Senate bills include hemp & cannabis reforms (Newsletter: November 11, 2020)

CT gov: Legal marijuana can stop travel & COVID spread; Lawsuit against MT legalization; WA drug decrim effort; Did MN cannabis parties aid GOP?

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

New Jersey lawmakers filed legislation to implement legal adult-use marijuana sales three days after voters approved a cannabis legalization referendum, and hearings are scheduled for Monday. Advocates are already upset with some details, including directing revenue to police and a ban on home cultivation. Delivery services and on-site consumption would be allowed, however.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) appointed a former ACLU staffer to oversee implementation of the state’s voter-approved recreational marijuana market.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) said that legalizing marijuana in his state could help reduce the spread of coronavirus by cutting down on travel by his constituents going to purchase cannabis in New Jersey and Massachusetts.

• “Right now I’m surrounded by states—you mentioned New Jersey, Massachusetts—where marijuana is already legal, and I don’t need a lot of people driving back and forth across the border. We’re trying to keep people close to home as best we can right now, and I think legalizing marijuana and doing that safely…I think it’s one way to keep people closer to home.”

Montana marijuana opponents filed a new lawsuit that seeks to overturn the state’s voter-approved legalization initiative.

Washington State activists, inspired by Oregon’s vote to decriminalize drugs last week, are pressing ahead with plans to pass a decriminalization bill through their state legislature in 2021.

Minnesota’s two marijuana-focused political parties may have helped tip key races toward Republicans, thereby hurting the chances of legal cannabis legislation in the state in 2021.

/ FEDERAL

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released short radio spots on the status of hemp legalization implementation.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) tweeted, “Florida passed a $15 minimum wage. Montana, South Dakota, Arizona & New Jersey legalized marijuana. Colorado passed 12 weeks of paid family leave. Arizona increased taxes on the rich to fund education. All over America, voters approved a progressive agenda. Now, Congress must act.”

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) tweeted, “America is ready for progress on cannabis. We’ve seen states move to decriminalize or legalize cannabis, even as federal laws have stayed the same. It’s time for the SAFE Banking Act so small businesses in the cannabis industry can access banking like any other business.”

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) tweeted, “New Jersey, Arizona, South Dakota, Mississippi, & Montana have all voted to legalize recreational or medical marijuana. As states lead the way for cannabis reform, we are one step closer to bringing cannabis justice to Congress.”

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) tweeted, “From the Deep South & Great Plains to the Northeast & Mountain West, #Marijuana was legalized in every state that voted on it. Marijuana reform is something all Americans can agree on, and it’s time we decriminalize & deschedule it at the federal level. #MOREAct #LegalizeIt”

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) tweeted, “Cannabis is now more popular than any politician. It’s time to end the failed war on drugs.”

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) tweeted, “Voters made it clear: this country is ready to move past the disastrous War on Drugs. It’s long past time to legalize marijuana at the federal level and repair the damage done to communities of color.”

/ STATES

New Mexico’s Senate majority leader said the results of this month’s legislative elections, along with neighboring Arizona’s vote to legalize marijuana, will boost cannabis legalization efforts in the state.

New Jersey’s Senate president tweeted, “We have pushed to establish NJ as a national leader in the industrial #hemp industry, and we believe this plant can become the next great cash crop in the #GardenState. Having farmers begin to cultivate this product will lead to new jobs and expanded industry.”

The Illinois Senate Executive, Commerce and Economic Development and Agriculture Committees held a joint hearing on access, opportunity and equity in sectors including the cannabis industry.

Mississippi regulators said they are working to establish medical cannabis licensing structures following voter approval of a legalization ballot measure.

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, located in Oklahoma, passed legislation allowing medical cannabis within reservation boundaries.

California regulators are delaying notification to recipients of grants for research on marijuana legalization implementation.

A Tennessee senator spoke about plans to introduce a medical cannabis bill in the new session.

A Kentucky representative said he thinks the state’s voters would approve marijuana legalization if it could be placed on the ballot but is skeptical it can pass the legislature any time soon.

/ LOCAL

Most California municipalities that had cannabis tax measures on their local ballots approved the proposals.

The Marion County, Florida School Board fired a high school dean over his legal medical cannabis use.

A Des Moines, Iowa task force will release its recommendations on making marijuana the lowest law enforcement priority on Monday.

San Francisco, California officials sent a bulletin about preparing for “potential security threats to Bay Area cannabis permit holders.”

/ INTERNATIONAL

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacidna Ardern said that the country needs to have a “health-based approach” to marijuana even though voters narrowly rejected a legalization referendum.

Jamaica’s Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce is working to solve banking issues for the marijuana industry.

Costa Rica’s minister of agriculture and livestock is criticizing a proposed hemp legalization bill.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study concluded that “the low volatility of THC and its oxidation products suggest that their contributions to thirdhand cannabis smoke will be less significant than the role that nicotine plays in thirdhand tobacco smoke.”

Researchers developed a method to “distinguish marijuana use from tetrahydrocannabinol exposure from contaminated CBD use.”

/ BUSINESS

TerrAscend Corp. is acquiring the Maryland medical cannabis operations HMS Health, LLC and HMS Processing, LLC from Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

/ CULTURE

UFC president Dana White said he is working to “loosen up” strict anti-marijuana rules for fighters.

The late musician Eddie Van Halen’s son tweeted about scams that falsely allege his father encouraged people to use CBD.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.