Newsletter
Feds to collect cannabis business info from banks (Newsletter: June 9, 2022)
Poll: Most black Americans back legal marijuana; IL gov signs expungements fix; Senator and financial orgs push cannabis banking
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is proposing to start collecting data on marijuana businesses from banks—alongside industries it already tracks like liquor stores, convenience stores, casinos and car dealers.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed a bill to make it so people will no longer be denied expungements or record sealing based on a positive marijuana test.
A new poll analysis from the Pew Research Center shows that the majority of black Americans support legalizing marijuana, releasing cannabis prisoners from jail and expunging past records.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) put out a new ad featuring the head of the Montana Bankers Association talking about the need for the senator’s marijuana banking bill.
The Independent Community Bankers of America and a coalition of 44 state community banking associations from across the country sent a letter calling on Congress to pass marijuana banking legislation through the America COMPETES Act.
/ FEDERAL
The Drug Enforcement Administration is again asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a company that claims the agency is blocking its efforts to import and study cannabis.
House and Senate members held a press conference to push for legislation to eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine.
Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL) touted an endorsement from the marijuana-focused Better Organizing to Win Legalization (BOWL) PAC, tweeting, “We must legalize cannabis at the federal level and put equity at the forefront of all we do.”
Wisconsin Democratic Senate candidate Mandela Barnes, currently the lieutenant governor, tweeted, “It’s time to legalize weed. It’s BEEN time. Every single person in WI is missing out on a better economy and a more fair justice system. If elected, I’ll vote to legalize marijuana in the Senate.”
/ STATES
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said that marijuana sales are expected to begin “early next year,” though regulators have consistently said they hope for a launch by the end of 2022.
South Dakota voters rejected a constitutional amendment to require that ballot initiatives get 60 percent support in order to be enacted, a proposal that marijuana legalization advocates had highlighted as a possible impediment to the reform passing in November.
A Colorado judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging medical cannabis restrictions.
Washington State regulators approved rulemaking on cannabis pesticide action levels.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry included a session on medical cannabis’s impact on employment issues in a workers’ compensation conference it hosted.
Michigan regulators updated the marijuana business complaint submission process.
Nevada regulators are recommending a fine against a cannabis company after managers allegedly sold products to an employee in an off-the-books transaction.
Michigan regulators posted a marijuana business disciplinary action report for May.
Oregon’s Task Force on Cannabis-Derived Intoxicants and Illegal Cannabis Production will meet on Friday.
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/ LOCAL
Yellowstone County, Montana voters rejected a ballot measure to ban marijuana businesses, while voters in Lewis and Clark County and Butte-Silver Bow County approved questions to tax cannabis and Granite County voted to ban recreational marijuana dispensaries.
A member of the San Diego County, California Board of Supervisors is proposing several changes to cannabis rules.
A report commissioned by Sacramento, California officials found that the cannabis industry is the city’s ninth largest employer, with nearly 8,000 jobs.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Ukraine’s cabinet approved a medical cannabis bill.
Thailand’s Parliament voted to approve a cannabis control bill.
Portuguese lawmakers filed a marijuana legalization bill.
A new United Arab Emirates law will fine or even potentially imprison people over clothing or bumper stickers that promote the use of drugs, including by displaying cannabis leaves.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study concluded that “acute, oral CBD treatment does not appear to induce feelings of intoxication and is unlikely to impair cognitive function or driving performance.”
A study found that “cannabis use patients were 55% less likely to have [hepatocellular carcinoma] compared to patients without cannabis use.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
A poll found that 91 percent of U.S. adult cannabis consumers have used it for health and wellness purposes.
/ BUSINESS
Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. is divesting from its cannabis businesses.
The CEO of SPENagri Farm, an Oklahoma-based medical cannabis company, reportedly replied to an email from a Vangst sales representative, disparaging them for sharing preferred gender pronouns, writing, among other things, “Please die so God can rectify his mistake.”
Vangst published a report on LGBTQIA+ representation in the cannabis workforce.
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