Four state attorneys general and a broader group of law enforcement professionals are calling on Congress to pass a marijuana legalization bill next month. Plus, a new poll shows majority voter support for the proposal to deschedule cannabis and fund programs to repair the harms of the war on drugs—even from Republicans...
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August 24, 2020
This Western Massachusetts city has more cannabis licenses than any other in the state
Once upon a time, Worcester had been forecast to be the cannabis capital of Massachusetts, as its number of licenses grew. The state’s industry regulators even moved their headquarters from Boston to the state’s second largest city. But now, a different city an hour's drive west of Worcester — and 90 minutes from Boston — is the new leader in terms of the number of completed license applications, according to a Boston Business Journal analysis of submitted recreational marijuana licenses through July 9.
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The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Thursday unveiled proposed rules for hemp and CBD to put the federal agency officially in compliance with the 2018 Farm Bill. While DEA stressed that the policies laid out in this interim final rule have already been in effect since hemp was federally legalized, it said the new filing to be published in the Federal Register on Friday will codify those regulations.
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August 24, 2020
Vermont Lawmakers Approach Legal Marijuana Sales Agreement Amid Conference Negotiations
Vermont lawmakers are another step closer to finalizing a bill to legalize marijuana sales after finishing a conference committee meeting where they discussed the economics of the proposed system and outstanding issues between the two chambers of the legislature. While the state legalized possession of up to one ounce of cannabis and cultivation of two plants in 2018, there are currently no regulations in place that allow for retail sales. The cannabis commerce bill cleared both the House and Senate this session, albeit in different forms, and so a six-member bicameral panel is tasked with resolving those differences.
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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his vice presidential running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) discussed marijuana decriminalization and other drug policy reforms during their first joint interview as a ticket this weekend. Harris was pressed on her prosecutorial record, specifically as it concerns her previous call for more law enforcement officers in the streets. She talked about policing reform but went on to state that, under a Biden administration, there will be a “policy that is going to be about decriminalizing marijuana.”
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August 23, 2020
Illicit Pot Still Dominates After Two Legal Years
It’s been nearly two years since Canada became the first G20 country to legalize cannabis for recreational purposes. However, the majority of customers are still getting their pot from the illicit market -- with a lot of ground left to cover. In the fourth quarter of 2018, legal marijuana represented only 21% of total consumption in Canada, despite weed becoming lawful on Oct. 17 of that year. Fast-forward to the first quarter of 2020 and cannabis is now a C$2.2 billion ($1.7 billion) retail industry, yet legal consumption is still just 46% of the total, according to data from Statistics Canada.
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August 21, 2020
New Jersey Voters Want Legal Marijuana And Favor Higher Taxes On Sales, New Poll Shows
New Jersey voters are strongly in favor of a referendum to legalize marijuana that’s on their ballots this November—and most support of setting a tax rate for cannabis that’s higher than the standard sales tax—according to a new survey. The poll, commissioned by Brach Eichler LLC, showed that 66 percent of likely voters back the legalization measure, which was placed before voters by the legislature. That’s about five percentage points higher than when residents were surveyed on the issue in April.
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August 21, 2020
Mexican President Says Marijuana Legalization Will Advance Through Congress As Session Approaches
The president of Mexico says that marijuana legalization will advance through Congress when it reconvenes next month—and he won’t stand in the way. During a press conference on Wednesday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was asked about a recent meeting with a key senator who is championing the cannabis reform legislation and whether he’s supportive of the proposal. He emphasized that “it must be taken into account that we are respectful of the division and balance between powers” when it comes to the executive and legislative branches of government, according to a translation, adding that the marijuana proposal has “been around for a long time.”
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August 19, 2020
As Texas Hemp Farmers Prepare For Their First-Ever Harvest, Cannabis Regulation Remains Complicated
In Bergheim, Texas, just north of San Antonio, there’s a skunky smell in the air. “You know, that’s a really good description. Skunky is a very typical terpene that is in most of these plants,” Austin Ruple said. He’s the president and co-owner of Pur IsoLabs – a hemp and cannabidiol, or CBD company that grows hemp and manufactures retail CBD products. Ruple stood next to a field of more than 300 hemp plants – a type of cannabis that’s rich in CBD, a legal compound that does not get users high.
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A key panel of lawmakers in Vermont will meet on Wednesday to discuss a bill to tax and regulate marijuana that has already passed both the House and Senate in differing forms. The bicameral conference committee is one of the final steps in the process for the legislation, which has seen months of delays due to the coronavirus outbreak. While Vermont legalized the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis and cultivation of two plants in 2018, there is currently no regulatory system in place that allows for retail sales. A bill to establish such a program, S. 54, cleared both the House and Senate this session.
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