Here’s what you need to know about the future of marijuana legalization in the United States, from its racist beginnings to today.
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January 8, 2021
Cuomo renews push to legalize recreational marijuana in New York. What you need to know
The latest push to legalize recreational marijuana in New York kicked off Wednesday with Gov. Andrew Cuomo announcing his third attempt since 2019 to allow adults to use the drug. Cuomo's proposal called for the creation of a new state Office of Cannabis Management that would issue licenses for producers, distributors and retailers.
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The governor’s office and Senate leaders are nearing an agreement that would remove criminal charges associated with underage marijuana possession and use, a deal that all sides hope will be the last one required before Gov. Phil Murphy signs the bills to legalize weed in New Jersey. While negotiations are continuing, legislative sources said Monday that a deal appears likely to remove all penalties for minors – under 18 years old – found in possession of marijuana and levy fines on those between 18 and 21 years old, instead of bringing forth any criminal charges. Cases involving minors would be handled by local police departments and the child’s family, the sources said. Underage users between 18 and 21 years old would be subject to civil penalties of $250 to $500 depending on the amount of marijuana. Details of the negotiations were first reported by Politico New Jersey. That legal weed threshold is also in place for adults over 21 years old, but they remain subject to a fourth-degree crime if found in possession of more than 6 ounces.
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January 6, 2021
Push To Legalize Marijuana In Minnesota Gains Momentum, But Faces Opposition In Senate
The push to fully legalize marijuana in Minnesota will be up for debate again this legislative session. The issue has gained momentum in the last month, with the House of Representatives passing federal legislation. It still faces opposition in the Senate. Voters in South Dakota, Montana, New Jersey and Arizona made recreational Marijuana legal in November. “Public support is growing for legalizing and expunging criminal records for cannabis,” House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler said. Winkler will again sponsor a bill for legalization, and explains there are two elements to it. “We want to create a safe, regulated marketplace where people can buy cannabis, know what they’re getting, where law enforcement knows where cannabis is coming into the community,” Winkler said. He said addressing the criminal justice aspect of marijuana is paramount. “There are obviously big racial biases in the criminal justice system, very different arrest rates, very different incarceration depending on your race. The big hurdle is not really trying to convince people that cannabis is good. Nobody is trying to say that. What we’re saying is the current system fails every test of a good public response to a drug that has some adverse effects and has some positive benefits,” Winkler said. Ahead of last years’ session, Winkler held town hall listening sessions around the state. He heard the benefits from people, including how it would help those that can’t access the current medical marijuana program. He admits there are drawbacks, including risk involved with driving while high. “There’s always a balance of harms, and I think impaired driving is a relatively smaller harm compared to the harms we’re creating through prohibition,” Winkler said. WCCO wanted to know what he thinks the chance of getting it passed in Minnesota this next session. “I really see Senate leadership as being the number one obstacle. I think if they would agree to put this on the ballot in 2022, I think it would pass overwhelmingly,” Winkler said. A Senate spokesperson told WCCO: “With a divided government returning to the capitol in 2021, I don’t think recreational marijuana will have a different outcome than last legislative session.”
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January 6, 2021
Cannabis reform in Texas: Industry leaders seek an end to THC limits for medical uses, reduced fees
When Morris Denton talks about cannabis regulations in Texas, he often refers to a basic phrase: "crawl, walk, run." “In a state like Texas, with conservative leadership, with conservative governance, with a conservative legislature and only a chance to expand the laws every other year, each session is really important,” said Denton, CEO of Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation, which is based in Austin. Compared to most of its U.S. peers, Texas is continuing to crawl. After gaining approval from state lawmakers in 2015, Texas launched a highly regulated medical cannabis program for people with intractable epilepsy that limited the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, in the plant to 0.5%. Last year, lawmakers expanded the program to allow people with a handful of other chronic medical conditions, such as terminal cancer, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis, to get prescriptions.
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A Missouri lawmaker wants to legalize recreational marijuana in hopes of bringing more revenue to the state and getting rid of the black market. Lawmakers are returning to Capitol later this week to kick off the 2021 legislative session. For the first time ever, a Missouri Republican representative is pushing to legalize recreational marijuana. If it passes, it would even clear the records of those with previous marijuana charges. Rep. Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin, is sponsoring the proposed constitutional amendment, House Joint Resolution 30 (HJR 30). “We spend more time and more law enforcement resources going after marijuana smokers than all the other drugs combined,” Dogan said. “Ten percent of the arrest in the state of Missouri right now are from marijuana possession.” Sixteen states have already legalized marijuana, but Dogan said it’s time for Missouri to craft its own regulations and restrictions that make sense for Missouri. “I think alcohol prohibition taught us that trying to prohibit something this way, the way we’ve gone about marijuana prohibition, it backfires,” Dogan said. The proposed amendment would allow Missourians 21 and older to use cannabis. The amendment would remove marijuana from the state’s list of controlled substances. “And it automatically lets out of prison anybody that is still serving a prison term for marijuana-only offenses and then expunges from your record if you have a non-violent marijuana offense,” Dogan said. “If you are currently incarcerated [more than] a marijuana offense, so if you have a marijuana offense but you also committed a robbery, you don’t get out.”
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As Maine enters its fourth month of adult-use marijuana sales being legalized, licensed purveyors still face competition from the black market. This trend could change as more sellers are approved for the adult-use marketplace and their supply increases. Overregulation has put Maine in a conundrum with the black market, Eben Sumner, a founding board member of Maine Growers Alliance, told The Center Square in an email. “Maine has been a pioneer and could be considered to have one of the best medical programs in the country,” Sumner said. “However, the cumbersome adult-use legislation has now created a major barrier of entry into the industry by adopting Metrc track and trace, which is a very expensive and time-consuming system.” Sumer also serves as CEO and founder of 1780, a medical cannabis cultivation business in North Berwick, and co-founder/CEO of Casco Bay Hemp in Portland. According to data from the Office of Marijuana Policy (OMP), Maine collected $128,386 in sales taxes in November, the most recent month for which figures are available. The November sales amount was roughly $1.3 million, generated from 19,015 transactions. It’s still illegal under federal law to sell or possess marijuana. “If there was more widespread industry involvement in our rulemaking process, the laws would be better suited to small businesses, which is what Maine needs most,” Sumner said. “It outwardly appears like the government is looking for one or two national companies to come in and take over the market, at least this is what is reflected with the legislative involvement and rulemaking process.” Among proposals under consideration are three bills submitted late last month by the Maine Craft Cannabis group, Sumner stated.
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Let’s take advantage of the last few weeks of our 2020 vision and keep an open mind regarding new data, research and comparisons about marijuana for Virginians. Although some think marijuana is the same as it was in the 1960s, in reality marijuana remains a Schedule 1 drug with no definitive medical benefit, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. Currently, marijuana is intentionally grown with triple and often quadruple levels of the psychoactive chemical tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that dwarf the low levels from decades ago. Marijuana oils and waxes can have even greater levels of THC that range from 32-99%. This increasingly potent drug has even increased in appeal over the decades. Vaping marijuana and nicotine have more than doubled among 19-22-year-olds between 2017 and 2019. Their current annual prevalence rate of 43% is the highest level seen in the past four decades. In 2019, more than one-in-seven non-college 19-22-year-olds used marijuana on a daily or near-daily basis. This use pattern makes it harder for them to return to academics due to marijuana’s detrimental effects on cognitive functioning and mental health, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The Journal of Adolescent Health reported in September that during the pandemic, national data cited an increase in marijuana use by adolescents: 49% used marijuana alone, 32% used with peers while on their devices, and 24% used in person.
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January 5, 2021
FDA & FTC Begin Crackdown Over CBD Marketing Claims
The Federal Trade Commission and Food and Drug Administration are cracking down on CBD companies making false or misleading health claims about their products in an action they are calling Operation CBDeceit.
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January 5, 2021
Portland researcher: Hemp surplus brings major woes
Regulatory uncertainty has made it more difficult to process, and sell, hemp.
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