Newsletter
Cannabis companies lobbied against home grow, document shows (Newsletter: Feb. 22, 2019)
NH legal marijuana bill advances; ND activists plan 2020 ballot measure; Baltimore billboard urges end to cannabis arrests; Banking testimony
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.
Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible…
There are now 712 cannabis-related bills moving through state legislatures and Congress for 2019 sessions.
Never let a marijuana bill catch you by surprise with exclusive access to Marijuana Moment’s custom-built cannabis legislation tracker for just $25/month.
- Rowby Goren of CBD for SHOPIFY: “I am pleased to support via Patreon (and encourage others to do the same) MarajuanaMomement.net because of its comprehensive reporting of the fast-moving and exciting marijuana and CBD / Hemp market — all of which is being powered by enlightened public demand. Receiving marijuanamomement.net in my inbox provides reliable real-time cannabis / CBD / hemp updates — all in one convenient one-stop center.”
https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment
/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
A document Marijuana Moment obtained through a public records request shows New York’s licensed medical cannabis companies urged Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to ban consumers from growing their own. And that’s exactly what he recommended in his budget last month.
The New Hampshire House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted to approve a marijuana legalization bill.
Just hours after North Dakota lawmakers narrowly voted down a marijuana decriminalization bill, activists announced that they plan to put a full cannabis legalization measure before voters on the 2020 ballot.
A group of Baltimore, Maryland mothers is calling on cops and the mayor to end marijuana arrests and instead focus on solving murders, and they’re driving a truck with a huge billboard featuring that message around City Hall and police headquarters.
Marijuana Moment compiled some of the nearly 100 pieces of written testimony that National Cannabis Industry Association members submitted to Congress last week about why their businesses need access to banks.
/ FEDERAL
Surgeon General Jerome Adams and other federal officials met to discuss “the state of science around marijuana.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration is bringing its “Drugs: Costs and Consequences” travelling museum exhibit to New Mexico.
Former Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Jack Riley spoke about his concerns with marijuana legalization in a C-SPAN appearance.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a presidential candidate, tweeted, “We need to invest in jobs and education for our kids, not more jails and incarceration. We need to end the destructive ‘war on drugs,’ eliminate private prisons and cash bail and bring about major police department reform.”
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said he will “work for” cannabis rescheduling and that “medicinal marijuana is one thing, recreational is another. I do not favor recreational marijuana.”
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) tweeted, “#TBT That time I rode in a car with an Oregon cannabis business owner to deliver a $70,000 tax payment. I fully support removing #cannabis from the list of controlled substances to ensure they have safe access to banking.”
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), a presidential candidate, during an appearance in Iowa, said, “Stop throwing people in prison for smoking a joint and instead go after those like Purdue Pharma who are proliferating their opioids on our streets and taking people’s lives.”
Rep. Barbra Lee (D-CA) tweeted, “The United States has a long and dark history of racial oppression. We must work to correct our wrongs by reforming our criminal justice system — including decriminalizing marijuana and abolishing private prisons.”
Former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) joined the Cannabis Trade Federation as a strategic adviser.
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang tweeted, “I’m for full legalization of marijuana; remove it from the Controlled Substance List. I would go a step further and pardon everyone who’s in jail for a low-level, non-violent drug offense. It makes no sense to have people in jail for something that is legal in other states.”
/ STATES
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and legislative leaders are working to persuade a list of seven key Democratic senators to support marijuana legalization legislation. The Senate president said not to expect legal sales before January.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) spoke about the research showing medical benefits of cannabis and public support for reform. Meanwhile, the Assembly speaker is upset that the governor is including broader marijuana decriminalization in his medical cannabis plan.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) tweeted that the state’s medical cannabis program “is working and patients are realizing its benefits.”
The South Carolina House of Representatives passed a bill to remove the cap on the number of hemp growers that are allowed in the state.
The Florida House Appropriations Committee approved a bill to let patients smoke medical cannabis.
The Oklahoma House Rules Committee advanced legislation to revise the state’s medical cannabis framework.
Michigan regulators have started the process of drafting rules for recreational marijuana businesses.
Massachusetts regulators discussed ways to boost women- and minority-owned marijuana businesses.
The Oregon Senate Committee on Business and General Government will hold a hearing on Thursday on a bill to allow marijuana social consumption lounges. Separately, regulators approved amendments to hemp rules.
An Iowa representative filed a bill to allow regulators to reschedule MDMA for medical purposes.
Colorado regulators will meet on March 20 to consider changes to medical cannabis rules.
—
Marijuana Moment is already tracking more than 700 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.
We followed more than 900 pieces of cannabis legislation in 2018. Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—
/ LOCAL
Bridgeport, Connecticut officials are asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a man who claims he was blocked from becoming a firefighter due to his state-legal medical cannabis use.
The Bronx, New York’s borough president said that “if we are going to legalize marijuana the state must pardon and expunge marijuana convictions, and ensure that marginalized communities have a chance to profit from a new cannabis market.”
Denver, Colorado officials developed a food safety course for marijuana businesses.
/ INTERNATIONAL
St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Timothy Harri said the government is accepting the recommendations of a commission to legalize medical cannabis and hemp and decriminalize marijuana possession.
The British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, which receives some funding from the Canadian province, issued a report recommending the legalization and regulation of heroin sales.
/ ADVOCACY
Conservative commentator Glenn Beck spoke about the harms of the drug war.
Here’s a look at the Medical Cannabis Alliance of Illinois’s efforts to shape marijuana laws.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study concluded that “cannabis likely does not have widespread effects on brain structure.”
An analysis found that “with respect to male factor fertility using semen parameters as a surrogate, cannabinoids likely play an inhibitory role” and that “data on marijuana and male sexual function are mixed but suggest that marijuana may enhance the subjective experience of sexual intercourse while potentially contributing to [erectile dysfunction] in a dose‐dependent manner,” among other findings.
/ BUSINESS
Canopy Growth Corporation’s losses doubled in an amended quarterly report as compared to the initial version, with the company blaming a spreadsheet error for the first filing.
/ CULTURE
Former NFL player Calvin Johnson’s proposed medical cannabis dispensary received preliminary approval from Michigan regulators.
Melissa Etheridge’s new song “Faded by Design” is about her relationship with marijuana.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson said, apparently sarcastically, that “there’s literally nothing cooler than marijuana. Cool people smoke weed. And that’s why total legalization nationwide seems inevitable.”
Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox.
Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
