December 14, 2020
Herring participates in summit on legalizing marijuana
Attorney General Mark Herring participated in a summit on Thursday focusing on the importance of legal and regulated adult cannabis use in Virginia. According to a release, he was part of the “Legalize It: The Path to Cannabis Equity in Virginia” summit, which was put on by Virginia NORML and the Tom Tom Foundation. The summit aims to address the future of marijuana legalization in the Commonwealth, and Herring says it's a matter of public safety, justice, equity and economic opportunity. “We have a real opportunity now to bring equitable cannabis legalization to the Commonwealth and we have all the tools and information at our disposal to make sure that we come up with the best plan for Virginia that meets our public safety and equity goals,” said Herring. “My office can bring a unique perspective and play an integral role in helping with this process through our focus on consumer protection, acting as counsel for state agencies, and our experiences with criminal justice reforms to make sure that we come up with a suitable plan. I look forward to working with Virginia NORML and our other partners in the House, the Senate and other advocacy groups as we move Virginia ever closer on our path towards legalization.” The release says Herring noted that his office has been charged with protecting consumers and the need to make sure the industry is safe under proper regulations and making sure products are advertised accurately. The Attorney General’s Office will serve as counsel to state agencies and guide any agencies that are created to handle the cannabis industry. This year, the General Assembly decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana.
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December 14, 2020
Mexico Just Postponed the Legalization of Weed to 2021 Due to COVID
In a disappointing twist for advocates of drug policy reform, Mexico will not legalize cannabis in 2020. The country’s Supreme Court accepted a formal petition from the Lower House of Congress on December 10, requesting an extension until April 30, 2021, on a looming deadline for a vote on a proposed legalization bill. The court had previously ruled that the legalization bill must be voted on by December 15. The petition from the Lower House of Congress claimed that the “complexity of the issues at hand” and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic "has made it difficult for the legislative process to consider with the depth and care that any process of formation and reform of the laws implies." The Supreme Court obliged, also citing COVID as the reason they accepted the petition for postponement. Cannabis enthusiasts had been optimistic that the bill — while flawed — would pass the various levels of government by the December deadline. In November, Mexico's Senate voted to pass the bill, leaving the Lower House of Congress as the only roadblock to legalization. “It’s disappointing that the two legislative bodies couldn’t have coordinated better the drafting of this bill in order to ensure that they would have complied with the dates set by the Supreme Court,” said Zara Snapp, a legalization activist and co-founder of the Mexican research and advocacy organization Instituto RIA. The recent Supreme Court decision is the fourth time that the governing body has allowed the deadline to be extended since ruling in 2018 that the prohibition of the personal use and cultivation of cannabis was unconstitutional. However, Snapp expressed hope that lawmakers will use the additional time to alter the bill to remove remaining criminal penalties and sanctions, and expand opportunities for communities who have been affected by prohibition.
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December 11, 2020
USDA calls on hemp operators to apply for supply-chain research grants up to $10 million
Federal agricultural funding grantors are asking for hemp operators working toward transformational changes in the U.S. food and agriculture system to apply for research money to help develop the hemp supply chain.
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December 11, 2020
In Hydrofarm IPO, Investors Seek Pot Growth Without the Pot
Hydrofarm Holdings Group Inc.’s initial public offering topped the company’s own pricing expectations, showing just how much investors want a piece of the cannabis action -- but without the actual cannabis. Trading on Thursday started at $46 a share, well above the $20 price set in Wednesday’s offering. What's moving markets: The maker of hydroponics equipment has benefited from growth in the marijuana market, which accounts for as much as 70% of Hydrofarm’s end users, according to Chief Executive Officer Bill Toler. And since the 43-year-old company doesn’t actually “touch the plant” -- investor-speak for businesses that keep a distance from the marijuana itself, thus avoiding legal concerns -- Hydrofarm has drawn interest even from large institutional backers. “The marijuana stigma has gone the other way -- there’s more interest,” Toler, the former CEO of munchies-maker Hostess Brands Inc., said in an interview. Hydrofarm offers investors a “picks and shovels play” that isn’t tied to the success of any one cannabis brand or retailer, he added. The public debut comes just weeks after five more U.S. states voted to legalize cannabis and only a few days after the House of Representatives passed legislation to legalize marijuana at the federal level. While the latter bill isn’t expected to pass the Senate, an incoming Democratic presidential administration has lifted hopes in the industry that U.S. legalization isn’t far off. That enthusiasm buoyed Hydrofarm, which surpassed expectations in its initial pricing. The company raised about $173 million in proceeds from Wednesday’s offering, after saying earlier that it expected as much as $159.3 million and an initial price of $17.50 a share. Funds raised will be used to build brands, with potential acquisitions in nutrients and grow media, Toler said. Unlike many cannabis companies, which have gone public in Canada or through maneuvers such as reverse takeovers, Hydrofarm’s offering looked like a mainstream IPO, and it counted JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Stifel Financial Corp. as leading book-running managers. While institutional investors have shied away from cannabis due to ambiguous rules and federal prohibitions on loans and banking, ancillary plays have caught their attention. For instance, large firms hold more than half the shares of hydroponics retailer GrowGeneration Corp., according to Bloomberg data, while institutional investors account for less than 1% of Curaleaf Holdings Inc., the biggest multistate operator in the U.S. GrowGeneration’s stock has soared this year, making it a top cannabis stock of 2020. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s Hawthorne business has also boomed with a similar, competing business in hydroponics. With the cannabis industry maturing rapidly, Toler said there’s potential for his company to serve customers from small, craft growers to massive greenhouses. “It’s like the beer business,” he said. “You have Miller and Anheuser-Busch at the top, but you also have 1,000s of craft beers. We think you’re going to have that kind of a structure here.”
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December 11, 2020
The future of cannabis legalization
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill that will make it easier for states where cannabis is legal to carry out research on the drug. This bipartisan decision followed on the heels of another groundbreaking House bill which could end federal marijuana convictions and erase some past ones. Closer to home in New Jersey, voters on election day decided to amend the state constitution and legalize cannabis statewide. What are the chances of these federal bills passing through the Senate and could New Jersey set the standard for the future legal status of cannabis in the region? New Jersey Senator NICHOLAS SCUTARI starts off our hour with an update from his state. Then, POLITICO states cannabis policy reporter MONA ZHANG gives us a look at the pending federal legislation.
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December 11, 2020
N.J. should allow medical patients, low-wage earners to grown their own marijuana | Opinion
As the New Jersey Legislature crafts legislation that will put meat on the bones of the successful cannabis legalization ballot initiative, one topic has received increasing public attention. Once called a “non-starter” by some legislators, the right of New Jerseyans to cultivate (or “home grow”) a limited number of cannabis plants has become a real possibility. In my role as founder of the international organization Doctors for Cannabis Regulation (DFCR), and as a founding steering committee member of New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform (NJUMR), I have supported people’s right to home cultivation both here and around the country. The possibility that New Jersey would not allow home grow is a perplexing one. Every one of the 11 states that have legalized cannabis for adult use also legalized home cultivation for medical and/or personal use. Among the four states that voted to legalize adult use in last month’s election, only New Jersey has threatened to prohibit all home cultivation. There are compelling public health, personal liberty and social justice priorities that explain every other state legislatures’ unanimity on this issue. Given that a Rutgers-Eagleton poll showed that 60% of New Jerseyans support home cultivation, it’s more of a “no-brainer” than a “non-starter.” We voted overwhelmingly to end cannabis prohibition in the Garden State last month because of its devastating effect on low-income communities and communities of color. Banning our citizens from growing their own cannabis will only perpetuate the harms caused by overzealous policing. Just as Black New Jerseyans are far more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than their white counterparts, they would surely be disproportionately targeted for the simple act of growing a few plants for medical or personal use. The cultivation of psychoactive cannabis is far from trivial. While it’s easy enough to plant a seed and watch it germinate, the production of usable cannabis flower requires specific temperature and soil conditions. Cannabis will only flower if the plant is female and lighting conditions are carefully adjusted over the lifetime of the plant. This is why the great majority of cannabis consumers would prefer to buy their cannabis than try to grow it. In the same way, most New Jerseyans choose to purchase beer or wine rather than engage in the sophisticated art of making their own, even though it is perfectly legal for adults to do so. Thus, home cultivation barely makes a dent in the legal cannabis market. However, for low-income adults who have a greater abundance of time than money, a ban on home grow would infringe upon their liberty and prevent their enjoyment of a legal substance that is generally less harmful than alcohol and tobacco. Opponents of home cultivation claim that police will be unable to enforce laws against unlicensed commercial cannabis cultivation. However, home cultivation laws have worked well in other states, as regulations specify a strict personal allowance averaging 5 to 6 plants that must be kept in a secure location. This should pose no impediment to law enforcement, as police can quickly and easily verify that households don’t exceed the small number of home-grown cannabis plants when called upon to do so. Physicians like me recognize a public health argument for allowing home cultivation. Medical cannabis patients often find that only a few specific strains are effective and well-tolerated. Those who need a particular strain should be able to grow it if it isn’t available in dispensaries.
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December 9, 2020
What is the future of legal marijuana in Florida?
The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to decriminalize marijuana. Most Democrats supported the bill that would enact that change. Most Republicans did not. The bill is unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. Was Congress’ historic vote an early sign of momentum to legalize marijuana across the United States? Or is was it a low-stakes move on a splashy issue that’s unlikely to go anywhere? Florida is home to plenty who are interested in the answer. “We talk all the time on the right about the need to empower people and empower states,” U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, said in an impassioned speech on the House floor in support of the bill, the MORE Act. “Right now, the federal policy on cannabis constrains our people. It limits our states.” Gaetz, who helped author Florida’s very first medical marijuana program as a state representative in 2014, was one of just five Republicans to support the bill. Another Florida Republican, Brian Mast, R-Palm City, also voted for the measure. Mast’s office did not respond to requests for comment for this story. In addition to essentially legalizing marijuana at the federal level, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act establishes a federal tax on cannabis products. That tax money would be set aside in a trust fund for people and businesses that have been affected by the federal war on drugs. A 2020 study by the American Civil Liberties Union showed that Black Americans are nearly four times more likely than white Americans to be arrested for marijuana possession, despite using the drug at a similar rate.
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In September, the House postponed a vote on the MORE Act (H.R.3884), which would de-schedule cannabis. Now that this legislation has passed the House and moves onto the Senate, safety leaders must again warn lawmakers to exercise caution. While the MORE Act includes some provisions that would not cause workplace safety concern, such as the removal of punitive actions for drug violations, any de-scheduling of cannabis must be done with care. Steps toward legalization need to include an evaluation of the impact that legalized cannabis use will have on transportation and workplace safety. We have an obligation to protect workers and all who use our roadways, and cannabis use can create serious risks in both environments. Data should always drive policy decisions. Cannabis is an impairing substance whose use has been on the rise, and a substance without clear and scientifically defined levels of impairment. Unfortunately, no cannabis test currently exists that correlates well with impairment level such as breath alcohol or blood alcohol. At this time we know little about cannabis impairment, the side effects or long-term health implications, as well as the implications for workplace safety. These questions can only be answered through rigorous research. We know that cannabis has the ability to impair, and on-the-job impairment can have serious consequences, particularly for workers in safety-sensitive positions and all those around them. It is difficult to ascertain if a worker may be impaired, when they last used cannabis and whether they pose a risk to co-workers, customers or the general public. This is akin to the potential for “driving under the influence” for those operating commercial aircraft, trucks, trains, buses, cranes and forklifts. One troubling trend during the pandemic has been an increase in impaired driving, including from cannabis. Potential mishaps can also result from impairment of a worker on the floor of a chemical plant, at a construction site, warehouse or other operation with inherent risk.
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December 9, 2020
Legalize Marijuana Bill filed in Florida
Four more states voted to legalize recreational marijuana for adults in November, and late Friday, the U.S. House voted to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. One, if not two, legalization amendments are likely to make the 2022 ballot here in Florida, and a powerful state senator has filed a bill to keep control of marijuana in the Legislature’s hands. Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota all voted to legalize recreational marijuana this past November. That brings the total to 15 states nationwide. Florida could vote on not one, but two referendums in 2022. Nick Hansen is leading one of them. “There is an economic need for this. Folks understand that this is a tremendous economic driver in these states that have implemented it correctly and well. And it can really bolster those states’ coffers for things like education,” said Hansen.Polls suggest two out of three voters support legalization.
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December 9, 2020
S.D. industrial-hemp rules get green light
South Dakota’s industrial-hemp program will soon be off the ground. The Legislature’s Rules Review Committee gave final clearance Monday to regulations proposed by two of state government’s departments. The vote was 5-1. No one testified as an opponent. But watching from the audience was Representative Nancy York, a Watertown Republican who voted against the legislation. Lawmakers said yes to hemp whose THC content doesn’t exceed 0.3%. Governor Kristi Noem signed the measure into law March 30 after vetoing a somewhat similar bill in 2019. The state Department of Agriculture received approval of South Dakota’s plan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture before proposing the rules. The state Department of Public Safety also has enforcement roles.
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