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House begins cannabis debate, with vote Friday (Newsletter: December 4, 2020)
Top NY GOP lawmaker: Legal marijuana in 2021; Feds host cannabis & cancer conference; Scientist sues DEA; GOP slams Dems over legalization bill
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Cannabis in 2021: Will federal prohibition finally fall? Will growing momentum at the state level influence national policy changes? Which states will be next to experiment with reform?
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The House of Representatives debated and approved the rule under which a federal marijuana legalization bill will be considered. Debate and a final vote on the cannabis legislation itself is expected on Friday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) joined dozens of other Republican lawmakers in criticizing Democrats for putting a marijuana legalization bill on the House floor this week.
- “The House of Representatives is spending this week on pressing issues like marijuana. You know, serious, important legislation benefiting the national crisis.”
New York’s Republican Assembly minority leader said he agrees with Democrats that the state will legalize marijuana in 2021.
- “There’s still back and forth but I suspect this year, this will actually get done.”
Another scientist is suing the Drug Enforcement Administration over its failure to act on his application to grow marijuana for research purposes. The agency said more than four years ago that it would approve new cannabis cultivators and still hasn’t done so.
The National Cancer Institute, a federal agency, is hosting a multi-day conference on marijuana, cancer treatment and research this month. The deadline to register is Friday.
/ FEDERAL
A leaked Federal Bureau of Investigation report acknowledges that some drug sellers use harm reduction measures such as testing their products for purity prior to selling them.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on a report from the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) authored an op-ed about a pending marijuana legalization vote in Congress.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) tweeted, “Being a progressive means being first to the best, most just idea. Our policies are so often slandered as crazy or radical or far-left before we build the movement across America that makes them the law of the land. There are many examples, but today’s is legalizing marijuana.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted, in response to a Republican congressman, “We’ve passed multiple COVID relief bills, far more generous than GOP’s for working people, that GOP are sitting on in the Senate. & the ‘pot’ bills that you are so dismissive of will expunge millions of people’s records from the unjust War on Drugs.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) spoke about the passage of marijuana ballot measures in a podcast.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) noted the success of marijuana ballot measures in an op-ed.
/ STATES
Former California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said that progressives worried about a centrist Biden administration should, “in the states where it’s now legal, get a good joint and just chill.
Mississippi’s attorney general issued a warning about “scams” from companies claiming to be able to pre-register medical cannabis patients.
New Jersey’s lieutenant governor spoke about provisions of marijuana legalization enabling legislation.
The Oregon Senate Interim Judiciary Committee considered marijuana equity legislation.
Connecticut’s Departments of Labor analyzed the economic potential of hemp and cannabis.
Pennsylvania regulators are accepting hemp permit applications for 2021.
Missouri regulators cleared the state’s first medical cannabis manufacturing business to begin operations.
Alaska’s Office of Management and Budget set performance targets for marijuana regulators.
California regulators published a fact sheet on branded marijuana merchandise.
Michigan regulators published a bulletin on approved active ingredients for marijuana growers.
A Guam senator said the territory’s marijuana legalization law won’t hurt its family-friendly image.
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/ LOCAL
The Santa Fe, New Mexico City Council’s Quality of Life Committee approved a proposal to decriminalize drug paraphernalia.
Los Angeles, California regulators approved marijuana social equity business applicants.
A New York City mayoral candidate criticized the New York Times for focusing on her cannabis use in a short profile of her candidacy.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s district attorney spoke favorably about Oregon’s move to decriminalize drugs.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Some UK police organizations are reportedly backing a new private ID card system that allows medical cannabis patients to self-certify to get an informal level of protection from arrest.
A Canadian member of Parliament filed a bill to create a diversion framework to reduce drug arrests.
A Colombian senator spoke about his bill to legalize cocaine.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study found that “almost one-quarter of patients with [chronic pelvic pain] report regular use of cannabis as an adjunct to their prescribed therapy” and that “although side effects are common, most users report improvement in symptoms.”
A review concluded that “current evidence does not suggest clinically significant associations between cannabis use and testicular function.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights sent a letter urging members of Congress to vote for a marijuana legalization bill.
Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist tweeted, “Only the modern Democrat party could turn a simple good idea like decriminalizing cannabis into a tax and spend and regulate extravaganza. Legalization is a one sentence law.”
The National Industrial Hemp Council and Hemp Industries Association are conducting a survey about a national hemp checkoff program.
/ BUSINESS
MedMen Enterprises Inc. has a new chief revenue officer.
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey spoke about the parallels he sees between the marijuana industry and the natural foods business.
Canopy Growth Corporation’s Storz & Bickel Gmbh & Go. released a gold-plated vaporizer for its 20th anniversary.
/ CULTURE
Mixed martial arts fighter Nike Price was suspended over a positive marijuana test.
The band The Mountain Goats tweeted, “This is not a hobbyhorse I ride a whole lot, but the relief that marijuana gives to people suffering from chronic pain is very real, and it helps with a ton of other ailments beside; to regard this claim as somehow frivolous is callous and grotesque.”
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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
