US territory gov pushes legal cannabis to help economy (Newsletter: April 29, 2020)

House candidate/fmr prosecutor talks legal marijuana; Mexican senator wants legal cannabis economic boost; Trade groups/credit unions push COVID funds

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. (D) announced that he’s submitting a revised version of a marijuana legalization bill to boost tax revenue to fund the territory’s government employees retirement program amid the coronavirus outbreak.

• “Once again, it is not the panacea, but certainly cutting the annuity of retirees by 30% cannot be the path either.”

In a new interview with Marijuana Moment, New York Democratic congressional candidate Adam Schleifer spoke about how his experience as a former federal prosecutor informs his support for legalizing cannabis.

• “We should let American farmers and not international drug cartels meet the demand for marijuana under the framework of federal safety and purity regulation by the FDA. And federal legalization would generate important tax dollars while reducing the financial inefficiencies and fraud that are endemic to our existing state-by-state patchwork system.”

The American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, Policy Center for Public Health and Safety and 28 state marijuana trade associations and credit unions sent a letter calling on Congress to let cannabis businesses access coronavirus relief funds. One idea is to give block grants to states and let them dole out the money.

• “Cannabis companies are good corporate citizens and readily participate in pandemic-related measures to care for their workforce such as mandatory paid sick leave and working to care for those with the virus. Yet, these companies do not have any of the emergency federal protections currently being offered.”

The head of the Mexican Senate Justice Committee says it is more important than ever to legalize marijuana to help address the economic damage of the coronavirus pandemic—and a new committee being formed this week could advance negotiations on pending cannabis legislation.

/ FEDERAL

The National Organic Standards Board approved a petition to allow the use of plant pots and growing containers made of hemp or other paper in organic crop production.

Utah Democratic congressional candidate Devin Thorpe tweeted, “We need to rationalize medical marijuana federal law and allow states to implement rational local laws.”

Indiana Republican congressional candidate Dion Bergeron tweeted, “The V.A. cannot prescribe THC/cannabis for our veterans with PTSD as long as it remains a Schedule 1 controlled substance. I want to change that.”

/ STATES

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of a student who contested the procedure used to determine the length of her suspension from school after being caught with marijuana.

A Montana judge held a hearing in a lawsuit brought by a marijuana legalization campaign that wants to be able to electronically collect signatures for its proposed ballot measure and to push back the deadline for petition submission.

A Florida marijuana legalization campaign filed briefs with the state Supreme Court about a new law that officials say blocks their measure from appearing on the ballot.

The New Mexico Supreme Court received the latest briefs in a case on whether medical cannabis producers must pay gross tax receipts.

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Marijuana Moment is already tracking more than 1,000 cannabis 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.

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/ LOCAL

The Portland, Maine City Council voted to let the city issue temporary marijuana lab licenses.

The Anaheim, California City Council is accepting public input on whether to allow marijuana businesses.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A review concluded that “whereas smoking cannabis appears to increase the risk of severe bronchitis at quite low exposure, there is no convincing evidence that this leads to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” that “convincing epidemiological data of an increased risk of emphysema or alveolar destruction are lacking” and that “an association between cannabis and lung cancer remains unproven with studies providing conflicting findings.”

A study on marijuana consumption habits found that “respondents who reported using daily (i.e., 30 days in the past month) consumed almost twice as much per day of use on average as did those reporting less than daily.”

/ BUSINESS

Hightimes Holding Corp. announced plans to acquire 13 California dispensaries from Harvest Health & Recreation Inc.

Aleafia Health Inc. announced the resignation of board members.

Sunniva Inc.’s COO is leaving the company, and it is eliminating other management and employee positions.

/ CULTURE

Actor Dax Shepard said he’d approve of his daughters taking psychedelics one day.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis/Side Pocket Images.