Six states that submitted hemp regulatory plans to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are being asked to make revisions and resubmit before they’re approved. For reasons that aren’t immediately clear, the federal agency did not accept proposed rules for the newly legal crop from California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Utah. Industry advocates suspect that the states are pushing for additional flexibility in USDA’s interim final rule.
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August 18, 2020
The Cannabis Industry Needs Banking Now
The notion that cannabis may cure, treat or prevent COVID-19 makes some people roll their eyes. But the scientific uses of the cannabis plant do not surprise those of us who’ve worked in this industry for many years. And the scientific community appears to be gathering data supporting the notion that cannabis may be beneficial in preventing COVID-19. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell falls within the category of people who classify cannabis as therapeutic, if not preventative, for COVID-19. In fact, on August 10, 2020, Sen. McConnell and House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi did what modern day politicians do – engage in less-than-informed Twitter wars. This came against the backdrop of Congress attempting to find a consensus on its second round of federal Coronavirus relief.
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Though Texas lawmakers legalized the production and sale of hemp in its last legislative session, the state has now created a framework that essentially bans the sale of “smokable” products. Edible goods, tinctures and topicals remain okay under the new program. But farmers and cannabis activists alike have voiced concern that lawmakers violated the scope of the original legislation. Hemp manufacturers and retailers recently filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of State Health Services over a new administrative rule that took effect Aug. The lawsuit “seeks a declaration that the Legislative Ban contained in Texas Agriculture Code 122.301(b) and Texas Health & Safety Code 443.204(4), which bans the processing and manufacture of hemp products for smoking in Texas, is unconstitutional,” it notes. “This ban is a punitive kick in the teeth to Texas’ small businesses and enterprising farmers,” said Zachary Maxwell, president of Texas Hemp Growers Association.
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Apparently, when the U.S. repealed prohibition at the end of 1933, advertising campaigns for the now-legalized adult beverages were slow getting to the party. In fact, the liquor industry placed a self-imposed adverting ban to lower any risk of the return of Prohibition, while some media companies chose not to air alcohol advertisements at all. Here we are now, nearly 90 years later, and we’re seeing something similar. This time, though, it is the marketing agencies that are late to the party.
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August 17, 2020
ACLU, NAACP And Other Groups Push Congress To Pass Marijuana Legalization Bill By Next Month
A coalition of major drug policy and civil rights organization is urging congressional leadership to hold a House floor vote on a comprehensive marijuana legalization bill by the end of next month. In a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), more than 120 groups—including the American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP, Human Rights Watch, Drug Policy Alliance and Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights—said it’s imperative to hold the vote on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act.
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August 17, 2020
Montana Will Vote On Two Marijuana Legalization Measures In November, State Confirms
Montana’s secretary of state announced on Thursday that marijuana activists collected more than enough signatures to qualify two legalization measures for the November ballot. One initiative, a statutory change, would create a system of legal cannabis access for adult-use. A separate constitutional amendment would ensure only those 21 and older can participate in the market. If the statutory measure is approved by voters, possessing up to an ounce of cannabis would be allowed, and people could cultivate up to four plants and four seedlings at home.
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TOP THINGS TO KNOW: The Food and Drug Administration is hiring a contractor to help test thousands of CBD-infused foods, drinks, oils, cosmetics and other products for cannabinoid content and contaminants such as pesticides and microbes. “These studies and the analytical information they obtain will not only be reported to Congress, but will also be used to guide the development of future policy.” Maine regulators announced that recreational marijuana sales can finally begin on October 9.
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Once again, a battle is brewing in Arizona over the legalization of marijuana. A lawsuit has recently been filed against Smart and Safe Arizona, aiming to halt the adult-use initiative on the ballot this November. The campaign has embraced fictitious information, fear tactics, and has garnered support from numerous local public officials and politicians. It seems those in opposition of marijuana legalization will stop at nothing to prevent a legitimate conversation about the facts surrounding adult-use marijuana in the United States.
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August 16, 2020
Parents of toddler with severe epilepsy seek legal review of cannabis oil guidelines
The parents of a toddler with severe epilepsy are seeking a landmark judicial review of rigid guidelines that effectively prevent the NHS from prescribing medical cannabis oil, a substance that they say has allowed their son to live a much healthier life, to thousands of sick children. Charlie Hughes, 3, has a rare form of epilepsy called West syndrome, which is resistant to most forms of treatment and can cause him to have up to 120 seizures a day, according to his parents, Alison and Matt Hughes. With regular full extract cannabis oil, however, he experiences no more than 20 less severe seizures a day.
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August 13, 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 (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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