Newsletter
Cannabis banking left out of NDAA (Newsletter: December 7, 2022)
DOJ wants safe consumption case delay; Colombian Senate votes to legalize marijuana; CT cannabis record clearings; OR gov touts pardons
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
Congressional negotiators declined to include much-anticipated marijuana banking, expungements and other reform provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act.
In a floor speech, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blasted Democrats’ push to include marijuana banking language in the National Defense Authorization Act, saying it would make the financial system “more sympathetic to illegal drugs.”
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), responding to McConnell’s criticism, said the cannabis reform has “bipartisan support” and is “a priority for me.” He added that “we’ll try to discuss the best way to get it done,” perhaps signaling that separate, non-NDAA legislation will be the vehicle to advance the measure.
The Department of Justice is asking a federal court for yet another delay in its deadline to respond in a lawsuit over safe consumption sites for illegal drugs—but this time harm reduction advocates are opposing the delay after months of negotiations.
The Colombian Senate approved a marijuana legalization bill by a vote of 65-3. The legislation has also already advanced in the country’s Chamber of Representatives, but requires additional debates before potentially being enacted into law.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) announced that the state will clear approximately 44,000 cannabis conviction records on January 1.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) says her recent mass marijuana pardon was “very much a racial justice issue” and “truly an act of mercy.”
/ FEDERAL
The National Institute on Drug Abuse will hold a closed-door meeting on the production of cannabis for research on January 6.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said that “Republicans and the banks are just trying to steamroll” by advancing cannabis banking legislation without also addressing criminal justice reform.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) said he would vote against the National Defense Authorization Act—which is ceremonially named after him—if it contained unrelated items like cannabis banking.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) called on colleagues to “make progress” on “making sure our legal cannabis businesses can access credit.”
Spokespeople for Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Steve Daines (R-MT) issued statements about their support for passing marijuana banking legislation.
A staffer for Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) raised ongoing concerns about marijuana banking legislation.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) criticized Democrats for working to pass marijuana banking reform via the National Defense Authorization Act.
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) tweeted, “Legally-operating cannabis small businesses in Nevada and across the country deserve full access to @SBAgov loans and resources. I’ll continue working to ensure access to basic services and resources for these small businesses.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) spoke about broad support for marijuana banking legislation.
/ STATES
South Dakota’s attorney general published a report suggesting that legal hemp is making it harder to prosecute marijuana cases.
Colorado Senate Democrats tweeted, “A decade ago, Colorado was the 1st in the nation to make recreational #marijuana legal, an effort that has reaped enormous benefits. Now Congress is following our lead & laying the groundwork for federal legalization largely because of what we did right here in CO.”
A New York assemblymember filed a bill to increase penalties for illegal marijuana sales.
Rhode Island’s commerce secretary spoke about the launch of legal recreational marijuana sales.
Connecticut’s consumer protection commissioner discussed preparations for launching legal recreational marijuana sales.
Illinois regulators filed proposed changes to hemp rules.
Maryland regulators posted contract opportunities for “Media Buys for a Public Education Campaign on the Legalization of Adult Use Cannabis in Maryland” and for “Consulting Services for Implementation and Regulation of Adult-use Cannabis.”
New Mexico regulators are offering digital medical cannabis patient cards.
Virginia Crime Commission members are divided on proposals to address marijuana-impaired driving.
Minnesota regulators are accepting applications for 2023 hemp licenses.
Utah regulators are conducting a survey about the medical cannabis market.
Ohio regulators posted updated medical cannabis patient and caregiver numbers.
Washington State’s Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force will hold its final meeting on Wednesday.
The California Cannabis Advisory Committee and its subcommittees will hold meetings between December 13-15.
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/ LOCAL
A former New York City police commissioner tweeted that “the badly flawed marijuana legalization laws enacted by our politicians are creating an illegal crime, violence, and health crises that threatens to rival that of the nineties.”
Boston, Massachusetts’s Cannabis Board will meet on Wednesday.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said the county would not need to ask for any other nation’s permission before legalizing coca.
The attorney general of the Bahamas said it is “not likely” that planned marijuana legislation will be filed by the end of the year.
Sri Lanka’s state minister for indigenous medicine promotion said the government is not moving to legalize marijuana.
An Italian court is considering a case on the legality of low-potency “cannabis light.”
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review concluded that “CBD has direct antineoplastic effects on lung cancer cells by various mechanisms mediated by cannabinoid receptors or independent of them.”
A study of psychedelics found that “macrodoses, while less often used for analgesic purposes than microdoses, were reported to induce a higher level of pain relief than both microdoses and conventional pain medications (including opioids and cannabis).”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
A poll of Indiana adults found that 56 percent support legalizing marijuana for personal use, 29 percent back allowing medical use only and 15 percent want it to remain completely illegal.
A poll of Greater Cleveland, Ohio residents found that 57 percent support legalizing marijuana for both recreational and medical use, 28 percent back medical cannabis legalization only and 8 percent want marijuana to be completely illegal.
The Kansas Farm Bureau listed medical cannabis as a 2023 legislative priority.
NORML published a report analyzing local marijuana policy reform moves.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham decried Congress for potentially moving to include marijuana banking provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act.
/ BUSINESS
Weedmaps is laying off 25 percent of its workforce.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is being sued for his platform allegedly aiding and abetting Juicy FIelds’s apparent cannabis investment fraud.
Buy Cannabis Stocks Investments Inc. was ordered by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities to stop allegedly “fraudulently offering unregistered securities in the form of investment packages related to various forms of marijuana and marijuana products.”
Greenlane Holdings, Inc. has a new CEO.
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