Harris talks cannabis on campaign trail, finally (Newsletter: October 1, 2024)

Vance & legalization memo; SAFER Banking CBO score; CA gov signs & vetoes marijuana bills; AR cannabis ballot measure; Psychedelics for 1st responders

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said for the first time during her current campaign that “we need to legalize” marijuana.

• “I just feel strongly, people should not be going to jail for smoking weed.”

Advisors to former President Donald Trump’s campaign saw Sen. JD Vance’s (R-OH) opposition to marijuana legalization as one of his “notable vulnerabilities” with moderate voters, according to a leaked research memo.

On the one-year anniversary of a marijuana banking bill clearing a Senate committee, the Congressional Budget Office released a report projecting that, if enacted, the legislation would increase deposits in banks and credit unions by $3.4 billion by 2034.

Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston (R) said advocates failed to submit enough valid signatures for a medical cannabis expansion initiative, though the campaign plans to file a legal challenge to that decision on Tuesday.

Authors of a new National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report on cannabis told Marijuana Moment that federal agencies don’t need to wait for Congress to enact legalization before they start playing a more active role in guiding state-legal markets.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill to legalize cannabis cafes where people can smoke marijuana, eat food and watch live events such as concerts.

• He also signed several other pieces of cannabis legislation, including one to end “double taxation” of sales and another to allow tax-free medical marijuana donations for low-income patients.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed a bill that would have allowed small marijuana growers to sell their products directly to consumers at state-organized farmers markets, saying he is concerned it would “undermine the existing retail licensing framework.”

A new study found that psilocybin helps emergency medical service workers have “less intense levels of reactivity to specific events and occupational stressors, less intense PTSD symptomatology, lower levels of job burnout and secondary traumatic stress and higher levels of compassion satisfaction.”

The Ohio Division of Cannabis Control reported that retailers sold $76.2 million worth of legal recreational marijuana products within the first two months of sales.

An effort to unionize by employees of marijuana company Beleaf Medical in St. Louis, Missouri has stalled as the firm argues they are agricultural workers and are thus exempt from certain labor protections under federal law.

/ FEDERAL

Air Force Recruiting Service Commander Brig. Gen. Christopher Amrhein said that more lenient marijuana policies helped it meet recruitment goals this year.

Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) said she thinks marijuana banking legislation “won’t be able to advance truly without those restorative justice elements” like relief for people with past criminal records.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he’s “not a real big fan of” rescheduling marijuana but is willing to look at cannabis banking legislation “because you have different states doing different things.”

/ STATES

Campaigns for and against the Florida marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot released ads about whether the measure is intended to benefit big businesses. PolitiFact ruled that the opposition’s claims about a “monopoly” are false.

Massachusetts’s acting top marijuana regulator gave an update on rules for marijuana social use establishments.

A Georgia law restricting hemp products takes effect  on Tuesday.

Tennessee regulators filed changes to hemp rules.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife awarded grant funds to benefit watersheds impacted by cannabis cultivation.

Oregon regulators will hold several public hearings about proposed psilocybin services rules changes this month.

The Virginia Cannabis Control Authority Board of Directors will meet on October 9.

Kentucky regulators will hold the first lottery for medical cannabis businesses licenses on October 28.

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Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,500 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
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/ LOCAL

The St. Louis, Missouri Board of Aldermen voted to allow marijuana dispensaries to stay open later.

/ INTERNATIONAL

An Indian lawmaker is facing a formal complaint over his comments advocating marijuana legalization.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study found that “tobacco use, diabetes, and longer operative times were associated with the development of [surgical site infection] after open reduction and internal fixation of fractures; however, marijuana smoking was not shown to be associated with the development of SSI.”

A study found that “psilocybin ameliorates neuropathic pain-like behaviour in mice.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

The Florida Alliance for Retired Americans endorsed the marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot.

The Albany Times Union editorial board criticized New York marijuana regulators for “lax enforcement.”

/ BUSINESS

Reynolds American Inc. is hiring a finance director for its cannabis division.

A Cresco Labs Inc. board of directors member resigned.

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