Latest Cannabis News: March 30, 2021
Latest Cannabis News: March 30, 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:
Texas: Over a dozen bills were pre-filed before the 2021 legislative session that will open opportunities for the use of cannabis in Texas. Some of the featured bills included SB 140, a bill introducing a full licensure system for growers, retailers, transporters, and testing facilities. It provides for legalization of possession and use of cannabis by persons over 21, full medical use on a doctor’s order, and taxes cannabis sales. House Bill 43 was also pre-filed, expanding on the compassionate use registry, opening the registry to persons with any condition for which a physician certifies that cannabis is medically necessary. The bill also eliminates limits on THC for medical cannabis used by registry participants. Four different lawmakers are proposing a constitutional amendment for either medical use or full legalization, which would require a statewide referendum in November 2021.
Medical:
Arkansas: Bill, SB499, sponsored by Senator Clarke Tucker, was recently filed in efforts to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The bill states that possession of less than an ounce of marijuana would result in a penalty fine of $200. Source
North Dakota: North Dakota Senate rejected a bill to legalize marijuana, killing the reform proposal that passed last month. Senators defeated the legalization measure in a 10-37 vote. The Senate also unanimously defeated separate legislation related to cannabis taxes and temporarily set aside another bill to expand the state’s existing cannabis decriminalization law. A team of activists has already filed their own proposed legalization ballot measure for next year.
Mississippi: Senate Bill 2765 died in the House of Representatives. This bill would have established an alternatively regulated medical marijuana program if Initiative 65 were to be struck down by the courts. The legislation failed after being tabled by a vote of the full House on the deadline for passage of the measure. The bill can only be resurrected by a two-thirds vote to suspend the rules in each chamber.
New York: New York lawmakers reached an agreement to legalize recreational marijuana sales in the state. The legislation, Bill S854A, would allow recreational marijuana sales to adults over the age of 21, and set up a licensing process for the delivery of cannabis products to customers. Individual New Yorkers could grow up to three mature and three immature plants for personal consumption, and local governments could opt out of retail sales. Penalties for possession of less than three ounces of cannabis would be eliminated, and records of people with past convictions for marijuana-related offenses will be expunged. New York would provide loans, grants and incubator programs to encourage participation in the cannabis industry by people from minority communities, as well as small farmers, women and disabled veterans. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has estimated legalization could eventually bring the state about $350 million annually.
Recreational:
Arizona: According to the Arizona Republic, the Arizona Department of Health Services received 377 competing applications for the 13 vertically integrated licenses to be issued to grow, manufacture and dispense cannabis in the state. Application fees per application was a non-refundable $25,000 and licenses will be awarded based on a lottery, which will determine the winners of the13 new permits. The permits will be available in eight rural counties: Apache, Cochise, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Santa Cruz and Yuma. It’s unclear when the exact date of issuance for the 13 permits will be, but a Health Services spokesperson told the Republic that for counties with fewer than two dispensaries – Cochise, Graham and Yuma – the lottery will take place “sometime in April.”
California: Five years after California legalized recreational cannabis, one state lawmaker has proposed a bill that would make pre-employment pot testing a thing of the past for the majority of jobseekers in the state. If AB 1256 passes, most California workplaces would be prohibited from using evidence of past pot use, such as the results of hair and urine tests, to deny someone employment, or to fire them.
Illinois: House Bill 3085 was moved to the House floor by Illinois lawmakers, and was recently approved on a 10-8 vote. The bill’s language removes all criminal penalties for possession of any amount of cannabis and automatically expunges any criminal record for someone convicted of a similar offense.
New Jersey: Senator Vin Gopal sponsored a bill to allow anyone 21 and older to grow up to six marijuana plants at home. Currently, if you are caught growing five or fewer plants, you face a fine of $25,000 dollars and possible jail time of 3-5 years. Sen. Gospel says that because of the lengthy licensing process, this can be an alternative to allow patients and New Jersey residents a quicker way to get access to marijuana.
Virginia: Virginia House speaker, Eileen Filler-Corn, said she supports moving up the date for legalizing adult recreational use of marijuana in Virginia to July 1, 2021, rather than the 2023 proposed timeline. Filler-Corn stated that she will also push for other amendments, including a provision that calls for people who are currently incarcerated for nonviolent marijuana-related offenses to have an opportunity for re-sentencing.
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