Latest Cannabis News: April 5, 2022
Latest Cannabis News: April 5, 2022
Stay up to date with the latest legalization and cannabis news with the C.B. 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.
FEDERAL
The House passed legislation on Friday to legalize marijuana nationwide and eliminate the longstanding criminal penalties for anyone who distributes or possesses it. Lawmakers passed the bill primarily along party lines, 220-204, with three Republicans joining all but two Democrats in support.
The measure now goes to the Senate, where Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is working with fellow Democrats to introduce a marijuana legalization bill as soon as this spring.
But it’s not clear a bill to broadly legalize marijuana could clear the necessary 60 votes to advance in the Senate.
Source: https://thehill.com/news/house/3256370-house-approves-bill-legalizing-marijuana/
CBD
South Carolina: South Carolina lawmakers on Thursday approved a Senate-passed bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state.
A subcommittee of the House Medical, Military, Public, and Municipal Affairs Committee advanced the measure, sponsored by Sen. Tom Davis (R), in a unanimous vote after adopting a couple of amendments. It will move to the full committee, which will hold a public hearing on the measure on Monday.
The Compassionate Care Act passed the full Senate last month. It was prefiled in late 2020 and passed out of the Senate Medical Affairs Committee last March, but a lone senator blocked it from reaching the chamber floor in 2021. Since then, Davis redoubled his efforts to get the bill across the finish line, arguing that South Carolina voters are ready for what he’s repeatedly called “the most conservative medical cannabis bill in the country.”.
Tennessee: A bill that would have brought sweeping cannabis reform to Tennessee appears to have fallen short in this year’s legislative session. Local television station WKRN reports that the bill, known as the “Free All Cannabis for Tennesseans Act,” is “effectively dead” after its sponsor, Democratic state House Rep. Bob Freeman, pulled the measure from the floor.
Freeman’s legislation would have resulted in significant changes in how the Volunteer State handles recreational and medicinal cannabis, both illegal in Tennessee.
Tennessee stands out in an era of nationwide legalization when one state after another has ended prohibition. Freeman noted that many of Tennessee’s neighbors have either legalized cannabis in some form or are looking to do so.
Source: https://hightimes.com/news/tennessee-legalization-bill-goes-up-in-smoke/
Medical
Alabama: A new bill would require women ages 25 to 50 to produce a negative pregnancy test from a doctor or medical lab before purchasing medical marijuana. The test would have to be conducted within 48 hours of the purchase.
The measure—which passed a Senate committee in a 7–2 vote last week—comes from state Sen. Larry Stutts (R–Tuscumbia), who also works as an obstetrician and gynecologist.
Maryland: Maryland lawmakers voted Friday to let voters decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana in November.
The Maryland House voted 94-39 for a constitutional amendment already approved by the Senate. The House also voted 89-41 for a separate measure that takes steps to implement recreational marijuana if voters approve. Still, it leaves matters of licensing and taxes for lawmakers to decide next year. The constitutional amendment does not require approval from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. The General Assembly, which Democrats control, sent the implementation bill to Hogan in time to override a veto if the governor rejects the measure before lawmakers adjourn on April 11. The House and Senate passed the bill with enough votes to override a veto.
Source: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2022/04/04/661088.htm
Minnesota: State Sen. Mark Koran, R-North Branch, introduced a bill Tuesday that would clear the way for more manufacturers in Minnesota’s medical cannabis program, which the Minnesota Department of Health regulates.
Koran told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that adding at least two more medical cannabis producers into the program could help increase production, promote more competition, and possibly drive prescription prices down, especially for those patients who now use cannabis flower, or bud, for treatment.
Missouri: A Missouri House committee on Thursday narrowly approved a GOP-led bill to tax and regulate adult-use marijuana in the state.
The legislation from Rep. Ron Hicks (R), titled the “Cannabis Freedom Act,” cleared the House Public Safety Committee in a 5-4 vote, with amendments. It now heads to the Rules Committee before it could potentially advance to the floor.
Besides legalizing possession and sale of cannabis, the bill would further provide opportunities for expungements, authorize social consumption facilities and permit cannabis businesses to claim tax deductions with the state.
New Hampshire: The New Hampshire House on Thursday approved a bill to legalize marijuana through a state-run model—but the chamber tabled a separate bill that would have decriminalized possession of psilocybin mushrooms.
This is the second time the House has taken up the state-run cannabis legalization bill, HB 1598, sponsored by Rep. Darryl Abbas (R).
Last month, it passed on the floor but needed to go back to the Ways & Means Committee because it involved economic components. That panel met several times and made amendments, sending it back to the floor, where the full-body passed it again in a 169-156 vote. It now heads to the Senate.
South Dakota: South Dakota is now the 16th state government to hire a marijuana services company from Lakeland, Florida, to track it from seed to sale.
Last month, the contract signed by the sides called for Metrc to monitor growing, shipping, processing, testing, and sales activities in South Dakota’s new medical marijuana program, which 70% of voters approved in 2020.
The basic agreement runs through March 14, 2027, allowing the South Dakota Department of Health to extend it up to three more years. But the contract also requires that each business that receives a South Dakota marijuana license pay $40 each month to Metrc to be on the new system.
The contract further requires that license holders pay the company fees of 45 cents for each plant tag a licensees purchases and 25 cents for each wholesale bag, plus tax and shipping.
Those are in addition to the state licensing fee of $5,000 for an initial application or renewal and any local licensing fee. The department has received 170 license applications through Thursday. They include 16 cultivation only; 5 cultivation and dispensary; 10 cultivation, dispensary, and manufacturing; 8 cultivation and manufacturing; 128 dispensaries only; 1 manufacturing only; and one testing only.
Source: https://www.keloland.com/news/capitol-news-bureau/s-d-marijuana-licensees-must-pay-states-tracker/
Recreational
California: The final day of this month – Thursday, March 31 – marks the final opportunity for most California cannabis companies to apply for provisional licenses in the state – if they haven’t already.
After Thursday, the vast majority of the legal marijuana industry in California will be required to have either provisional or annual licenses to be compliant with state law. The Thursday deadline applies to retailers, distributors, manufacturers, delivery operations, and most cultivators. There’s an exception for small-scale growers with less than 22,000 square feet of canopy and some social equity licensees.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/deadline-is-imminent-for-california-provisional-cannabis-licensing/
Illinois: An Illinois Senate committee began debate this week on a bill that would protect workers from being fired for using cannabis in their free time. With some exceptions, the measure would prohibit employers from firing workers or discriminating against job applicants merely for testing positive for marijuana use.
The House of Representatives already passed a version of the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Bob Morgan (D), on a 61–41 vote earlier this month.
At a hearing of the Senate Executive Committee on Wednesday, senators spent about half an hour discussing details of the bill before its Senate sponsor, Sen. Robert Peters (D), abruptly paused the debate. Amid a series of critical questions from Republicans on the panel, Peters announced that he was pulling the bill from the record and would return to it later.
New Jersey: New Jersey regulators last week declined to award retail cannabis licenses to eight medical dispensaries seeking to sell adult-use cannabis, delaying the expected launch of recreational pot sales in the state for at least weeks. The delay reportedly surprised cannabis industry insiders, came less than a month after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said that recreational sales were expected to begin “within weeks.”
At a meeting of the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) on Thursday, executive director Jeff Brown said that the agency wants the eight alternative treatment centers (ATCs), as medical cannabis dispensaries are called in New Jersey, to submit plans specifying how the businesses will ensure there is enough cannabis for patients when recreational sales begin.
Source: https://hightimes.com/news/new-jersey-regulators-delay-launch-of-recreational-pot-sales/
Oregon: Oregonians 21 and over will soon be able to purchase much more potent edibles as the state raises potency restrictions this Friday — but the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission warns the recent increase means consumers must “know their limits.” As part of Oregon’s new cannabis rules, licensed cannabis shops can begin selling edible packages which contain up to 100mg THC and 10mg THC per serving, starting April 1.
The new rules allow stores to sell edibles nearly twice as strong as those permitted under the previous limits. Before the upcoming switch, cannabis stores could only sell packages with up to 50mg THC and 5mg per serving.
Source: https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/oregon-raising-potency-limits-for-cannabis-edibles-friday/
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