First up was DeVaughn Ward, MPP’s Senior Legislative Counsel, who started the conference by speaking about the importance of introducing successful legislation as soon as possible. “Marijuana prohibition has caused immeasurable harm to our communities, particularly communities of color,” said Ward. “Cannabis legalization is an opportunity to stop the harm to our residents and the waste of limited public safety resources.”

Next, Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii’s Nikos Leverenz described upcoming cannabis legislation as a “critical opportunity” for legislators to address the needs of those affected by the War on Drugs. “Hawaii’s cannabis policy should center the needs of those damaged by the continued criminalization of cannabis and draconian drug law enforcement,” said Leverenz. “At the same time, a properly regulated adult-use market will create many quality jobs and business opportunities across the state, including those related to cannabis tourism, craft cannabis, and cannabis science.”

He also noted that in his official statement to the press, he asked that if the red state of Missouri can legalize cannabis, what’s stopping Hawaii from moving forward. He explained that cannabis plants would thrive in Hawaii, especially if they brought in craft cannabis growers, the industry could contribute to a strong tourism sector for the state. “Hawaii has a rare opportunity this year to move forward and to protect public health and to create quality jobs and economic opportunity across the state, including our neighbor island communities,” he concluded.

George Cordero from ACLU Hawaii spoke on the inhumane conditions of confinement in overpopulated Hawaii prisons due to low-level cannabis convictions, and the long-term effects of having cannabis on a personal record. “Having a marijuana conviction on your record can make it extremely difficult to get employment, apply for a credit card, secure housing, for work the rest of your life,” Cordero said. “This is why clearing people’s marijuana convictions is a necessary condition to this legalization measure.”

Kapela took the stage. “We all know, and Hawaii’s people know, that it is high time to legalize recreational cannabis use for adults in Hawaii. This year we stand on the precipice of history,” she explained. “Following the recommendations of a task force devoted to addressing cannabis policy, we now have a roadmap for legalizing recreational cannabis in our islands,” Kapela said, referring to a report published by the Hawaii Department of Health cannabis task force in December 2022.

Kapela did not specify a timeline for when her bill would be proposed, but explained a few key points, including helping the state’s mass incarceration dilemma by issuing a mass expungement program. “Social equity. People. That is what forms the heart of our proposal,” she explained.

Previously in March 2021, the Hawaii Senate approved two cannabis reform bills that ultimately did not move forward.

Former Hawaii Gov. David Ige was not a stark supporter of cannabis legalization, and often stated his hesitancy because of its federally illegal status. However, he did allow a bill to be passed without his signature in January 2020, which decriminalized cannabis in the state.
However, newly elected Gov. Josh Green said in November 2022 that he would sign a legalization bill. “I think that people already have moved past that culturally as a concern,” Green said during a debate in October 2022. “But here’s what I would do. First of all, if marijuana is legalized, it should be very carefully monitored, and only done like cigarettes, or I’ve been very careful to regulate tobacco over the years. We should take the $30 to $40 million of taxes we would get from that and invest in the development and recreation of our mental healthcare system for the good of all.”

The post Hawaii Representative Announces Plan To Legalize Pot in 2023 appeared first on High Times.

The bill “cleared the first of what may be up to a dozen committee hurdles when the House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee approved” the measure “by a voice vote Wednesday and sent it to the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee,” the Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services department reported.

The bill would legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older, and would establish the regulatory framework for legal marijuana sales that would begin within months of the measure’s passage. 

It was introduced by Democrats in the Minnesota House of Representatives last week.

“Cannabis should not be illegal in Minnesota,” Democratic state House Rep. Zack Stephenson, one of the bill’s authors, said at a press conference announcing the legislation at the state capitol last week. “Minnesotans deserve the freedom and respect to make responsible decisions about cannabis themselves. Our current laws are doing more harm than good. State and local governments are spending millions enforcing laws that aren’t helping anyone.”

Stephenson and his fellow Democrats in St. Paul have long been eager to bring cannabis legalization to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but they have until now been stymied by Republican lawmakers.

But that changed after November’s elections, when Minnesota Democrats regained control of the state Senate and retained their majority in the state House of Representatives. 

The state’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, also won re-election this past fall, and has been a vocal advocate for marijuana legalization in Minnesota.

“It’s time to legalize adult-use cannabis and expunge cannabis convictions in Minnesota. I’m ready to sign it into law,” Walz said in a tweet after Democrats introduced the legalization bill earlier this month.

At the committee meeting on Wednesday, Stephenson expressed confidence that the bill, buttressed by public support, would ultimately make it to Walz’s desk.

The news service recapped amendments that were considered at the committee meeting on Wednesday:

“The subject of local control — or lack thereof — was the subject of an amendment unsuccessfully offered by Rep. Kurt Daudt (R-Crown). It would have given cities or towns options to enact local ordinances regulating cannabis business licenses that could differ from those proposed statewide. Two other Republican amendments were adopted. One offered by Rep. Anne Neu Brindley (R-North Branch) would add a health warning for pregnant or breastfeeding women on cannabis products. And an amendment from Rep. Jeff Dotseth (R-Kettle River) would require the Office of Cannabis Management to study the health effects of secondhand cannabis smoke. Stephenson said the Dotseth amendment was a good idea, but noted his bill already would prohibit smoking cannabis in places where smoking is not allowed under the Clean Indoor Air Act.”

Polls have shown that Minnesota voters are ready to enter a post-prohibition era. 

The moves by state Democrats were foreshadowed by one of Minnesota’s best-known politicians, former Gov. Jesse Ventura, who said after the November elections that Walz had called him directly to say that legalization would get done.

“The sticking point for cannabis in Minnesota were Republicans in the (Senate),” Ventura said at the time. “Well, they lost it now, and the governor reassured me that one of the first items that will be passed — Minnesota, get ready — cannabis is going to have its prohibition lifted. That’s the news I got today.”

The post Minnesota Adult-Use Legalization Bill Clears First Hurdle appeared first on High Times.

The bill, which Ford unveiled on the opening day of the new legislative session in Illinois, would create a regulated psychedelic therapy program that would be overseen by an advisory committee. The measure, which has been designated as House Bill 1 (HB1), also removes the criminal penalties for the personal use of psilocybin, a provision Ford said in a statement was needed to protect patients and providers. Ford noted that while existing criminal prohibitions on the drugs are rarely enforced, “formally removing them ensures that patients won’t be turned into criminals simply for seeking health, healing and wellness.”

“I’ve been seeing more and more legitimate scientific evidence, including information coming from the FDA, showing that psychedelic therapy is not only safe, but also very effective, particularly for the toughest patients for whom other treatments have not worked,” Ford said in a press release about the legislation. “At the same time, I am also hearing from patients and from their medical providers, that Illinoisans should have access to these exciting new treatment options.”

HB 1 Legalizes Psychedelic Therapies in Illinois

Under the legislation, adults aged 18 and up will be permitted to seek supervised psychedelic therapy from trained facilitators. Psychedelic compounds used under the program must be produced and tested at licensed facilities. Ford stressed that while the measure legalizes possession of psychedelics, it does not authorize any type of commercial sales of entheogenic compounds.

“I want to be clear that this is a health measure. My proposal does not allow retail sales of psilocybin outside of a regulated therapeutic setting and ensures that medicines purchased for therapeutic use at a service center must be used under medical supervision, and cannot be taken home,” said Ford. “Only licensed facilitators will be allowed to provide treatment at closely regulated and licensed healing centers, approved health care facilities, in hospice, or at a pre-approved patient residence.”

Ford noted in his statement that a growing body of research into entheogenic plants and fungi such as psilocybin is showing that the drugs have the potential to treat a wide range of mental health conditions, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety. Psychedelics may also be effective treatments for neurological conditions such as cluster headaches, migraines, cancer, and phantom limbs. Psychedelic-assisted therapy is so promising that psilocybin has been given “breakthrough treatment” status designation by the FDA.

Bill Marks A New Step In Psychedelics Policy Reform Efforts

Although the bill is focused on naturally occurring psychedelic compounds, Joshua Kappel, founding partner of the cannabis and psychedelic law firm Vicente Sederberg LLP, notes that the bill’s provisions are not limited to traditionally cultivated or foraged entheogens. The difference marks a significant evolution of psychedelics policy reform efforts, which so far have resulted in two states legalizing psilocybin for therapeutic use.

“It builds off Colorado and Oregon in a very thoughtful and progressive way, including permitting synthetic varieties of the natural medicines permitted in Colorado,” Kappel writes in an email to High Times, “which is key development from a sustainability perspective.”

House Bill 1 has already gained the support of a broad coalition of medical and mental health professionals, researchers, patients, and grassroots psychedelic reform activists. Many have joined forces to form Entheo IL to lead the psychedelics policy reform efforts in Illinois.

“The push for legal access to entheogenic medicines is broad at the state level, such as in Oregon and Colorado, as well as at the federal level,” Jean Lacy, the executive director of the new group, said in a statement. “This legislation will ensure Illinois is a leader in developing the infrastructure needed for this work.” 

The post Illinois Lawmaker Introduces Psychedelics Legalization Bill appeared first on High Times.

“This bill will support medical and recreational cannabis use because many other states already have recreational use,” Campbell said in a statement quoted by local media.

Bill Legalizes Possession Of Up To 60 Grams Of Weed

If passed, the bill would legalize the possession, use, and transportation of up to 60 grams of marijuana or up to 15 grams of cannabis concentrates for adults aged 21 and older. The measure also legalizes the home cultivation of up to 12 cannabis plants by adults in a secure location at home. Under the bill, parents and legal guardians would also be permitted to administer medical cannabis products to their minor children with a doctor’s authorization.

“It’s a full legalization of cannabis across the state,” Freeman noted in a statement last month.

The bill also legalizes commercial cannabis activity and tasks the Tennessee Department of Agriculture with drafting regulations to govern the cultivation, processing, and sale of cannabis and cannabis products in the state. The measure notes that more than three dozen states have legalized marijuana in some form and that Tennessee should follow suit “in order to remain competitive nationally and globally in the burgeoning cannabis industry.” The lawmakers also note that legal cannabis is readily available in five states that border Tennessee.

“If people can drive across the border to Indiana to get cannabis, then it doesn’t make any sense that we in Tennessee would be missing out on that economic advantage,” Campbell said.

Tennessee Still Prohibits All Marijuana

Tennessee is one of the few states that have yet to pass legislation to legalize marijuana, even for medicinal use. Freeman said that legalizing recreational marijuana would put an end to the disproportionate enforcement of laws that prohibit the possession and use of cannabis.

“If you live in a wealthy part of the state and a wealthy community in our city, and you get picked up using some cannabis for personal consumption, the odds of you getting a slap on the wrist and nothing happening is pretty high,” he said last month. If you live in a poorer neighborhood and you get picked up with cannabis, you’re going to jail.”

Legal Pot Available In Neighboring States

Three states bordering Tennessee—Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama—have legalized medical marijuana, while neighboring Missouri and Virginia have legalized both medical marijuana and adult-use cannabis. Proponents of legalization argue that Tennessee is missing out on tax revenue from the money residents spend on cannabis in neighboring states.

“Let’s not delude ourselves that people aren’t crossing the border and getting cannabis from other states. Of course they are,” Campbell said. “So, that’s just income we’re missing out on.”

Tennessee Democrats Support Legalization

Freeman and Campbell’s proposal is supported by fellow Democratic lawmakers in the Tennessee legislature. House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons praised the bill last month after they announced their plan to introduce the legislation.

“The legalization of cannabis in Tennessee is long overdue. For too long, much of the TN GOP has stood in the way,” Clemmons wrote in a tweet. “Let’s do this in 2023!”

Previous attempts to legalize marijuana in Tennessee have met stiff opposition from Republican lawmakers, who enjoy a solid majority in both the state Senate and the House of Representatives. Republican state Senator Richard Briggs said that he opposes both medical marijuana and adult-use cannabis, noting the federal law has already made CBD legal nationwide.

“I’m not in favor at all of recreational marijuana and I have a lot of concerns about medical marijuana until we know more about it,” Briggs said. “I don’t think that it should be generally available. And at least at this point until something changes.”

Despite Republican opposition, Freeman rates the chance that the Tennessee legislature will legalize marijuana this year as “a solid 7, 7.5,” on a scale of one to 10. But Campbell expressed far less optimism.

“Pretty low—I won’t give you a number,” she said, “but I have no delusions we’re going to pass it this session.”

But Campbell added that introducing the legislation is still important to keep the conversation about cannabis policy reform moving forward.

“We ran it last session, and I think it’s important to run it so that we keep the issue alive, we keep the messaging going,” she said. “Obviously, at some point, that’s going to happen, so we’re just going to keep knocking on that door until somebody opens it.”

The post Tennessee Lawmakers Unveil Cannabis Legalization Bill appeared first on High Times.

LeMahieu, who has opposed liberalizing Wisconsin’s cannabis laws, told reporters that he believes a medical marijuana bill could be passed by the state’s lawmakers this legislative session. But he noted that the success of the proposal would depend on having a bill that restricts the use of medical marijuana to patients who are experiencing serious chronic pain.

“Our caucus is getting pretty close on medical marijuana,” LeMahieu told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Thursday. “A lot of our members, who are maybe at a point where they can vote for it now, they just want to make sure it’s regulated well.”

“We don’t want people going in because their back hurts and getting medical marijuana,” he added. “It needs to be cancer pain, you know — prescribed.”

Change In Republican Stance

LeMahieu’s comments indicate a significant change in position for Republican leadership in the state Senate. Both LeMahieu and former Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald have been vocally opposed to legalizing marijuana. In 2021, LeMahieu said he would not support legalizing medical marijuana unless the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved cannabis as a prescription drug. 

But opposition to medical marijuana legalization has not been unanimous among Republican state lawmakers in Wisconsin. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, also a Republican, has shown support for legalizing cannabis for medicinal use. Although a spokesperson did not confirm that Vos supports Republican efforts this year, LeMahieu said that he thinks the proposal “could be” supported by Assembly Republicans in 2023.

Republican state Senator Mary Felzkowski said last week that she plans to reintroduce legislation that would create a medical marijuana program that is tightly controlled by the state. Under the proposal, only cannabis preparations such as tinctures, liquids, pills, and topicals would be legalized for use by patients in the state-run program.

At a hearing on the previous bill in April 2022, Felzkowski said that she became interested in medical marijuana in 2014 after going through treatment for stage 4 breast cancer. She noted that the drugs she was prescribed to fight her cancer caused excruciating pain that could only legally be relieved with highly addictive opioids. 

“We are actually having those conversations right now — I can’t talk in for-sures, but will be reintroducing the bill,” Felzkowski said.

Last year’s proposal to legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin died in the state legislature after failing to gain the support of Republican lawmakers. The bill was also opposed by the Wisconsin Medical Society, which cited a lack of research to support using cannabis medicinally.

“Until science can determine which elements in grown marijuana are potentially therapeutic and which are potentially harmful, any ‘medical’ marijuana program is at best a pale imitation of true medical therapies developed through scientific research,” Mark Grapentine, chief policy and advocacy officer for the medical professionals trade group, wrote in a memo to Felzkowski in April.

Strong Support For Cannabis Reform In Wisconsin

But public support for marijuana policy reform is strong in Wisconsin. A Marquette University Law School poll published in October showed that 64% of Wisconsinites support legalizing cannabis for any use, while a separate survey conducted in 2019 showed that 80% are in favor of legalizing medical marijuana. 

Democratic state lawmakers in Wisconsin have so far led the drive to legalize marijuana in the state. Evers, who has long supported cannabis policy reform as the state’s governor, plans to include a legalization proposal in the state budget for this year, just as he did in 2021.

“Wisconsinites overwhelmingly support a path toward legalizing and regulating marijuana like we do alcohol while ensuring folks can access the life-saving medication they need,” Britt Cudaback, a spokeswoman for the governor, said in a statement. “As Gov. Evers indicated on Tuesday, he’s looking forward to working together with legislators on both sides of the aisle this session to find common ground on this important issue.”

Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard has led several proposals to legalize marijuana from Wisconsin Democrats that have been thwarted by Republican lawmakers. She said that she looks forward to seeing the details of the medical marijuana legalization proposal from Senate Republicans. 

But Agard said that she disagrees with selecting “winners and losers” whose chance of using medical marijuana depends on what kind of pain is arbitrarily included as a qualifying condition to participate in the program.

“I will always be a champion for full legalization of cannabis in Wisconsin,” said Agard. “I know that’s what a majority of people in our state want and we know the most dangerous thing about cannabis is that it remains illegal.”

The post Wisconsin Republicans Express Support for Legalizing Weed appeared first on High Times.

The legislation, spanning 243 pages, “would set up a regulatory framework and permit cannabis use for any reason for people 21 and older,” according to Minnesota Public Radio, which noted that legal “marijuana sales and use would begin within months of passage of [the bill].”

“Cannabis should not be illegal in Minnesota,” Democratic state House Rep. Zack Stephenson, one of the bill’s authors, said at a press conference on Thursday at the state capitol in St. Paul, as quoted by Minnesota Public Radio. “Minnesotans deserve the freedom and respect to make responsible decisions about cannabis themselves. Our current laws are doing more harm than good. State and local governments are spending millions enforcing laws that aren’t helping anyone.”

Local news station WCCO reports that the proposal would “legalize the purchase, sale and use of recreational cannabis for Minnesotans 21 or older,” and would also “expunge low-level cannabis convictions, which Democrats say is an equity issue because Black residents are disproportionately arrested for possession, according to data from the ACLU.”

“We designed this bill to address the wrongs of prohibition, to bring people out of the illicit market and into a regulated market, which means that we tried to not have a really high tax on cannabis so that it can compete,” said Democratic state House Rep. Aisha Gomez, as quoted by Minnesota Public Radio.

Democrats there are bullish that this will be the year Minnesota joins the dozens of other states to end the prohibition on pot. 

“I believe 2023 will be the year we legalize adult-use cannabis,” Stephenson said at the press conference on Thursday, as quoted by WCCO.

Stephenson is right to be confident about the bill’s prospects. Democrats won back control of the state Senate in November’s elections and retained their majority in the state House. The state’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, also secured re-election last year, and has long championed cannabis legalization. 

“It’s time to legalize adult-use cannabis and expunge cannabis convictions in Minnesota. I’m ready to sign it into law,” Walz said in a tweet on Thursday. 

The move by state Democrats on Thursday was telegraphed by one of Walz’s predecessors. 

Following the November elections, former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura said that Walz pledged to him personally that Democrats would get legalization over the line in 2023. 

“The sticking point for cannabis in Minnesota were Republicans in the (Senate),” Ventura said, at the time. “Well, they lost it now, and the governor reassured me that one of the first items that will be passed — Minnesota, get ready — cannabis is going to have its prohibition lifted. That’s the news I got today.”

There is reason to believe that voters in the Land of 10,000 Lakes are ready for legalization, too.

A poll released in September found that 53% of voters in Minnesota support legalizing recreational pot use, while only 36% of voters there said they were opposed.

Minnesotans don’t have to wait for the bill’s passage to get a fix though. A law that took effect last summer authorized the sale of food and beverages containing a small amount of THC.

The post Minnesota Dems Introduce Legalization Bill appeared first on High Times.

Researchers at San Diego State University and Bentley University performed the study, which they said is the first to explore the impacts of recreational cannabis laws on employment, wages and labor market outcomes of working-age individuals. They used data from the 2002-2020 Current Population Survey Merged Outgoing Rotation Groups, along with various difference-in-difference approaches including TWFE and Callaway and Sant’Anna estimators.

Ultimately, the researchers said they found “little evidence that RMLs [recreational marijuana laws] adversely affect labor market outcomes among most working-age individuals.”

Rather, they found evidence of “modest increases” in employment and wages, especially among those over the age of 30 (often shorter-run gains), younger racial/ethnic minorities and those working within the agricultural sector. 

“These results are consistent with the opening of a new licit industry for marijuana and (especially for older individuals) a substitution away from harder substances such as opioids,” researchers said.

The working paper’s introduction begins with two contrasting quotes from Elon Musk and Seth Rogan—Musk’s quote, “I’m not a regular smoker of weed … I don’t find that it is very good for productivity,” and Rogan’s, “I smoke a lot of weed when I write.”

The paper’s focus was not on cannabis and productivity among individuals, though a number of recent studies have explored that question with conflicting results. One 2022 study concluded cannabis use has no effect on motivation, though a 2016 study suggested improved performance and cognitive function for cannabis users. Others have concluded cannabis use could indeed lead to lower motivation.

Instead, this analysis explored broader economic trends following recreational cannabis legalization. Ultimately, the authors said that cannabis reform has introduced a new industry, which ultimately creates jobs and opportunities for the working class. 

In addition to the bustling job opportunities, researchers said that legal cannabis access keeps more people away from other substances, like opioids or heavy alcohol use, that can lead to negative effects on productivity. They also note that, if cannabis is effective in improving physical or psychological health symptoms, these improvements could also work to generate “positive labor market spillovers.” 

With legal cannabis, there is also reduced criminalization surrounding possession, once again allowing for better labor market outcomes, especially among young Black and Hispanic men, who have “disproportionately suffered diminished labor market opportunities due to having a criminal record,” researchers said.

Due to the relatively new market, researchers said the study was limited simply based on the limited period available to analyze. 

“Longer-run labor market effects may differ as we learn about the effects of RMLs on cognitive development and human capital acquisition of those under age 21, which could take time to unfold and be reflected in market level effects on productivity, wages, and/or employment,” they concluded. “Moreover, the labor market effects of reductions in criminal records could also take time to unfold.”

Researchers also said that it’s difficult to confirm how the new legal industry will evolve over time, citing the initial COVID-19 period as a “dramatic increase” for cannabis sales and the period following it “one of dramatically declining sales.”

“Nonetheless, our findings answer some important early questions about the economic consequences of recreational marijuana legalization,” authors said.

Previous studies have confirmed an association between recreational cannabis laws and increased employment levels among older adults. Data compiled last year by Leafly and Whitley Economics also shows the cannabis industry added more than 100,000 new jobs in 2021 and employed more than 428,000 full-time workers at the time of its release.

The post Analysis: Adult-Use Cannabis Leads to Economic Improvements, More Jobs appeared first on High Times.

A large majority of Maryland voters approved a ballot initiative in November that will both legalize recreational pot use for adults in the state and also establish a regulated retail cannabis market. 

Per local news station WJLA, although “recreational marijuana won’t be fully legal until July 1, as of now possession of up to 1.5 ounces is no longer a crime”; instead, according to the station, “It’s a civil violation carrying a $100 fine.”

“For amounts up to 2.5 ounces the fine is $250,” the station reported.

But the new law will yield immediate changes on the criminal justice front. 

According to WJLA, Marylanders with a cannabis-related conviction on their criminal record on will have it automatically be expunged by July 1, 2024, but they do not have to wait that long.

“You can go to the Maryland Courts website and apply for an expungement without any help from an attorney. They even have instructional videos,” the station said.

WJLA continued: “There is also very good news for those currently locked up for cannabis-related crimes. As long as that is the only crime for which they’re serving a sentence, they can immediately ask for resentencing and a judge must resentence to time served and they must be released.”

Sixty-seven percent of Maryland voters approved Question 4 in November, making the state the latest to end the prohibition on cannabis use. 

The “Yes on 4” campaign was bankrolled by Trulieve, a major cannabis company with a significant presence in Maryland’s existing medical cannabis market. 

The campaign also deployed former Baltimore Ravens player Eugene Monroe as its chairman. 

“Tonight voters in Maryland made history by bringing the era of failed marijuana prohibition to an end,” Monroe said in a statement following its passage in November, as quoted by the Associated Press. “For decades, the unequally enforced criminalization of cannabis in Maryland inflicted damage upon Black and Brown communities. We must turn the page on that disturbing history by centering Maryland’s legal marijuana market around racial equity. Cannabis legalization will create good-paying jobs, open up doors for small business owners, and generate new tax revenue for our state. Legislators in Maryland have a responsibility to ensure people in historically underserved communities are able to enjoy those benefits.”

The success of Question 4 was foreshadowed by a series of encouraging polls for the campaign.

One that was released in early October by the University of Maryland and The Washington Post found more than 70% of voters in favor of cannabis legalization.

“The thing that stood out to me is the high level of support and the diversity of support. Whether you look across party, region, almost every characteristic, you see majorities supporting this,” said Michael Hanmer, the director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, as quoted by The Washington Post. “That’s been the trend across the country. People have really shifted their views across time on this issue, all pointing in the direction of being more supportive.”

The “Yes on 4” campaign has been optimistic about the new law’s potential economic benefits for the state, projecting that legalization could “provide the state with over $135 million in tax revenue.” 

“That figure does not include city and county revenue or the savings from the millions of dollars Maryland spends each year enforcing marijuana possession laws. Passing Maryland Question 4 would empower local law enforcement to focus its limited resources on combating violent crimes. Of the ten counties in the United States with the highest rates of marijuana possession arrests, Maryland is home to three of them,” the campaign said on its website.

The post Maryland Voter-Approved Legalization Measure Takes Shape in New Year appeared first on High Times.

The legislation was approved in conjunction with another bill that expunges past convictions for marijuana-related offenses, which was passed by senators on Friday with a unanimous vote.

Senator Janelle K. Sarauw, the sponsor of the recreational marijuana legalization bill, said that the legislation was a collaborative effort by advocates who overcame opposition to comprehensive cannabis policy reform.

“Although there have been many politically driven false narratives about this cannabis legislation, I am proud of the work done by the Senators of the 34th Legislature, community stakeholders and advocates, all of who contributed to the structuring of the final bill voted upon in today’s Session,” Sarauw said in a press release posted to Facebook. “The body did its due diligence in protecting the masses and the best interest of our residents by ensuring that locals and minorities are not locked out of industry and have any opportunity to participate in its economic potential.”

Senators Worked Through Holiday To Finalize Bill

Senators reportedly worked over the Christmas holiday to work out some concerns with the proposed bill, eventually making some changes to the measure’s language in an amended version of the legislation. 

“It became contentious, we almost went to war over cannabis,” Sarauw said jokingly in a statement quoted by The Virgin Islands Consortium, adding that “every single amendment, every single suggestion that members made is included in the amendment in the nature of a substitute.”

Possession of up to one ounce of cannabis was decriminalized in the U.S. Virgin Islands by legislation passed in 2014 and in 2019 a bill to allow the medical use of marijuana was passed by the territorial legislature. Under the bill passed last week, residents and visitors to the Caribbean island territory will be allowed to purchase adult-use cannabis and medical marijuana at licensed dispensaries.

“There are so many provisions in this bill across various disciplines, that once implemented and enforced with fidelity, the Territory will see an industry that is inclusive and diverse, but most importantly, safe,” Sarauw said in the press release. “It is my hope that the current administration implements both Medicinal and Adult Use to their full potential, for the benefit of the people of this Territory.”

Regulations Still To Come in Virgin Islands

Although the bill was passed by a veto-proof majority and has the support of the territory’s governor, Sarauw noted that the legislature has yet to pass regulations to govern marijuana cultivation and sales, steps that are necessary before a regulated cannabis industry can begin operating in a legalized economy.

“Cannabis will be on the governor’s desk in no time and we have done absolutely nothing to move cannabis forward,” she said. “We bawl, I get attacked in debates about cannabis and it will be on the governor’s desk – rules and regs haven’t been promulgated, no seal-to-seal tracking system, nothing has moved with this industry.”

The bill was passed early Friday morning during the last legislative session that Senator Donna A. Frett-Gregory served as Senate President of the 34th Legislature. She indicated her support for the measure, noting that the governor and 11 of the territory’s 15 senators had traveled to Denver to learn about issues related to cannabis legalization.

“It would be irresponsible of myself to not move this legislation up or down, whichever decision we make this evening, in the 34th Legislature because we spent the government money,” Frett-Gregory said.

The post U.S. Virgin Islands Lawmakers Pass Cannabis Legalization Bill appeared first on High Times.

French outlet RFI reports that On 30 December 2021, the French government legalized the sale of hemp-derived products containing CBD with 0.3 percent THC or less, after the country’s ban on CBD fell apart a year earlier. However—potentially to the dismay of D8 and hemp flower lovers—the government also banned the sale of hemp flower, citing its supposed psychotropic effects.

But a high court in France overturned that ban, ruling that CBD has not been proven to be harmful and that there are legitimate uses for flower that go beyond smoking. 

On December 29, France’s Council of State, the body that advises the government on legislation and acts as a type of Supreme Court, ruled that a general and absolute ban on the marketing of the substance in its raw state was “disproportionate.” They also didn’t find solid evidence of harm from CBD. If anything, there’s evidence of the contrary.

“The harmfulness of other molecules present in cannabis flowers and leaves, in particular CBD, has not been established,” the council said. The council added that evidence suggests CBD has “relaxing properties and anticonvulsant effects, but does not have a psychotropic effect and does not cause dependence.”

In other words, the court ruled that hemp flower should not automatically be categorized as psychotropic—rather it’s far from it. Additionally, it can be consumed as a homemade tea or infused oil and not just smoked. Homemade tinctures or vaporized flower are other considerations.

Concerns Over Distinguishing Cannabis

Despite allowing flower with the latest court ruling, concerns were raised regarding exactly how the government plans on separating hemp from THC-rich cannabis, which are nearly indistinguishable to the naked eye. The Council of State considered that the THC level “could be controlled by means of rapid tests.”

The European Court of Justice ruled in November 2020 that the ban on CBD in France, which was legal in several other European countries, was illegal based on the principle of free movement of goods.

Then the highest court in the French judiciary, The Court of Cassation, ruled last June that any CBD legally produced in the European Union could legally be sold in France.

RFI reports that France is now home to around 2,000 CBD shops, according to the professional hemp association (SPC). In addition, the industry’s annual turnover is estimated at around €500 million, or $534.1 million USD. More than half of those sales are from flower alone. 

Experts in the country say that the court’s latest ruling gives the green light for an “economically sustainable” hemp industry that can withstand the test of time.

Hemp Today reports that French hemp could bring €1.5 ($1.6B USD) to €2.5 billion ($2.6B USD) in annual turnover and result in 18,000-20,000 jobs, according to a French Senate group.

The French gray market for CBD was about €200 million ($214M USD) in 2021, and is expected to reach roughly €300 million ($321M USD) this year, UIVEC, a French extracts trade group, estimated. UIVEC also estimated that about 300-500 hectares of hemp were grown for CBD-producing flower in 2022.

The rules are expected to roll out in early 2023 as the legislation moves forward, and the government is expected to declare hemp compatible with the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy, develop a strategy for the industry, and set specific regulations.

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