Newsletter
DEA files rules to license new cannabis growers (Newsletter: March 23, 2020)
NE medical marijuana push suspended; Cannabis industry asks Congress for COVID relief funds; NY lawmaker: Legalization can wait til after coronavirus
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The Drug Enforcement Administration issued updated regulations to license more growers of marijuana for research. One big change from the current system is that DEA itself would take ownership of all the cannabis and distribute it to scientists.
The Nebraska medical cannabis ballot initiative campaign is the latest drug policy reform effort to suspend signature gathering operations due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A key New York senator told Marijuana Moment that while legal cannabis may not end up in the budget due to urgent coronavirus focus, there’s “no reason we cannot negotiate and pass a nation-leading legalization model when the crisis is over.”
A coalition of marijuana industry trade groups sent a letter asking congressional leaders for equal access to coronavirus-related business relief funds. Meanwhile, NORML is working to make sure cannabis workers aren’t blocked from unemployment benefits.
/ FEDERAL
The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a statement on its move to allow doctors to issue prescriptions for controlled substances to patients whom they have not examined in-person during the coronavirus outbreak.
/ STATES
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s (D) coronavirus stay-at-home order declares marijuana dispensaries and cultivation facilities to be essential businesses.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) exempted medical cannabis dispensaries from a stay-at-home order issued amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s (R) stay-at-home order exempts medical cannabis businesses from a shutdown during the coronavirus crisis.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) issued an executive order allowing marijuana businesses to do curbside pickup and letting doctors issue medical cannabis recommendations via telemedicine during the coronavirus pandemic.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) ordered that all marijuana sales be made via deliveries during the coronavirus outbreak.
California regulators deemed cannabis retails outlets to be essential businesses that can stay open amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Pennsylvania regulators are allowing patients to have medical cannabis brought to their cars outside of dispensaries and are letting caregivers make deliveries to an unlimited number of patients amid the coronavirus pandemic.
New Mexico regulators said that medical cannabis businesses are essential and can stay open during the coronavirus outbreak. They also allowed curbside pickup and delivery services, extended expiring patient and caregiver cards for 90 days and temporarily suspended background checks for new employees.
Oregon regulators approved rules to allow curbside delivery of marijuana at licensed retail locations and to increase medical cannabis sales limits.
Arkansas marijuana legalization campaigns have largely slowed signature gathering efforts amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Massachusetts regulators will accept more marijuana social equity program applicants under expanded criteria. They are also moving to allow medical cannabis recommendations through the use of telehealth waivers.
Michigan regulators recalled marijuana vaping products due to the presence of vitamin E acetate or lack of testing for the compound.
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/ LOCAL
The Cook County, Illinois state’s attorney is halting the prosecution of drug cases because of a State Police directive suspending lab testing of narcotics during the coronavirus outbreak
Marijuana dispensaries with a medical cannabis license are exempt from Los Angeles County, California’s coronavirus stay-at-home order.
The Monterey County, California agriculture commissioner’s office, in partnership with local supervisors and advocacy organizations, released a model advisory for better protecting agriculture and cannabis workers during the coronavirus outbreak.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Ghana’s Parliament approved a bill to legalize cannabis for medical and industrial uses.
Seven patients in Colombia received the first batch of medical cannabis produced in the country.
Public Safety Canada is working to develop an action plan to disrupt online illicit cannabis sales.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review concluded that “combination of cannabinoids with opioids has been shown to “reduce opioid doses and “may be able to produce long-term analgesic effects, while preventing the opioid analgesic tolerance.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that U.S. opioid overdose deaths declined 2% from 2017 to 2018.
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Marijuana Policy Project and other advocacy organizations sent letters to governors and legislative leaders urging them to maintain access to legal cannabis amid the coronavirus pandemic.
/ BUSINESS
Cronos Group Inc. has been asked by the Securities and Exchange Commission to produce records on how it recognizes revenue related to bulk-resin purchases and wholesale sales of biomass or other products.
Columbia Care Inc. reported that its retail locations brought in record revenue in eight states and one territory during the week ending March 14.
Aloha Green Holdings Inc. is using its cannabis concentrates production lines to produce free hand sanitizer.
/ CULTURE
Comedian Chelsea Handler tweeted, “Imagine being incarcerated for a marijuana-related offense and then seeing it deemed ‘essential business.'”
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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
