March 11, 2021
Colorado may see its biggest overhaul of marijuana laws since recreational legalization
They don’t make cannabis products like they used to, and there’s an increasing number of Colorado lawmakers who think that’s problematic. As recently as 2014, the vast majority of medical and recreational cannabis sold in Colorado was flower and only 11% was the high-potency concentrates consumed through dab rigs or vape pens. By 2019, concentrates took up a third of the market and flower was below 50%. With the rising popularity of high-THC concentrates, which are several times more potent than flower and edibles, come worries among deep-pocketed political groups and their statehouse allies that teenagers have too much access to it without enough knowledge of the effects. Lawmakers are working on what could be the biggest marijuana legislation in Colorado since recreational cannabis was legalized in 2012 — a bill that would more tightly regulate the state’s industry with a range of proposals, including a possible THC potency cap, a requirement that people seek medical cards in person only and improved data collection aimed at stricter enforcement of purchasing limits.
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March 11, 2021
Hemp legalization bill heads to full Senate…
The Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee on Thursday unanimously voted to send the House-passed industrial hemp legalization bill to the full Senate. HB 126 would amend Idaho’s list of controlled substances to differentiate between hemp, which has no more than 0.3% THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, and its more potent cousin. It would authorize the production, research, processing and transportation of industrial hemp by those licensed in Idaho, and allow the legal possession and transportation of the product in and through the state. "House Bill 126 is a farming, processing, trucking and research bill," said Braden Jensen, lobbyist for the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, during Thursday's public hearing. "House Bill 126 is not a CBD, THC or medical marijuana bill."
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March 10, 2021
Supporters Clash on New Mexico Recreational Pot Legalization
Two competing proposals to legalize marijuana in New Mexico — one from a Republican, the other from a Democrat — have emerged from a bargaining session among legislators on Tuesday, amid efforts to balance demands of incumbent medical marijuana producers with calls for new economic opportunity. Two other competing proposals were abandoned, and a Senate committee advanced a legalization proposal from Republican state Sen. Cliff Pirtle of Roswell that promises independent regulatory oversight by a Cannabis Control Board, with minimal license fees and taxes on pot sales along with limitless crops and business licenses. Pirtle asked Senate colleagues to let the free market for marijuana thrive and produce low-priced marijuana to stamp out the illicit market. Small industry players would be guaranteed shelf space at retail outlets, he said. At the same time, the administration of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has stepped in to broker a compromise with an alliance of medical marijuana producers that want the state to extend its cap on cultivation to guard against a supply glut if pot is legalized. Linda Trujillo, the governor-appointed superintendent of regulation and licensing, authored new provisions to a House-approved bill that allows state intervention when “market equilibrium” is reached to restrict the number of cannabis plants grown and new licenses. “We are putting in here the possibility that the department could, in fact, limit the plant count, but it would require the department to do an analysis,” Trujillo told a committee.
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Hawaii state senators on Tuesday advanced a slight increase to the minimum wage and another measure that would legalize recreational pakalolo for anyone 21 years and older. While this is the first year a recreational pot measure has cleared a full floor vote, it appears dead on arrival in the House of Representatives. A key House chairman said he may not hear the measure. The House meanwhile advanced measures allowing certain nurses to perform abortions after significant debate on the floor. Those bills are among hundreds that crossed over between the House and the Senate on Tuesday. More stringent gun control laws also drew some attention during floor debates. And the new federal stimulus bill may spell death for certain tax credit proposals.
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March 10, 2021
Stage set for showdown on cannabis legalization bills
Two competing bills to legalize recreational cannabis in New Mexico moved forward Tuesday at the Roundhouse, setting up a high-stakes showdown that will play out during the final days of this year’s 60-day legislative session. Both bills approved by a Senate committee were revised in recent days as backers worked to address trouble spots and shore up support, while several other cannabis legalization measures were withdrawn in an attempt to avoid a marijuana backlog.
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Two-thirds of Marylanders — more residents than ever — support the legalization of recreational or adult-use cannabis, according to new polling data released Tuesday by Goucher College. Public support for legalizing recreational marijuana has grown steadily across Maryland, which has been home to a legal medical cannabis market since 2016. Although polls have consistently shown that a majority of residents in the state favor fully legalized sale and use of the drug, the most recent poll showed the strongest level of support recorded since the Goucher College Poll started measuring legalization opinions in October 2013. Two years ago, Goucher polling showed 57% of Maryland residents supported legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, and 37% opposed it. Those percentages have shifted to about 67% in support, and 28% opposed in 2021. Notably, this year is also the first that legalization support broke the 50% mark among the state's Republican party, which has historically demonstrated the lowest levels of support for the issue. "Some clear divisions in support along partisan lines remain, but more Republicans than not now support legalization for the first time on a Goucher College Poll," Goucher wrote in a report on the latest polling data. The poll was overseen by the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College. It collected responses from 725 adults in Maryland in February, via random digit dialing phone surveys. It has a reported margin of error of plus or minus 3.8%.
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The number of Marylanders who support legalizing recreational marijuana continues to grow, according to the latest Goucher College poll, which also found 50% of Republicans support legalization for the first time. Two-thirds of those polled said they support legalizing marijuana — the highest number to say so since the Goucher poll began measuring opinions on the topic in 2013. Twenty-eight percent said they oppose legalization. Those numbers have shifted since just two years ago when the same poll found that 57% of Marylanders supported legalization and 37% opposed it. "This number will continue to grow," said Mileah Kromer, the director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center. "Younger Marylanders and younger Americans are overwhelmingly supportive. As these individuals age and take up larger proportions of the overall population, the support for legalized cannabis is going to continue to increase." For the first time, more Republicans polled said they support legalizing marijuana than oppose it. Half of Republicans said they support legalization, while 47% said they are opposed. Democrats and independents were more strongly in favor: 77% of Democrats and 60% of independents said they support legalization. The polling comes as the Maryland General Assembly is poised to consider legalizing recreational marijuana this session. Other states in the region are moving quickly to legalize cannabis, which could push Maryland to keep up. Marijuana is now legal in New Jersey, and the Virginia legislature voted last week to legalize recreational weed.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has signed off on regulations for the hemp industry, which are to take effect later this month. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack approved the regulations after a recent review of the work done on the hemp program under the previous U.S. administration. “The rule has now been cleared by Secretary Vilsack to move forward as published in the Federal Register,” Bill Richmond of USDA’s Domestic Hemp Production Program, wrote in an email to hemp stakeholders on Monday. USDA released the long-awaited final regulations in January, indicating clear guidance for stakeholders but also raising concern about some policies, including requirements for testing of hemp plants. Stakeholders have said delayed enforcement of some provisions regarding sampling and testing would allow producers a period to adjust to the new rules. And many have objected to a role for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the hemp program, noting the U.S. Farm Bill’s express removal of hemp from the Controlled Substances Act. The drug agency has aggressively and persistently asserted itself in matters affecting the hemp industry, to the dismay of stakeholders. Under the rules, THC testing must be carried out at DEA certified laboratories beginning Dec. 31, 2022. Final authorization by the USDA means the rules won’t be changed ahead of the March 22 effective date, but those unhappy with the rules said they’ll continue to advocate for improvements.
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March 8, 2021
Anti-Marijuana GOP Congressman Asks Virginia Governor To Veto Legalization Of ‘Gateway Drug’
A GOP congressman representing Virginia is urging the state’s governor to reject a bill to legalize marijuana that was sent to his desk last month. Freshman Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) argued that legalization is the wrong move, in part because he subscribes to the theory that cannabis is a “gateway” to other drugs and believes that federal law accurately classifies marijuana as a strictly controlled substance. “I write to you today to express my strong opposition to legalizing marijuana in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” he wrote to Gov. Ralph Northam (D), specifically citing the measure that was recently approved by the state House and Senate. “This legislation would undermine the rule of law. ” Good argued in the Thursday letter that “if marijuana is legalized, those who have been profiting from its sale in the current illegal drug trade will undoubtedly refocus and intensify their efforts in the sale and distribution of more dangerous drugs, as has happened in other states that have legalized cannabis for recreational use,” and this “is assuredly why a large majority of states have still not moved to legalize marijuana.” “Not only would efforts to legalize marijuana undermine the rule of law and federal law enforcement, it is also harmful to families. Legalizing recreational use of marijuana, even if limited to adults, will likely expose more children to drug use at young impressionable ages. Marijuana is often the ‘gateway’ drug, and its legalization will increase experimentation with it and other drugs. Surely, we can all agree that facilitating more Virginians trying and using addictive, behavior-altering, recreational drugs is not good for individuals or the Commonwealth as a whole.”
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March 8, 2021
Now that marijuana is legal in NJ, can you get fired for smoking weed? It's complicated
Perhaps someone's just asking — for a friend: Now that New Jersey has legalized recreational marijuana, can your boss still fire you for smoking weed? Answer: It's complicated. Under the New Jersey marijuana legalization laws enacted last month, employers can no longer fire employees simply because they use marijuana. With few exceptions, this protection generally applies so long as the employee is on their own time, according to the law. Not so clear is when these provisions actually take effect, and how they apply to workers bound by other laws, contracts and agreements. Employment lawyer Michael Riccobono said the protection falls away when the worker is on the clock or on the employer's property. "The law is clear that employers can still prohibit the employees from the use, possession and being under the influence of marijuana at the workplace," said Riccobono, with the Ogletree Deakins law firm in Morristown. He added: "But marijuana users in New Jersey are essentially a protected class. You can't fire someone solely because they are a marijuana user." It still isn't clear when the marijuana laws' provisions over employees' use become "operative."
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