The Texas Senate approved an expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program on Tuesday, but only after scaling back the version that had been approved by the House. The Texas program is one of the most restrictive in the nation, only available to acute patients suffering from a handful of diseases or conditions, such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and terminal cancer. The Senate agreed to add other qualifying conditions to the list including allowing patients with all stages of cancer to participate as well as those with post-traumatic stress disorder. Patients receiving treatment through an approved research program would also be eligible. But the Senate cut other expansions out of the legislation before voting unanimously to pass it. A version of House Bill 1535, sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth, has now passed in both chambers. The House will have to agree with the Senate’s changes or object and send it to a committee made up of members of both chambers to settle the differences. “To see some of the amendments that were made leaves us advocates disappointed and somewhat dismayed,” said Heather Fazio, director of advocacy group Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy.
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The use of flower, or bud, in the Minnesota medical marijuana program is expected to be approved Monday by the Legislature. Right now, the two companies licensed to distribute medical cannabis in Minnesota can only do so in liquid or pill form. Patrick McClellan is active in the medical marijuana program and has lobbied lawmakers for the expansion of flower into the program for nearly a decade. He told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the flower provision has passed the House and Senate Conference Committee, which, in his opinion, is historic. “It’s historic because it now makes the state’s medical marijuana program feasible and something that can be sustained into the future,” McClellan said. “There are more than 34,000 people who are active in the program, but there are thousands more who do not participate because they cannot afford it and the flower form of distribution will probably cut costs in half.” McClellan said producing the liquid or pill form of the cannabis is very expensive and the use of an independent lab to verify the product just adds to the higher costs which he said makes Minnesota’s medical marijuana program one of the costliest in the nation. “I know families who have to spend $900 a month just to have their children enrolled into the program right now,” said McClellan. “The use of flower will be much cheaper and it will allow the state to have more than two licensed distributors and that will allow more dispensaries around the state, too.” The Legislature is expected to pass the use of flower in the medical marijuana program Monday as part of the Human Services Finance Omnibus Bill, and it has the support of Gov. Tim Walz.
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While lawmakers in Connecticut and Rhode Island explore ways to legalize adult-use cannabis and also ensure social equity, regulators in Massachusetts are pushing further with their own programs to enable people disadvantaged by previous marijuana laws to benefit from the economic possibilities offered by legalization. One bill in Connecticut would create a “social equity council” as well as a “Cannabis Equity and Innovation Account,” funding workforce development programs and offering grants with cash from potential cannabis excise tax revenue. Meanwhile, a bill in Rhode Island would create a “social equity assistance fund” to provide no-interest loans to business owners affected by past cannabis prohibition laws. Both would create some form of commission akin to one in Massachusetts, designed to issue retail licenses. Another goal is to assist disadvantaged groups in getting a foothold in an industry where 81% of the founders or owners are white, according to a 2017 survey done by Marijuana Business Daily. The social equity program is one of the Massachusetts commission’s most prominent efforts. Launched in 2018, the SEP provides classes and training for people looking to get into the industry, hailing from backgrounds affected by previous marijuana laws, including the nation’s “war on drugs.” Black, brown and formerly incarcerated residents, as well as those from ”areas of disproportionate impact,” are eligible for the program, which works to meet a mandate in the Legislature’s 2017 law that amended the voter-passed measure legalizing recreational cannabis in the commonwealth. Despite a pandemic, a temporary freeze on the state’s industry due to the shutdown, and having to go remote, the commission reported the program saw at least 280 participants make up its second cohort in 2020-21, up from last year’s 143, who completed various courses in entrepreneurship, management and more.
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Fifth-generation farmer Mark Davidson spent his entire life in chronic pain — until he tried CBD oil, and it changed his life. Davidson jumped on board when Indiana legalized growing hemp for CBD, a non-psychoactive chemical in the cannabis plant that is used for relieving pain, anxiety and other health issues, hoping to help others who were suffering. But then his best-laid plans went up in smoke. Literally. In 2019, Davidson was forced to burn 1.5 acres of his hemp crop. “We had to burn more than $100,000 worth of product, which was heartbreaking and disheartening,” he said. “It was like seeing all this medicine going up in smoke.” Davidson’s hemp crop had tested “hot,” meaning it contained more than the legal amount of THC, the chemical in cannabis that gets people high. Per rules from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, if the cannabis plant has 0.3% THC or less, it’s considered hemp and legal in the state of Indiana. Any higher, it’s illegal.
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May 1, 2021
All In On Hemp’: Once-Banned ‘Miracle’ Crop Could Hold Future To Farming In Pennsylvania
A once-banned crop is now being called a miracle, and it could hold the future to farming. Only on CBS3, reporter Alicia Roberts takes you to a Bucks County farm where the hemp business is booming. “You’ve got this gross misunderstanding,” said Fred Hagan, owner of Sugar Bottom Farms. The future of a plant known to be among the oldest grown by man must first overcome its soiled past. “Hemp is truly one of the most miraculous plants ever planted,” Hagan said. Hemp, a non-intoxicating form of cannabis and cousin to marijuana, is grown for its fibers, stalks and seeds, and is used to produce everything from clothing, construction materials, paint, paper, biofuel, plastics and medicine. Hagan, a historian and owner of Sugar Bottom Farm in Bucks County, is on a mission to cultivate a new image for this ancient crop. “Our government made the fatal error of viewing it as a controlled substance,” he said. While hemp can be traced back to 8000 B.C. in Asia, and was first brought to North America on the Mayflower in 1606, its production was outlawed in the United States in the 1930s. “There was a sort of paranoia surrounding anything cannabis,” said Shannon Powers, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Pennsylvania and Kentucky were the first two states to re-legalize hemp production in 2015. “We are all in on hemp,” Powers said.
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The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division doesn't want Delta-8 THC to gain a foothold in dispensaries, and on May 14 notified marijuana business owners that modified or synthetic versions of THC derived from industrial hemp aren't allowed in this state's stores. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) comes in several different isomers: molecular compounds with the same number of atoms of certain elements but distinct arrangements of those atoms. The isomer that marijuana plants naturally produce in large amounts is Delta-9 THC, which is banned by the federal government. However, chemists have discovered other forms of THC that are chemically different yet carry similar intoxicating effects, like Delta-8 and Delta-10 THC. Delta-8 and Delta-10 THC aren't explicitly outlawed by the Controlled Substances Act, and can be produced with industrial hemp, a plant now legally grown at the federal level. This is done by extracting cannabidiol from industrial hemp and then converting the CBD into the "new" forms of THC with acetic acid. Although these products still flag drug tests, the legal loophole enabled a new, growing gray market online and at certain independent retail outlets, such as smoke shops and gas stations, which aren't regulated by the MED.
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May 1, 2021
New York's marijuana legalization law simplified
Just under two months ago, New York lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo legalized the recreational use of marijuana in the state with legislation that spans more than 170 pages. But the “Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act” (S845A), as it formally is known, is less cumbersome to decipher in a bullet-point synopsis provided by the office of state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, a supporter of legalization. The synopsis, which follows, lays out significant points of the law, which is to take full effect in January 2022. Governing office, boards: The law provides for the establishment of the Office of Cannabis Management along with a governing board and advisory board. The governing board will consist of five members, three directly appointed by the governor and one each by the state Senate and Assembly. The board will be responsible for establishing social and economic equity plans to make sure a certain percentage of licenses for selling cannibas go toward communities impacted by the war on drugs, distressed farmers and service-disabled veterans. The Office of Cannabis Management will review and process applications for cannabis licenses and create a public health campaign. Specifics, local opt-outs: New Yorkers must be 21 or older to purchase and consume recreational marijuana. Retail dispensaries must be at least 200 feet away from houses of worship and at least 500 feet from schools. Cities, towns and villages will be able to opt out of having retail dispensaries and on-site consumption licenses within their municipalities with the adoption of a local law, which would be subject to a permissive referendum. Municipalities will be able to adopt a local law to opt out by Dec. 31, 2022, or within nine months of the bill becoming law, but can opt back in at any time.
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The Township Council is again looking to ban recreational and medical marijuana shops as well as businesses that manufacture, sell or dispense weed-related paraphernalia from operating here. The council unanimously approved an ordinance earlier this week that would amend the "prohibited uses" section in the land development code. The ordinance would prohibit all classes of cannabis establishments, distributors and delivery services, whether for medicinal or recreational purposes, including those establishments that manufacture, sell or dispense cannabis related paraphernalia, from operating in the township. The ordinance also says that marijuana or cannabis cultivation facilities, production or manufacturing facilities, testing facilities, wholesale or retail stores, dispensaries and delivery services, which are related to cannabis or marijuana for medical purposes, and such facilities or stores that manufacture, sell or dispense marijuana related paraphernalia for medical purposes, are prohibited from operating anywhere in the township.
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The Minnesota House voted 72-61 Thursday night to legalize cannabis for adult use — a significant step for the legislation. But Minnesota is unlikely to join more than 15 other states in making marijuana legal because majority Republicans in the state Senate will likely prevent it from becoming law this year. Under the bill, Minnesotans 21 and older would be allowed to possess up to 2 ounces of cannabis in public and up to 10 pounds in their personal residence. The bill creates a regulatory and tax framework for cannabis. A new Cannabis Management Board would oversee the regulation and also take charge of the state’s existing medical cannabis program. A recent change in the bill would direct excess tax revenue from adult-use cannabis into a tax relief account. The DFL-controlled House held 12 hearings on the legalization bill; the Republican Senate held none and has no plans to take it up before the session ends Monday. House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said the bill addresses two of the DFL’s key priorities: racial equity and criminal justice reform. Black Minnesotans are more often prosecuted for marijuana crimes than whites, even though usage rates are similar. “Criminalizing a product that most people think should be available, and continuing our legacy of racial injustice, is simply not defensible anymore,” Hortman said. The prohibition of cannabis does not work, said House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, the bill’s author. “We have this bill before us today because Minnesotans have decided that it is time to legalize cannabis and right the wrongs of the criminal prohibition of cannabis that has failed Minnesota,” Winkler said. “It has failed Minnesotans, and it’s time for it to change.”
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Six months after a majority of Lacey voters supported legalizing recreational marijuana for adults, the Township Committee has voted to block all weed businesses — with the exception of medical marijuana firms — from opening within the municipality. The Committee passed an ordinance Thursday that blocks cannabis establishments, cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers, delivery services and other weed businesses from operating in Lacey for up to five years. Medical marijuana businesses will be allowed in certain industrial zones. The prohibition, which could be rescinded sooner, is permitted under New Jersey's new Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement, Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act.
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