Newsletter
Denver mushroom measure passes with all votes counted (Newsletter: May 9, 2019)
State AGs/treasurers endorse cannabis banking; House committee slams Schedule I research blocks; GOP rep tells Dems: Focus on marijuana, not Trump
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
Denver, Colorado’s ballot measure to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms passed after all the votes were counted—despite that fact that it trailed late on Tuesday after most ballots were counted and local media outlets had projected it lost. The city is the first in the U.S. to make such a move.
The attorneys general of 38 U.S. states and territories and the treasurers of 17 states sent letters pressing Congress to pass marijuana banking legislation. In a related move, the National Association of Attorneys General formally endorsed a pending cannabis financial services bill.
In a new report, the House Appropriations Committee criticized the way marijuana’s Schedule I status blocks research and called for for increased studies into CBD and kratom as opioid alternatives.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) argued during a House Judiciary Committee hearing that Democrats should stop investigating President Trump and instead focus on marijuana and criminal justice reform. The comments came one day after the congressman slammed the House majority for canceling votes on bills concerning veterans’ medical cannabis access.
New data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission shows a sharp decline in federal marijuana trafficking prosecutions as more states enact legalization, bolstering reform advocates’ arguments that consumers would rather buy regulated products from legal stores instead of from cartels smuggling over the border.
/ FEDERAL
The head of the Department of Veterans Affairs’s Veterans Health Administration claimed in congressional testimony that the department is not allowed to study psychoactive components of marijuana.
The Food and Drug Administration tweeted a reminder about a Friday deadline to “make a presentation/comments at #FDA’s public hearing on products containing cannabis & cannabis-derived compounds.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a presidential candidate, said during a town hall that she supports letting states legalize marijuana.
The reelection campaign of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is selling a t-shirt playing off his “Cocaine Mitch” nickname and is inviting people to “become an official member of the Cartel” by buying one.
Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) tweeted, “Under current federal banking laws, legal cannabis businesses are forced to operate on a cash-only basis- creating a public safety risk & providing opportunity for tax evasion, money laundering, and other crimes. I cosponsored #SAFEBankingAct for a safer & better regulated system.”
Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) tweeted, “Forcing legal businesses to operate in a cash-only system is unsafe and unfair. Legal cannabis businesses should be able to use our banking system like any other small business – let’s pass the #SAFEBankingAct to make that a reality.”
The House marijuana banking bill got four new cosponsors, for a total of 173.
The House bill to require the Department of Veterans Affairs to study medical cannabis got two new cosponsors, for a total of 62.
/ STATES
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) announced he will sign a hemp bill on Friday.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) tweeted, “I look forward to signing into law the #hemp bill that just received final approval in the #CTHouse tonight! This will strengthen our efforts to grow our agricultural economy and create jobs, and do so in a responsible manner for #Connecticut’s farmers.”
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares (NPP) announced that the territory will waive medical cannabis registration fees for the first 125,000 patients.
The Texas House of Representatives gave final third-reading approval to a bill to expand the state’s medical cannabis program. Meanwhile, the Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing on a House-passed hemp legalization bill.
Vermont’s Senate president and House speaker indicated that marijuana sales legalization legislation may have to wait until next year.
The Alabama Senate began debate on a medical cannabis bill. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee narrowly defeated a marijuana decriminalization bill.
The Louisiana House Agriculture Committee rejected emergency medical cannabis regulations.
The Maine legislature’s Judiciary Committee held a hearing on bills to expunge or seal marijuana conviction records.
Illinois representatives filed a resolution calling on the Department of Agriculture to conduct a study on “whether minority and women-owned businesses face any barriers that prevent the equitable participation” in the marijuana industry.
A New York senator said a revised marijuana legalization bill will probably be released next week.
A post on the Minnesota House of Representatives website quotes lawmakers on whether it is appropriate to legalize marijuana through a constitutional amendment.
Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee recommended adding anxiety and autism as qualifying conditions, while rejecting depression, insomnia and opioid addiction. Separately, regulators recalled medical cannabis oil due to mislabeling of THC content.
Michigan regulators released guidance on solid waste and hazardous waste rules for growing and processing marijuana.
Nevada regulators are being accused of improperly using a temporary employment service to screen hundreds of marijuana dispensary license applicants
The Associated Press looks at California’s slow adoption of a marijuana track-and-trace system.
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/ LOCAL
The Louisville, Kentucky Metro Council is considering a proposal to decriminalize marijuana.
The Maricopa County, Arizona county attorney’s office admitted it erred in directing a medical cannabis patient to a drug diversion program under threat of felony charges.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Canadian regulators changed marijuana licensing rules to require new medical cannabis cultivation, processing or retail applicants to have fully built sites meeting all necessary requirements at the time of their applications.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study found that “patients with [chronic pelvic pain] are self-treating with cannabis and finding this to be an effective intervention.
/ OPINION & ANALYSIS
A poll found that likely Iowa 2020 caucusgoers support legalizing marijuana, 53%-44%.
/ CULTURE
The commissioner of the XFL football league said he would “prefer not to test for marijuana.”
Musician Tom Morello tweeted in support of New Jersey marijuana legalization legislation, calling it a “racial justice issue.”
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