s possible the House action could spur the Senate to take up the STATES Act, however. That bipartisan bill is sponsored by Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

Gardner could use that legislative win as he trails behind former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) in his reelection race. And to Gaetz’s point, President Trump has expressed support for the proposal.

The vote on the MORE Act will not be the first time the House has taken up cannabis reform on the floor this Congress.

The chamber approved a coronavirus relief package in May that includes provisions to protect banks that service state-legal marijuana businesses from being penalized by federal regulators. It also approved the standalone Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act last year.

Last week, a House committee approved a bill designed to promote cannabis research, in part by allowing scientists to access marijuana from state-legal dispensaries.

Advocates were disappointed after lawmakers declined to include marijuana legalization as part of a recent policing reform bill the House passed. Several legislators made the case that it was an appropriate vehicle for the policy change, as ending cannabis criminalization would minimize police interactions.

GOP Congressional Candidate In Texas Goes All-Out For Marijuana Reform Ahead Of Election

Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.

The post Watch Live: Cory Booker And Other Lawmakers Discuss Marijuana Legalization Bill Ahead Of House Vote appeared first on Marijuana Moment.