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The Kansas Senate has rejected a motion to revive a medical marijuana legalization bill after a GOP member forced a vote on the issue. The chamber struck down the motion to take up the bill from Sen. Robert Olson (R) in a 12-25 vote on Friday. This comes weeks after a legislative committee shot down a separate medical cannabis pilot program bill. The legislation Olson sought to bring up, SB 135, was shelved by a legislative panel a year ago amid pushback from law enforcement. Sen. Cindy Holscher (D) was among those who voted in favor of the proposal on Friday, and she said that “over the past three weeks, scores of Kansans have reached out to their senator voicing support for medicinal cannabis—as they have done for nearly the past decade.” “Sadly, supporters have faced many hurdles on this important measure time and time again,” she said. “Today, we’ve been given a unique opportunity to move this measure forward, which is supported by a majority of Kansans.” Olsen previously backed medical marijuana legalization and said last October that Senate President Ty Masterson (R) removed him as chair of a Senate committee after after he held the hearings on the issue. The senator said at the time that he believed it was a retaliatory move. The measure in its current form would legalize and regulate medical marijuana in Kansas, with products taxed at 10 percent. The industry would be overseen by regulators at by the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which would be renamed the Division of Alcohol and Cannabis Control. Patients and caregivers would need to register through the state’s Department of Health and Environment, with patients paying a $50 registration fee and caregivers charged $25. All fees or fines collected as part of the program would be routed to a new Medical Cannabis Registration Fund to cover costs related to administration and enforcement. Physicians would need to obtain a state certificate in order to recommend medical marijuana. The state’s Board of Pharmacy, meanwhile, would establish guidelines for dispensary reports and tracking. A pharmacist seeking to work as consultants for a dispensary would need to pay a $100 registration fee. Financial institutions working with state-legal businesses would be shielded from criminal liability under Kansas law, and the bill would allow state-licensed marijuana companies to do business with Native American tribal marijuana entities. After the Senate committee shelved SB 135 last year, Gov. Laura Kelly (D) issued a statement urging the public to contact their representatives to demand that they take the legislation back up for action. Kelly, who has long championed cannabis reform, said at the time that she was “disappointed that some legislators are saying they don’t want to move forward with legalizing medical marijuana this year—effectively turning their backs on our veterans and those with chronic pain and seizure disorders.” Olson’s motion to revisit SB 135, filed earlier this month, came about a week after Kansas lawmakers shelved another medical marijuana bill, SB 555, which would have created a limited pilot program in the state. That measure envisioned a maximum of four vertically integrated medical marijuana companies statewide, and it also would have allowed pharmacies to dispense medical marijuana. — Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — There would be a requirement that a director, manager or officer of a medical cannabis company have held a hemp producer license for the two years prior to entering the marijuana industry. To participate in the program, patients with one of 16 qualifying conditions—including cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain—would need to obtain a certification from a physicians. Smoking cannabis would be banned, nor would patients or caregivers be allowed to grow marijuana at home. At the time, Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) Director Tony Mattivi said his agency is “strongly opposed” to the proposal. “I’m very concerned by some of the trends and the data that we’ve seen as we look around the country at other states that have legalized,” he said, arguing counter to most evidence that state-level reform is associated with increased rates of opioid overdoses. He also claimed legalization would open the door to organized crime that the agency doesn’t have the resources to manage. The Kansas Cannabis Chamber of Commerce also opposed the bill, with President Erren Wright warning that the “extreme limitations on medical cannabis in this bill are going to hurt more people than they help.” The pilot program measure was filed about a month after the Kansas House of Representatives rejected a Democratic lawmaker’s amendment to a broader drug scheduling bill that would have removed marijuana entirely from the state’s controlled substances law, effectively legalizing it. A separate bill this session to create a limited medical cannabis program has also faced resistance from some legislative leaders. House lawmakers previously passed a medical cannabis bill in 2021, but it failed to get traction in the Senate. Masterson, the Senate president, said late last year he was open to a discussion about a limited medical marijuana program, but in January he appeared less open to the idea, calling medical legalization a “nonstarter” and suggesting the policy change could lead to a surge in “gang activity” and put kids at risk. He also suggested voters didn’t understand medical marijuana. “I think what people see when they think of medical, they’re thinking of, you know, palliative care and things like that,” Masterson said. Masterson, who also helped kill the House-passed medical marijuana bill in 2021, has downplayed popular support for broader adult-use cannabis legalization, suggesting voters don’t understand the policy change. “If you look at that question, I think most people would answer yes, but they don’t know what they’re actually saying yes to,” the Senate president said. Masterson nevertheless maintains that he remains open to discussing the topic. After opponents shelved the pilot program bill, he said in a statement that he’s “consistently indicated that the issue of medical marijuana has matured to a point it warrants serious discussion.” Olson’s motion this month would provide another opportunity for lawmakers to have that discussion. A Kansas Speaks poll from last fall found that 67 percent of Kansans, including a majority of Republicans, support legalizing cannabis for all adults 21 and older. A year ago, in her 2023 State of the State address, the governor said that there’s a “commonsense way to improve health care here in Kansas—and that’s to finally legalize medical marijuana.” Kelly also said in 2021 that she would be “enlisting the efforts of the people of Kansas who really want this” to pressure their lawmakers to get the reform enacted. Members of the state’s Special Committee on Medical Marijuana held final meetings on the issue in December 2022, as they worked to prepare legislation for the 2023 session. Sen. Rob Olson (R), who chaired the special panel, said that he believed Masterson removed him as chair of the Federal and State Affairs Committee in retaliation for holding the medical marijuana hearings. Also in 2022, then-House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer (D) and Assistant Minority Leader Jason Probst (D) said they wanted to let voters decide on legalizing medical and adult-use marijuana in the state. The governor, for her part, previously pushed a separate proposal that would legalize medical cannabis and use the resulting revenue to support Medicaid expansion, with Rep. Brandon Woodard (D) filing the measure on the governor’s behalf. Following President Joe Biden’s announcement in 2022 on pardoning people who’ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses and imploring governors to follow suit, Kelly said that her administration is “focused on legalizing medical marijuana so that Kansans with severe illnesses no longer have to suffer. Kelly added that they will “continue to consider all clemency and pardon requests based on a complete and thorough review of the individual cases.” The governor also said in 2020 that while she wouldn’t personally advocate for adult-use legalization, she wouldn’t rule out signing the reform into law if a reform bill arrived on her desk. Biden Campaign Says Trump ‘Took Marijuana Reform Backwards’ By Rescinding Enforcement Memo, Despite Current Admin Failing To Reinstate It Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan. The post Kansas Senate Rejects Motion To Revive Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The Biden reelection campaign says the Trump administration “took marijuana reform backwards” by rescinding Justice Department guidance that promoted discretion in federal cannabis prosecutions. In an email distributed on Thursday, the Biden-Harris campaign touted the vice president’s White House roundtable with recent pardon recipients who received clemency for drug-related convictions and contrasted various criminal justice reform initiatives with the record of former President Donald Trump, who is the presumptive Republican nominee in this year’s presidential election. Vice President Kamala Harris’s event—where she again touted President Joe Biden’s mass cannabis pardons—comes in “stark contrast with the Trump administration’s failures on criminal justice reform,” the Democratic ticket’s campaign email said, listing various policy actions from the former president. “Trump and his administration took marijuana reform backwards, withdrawing guidelines to limit prosecutions of marijuana offenses that were legal under state laws,” the email says. That’s a reference to former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s move to rescind Obama-era guidance known as the Cole memo that laid out federal cannabis enforcement priorities, generally formalizing a policy of non-intervention for state-legal marijuana activity. The practical impact of the decision was limited, as states have continued to operate legal marketplaces and approve additional legalization laws largely without federal interference. But the move was symbolically significant, raising concerns about a potential federal crackdown that never ultimately materialized. While the Biden campaign email criticized the prior administration’s action, however, it omitted the fact that any cannabis guidance has yet to be reissued under the current administration—despite Attorney General Merrick Garland saying in June 2022 that DOJ would be addressing the issue “in the days ahead.” When Garland was asked about the issue during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last March, he said that it was “fair to expect” that the updated marijuana policy would be “very close to what was done in the Cole Memorandum.” Two Democratic congressional lawmakers said in a letter to Garland late last month that it is “unacceptable” that the Justice Department has yet to reissue the federal marijuana enforcement guidance to discourage interference in state cannabis programs, leaving Americans in a “legal limbo” despite promises to update the policy. In any case, the Biden campaign’s choice to draw the cannabis contrast is notable, representing one of the latest examples of how the president is aiming to leverage the popularity of marijuana reform ahead of the November election. “On criminal justice, the contrast couldn’t be clearer: while Trump talks about pardoning January 6th rioters and celebrating violence, Vice President Harris and President Biden are giving a second chance to people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses,” Biden-Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer said in Thursday’s email. Meanwhile, on the cannabis holiday 4/20 last Saturday, both Biden and Harris promoted marijuana policy reform in social media posts at exactly 4:20pm ET. The president also discussed the cannabis actions in a historic context last month, during his State of the Union address. Earlier this month, Biden, Harris and a top Justice Department official all marked “Second Chance Month” by separately touting the administration’s mass marijuana pardons—another acknowledgement from the White House that cannabis reform is a focus heading into the November election. Read the full Biden campaign email below: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 25, 2024 Vice President Harris Highlights Biden Administration Pardons, Criminal Justice Contrast With Trump Failures Today at the White House, Vice President Harris hosted Kim Kardashian and others to hold a roundtable discussion on criminal justice reform. It comes after last month’s White House discussion on marijuana reform, led by Vice President Harris. At the event, 4 of the 16 recipients of President Biden’s latest pardons and commutations attended. These individuals were convicted of nonviolent drug offenses and many received longer sentences than they would have under current law and practice. This is in stark contrast with the Trump administration’s failures on criminal justice reform: Crime: Under Trump, America was less safe. Violent crime rose and murder increased 29.4% in 2020. Commutations and Pardons: Trump granted fewer commutations and pardons than nearly any modern president – and many of the crony grants he did give went to well-connected offenders and “an orgy of pardons for politically connected business moguls, real estate barons and disgraced former members of Congress.” Trump himself openly acknowledged mega-donors made his pardon decisions. Sentencing Reform: Trump’s own administration blocked implementation of sentencing reform he brags about. His Department of Justice sought to reincarcerate an inmate Trump touted at the White House for the bill signing. And under Trump, the Department of Justice ordered prosecutors to unnecessarily charge offenses with mandatory minimums and sought to undo justice reform. Marijuana: Trump and his administration took marijuana reform backwards, withdrawing guidelines to limit prosecutions of marijuana offenses that were legal under state laws. Policing: Trump has said he would instruct police officers to shoot shoplifters. As president, he inflamed tensions between the police and the communities they serve. He insisted police departments use “stop and frisk” and sought to block local police reform. His administration also reduced oversight of police departments and repeatedly proposed cutting funding for local police departments and combating illicit drug flows. Trump’s Project 2025 agenda: Pardon violent January 6th rioters while worsening racial inequity in the justice system, prosecute his political opponents, and criminalize abortion. The following is a statement from Biden-Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer: “On criminal justice, the contrast couldn’t be clearer: while Trump talks about pardoning January 6th rioters and celebrating violence, Vice President Harris and President Biden are giving a second chance to people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses.” ### Paid for by Biden for President Judge Schedules Oral Arguments In Marijuana Companies’ Lawsuit Challenging Federal Prohibition The post Biden Campaign Says Trump ‘Took Marijuana Reform Backwards’ By Rescinding Enforcement Memo, Despite Current Admin Failing To Reinstate It appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Activists will need to collect 15,582 valid signatures from registered voters to qualify the initiative. By North Dakota Monitor North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe (R) on Thursday approved a petition for circulation that seeks to put a measure to legalize cannabis on the election ballot. The proposal, if passed, would make it legal for those ages 21 and older to produce, process, sell and use cannabis. It also would appoint a state body to regulate cannabis-related businesses in North Dakota. In order to make it on a ballot, the petition’s backers will have to collect at least 15,582 valid signatures by April 25, 2025, according to a Thursday announcement by the Secretary of State’s Office. If the signatures are turned in by July 8 of this year, the measure will be up for a vote in the general election in November. If the circulators don’t make that deadline but still submit the signatures by April 25, 2025, then the measure will be on the ballot for the next statewide election, which is expected to take place in 2026. A job ad posted to Indeed says supporters of the measure are hiring North Dakota residents to circulate petitions in Bismarck, Dickinson, Devils Lake, Fargo, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Minot and Williston. North Dakota voters rejected a statewide measure to legalize marijuana in 2022, with 55 percent of voters opposing the measure. A similar ballot measure failed in 2018 by an even wider margin. Marijuana for medical use is legal in North Dakota. This story was first published by North Dakota Monitor. New Hampshire Senate President Wants Changes To Marijuana Legalization Bill Passed By House Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images. Pennsylvania Lawmakers Press Liquor Regulator About State’s Ability To Run Marijuana Shops During Joint Legalization Hearing The post North Dakota Secretary Of State Approves Marijuana Legalization Ballot Measure For Signature Collection appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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A New Hampshire marijuana legalization bill already passed by the House of Representatives landed in a Senate committee on Thursday, where opponents of the current version—including Sen. Daryl Abbas (R) and Senate President Jeb Bradley (R)—unveiled amendments that would revise major portions of the proposal. The panel also heard three other cannabis-related measures, including a proposal to double the amount that medical patients can possess as well as a plan to provide legal relief for people with past marijuana convictions. Despite the eagerness of some on the Senate Judiciary Committee to make adjustments to the legalization bill, its sponsor, Rep. Erica Layon (R), warned the panel that senators shouldn’t assume that House lawmakers will sign off on any proposed changes, including plans to jail people for public consumption of marijuana. “We need to be careful that we don’t take the House’s support for granted,” Layon warned senators, saying some changes could cause House members to sour on the bill. “Given the fact that we need to agree between two bodies and also the person who signs the bill, there are a lot of constraints,” Layon said, describing the House-passed version as “a delicate tightrope walk that will get us to where we need to be with perhaps the smallest of changes.” As approved by the House earlier this month, HB 1633 would allow 15 retail stores statewide and impose a 10 percent state charge on adult-use purchases. Medical marijuana would be exempt from the tax. Retailers would be regulated through a so-called “agency store” model, with significant restrictions on marketing and advertising. Changes proposed at the hearing by Abbas—who led a state commission on legalization last year that failed at its charge of crafting legislation to legalize marijuana—would increase penalties for public consumption, making second and subsequent offenses unspecified misdemeanors. That would expose people jail time in addition to a criminal record, an outcome critics said undercut the very purpose of legalization. Other adjustments in Abbas’s amendment, which was not posted on the legislature’s website at the time of the hearing, would shift the bill’s regulatory approach to a franchise system, under which the state’s Liquor Commission would oversee the look, feel and operations of the 15 stores. Layon has previously opposed the franchise system, which was first pitched during last year’s study commission following the governor’s call for a system of state-run cannabis stores. She’s said it would expose the state to legal risk and financial liability as well as put the government in the unusual business of setting prices on marijuana. In addition to changes from Abbas, the panel also took suggestions from Bradley, the Senate president, who listed a number of revisions he wants to see to the bill after Abbas’s amendment. “As everybody knows, I don’t support this bill,” Bradley began. But “if it’s going to pass, we need to make it the best possible version of legalization that we possibly can.” The Senate president said provisions allowing noncommercial sharing should be removed. “I’m not sure why we’re allowing that. I hope you will delete that,” he told committee members. He also called for an upper limit on allowable THC levels of marijuana products, which the bill currently does not have, and proposed reducing the number of adult-use stores that each medical marijuana company—known in New Hampshire as alternative treatment centers (ATCs)—could operate, from three down to one. As for testing of cannabis products, Bradley pointed to a list of substances that are screened for on Canada’s legal market, recommending that the committee include similar provisions. “Either way,” he said, “it should be tested to make sure there is purity.” Other changes proposed by Bradley would strike rules regarding employee samples of marijuana and modify the makeup of the Cannabis Control Commission, removing one of two industry representatives and installing a representative of the attorney general’s office. “There are significant legal issues, as we all know, and there are public safety and health issues,” he said. “I think the attorney general, whoever that individual is, is the most important person for this commission.” Sen. Becky Whitley (D), a member of the Senate panel who also sat on the state legalization commission last year, asked Bradley whether incorporating the list of changes would move him in “a more positive direction” on the bill. “I’m not voting for it,” Bradley replied. “But those of us that oppose this—just as you’ve opposed a number of things—we all have an obligation to make this better. If it’s going to pass, I want to make it the best of a bad outcome that I possibly can.” Of Abbas’s amendment, Whitley asked her colleague why it lacked language protecting job applicants from discrimination in hiring on the basis of legal cannabis use. “I don’t think discrimination is the appropriate term to be used there,” Abbas said. “Cannabis use is not a protected class.” The hearing continued an ongoing back and forth between competing factions of Republicans whose visions for the cannabis legislation are at odds. On one side is Layon and a mix of bipartisan allies in the House who back legalization, and on the other is Abbas and a handful of other GOP senators who say their chief goal is to limit the negative consequences of the policy change. Also looming over the debate is Gov. Chris Sununu (R), who signaled earlier this month that he has no interest in signing the measure in the form passed by the House. The governor added, however, that he’s open to supporting the legalization bill if amendments are made in the Senate. “Governor Sununu has been crystal clear about the framework needed for a legalization bill to earn his support, focusing on harm reduction and keeping it out of kids’ hands,” his office said in a statement after the House vote. “The legislation passed today doesn’t get us there but the Governor looks forward to working with the Senate to see if we can get it done.” In an email to Marijuana Moment ahead of Thursday’s hearing, Abbas said he felt the chief sticking point on the legalization bill was how to handle public consumption. “The biggest issue that could hold this up is that many people want to permit public use or [make] public use a small fine that isn’t economically viable to enforce,” he wrote. “I am not sure why this is an issue,” he added, “because if you talk to people outside of the political bubble, people overwhelming[ly] reject the idea of public use.” Abbas did not respond to a follow-up email asking him to identify the “many people” who “want to permit public use.” During discussion of the matter at the panel hearing, he brought up the subject multiple times. “There’s no excuse to smoke cannabis in public,” he said. “I keep walking people how difficult it is to even get caught in the first place. Those who do violate the law, they’re willfully doing it. They’re going out of their way to do it. And to me that’s unacceptable.” Whitley, for her part, said one of the reasons she supports legalization is “because I don’t think people should be arrested for this conduct anymore.” Following testimony from the ACLU of New Hampshire Executive Director Devon Chaffee in support of the House-passed version of the bill, in which Chaffee said she opposed the increased penalty, Abbas questioned her on the issue. “My understanding of why people believe we should legalize marijuana is because they do not believe that it is just that people should be going to jail for marijuana offenses,” Chaffee explained. “Having a joint in public seems like, in the scheme of things, not something that the people of New Hampshire believe somebody should go to jail for based on all of the polling that I have seen.” Abbas was undeterred: “How many times would a person have to be proven to have violated this public use law before the potential of jail time—” he began to ask. “I don’t think people should be going to jail for public smoking of marijuana, period,” Chaffee shot back. During public comment on the bill, a number of speakers turned out to warn against legalization, claiming it would increase use among young people and lead to a spike in cannabis-related psychosis and schizophrenia. Others said it would decrease quality of life in the state, with one lawmaker going so far as to claim that the first thing arrivals at the Denver International Airport smell after legalization in Colorado is people smoking marijuana in the airport. Also testifying were representatives of ATCs in the state, who said they were concerned the Senate committee amendments to the bill could put them out of business by allowing well funded, out-of-state companies to come in and take over the state market. Abbas was skeptical of those claims. “You’re saying that it doesn’t really offer a clear path to the therapeutic industry,” he said, pointing to a provision on the bill that would give advantages to applicants for retail licenses who have experience in medical marijuana. “What more would it have to say to be clear that there’s a path?” “I would point you to the last three words” of that provision, answered Matt Simon, director of public and government relations at medical marijuana provider GraniteLeaf Cannabis: “or another state.” “Prior experience of a company operating in California or Oklahoma would have, if I’m reading this correctly, the same consideration of a company that’s been serving New Hampshire for seven years,” he said. Abbas asked what Simon thought of the Constitution’s Commerce Clause and whether it prohibited out-of-state control of state-licensed cannabis businesses. “I’m not an attorney, senator,” Simon said, “but I am very familiar with cannabis laws in other states, and we would be a tremendous outlier if we did not recognize in-state experience as inherently valuable.” (Disclosure: Simon supports Marijuana Moment’s work through a monthly Patreon pledge.) Abbas also wondered why medical marijuana shouldn’t be subject to a state tax, referred to as a franchise fee in his bill. He asked Simon whether, if ATCs were allowed entry into the retail market, the businesses could simply not pass down the 10 percent added cost to patients. Simon said the costs would certainly be passed down to consumers. “If I’m understanding the question correctly, if we’re liable for 10 percent, or whatever it is,” he responded, “that will absolutely be passed on to consumers.” The bigger policy goal, he said, should be preserving the state’s medical marijuana market. “Why would patients register if there’s no tax-free advantage,” he asked, “or if they have to drive by three adult-use stores to get to the nearest dispensary that sells medical?” Neither the amendments from Abbas nor those proposed by Senate President Bradley were voted on at Thursday’s hearing. Committee members will have the weekend to review the legislation and are expected to take it up again next week. The Senate panel also considered three other cannabis-related bills. Among them were HB 1350, which would double the amount of medical marijuana that patients can possess; HB 1539, which would create an automatic annulment and resentencing process around cannabis criminal violations; and HB 1295, which would make adjustments to criminal violations around the unlicensed sale of medical marijuana. While there was little discussion on the medical marijuana amount limits or unlicensed sale bill, the annulments bill drew testimony from both opponents and supporters. Law enforcement and a representative of the state Attorney General’s office, for their part, said the state already has a petition-based process, with which the proposed automatic procedure would be “inconsistent.” Proponents of the bill, meanwhile, such as ACLU of New Hampshire’s Chaffee, noted that the new process is intended to be less “onerous” than what’s in place with the petition system. “The entire point of this bill,” she said, “is to create a process that is far more manageable for people who are being affected by these sort of collateral consequences that they’re facing for crimes, quite frankly, that more than just about two thirds of Granite Staters do not believe should be a crime.” As for HB 1633, the legalization bill, sponsor Layon has said she’s repeatedly reached out to the plan’s opponents in attempts to build consensus. “The bill that passed the House reflects the Governor’s guidelines as I understood them, until his last minute embrace of a franchise model,” she told Marijuana Moment after the House vote earlier this month. “I made dozens of attempts to meet with the Governor and his staff to get into the policy details, but the best meeting I achieved was a walk-and-talk with him through the halls of the Capitol.” Failure to reach agreement could threaten the legalization bill entirely despite what appears to be majority support for the policy change. In a choice between the two competing models—Layon’s agency store model versus the governor-supported franchise approach—a House subcommittee earlier this month rejected a sweeping amendment that would have replaced Layon’s plan with the franchise model. That amendment was offered by subcommittee vice chair Rep. Dan McGuire (R) despite him telling the panel he didn’t entirely agree with the proposed changes. “We are told from the governor and from our contacts in the Senate that this is what they want: the franchise model,” he said at the time. “We are also told they will not vote for the version the House passed, and we are told that they are either unwilling or incapable of making significant changes in the Senate.” Sununu’s latest comments suggest he believes the Senate can in fact make those changes. But Layon has now repeatedly warned that the adjustments backed by Senate Republicans like Abbas may not find support in the House. “There is a real danger that the House may not accept what comes back from the Senate,” Layon said earlier this month, “so I look forward to talking with my colleagues to ensure that anything we receive can pass without a Committee of Conference.” As Layon has workshopped the plan over the course of the legislative session, Abbas and others have warned that the bill will be dead on arrival in the Senate unless it includes the state-run franchise system and other restrictive provisions, such as a ban on lobbying. But despite those warnings, House lawmakers decided to stick with Layon’s approach. Rep. Chuck Grassie (D) applauded his Republican colleage at an earlier House subcommittee hearing for what what he called “a Herculean effort…to get the governor and the Senate on board.” “If the Senate has problems with passing a bill, I don’t see why we have to do their hard work here for them,” Grassie said at the time. “I think they need to debate this. They need to make up their mind on a bill, and they need to send something back to us if we want to see cannabis legalization in the state of New Hampshire.” — Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Layon has previously told Marijuana Moment that she never expected her proposal to be the only bill introduced this session to legalize marijuana. “I initially intended that this bill sort of be a counterpoint to what the special committee was going to deliver and what Sen. Abbas was going to introduce,” she said. “The fact that he didn’t introduce it and this is the only shot at legalization this year, I just really wanted to work hard in a good faith effort to get to something that I was comfortable with and that match the requirements of the governor as best I understood them.” The governor said at a recent event, meanwhile, that he thinks legalization is “inevitable” in New Hampshire, adding that policymakers have “seen the mistakes other states have made so as not to walk down that path.” “People just want the accessibility for adults, keeping it away from kids,” Sununu said. “If they can meet those rough stipulations, I would sign it, because I think that’s one of the safest systems you’re going to get.” He added that as a legalization skeptic, he’s better positioned to consider a thoughtful bill. “There’s no better person to help design a system that could be fraught with problems and risk specifically to kids than the guy that’s most scared of it,” he said. Last year Sununu said he supported a system of state-run retail stores, but lawmakers on a state study commission last year instead pivoted to the idea of a franchise system, which the governor has said he’s willing to entertain. Officials at the Liquor Commission have said it would be far less costly for private franchisees to build out a system of retail stores than to ask the Liquor Commission to take on that task itself. Lawmakers worked extensively on marijuana reform issues last session and attempted to reach a compromise to enact legalization through a multi-tiered system that would include state-controlled shops, dual licensing for existing medical cannabis dispensaries and businesses privately licensed to individuals by state agencies. The legislature ultimately hit an impasse on the complex legislation. Bicameral lawmakers also convened the state commission tasked with studying legalization and proposing a path forward last year, though the group ultimately failed to arrive at a consensus or propose final legislation. The Senate defeated a more conventional House-passed legalization bill last year, HB 639, despite its bipartisan support. Last May, the House defeated marijuana legalization language that was included in a Medicaid expansion bill. The Senate also moved to table another piece of legislation that month that would have allowed patients and designated caregivers to cultivate up to three mature plants, three immature plants and 12 seedlings for personal therapeutic use. After the Senate rejected the reform bills in 2022, the House included legalization language as an amendment to separate criminal justice-related legislation—but that was also struck down in the opposite chamber. Pennsylvania Lawmakers Press Liquor Regulator About State’s Ability To Run Marijuana Shops During Joint Legalization Hearing Photo courtesy of Carlos Gracia. The post New Hampshire Senate President Wants Changes To Marijuana Legalization Bill Passed By House appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

The Republican governor of Texas says that cities seeking to locally decriminalize marijuana—including one that’s set to vote on the reform next week—don’t have the authority to “override” state law. Three months after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sued five cities over voter-approved cannabis decriminalization policies, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) addressed the forthcoming vote in Lubbock, where the reform is on the local May 4 ballot. The governor told KAMC that his concern was “bigger” than the question of decriminalization itself and was more a matter of localities superseding state laws. “Local communities such as towns, cities and counties, they don’t have the authority to override state law,” Abbott said. “If they want to see a different law passed, they need to work with their legislators. Let’s legislate to work to make sure that the state, as a state, will pass some of the law.” The governor has previously said that he doesn’t believe people should be in jail over marijuana possession—although he mistakenly suggested that Texas had already enacted a decriminalization policy to that end. In the new interview this week, Abbott said it would lead to “chaos” for voters in individual cities to be “picking and choosing” the laws they want abide by under state statute. “It’s an unworkable system,” he said. Early voting on the Lubbock measure began on Monday, April 22 and goes through Tuesday, April 30—with Election Day coming on the following Saturday. Paxton, the state attorney general, used more inflammatory rhetoric when his office announced that it was suing five cities over local laws decriminalizing marijuana that voters approved, vowing to overrule the “anarchy” of “pro-crime extremists” who advocated for the reform. He filed lawsuits against the cities of Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Denton. The litigation is still pending, but advocates in Lubbock are moving ahead with their local reform effort nonetheless. Adam Hernandez, the Lubbock decriminalization campaign director who is also running to become the city’s next mayor, told Marijuana Moment on Thursday that he feels the attorney general’s lawsuits have actually “energized people” to vote in favor of the reform proposal. “I don’t know that it’s been working the way that they would like it to work,” he said. “They’ve been getting a lot of pushback from the community—people calling out a lot of the misinformation that’s been going around.” Hernandez added that “we’re not really concerned” about the threat of a lawsuit coming down on Lubbock if the cannabis measure passes, and he pointed out that there’s also a clause in the measure that says, in the event that decriminalization is voided by the state, it would still become the city’s lowest law enforcement priority. Last December, lawmakers in Lubbock officially approved a resolution to put the local decriminalization initiative on the ballot after declining to enact on the reform legislatively. Meanwhile, activists with Ground Game Texas and Texas Cannabis Collective have been collecting signatures to place local marijuana decriminalization initiatives on the November ballot in two more cities: Dallas and Lockhart. In general, the measures that have already been enacted in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Harker Heights, Killeen and San Marcos prevent police from making arrests or issuing citations for Class A or B misdemeanor cannabis possession offenses, unless it’s part of a high priority felony investigation for narcotics or violent crime. Harker Heights wasn’t targeted in the lawsuit, which is likely related to the city’s refusal to implement the voter-approved policy change, which prompted Ground Game to file suit against officials last December. Shortly after voters in Harker Heights approved their measure, the city council overturned the ordinance over concerns that it conflicted with state law. But activists collected signatures for another initiative and successfully repealed the repeal last May—though officials have still refused to move forward with implementing the will of voters. In November, Ground Game released a report that looked at the impacts of the marijuana reform laws. It found that the measures will keep hundreds of people out of jail, even as they have led to blowback from law enforcement in some cities. The initiatives have also driven voter turnout by being on the ballot, the report said. Another cannabis decriminalization measure that went before voters in San Antonio last May was overwhelmingly defeated, but that proposal also included unrelated provisions to prevent enforcement of abortion restrictions. Advocates have faced other issues in certain jurisdictions where voters approved decriminalization. The Killeen City Council temporarily paused implementation of its local voter-approved ordinance, arguing that there were legal concerns that lawmakers needed to sort through before giving it their approval, which they eventually did. But last April, Bell County filed a lawsuit challenging the policy. At the state-level last year, the Texas House of Representatives passed a series of bills to decriminalize marijuana, facilitate expungements and allow chronic pain patients to access medical cannabis as an opioid alternative. But they ultimately stalled out in the Senate, which has been a theme for cannabis reform measures in the conservative legislature over several sessions. The House passed similar cannabis decriminalization proposals during the past two legislative sessions, in 2021 and 2019. Separately, a Texas Democratic senator brought the issue of marijuana legalization to the Senate floor last May, seeking to attach to an unrelated resolution an amendment that would’ve allowed Texans to vote on ending prohibition at the ballot box. But the symbolic proposal was ultimately shut down. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) agreed to another member’s point of order, deeming the cannabis amendment not germane to the broader legislation. Nearly three in four Texas voters (72 percent) support decriminalizing marijuana, according to a University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll in 2022. More than half (55 percent), meanwhile, said they’re in favor of broader legalization. Seventeen percent said it shouldn’t be legal at all. Last March, the same institution similarly showed that a majority of Texas voters feel that the state’s marijuana laws should be “less strict.” VP Kamala Harris Highlights Marijuana Pardons At Another White House Event With Presidential Clemency Recipients Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan. The post Texas Governor Condemns Local Marijuana Decriminalization Efforts As Lubbock Voters Decide On Reform At The Ballot appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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VP Harris on marijuana; SAFE Banking push; Industry case gets court hearing; HI gov’s cannabis plan; LA legalization vote; PA hearing; MO psilocybin Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day. Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible… Hold on, just one second before you read today’s news. Have you thought about giving some financial support to Marijuana Moment? If so, today would be a great day to contribute. We’re planning our reporting for the coming months and it would really help to know what kind of support we can count on. Check us out on Patreon and sign up to give $25/month today: https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment / TOP THINGS TO KNOW Twenty-one Democratic House and Senate members sent a letter urging the Drug Enforcement Administration to “promptly remove marijuana from Schedule I” even though the agency may be “navigating internal disagreement” on the issue. Notably, the lawmakers’ letter cites a previously unreported recent response from DEA in which the agency indicated that its marijuana review will include “opportunity for a public comment period and a hearing.” House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) said “now is the time” to pass a marijuana banking bill despite “concerns” from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has bragged about blocking the reform in the past. Vice President Kamala Harris again touted President Joe Biden’s marijuana pardons at another White House event with people who received clemency for drug convictions. “I just don’t think people should have to go to jail for smoking weed.” A judge scheduled oral arguments in a case from cannabis companies that are suing to block federal enforcement against their in-state activities. The plaintiffs requested the hearing to consider new DOJ claims that broad prohibition is justified as a way to regulate “marijuana tourism.” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) announced a plan to vastly expand medical cannabis access by letting doctors recommend it to patients for any condition they see fit—a move that comes after a recreational marijuana legalization bill failed in the legislature. The Louisiana House Health and Welfare Committee unanimously approved a bill to create a regulatory framework for marijuana legalization, the first measure in a three-part plan to end cannabis prohibition in the state. The Pennsylvania House Health Committee and Liquor Control Committee held a joint hearing on marijuana legalization—with multiple lawmakers pressing the state’s top alcohol regulator on whether officials could handle selling cannabis in state-run stores. The Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee gutted a House-passed provision to support research on psilocybin as a treatment for opioid use disorder with $10 million in funds from settlements of lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies. The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board is considering changes to marijuana social equity business licensing rules. / FEDERAL Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) tweeted, “I introduced a bill to help expunge or seal low-level marijuana convictions in states like Nevada where it has been legalized or decriminalized. I’ll continue supporting commonsense cannabis reform at the federal level.” / STATES An Idaho attorney general’s office official noted during U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in case about state abortion restrictions that many states adopt differing approaches on marijuana and other issues. A North Carolina senator who previously supported a medical cannabis bill said he will no longer be in favor of it without improvements. Florida regulators are withdrawing rules on hemp extracts for human consumption. Missouri’s cannabis chief equity officer is stepping down. An Oklahoma Department of Agriculture official spoke about the many uses of hemp. The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports is offering a cannabis toolkit for parents. Oregon regulators published an overview of the medical cannabis program. Colorado regulators will host a psychedelics rulemaking work group meeting on Wednesday. — Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — / INTERNATIONAL The German government is reportedly circulating a draft bill to tighten rules for cannabis associations. Canadian regulators announced a recall of marijuana products that did not meet microbial contaminant limits for yeast, mold and bacteria. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A study found that “pure CBD drug Epidiolex demonstrates effective analgesia against acute toothache.” A study of mice found that “CBD facilitates cocaine extinction memory and reverses persistent cocaine-induced changes to gut microbe diversity” and also “increases the abundance of gut microbes which have anti-inflammatory properties.” / ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is circulating a petition in support of congressional legislation aimed at encouraging veterans-focused research on medical cannabis. The Wall Street Journal editorial board is cheering New York officials’ moves to crack down on unlicensed marijuana sales but remains generally critical of the state’s legalization law. / BUSINESS Cannatrol received approval of two European patents for cannabis curing, drying and aging/storage technology. 4Front Ventures Corp. announced that it authorized the issuance of certain securities in consideration for services provided by consultants, directors and officers. Arkansas dispensaries sold more than $2.1 million worth of medical cannabis products on 4/20. Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox. Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images. The post Lawmakers push DEA to act on cannabis (Newsletter: April 26, 2024) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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Vice President Kamala Harris again promoted the administration’s marijuana pardons at a White House event on Thursday, reiterating that she doesn’t believe “people should have to go to jail for smoking weed.” At a roundtable event alongside Kim Kardashian and four people who received presidential pardons for drug-related convictions on Wednesday, Harris said the administration remains committed to exercising its clemency authority, which has included President Joe Biden’s pardon proclamations for federal cannabis offenses. “We have issued—as an administration with President Biden’s leadership—more pardons and commutations than any recent administration at this point in their term,” she said. “For example, on marijuana: We have pardoned all people for federal convictions for simple marijuana possession.” “Many of you have heard me say, I just don’t think people should have to go to jail for smoking weed. And these pardons have been issued as an extension of that approach,” the vice president said. The event, which coincides with Second Chance Month, comes a month after Harris hosted marijuana pardon recipients at the White House for a separate roundtable discussion focused on their experiences receiving clemency and obtaining Justice Department certifications formally documenting the relief. At that event, Harris pressed the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to reschedule cannabis “as quickly as possible” in accordance with the recommendation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She also late said during a closed-door portion of the roundtable that “we need to legalize marijuana.” Also on Thursday, the White House separately touted Biden’s cannabis actions in a fact sheet about Second Chance Month, saying the administration is “addressing a failed approach to marijuana. “Sending people to prison for marijuana possession has upended too many lives for conduct that is now legal in many states,” it says. “Following his October 2022 pardon of prior federal and D.C. offenses of simple possession of marijuana, in December 2023, the President issued a Proclamation that pardoned additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law, as well certain violations under the Code of Federal Regulations involving simple marijuana,” the fact sheet says. “These full, categorical pardons lift barriers to housing, employment, and educational opportunities for thousands of people.” As the election approaches, it’s become clear that the Biden-Harris administration understands the popularity of cannabis reform and is willing to lean into the issue. On the cannabis holiday 4/20 last Saturday, for example, both Biden and Harris promoted marijuana policy reform in social media posts at exactly 4:20pm ET. Advocates have been encouraged to see the administration continue to grant and promote clemency for people criminalized over drugs, but the latest round highlighted by Harris on Thursday also came as a reminder that thousands of people remain incarcerated over federal marijuana offenses. Last month, 36 members of Congress implored Biden to grant clemency to all Americans currently in federal prison over non-violent cannabis convictions by commuting their sentences, pointing out that the pardons he’s issued to date for simple possession cases did not release a single person from incarceration. Biden has strongly indicated that he’s uninterested in expanding his marijuana clemency efforts beyond people who’ve faced convictions for use or simple possession, however. At a campaign stop in Wisconsin last month, for example, he said that “if you’re out selling it, if you’re out growing, it’s a different deal.” Meanwhile, the president also discussed the marijuana actions in a historic context last month, during his State of the Union address. Earlier this month, Biden, Harris and a top Justice Department official all marked “Second Chance Month” by separately touting the administration’s mass marijuana pardons—another acknowledgement from the White House that cannabis reform is a focus heading into the November election. Judge Schedules Oral Arguments In Marijuana Companies’ Lawsuit Challenging Federal Prohibition The post VP Kamala Harris Highlights Marijuana Pardons At Another White House Event With Presidential Clemency Recipients appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Two Pennsylvania legislative panels held a joint hearing to discuss marijuana legalization on Thursday, with multiple lawmakers asking the state’s top liquor regulator about the prospect of having that agency run cannabis shops. Members of the House Health Committee and Liquor Control Committee heard testimony from a series of experts who also discussed issues such as impaired driving, workplace drug policies and the need for product testing in a legal market. Rep. Dan Frankel (D), chair of the Health Committee, has previously raised the possibility of pursuing legalization through a state-run model similar to the one Pennsylvania currently has for alcohol. Several lawmakers took the opportunity to ask Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) Executive Director Rodrigo Diaz about that concept at this latest hearing. He was asked about the capacity of PLCB being able to manage enhanced ID checks, security, tax collection product approvals and more. Diaz signaled that the board would find a way to address the various concerns, but he stressed that “we don’t advocate—we will do what you tell us.” “What we’re asking you though is to be cognizant of these issues that you’re raising and address them so that we’re not just making it up,” he said, adding that regulators want “clear guidance as to how you want us to address those kinds of issues.” Frankel also said at the hearing that the panel has “wrestled with” how to navigate the workplace safety issue and ensuring that any future policies “create an environment where people are safe and not wrongly accused of being impaired.” Another witness, Ryan Vandrey, who is a professor of behavioral pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University, walked the committee through alternatives to urine- or blood-based drug tests, including cognitive impairment tests. He also took another member’s question about how legalization could mitigate the prevalence of unregulated products in the market. “That is one of the strongest arguments for broader legalization of regulated cannabis products, because there’s been a proliferation of unregulated cannabinoid products that are essentially the same and, in some cases, even stronger or more impairing than delta-9 THC,” he said. “I don’t think they entirely go away and they’ll still exist as a market, but the market would be much smaller,” Vandrey said. “Research has showed that that’s happened—that those products are much less available and less likely to be used in states where adult-use cannabis has been legalized.” Frankel said in closing remarks that the hearing “helped educate us in a very meaningful way, and we are taking this seriously as we develop a piece of legislation to look at adult-use.” This was the latest in a series of legalization hearings in the Keystone State, though normally they are convened by the House Health Subcommittee on Health Care. About two weeks ago, members of that panel had a conversation centered on social justice and equity considerations for reform. That took place days after Rep. Amen Brown (D) filed a marijuana legalization bill that he described as “grounded in safety and social equity.” At a prior meeting last month, members focused on criminal justice implications of prohibition and the potential benefits of reform. At another hearing in February, members looked at the industry perspective, with multiple stakeholders from cannabis growing, dispensing and testing businesses, as well as clinical registrants, testifying. At the subcommittee’s previous cannabis meeting in December, members heard testimony and asked questions about various elements of marijuana oversight, including promoting social equity and business opportunities, laboratory testing and public versus private operation of a state-legal cannabis industry. And during the panel’s first meeting late last year, Frankel said that state-run stores are “certainly an option” he’s considering for Pennsylvania, similar to what New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) recommended for that state last year, though a state commission later shied away from that plan. Meanwhile, the cannabis proposal the Brown filed in the House this month is an identical companion to a bipartisan Senate cannabis legalization measure that was introduced last year. — Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — While Pennsylvania lawmakers have put forward legalization bills in the past, it’s not clear what might serve as the vehicle for reform this year. Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) once again proposed legalization as part of his budget request in February, seeking to establish a system that would be implemented starting this summer. But while he suggested certain parameters such as having the Department of Agriculture regulate the program, there’s not legislative text yet. Last month, the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released a report that found the state stands to generate $271 million in annual revenue if marijuana is legalized and taxed according to the governor’s proposal—but it would have been more if the commonwealth hadn’t been lapped by other neighboring states that have already enacted the reform. Meanwhile, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jordan Harris (D) said in a recent interview that it’s “high time” to legalize marijuana and lay the groundwork for businesses in the state to export cannabis to other markets if federal law changes—and he sees a “real opportunity” to do so. However, the committee’s minority chairman, Rep. Seth Grove (R), said he’s doubtful that the Democratic-controlled House will be able to craft and deliver legalization legislation that could advance through the GOP majority Senate. Pennsylvania lawmakers also recently advanced a pair of bills meant to prevent police from charging medical cannabis patients with impaired driving without proof of intoxication. A Republican senator in Pennsylvania introduced a bill last week meant to remove state barriers to medical marijuana patients carrying firearms after previewing the legislation and soliciting co-sponsors earlier this year. In December, the governor signed a bill to allow all licensed medical marijuana grower-processors in the state to serve as retailers and sell their cannabis products directly to patients. Independent dispensaries could also start cultivating their own marijuana. A poll released in February found that about two-thirds of Pennsylvania voters in the state support enacting marijuana legalization. Key Congresswoman Says ‘Now Is The Time’ To Pass Marijuana Banking Bill, Despite McConnell’s ‘Concerns’ The post Pennsylvania Lawmakers Press Liquor Regulator About State’s Ability To Run Marijuana Shops During Joint Legalization Hearing appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A federal judge on Thursday agreed to schedule oral arguments in a case from major U.S. marijuana companies that are seeking to shield in-state cannabis activity from federal enforcement. The businesses have said in their lawsuit against the federal government that the prohibition of marijuana has “no rational basis,” pointing to officials’ largely hands-off approach to the recent groundswell of state-level legalization. The new order, from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts’s Western Division, comes following the companies’ request for oral argument earlier this month. The in-court arguments will be held on May 22 at 10:30 a.m. “The case presents multiple constitutional questions and concerns matters of great importance both in the Commonwealth and nationwide,” the cannabis companies said in their request for the court to schedule the meeting. “Oral argument will allow for a meaningful review of these issues.” The suit against the federal government—Canna Provisions v. Garland—is being led by multi-state operator Verano Holdings Corp. and the Massachusetts-based cannabis businesses Canna Provisions and Wiseacre Farm, along with Treevit CEO Gyasi Sellers. Plaintiffs are represented by the law firms Boies Schiller and Flexner LLP and Lesser, Newman, Aleo and Nasser LLP. Litigator David Boies—whose list of prior clients includes the Justice Department, former Vice President Al Gore and plaintiffs in the case that led to the invalidation of California’s ban on same-sex marriage—is leading the suit. Boies said in a letter this month to Judge Mark G. Mastroianni, an Obama appointee, that oral arguments “would be particularly useful for addressing points raised for the first time in Defendant’s reply brief, including whether the Controlled Substances Act’s (CSA) bar on intrastate marijuana can be upheld as an attempt to regulate ‘”marijuana tourism.’” An earlier statement from the Department of Justice (DOJ) said the government “takes no position on the request for oral argument.” At issue in the case is the degree to which in-state cannabis activity affects interstate commerce, with the government arguing that cannabis legalization attracts out-of-state tourists. DOJ argued in a filing earlier this month that “it is rational to conclude that the regulated marijuana industry in Massachusetts fuels a different kind of marijuana-related interstate commerce: marijuana tourism.” “As the Supreme Court held decades ago, Congress has the authority to regulate businesses that cater to tourists from out of state, even if the businesses’ transactions occur wholly in-state,” DOJ said in the brief. Plaintiffs, meanwhile, contend the Constitution’s Commerce Clause should preclude DOJ from interfering in state-legal activity because it is regulated within a state’s borders. The case is unfolding against the backdrop of a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) review into marijuana scheduling under the CSA. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III. And while the Biden administration has maintained that people should not be criminalized over possession or use of marijuana, DOJ has continued to fight reform efforts in courts, including this current case on broad prohibition, as well as litigation challenging the ban on cannabis consumers’ gun rights. Key Congresswoman Says ‘Now Is The Time’ To Pass Marijuana Banking Bill, Despite McConnell’s ‘Concerns’ Photo elements courtesy of rawpixel and Philip Steffan. The post Judge Schedules Oral Arguments In Marijuana Companies’ Lawsuit Challenging Federal Prohibition appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

“Only 73 of the applicants (nearly 500 applicants in all) participated in the survey and these are proposed changes that have not been finalized.” By Carleen Johnson, The Center Square The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) is amending rules for diversity ownership when it comes to pot shops. The idea is to encourage minority ownership and to remove barriers to licensing, including criminal history related to drug use or incarceration. That starts with changing the rubric used to determine scoring for social equity applicants seeking licenses to own and operate marijuana retail shops. The Cannabis Social Equity Program was born out of a 2020 state law sponsored by former Seattle Democratic Rep. Eric Pettigrew. During a February 2020 public hearing, Pettigrew told members of the House Commerce and Gaming Committee that the measure could potentially lead to a different distribution of wealth. “Marijuana for years has incarcerated a number of people disproportionally because they were distributing this product and now that it’s legal, suddenly it is out of reach for them to actually legally distribute it and benefit from that,” said Pettigrew, who was appointed in 2023 by Gov. Jay Inslee (D) to be the director of the Washington State Lottery Commission. On Wednesday, members of WSLCB were briefed on suggested changes to the rubric that scores minority license applicants, with the highest scores moving to the front of the line for approval. Among the changes they plan to make is amending language about marijuana convictions, to consider convictions for all drugs. The rubric was implemented as a scoring tool to prioritize those most impacted by the war on drugs. Revisions for the next round of social equity applicants are based on feedback from applicants in the first round. “Only 73 of the applicants (nearly 500 applicants in all) participated in the survey and these are proposed changes that have not been finalized,” said Aaron Washington, program manager for social equity in cannabis. Slides showing proposed changes to the scoring rubric indicate WSLCB would now give 60 points for any applicant convicted of a drug offense, not just cannabis, but any drug. It would give 30 points for an applicant who has a family member convicted of a drug offense. Two categories from the current rubric would be deleted. Those concern a family member having been incarcerated and the inability to rent or purchase a home because of prior convictions. “Applicants expressed it was hard or impossible to get documents to support the category,” said Washington. The changes would also add 15 points for an applicant who previously met qualifications but did not receive a license. The Liquor and Cannabis Board also heard an update on recently passed legislation related to medical cannabis. Daniel Jacobs, policy and rules coordinator for WSLCB, told members marijuana retailers will now have to post signage about hours when medical marijuana patients or those seeking a medical marijuana endorsement can meet with a consultant. “Whenever a store posts their hours, they have to also post their cannabis consultant hours. The current situation that we’ve heard from people is they don’t know when a consultant is available. We are proposing that stores can either say these are the hours a consultant is available or this is the window an appointment is available by,” said Jacobs. In the state of Washington, getting a medical marijuana card requires a doctor’s approval for a number of different ailments or conditions and then an endorsement card from a medically endorsed marijuana retailer. According to the Washington Department of Health (DOH), more than 128,000 people have been issued a medical marijuana endorsement in this state. The state allows both medical and adult-use dispensaries to be located within its borders. Of all licensed cannabis retailers, 43 percent hold a medical endorsement, according to DOH. The WSLCB has upcoming meetings regarding the pending rule changes. This story was first published by The Center Square. Teen Marijuana Use Has Declined In Washington Since Legalization, New State Research Shows The post Washington State Marijuana Regulators Weigh Adjustment To Social Equity Licensing Program appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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A top Democratic congresswoman says that “now is the time” to pass marijuana banking reform, and she’s “hopeful” lawmakers will “overcome” any potential challenge from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as they work to advance the legislation. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, was asked about possible vehicles for the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday. The congresswoman said she’s been “working very well together” with Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) over the last two years to develop a separate cryptocurrency regulations bill that some lawmakers have discussed merging with the marijuana banking measure. Waters also acknowledged discussions about attaching the cannabis banking and stablecoin proposals to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill. “Now is the time, and I want you to know that those of us who have worked with [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)], we want very much to have SAFER Banking,” she said. “I know that there may be some concerns with McConnell, but I am hopeful that we can overcome that because you’re absolutely right, we’ve got to have SAFER Banking, and most of us who have been working on this support that.” Watch Waters discuss the SAFER Banking Act, starting around 15:30 into the video below:  McConnell has long opposed marijuana reform efforts, including earlier versions of the cannabis banking bill. In late 2022, Schumer specifically blamed the minority leader for tanking the legislation when supporters were considering putting it in a large-scale defense bill. And McConnell later bragged about the defeat. But he hasn’t publicly weighed in on the revised SAFER Banking Act, even as it moved through the Senate Banking Committee last September. And it’s unclear how much influence his opposition would carry if Schumer does put it on the floor. On Tuesday, Schumer once again included the bipartisan marijuana banking bill in a list of legislative priorities he hopes to advance this year. Since the Senate recently approved must-pass appropriations legislation and foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, there are heightened expectations that floor action could be on the horizon. Adding to those expectations is the recent introduction of a bill to incentivize expungements for past cannabis offenses at the state, local and tribal levels. Schumer has made clear he intends to attach that measure to the banking legislation on the floor. Schumer also recently asked people to show their support for the SAFER Banking Act by signing a petition as he steps up his push for the legislation. A poll released last month by the American Bankers Association (ABA) shows that roughly three out of five Americans support allowing marijuana industry access to the banking system. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said that that “if Republicans want to keep the House,” they should pass the marijuana banking bill, arguing that “there are votes” to approve it. Schumer told Marijuana Moment last month that the bill remains a “very high priority” for the Senate, and members are having “very productive” bicameral talks to reach a final agreement. — Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) also said last month that passing the SAFER Banking Act off the floor is a “high priority.” However, he also recently said in a separate interview that advancing the legislation is complicated by current House dynamics. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) separately said during a recent American Bankers Association (ABA) summit that he wants to see the SAFER Banking Act move. He said that, “for whatever reason, the federal government has been slow” to act on the incremental reform that he supports even though he doesn’t identify as “a marijuana guy.” One key factor that’s kept the bill from the Senate floor is disagreement over mostly non-cannabis provisions dealing with broader banking regulations, primarily those contained in Section 10 of the legislation. Bicameral negotiations have been ongoing, however, and recent reporting suggests that a final deal could be just over the horizon. The Democratic Senate sponsor of the SAFER Banking Act, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), told Marijuana Moment last month that the legislation is “gaining momentum” as lawmakers work to bring it to the floor and pass it “this year.” Rep. Earl Blumenauer, founding co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, told Marijuana Moment last week that, “every day we’re closer on SAFE Banking, and negotiations “are ongoing in the House and Senate, and we are, in fact, making progress.” At the close of the first half of the 118th Congress in December, Schumer said in a floor speech that lawmakers would “hit the ground running” in 2024, aiming to build on bipartisan progress on several key issues, including marijuana banking reform—though he noted it “won’t be easy.” Congressional Lawmakers Demand DEA ‘Promptly’ Reschedule Marijuana, Regardless Of ‘Internal Disagreement’ At The Agency Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images. The post Key Congresswoman Says ‘Now Is The Time’ To Pass Marijuana Banking Bill, Despite McConnell’s ‘Concerns’ appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A Missouri Senate committee on Wednesday stripped a proposal from a House-passed budget bill that would have funneled $10 million in state opioid settlement money to research psilocybin. An earlier version of the Republican-led proposal would have instead put the money toward the study of ibogaine as a treatment for opioid use disorder, but a House floor amendment earlier this month switched the focus to psilocybin. After the latest changes in the Senate Appropriations Committee, the budget would allocate no money to psychedelics research of any kind. Separate Missouri legislation that would legalize the use of medical psilocybin by military veterans and fund future studies exploring the therapeutic potential of the psychedelic, however, is still advancing through the House and Senate. Money for the budget bill’s now-removed psychedelic research provisions would have come from state opioid settlement funds, the result of multiple lawsuits filed against the opioid industry and peripheral businesses. In the coming decades, Missouri is set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in opioid-related settlement funds. Psychedelic medicine proponents have been working to encourage states to use those millions to fund further research into ibogaine and other entheogens. A similar plan to use $42 million from Kentucky’s opioid settlement fund for ibogaine research, for instance, ultimately fell through last year after the state’s new attorney general replaced then-Kentucky Opioid Commission Chairman Bryan Hubbard, who was spearheading the ibogaine initiative, with a former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official. Hubbard and others have since shifted attention to other states, including Missouri and Ohio. The new changes to the Missouri budget bill, HB 2010, sponsored by Rep. Cody Smith (R), were made Wednesday in the Senate Appropriations Committee. The earlier short-lived addition of ibogaine, meanwhile, was the doing of Rep. Chad Perkins (R), a longtime police officer. Smith, who also brought the subsequent amendment that replaced ibogaine with psilocybin, previously explained that the ibogaine proposal was nixed as the result of a conversation he had with the state Department of Mental Health. “They had concerns about the ibogaine research they had read, and there are concerns about the dangers involved in that research,” Smith said. “However, they are interested in the psilocybin piece. And we’ve seen many other states use their opioid settlement funds to that end.” At the time, Perkins said he was “not disappointed” with the change. “I believe that bringing more exposure to the benefits of psychedelics has been an ancillary effect of the pursuit of this budget item,” he told Marijuana Moment. “This issue will hopefully raise the profile of psychedelics and provide a foundation on which we can base future policy decisions.” It wasn’t immediately clear why the psilocybin provision was taken out by the Senate committee, as they did not discuss the changes in detail at Wednesday’s hearing. Neither Smith nor Perkins responded immediately to emails from Marijuana Moment about the removal of the psilocybin provision by the Senate panel. Eapen Thampy, a lobbyist and founder of the group Psychedelic Missouri, said the brief additions of psychedelic research provisions to the state budget nevertheless marked progress. “Psychedelic advocates have achieved significant accomplishments this year, getting psilocybin legislation through committees in the Missouri House and Senate, and getting the House to approve a groundbreaking budget allocation for clinical research,” he told Marijuana Moment in a statement. “We look forward to building the momentum it will take to get these proposals across the finish line this campaign season.” It’s not yet clear whether the psychedelic research provision might be reinserted in a bicameral conference committee, Thampy said. Lawmakers in a growing number of other states have also considered psychedelics legislation this session, with many focusing on psilocybin. For example, the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates have both passed legislation to create a psychedelics task force responsible for studying possible regulatory frameworks for therapeutic access to substances such as psilocybin, mescaline and DMT, sending the proposal to Gov Wes Moore (D). It would be charged specifically with ensuring “broad, equitable and affordable access to psychedelic substances” in the state. Vermont’s Senate also recently passed a measure that would establish a working group to study whether and how to allow therapeutic access to psychedelics in the state. If the bill is enacted, a report from the working group would be due to the legislature in November with recommendations on how to regulate the substances. The Indiana governor recently signed a bill that includes provisions to fund clinical research trials into psilocybin. Utah’s governor allowed a bill to authorize a pilot program for hospitals to administer psilocybin and MDMA as an alternative treatment option to become law without his signature. Maine lawmakers sent the governor legislation to establish a commission tasked with studying and making recommendations on regulating access to psychedelic services. An Arizona House panel also approved a Senate-passed bill to legalize psilocybin service centers where people could receive the psychedelic in a medically supervised setting. A Connecticut joint legislative panel approved a bill to decriminalize possession of psilocybin. A bipartisan bill to legalize psychedelic service centers in California has cleared two Senate committees. The governor of New Mexico has endorsed a newly enacted resolution requesting that state officials research the therapeutic potential of psilocybin and explore the creation of a regulatory framework to provide access to the psychedelic. Alaska lawmakers are considering legislation to create a task for to study how to regulate access to psychedelics following federal approval. An Illinois committee also recently held a hearing to discuss a bill to legalize psilocybin and allow regulated access at service centers in the state where adults could use the psychedelic in a supervised setting—with plans to expand the program to include mescaline, ibogaine and DMT. Lawmakers in Hawaii are also considering a bill that would provide some legal protections to patients engaging in psilocybin-assisted therapy with a medical professional’s approval. New York lawmakers also said that a bill to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy in that state has a “real chance” of passing this year. A Nevada joint legislative committee held a hearing with expert and public testimony on the therapeutic potential of substances like psilocybin in January. Law enforcement representatives also shared their concerns around legalization—but there was notable acknowledgement that some reforms should be enacted, including possible rescheduling. The governor of Massachusetts recently promoted the testimony of activists who spoke in favor of her veterans-focused bill that would, in part, create a psychedelics work group to study the therapeutic potential of substances such as psilocybin. Last month a Massachusetts joint legislative committee held a hearing to discuss an initiative that would legalize psychedelics that may appear on the November ballot if lawmakers decline to independently enact it first. As for ibogaine, a Stanford University study published earlier this year found that military combat veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) saw “dramatic” and “life-changing” improvements in their symptoms and cognitive functioning immediately after receiving treatment with the substance. In response to the increased demand for research, DEA has proposed a dramatic escalation in the production quota for ibogaine and other psychedelic compounds in 2024. Currently, there are no psychedelic drugs that are federally approved to prescribe as medicine. But that could soon change, as FDA recently agreed to review a new drug application for MDMA-assisted therapy on an expedited basis. At the start of this year, VA separately issued a request for applications to conduct in-depth research on the use of psychedelics to treat PTSD and depression. In October, the agency also launched a new podcast about the future of veteran health care, and the first episode of the series focuses on the healing potential of psychedelics. FDA also recently joined scientists at a public meeting on next steps for conducting research to develop psychedelic medicines. That came months after the agency issued historic draft guidance on psychedelics studies, providing scientists with a framework to carry out research that could lead to the development of novel medicines. Meanwhile in Congress last week, a House panel approved GOP-led bill that would instruct the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to notify Congress if any psychedelics are added to its formulary of covered prescription drugs. New York Marijuana Deal Put Private Investors Ahead Of Social Equity And Taxpayers, Investigation Finds Photo courtesy of Wikimedia/Mushroom Observer. The post Missouri Lawmakers Strip $10 Million In Psilocybin Research Funding From Budget Bill appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A coalition of 21 congressional lawmakers is telling the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to “promptly remove marijuana from Schedule I,” while recognizing that the agency may be “navigating internal disagreement” on the issue. In a letter led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and John Fetterman (D-PA), as well as Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Barbara Lee (D-CA), members told DEA Administrator Anne Milgram and Attorney General Merrick Garland that it’s been eight months since the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended that DEA move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)—and it’s “time for [DEA] to act.” They added that the current Schedule I status of marijuana “produces a cascade of severe penalties for marijuana users and businesses, including for criminal records, immigration statuses, employment, taxation, health care, public housing, social services, and more.” Citing prior letters, the lawmakers—including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)—reiterated that while a Schedule III reclassification would be a “meaningful improvement, the only way to remedy the most concerning consequences of marijuana prohibition is to deschedule marijuana altogether.” “The DEA now has the power to determine whether it will continue the failed approach of keeping marijuana in Schedule I,” the letter says. “Although some at the DEA have indicated that the agency’s review of an HHS scheduling recommendation often takes up to six months, almost eight months have now passed since the DEA received HHS’s recommendation,” they said. “While we understand that the DEA may be navigating internal disagreement on this matter, it is critical that the agency swiftly correct marijuana’s misguided placement in Schedule I.” That point references reporting in The Wall Street Journal that said DEA officials are “at odds” with the Biden administration over the scheduling review. “The longer marijuana remains scheduled in the CSA, the longer our communities face senselessly severe penalties and the longer the marijuana laws of the majority of U.S. states remain in conflict with federal law,” the letter continues. “Right now, the Administration has the opportunity to resolve more than 50 years of failed, racially discriminatory marijuana policy.” “We trust that the DEA is working as quickly as possible toward a decision on how marijuana is scheduled, as Vice President Kamala Harris recently reassured stakeholders. We are also hopeful that the DEA will not make the unprecedented choice to disagree with HHS’s medical finding that a drug does not belong in Schedule I.” The letter concludes by applauding President Joe Biden for promoting marijuana reform during his State of the Union address and saying Second Chance Month represents a “prime opportunity to finally begin remedying the harms of marijuana’s scheduling by removing marijuana from Schedule I.” “We look forward to your prompt action and appreciate your attention to this important matter,” they said. The letter, which was first reported by HuffPost, also cites a response several senators received from DEA earlier this month explaining that the agency is carrying out its duties in the cannabis review and “must follow the procedures set forth in the [CSA], including an opportunity for a public comment period and a hearing.” That’s notable, as it appears to be the first time DEA has explicitly acknowledged the likelihood of a public feedback period including a public hearing after it announces the conclusion of its review. Other signatories on the letter include Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkeley (D-OR), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Reps. Robert Garcia (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV) and more. Meanwhile, the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says there’s “no reason” for DEA to “delay” making a marijuana scheduling decision. Last month, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra defended his agency’s rescheduling recommendation during a Senate committee hearing and also told cannabis lobbyist Don Murphy that he should pay DEA a visit and “knock on their door” for answers about the timing of their decision. Read the letter to DEA on the marijuana scheduling review below: Biden Grants More Clemency For Drug Offenses, But Advocates Remain Critical About Lack Of Marijuana Commutations Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen. The post Congressional Lawmakers Demand DEA ‘Promptly’ Reschedule Marijuana, Regardless Of ‘Internal Disagreement’ At The Agency appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

Louisiana lawmakers have approved a bill to create a regulatory framework for marijuana legalization, building upon the state’s 2021 decriminalization law. Members of the House Health and Welfare Committee passed the measure from Rep. Edmond Jordan (D), with amendments, in a unanimous 10-0 vote on Wednesday. The proposal wouldn’t legalize cannabis, per se. The plan is to have the broader reform implemented in three parts: passing the regulatory measure this year and then working to advance separate bills to allow adult possession and tax marijuana sales next year. Getting the regulatory measure through the conservative legislature would represent a significant win in the state, however, and set lawmakers up to better define what their program might look like in the coming session. The legislation as revised would establish an adult-use cannabis program under the Louisiana Department of Health. There would be no caps on the number of dispensaries that regulators could approve, and a previous cap on the number of cultivators was removed as part of an amendment on Wednesday. Adults 21 and older would be able to buy up to one ounce of cannabis per day. And they could also apply for a permit to cultivate up to six plants for personal use, with a max of 12 plants per household. There would be a $75 annual fee for the home grow permit. “This is a very simple bill,” Jordan told the committee on Wednesday. “It is for the adult use of cannabis. It sets up the retail side with dispensaries and how we would do that.” Watch the committee discuss the bill, around 3:41:40 into the video below: “We can’t bury our heads in the sand and think that people aren’t going to get access to cannabis,” he said. “They’ve gotten access to it since the beginning of time and are going to continue to do that. The question is: How do we make it safe? How do we regulate it? How do we tax it? How do we make money off of it, frankly?” Kevin Caldwell, Southeast legislative manager for Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday that the regulatory bill means “citizens in Louisiana will be able to know where their representatives stand when it comes to ending prohibition.” As it stands in Louisiana, possession of up to 14 grams (or half an ounce) of marijuana is decriminalized, punishable by a $100 fine without the threat of jail time. Last year, former Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) also signed into law a measure that was designed to streamline expungements for people with first-time marijuana possession convictions. Whether current Gov. Jeff Landry (R) will be willing to sign into law any legislation moving the state toward adult-use legalization is another question. While his Democratic predecessor approved more incremental steps and acknowledged legalization as inevitable, he consistently said the state would not legalize under his tenure. — Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — Seven in 10 Louisianans support legalizing recreational marijuana possession for adults—and nine in 10 back medical cannabis legalization—according to a survey released last year. While marijuana legalization has stalled in the Louisiana legislature, there have been efforts to end prohibition and tax cannabis sales that have moved without being enacted. For example, a comprehensive legalization measure and complementary cannabis tax bill from Rep. Richard Nelson (R) advanced through committee before the tax proposal was rejected on the House floor in 2021, torpedoing the broader measure’s chances. Lawmakers have also taken several steps to reform other cannabis laws and build on the state’s medical marijuana program in recent sessions. In 2022, for example, the former governor signed a slew of marijuana reform bills, including one key measure that would expand the number of medical dispensaries that can operate in the state and another to prevent police from searching people’s homes over the smell of cannabis. Biden Grants More Clemency For Drug Offenses, But Advocates Remain Critical About Lack Of Marijuana Commutations Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer. The post Louisiana Lawmakers Approve Bill To Create Marijuana Legalization Regulatory Framework appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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Following the failure of a Hawaii bill to legalize cannabis for adults, Gov. Josh Green (D) says he has “a possible solution” to the issue: vastly expanding the state’s existing medical marijuana system to allow people to register based on any health concern rather than needing to have one of a specific list of conditions. “This would make it very available—that’s marijuana—for those who choose it in their lives,” the governor said in an interview with Hawaii News Now, “and it would still keep kids safe, which has been everyone’s priority.” At the same time, Green reiterated his support for full recreational legalization. “I think for adults who can responsibly use marijuana, it should be legal,” he said. The governor’s comments came immediately following House lawmakers’ decision to kill a Senate-passed cannabis legalization bill earlier this month. Earlier this week, the Senate also voted to scuttle a separate measure that would have expanded the state’s existing marijuana decriminalization law. “I hadn’t anticipated that,” Green said when told on-air that the legalization bill had fizzled out. And though he said House members’ vote was “their prerogative,” he also floated what he called “a possible solution on this matter.” “A lot of people do want recreational marijuana. A lot of law enforcement folks feel it’s a big danger,” the governor said. “I think probably there is a place to find a more happy medium, and that is to expand people’s capacity to get medical marijuana under any circumstance that they deem necessary with their physician.” Green likened such a policy to reproductive rights in Hawaii—saying he’s been “adamant that women be able to make their own decisions about their bodies with their healthcare provider”—and also the state’s medical assistance in dying law for terminally ill people. “They make that decision with their healthcare provider, and I think we could apply that same principle to the medical use of marijuana, which would significantly expand people’s legal use of marijuana but would still leave regulation in place regarding children.” “You’d probably see a doubling of medical marijuana use,” he speculated, “but it would be legal and safe. I have shared that idea with people in case the [legalization] bill died.” Currently Hawaii’s medical marijuana program requires patients to be diagnosed with at least one of about 10 qualifying conditions for the medical marijuana program. Green said he believes the change could be made by regulators without needing to pass a bill through the legislature. It would open eligibility to “any disease state that they felt they wanted to discuss with their physician or nurse practitioner.” “I might be able to do that through rulemaking,” he explained, “which I think would be fairly OK with the law enforcement community. I have talked to them about it.” As for the House vote on adult-use legalization, he said: “I think that we should trust adults but be mindful of the collateral concerns we have with marijuana, and that’s probably why they still aren’t there.” Green said he’d been working on the medical marijuana expansion proposal and “preparing for that kind of compromise” but waited to air the plan “because I didn’t want to disrupt the dynamic at the legislature.” “See how sensitive and careful I am?” he quipped. The change would also allow patients more privacy around the specifics of their medical histories or diagnoses, Green added. “We have seen, in many different disease states, people not wanting to get healthcare because they were afraid that they were going to be judged by society,” he said. “That was the case with HIV”—one of the current qualifying conditions—”for a long time. It’s been the case with mental illness for a very long time. And any kind of drug consumption, because some people still judge individuals who use medical marijuana under any circumstances.” Advocates said Green’s idea is one reform among many that could improve the state’s medical marijuana system. “It’s encouraging that Governor Green is committed to exploring ways that his administration can strengthen Hawaii’s overly restrictive medical cannabis statute to help facilitate greater access,” Nikos Leverenz, of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai’i and the Hawai’i Health and Harm Reduction Center, said in an email to Marijuana Moment. “Giving medical professionals the latitude to recommend medical cannabis for conditions where its use may be of benefit is an important step.” Leverenz also encouraged Green to look at other adjustments that could be accomplished administratively. “Over the course of the past half decade there have been many proposals considered by the legislature that can also benefit patients,” he said, “including delivery services, access to cuttings for home grow, and increasing the amounts that dispensaries are able to transfer to one another. These could also conceivably be done through regulatory changes.” Other changes that could benefit patients in the state, Leverenz added, include “authorization of access to dispensary-produced edibles and tinctures made by patients in facilities providing hospice care,” as is allowed in California under a 2022 law, as well as providing employment protections to medical cannabis patients. “Even non adult-use states like Arkansas, Oklahoma, and West Virginia ensure that patients are not subject to workplace discrimination,” he said. “This reform likely requires legislation, but it could be part of his administration’s legislative package next year.” As supporters and opponents of cannabis reform have pointed out, this past session has marked the furthest any marijuana legalization measure has made it through Hawaii’s legislature. The more-than-300-page cannabis bill was formally introduced in both chambers in January and was based on a legalization plan written by state Attorney General Anne Lopez (D), who was appointed by Green in December 2022. It would have allowed adults 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and up to five grams of cannabis concentrates. Ahead of a legislative deadline earlier this month, Rep. Kyle Yamashita (D), who chairs the House Finance Committee, announced that his panel would not hear the legalization measure, SB 3335. The decision effectively killed bill, which had already passed the full Senate and several House committees this session before only barely advancing in an initial House floor vote. Much of the pushback came from law enforcement and politicians who seized onto warnings about the potential harms of legalization, Rep. Gene Ward (R), for example, warned that if the bill becomes law, “homelessness is going to be catalyzed by the increase in use of marijuana.” Ward said that among unhoused people in Hawaii, “the most accessible thing to them is marijuana, even though it’s the cheap wine and the booze that they’re doing also.” Ward also noted in his floor comments that AG Lopez’s office itself has said that she does not support the reform. The attitude reflects warnings that law enforcement and some other state agencies made in testimony about the bill. Some Democratic leaders also vocally opposed the reform. Democratic Majority Whip Rep. Scot Matayoshi, for instance, said before last month’s House floor vote that he didn’t think colleagues “should vote with reservations or vote in favor of this bill just to see it move along.” “We can’t be voting on a bill that has some good parts but also has an incredible harm to our society in the form of legalizing recreational marijuana,” he said. In November, the AG’s office defended an earlier version of the legislation it put forward earlier that month after Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm said law enforcement were firmly against legalizing marijuana. David Day, a special assistant with the attorney general’s office, said at the time that the legalization measure deliberately took into account law enforcement perspectives. Advocates previously struggled under former Democratic Gov. Dave Ige, who resisted legalization in part because he said he was reluctant to pass something that conflicts with federal law. But since Green took office, activists have felt more emboldened. The current governor said in 2022 that he’d sign a bill to legalize cannabis for adults and already had ideas about how tax revenue could be utilized. Last April, Hawaii’s legislature also approved a resolution calling on the governor to create a clemency program for people with prior marijuana convictions on their records. As for other drug policy matters, lawmakers in February advanced a bill that would provide certain legal protections to patients engaging in psilocybin-assisted therapy with a medical professional’s approval. The measure would not legalize psilocybin itself but would instead create an affirmative legal defense for psilocybin use and possession in the case of doctor-approved use under the guidance of a trained facilitator. The legislature did pass two other measures that would take steps toward expunging certain marijuana-related criminal records, however. Last week the House approved HB 1595, which would create a pilot program around marijuana expungements. It cleared the chamber on a 41–9 vote, with one member excused and now proceeds to Gov. Josh Green (D), who has said he supports legalization. Senators also signed off this week on SB 2706, which would create a so-called Clean Slate Expungement Task Force charged with crafting legislation for a state-led record-clearing program. While that expungements bill does not explicitly mention cannabis, marijuana-related offenses are widely expected to be included in the would-be task force’s discussions. The new body would include state officials—including the attorney general, chief justice, public defender and various prosecutors—as well as representatives from various advocacy groups, including ACLU, LPP, the Hawaii Innocence Project and others. The governor can sign the bills, veto them or allow them to become law without his signature. ‘No Evidence’ That Marijuana Legalization For Adults Increases Youth Cannabis Use, New Research Published By American Medical Association Finds The post Hawaii Governor Floats Plan To Allow Medical Marijuana For Any Condition After Recreational Legalization Bill Fails appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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Schumer on SAFE Banking; Fed ayahuasca settlement; Biden clemency; Top DARE officer on medical marijuana; DE cannabis banking vote; MA sales Subscribe to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day. Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible… Your good deed for the day: donate to an independent publisher like Marijuana Moment and ensure that as many voters as possible have access to the most in-depth cannabis reporting out there. Support our work at https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment / TOP THINGS TO KNOW Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said senators will “do our best” to pass a marijuana banking bill “in a bipartisan way.” “We’ve got a lot to do. And if we can work in a bipartisan way, we will.” Federal agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration and Customs and Border Protection reached a settlement with an Arizona-based church that will allow members to import and use the psychedelic brew ayahuasca as a religious sacrament. President Joe Biden granted clemency to 16 people with drug convictions, but marijuana reform advocates are pointing out that he still hasn’t released anyone from federal prison for cannabis offenses. The Delaware Senate Health & Social Services Committee approved a House-passed marijuana banking bill that aims to provide state-level protections while federal legislation on the issue is pending. A D.A.R.E. officer of the year spoke about how his brother-in-law used medical cannabis to treat pain while suffering from cancer. Meanwhile, the anti-drug group’s president discussed the “reality” of the CIA’s involvement in cocaine trafficking. A new study published by the American Medical Association found “no evidence” that legalizing marijuana is “associated with encouraging youth marijuana use.” Legalization “was not associated with current marijuana use or frequent marijuana use,” the authors wrote, “After legalization, there was no evidence of an increase in marijuana use.” The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission announced that retailers in the state have now sold more than $6 billion worth of legal recreational marijuana products since the market launched—with a new one-day record being set on 4/20. New York’s marijuana business financing plan is based on a “lopsided deal that undermines its commitment to social equity goals while guaranteeing substantial returns” for a private equity firm, a media investigation found. Georgia lawmakers sent Gov. Brian Kemp (R) a bill to regulate hemp-derived products, including CBD and delta-8 edibles and drinks. New Jersey lawmakers and marijuana activists are pushing to legalize home cultivation, which remains a felony more than two years since the launch of the state’s recreational cannabis market. / FEDERAL The National Institutes of Health published an article that discusses the use of psychedelics to treat depression. The Library of Congress noted a recent court ruling in the Netherlands that a defendant bank must offer a cannabis coffee shop owner an account and cannot categorically exclude that category of business from services. / STATES Oklahoma’s attorney general celebrated the Senate’s passage of a bill to let police arrest and incarcerate undocumented immigrants, which he said will help combat the state’s “numerous illegal marijuana grow operations.” A North Carolina senator spoke about his new campaign ad that spotlights his support for marijuana legalization. Washington State regulators took actions on rules concerning medical cannabis endorsements for retailers and marijuana excise taxes. Maine regulators issued guidance on marijuana product universal symbols and manufacturing facility registration certificates. New Jersey State Police officers intervened in a protest at which activists planted marijuana at the State House. The Massachusetts Cannabis Social Equity Advisory Board will meet on Friday. Colorado officials will host a marijuana social equity vendor day on Friday. — Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — / LOCAL Oakland, California officials are launching a cannabis internship and training program. / INTERNATIONAL Canadian officials published an overview of cannabis consumption data. Separately, Manitoba’s government is reportedly moving to end the province’s ban on marijuana home cultivation. / SCIENCE & HEALTH A study found that “cannabidiol suppresses proliferation and induces cell death, autophagy and senescence in human cholangiocarcinoma cells.” A study found that “C. sativa as a phytogenic additive to animal feed has a favourable antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effect in the production of broiler chickens.” / ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS The Kentucky Association of Counties posted resources about medical cannabis. / BUSINESS Cresco Labs workers in Fall River, Massachusetts voted to de-unionize. Canadian retailers sold C$376.2 million worth of legal marijuana products in February. / CULTURE “Trim Season” is a forthcoming marijuana-themed horror movie. Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox. Get our daily newsletter. Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: The post Legalizing cannabis doesn’t increase youth use, AMA study finds (Newsletter: April 25, 2024) appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

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President Joe Biden granted another round of clemency to more than a dozen people with non-violent federal drug convictions, describing the action as an extension of Second Chance Month which the administration has previously used to promote marijuana reform efforts. None of the 16 people who received pardons or commutations on Wednesday were convicted for cannabis-related offenses, however, despite increased calls for broader marijuana clemency. “Many of these individuals received disproportionately longer sentences than they would have under current law, policy, and practice,” Biden said. “The pardon recipients have demonstrated their commitment to improving their lives and positively transforming their communities. The commutation recipients have shown that they are deserving of forgiveness and the chance at building a brighter future for themselves beyond prison walls.” “Like my other clemency actions, these pardons and commutations reflect my overarching commitment to addressing racial disparities and improving public safety,” the president said. “While today’s announcement marks important and continued progress, my Administration will continue to review clemency petitions and deliver reforms in a manner that advances equal justice, supports rehabilitation and reentry, and provides meaningful second chances.” Today, I am using my clemency power to pardon 11 individuals and commute the sentences of 5 individuals who were convicted of non-violent drug offenses. These recipients have shown that they deserve forgiveness and the chance at building a brighter future beyond prison walls. — President Biden (@POTUS) April 24, 2024 Advocates are encouraged to see the administration continue to grant and promote clemency for people criminalized over drugs, but this latest round serves as a reminder that thousands of people remain incarcerated over federal marijuana offenses. Biden has issued two rounds of mass cannabis pardons for people with federal possession convictions on their records, but that didn’t release anyone from prison, despite the president repeatedly suggesting as much. “While I applaud President Biden for pardoning individuals like my friend Jason Hernandez, who undoubtedly deserve a second chance, I am deeply disappointed that he continues to overlook those incarcerated on federal marijuana charges,” Weldon Angelos, who received a presidential pardon under the Trump administration for his own cannabis case, told Marijuana Moment on Wednesday. “Over half the country has legalized marijuana, and even the president agrees that it should be rescheduled,” he said. “Yet, he does not see the urgency in releasing those who are unjustly imprisoned for marijuana offenses—many of whom would not be prosecuted today.” “This oversight is a glaring missed opportunity to correct clear injustices within our legal system and to honor his campaign promises,” Angelos said. “It makes no sense to repeatedly leave out the most deserving group from his clemency grants.” NORML Political director Morgan Fox said he is “disappointed that this round did not include any cannabis prisoners, but I’m hopeful that this move is indicative of the administration hearing the nationwide call for conviction relief for behavior that is increasingly legal at the state level and which most Americans don’t think should be illegal in the first place.” “This should be step one in a regular and increasing cadence of clemency actions including the many open appeals for victimless cannabis-related offenses and expanding eligibility for the pardons that the president has already granted,” he said. While today’s announcement marks important and continued progress, my Administration will continue to review clemency petitions and deliver reforms in a manner that advances equal justice, supports rehabilitation and reentry, and provides meaningful second chances. — President Biden (@POTUS) April 24, 2024 Last month, 36 members of Congress implored Biden to grant clemency to all Americans currently in federal prison over non-violent cannabis convictions by commuting their sentences, pointing out that the pardons he’s issued to date for simple possession cases did not release a single person from incarceration. Biden has strongly indicated that he’s uninterested in expanding his marijuana clemency efforts beyond people who’ve faced convictions for use or simple possession, however. At a campaign stop in Wisconsin last month, for example, he said that “if you’re out selling it, if you’re out growing, it’s a different deal.” But as the election approaches, it’s clear that the administration recognizes the popularity of cannabis policy reform. Both Biden and Harris touted their reform actions at exactly 4:20pm ET on the cannabis holiday 420 on Saturday, for example. The president also discussed the marijuana actions in a historic context last month, during his State of the Union address. Harris, meanwhile, separately urged DEA to finish its review and reschedule marijuana “as quickly as possible” while meeting pardon recipients for a roundtable event at the White House last month. Behind closed doors, she also said “we need to legalize marijuana.” Senators Will ‘Do Our Best’ To Pass Marijuana Banking Bill ‘In A Bipartisan Way,’ Schumer Says The post Biden Grants More Clemency For Drug Offenses, But Advocates Remain Critical About Lack Of Marijuana Commutations appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net

A Delaware Senate committee has passed a House-approved bill that would enact state-level protections for banks that provide services to licensed marijuana businesses. The bill, filed by Rep. Ed Osienski (D) and Sen. Trey Paradee (D), has the endorsement of state Treasurer Colleen Davis (D). It cleared the House of Representatives last month and advanced through the Senate Health & Social Services Committee on Wednesday. The measure is designed to clarify that banks, credit unions, armored car services and accounting services providers are not subject to state-level prosecution simply for working with cannabis businesses. Pardee said during Wednesday’s hearing that the lack of access to financial services for cannabis businesses has been a “problem that has plagued the cannabis industry since California became the first state to have medical marijuana in 1996.” “This is really a public safety issue,” he said. “We do not want any of the the current medical cannabis providers or the coming recreational cannabis providers to struggle with that issue.” The bill synopsis says that it “aims to facilitate the operation of cannabis-related businesses by helping to ensure that such businesses have access to necessary financial and accounting services.” Meanwhile, separate legislation to significantly expand Delaware’s medical marijuana program was sent to the governor’s desk last month. Like the banking measure, that bill was also sponsored by Osienski, who championed that marijuana legalization legislation that was enacted into law last year. The medical cannabis expansion measure would remove limitations for patient eligibility based on a specific set of qualifying health conditions. Instead, doctors could issue marijuana recommendations for any condition they see fit. The bill would also allow patients over the age of 65 to self-certify for medical marijuana access without the need for a doctor’s recommendation. These developments come as regulators are rolling out a series of draft regulations to stand up the adult-use cannabis market. The current timeline puts the launch of the market at March 2025, according to Delaware Marijuana Commissioner Robert Coupe. The Office of the Marijuana Commissioner (OMC) published its latest proposed regulations earlier this month, with new sections related to issues such as cannabis testing, sampling, disposal, variances and fee schedules. For its initial batch of rules in February, the office provided a basic framework for various cannabis business license types and requirements for the application process. That was followed with regulations on tracking, transportation, health standards, packaging and advertising. Following an informal public comment period that closed last month, regulators are now aiming to have a formal comment window open once all rules are finalized between May 1-31. — Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access. — The financial services legislation that cleared committee on Wednesday, meanwhile, is the latest example of a state proactively seeking to provide marijuana banking protections as federal reform continues to stall. However, congressional leaders have signaled that they intend to prioritize the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act this year. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) recently reiterated his intent to pass legislation to “safeguard cannabis banking” as part of a “busy agenda” that he hopes to achieve in the “weeks and months ahead,” though he again stressed the need for bipartisan cooperation. He also recently asked people to show their support for the SAFER Banking Act by signing a petition as he steps up his push for the legislation. A poll released last month by the American Bankers Association (ABA) shows that roughly three out of five Americans support allowing marijuana industry access to the banking system. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said that that “if Republicans want to keep the House,” they should pass the marijuana banking bill, arguing that “there are votes” to approve it. Schumer told Marijuana Moment last month that the bill remains a “very high priority” for the Senate, and members are having “very productive” bicameral talks to reach a final agreement. Senators Will ‘Do Our Best’ To Pass Marijuana Banking Bill ‘In A Bipartisan Way,’ Schumer Says The post Delaware Senators Approve House-Passed Marijuana Banking Bill To Provide State-Level Protections appeared first on Marijuana Moment. View the live link on MarijuanaMoment.net