Legislation to close a gap in Michigan marijuana law that has allowed some untested products similar to marijuana to be sold passed Thursday in the state House. The legislation would include all THC products in the legal definition of marijuana, therefore subjecting all such products to the same level of testing, regulation and restrictions. THC is the main compound in cannabis and marijuana products that gets users high. The scientific name for THC is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, so when Michigan looked to include THC in its laws it explicitly said “delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol.” Due to the current narrow definition of marijuana in state law, gas stations and smoke shops in Michigan have been able to sell other hemp-derived products, which have similar intoxicating effects. That allowed untested and unregulated THC products to be purchased by people who shouldn’t, including minors, bill sponsor Rep. Yousef Rabhi said during a recent House Regulatory Reform Committee meeting. The state puts growers and processors through rigorous testing processes, Steve Linder, executive director of the Michigan Cannabis Manufacturers Association, said at the meeting. Linder said companies in the association are happy to comply with the process because they all create medicinal products. “Any product considered medicine should adhere to the same health and safety standards as medicines dispensed in pharmacies,” Linder said. Michigan legalized medical marijuana in 2008 and recreational marijuana in 2018. The bills received bipartisan approval. They now go to the state Senate and then to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for consideration.
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New Hampshire residents overwhelmingly support legalizing marijuana and setting up a tax-and-regulate model for cannabis sales, according to a new poll. As broad reform legislation has languished in the GOP-controlled legislature, the survey published by the University of New Hampshire (UNH) on Tuesday found that three in four people back adult-use legalization. And 78 percent said that they favor allowing adults to buy marijuana from licensed retailers if it is legalized. Majorities of Democrats (86 percent), independents (83 percent) and Republicans (62 percent) said they support legalizing cannabis. The same trend was seen when it came to the question about allowing retailers to sell marijuana, with 87 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of Republicans favoring that model. In contrast, only 51 percent of New Hampshire residents say they have a favorable opinion of Gov. Chris Sununu (R), who is opposed to legalization. Support for cannabis reform has steadily grown over the nine years that UNH has been conducting the survey with the legalization question. In 2013, for example, only 49 percent of respondents said marijuana should be legal for adult use, compared to 45 percent who stood opposed to the policy change. This latest survey involved interviews with 1,824 people from May 13-17. Despite the increased support for marijuana reform, that has not translated into legislative action to end prohibition so far.
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Illinois decriminalized marijuana in 2016. Then, in 2019, the state legalized it for recreational use. As of Jan. 1, 2020, that legalization kicked in. Some thought legalizing it would reduce the black market and, in turn, stop illegal drug deals. "We anticipated to see this drop," Springfield Police Chief Kenny Winslow said. "So, it's not shocking or surprising to us." Winslow said the drop was expected, but legalizing cannabis has not lowered illegal sales. "No, we have not seen any reduction in the black market," Winslow said. Ward 2 Alderman Shawn Gregory said it's on him and other community leaders to help dealers figure out ways to sell inside the framework of the law. "We want people to be successful and not have to result to things that are illegal, especially when there is a legal way to do it," Gregory said. Winslow was asked if he thinks the streets of Springfield are safer since the legalization.
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The Texas Senate approved an expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program on Tuesday, but only after scaling back the version that had been approved by the House. The Texas program is one of the most restrictive in the nation, only available to acute patients suffering from a handful of diseases or conditions, such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and terminal cancer. The Senate agreed to add other qualifying conditions to the list including allowing patients with all stages of cancer to participate as well as those with post-traumatic stress disorder. Patients receiving treatment through an approved research program would also be eligible. But the Senate cut other expansions out of the legislation before voting unanimously to pass it. A version of House Bill 1535, sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth, has now passed in both chambers. The House will have to agree with the Senate’s changes or object and send it to a committee made up of members of both chambers to settle the differences. “To see some of the amendments that were made leaves us advocates disappointed and somewhat dismayed,” said Heather Fazio, director of advocacy group Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy.
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The use of flower, or bud, in the Minnesota medical marijuana program is expected to be approved Monday by the Legislature. Right now, the two companies licensed to distribute medical cannabis in Minnesota can only do so in liquid or pill form. Patrick McClellan is active in the medical marijuana program and has lobbied lawmakers for the expansion of flower into the program for nearly a decade. He told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the flower provision has passed the House and Senate Conference Committee, which, in his opinion, is historic. “It’s historic because it now makes the state’s medical marijuana program feasible and something that can be sustained into the future,” McClellan said. “There are more than 34,000 people who are active in the program, but there are thousands more who do not participate because they cannot afford it and the flower form of distribution will probably cut costs in half.” McClellan said producing the liquid or pill form of the cannabis is very expensive and the use of an independent lab to verify the product just adds to the higher costs which he said makes Minnesota’s medical marijuana program one of the costliest in the nation. “I know families who have to spend $900 a month just to have their children enrolled into the program right now,” said McClellan. “The use of flower will be much cheaper and it will allow the state to have more than two licensed distributors and that will allow more dispensaries around the state, too.” The Legislature is expected to pass the use of flower in the medical marijuana program Monday as part of the Human Services Finance Omnibus Bill, and it has the support of Gov. Tim Walz.
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While lawmakers in Connecticut and Rhode Island explore ways to legalize adult-use cannabis and also ensure social equity, regulators in Massachusetts are pushing further with their own programs to enable people disadvantaged by previous marijuana laws to benefit from the economic possibilities offered by legalization. One bill in Connecticut would create a “social equity council” as well as a “Cannabis Equity and Innovation Account,” funding workforce development programs and offering grants with cash from potential cannabis excise tax revenue. Meanwhile, a bill in Rhode Island would create a “social equity assistance fund” to provide no-interest loans to business owners affected by past cannabis prohibition laws. Both would create some form of commission akin to one in Massachusetts, designed to issue retail licenses. Another goal is to assist disadvantaged groups in getting a foothold in an industry where 81% of the founders or owners are white, according to a 2017 survey done by Marijuana Business Daily. The social equity program is one of the Massachusetts commission’s most prominent efforts. Launched in 2018, the SEP provides classes and training for people looking to get into the industry, hailing from backgrounds affected by previous marijuana laws, including the nation’s “war on drugs.” Black, brown and formerly incarcerated residents, as well as those from ”areas of disproportionate impact,” are eligible for the program, which works to meet a mandate in the Legislature’s 2017 law that amended the voter-passed measure legalizing recreational cannabis in the commonwealth. Despite a pandemic, a temporary freeze on the state’s industry due to the shutdown, and having to go remote, the commission reported the program saw at least 280 participants make up its second cohort in 2020-21, up from last year’s 143, who completed various courses in entrepreneurship, management and more.
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Fifth-generation farmer Mark Davidson spent his entire life in chronic pain — until he tried CBD oil, and it changed his life. Davidson jumped on board when Indiana legalized growing hemp for CBD, a non-psychoactive chemical in the cannabis plant that is used for relieving pain, anxiety and other health issues, hoping to help others who were suffering. But then his best-laid plans went up in smoke. Literally. In 2019, Davidson was forced to burn 1.5 acres of his hemp crop. “We had to burn more than $100,000 worth of product, which was heartbreaking and disheartening,” he said. “It was like seeing all this medicine going up in smoke.” Davidson’s hemp crop had tested “hot,” meaning it contained more than the legal amount of THC, the chemical in cannabis that gets people high. Per rules from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, if the cannabis plant has 0.3% THC or less, it’s considered hemp and legal in the state of Indiana. Any higher, it’s illegal.
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May 1, 2021
All In On Hemp’: Once-Banned ‘Miracle’ Crop Could Hold Future To Farming In Pennsylvania
A once-banned crop is now being called a miracle, and it could hold the future to farming. Only on CBS3, reporter Alicia Roberts takes you to a Bucks County farm where the hemp business is booming. “You’ve got this gross misunderstanding,” said Fred Hagan, owner of Sugar Bottom Farms. The future of a plant known to be among the oldest grown by man must first overcome its soiled past. “Hemp is truly one of the most miraculous plants ever planted,” Hagan said. Hemp, a non-intoxicating form of cannabis and cousin to marijuana, is grown for its fibers, stalks and seeds, and is used to produce everything from clothing, construction materials, paint, paper, biofuel, plastics and medicine. Hagan, a historian and owner of Sugar Bottom Farm in Bucks County, is on a mission to cultivate a new image for this ancient crop. “Our government made the fatal error of viewing it as a controlled substance,” he said. While hemp can be traced back to 8000 B.C. in Asia, and was first brought to North America on the Mayflower in 1606, its production was outlawed in the United States in the 1930s. “There was a sort of paranoia surrounding anything cannabis,” said Shannon Powers, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Pennsylvania and Kentucky were the first two states to re-legalize hemp production in 2015. “We are all in on hemp,” Powers said.
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The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division doesn't want Delta-8 THC to gain a foothold in dispensaries, and on May 14 notified marijuana business owners that modified or synthetic versions of THC derived from industrial hemp aren't allowed in this state's stores. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) comes in several different isomers: molecular compounds with the same number of atoms of certain elements but distinct arrangements of those atoms. The isomer that marijuana plants naturally produce in large amounts is Delta-9 THC, which is banned by the federal government. However, chemists have discovered other forms of THC that are chemically different yet carry similar intoxicating effects, like Delta-8 and Delta-10 THC. Delta-8 and Delta-10 THC aren't explicitly outlawed by the Controlled Substances Act, and can be produced with industrial hemp, a plant now legally grown at the federal level. This is done by extracting cannabidiol from industrial hemp and then converting the CBD into the "new" forms of THC with acetic acid. Although these products still flag drug tests, the legal loophole enabled a new, growing gray market online and at certain independent retail outlets, such as smoke shops and gas stations, which aren't regulated by the MED.
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May 1, 2021
New York's marijuana legalization law simplified
Just under two months ago, New York lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo legalized the recreational use of marijuana in the state with legislation that spans more than 170 pages. But the “Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act” (S845A), as it formally is known, is less cumbersome to decipher in a bullet-point synopsis provided by the office of state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, a supporter of legalization. The synopsis, which follows, lays out significant points of the law, which is to take full effect in January 2022. Governing office, boards: The law provides for the establishment of the Office of Cannabis Management along with a governing board and advisory board. The governing board will consist of five members, three directly appointed by the governor and one each by the state Senate and Assembly. The board will be responsible for establishing social and economic equity plans to make sure a certain percentage of licenses for selling cannibas go toward communities impacted by the war on drugs, distressed farmers and service-disabled veterans. The Office of Cannabis Management will review and process applications for cannabis licenses and create a public health campaign. Specifics, local opt-outs: New Yorkers must be 21 or older to purchase and consume recreational marijuana. Retail dispensaries must be at least 200 feet away from houses of worship and at least 500 feet from schools. Cities, towns and villages will be able to opt out of having retail dispensaries and on-site consumption licenses within their municipalities with the adoption of a local law, which would be subject to a permissive referendum. Municipalities will be able to adopt a local law to opt out by Dec. 31, 2022, or within nine months of the bill becoming law, but can opt back in at any time.
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