Marijuana Moment: Black Virginia lawmakers push legal cannabis in summer session (Newsletter: June 26, 2020)

[Tokeativity]

DOJ clears Barr in marijuana investigation scandal; WA drug decrim pivots from ballot to legislature; NJ allows medical cannabis deliveries

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

A Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility memo concluded that no rules were violated when Attorney General William Barr allegedly directed investigations of marijuana company mergers, but another probe of the matter by the Department’s inspector general’s office is still ongoing.

• “The cannabis industry provided a unique challenge to federal and state regulators alike, and it was reasonable for ATR to seek additional information from the industry through its Second Request process… Furthermore, the internal memoranda recommending the closure of the investigations reflect that ATR staff conducted a significant amount of analysis regarding the competitive impact of the proposed mergers, and often explained how the actions of state regulators offset any competitive concerns.”

The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus is calling on colleagues to approve a marijuana legalization bill in the upcoming special session this summer.

Washington State activists behind a measure to decriminalize drugs and use marijuana tax revenue to fund expanded treatment services are giving up on an effort to put the initiative on the November ballot and will instead push lawmakers to enact it in the 2021 session.

New Jersey’s Department of Health issued a waiver allowing medical cannabis dispensaries to launch delivery services. This comes as a referendum vote on legalizing recreational marijuana looms in November.

/ FEDERAL

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from Ohio marijuana activists who wanted to ease signature gathering requirements to qualify local decriminalization ballot measures.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service said that licensed hemp businesses are eligible for its Socially-Disadvantaged Groups Grant program.

The Small Business Administration scaled back restrictions on coronavirus fund eligibility for people with criminal records.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) called on Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) to get President Trump to follow through on his alleged pledge to support marijuana reform legislation.

Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) are hosting a virtual discussion on marijuana policy on Monday.

Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) said that Attorney General William Barr’s alleged direction of investigations into marijuana company mergers is wrong and against the law.

The House bill to deschedule marijuana and fund programs to repair the harms of the drug war got one new cosponsor for a total of 75.

California Democratic congressional candidate Sara Jacobs said we “need to make sure that tax money derived from legal cannabis sales go back to rebuilding communities that have been devastated by the War on Drugs, and that we pardon all those who are in the criminal justice system due to non-violent marijuana-related offenses that would now be considered legal.”

/ STATES

Colorado’s attorney general tweeted, “Crimes at #cannabis businesses are often driven by the fact that so many of them are all cash businesses. That’s why we led a coalition of State AGs to support @RepPerlmutter’s work on the #SAFEBanking Act, allowing such companies access to safe banking.”

South Dakota activists are ramping up plans to campaign for marijuana legalization and medical cannabis ballot measures.

New Mexico regulators adopted new rules for several areas of the state’s medical cannabis program.

Washington State regulators proposed rules on which persons or entities have to qualify for marijuana licenses.

Pennsylvania regulators announced that the state’s medical cannabis program has now exceeded five million dispensing events.

Louisiana regulators announced that the state’s first batch on industrial hemp has been tested.

Virginia regulators criticized the Food and Drug Administration for not moving more quickly to regulate CBD products.

A Michigan representative filed legislation to prevent regulators from blocking marijuana businesses from donating money to nonprofits or sponsoring substance misuse prevention programs.

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Marijuana Moment is already tracking more than 1,500 cannabis bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

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/ LOCAL

Santa Cruz County, California’s district attorney is petitioning local courts to reduce, dismiss or seal a total of 1,169 marijuana cases involving 1,085 defendants.

New York City police accused of planting marijuana in a car were later filmed with what appears to be cannabis on the floor of their patrol vehicle.

/ INTERNATIONAL

The United Nations World Drug Report expresses concerns about states and countries that have moved to legalize marijuana.

Mexican activists withdrew cases on the right to use cocaine because they were concerned that draft Supreme Court opinions did not adequately address their concerns.

Dutch cannabis coffeeshops will be allowed to reopen on July 1 following a coronavirus-imposed shutdown.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A review concluded that “CBD demonstrates remarkable potential to become a supplemental therapy in various neurological conditions” and that it “has shown promise in the treatment of neurological disorders such as anxiety, chronic pain, trigeminal neuralgia, epilepsy, and essential tremors as well as psychiatric disorders.”

A review concluded that “psilocybin does decrease depressive symptoms, even long-lastingly, with only transient mild side effects being fairly common.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

Researcher and marijuana legalization advocate Lester Grinspoon died at 92.

The National Consumers League issued a white paper warning about CBD companies leveraging the reputations of academic medical centers.

/ BUSINESS

Canopy Growth Corporation and Acreage Holdings, Inc. revised the terms of the agreement under which the former company will acquire the latter when marijuana becomes federally legal in the U.S., and Acreage’s CEO announced he is resigning.

Acreage Holdings, Inc. reported quarterly revenue of $24.2 million and a net loss attributable to Acreage of $172 million.

General Cannabis Corp.’s executive chairman of the board stepped down.

Workers at a Cresco Labs dispensary in Chicago, Illinois voted to join the United Food & Commercial Workers union. Separately, the company has a new chief financial officer.

/ CULTURE

The National Cannabis Festival is postponing its September event due to the coronavirus pandemic and is now aiming for April 2021.

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