The head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) again indicated that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had an outsized influence on its proposed rules for hemp, stating that the agency “really didn’t like the whole program to begin with.” During a hearing on USDA’s budget before the Senate Appropriations Committee last week, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was pressed on restrictive provisions of USDA’s interim final rule for hemp, specifically as it concerns the limited THC threshold allowed in the crop. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) said the 0.3 percent THC limit is arbitrary, and it’s not necessary to distinguish hemp from marijuana. Perdue said that was “certainly true” and he added that USDA “fought for a little more flexibility of widening those standards,” but it was constrained by congressionally approved statutes and faced pushback from other federal agencies as it attempted to loosen restrictions.“You may know also in the regulations, we had some pushback from DEA,” the secretary said, noting for the second time this month that the agency stood opposed to implementing a domestic hemp program in the first place. He previously called out DEA for its role in shaping restrictive rules for the newly legal crop in a House hearing. “We made a few modification as we were able to under the legal statutes in our interim final rule. This is a new and unusual crop, as you understand, and we’ll be very open to ongoing comments as we go forward about what those other flexibilities,” he said. “But our hands were constrained many times by the interagency process of other people weighing in.” Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) quickly followed up to say that he shares Merkley’s concerns and he urged Perdue to “continue working with us to get it right.” Later in the hearing, which was first reported by Hemp Industry Daily, Merkley again brought up hemp and asked the secretary whether it would be fair to characterize the interim final rule as a “draft plan” given the evolving nature of the regulations. He cited USDA’s recent decision to temporarily lift certain testing requirements as an example of that fluid approach. “I would think you would” be able to characterize it as a draft, Perdue replied. “The problem is, on an interim final rule, as our lawyers have explained to me, once it’s set, unless they’re minor changes in that, you can’t change it until you go to the notice of proposed rulemaking. I would functionally say it’s a draft plan.” “This is a very unique crop as you know. We were learning as we were going and we tried to nail it best we could,” he said. “We had some pushback as I indicated in other agencies, but I would think your characterization of a draft is a good one.”
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March 17, 2020
New York Lawmakers File Revised Marijuana Legalization Bill As Coronavirus Accelerates Budget
New York lawmakers have rolled out a revised bill to legalize marijuana as uncertainty abounds about the state legislative and budgetary process amid the coronavirus outbreak. The proposal filed on Thursday, which would allow individuals 21 and older to purchase cannabis from licensed retailers and cultivate up to six plants for personal use, has undergone several changes from prior versions as lawmakers continue negotiations. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) included legalization in his budget proposal for the second year in a row, and he discussed the importance of passing the reform legislation in his State of the State address in January. The governor has repeatedly insisted that the budget should be the vehicle to enact reform, and this bill seems to position lawmakers to accomplish that ahead of an April deadline. However, advocates say complications may arise as the administration and legislature grapples with the ongoing crisis caused by the spread of coronavirus. “In an ideal world for advocates, language from the revised bill would be inserted into the budget before it arrives at Cuomo’s desk,” Melissa Moore, New York deputy state director of the Drug Policy Alliance, told Marijuana Moment. “But that prospect seems dimmed in light of the current crisis, which has shifted legislative priorities.” But even as officials work on the health response, Cuomo has insisted that pushing the reform move through the budget is still the surest way for it to succeed. And, because of the urgency of cutting down on public gatherings at a time when at least two state lawmakers have already tested positive for coronavirus, the budget may actually be considered on a “accelerated” basis with a deal being made as soon as this week. “We have to make the political decisions. The budget is the time to make the political decisions,” he said on a conference call with reporters on Saturday, adding that “without the budget, the easiest thing for a legislative body to do is to do nothing.”
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March 17, 2020
COVID-19 Social Distancing Guidelines Are Incompatible With Overpopulated U.S. Prisons
At a time when across the country, states are limiting gatherings of over 250 people and those who can are choosing to self-quarantine, there’s one place where millions of people are involuntarily gathered in close proximity — our nation’s prisons and immigrant detention centers. An epidemiologist at Brown University has recommended that the United States could release close to 44,000 detained immigrants who are being held for civil, not criminal, infractions. This would not only prevent the ability of COVID-19 to spread as quickly, but also save critical government resources at a time when we need every dollar we can get to fight the spread of the disease. Organizations like the ACLU and Critical Resistance are also calling for the release of high-risk populations like immigrants who are pregnant or over 60 years old from a GEO Group facility — the latest in a year of complaints against private prison companies from investors and activists alike concerned about immigrant detention. GEO Group released a statement on March 13 noting they do not have any coronavirus cases identified yet, and have action plans in place that include discussing with government officials the idea of reducing “non-essential” visitation. The question of the release of high-risk populations was not specifically referenced in the statement nor in a request for comment. Then more broadly, with over 2 million people incarcerated, and another 5 million under some form of correctional control, it’s a good time to address exactly why it is that America is infamous for locking up the greatest percentage of its citizens of any country on earth. It’s important to note that close to half of the federal prison population, 45.4%, to be exact. is currently there for drug violations. If we just look at cannabis — considered a recreational or medicinal plant in 33 states and DC, and a controlled substance in 17 states — there are 40,000 people across the country being held for possessing or distributing marijuana. In those 33 states, possessing 2.5 pounds of cannabis likely means you’re an entrepreneur, a healthcare provider, or simply the life of the party. In states like Louisiana, it could mean a 10-year prison sentence.
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March 17, 2020
Postal Service Fails To Properly Internally Mail Seized Marijuana Packages, Audit Reveals
Federal workers at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) aren’t adhering to internal shipping guidelines after discovering illegal marijuana packages in the mail, and seized cannabis is being lost—or stolen—in the shuffle. The agency’s failure to take steps to cover up the plant’s pungent smell is a key reason. That’s according to a new audit from the USPS’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), which analyzed the agency’s handling of suspected marijuana shipments. The report, released last week, shows that USPS lost more than 200 packages believed to contain cannabis in fiscal year 2019—and a big part of the problem seems to be that “postal inspectors did not use suggested mailing methods.” Tracking data indicates that 188 of the 15,941 confiscated packages were lost because “policy recommends, but does not require, postal inspectors to use a more controlled mailing method.” The report notes that packages with marijuana “emit a strong odor and can be easily detected,” contributing to the problem and increasing “the risk of theft by postal employees processing this mail.” “When packages suspected of containing illicit drugs are lost or stolen, there is an increased risk that those drugs could be illegally distributed or used,” it states. “In addition, when suspect packages which contain legitimate mailable items are sent to [government location redacted] and are lost, this could impact the Postal Service’s brand reputation.”
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said on Monday that recent efforts to coordinate marijuana legalization plans across states in the region are helping to facilitate responses to the coronavirus. During a press conference, the governor said that because the federal government has failed to adequately provide resources to address the current health crisis, it’s incumbent upon states to develop their own strategies and policies. But to do that requires some level of regional coordination, he said. The Northeast already has some infrastructure to accomplish that, he said, crediting a tri-state effort to legalize cannabis with allowing the state governments to communicate and ensure that their coronavirus responses share basic principles. “The best way is for me not only to have a uniform policy within the state of New York, but to the extent you can, cooperate with surrounding states so you all have a common set of practices,” he said. “I don’t want to close down bars in New York, but Connecticut leaves the bars open. Why? Because then many people will get in their car and they’ll drive to Connecticut to go to a bar, which is the last thing we want.”
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March 16, 2020
Medical marijuana bills challenge Bible Belt politics
Facing a potentially historic vote on whether to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky, Republican lawmaker John Schickel is conflicted. A retired law enforcement officer, Schickel once steadfastly opposed medical cannabis, but his stance has softened. Now he says he's approaching the question with an open mind. “One side of me says that with all the drug abuse we have right now, why are we opening up another avenue of abuse?" the state senator said in an interview. “But the flip side of it is, if there are people who need medical attention and truly believe that it will help them, who are we to say they can't have it?" Schickel’s dilemma stands as yet another sign that views about marijuana are changing across the South, where efforts to legalize it have long been stymied by Bible Belt politics. While medical cannabis is legal now in 33 states, including Arkansas, Louisiana, and Florida, other Southern states remain among the holdouts. Whether wavering resistance will lead to legalization remains unclear. After years of setbacks, the Kentucky bill's supporters cleared a historic hurdle when the House passed the measure. The Senate appears more skeptical. Lawmakers in other Southern states are also cautiously eyeing changes, though there's reason for hope among advocates. In Alabama, a medical marijuana bill won approval in the Alabama Senate as advocates make headway after years of setbacks. The legislation moves to the state House next. And in Mississippi, voters will decide for themselves whether to legalize medical marijuana in November, after a group submitted more than enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot. But that ballot question might have competition. The Mississippi House voted to put a second medical marijuana proposal on the statewide ballot this year. People who petitioned to get the first one there say the second is designed to split the vote and kill both proposals. The alternative proposal would go on the ballot only if it is also approved by the state Senate. Lawmakers in other Southern states are also cautiously eyeing changes, though there's reason for hope among advocates. In Alabama, a medical marijuana bill won approval in the Alabama Senate as advocates make headway after years of setbacks. The legislation moves to the state House next. And in Mississippi, voters will decide for themselves whether to legalize medical marijuana in November, after a group submitted more than enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot. But that ballot question might have competition. The Mississippi House voted to put a second medical marijuana proposal on the statewide ballot this year. People who petitioned to get the first one there say the second is designed to split the vote and kill both proposals. The alternative proposal would go on the ballot only if it is also approved by the state Senate.
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March 16, 2020
Supporters of legalized hemp say Idaho missed an opportunity
Idaho farmers will not be able to grow hemp this year and it appears doubtful they will be able to grow it next year either. A bill that would have got the ball rolling toward allowing Idaho farmers to grow hemp was voted down, 8-7, by members of the House State Affairs Committee March 11. The legislation had passed the full Senate Feb. 27 by a 27-5 vote. House State Affairs Committee members voted to hold Senate Bill 1345 in committee, effectively killing it and likely ending the last chance of passing hemp-related legislation this year. Two hemp-related bills also failed during the 2019 Idaho legislative session. One of SB 1345’s sponsors, Rep. Caroline Nilsson Troy, R-Genesee, told Idaho Farm Bureau Federation she was very disappointed by the bill’s demise. “I’m angry and frustrated that a commodity that is legal across the United States of America is denied to Idaho agriculture,” she said. “And sadly, I think it was denied over a false narrative and politics.” Idaho is now one of only two states, along with Mississippi, that do not allow production of industrial hemp. Hemp plants are the same species as marijuana but industrial hemp contains less than 0.3 percent THC, the psychoactive compound that gets marijuana users high. Hemp supporters say it’s not possible to get high with industrial hemp. Industrial hemp is used in thousands of products that have been sold legally in the United States for decades but until recently, it has not been legal to grow and process hemp domestically. The 2018 farm bill changed that and classified hemp as a regular agricultural crop. However, the farm bill left it up to states to determine how to handle hemp production. It is illegal to grow or process hemp in Idaho and state law considers hemp with any THC the same thing as marijuana. Opponents of the bill claimed during public testimony on the bill that hemp could be used as a way to camouflage marijuana and they also said it was the first step toward legalizing marijuana in Idaho. Supporters of the bill said it would provide Idaho farmers with another option and would fit well into some crop rotations. Tim Cornie, an organic farmer from Twin Falls County who testified in support of SB 1345, said Idaho will continue to fall further behind other states when it comes to hemp production and lose the revenue that would come with producing the crop. “The Idaho farmer lost,” he said about the bill’s defeat. “I’m disappointed. A lot of farmers needed that extra revenue and we lost millions of dollars to neighboring states.” Cornie is co-owner of 1000 Springs Mill in Buhl, which produces dry beans, oats, popcorn and quinoa. “Hemp would have been a beautiful thing to add to our production line,” he said.
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March 15, 2020
Iowa Poll: Most Iowans support expanding medicinal cannabis and legalizing recreational marijuana
While the Iowa Legislature and Gov. Kim Reynolds debate the finer points of Iowa’s medical marijuana laws, a majority of Iowans say they want its medical usages expanded and marijuana to be legalized for recreational use, the latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows. It’s the first time the poll has shown a majority, 53%, of Iowans supporting recreational marijuana. Support has ticked up steadily since Selzer & Co., which conducts the Iowa Poll, started asking about it in February 2013. In that poll, only 29% of Iowans supported legalizing recreational marijuana. Since then, a dozen states, including neighboring Illinois, have legalized recreational use of marijuana. The Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature has not debated a similar measure this year.
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March 13, 2020
Alabama Senate Approves Medical Marijuana Bill
After hours of tense debate, the Alabama Senate voted on Wednesday to pass a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state. Lawmakers voted 22-11 in support of the legislation, which would allow qualifying patients to purchase certain medical marijuana products from state-licensed dispensaries. Cannabis intended for smoking or vaping would be prohibited under the proposal, meaning only preparations such as tablets, topicals and certain infused edibles would be available. “I think in this day and time, with the opioid crisis, we need to try alternative medicines that will help people,” said Sen. David Sessions (R), who voted to pass the bill. With the Senate’s approval on Wednesday, the proposal now heads to the House, where its prospects are unclear. Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R) has been noncommittal, telling reporters last month that he was in “wait and see mode.” The state’s attorney general, meanwhile, has urged lawmakers to oppose any move to legalize. The bill, SB 165, would establish a state Medical Cannabis Commission to register patients and oversee licensing businesses. Under the measure, patients suffering from specified conditions would qualify for the program. Those include anxiety, cancer, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Patients would be able to purchase up to a 70-day supply at a time, and there would be a cap of 32 dispensaries allowed in the state. Products would be tested for potency and contaminants, and sales from licensed dispensaries would be subject to a nine percent tax. Part of those funds would go toward creating a new Consortium for Medical Cannabis Research, which would provide grants to study the plant. Medical marijuana would be tracked from seed to sale under the measure, which also contains a number of restrictions on advertising. Workers at cannabis facilities would be subject to background checks. “Today’s landslide vote in the Alabama Senate shows lawmakers in even the most conservative states in the nation are starting to recognize that allowing medical cannabis is good politics and good policy. Voters of every political background overwhelmingly support allowing medical cannabis,” Karen O’Keefe, state policies director for the Marijuana Policy Project, told Marijuana Moment. “That said, with polls showing upwards of 90 percent of Americans supporting allowing medical marijuana, it’s alarming that 27 states continue to criminalize patients for choosing a safer alternative to opioids.” The bulk of opposition during Senate debate on Wednesday came from Sen. Arthur Orr (R). Orr, who admitted at times that he was unfamiliar with certain aspects of the bill as well as underlying research around medical marijuana generally, questioned virtually every element of the bill and its amendments. At one point he demanded that Sen. Tim Melson (R), SB 165’s sponsor, produce medical literature in support of the legalization proposal. But Orr indicated that even such evidence wouldn’t change his mind: “What happened in the world of opioids, I don’t know that I really trust the medical community as a broad group,” he said. Orr also attacked a successful amendment by Sen. Bobby Singleton (D) that would work to ensure diversity in the state’s new medical marijuana industry. When Orr complained that he wasn’t privy to what was in the proposal, Singleton replied: “You just told me you really didn’t get involved in it and didn’t look at it.” In response to badgering from Orr, who described the relatively modest medical marijuana proposal as taking a “pedal to the metal” approach, Melton replied: “I’m beginning to wonder how long you left your training wheels on.” The Senate also approved a raft of additional amendments to the bill during Wednesday’s debate. The most notable of the changes imposes a 75-milligram daily limit on THC intake, where previously the bill had no limit. (Orr proposed a lower, 50-mg limit, as well as a separate measure limiting cannabis products to 10 percent THC, but those amendments failed.) Another will prevent regulators from expanding the current list of qualifying conditions, instead requiring sign-off from lawmakers. Other approved changes will expand the number of available business licenses and restrict those licenses to in-state actors. A measure to add menopause or premenstrual syndrome as qualifying medical conditions for cannabis was also approved after a brief delay in the chamber to consider other legislation. Following the spurt of amendments, Orr threatened to kill the bill by speaking until midnight, especially if none of his amendments were accepted. He then introduced another proposal to remove some of the qualifying conditions but told members they were free to leave for the hour he was allotted to speak before coming back to vote. In effect, he was making good on his threat and engaging in somewhat of a filibuster to delay the legislation. That measure was defeated.
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March 13, 2020
Cannabis Legalization Heads to Parliament In Lebanon
A draft legalization law has been sent to members of Lebanon’s Parliament — the proposal, however, would only legalize cannabis products containing no more than 1 percent THC. Lebanon’s draft cannabis legalization law has been sent to its Parliament, but the measure would only legalize products that contain less than 1 percent THC, Al Jazeera reports. The measure also calls for enhanced penalties for breaking cannabis-related laws and prohibits anyone with a criminal record from getting a cannabis license or working in the industry. Karim Nammour, a lawyer with Legal Agenda who specializes in drug policy, told Al Jazeera that the bill was “an opportunity missed” and that lawmakers “failed to take a holistic approach” to the reforms. Sandy Mteirik, a drug policy development manager at Skoun, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on drug rehabilitation and advocacy, said the bill is “not what the farmers of Bekaa want.” The Bekka Valley region is home to the most cannabis cultivation in Lebanon. Prime Minister Hassan Diab said that the nation’s cannabis would likely be grown by “big companies” and “other farmers” and anticipated the sector would be “big business.” Diab has previously expressed support for amnesty for some cannabis crimes; between 3,000 and 4,000 people are arrested every year for drug crimes – not just cannabis – in Lebanon. The draft law would create a commission with a regulatory authority that would issue licenses for importing seeds and clones, creating cannabis plant nurseries, cultivation, manufacturing, and exporting. Licenses could be awarded to Lebanese pharmaceutical companies, industrial fiber, oil, and extract companies, and foreign cannabis companies. Licenses would also be available to specialized agricultural co-operatives established in the country, Lebanese citizens such as farmers or landowners, and labs and research centers permitted to work with controlled substances.
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