Latest Cannabis News: May 31, 2022
Latest Cannabis News: May 31, 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.
CBD
Georgia: Georgia voters have sent a marijuana message to state lawmakers, approving a ballot measure on Tuesday that expresses their support for adult-use cannabis legalization.
State Democratic Party leadership placed nine non-binding advisory questions on the primary election ballot to help inform the legislature on where Georgians stand on various issues, including legalization.
The marijuana measure led by a substantial margin of 80 percent to 20 percent on Wednesday afternoon, with more than 99 percent of counties having completely reported their votes—accounting for 660,371 ballots counted.
Source: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/georgia-voters-approve-marijuana-legalization-ballot-question/
North Carolina: North Carolina is on the path to permanently legalize its booming hemp industry. And in contrast to years past, the issue no longer seems particularly controversial.
The 2022 Farm Act, Senate Bill 792, would distinguish hemp from marijuana by defining hemp as cannabis having less than 0.3% of Delta-9, the chemical in marijuana that produces the drug’s high. It would also exclude hemp from the state’s list of controlled substances.
Sponsor Sen. Brent Jackson, R-Sampson, told the state Senate agriculture committee Tuesday that the change conforms to federal law and is necessary because the 2015 state law that legalized the hemp industry in North Carolina is set to expire on June 30.
Source: https://www.wral.com/north-carolina-quietly-moves-toward-full-legalization-of-hemp/20298033/
Momentum on the legalization of marijuana will make its way through the general assembly again this month. Pending legislation introduced Monday could legalize and regulate the use, possession, and retail sale of marijuana for adults in North Carolina.
North Carolina is one of six states where all uses of marijuana — including medical — are still illegal. Others include Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Wyoming. N.C. Senate Bill 765 would allow individuals ages 21 and older to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana or equivalent marijuana products. Anyone found to possess more than 2 ounces could face a civil penalty of $25 (for those possessing a pound or more, it would still carry a felony punishment). There would also be marketing and advertising restrictions associated with retail sales.
The bill would allow adults to grow up to two mature and two immature marijuana plants for personal use at home. Growers could share marijuana as long as the transaction does not involve money.
Medical
Delaware: Delaware Gov. John Carney announced on Tuesday that he would veto a bill that would legalize the possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana, setting up a historic showdown with the General Assembly.
For years, Carney has not wavered in his position against marijuana legalization. He said in a statement that he does not “believe that promoting or expanding the use of recreational marijuana is in the best interests of the state of Delaware, especially our young people.”
Carney said he supports the use of medical marijuana and the decriminalization of marijuana. He cited his decision to veto due to questions surrounding the “long-term health and economic impacts” of marijuana and “serious law enforcement concerns.”
Hawaii: The Hawai‘i State Department of Health (DOH) issued a formal notice that authorizes Pono Life Sciences, LLC dba Pono Life Maui to open its second medical cannabis retail dispensary on Maui. The new dispensary is located at 115 N. Market Street in Wailuku. Sales are expected to begin on May 28. The formal notice was issued after Pono Life Maui passed its final onsite inspection today.
This will be Maui’s fifth retail dispensary and the 20th retail dispensary for the state. As of April 30, 2022, 34,047 in-state patients and 2,765 caregivers were registered statewide, including 6,480 patients and 581 caregivers on Maui. The primary reported condition for registered adult patients is severe pain. The primary reported conditions for patients under 18 are seizures and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Louisiana: State lawmakers advanced four bills aimed at curbing penalties for marijuana possession, the latest effort to soften Louisiana’s historically harsh stance on the drug.
The proposals, referred Tuesday to the full Senate by the Senate’s Judiciary C committee, are aimed at those who use marijuana at their doctor’s recommendation and those who use it recreationally. The latter use is still illegal in the state.
House Bill 775 would allow medical cannabis patients to carry pipes, bongs, and other paraphernalia. Another, House Bill 1028, would decriminalize the possession of paraphernalia for non-patients, making it a maximum $50 fine, similar to a law passed by legislators last year eliminating the possibility of jail time for pot possession.
House Bill 629 would bar police from searching residents’ homes simply because those homes smell of marijuana, which lawmakers described as solidifying current law. And House Bill 774 would allow people convicted for small-time weed possession to expunge their records six months after conviction instead of the current five years.
State Rep. Cedric Glover, D-Shreveport, who sponsored most of the measures, said the legislation is “appropriate” considering lawmakers passed a law decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana and allowing medical marijuana patients to use smokable flower last year.
Minnesota: Minnesota adults older than 21 will be able to buy intoxicating hemp-derived THC products in grocery and convenience stores under a bill that lawmakers approved late Sunday.
The measure also allows CBD to be placed in food and drinks, a reversal from current policy in Minnesota. The bill, which awaits the signature of Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, allows both delta-8 THC and delta-9 THC products and other intoxicants derived from hemp.
The measure would limit hemp-derived intoxicants to 5 milligrams of THC per serving, with a maximum of 50 milligrams of THC per package.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/minnesota-lawmakers-greenlight-thc-from-hemp-for-adult-use/
Mississippi: f the 16 counties in Northeast Mississippi, only four — Calhoun, Pontotoc, Tippah, and Union — took advantage of the state’s provision allowing municipalities to opt-out of permitting medical cannabis facilities to operate within their borders.
Statewide, officials in 19 counties voted to opt-out of allowing medicinal pot facilities within their borders by the May 3 deadline.
Oklahoma: Oklahoma regulators are accusing a testing lab of reporting passing results for dozens of contaminated medical marijuana products, leading to a recall affecting 33 cultivation and processing businesses.
The Oklahoma Health Department issued an emergency order on May 20 temporarily suspending the MMJ testing lab license of Shiv Krupa, doing business as Scale Laboratories, after the state’s Medical Marijuana Authority issued a May 19 recall of 99 products that allegedly were contaminated with mold, yeast, aspergillus, salmonella and E. coli.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/oklahoma-recalls-99-medical-marijuana-products-suspends-labs-license/
Rhode Island: Last Wednesday, Governor Dan McKee today signed into law the Rhode Island Cannabis Act, legalizing and safely regulating recreational adult-use cannabis in the state. The Act includes automatic expungement of prior civil or criminal marijuana possession charges, a key provision in the Governor’s original cannabis proposal to the General Assembly.
Governor McKee was joined for the historic signing by Lt. Governor Sabina Matos, Senate Majority Leader Michael J. McCaffrey, and the bill sponsors – Senate Committee on Health and Human Services Chairman Joshua Miller and House Deputy Majority Leader Scott A. Slater.
Under the new law, possession and home-growing of cannabis are now legal for adults age 21 and older, and in-store sales may begin as soon as December 1. The law also establishes a common-sense adult-use cannabis regulation framework, emphasizing public health and public safety.
West Virginia: With medical marijuana dispensaries now open across the state, West Virginia lawmakers discussed how usage affects employee-employer relationships this week.
West Virginia’s current law protects employees from being fired solely for being a medical cannabis patient. However, companies still have control over policies, which can prohibit an employee from being under the influence during work. But with no testing widely available to determine if someone is intoxicated due to cannabis usage, it’s difficult to prove.
The discussions were held last Tuesday at a meeting of the West Virginia Legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee, which heard testimony from industry experts who discussed the workplace and how it intertwined with a person’s medical usage. The issue started last year after West Virginia’s first dispensaries opened.
Source: https://wvpress.org/wvpa-sharing/lawmakers-review-workplace-cannabis-use-in-w-va/
South Dakota: South Dakota officials on Wednesday certified that activists turned in a sufficient number of signatures earlier this month to qualify a marijuana legalization measure for the November ballot.
South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (SDBML) needed 16,961 valid submissions to place their initiative before voters. The secretary of state’s office has confirmed that more than enough valid petitions were received and that the proposal will appear on the November ballot as Initiated Measure 27.
Recreational
Connecticut: The practice of exchanging cannabis or cannabis-related products for donations or other purchases — known as “gifting” — could now carry Connecticut’s heavy price tag.
Under legislation signed last week by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, towns can fine residents up to $1,000 for gifting a cannabis plant or related products. The state also has the authority to issue $1,000 fines for not paying state sales taxes on the exchanges.
Unregulated cannabis bazaars have cropped up around the state since the drug was legalized last year. Thousands of people have attended the events, often paying a fee to be admitted, and exchanged cannabis-related products for other items or received them along with purchasing an item such as a T-shirt.
Illinois: After nearly ten months of delay, a judge Friday ended the court order preventing Illinois from issuing 185 new recreational cannabis store licenses — though further litigation may jeopardize those licenses again.
Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Mullen lifted the stay issued last year, allowing the state to begin licensing new businesses, many of them started by Black and Latino owners. The ruling means that companies that spent thousands of dollars to stay alive without revenue may now take steps toward the opening, including finalizing zoning approval, buying or renting real estate, ordering supplies, and hiring employees. That process may take several months to more than a year before the stores open.
New Jersey: Five more recreational cannabis dispensaries will be opening in New Jersey.
Last Tuesday, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission approved five medical marijuana dispensary applications to sell recreational cannabis. All five stores are in North Jersey; in Union, North Woodbridge, Ascend’s in Montclair, TerrAscend’s in Lodi, and AYR Wellness’ in Eatontown.
The CRC also granted a wave of conditional approvals to cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, and retailers.
There were a total of 46 conditional license awardees: 22 class I cultivator applicants, 13 class II manufacturer applicants, and 11 retailer applicants. Four testing labs were also approved on Tuesday. Those will start operating under recreational cannabis regulations.
Source: https://whyy.org/articles/n-j-approves-another-round-of-recreational-cannabis-retailers
New York: New York marijuana regulators are asking the social media app TikTok to end its ban on advertising that involves the word “cannabis” as they work to promote public education on the state’s move to legalize it.
On Monday, the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) sent a letter to TikTok executives urging the company to revise its advertising policy for government entities to talk about marijuana in public health and safety context freely.
OCM Executive Director Chris Alexander said that the office has launched a “Cannabis Conversations” campaign to inform New Yorkers about “who can purchase cannabis, where can you legally use cannabis, and how one can safely use cannabis, including protecting youth.”
Vermont: The state’s largest cannabis media and events platform announces Vermont Cannabis Week, promoting independent retailers, small growers, and makers in the Green Mountain State.
In a groundbreaking moment about a week ago, the Vermont Cannabis Control Board issued the first-ever cannabis operating license, a Tier One cultivator, with its members noting that the pace of licensing will pick up in the following weeks.
As growers, makers, and retailers ready for the adult-use market, Heady Vermont, the state’s largest media and events platform, provides strategic ways for small businesses to connect directly with market-ready consumers and get their brand and business to the forefront of the new industry.
Vermont Cannabis Week, taking place October 1 to 8, 2022, aims to engage small product makers, independent retailers, and market-ready consumers through innovative statewide and regional marketing campaigns, dedicated platforms, and direct-to-consumer-style events such as farmers’ markets. Two such markets are tentatively planned for August 20 and October 1, 2022.
Virginia: Virginia legislative leaders are proposing a new criminal misdemeanor in state law to possess more than four ounces of marijuana in public.
The General Assembly will meet Wednesday in a special session to consider the budget. The language on marijuana — like much of the budget agreement — followed discussions that were not held in public.
The budget compromise backed by House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight, a Republican, and Senate Finance and Appropriations Chair Janet Howell, a Democrat, would write into law that anyone caught in public with more than four ounces of marijuana would be guilty of Class 3 criminal misdemeanor that carries a fine of up to $500, plus a criminal record.
A second or subsequent offense would be a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
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