Congressional bill allows interstate cannabis exports and imports (Newsletter: June 28, 2019)

Drug policy at Dem POTUS debate; Senator wants CBD regs from FDA soon; ABA wants hemp banking guidance; Mick Jagger gives marijuana shout out to IL gov

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

No anti-marijuana members of Congress even attempted to file amendments to strip cannabis banking protections from, or reinsert a ban on Washington, D.C. legalizing sales into, a funding bill passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The chamber also gave final approval to separate appropriations legislation that now contains riders protecting state, tribal and territory marijuana laws from federal interference.

Democratic candidates discussed marijuana, the war on drugs and criminal justice reform during the first 2020 presidential debate.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) told the Food and Drug Administration that its claim it could take up to five years to issue regulations allowing CBD in food products and dietary supplements is “fully unacceptable,” and he wants the agency to issue enforcement discretion guidance by August 1.

The American Bankers Association sent a letter asking federal financial regulators to issue guidance clarifying that banks can serve hemp and CBD businesses.

Mick Jagger gave an on-stage welcome to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) at a Rolling Stones concert in Chicago, noting he’d signed a bill legalizing marijuana hours earlier:

• “You’re all going to light up legally next January. Some of you may have jumped the gun.”

/ FEDERAL

A White House official is reportedly interested in meeting with former marijuana prisoner Weldon Angelos about his push to convince President Trump to commute the sentences of other people who are incarcerated for cannabis offenses.

Environmental Protection Agency executives toured a Kentucky hemp farm.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a presidential candidate, said he was “disappointed” that moderators at the first Democratic presidential debate did not ask about marijuana legalization.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a presidential candidate, tweeted that the results of the Queens, New York district attorney election are “a victory for working people everywhere who are fighting for real political change and demanding we end cash bail, mass incarceration and the failed war on drugs.”

Reps. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Mike Quigley (D-IL) touted a spending bill’s removal of a rider blocking Washington, D.C. from using its own money to legalize marijuana in House floor speeches.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) gave a floor speech touting a spending bill’s inclusion of language protecting banks that work with marijuana businesses.

Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) sent a press release about the CBD regulation amendment he successfully attached to a Food and Drug Administration spending bill.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) tweeted, “The House has made it clear that the federal government shouldn’t interfere in states where marijuana is legal. We also need to make it clear that cannabis entrepreneurs should be able to access the same banking services as anyone else.”

/ STATES

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said he will sign medical cannabis expansion legislation that was recently approved by lawmakers.

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) tweeted, “It’s time to legalize marijuana. For years, marijuana possession has been a pipeline to prison for people of color. We must replace that pipeline with jobs, equity, and pathways to prosperity.” In a press release, she urged the D.C. Council to hold a hearing on legalization legislation.

Arizona’s auditor general found inconsistencies and inadequacies with the how the state’s medical cannabis program is run.

West Virginia’s medical cannabis program will not be ready to launch by the July 1 deadline.

Washington State regulators published a revised bulletin about marijuana advertising at events.

One year after Oklahoma voters legalized medical cannabis, more than 3.5% of the state’s population is already registered as patients.

California’s Cannabis Advisory Committee is holding meetings in Los Angeles on Thursday and Friday.

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/ LOCAL

Albuquerque, New Mexico police have issued zero citations for marijuana possession since the city enacted decriminalization a year ago.

/ INTERNATIONAL

The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime released the 2019 World Drug Report.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat spoke at a cannabis conference.

Paraguay’s minister of the national anti-drug secretariat said that medical cannabis cultivation regulations will be announced soon.

Colombian coca cultivation and cocaine production dropped last year for the first time in six years, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy reported.

/ ADVOCACY

The American Veterinary Medical Association is cautioning pet owners about the effects of marijuana on animals.

The Missouri Broadcasters Association is warning broadcasters not to accept medical cannabis ads.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study found that “cannabis use among US-born individuals has consistently been higher than that of immigrants since the early 2000s.”

A study found “no significant association between current marijuana use and opioid misuse, opioid dose, or pain.”

A study concluded that “cannabis consumption is associated with a lower risk of liver steatosis in psychosis.”

/ BUSINESS

Days after unsuccessfully trying to defeat a congressional amendment to shield state marijuana laws from federal interference, an executive with Greenwich Biosciences—which makes an FDA-approved CBD drug—spoke at an anti-drug conference sponsored by prohibitionist groups like Smart Approaches to Marijuana and the Drug Free America Foundation.

Marijuana cultivation firm Vertical Companies is being targeted by another cultivator in a RICO lawsuit that alleges fraud, breach of contract and elder financial abuse.

/ CULTURE

Author Michael Pollan spoke about his thoughts on psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Rapper Snoop Dogg is under fire for appearing to make fun of a soccer player who has struggled with alcoholism in comparison to his own use of marijuana.

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