Latest Cannabis News: June 22, 2021
Latest Cannabis News: June 22, 2021
Stay up to date with the latest legalization and cannabis news with the CB Advisors. Every week, we will release a snippet of what’s happening with each state in the cannabis industry. Did you miss last week? No worries – click here for last week’s cannabis news.
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North Carolina: Republican Senators Joyce Krawiec, of Winston-Salem, Jim Burgin of Angier and Jim Perry of Kinston sponsored Senate Bill 448. The bill is also known as “Amendments to Schedule VI of the Controlled Substances Act.” It automatically approves tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) and marijuana for medical use if the Food and Drug Administration approves the use of the prescription drugs, the Drug Enforcement Administration makes changes to the federal controlled substances schedules and the N.C. Commission for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse doesn’t object to the changes within 30 days. The bill passed the Senate unanimously May 10 and received favorable reports from two House committees but stalled once it hit the House floor June 2. Meyer said House Democrats were ready to vote on SB 448. Thursday after hearing that Republicans had enough votes to push the bill forward. Meyer filed his amendment, known as the Marijuana Justice Act, on Thursday. “My amendment would do legalization of adult use of cannabis for both medical and recreational reasons and decriminalize marijuana possession, including setting up an expunction system for anyone that has previous convictions that would no longer be a convictable offense under the new legislation,” Meyer said. Meyer said House Speaker Tim Moore told him that Attorney General Josh Stein had concerns with the bill. Stein’s spokeswoman, Nazneen Ahmad, said the Attorney General’s Office is still reviewing the bill and has not taken a stance. Lambeth said House Republicans thought they had worked out all of their concerns before Thursday’s session, but more came up.
Source: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article252212983.html
Texas: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill to modestly expand the state’s limited medical marijuana program last Tuesday, House Bill 1535. The legislation adds cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of conditions that qualify patients to legally access cannabis. It also doubles the amount of THC concentration that is allowed, from 0.5 percent to one percent. As originally passed in the House, the bill would have also included chronic pain as a qualifying condition, but that was removed by the Senate and was not re-added in a conference committee. The House-approved version also increased the THC limit to five percent, but that too was watered down in the Senate. The law will also raise the THC cap on regulated MMJ in Texas from 0.5% to 1%.That cap was lowered by the Texas Senate, watering down a House version of the bill that would have raised the THC limit to 5%.
Source: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/texas-governor-signs-medical-marijuana-expansion-bill/
Medical
Connecticut: The governor of Connecticut will sign a bill to legalize adult-use marijuana on Tuesday, with a small ceremony planned to mark the historic occasion. But while Gov. Ned Lamont (D) is celebrating the enactment of the legislation, a top staffer said in an email to equity advocates on Friday that there’s “still much work to be done” to ensure that the law upholds principles of social justice and ensures that disproportionately impacted communities are empowered to participate in the industry.
Delaware: Democratic Gov. John Carney has signed legislation into law facilitating patients’ access to medical cannabis products by expanding the pool of health care practitioners eligible to provide authorizations. Senate Bill 60 permits certified nurse practitioners and physician assistants to issue medical cannabis recommendations to those ages 18 and older. Previously, only physicians were permitted to issue medical cannabis authorizations.
Florida: For the third time in three months, the Florida Supreme Court dashed the hopes of Floridians who want to see expanded access to cannabis. In a 5-2 ruling on Thursday, the state’s highest court found a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana to be misleading. The initiative, titled “Regulate Marijuana in a Manner Similar to Alcohol to Establish Age, Licensing, and Other Restrictions,” also would have allowed Floridians to grow cannabis at home. Had it reached the ballot, the initiative would have needed the approval of 60% of voters to become a part of the state Constitution.
Source: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article252182738.html
Louisiana: The governor of Louisiana says recreational marijuana legalization will likely happen in his state—but he doesn’t feel lawmakers will reach a consensus on the issue while he’s still in office. Gov. John Bel Edwards (D), who signed legislation to decriminalize cannabis possession a day earlier, said during a monthly radio appearance on Wednesday that a stalled broader legalization bill led by Republican sponsor this session “actually got more traction with it than most people thought.” The effort in the legislature to pass a bill to legalize recreational cannabis stalled in the House this session after the chamber failed to pass a complementary measure on taxing adult-use marijuana.
Pennsylvania: A bill to update the five-year-old medical marijuana law in Pennsylvania has gone through the legislative process. The State Assembly passed it this week. House Bill 1024 aims to increase employment and lower prices for 500,000 Pennsylvania participants in the Medical Marijuana Program. The bill is currently under consideration by the Senate Law and the Judiciary Committee.
Rhode Island: The Rhode Island Senate is scheduled to vote this week on one of three adult-use marijuana legalization bills under consideration. With the lack of consensus behind one bill, an emerging view is that it will be difficult to legalize recreational marijuana before the regular legislative session ends June 30, and the issue might be pushed to a special session later this summer or fall. The amended Senate bill would cap retail licenses at one per 20,000 residents and reserve at least one-third of the licenses for people who have been disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs.
Recreational
California: In a turn of events that nobody would have imagined 15 years ago, the state of California is about to offer $100 million to marijuana growers and sellers to help them stay in business. The California legislature approved the plan Monday, which will see grants go to cannabis businesses that are trying to convert their provisional licenses to permanent ones. The difficulty of that process has resulted in roughly 82% of licensees holding provisional licenses, but unable to afford the cost and time investment in finalizing them. Governor Gavin Newsom also has proposed a separate six-month extension of the deadline for converting those licenses.
Source: https://fortune.com/2021/06/15/california-marijuana-cannabis-grants-100-million/
Montana: Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed House Bill 701 into law on Tuesday. This legislation implements and regulates the voter-approved recreational marijuana program. Last year voters approved legalization in a ballot initiative, I-190, allowing adults over 21 to use and possess cannabis for recreational purposes. HB 701 also funds a substance abuse prevention program that the governor has championed since his first day in office. Following legalization, retail sales of recreational marijuana will begin in January of 2022. The counties in Montana that voted for I-190 will have recreational marijuana in their borders by default. In contrast, voters in counties that did not vote for I-190 will need to take affirmative action to bring recreational marijuana into their boundaries if they so choose
Source: https://www.delta8.co/montana-governor-signs-marijuana-legalization-bill/
South Dakota: Medical marijuana is legal in South Dakota on July 1. The state won’t allow anyone to twist up a joint, pack a pipe or bong their brains out — for medicinal reasons, of course — until late October at the earliest. Why? Because of legal challenges, bureaucracy — and Gov. Kristi Noem’s determined efforts to block it since both medical and recreational marijuana were approved by voters last fall. Recreational pot has been blocked on a technical issue by Circuit Court Judge Christina Klinger — a Noem appointee, by the way. The case is now before the South Dakota Supreme Court, and it could issue a decision to make this even more confusing.
Virginia: As close as Virginia is to legal possession of marijuana come July 1, it’s also no closer to the end of questions people may have about the process.
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