Senators cite Border Patrol cannabis arrests of citizens in review request (Newsletter: August 22, 2019)

Bernie Sanders backs safe injection sites; Congressman jokes Trump tweets delay legal marijuana; Pew report examines state cannabis revenue issues

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

The National Credit Union Administration, a federal financial agency, published new guidance making clear that credit unions can serve hemp businesses.

A new criminal justice plan from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a presidential candidate, includes marijuana legalization, cannabis record expungement and safe consumption sites for illegal drugs.

A report from the Pew Charitable Trusts looks at the difficulties states face in projecting marijuana tax revenue ahead of time. For example, Nevada’s early cannabis haul was 40 percent higher than anticipated, while California sales were 45 percent lower than initially projected.

In a new interview, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) joked that Congress would be able to legalize marijuana a lot sooner if President Trump stopped creating controversies and distractions with his tweets.

/ FEDERAL

The U.S. Department of Agriculture tweeted, “American farmers more than quadrupled the land planted with hemp in the past year, from 27,424 acres to 128,320 acres.”

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) tweeted about attending a hemp conference.

Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) spoke at a town hall about his support for medical cannabis.

/ STATES

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) said that legalizing hemp could be “reckless” ahead of a legislative study committee meeting on the issue.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) spoke about the state’s new marijuana decriminalization law.

Connecticut’s Senate president said it is “critically important” for the state to legalize marijuana soon.

The California Department of Finance is opposing pending legislation that would allow the chartering of banks to serve marijuana businesses. Separately, the state Supreme Court overturned an appeals court’s ruling on whether the enactment of a zoning ordinance allowing the operation of medical cannabis cooperatives may cause a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change to the environment for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act.

Florida’s agriculture commissioner tweeted that “cannabis has life-changing potential for patients and Florida’s economy, like new tax revenue for education, affordable housing, jobs, and infrastructure. Floridians should have their say on recreational marijuana.”

Alabama’s House speaker said lawmakers will take the findings of a medical cannabis study committee seriously.

The Maryland legislature’s marijuana legalization work group held its second meeting.

Missouri regulators received more than 2,100 applications for medical cannabis business licenses.

Louisiana reportedly has 5,000 registered medical cannabis patients.

Washington State regulators updated the marijuana transportation manifest form. They also sent a list of tips and workarounds for the state’s troubled cannabis tracking system.

Alaska regulators will meet to discuss marijuana licensing and regulations from September 11-13.

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/ LOCAL

The Broward County, Florida state attorney is requiring a three gram minimum for the prosecution of misdemeanor marijuana cases.

Denver, Colorado officials announced they will be randomly selecting about 25 marijuana stores from which to evaluate products for contaminants.

/ INTERNATIONAL

The wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that medical cannabis is “blessed” and “very important thing for sick people.”

Namibia’s government said that no groups have yet taken advantage of an invitation to submit marijuana reform plans for review.

/ ADVOCACY

The Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee adopted a resolution condemning the state’s agriculture commissioner for the slow implementation of the medical cannabis program. And the Louisiana Democratic Party tweeted, “Withholding medicine shouldn’t be a political tool but @MikeStrain4LA has no problem treating it like one. We deserve an Ag Commissioner who’s committed to Louisiana, not one committed to his own self-interest. It’s time we vote him out.”

A co-founder of the Extinction Rebellion environmental movement is calling for “mass civil disobedience” involving the ingestion of psychedelic drugs.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A review of marijuana’s role in cancer care concluded that “there is a reasonable amount of evidence to consider cannabis for nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, and pain as a supplement to first-line treatments,” “promising evidence to treat chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, gastrointestinal distress, and sleep disorders” and that “cannabis has multifaceted potential bioactive benefits that appear to outweigh its risks in many situations.”

A study found that “fat content of a meal can lead to significant increases in [CBD absorption] and can account for variability in bioavailability and overall drug exposure within patients with oral products.

/ OPINION & ANALYSIS

The Boston Globe editorial board is urging lawmakers to pass legislation on marijuana-impaired driving.

/ BUSINESS

MedMen Enterprises Inc. is launching a statewide marijuana delivery service in California.

Organigram Holdings Inc. will begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on August 22.

CannTrust Holdings Inc. announced that the Ontario Cannabis Store is returning C$2.9 million worth of noncompliant marijuana products from the company.

Sun+Earth Certified is a new organic and fair labor certification program for the marijuana industry.

/ CULTURE

UFC head Dana White reacted to fighter Nate Diaz smoking a joint on stage at an event.

Former football player Steve Morley tweeted, “Dear @JustinTrudeau, As a ‘Born Again’ Christian, I must ask you to please reconsider legalizing #Marijuana. God wants to have a relationship with us. He can not do that when we’re drunk on Marijuana. Justin, I love you and I’m always praying for you. Steve”

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.