November 20, 2020
RI lawmakers weigh potential model for legal cannabis
In their first action on the issue since the chamber’s leaders signaled support for legalizing recreational marijuana, Rhode Island senators on Wednesday night began considering a proposal to set up a system for legalized cannabis in Rhode Island. The proposal — made by Gov. Gina Raimondo in her pre-pandemic budget proposal in January and heard by the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday night — is to keep recreational cannabis under complete state control, with state-run shops akin to New Hampshire’s liquor outlets, and to ban home-growing of the plant except for those authorized under the medical marijuana program. Members of the committee expressed skepticism about the state-run model compared to allowing private businesses to sell the drug, but the tone of the meeting indicated the committee is trying to figure out how — not if — they will advance legislation to legalize recreational marijuana next year. The soon-to-be chairman of the panel, Sen. Ryan Pearson, said afterwards he anticipates the committee will take up the matter in January, rather than waiting to include it in the fiscal year 2021-22 budget, typically passed in June. (The General Assembly still hasn’t passed a budget for the current fiscal year, which started in July, but may return to pass that measure in December.) “I certainly do think we will act on the issue, whether it’s more private or whether it’s more state,” Pearson told 12 News. “I’m optimistic to take this up early in the next session.” The Raimondo administration’s proposal would create a revenue-sharing model similar to how the state runs casinos, with the state keeping 61% of the net revenue from sales at the stores, giving 29% to one or more contractors who operate the stores, and 10% to municipalities. Even cities and towns who ban marijuana shops would get a share, though those who host the stores would get more. Administration officials gave two reasons for the unique model, which Pamela Toro from the R.I. Department of Business Regulation said no other state uses for cannabis: it would give the state a tight grip on the recreational industry, with a goal of eliminating the black market, and it would potentially bring in more revenue than a taxation model. Massachusetts uses the latter model, with private businesses opening their own stores licensed by the state, and the state getting revenue through taxes and fees.
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November 20, 2020
Mass. hemp farmers view amendment as lifesaver
MASSACHUSETTS HEMP FARMERS are lobbying for a seemingly simple change in state policy that would vastly expand the market for their product. But the change – which would let hemp products be sold in marijuana dispensaries – carries complex policy implications that highlight the unusual regulatory system governing different aspects of the cannabis plant. On Wednesday, the Senate adopted a budget amendment sponsored by Sen. Ryan Fattman, a Sutton Republican, to let marijuana dispensaries buy Massachusetts-grown hemp. Fattman called the amendment “a crucial first step” towards revolutionizing the Massachusetts hemp industry. “Unless this necessary first step is taken, Massachusetts hemp farmers and processors will continue to be unfairly locked out of the market here and face financial and personal ruin,” Fattman said. Hemp, like marijuana, is a kind of cannabis plant. Unlike marijuana, hemp cannot get a person high. By law, hemp must have less than 0.3 percent THC, which is the psychoactive compound in marijuana. Hemp is typically used to make fabric, fibers, lotions, oils, and, more lucratively, for the extraction of CBD oil, which has some therapeutic qualities. Massachusetts legalized hemp along with marijuana in 2016. In December 2018, Congress passed a farm bill that legalized hemp federally. The federal government is still finalizing the rules governing hemp production. There are now 79 Massachusetts farmers with state licenses to grow hemp and 19 hemp processers. However, there are significant restrictions on how hemp can be used. Federal law prohibits selling CBD products as food or dietary supplements. The state Department of Agricultural Resources prohibits the sale of raw hemp flower, which could be smoked. The state agency says it banned the sale of flower because it could easily be confused with marijuana and because hemp testing measures average THC content across a large crop, so individual plants could exceed the legal limit. The issue being addressed by the budget amendment is a provision in state marijuana law that restricts marijuana dispensaries to buying products that contain cannabinoids – which are the chemicals in the cannabis plant – only from other companies licensed by the Cannabis Control Commission, such as marijuana growers or manufacturers. Fattman’s amendment, which now heads to a budget conference committee, would amend that law to let marijuana establishments also buy hemp products made by farmers or processors licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. “We’ve had several dispensaries reach out to us to carry our products, and we had to tell them they weren’t allowed to,” said Laura Beohner, president and cofounder of The Healing Rose in Newburyport, which sells hemp body care products and oils.
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November 18, 2020
Northam to introduce legislation to legalize marijuana in Virginia
Will the Commonwealth soon see legalized weed? Monday, Gov. Ralph Northam said he will introduce legislation to legalize marijuana in Virginia. “It’s time to legalize marijuana in Virginia,” said Gov. Northam. “Our Commonwealth has an opportunity to be the first state in the South to take this step, and we will lead with a focus on equity, public health, and public safety. I look forward to working with the General Assembly to get this right.” The announcement comes as Northam's Office prepares to release a report on the impact of legalizing adult-use marijuana; the report was compiled with input from government officials, policy experts, healthcare professionals and community leaders. Gov. Northam says his adminstration is working closely with lawmakers to finalize the legislation ahead of the 2021 session of the General Assembly. While Northam says he will support legislation that legalizes the plant in the Commonwealth, he said any legislation to legalize adult-use marijuana would need to address the following principles: Social equity, racial equity, and economic equity. Marijuana prohibition has historically been based in discrimination, and the impact of criminalization laws have disproportionately harmed minority communities as result. A report of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) issued today found that Black Virginians are arrested and convicted for marijuana use at more than three times the rate of white Virginians. Legislation should focus on undoing these harms by including initiatives such as social equity license programs, access to capital, community reinvestment, and sealing or expunging records of past marijuana-related convictions. Public health. Legislation should include substance abuse prevention efforts in schools and communities. Protections for young people. As a pediatrician, Governor Northam will require any legislation include protections for Virginia’s youth, including age limits, mandatory ID checks, and education campaigns.
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November 18, 2020
Michigan hopes to teach others as nation moves closer to full marijuana legalization
As Congress considers potentially legalizing marijuana, or at least removing it from the list of schedule 1 drugs deemed to have “no accepted medical use,” the growing number of states that allow marijuana use are unifying. Michigan marijuana licensing officials joined up with counterparts from 19 other states to form a national marijuana regulators association, the state licensing agency announced last week. Dubbed the Cannabis Regulators Association, the group now includes representatives from across the nation and is meant to be a sounding board for member states, as well as a resource for others considering legalization. The group started “informally meeting and sharing best practices and as we all got to know each other, we realized there were lessons to be learned from different states,” Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency Director Andrew Brisbo said. “We expect (the number of members) to climb as more states are legalizing for personal or adult use purposes and certainly those conversations are evolving in some of those states and some of the perspectives on the national lever are starting to shift as well...“It’s of critical importance to consider how we all could work together to ensure the safest possible access for consumers.” Much of Michigan’s regulatory system, from the seed-to-sale tracking and inventory system to the testing regulations, are borrowed from states with more mature marijuana markets. “We looked at what issues we saw burgeoning in other states that have more mature markets and dealt with those head on,” Brisbo said. “So when we implemented the adult-use program, things like delivery services, designated consumption establishments and temporary events, those are things that were part of the conversation that were bubbling up in other more mature states.”
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State lawmakers on Monday defeated a bill putting greater restrictions on the sale of smokable hemp and other CBD products in Wyoming following outcry by producers across the state who feared new regulations could potentially stall the state’s burgeoning hemp industry. However, lawmakers remain open to pursing a tightened version of the bill this winter to restrict the sale of smokable hemp at the request of law enforcement, who still have difficulty discerning between CBD products – which contain no psychoactive properties – and marijuana, a similar looking and smelling plant that remains highly illegal for recreational and medical consumption in Wyoming. Introduced to a legislative committee by Sen. R.J. Kost, R-Powell, at the request of local law enforcement, the bill as originally written would have outlawed the smoking of hemp as well as a number of other non-FDA approved retail products containing CBD, a therapeutic and non-psychoactive extract of the hemp flower. While Wyoming already closely regulates the processing of hemp and CBD products under the rules of an industrial hemp program implemented earlier this year, Kost said the state’s lack of more robust regulation on hemp and CBD products has essentially handcuffed police officers in the field who can’t tell the difference between the substance and marijuana.
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November 18, 2020
Marijuana legalization is so popular it's defying the partisan divide
Bill Stocker could be considered the archetype of a conservative voter: He's a retired Marine and former police officer who voted for President Trump. But he's also among the majority of South Dakota voters who broadly legalized marijuana this month. Stocker, 61, said enforcing marijuana laws gets in the way of pursuing other drug crimes and called warnings about the ills of marijuana "a bunch of baloney" that even people in a Republican stronghold like South Dakota no longer believe. South Dakota's values of "personal responsibility and freedom" won out, said Stocker, who lives in Sioux Falls. The 2020 election helped prove how broadly accepted marijuana has become throughout the United States, with measures to legalize recreational pot also breezing to victory in progressive New Jersey, moderate Arizona and conservative Montana. Fifteen states have now broadly legalized it, while 36 states allow medical marijuana. Voters in Mississippi overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana this month, giving the drug another foothold in the South. A Gallup Poll released Nov. 9 indicated that 68% of Americans favor legalizing marijuana - double the approval rate in 2003. That wide margin was evident in the election, with marijuana measures passing with strong bipartisan support. In South Dakota and Montana - where Republicans swept to victory in the key races - recreational marijuana passed with at least 16 percentage points more support than Democratic President-elect Joe Biden received. South Dakota also approved medical pot, which outpolled Mr. Biden by 34 percentage points. "We've waged a war against this plant for a century and by any reasonable metric, that war has been an abject failure," said Matthew Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project, which favors legalization. "All it's done is incarcerate millions of Americans, it has perpetuated racism in this country, and perhaps the worst injustice of all is that it's deprived us of medical marijuana research." Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, hurting veterans who can't be prescribed medical pot at Veterans Affairs clinics, he said. They "come home with chronic pain and we're pushing them to opioids," Schweich said. "That's crazy. That's unpatriotic and it's a disgrace."
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November 18, 2020
Finally, New Jersey Might Be Cooler Than New York
In the very important, high-stakes fight for tristate area coolness, New Jersey rarely has the upper hand. (The tristate, for those without a Northeast-centric worldview, has traditionally referred to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.) But two weeks ago, New Jersey residents voted to amend the state constitution and legalize recreational marijuana, something New York and Connecticut have not done. The spunky underdog sneaked in a powerful left hook. The amendment kicks in on Jan. 1, 2021. The full-fledged plan for opening up the New Jersey market and distributing licenses is making its way through the state legislature in the form of a 216-page bill, alongside a more pressing one that will decriminalize possession of marijuana up to six ounces. (New York lawmakers have worked to decriminalize marijuana; possession of up to two ounces is considered a violation, not a crime.) “New Jersey is definitely the new cool kid on the block,” said Alex Todd, 41, the owner of the California cannabis company Saucey Farms and Extracts and a former celebrity jeweler for celebrities including Jay-Z and Rihanna. “We’re excited about getting into the New Jersey market,” Mr. Todd said. “It’s going to be gigantic. Possibly the largest in the U.S. besides California.” Transporting marijuana across state lines is illegal. Nonetheless, many business owners were matter-of-fact about the potential that the New Jersey market would include customers from neighboring states.
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November 18, 2020
Virginia’s governor says he supports legalizing marijuana
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Monday that he supports the legalization of marijuana, following the release of a study that found Virginia could generate $300 million in taxes from the sale of the substance. Northam (D) plans to work with the General Assembly on legislation during the regular session that convenes in January, although the process could take two years to play out. The legislature passed a bill this year that decriminalized possession of marijuana, creating a $25 civil penalty for a first offense. That measure, which passed with bipartisan support and which Northam signed into law, also mandated a study on the issue of legalization by members of Northam’s Cabinet and staff. That group plans to issue its report at the end of the month but supports legalization. The governor had campaigned on the issue of decriminalization when he ran in 2017 but had not previously expressed support for full legalization. He called a news conference Monday to discuss the topic. “We are going to move forward with the legalization of marijuana in Virginia,” Northam said. “I support this, and I’m committed to doing it the right way.” He added that “the time is right” and pointed out that Virginia would be the first state in the South to legalize marijuana. Northam said that he has never personally tried marijuana but that he has come to support legalization after learning about how communities of color are disproportionately affected by its criminalization. He said studies have shown that minority and White populations use marijuana in similar rates but that people of color are three times as likely to be arrested for it. He also said he has seen the benefits of marijuana-derived substances in treating children with epilepsy and other disorders in his practice as a pediatric neurologist. And he said he has followed public opinion polls that show increasing support for legalization.
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November 18, 2020
In economic crisis, Texas Democrats push to legalize marijuana
With a state budget devastated by the coronavirus, some Democratic lawmakers are hoping the economic crisis could become an opportunity to coax Texas into joining a growing number of states opting to legalize — and tax — recreational marijuana use. The chances are slim. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio and state Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso filed bills this week in advance of the 2021 legislative session that would legalize, regulate and tax personal cannabis use. State Rep. Terry Canales of Edinburg has proposed putting the question of legalization to Texas voters. The coronavirus pandemic has blown a $4.6 billion hole in the state budget, according to the comptroller's latest estimate, and the lawmakers argue that a legal marijuana industry could bring in hundreds of millions in tax revenue and create tens of thousands of jobs. Voters in more and more states, they note, have legalized recreational cannabis use, including four more this month bringing the total to 15. At the same time, marijuana arrests and prosecutions across Texas have been plummeting, largely because a bill passed last year that legalizes hemp has thrown prosecutions into disarray, and some cities have already eased off on pursuing small pot cases. “As we see a number of states engaging around the country in a retail market, this is no longer an experiment,” Moody said. “It is also no secret that we are heading into some rough economic waters and we need to explore every possible revenue stream.” But changes to marijuana laws still face powerful opposition at the Texas Capitol. The handful of legalization proposals filed in recent years have received little to no attention from lawmakers. And even less controversial measures, like lowering criminal penalties for marijuana possession, have fallen flat in the Texas Senate. With Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a staunch conservative, at the helm of the upper chamber, it remains unlikely that a legalization bill will make it out when the Legislature reconvenes in January. In 2019, Patrick said he and other Senate Republicans opposed the bill that would have lessened penalties for possession, calling it a “step toward legalization of marijuana.” A spokesperson for Patrick did not respond to questions on his current stance on legalization efforts. Nor did state Rep. Dade Phelan, a Beaumont Republican expected to be the next House Speaker, or a spokesperson for Gov. Greg Abbott.
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State officials are weighing legalizing adult-use cannabis, as a growing number of states have, to serve as a potential revenue source to help offset the state’s estimated $50 billion budget deficit over two years related to the COVID-19 pandemic. New York is expected to legalize adult recreational use of marijuana this year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Nov. 5 — two days after Election Day when voters in neighboring New Jersey approved a ballot measure legalizing cannabis. The state’s mounting budget deficit and changing marijuana laws in border states will pressure lawmakers to reach a deal on recreational marijuana usage, Cuomo said. “I think this year it is ripe because the state is going to be desperate for funding — even with Biden, even with the stimulus,” Cuomo said during a Nov. 5 radio interview on WAMC. “Even with everything else, we’re still going to need funding, and it’s also the right policy. … I think we’re going to get there this year.” Benjamin Dobson, founder and chief executive officer of Hudson Hemp — a Hudson-based hemp processor that partners with several hemp farmers in Columbia, Dutchess and Ulster counties — called for intelligent legislation that would ensure an adequate, affordable cannabis supply chain in poor rural areas and underrepresented urban areas. “It’s high time this gets legalized,” Dobson said. He said amnesty must be granted and records must be expunged for people with previous marijuana possession charges or convictions — especially widespread among people of color and poor Black and brown communities. “White suburban kids weren’t getting stopped and frisked and no more or less of them were smoking weed,” Dobson said. “These communities have been unfairly targeted by cannabis. This governor is in the process of leaving out the very people who it most negatively affected. If they’re going to legalize cannabis in a time where Cuomo says he cares about Black lives, he cares about the New York state economy and wants to legalize cannabis, all those things can be connected. “There’s business and revenue potential, which could help revitalize these communities if they don’t just put this in the hands of big business,” Dobson added. State lawmakers have introduced various versions of a bill to enact recreational marijuana regulation and taxation since 2013. The most recent for the 2019-20 session include a Democratic-sponsored bill, which was amended and recommitted to the Senate Finance Committee on March 12, and an Assembly bill which was amended and recommitted to the Codes Committee on March 11.
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