Senate leader wants THC potency cap in cannabis banking bill (Newsletter: December 19, 2019)

NFL bigwigs float marijuana changes; GOP congressman knocks party for failing to legalize cannabis; Industry orgs press Senate on banking

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

The U.S. State Department is warning international holiday travelers about bringing CBD and cannabis products with them.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) knocked his party for failing to pass marijuana reform when it controlled the House.

• “The first party that does this—and I don’t understand why either party won’t do it—is going instantly gain 10 points in the general poll.”

A group of financial industry trade associations—including the American Bankers Association,  Credit Union National Association and Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers—is urging the Senate to pass marijuana banking legislation. Meanwhile, civil rights groups—including the ACLU, Drug Policy Alliance, Human Rights Watch and Center for American Progress—are continuing to insist that any cannabis bill must include equity provisions.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he expects the NFL to adjust its marijuana policies, while New England Patriot player Tom Brady said that the “stigma is being removed” from marijuana use by athletes and that “these are the signs of the times and things are changing and progress is good.”

/ FEDERAL

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved a bill to conduct studies on detecting driving under the influence of marijuana and other drugs.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced a resolution condemning the bloody “drug war” in the Philippines.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) held an event focused on her criminal justice resolution and tweeted, “The lived experiences of all people, especially those most impacted by the war on drugs and mass incarceration, is critical in the creation of a truly just society.”

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) tweeted, “There were more people arrested for marijuana possession in 2018 than the total number of people incarcerated in 1988. Let that sink in. This is why the Marijuana Justice Act is so important for ending mass incarceration in America.”

Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA) tweeted about the advancement of marijuana descheduling legislation, saying, “I’m thrilled to see such a big step taken toward ending the failed ‘war on drugs’ that contributed to institutionalized racism and the criminal justice epidemic.”

/ STATES

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) said she will pursue legalizing marijuana in 2020 because it is already widely available in the state.

Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor facetiously tweeted about Major League Baseball removing marijuana from its list of banned substances, saying, “This is outrageous.  🚨Marijuana overdose deaths took 0 lives this year, last year, or uh, any year. If we’re not careful, this could continue. Extensive, costly screening and prohibition are the only way we can be safe.  Eventually, we’ll arrest our way out of this.”

Indiana’s Senate president pro tem said that legalizing marijuana “doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”

California officials served warrants on 24 unlicensed marijuana businesses.

The Nevada legislature’s Interim Finance Committee approved funding for a marijuana and vaping summit.

The Alabama legislature’s Medical Marijuana Study Commission is expected to vote on draft legislation this week.

The Massachusetts legislature’s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy will consider several bills on Tuesday.

West Virginia regulators will begin accepting medical cannabis business license applications this week.

Michigan regulators issued a technical bulletin on remediation of marijuana from medical to adult-use.

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/ LOCAL

The chair of the Chicago, Illinois City Council Black Caucus may force a vote on delaying legal marijuana sales in the city for six months out of concern of a lack of equity in the industry.

New York City’s mayor slammed a claim by the president of the NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association that an 18-year-old student was murdered while trying to buy marijuana.

Denver, Colorado police sent an alert about a string of armed robberies at marijuana businesses.

/ INTERNATIONAL

Italian lawmakers voted to legalize the sale of low-potency cannabis.

Trinidad and Tobago senators may refer a House-passed marijuana decriminalization bill to a joint committee, potentially to add legal regulations to the measure.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study examining whether CBD tablets are “a better pain reliever for the treatment of mild to moderate musculoskeletal pain” is now recruiting participants.

A study found that “an active cannabis use disorder is associated with an increased perioperative risk of myocardial infarction.”

A study found that “d-LSD enhances novelty preference by combining local synaptic changes in mnemonic and executive regions, with alterations of long-range synapses” and concluded that the  “results advance the use of d-LSD in cognitive enhancement.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to extend the public comment period on proposed hemp regulations.

The Chicago Tribune editorial board is concerned that Illinois might not be ready for marijuana legalization.

Prohibitionist organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana published its annual report, pledging that in 2020 it will “unveil a national legal initiative that will once and for all put the marijuana industry on notice.”

/ BUSINESS

Trulieve Inc. is facing a federal lawsuit over allegedly sending unsolicited text messages.

Tilray, Inc. and Privateer Holdings, Inc. completed a merger.

Colorado retailers are on pace for a record year of marijuana sales.

Ohio medical cannabis processors are voluntarily banning medium chain triglycerides and polyethylene glycol from vaping products.

/ CULTURE

Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins of TLC launched a line of CBD products.

SXSW published a blog post about CBD’s popularity.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.