Newsletter
House cannabis banking vote scheduled for Wednesday (Newsletter: September 23, 2019)
Presidential candidates: no banking without marijuana reform; SD legalization measure OKed for sigs; Sanders, Killer Mike & Danny Glover talk cannabis
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- George Allen of Geronimo Capital: “I am really impressed with the discipline and authenticity you bring to this fight. You play neither the role of the greedy profiteer nor irrational stoner in this debate and we are lucky to have you.”
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced on the floor that the body will vote on marijuana banking legislation this week—likely on Wednesday—over the objection of groups that want broader reform first.
Three presidential candidates—Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT)—joined Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in expressing concerns about passing a cannabis banking bill without also advancing broader legislation to repair the harms of the war on drugs.
At a presidential campaign rally, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), rapper KillerMike and actor Danny Glover spoke at length about the harms of marijuana criminalization. And Ben Cohen said that if he were black when cops caught him with cannabis, he’d have been prosecuted and there’d be no Ben & Jerry’s ice cream today.
Activists in South Dakota have been cleared to start gathering signatures for a marijuana legalization ballot measure. The campaign is being led by a former federal prosecutor and son of a U.S. senator.
A scientific review on the effects of psychedelics like psilocybin, LSD & MDMA on psychiatric disorders finds “clinically significant reduction in symptomatology… in subjects who had previously failed to respond to traditional treatments.”
/ FEDERAL
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that workers at a marijuana security company can pursue overtime claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, even though cannabis is federally illegal.
The Senate Appropriations Committee said in a report that”the use of marijuana before or while driving is a critical public safety issue.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a presidential candidate, tweeted, “We have a corrupt criminal justice system where if you’re a kid caught selling marijuana, you go to jail, but if you’re a fossil fuel CEO who knowingly destroys the planet and harms thousands of people, nothing happens to you. That’s a system I intend to change.”
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang reiterated his support for legalizing marijuana and a pledge to mass pardon anyone who’s in jail for a nonviolent marijuana-related offense.”
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) tweeted, “States across the country are legalizing & decriminalizing marijuana but the Trump administration continues to deport immigrants for minor marijuana use. Congress must pass the Removing Marijuana from Deportable Offenses Act to protect immigrant families.”
The House bill to deschedule marijuana and fund programs to repair the harms of the drug war got one new cosponsor for a total of 42.
The House bill to deschedule marijuana and fund expungement and women- and minority-owned businesses got one new cosponsor for a total of 38.
The House bill to require the Department of Veterans Affairs to study medical cannabis got one new cosponsor for a total of 84.
/ STATES
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) cheered lawmakers who filed a new medical cannabis bill, tweeting, “The people of Wisconsin overwhelmingly support legalizing medical marijuana. In fact, the April @MULawPoll showed that 83% of Wisconsinites support legalizing marijuana for medical purposes.”
The North Dakota Assembly’s Interim Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on marijuana legalization on Wednesday.
California water regulators sent 270 letters to Trinity, Humboldt and Mendocino County residents warning them that they lack appropriate permits for commercial marijuana cultivation.
Alaska regulators are proposing rules changes concerning the death of marijuana licensees, overlapping premises and the presence of infants at cannabis businesses.
A Virginia delegate said he will file a marijuana legalization bill next session.
Oregon regulators approved three marijuana violation stipulated settlement agreements.
Here’s a look at how New Hampshire marijuana legislation fared this session.
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/ INTERNATIONAL
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the suspension of talks on financial assistance from 18 nations that backed a UN Human Rights Council call to investigate the country’s bloody “war on drugs.”
The chief minister of Manipur, India said he plans to legalize cannabis for medical and industrial uses.
The leader of Canada’s Green Party pledge to decriminalize all drugs if she becomes prime minister.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study found that “marijuana use was more common among adults with medical conditions than those without such conditions.”
A study concluded that “regular cannabis use is associated with significantly greater risk of respiratory disease regardless of [tobacco use disorder] status.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
A poll found that 77% of Americans support the development of roadside tests for marijuana impairment.
The American Academy of Family Physicians adopted a position paper calling for “reclassifying cannabis from a Schedule I controlled substance” and saying the group “opposes the recreational use and legalization of marijuana, but supports decriminalization of marijuana for personal use.”
Passing a marijuana banking bill and educating consumers about cannabis’s risks were mostly consensus recommendations that came out of an expert panel assembled by the New York Times.
/ BUSINESS
Eaze filed a countersuit against DionyMed, which previously accused the company of using shell accounts to create fraudulent charges and process payments.
MedMen’s chief marketing officer left the company.
Marijuana publications High Times and Civilized are reportedly having financial troubles.
The Wall Street Journal looks at how people are using Amazon and Facebook to sell illegal and unregulated marijuana vaping products.
/ CULTURE
Former football player Calvin Johnson said he smoked marijuana after every game to deal with pain.
Comedian Chelsea Handler chided CNN anchor Chris Cuomo over the failure of his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), to pass a marijuana legalization bill.
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