Latest Cannabis News: June 1, 2021
Latest Cannabis News: June 1, 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.
CBD
Tennessee: The governor of Tennessee has signed a bill to expand the state’s limited CBD program and create a commission to study broader medical marijuana legalization. Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed off on the legislation weeks after lawmakers sent it to his desk. The enacted bill will allow patients with qualifying conditions to possess CBD oil that contains no more than 0.9 percent THC, which is three times greater than the federal definition of hemp. The current program’s list of qualifying conditions will be expanded beyond intractable epilepsy to add Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, cancer, inflammatory bowel syndrome, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and sickle cell disease. People would have to keep proof of their condition and a recommendation from a physician in order to possess the oil. But in order to obtain the medicine, Tennesseans will have to go out of state or obtain it illegally, as there is currently no means to lawfully purchase cannabis within the state. In effect, the bill simply provides legal protections for certain patients under strict circumstances.
Texas: Legislation that would have reduced criminal penalties for the possession of tetrahydrocannabinol extracts, the psychoactive element of cannabis commonly used in edibles, fell short of reaching Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk in the closing hours of the legislative session. The Texas House approved a compromise version of House Bill 2593 Sunday evening 95-44 ahead of a midnight deadline for giving final approval to legislation, but the Senate did not take a final vote on the measure. The bill, filed by Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, would have amended the Texas Controlled Substances Act to lower the penalties for possession of less than 2 ounces of THC extracts from a felony charge to a Class B misdemeanor.
Source: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/05/30/texas-house-advances-marijuana-bill/5275588001/
Kansas: House Bill 2184 has been introduced, ushering in Kansas’ own medical marijuana act.
Source: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hb2184_00_0000.pdf
Medical
Alabama: Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation legalizing medical cannabis on May 17, 2021. Known as the Darren Wesley “Ato” Hall Compassion Act, the law permits the use of medical cannabis to treat certain medical conditions including Crohn’s disease, depression, epilepsy, HIV/AIDs, panic disorder, Parkinson’s disease, persistent nausea, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic or intractable pain, among others. The law was effective immediately upon signing by the Governor, although medical cannabis will not become available for at least a year. As more states have enacted medical marijuana programs, they have taken varying approaches on employment protections for participating individuals. Alabama’s new law makes it clear that, in the employment context, there are no new legal protections or recourse for individuals who use medical marijuana. To that end, one of the law’s stated purposes is to “balance the needs of employers to have a strong functioning workforce with the needs of employees who will genuinely benefit from using cannabis for a medical use in a manner that makes the employee a productive employee.”
Connecticut: Connecticut legislators are working on passing a cannabis bill to legalize marijuana in the state. This bill is now being backed by the governor which has been passed on Friday in another committee. This approval could be setting it up for a floor vote this upcoming week. This piece of legislation arrives as Gov. Ned Lamont’s office and legislative administrators work to resolve differences. House Majority Leader Jason Rojas spoke on the matter. He stated this past week that the plan was to reach an agreement by the week’s end. As well as having an expectation of “acting on it sometime next week” in the Senate. The Appropriations Committee pushed through the governor’s proposal. Which was also passed in the Judiciary Committee last month. The latest development sets the scene for a floor vote in the Senate. This is where the bill could be revised to reflect a new agreement. Which has been both backed by Lamont and lawmakers.
Source: https://www.greenentrepreneur.com/article/373236
Florida: The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday overturned lower court rulings that Florida’s medical marijuana regulatory scheme is unconstitutional, essentially delivering a blow to small companies hoping to enter the state’s marijuana industry. At the heart of the Supreme Court’s ruling is a challenge to the state’s “vertical integration” model, which requires marijuana companies to be responsible for all aspects of the business, from growing and cultivating to transporting and selling. The basis of Supreme Court’s Thursday ruling is a 2018 lawsuit filed by Florigrown, a Tampa company that applied to become a medical marijuana treatment center after voters overwhelmingly approved a medical marijuana ballot measure that year. The Florida Department of Health denied the company’s application, which prompted Florigrown to sue DOH over 2017 changes to Florida’s medical marijuana law that required companies be vertically integrated, which is a high hurdle for smaller firms. Florigrown argued that the provisions — along with a statutory cap on the number of medical marijuana licenses — were unconstitutional. Opponents of vertical integration cast the changes as a “cartel” system that only allowed large companies with big financial backing into the market to the detriment of smaller firms.
Louisiana: The Louisiana Senate on Thursday approved a bill to give patients in the state’s medical marijuana program the ability to legally smoke cannabis flower. The move, which comes a week after an effort to more broadly legalize marijuana in the state stalled in the House of Representatives, would mark a significant expansion to the current medical cannabis law if enacted. As it stands, patients are able to vaporize cannabis preparations via a “metered-dose inhaler,” but they cannot access whole-plant flower and smoking is not allowed. The legislation cleared the Senate by a vote of 26-11 after previously being approved by the House. It would have headed directly to the desk of Gov. John Bel Edwards (D), but the body quickly brought the measure back up and added technical amendments, meaning it must first go back to the other chamber for concurrence. Meanwhile, a Senate committee approved a House-passed bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana this past Tuesday, sending it to the full chamber for final passage. That measure would make it so possession of up to 14 grams of cannabis would be punishable by a $100 fine without the threat of jail time. Last Monday, the House passed a resolution requesting the legislature conduct a formal study on the impacts of recreational marijuana legalization prior to the start of the 2022 session. It was approved by a vote of 63-27
Source: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/louisiana-smokable-medical-marijuana-bill-heads-to-governor/
New Hampshire: New Hampshire will now be expanding the pool of patients eligible to receive medical cannabis, thanks to a newly signed bill, HB 89. This past week, Republican Governor Chris Sununu signed HB 89, which will go into effect July 21. Under this new law, physicians will be allowed to authorize patients who have moderate or severe insomnia to use medical cannabis. In addition to this exciting news, it also allows adults and pediatric patients with autism spectrum disorder to receive medical cannabis in some cases.
Source: https://hightimes.com/news/new-hampshire-hb-89/
Oklahoma: The passing of Senate Bill 1033 makes several changes in the medical marijuana industry. SB 1033 passed 78-12 and was signed into law by the governor. “It grandfathers in existing businesses as it pertains to the thousand foot school rule where [Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority] or the municipality has made errors,” Rep. Scott Fetgatter (R-Okmulgee), one of the bill’s author, said. The bill also lets businesses transfer licenses if there is a change in ownership. It will let the Oklahoma Tax Commission collect a fee so they can do audits on businesses. Plus, it lets the OMMA work with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics to crack down on illegal businesses.
Rhode Island: Rhode Island lawmakers introduced a new bill to legalize marijuana on Friday, with just weeks left to go in the 2021 legislative session. Two sources familiar with the situation told Marijuana Moment that because time is running out, lawmakers are likely to reconvene in September to tackle the legislation, in addition to separate legalization proposals that have been filed by the governor and Senate leaders. The new House bill from Rep. Scott Slater (D) and several cosponsors includes similar policies to tax and regulate cannabis for adult use, but in some respects it seems to contain a greater focus on addressing social equity than the other measures—even if it doesn’t contain everything advocates want. Under the new bill, adults 21 and older could purchase and possess up to one ounce of marijuana in public. They could also grow up to six cannabis plants at home, with a maximum of 12 plants allowed in residences where more than one adult lives. Unlike the governor’s measure and the one filed by Senate leaders, Slater’s proposal calls for automatic expungements for people with prior cannabis convictions.
Recreational
Illinois: New lotteries designed to make it more likely for minorities to become owners of marijuana dispensaries received approval Friday from the Illinois Senate. House Bill 1443 was passed on a vote of 50-3, with one lawmaker voting present. The legislation now goes to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk for his signature. The bill would put in place a major revamp of the process for awarding 110 more recreational marijuana dispensary licenses to diversify ownership in the state’s legal cannabis industry by race, ethnicity and gender. The bill received bipartisan approval last Tuesday in the Illinois House on a 70-33 vote.
Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission has given a local dispensary the green light to start delivering it’s products. The commission tweeted that it has authorized Freshly Baked Company in Taunton to start delivery operations beginning on June 1, 2021. Freshly Baked is now the first licensee to receive such authorization in the Commonwealth.
Michigan: Legislation to close a gap in Michigan marijuana law that has allowed some untested products similar to marijuana to be sold has passed in the state House. The legislation would include all THC products in the legal definition of marijuana, therefore subjecting all such products to the same level of testing, regulation and restrictions. THC is the main compound in cannabis and marijuana products that gets users high. Michigan legalized medical marijuana in 2008 and recreational marijuana in 2018. The bills received bipartisan approval. They now go to the state Senate and then to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for consideration.
Nevada: A bill that passed the state Assembly on Thursday and is pending in the Senate would legalize consumption of cannabis in places other than on private property. Action on the proposed law comes ahead of a deadline: A 2019 moratorium preventing local governments from going ahead and licensing lounges expires June 30. “If the state (doesn’t) take some action, I think we would potentially have a situation where different local governments are operating under different rules,” Assemblyman Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, told the Las Vegas Sun. The state would not be able to regulate lounges or collect licensing and application fees. This is the third legislative session that Democratic lawmakers have tried to legalize consumption lounges.
New Mexico: New Mexico officials have released the first proposed cannabis industry rules, focused on producer licenses and plant fees, the Albuquerque Journal reports. The draft regulations set license fees for producer, retailers, and social-use businesses at $2,500 and a three-tier system for producers which would see larger volume producers – capped at 4,500 mature plants – pay higher per-plant fees than smaller businesses. The current limit for licensed producers in the state in 1,750 plants, the report says. Last week, Regulation and Licensing Superintendent Linda Trujillo, whose agency is implementing the Legislature-approved law, told reporters last week that the agency’s goal “would be to take it live with commercial sales before April 1” – the deadline approved by lawmakers.
Source: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/new-mexico-releases-adult-use-cannabis-industry-draft-rules/
South Dakota: Lawmakers in South Dakota want a firsthand look at how marijuana is grown and sold where it’s already legal before cannabis prohibitions are loosened here this summer. The South Dakota Legislature’s interim study committee on marijuana met this week for the first time in Pierre, taking testimony from both advocates for medical and recreational marijuana as well as law enforcement and other public officials who aren’t enthusiastic about cannabis legalization. And while lawmakers are equally divided on the topic of marijuana legalization and the necessary level of legislative response to a pair of cannabis-related ballot measures adopted by voters last fall, the 24-member summer study group reached the consensus that site visits are needed for lawmakers to get a comprehensive understanding of the country’s budding pot industry. So next month they will head out of state and onto tribal land where the drug is already legal, visiting professional cultivation and retail operations in Iowa, Colorado and the Flandreau Santee Sioux Reservation in Moody County. Split into two subcommittees, one group will specifically study medical marijuana and visit a medical grow operation and dispensary, with a tour tentatively set for sometime between June 28 and July 1. The other intends to visit Colorado with a focus on recreational marijuana, those though dates aren’t set and first require authorization from the Legislature’s executive board due to the anticipated costs of the expedition.
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