Newsletter
NH House votes to legalize cannabis (Newsletter: Feb. 28, 2019)
FDA heads reveals CBD plans; Researchers press DOJ on marijuana cultivation; HI decrim advances; OR social use bill; NYC hearing
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to approve a marijuana legalization bill.
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb revealed more details about the agency’s plans for regulating hemp-derived CBD during a hearing in which several members of Congress pressed him about the cannabis compound. He said that public meetings and working groups in development.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and several rivals for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination are joining forces to reintroduce the Marijuana Justice Act, which would deschedule cannabis and withhold funding from states with discriminatory enforcement of marijuana laws. House companion legislation is also being filed.
The Hawaii House Judiciary Committee voted to approve a marijuana decriminalization bill.
The American Psychological Association is urging Attorney General William Barr to “take immediate action” on pending marijuana cultivation license applications that languished under Jeff Sessions.
Several New York City Council committees held a lengthy joint hearing on marijuana legalization and related reform proposals, with the Bronx district attorney announcing that his office would no longer prosecute most cannabis possession and consumption cases.
The Oregon Senate Business and General Government Committee is scheduled to hold a Thursday hearing on legislation to allow social consumption of marijuana at licensed lounges and events, and to let cannabis producers lead public tours of their facilities.
/ FEDERAL
The U.S. attorney for Massachusetts said that the opening of recreational marijuana stores in the state doesn’t change his enforcement priorities.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) said he has spoken to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) about moving marijuana legislation.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) tweeted, “Happy to see San Francisco expunge more than 9,000 marijuana-related convictions. Marijuana has long been a driving force of mass incarceration in this county — it’s past time time we change that.”
/ STATES
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) touted a House committee’s passage of a bill to expand the state’s industrial hemp program.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) said he used marijuana in college.
The West Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill to allow vertical integration for medical cannabis companies, among other reforms.
The Utah Senate approved a bill to amend the state’s medical cannabis law.
The Georgia House of Representatives passed a hemp legalization bill.
A South Carolina senator sponsoring a medical cannabis bill is working to incorporate changes suggested by stakeholders.
Florida representatives filed marijuana legalization legislation.
Some Washington, D.C. public employees say they are being inappropriately prevented from using medical cannabis.
Oregon officials projected that the state is “poised for strong growth” in marijuana revenue and that major economic impacts will “come from higher value-added products like oils, creams, and edibles, in addition to niche, specialty strains.”
Colorado regulators released guidance on signage requirements for marijuana cultivation facilities.
The opening of North Dakota’s first medical cannabis dispensary has been delayed a day, until Friday.
A consulting firm initially awarded a Maine marijuana legalization implementation contract before a competitor appealed and won the bid instead is considering an appeal of its own.
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/ LOCAL
Voters in several Chicago, Illinois wards approved nonbinding ballot questions saying that the city should “appropriate tax or other revenues it receives from the sales of marijuana to fund neighborhood reinvestment in low-income, disenfranchised communities hit hard by the war on drugs.”
The Baltimore, Maryland state’s attorney’s office has begun releasing, without charges, anyone brought in by police for marijuana possession.
Members of the Louisville, Kentucky Metro Council are considering making marijuana one of the lowest police priorities.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Canada’s public safety minister is filing a bill “to provide no-cost, expedited pardons for simple possession of cannabis.”
Thailand’s first legal marijuana farm has begun operations.
/ ADVOCACY
The Minority Cannabis Business Association will hold a lobby day on Capitol Hill on April 9, and the group is expressing concerns with what it sees as the “shortcomings” of legislation like the STATES Act.
The New York State Conference of Mayors hosted a conference on marijuana legalization.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
Researchers developed a method to produce THC and CBD using yeast.
A study found that “parental sharing of negative experiences with cannabis use in fact predicted increased adolescent cannabis use.”
A qualitative study found that “several factors appear to promote marijuana vaporization, including device aspects (e.g., discreet, convenient), the subjective high, economical efficiency, and perceived harm-reducing and health-promoting effects.”
/ OPINION & ANALYSIS
The Des Moines Register editorial board is calling on Iowa lawmakers to expand the state’s limited CBD medical cannabis program.
/ BUSINESS
Walmart Canada removed a cannabis vaporizer from its online store.
MedMen reported quarterly revenue growth and reduced losses.
Here’s a look at an Eli Lilly and Company shareholder’s effort to encourage the company to advocate for marijuana reform by bringing attention to its little-known past involvement with cannabis medicines.
/ CULTURE
The PGA Tour adopted a policy barring golfers from making endorsement deals with marijuana companies.
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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
