Virginia lawmakers continue to fine tune legislation that aligns with the state’s growing medical cannabis program by advancing two Senate bills facilitating the work of caregivers and lab employees. SB 185 sponsored by Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, would allow employees at nursing homes, assisted living facilities and hospices to administer CBD and THC-A oil to residents who have a valid written certification to use the medication. SB 885 from Sen. David W. Marsden, D-Fairfax, would remove criminal liabilities for analytical lab workers who transport and possess both substances during the course of their work. Marsden also introduced legislation to protect individuals from possession charges for having marijuana in the form of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil, if they have valid written certification from a practitioner. In 2019, Dunnavant and Marsden helped pass legislation signed by the governor to reduce restrictions for patient access to the substances (SB 1557, SB 1719). CBD products are used to treat epilepsy and to help with pain management for a variety of ailments. The product can be extracted from hemp, a plant in the cannabis family that is typically low in THC. The non psychoactive version of THC is THC-A; it does not produce a high. THC-A has been used to treat seizures, arthritis and chronic pain. Fibers of the hemp plant are also used in making rope, clothing, paper and other products. Hemp recently became legal at the federal level, and its cultivation is still regulated. There is a distinction between hemp-derived CBD oil and marijuana-derived CBD oil, namely the level of THC present. Dunnavant told a Senate panel that the bill is needed so that staff at assisted living facilities can be included as those authorized to store and administer both CBD and THC-A to residents and patients. Registered nurses and licensed practice nurses can legally administer the oils. Last year lawmakers passed legislation protecting school nurses from prosecution for possessing or distributing such oils, in accordance with school board policy. Several nursing homes and assisted living facilities when contacted said that currently the use of CBD or THC-A are not allowed at their locations and that there are no immediate plans to incorporate such use into the care of their residents or patients. Marsden sees his bill as an opportunity for further research and development of medical marijuana in Virginia. The state pharmaceutical processors permitted to manufacture and dispense marijuana-derived medications can distribute products with doses that do not exceed 10 milligrams of THC. “If a laboratory is going to handle a drug that is marijuana, they need immunity from prosecution.” Marsden said. “Even if we go into decriminalization, that still has some civil penalties for it.” Richmonder Brion Scott Turner is glad that steps are being made towards CBD becoming more available. Turner uses CBD to help with his own medical condition. “I use a CBD infused lotion for my psoriasis,” Turner said. “It gives me relief from the itching and the psoriatic arthritis that comes with it. Turner has said that most of his friends and family use CBD to help with a variety of ailments from minor headaches to anxiety attacks. “My mother uses CBD for anything from lower back pain, helping with an upset stomach or even migraines,” Turner said. Other cannabis related bills moving through the General Assembly include HB 972, which would decriminalize simple possession of marijuana down to a civil penalty of no more than $25. The Senate version of the bill carries a civil penalty of no more than $50. HJ 130, currently in the Senate Committee of Rules, would direct the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study options for the regulation of recreational adult use and medical use of cannabis. SJ 67, which has passed the House and Senate, directs JLARC to study options and make recommendations for how Virginia should go about the growth, sale and possession of marijuana. JLARC’s recommendations are due by July 1, 2022. Both Dunnavant and Marsden’s bills reported out of committee and are headed to the House floor.
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March 1, 2020
Minn. state cannabis office sought
Minnesota regulators are calling on lawmakers to create a central state cannabis office to oversee the booming markets for hemp, CBD and medical pot — which they say are quickly expanding beyond their grasp. Officials from the state Pharmacy Board and the departments of Agriculture, Health and Public Safety have pitched the idea of an Office of Cannabis Management to govern the budding industry and prepare Minnesota for the potential legalization of recreational marijuana. They say having a one-stop shop for all things cannabis, like other states have established, would streamline efforts and bring a variety of expertise under the same roof. Thousands of Minnesotans have driven these markets to new heights in recent years. Patient enrollment in the medical cannabis program grew 27% from 2018 to 2019 and now exceeds 18,000. The number of hemp farmers grew eightfold — from about 50 to 400 — in the same span. And consumer CBD products are popping up in the unlikeliest of places, from convenience stores to pet shops. “This industry just sort of sprung itself on all of us,” said Whitney Place, assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. “There’s all this unregulated product out there and I feel like we really do need an office to manage some of these things that are out ahead of federal regulation.” The Agriculture Department has its hands full with the growing state hemp program, Place said, but it also must police illegal CBD food products, such as infused coffees, kombucha and beer. The agency must chart its own legal course with CBD foods because the federal Food and Drug Administration offers little guidance, she said. The Board of Pharmacy has faced similar struggles in regulating retail CBD products. There are so many CBD oils, ointments and inhalants that the board does not have enough resources to test them all. “It’s really difficult … to take action,” said Cody Wiberg, executive director of the Board of Pharmacy. So, the board has chosen to investigate only products it has received complaints about. But the board has yet to receive a single complaint, he said. Wiberg worries it’s because of a lack of public awareness, in that consumers don’t associate CBD products with the Pharmacy Board like they would prescription drugs. The enforcement void has sparked concerns about inaccurate labels and ingredient lists. Those concerns might be warranted, according to the Minnesota Hemp Farmers and Manufacturers Association. The nonprofit is in the midst of testing 25 random CBD products to see if their contents line up with their labels. Test results for the first 10 products came back last month; some contained traces of heavy metals and pesticides and almost all had less CBD than advertised. “Every one of them was wrong in some way,” said Sarah Wellington, the association’s founder. She plans to share the results with the Pharmacy Board.
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Canadian cannabis companies are introducing lower-priced, "value brand" marijuana in a bid to overtake sellers on the illegal market, who reportedly account for nearly 70 percent of the country's total cannabis sales. Recreational marijuana was legalized in Canada under the Cannabis Act, which has been in effect from October 2018. Canada is the second country in the world to legalize cannabis for recreational use nationwide after Uruguay. In the year following the legalization of recreational cannabis, marijuana sales reached around $908 million, with more than 400 retail stores available across the country. However, sales from online shops and retail stores accounted for only around 15 percent of the total revenue as of September 2019, according to a report by Statistics Canada released last December. "Online sales represented 13.3% of total sales from cannabis stores since legalization," while "direct-to-consumer trade by wholesalers, including retail sales by publicly operated cannabis stores classified as wholesalers, accounted for a total 1.9% of cannabis-related retail activity since October 2018," the report said. Legally sourced cannabis was reportedly priced at an average of $7.84 per gram, while illegal sources offered it at around $4.36 per gram on average during the last quarter of 2019, according to Statistics Canada. The strong competition has prompted three of Canada's biggest cannabis producers (Canopy Growth, Tilray and Aurora) to introduce lower-priced marijuana products offering equal, if not better, value for money. Twd., Canopy's value brand, is offering a one-ounce product this April called "Twd. 28", which will be priced at $4 per gram, with a THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) potency level of 13 to 25 percent, CNBC reports. "All of this is designed to draw consumers from the illicit market and into legal channels," Adam Greenblatt, Canopy's business development head, told CNBC.He added, "It's there to provide more variety and more of a value offering to ideally mature the market. Low-cost cannabis attracts bulk purchasers, people on the illicit side who would buy their cannabis by the ounce. People who buy cannabis by the ounce have been toughest to convert." Tilray, one of the world's largest producers of premium medical marijuana, is launching a "no-frills cannabis brand" known as "The Batch." It will be offered in three sizes, seven grams being the largest and a THC count of 10 to 15.9 percent. "The Batch is a new no-frills cannabis brand focused on delivering quality cannabis flower and pre-rolls at competitive prices," Tilray's chief marketing officer, Adine Fabiani-Carter, told CNBC. "We expect our new product format and offerings to increase revenue and profitability over the long term," the officer added. Aurora will also introduce its value brand "Daily Special", with a THC level of 15 to 21 percent. It will be available in three sizes, 15 grams being the largest. The use and possession of marijuana is illegal in the U.S. under federal jurisdiction, but the law varies at the state level. Its use (be it recreational or medical) is legal across some states in the country. A poll released by the Pew Research Center last November showed that the majority of Americans support the legalization of marijuana. The survey showed 91 percent of Americans to be in favor of legal marijuana for medical or recreational use (59 percent want both uses legalized), while 32 percent would support legalizing it for medical use only. More than half of U.S. adults (52 percent) opposed the legalization marijuana in 2010 but by 2019, that figure dropped significantly by 32 percent.
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February 29, 2020
House Democrats Block Amendment To Restrict Marijuana Products In Anti-Vaping Bill
House Democrats pushed back against a Republican attempt to include a flavored marijuana vaping ban in a broader anti-vaping bill that passed the chamber on Friday, arguing that it doesn’t make sense to prohibit products that are already illegal under federal law. Instead, several lawmakers argued that Congress should enact separate cannabis reform legislation that could include provisions designed to protect public health and reduce the appeal of marijuana to youth. The issue first came up during a House Rules Committee hearing on Wednesday, with Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) introducing an amendment to “include a prohibition against flavored marijuana products” such that they would be “treated in the same manner as flavored tobacco products” under the bill. While the congressman argued that language of the legislation implicitly already provides for such a ban, he said it was important to clarify to send a message to young people that they can’t vape products containing nicotine or THC. “Let it not be said in 2029 that we had a chance and we felt maybe we were getting to it in 2020,” he said. “Let’s just go ahead and do it. Let’s say you can’t sell flavored marijuana THC vaping products. My amendment makes that clear.” House Democrats pushed back against a Republican attempt to include a flavored marijuana vaping ban in a broader anti-vaping bill that passed the chamber on Friday, arguing that it doesn’t make sense to prohibit products that are already illegal under federal law. Instead, several lawmakers argued that Congress should enact separate cannabis reform legislation that could include provisions designed to protect public health and reduce the appeal of marijuana to youth. The issue first came up during a House Rules Committee hearing on Wednesday, with Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) introducing an amendment to “include a prohibition against flavored marijuana products” such that they would be “treated in the same manner as flavored tobacco products” under the bill. While the congressman argued that language of the legislation implicitly already provides for such a ban, he said it was important to clarify to send a message to young people that they can’t vape products containing nicotine or THC. “Let it not be said in 2029 that we had a chance and we felt maybe we were getting to it in 2020,” he said. “Let’s just go ahead and do it. Let’s say you can’t sell flavored marijuana THC vaping products. My amendment makes that clear.” Democratic members said they shared Griffith’s concern about underage use of flavored cannabis vaping products. However, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) pushed back and said the proposal is not germane because marijuana remains illegal under federal law and so regulating these products requires separate congressional action. Earlier in the hearing, he suggested that his House-passed cannabis banking bill—the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act—could serve as a vehicle to address the body’s concerns. “We have to start addressing it because we have 47 states that now are allowing some level of marijuana use when the statute under the Controlled Substance Act clearly makes it illegal,” the congressman said. “There’s a bill sitting in the Senate called the SAFE Banking Act that may get back here at some point, and we could put some testing and regulatory components on it.”
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Get ready to hear a whole lot more about drug policy in Oregon in the lead-up to November’s election. Reform advocates on Saturday announced the official launch of a ballot measure campaign “designed to establish a more humane and effective approach to drugs.” If approved, the initiative would fund the expansion of access to drug treatment and—in a historic first—decriminalize low-level possession of all drugs statewide. The measure, titled the “Drug Treatment and Recovery Act,” represents an effort to reframe drug use as a public health issue rather than a matter of criminal justice. The proposal would take money from the state’s existing marijuana tax revenue and use it to establish addiction recovery centers throughout the state. It would expand services focusing on evidence-based treatment, provide housing support for people with substance use disorders and emphasize a harm-reduction approach to overdose prevention and drug education. While campaign is quick to emphasize that the measure “does not legalize any drugs,” it would decriminalize possession of small amounts of illegal drugs. State laws around the manufacture and distribution of controlled substances would remain the same, with some offenses carrying felony charges. What would change is how the law would regard possession of small amounts for personal use. Instead of being charged as a misdemeanor crime, possession would be charged as a civil infraction—a class E violation, punishable by a maximum $100 fine and no jail time. The fine could be avoided by completing a health assessment through an addiction recovery center, which would include a screening by licensed health care worker. The goal of IP 44, advocates say, is to ensure that people have access to effective drug treatment rather than try to address the problem through policing and punishment—a strategy that has shown to be ineffective over decades of the war on drugs. Also on Saturday, the campaign announced its first 20 endorsements, including from ACLU Oregon, United Seniors of Oregon, Oregon Latino Health Coalition, Oregon State Council For Retired Citizens, Human Rights Watch and Drug Policy Action. Other supporting organizations represent victims of violence, rental tenants, concerned mothers and a variety of other communities. A newly released campaign video makes the case for reform through the story of Janie Gullickson, the executive director of the Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon and one of the chief petitioners on the proposed measure. Gullickson, who describes herself as “a person in long-term recovery,” was addicted to drugs for more than 22 years, she says in the video, before treatment and recovery taught her “a new way to live.” “Instead of access to treatment, what we have today is actually criminalization of addiction. That ruins lives,” Gullickson said. “Addiction cost me my kids, my education and my freedom.”
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February 28, 2020
Bill would allow nursing homes to give medical cannabis
Virginia lawmakers continue to fine tune legislation that aligns with the state’s growing medical cannabis program by advancing two Senate bills facilitating the work of caregivers and lab employees. SB 185 sponsored by Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, would allow employees at nursing homes, assisted living facilities and hospices to administer CBD and THC-A oil to residents who have a valid written certification to use the medication. SB 885 from Sen. David W. Marsden, D-Fairfax, would remove criminal liabilities for analytical lab workers who transport and possess both substances during the course of their work. Marsden also introduced legislation to protect individuals from possession charges for having marijuana in the form of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil, if they have valid written certification from a practitioner. In 2019, Dunnavant and Marsden helped pass legislation signed by the governor to reduce restrictions for patient access to the substances (SB 1557, SB 1719). CBD products are used to treat epilepsy and to help with pain management for a variety of ailments. The product can be extracted from hemp, a plant in the cannabis family that is typically low in THC. The non psychoactive version of THC is THC-A; it does not produce a high. THC-A has been used to treat seizures, arthritis and chronic pain. Fibers of the hemp plant are also used in making rope, clothing, paper and other products. Hemp recently became legal at the federal level, and its cultivation is still regulated. There is a distinction between hemp-derived CBD oil and marijuana-derived CBD oil, namely the level of THC present. Dunnavant told a Senate panel that the bill is needed so that staff at assisted living facilities can be included as those authorized to store and administer both CBD and THC-A to residents and patients. Registered nurses and licensed practice nurses can legally administer the oils. Last year lawmakers passed legislation protecting school nurses from prosecution for possessing or distributing such oils, in accordance with school board policy. Several nursing homes and assisted living facilities when contacted said that currently the use of CBD or THC-A are not allowed at their locations and that there are no immediate plans to incorporate such use into the care of their residents or patients. Marsden sees his bill as an opportunity for further research and development of medical marijuana in Virginia. The state pharmaceutical processors permitted to manufacture and dispense marijuana-derived medications can distribute products with doses that do not exceed 10 milligrams of THC. “If a laboratory is going to handle a drug that is marijuana, they need immunity from prosecution.” Marsden said. “Even if we go into decriminalization, that still has some civil penalties for it.” Richmonder Brion Scott Turner is glad that steps are being made towards CBD becoming more available. Turner uses CBD to help with his own medical condition. “I use a CBD infused lotion for my psoriasis,” Turner said. “It gives me relief from the itching and the psoriatic arthritis that comes with it.
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February 28, 2020
Malawi legalizes cannabis cultivation for certain uses
Malawi has legalized the cultivation of cannabis as the country seeks an alternative to tobacco, its main earner of foreign exchange which is under pressure from anti-smoking campaigns. Parliament on Thursday passed the bill to allow cultivation for medicinal and industrial uses. "Legalization of this crop will contribute to economic growth as it will contribute in the diversification of the economy and boost the country's exports, especially at this time when tobacco exports are dwindling," agriculture minister Kondwani Nankhumwa said. Cannabis for recreational use remains illegal. While lawmakers discussed the bill, police in the town of Nkhotakota were burning three tons of marijuana confiscated from dealers last year. "The hemp is continuously being illegally grown in remote parts of Malawi and smuggled out of the country, and part of what is confiscated accumulates in the police stores and burning it is necessary to free up space," Nkhotakota police spokesman Williams Kaponda said. Malawi is the latest southern African nation to loosen restrictions on the cannabis industry, joining Zambia, Lesotho and Zimbabwe. In South Africa, the finance minister has proposed legalizing the marijuana industry altogether to give the struggling economy a boost. Malawi's new law allows for the establishment of the Cannabis Regulatory Authority, which will grant licenses to cultivate, process, store, sell, export and distribute. It also will issue permits to firms and institutions to conduct scientific research.
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February 27, 2020
Bill To Legalize Marijuana Sales Officially Passes Vermont House Of Representatives
The Vermont House of Representatives finalized its approval of a bill to legalize the retail sale of marijuana on Thursday, but Gov. Phil Scott (R) said he’s not happy with at least one key component of the legislation. Though the House cast a strong initial vote in favor of the legislation on Wednesday, the measure required one additional vote to formally clear the chamber. Members gave third reading passage to the bill in a voice vote. The floor approval follows action in multiple committees in recent weeks. The House Government Operations, Ways & Means and Appropriations panels each amended and cleared the legislation. Vermont legalized the possession and cultivation of cannabis for personal use in 2018, but there is currently no way for consumers to legally purchase marijuana. The current bill would resolve that by establishing a commercial cannabis market in the state, creating various categories of business licenses, and setting tax rates on legal sales. Because the Senate already approved S. 54—with a veto-proof majority—last year during the first half of the two-year legislative session, House and Senate leaders are now expected to appoint members to a bicameral conference committee to reconcile differences between the two bodies’ versions of the legislation. As was the case the prior day’s consideration, lawmakers first took up several amendments prior to the vote on Thursday. A proposal to prohibit advertising by marijuana businesses—with an exception for labels on products or educational and editorial materials—was adopted in a voice vote. Also in a voice vote, members approved a measure specifying that the Department of Public Safety would pay for tests of cannabis products with business licensing fees instead of from its regulatory budget An amendment to expand public disclosure requirements for marijuana business applicants and their investors was rejected by the chamber in a vote of 48-93. An amendment stipulating that law enforcement have discretion to administer saliva tests or breathalyzers (should such a device testing for THC impairment prove effective in the future) to people suspected of driving under the influence was also defeated, in a vote of 27-117. The saliva samples would not be have been taken at the roadside, under the proposal, and the results could not have been used as evidence of impairment in court proceedings and could not by themselves have been used as probable cause for arrests.
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February 27, 2020
Vermont House approves bill to legalize marijuana sales
The Vermont House of Representatives approved a bill Wednesday to legalize the sale of marijuana in the state. Following weeks of committee action advancing the legislation, the full chamber cleared the bill in a 90-54 vote. Vermont lawmakers approved legislation to legalize low-level possession and home cultivation of cannabis for personal use in 2018, but the system lacks a retail component. The current proposal would resolve that by implementing a tax-and-regulate model similar to those in most other legal states. The Senate already approved the bill with a veto-proof margin during the first half of the legislative biennium in 2019. This year, it was amended and approved by the House Government Operations, Ways and Means and Appropriations Committees. “Since 2004, we have taken a step-by-step approach to reform,” Representative John Gannon said in his opening remarks, adding that the legislation “benefits from the research conducted by the governor’s commission on marijuana.” “The key features of it though are as follows: consumer protection,” he said. “It replaces an illicit market with a strictly regulated market, provides safe access to predictable and tested products, no access to cannabis establishments are allowed for anyone under the age of 21.” An additional House floor vote — expected Thursday — will be needed to finalize the bill’s passage through the chamber, though that is largely seen as a formality following Wednesday’s approval. At that point, House and Senate leaders will likely appoint members to a bicameral conference committee to reconcile differences between the two bodies’ versions of the legislation.
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February 27, 2020
Maine's plans for special cannabis crimes unit sparks outrage
Maine plans to create a new division of the state Drug Enforcement Agency tasked with regulatory compliance as well as monitoring illegal activity that competes with state-licensed growers, processors and retailers. Michael Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, said Monday the four-person unit will be funded annually by $649,000 in cannabis tax and licensing revenue, the Portland Press Herald reported. Advocates for cannabis say the state should be trying to help businesses comply with regulations, not prosecute them. “We do not want to see one additional person incarcerated for marijuana,” said Mark Barnett, a Portland coffee shop owner applying for a recreational cannabis license. “It’s a move in the wrong direction and counter to the very idea of legalization.” Rep. Kent Ackley believes the unit will create what he called a “risk premium” and force the shut down of the black market for fear of prosecution and fines. “My hope would be that we don’t have to send people to jail to convince the gray market to participate in the regulated marketplace,” Ackley told lawmakers Monday. “Nonetheless, the threat of doing that is an important piece of what we’re trying to accomplish with these four agents.” Some lawmakers question the decision to spend so much in state funds in pursuit of cannabis crimes amid an ongoing opioid crisis. “I thought we legalized cannabis,” said Rep. Charlotte Warren, D-Hallowell, co-chair of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. “If we have spent a total of $33.2 million over just the time I’ve been in the legislature, why are we adding more agents for something that we actually legalized?”
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