Newsletter
McConnell slipping hemp legalization into Farm Bill (Newsletter: April 27, 2018)
VT could have votes to legalize sales; Trump lawyer loaned millions to marijuana biz; MI legalization on ballot
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is moving to include the language of his hemp legalization legislation into the broader Farm Bill expected to advance in Congress next month.
The Michigan Board of State Canvassers certified that activists collected enough signatures to place a marijuana legalization initiative on the state’s November ballot. Now the Republican-led legislature has a chance to enact legalization themselves or allow the measure to go before voters, which could boost Democratic turnout. But the GOP House speaker indicated his chamber would not be voting on the measure.
Barely three months after legalizing low-level marijuana possession and homegrow, Vermont lawmakers now believe they have the votes to enact a broader system of legal cannabis sales.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions faced more questions about marijuana during his second day in a row of appearances on Capitol Hill.
A poll from Quinnipiac University found record-high support for legalizing marijuana among U.S. voters.
/ FEDERAL
President Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, reportedly loaned millions of dollars to a businessman involved in the marijuana industry.
U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration official Elinore McCance-Katz said marijuana is “not a safe drug.”
Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and other lawmakers held a press conference to tout new legislation removing roadblocks to marijuana research. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) has promised to move the bill to a vote, Gaetz said.
U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) and other lawmakers held a roundtable meeting to discuss a bill to encourage the Department of Veterans Affairs to study medical cannabis.
U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) tweeted, “Decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level is about stopping our country from repeating the same mistakes of the past. Too many lives have been ruined because of the War on Drugs and our regressive policies.”
Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV) said she supports descheduling marijuana but prefers certain legislation to accomplish that over others.
Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) tweeted, “As corporations profit from legal weed, marijuana arrests continue to go up in many communities of color. The #MarijuanaJusticeAct would legalize cannabis, expunge prior convictions, and invest in the communities most ravaged by the failed war on drugs.”
The U.S. House bill to prevent federal agencies from going after people who are in compliance with state marijuana laws got one new cosponsor, for a total of 11.
Potential Rhode Island Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lincoln Chafee, a former senator and governor, said he would fight for marijuana rescheduling.
/ STATES
Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer (R) has on his desk a bill to legalize CBD products.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) said he is not against medical cannabis but opposes a proposed ballot initiative on the issue. And Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox (R) tweeted, “Am I crazy for thinking that medical marijuana has a much bigger chance to impact turnout and change the electoral demographic this year?”
The Illinois Senate approved a bill to allow people to get medical cannabis for any “medical condition for which an opioid has been or could be prescribed by a physician based on generally accepted standards of care,” and to expand the program in other ways.
The Colorado Senate approved a bill to treat hemp like any other food ingredient.
The Louisiana House of Representatives defeated legislation to lift the cap on medical cannabis pharmacy licenses. And the House Criminal Justice Committee voted to defer two bills to decriminalize marijuana.
Missouri legislative analysts estimated that more than 150,000 patient and caregiver registration cards would be issued annually under a pending medical cannabis bill.
Alaska regulators proposed rules on plant counts, new strain introduction, seed-to-sale tracking and to define mature and immature marijuana plants. They are also considering separate proposed rules on signs, merchandise, advertisements and promotions for licensed marijuana businesses.
Michigan regulators will receive public testimony on adding new medical cannabis qualifying conditions on Friday.
The law firm of former New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno (R), who opposed legalization during her failed gubernatorial campaign, is a member of the New Jersey Cannabis Industry Association.
/ 👀
On Thursday, I received a Justice Department response to a Freedom of Information Act request I filed back in 2015 about federal marijuana policy. The feds say there are 505 pages (!) of responsive documents…but they are referring my request to another office for processing.
/ INTERNATIONAL
The Canadian government released financial and employment data about the country’s licensed marijuana producers. Separately, the British Columbia government filed proposed legal marijuana regulation legislation.
/ ADVOCACY
The UK’s Royal College of Physicians is calling for the decriminalization of all drugs.
The Utah Democratic Party will consider endorsing medical cannabis this weekend.
The National Cannabis Industry Association has retained VS Strategies and Steve Fox to bolster its federal lobbying efforts, and is hiring Morgan Fox away from the Marijuana Policy Project as its new media relations director.
Prohibitionist organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana posted an overview of a recent conference it hosted, including a claim that its side is “winning.”
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
University of Utah researchers are starting a $740,000 study examining how compounds in marijuana affect the human brain.
/ BUSINESS
Dixie Brands Inc. is considering an initial public offering.
USA Today looks at how legal marijuana might affect the alcohol industry.
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