Marijuana Moment: Congressional push to block cannabis rescheduling (Newsletter: June 26, 2024)

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HI gov signs marijuana expungements; USDA hemp promotion grant; DeSantis criticizes legalization; Truckers talk cannabis rules; OR psilocybin lawsuit

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

The House Appropriations Committee included provisions in a Justice Department spending bill to block marijuana rescheduling and alter a longstanding medical cannabis protection rider to authorize enhanced penalties for sales near schools.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded $745,000 to the National Industrial Hemp Council to promote American-grown hemp in emerging markets across the world.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) signed a bill to facilitate expungements of prior marijuana offenses through a single-county pilot program.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is complaining that the marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot would protect cannabis rights more robustly than the First and Second Amendments protect free speech and gun rights.

The American Trucking Associations said marijuana rescheduling could lead to “significant negative consequences”—but individual truck drivers themselves are submitting public comments in support of cannabis reform.

The Oregon Health Authority is facing a federal lawsuit alleging that the state’s psilocybin program discriminates against homebound disabled patients who can’t travel to licensed psychedelic services centers.

Drug Policy Alliance’s Cat Packer points out in a new Marijuana Moment op-ed that 68 percent of comments on the federal cannabis rescheduling proposal so far support full decriminalization, descheduling or legalization—arguing that Schedule III won’t fulfill President Joe Biden’s campaign pledge.

The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management is posting resources on who qualifies as a social equity applicant to receive an “early mover advantage” in the state’s new marijuana market.

/ FEDERAL

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discussed his support for federal marijuana legalization.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said moving marijuana to Schedule III would be a step in the right direction but that it is “not enough.”

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) discussed her support for marijuana rescheduling.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) tweeted that she joined state lawmakers and others “to rally against a proposed 6,000 sq ft Cannabis Dispensary within close proximity to a dozen houses of worship & schools, including day care centers. We will not allow this deterioration of quality of life in Bay Ridge.”

/ STATES

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said he thinks there is an appetite in the legislature to build on his mass marijuana pardon.

North Carolina’s attorney general criticized hemp-related provisions of a medical cannabis legalization bill and said it should more broadly decriminalize marijuana.

Nebraska’s attorney general sent a press release about a request he and other state attorneys general made for a public hearing on federal marijuana rescheduling.

A Pennsylvania senator tweeted, “Proud to join @RepKinkead and Kaufer to call for the passage of Adult Use legislation. We have never been closer.  Canada, Ohio, New Jersey, and New York, are all benefiting from our failure to move forward and pass cannabis reform.”

The Florida marijuana legalization campaign raised less than $1,500 in the first half of June, while an opposition committee backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) raised $10,000.

California regulators posted an advisory about a mandatory recall of marijuana products due to the presence of the pesticide chlorfenapyr.

The former CEO of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, located within Minnesota, is suing over allegedly being improperly fired for raising concerns about the tribe’s marijuana plan.

Massachusetts regulators are accepting public comments on marijuana business accounts receivable issues.

Washington State officials posted an amended request for proposals for a grants program that “supports healing services and activities that are by-and-for communities disproportionally harmed by the war on drugs.”

New York’s Cannabis Advisory Board will meet on Wednesday.

—
Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,500 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.
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/ LOCAL

The Missoula, Montana City Council approved a moratorium on new recreational marijuana dispensaries.

/ INTERNATIONAL

Brazil’s Supreme Court voted to decriminalize marijuana possession.

The Philippine House Committee on Human Rights is inviting former president Rodrigo Duterte and a former senator to attend a hearing on the nation’s bloody “drug war.”

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study found that “CBD was safe and well tolerated in healthy adults” and that “pain was lower in the CBD group.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

The American Medical Association’s Council on Science and Public Health published a report on “marketing guardrails for the ‘over-medicalization’ of cannabis use.”

The Heroic Hearts Project criticized the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review for what it called an “anti-veteran campaign against MDMA-assisted therapy.”

/ BUSINESS

Organigram Holdings Inc. is investing in Sanity Group GmbH.

RIV Capital Inc. has a new chief retail officer.

A Numinus Wellness Inc. board of directors member resigned.

Washington, D.C. dispensaries sold $2.7 million worth of legal medical cannabis products in May.

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