Newsletter
MN legal cannabis bill hits House floor (Newsletter: April 18, 2023)
280E in Congress; WA psilocybin to gov; CO online marijuana ordering approved; PA safe consumption; NJ’s Curaleaf reversal; NM gov drug reform vetoes
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The Minnesota House Ways & Means Committee approved a marijuana legalization bill—finally sending it to a floor vote after 15 panel stops this session. Meanwhile, the Senate Taxes Committee advanced a companion measure that now has just one more hurdle to go before floor consideration in that chamber.
Washington State lawmakers sent Gov. Jay Inslee (D) a bill to create a therapeutic psilocybin pilot program and form three new state bodies to prepare for broader legal access to the psychedelic.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) filed a bill to undo the federal 280E tax penalty on marijuana businesses by letting them take deductions that are available to companies in any other industry.
The Colorado House of Representatives passed a bill to allow online marijuana sales.
Several Pennsylvania Democratic senators who back legalizing marijuana filed a brief seeking to block a safe drug consumption site from opening because such facilities “remain illegal under federal law”—even though the cannabis they want to allow at the state level is also federally banned.
New Jersey regulators reversed their decision to deny Curaleaf’s application to renew its license to sell recreational marijuana—with certain conditions.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) vetoed two sentencing reform bills that could have prevented the state from incarcerating people for simple drug possession.
Five children who were removed from their parents following a traffic stop in which a small amount of marijuana was found have been returned home amid an outcry over Tennessee officials’ actions.
/ FEDERAL
National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow authored an op-ed speculating about a “potential cure for substance use disorders.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) tweeted a link to an op-ed about legal marijuana turning New Yorkers into “zombies,” saying that “I saw them when I went there to protest against the weaponization of government against President Trump by a George Soros funded DA.”
/ STATES
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) signed a bill to clarify marijuana revenue allocations.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is proposing to shift medical cannabis regulatory responsibilities from the Board of Pharmacy to the Department of Commerce.
Pennsylvania’s Senate majority leader said he wants to see federal marijuana laws changed before state lawmakers address the issue.
Wisconsin’s Senate minority leader tweeted, “Support is budding across the nation and the Midwest – including right here in Wisconsin with 69% of Wisconsinites supporting #cannabis legalization.”
The Colorado Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on a hemp product restriction bill on Tuesday. Separately, regulators issued a health and safety advisory about marijuana products with potentially unsafe levels of mold, yeast and Aspergillus. And the Natural Medicine Advisory Board’s Emergency Response, Safety, Ethics Subcommittee will meet on Wednesday.
The Michigan House Regulatory Reform Committee held a hearing on a bill to lower the legal age to work in the marijuana industry from 21 to 19.
A New Jersey senator is pushing to disband the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
A California senator posted a link to an op-ed by a military veteran who benefited from psychedelics, saying, “So many suffering from PTSD & other mental health problems benefit from psychedelic therapy — e.g., this vet, for whom traditional meds led him to heroin addiction. Psychedelics got him out of that trap. Yet we criminalize psychedelics. I’m authoring SB 58 to decriminalize them.”
A Missouri representative spoke about the therapeutic potential of psychedelics.
Oklahoma lawmakers are considering several medical cannabis reform bills.
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/ LOCAL
Portland, Oregon’s City Council will host a “Cannabis Dollars Work Session” on May 30.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark discussed her support for legalizing drugs.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice reiterated the government’s opposition to decriminalizing marijuana.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A review indicated “an increase in [cannabis use disorder] prevalence associated with legalization” but concluded that “there was no significant association between legalization and CUD treatment admissions, and CUD admissions decreased overall during the study periods.”
A study of mice indicated that “CBDA and THCA have anti-[Alzheimer’s disease] effects and mitigate memory loss.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
A poll found that South Dakota voters support legalizing marijuana, 49 percent to 41 percent.
The Maryland Association of Counties published an overview of recently passed marijuana sales regulation legislation’s impact on local governments.
The Cannabis Regulators Association sent a letter urging congressional leaders to take action to develop a regulatory framework for hemp-derived cannabinoid products.
The Last Prisoner Project and McCann New York launched the “Pen to Right History” campaign urging President Joe Biden and state governors to take action to free marijuana prisoners.
The New York Daily News editorial board is calling on the state attorney general to focus on shutting down unlicensed cannabis retailers.
/ BUSINESS
An Uber Eats and Leafly partnership on cannabis delivery in British Columbia, Canada launches on Tuesday.
Jack in the Box and Weedmaps are partnering on a 4/20 marketing gimmick.
Carl’s Jr. is rolling out a “$4.20 snack sack.”
/ CULTURE
Rapper Future spoke about the new line of cannabis products he is backing.
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