Latest Cannabis News: November 2, 2021
Latest Cannabis News: November 2, 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: The popular cannabis extract known as Delta-8 is still illegal in Texas. A state district judge in Austin last week denied a request for a temporary restraining order to block Texas health officials from listing the extract as an illegal drug.
Two companies that distribute Delta-8 to CBD retailers had asked for the TRO in the first legal challenge to the state’s decision. The judge’s ruling stated that the plaintiff hadn’t met the requirements of a temporary restraining order. Another hearing is scheduled for November 5th.
Source: https://www.kurv.com/judge-says-delta-8-cannabis-extract-is-still-illegal-in-texas/
Wisconsin: Wisconsin Republicans are now trying to increase the criminalization of cannabis concentrates. The bill (S.B. 440) is set on increasing the severity of legal penalties for any Wisconsin resident caught manufacturing or just possessing marijuana products which were obtained through butane extraction. Butane is a powerful solvent which can be used to extract tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA, which releases THC, the psychoactive component of the cannabis plant, when heated) and create concentrates with a higher potency than regular cannabis flower, known as BHO (short for Butane Hash Oil).
The bill was already approved by several legislative committees—it was approved by the Committee on Substance Abuse and Prevention and the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety already. Is it necessary to specify that both votes strictly followed party lines? As all relevant committees and both houses of the state legislature are Republican controlled, the bill seems likely to pass every hurdle without effort.
Idaho: The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the Idaho State hemp plan on Monday, which will allow the Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) to license hemp producers and handlers under Idaho Code and the Farm Bill passed in 2018. This plan is a major milestone in Idaho’s ongoing debate surrounding the production and transportation of hemp.
Later that same year, Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued an executive order that changed Idaho’s rules on the interstate transportation of hemp to be in accordance with federal law. The executive order did not legalize hemp in the state of Idaho but changed the transportation laws to match federal law.
The Idaho Legislature tried multiple times from 2019-2020 to pass legislation legalizing the production and transportation of hemp but was ultimately unsuccessful. Hemp license applications will open on Nov. 8. The application process will be done entirely online.
Nebraska: On Saturday there were 34 petition signings to get medical cannabis on the ballot for 2022 in Nebraska.
There are two petitions to sign. One is to protect caregivers from getting arrested so they can provide medical cannabis to their loved ones. The other is to regulate businesses that give medical marijuana to patients.
Source: https://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-news/nebraska-petition-to-get-medical-cannabis-on-the-ballot
Medical
Florida: Leafly and similar sites will be able to resume working with Florida medical marijuana businesses to provide online ordering of the drug, under a ruling from an administrative law judge.
Florida health officials this year stopped medical marijuana operators from using Leafly and other third-party sites to process patient orders, saying the arrangements violated a state law banning operators from contracting for services “directly related to the cultivation, processing and dispensing” of cannabis.
Louisiana: Louisiana is set to allow hemp-derived delta-8 THC in food, a surprising step as more than a dozen states are doing the opposite and banning the isomer or limiting it to marijuana retailers.
The Louisiana position came in an email this week from the Louisiana Department of Health, which told businesses that applications are open to register for licenses to make foods containing cannabinoids. Louisiana has a limited medical marijuana market with only nine operating dispensaries as of earlier this year. The delta-8 change in Louisiana comes on the heels of the state opening the sale of smokable marijuana flower, with sales expected to begin in 2022.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/louisiana-plans-to-regulate-not-ban-delta-8-thc/
Minnesota: When Minnesota adds smokeable dried cannabis flower to its medical cannabis program next March, managers of the program think it could triple or quadruple the number of patients on the registry. That’s because smokable marijuana is much cheaper to produce, which could making it more competitive with what’s available on the illicit market.
But some medical marijuana and gun rights activists say the number of registrants would be even higher if the federal government didn’t adhere to a decade-old policy of denying gun purchases and transfers to residents who sign up for the state program. And rather than join the state’s program, potentially eligible patients may stay with the illicit market rather than risk losing gun ownership rights.
New Hampshire: New Hampshire lawmakers have introduced legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Tim Egan, would legalize the possession of up to an ounce of cannabis for personal use, as well as the home cultivation of up to three mature plants, according to a WCAX report.
Egan’s bill will be sent to committee once the Legislature reconvenes in January, WCAX reported. During New Hampshire’s 2020 legislative session, the House passed a similar adult-use legalization bill that would have legalized the possession and limited cultivation of cannabis.
Pennsylvania: A Pennsylvania lawmaker on Friday introduced a bill to expand the number of medical marijuana cultivators in the state, prioritizing small farms to break up what she characterized as a monopoly or large corporations that’s created supply problems.
Rep. Melissa Shusterman (D) filed the bill, which she said would help to resolve supply chain issues resulting from limits on how many cultivators can operate in a given geographic zone. The hope is that creating this new permit category and empowering small farmers to grow cannabis will drive down prices for consumers, as well as unlocking opportunities for more businesses.
Rhode Island: Five new medical cannabis dispensaries are fixing to open their doors next year in Rhode Island after winning licenses during a luck-of-the draw lottery by the state’s Department of Business Regulation (DBR) on Oct. 29.
The lottery—which featured a blindfolded former FBI agent picking numbered balls out of a casino tumbler—came after former Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo signed a 2019 state budget that allowed for the state’s medical cannabis retail footprint to expand from three to nine dispensaries.
A sixth dispensary selection was supposed to be included in the expansion lottery, but the winner from Zone 6 will be determined at a later date because a rejected applicant from that geographic boundary brought forth an administrative appeal.
South Dakota: Less than a year after 70% of South Dakota voters said yes to Initiated Measure 26, and just weeks before a November 18 deadline to start issuing cards to patients and care-givers, a panel of state lawmakers spent Wednesday debating ways to potentially change key parts of the new medical-cannabis program.
The recommendations from the Legislature’s Marijuana Study Committee were across the board. One calls for allowing a maximum of three home-grown marijuana plants — IM 26 set three as the minimum — as well as removing the requirement that a physician’s sign-off is needed. The many pending pieces now go the Legislature’s Executive Board for review.
Any that the leadership group approves next month will move forward to be argued in the 2022 legislative session that opens in January.
Recreational
Connecticut: With the legalization of recreational cannabis for adults and the impending start of retail sales next year, several Connecticut coastal towns are just saying no, for now.
The New Haven Register reports Guilford, Madison and North Branford recently put in place measures that stop cannabis establishments from opening for nine months to a year from now. Clinton is prohibiting cannabis-related land use.
Some local officials say they are responding to opposition from residents, while other residents say it’s a mistake to say no to businesses that will create jobs, and are urging the towns to consider applicants on a case-by-case basis.
Maine: Federal prosecutors say law enforcement officers and a prosecutor aided an operation that illegally sold $13 million in pot grown for Maine’s medical marijuana program.
Federal documents unsealed Wednesday when a defendant in a related case pleaded guilty revealed an elaborate operation in western Maine.
A dozen people were charged in the complaint. They include a Rangeley select board member, a prosecutor in Franklin County, two Franklin County sheriff’s deputies, an Oxford County sheriff’s deputy and a Wilton police officer.
Source: https://www.cbs58.com/news/police-aided-illegal-marijuana-operation-in-maine-feds-say
Michigan: Those watching the cannabis industry should be on the lookout for several ballot proposals to be decided on Tuesday across the region and state.
In metro Detroit, voters in Clawson and Rockwood will be deciding if they’ll allow cannabis businesses. Lapeer voters will be choosing whether or not to reverse course on recreational cannabis and ban its sale within city limits. Perry and Potterville residents will also vote on repealing previous decisions not to allow cannabis sales.
Michigan voters legalized recreational cannabis at the state level in 2018, but individual communities can decide whether to opt in or out.
Montana: Montana finally issued the proposed rules for their cannabis industry, and those poised to get involved are now preparing to meet deadlines. Regulators in Montana last week issued a slate of proposed rules for the state’s coming recreational marijuana marketplace, and cannabis advocates are excited to get started.
Pot sales for adults aged 21 and older are scheduled to get underway on New Year’s Day in Big Sky Country, which means the clock is ticking for the Montana Department of Revenue to lay out regulations for the would-be cannabis businesses. The Department of Revenue will hold a public hearing in the capital city of Helena on November 16 to consider adoption of the proposed rules.
Source: https://hightimes.com/news/montana-issues-proposed-rules-for-future-cannabis-marketplace/
Virginia: The start of marijuana retail sales in Virginia could come sooner than initially planned as lawmakers continue to discuss the ground rules for the new industry.
The commission that oversees implementation of state legislation that legalized marijuana recently created a subcommittee that will draw up recommendations on how to expedite the start of retail sales in Virginia, a milestone currently slated for January 2024.
That subcommittee of the Cannabis Oversight Commission is expected to meet in the first half of November to create the recommendations, said Henry Watkins, who is chief of staff for the commission’s chairman, Sen. Adam Ebbin.
Washington, D.C.: A bill before the Washington, D.C. City Council seeks to crack down on the practice of cannabis “gifting” by local businesses, DCist reports. The proposal, introduced by Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, would allow city agencies to revoke business licenses and impose fines for “purchasing, selling, or exchanging” cannabis.
The proposal is on Tuesday’s agenda and, as emergency legislation, requires nine votes to pass.
Source: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/washington-d-c-bill-aims-to-crackdown-on-cannabis-gifting/
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