Week in Weed

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Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.  And what a week it was!

Michigan legalized recreational cannabis, Utah and Missouri voted yes on medical marijuana, and several pro-legalization candidates were elected as governors.  Meanwhile, North Dakota voted against legalization and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (sponsor of the legislation to prevent the DOJ from enforcing federal law against medical marijuana dispensaries) lost his seat.

And Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who made no secret of his opposition to cannabis for any purpose, was forced out of the administration.  So yeah, a lot’s been going on.

For our round-up of marijuana-related election results, see yesterday’s post.  For more analysis, see articles from the National Cannabis Industry Association, Ganjapreneur, and Marijuana Business Daily.

For Sessions news, see here, here and here.

But, has anything else important happened lately?  I’m glad you asked, because the answer is yes.

It’s not just Canada that’s legalized marijuana.  The Mexican Supreme Court has just ruled that the nation’s ban on cannabis is unconstitutional.

Speaking of Canada, they’ve got a pot shortage.  Apparently, you need to stock up more than you think when you legalize.  Mexico: take note.

Back in the U.S., the first cannabis-based drug approved by the FDA is now available by prescription.

See you again next Friday!

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

The big news this week comes from Colorado, where a cannabusiness has come out on the winning side of a lawsuit over declining property values.

The marijuana business had been sued for damages under anti-racketeering laws. The case was seen as a major threat to the state’s cannabis industry.

In Thailand, medical marijuana may be on the way to legalization.

“Thailand has the best marijuana in the world.”  So claims Jet Sirathraanon, chairman of the country’s National Legislative Assembly’s standing committee of public health, who is pushing to legalize cannabis for medical use.

In our latest installment of politicians supporting (some form of) cannabis, Speaker Paul Ryan recently had some good things to say about both CBD and industrial hemp.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) gave a surprise endorsement on Tuesday to industrial hemp and cannabidiol (CBD), the widely-touted cannabis ingredient that is growing increasingly mainstream as an alternative medicine.

And speaking of politicians, there’s an election next Tuesday in the United States, and marijuana is on the ballot.  The National Cannabis Industry Association has a summary of the state initiatives.

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

You may recall that the Food and Drug Administration is asking for comments on rescheduling cannabis.  Many times, agency requests for comments are met with a deafening silence.  This is not one of those times.

It’s not every day that the federal government requests public input on international marijuana laws, but that’s exactly what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did last week. And the comments are pouring in.

In Massachusetts, there’s finally been some movement towards setting up recreational sales.

Massachusetts regulators on Thursday issued final licenses to two marijuana-testing laboratories, paving the way for the launch of the Bay State’s much-delayed recreational cannabis program.

And in Seattle, the city is vacating convictions for marijuana possession, citing concerns about disparate impact.

Critics of drug-possession prosecutions often argue that they unfairly target people of color. Seattle, where recreational use of marijuana was legalized in 2012, is doing something about it.

Finally, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Canada.

A 9-year-old Canadian girl quickly sold out of the cookies she was selling for the Girl Guides by setting up shop outside a marijuana store.

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

O Canada!  Obviously, the big news this week is that marijuana is now legal in Canada.

The B.C. government is touting the success of the province’s online cannabis store, which went live shortly after midnight.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says coming legislation will waive the waiting period and fee for those seeking a pardon for possession offences.

Unlikely as it seems, Canada’s first day as the world’s largest legal marijuana marketplace turned out to be pretty much just another day.

Recreational marijuana is legal as of today, but the vision of what a pot-permissive Canada looks like remains somewhat hazy.

The National Hockey League (NHL) will maintain its neutral stance on pro players’ cannabis use after legalization takes effect across Canada this Wednesday, according to a Yahoo Sports report.

 

 

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

Here at The Blunt Truth, we are well aware of the difficulties cannabis businesses face in obtaining financial services.  It turns out, even political groups that support marijuana legalization can face a problem with banks.

A new cannabis political action committee, Californians for Sensible Regulation of Adult Use, is looking to raise $300,000 by 2020 to support industry-friendly candidates for public office in key jurisdictions of the state.

In the latest installment of “people changing their minds on marijuana,” the Mormon Church and cannabis advocates have reached a compromise on legalizing medical marijuana ahead of next month’s election, which features a ballot initiative to allow MMJ.

Those behind the campaign to legalize medical marijuana and some of its most vocal opponents have reached a tentative agreement on what medical marijuana policy should look like in Utah, the Deseret News has learned.

As we reported last week, the Food and Drug Administration has allowed the sale of Epidiolex, which contains CBD derived from cannabis.  Apparently, that’s not the only move on marijuana the agency has made recently.

FDA officials have put out a call for public comment about the potential rescheduling of cannabis and several other substances.

Despite Michigan’s prohibition against cannabis-infused beverages, alcohol companies are actively pursuing the market.

A former Molson Coors exec will head its cannabis-drinks JV, called Truss. New Age Beverages is fielding requests for its CBD drinks.

And this just in: the Border Patrol has revised its lifetime ban against Canadians involved in cannabis.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) has announced that Canadians who work in the legal cannabis industry will generally be allowed to enter the United States.

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

Things in New Jersey have changed considerably with the end of Chris Christie’s term as governor, especially as concerns marijuana.

New Jersey’s top lawmaker has set a new date for at least one house of the state Legislature to vote legalizing recreational marijuana in the Garden State: Oct. 29.

Banking issues are a constant theme of this email, as the lack of financial services impedes the industry’s growth and states call on the federal government to step up.

Hawaii’s top banking regulator joined the growing chorus of state leaders urging Congress to consider banking solutions for the cannabis industry.

Meanwhile, in California, expungement is about to get much easier.

Hailed by advocates as a chance for people to “reclaim their lives,” a new California law will soon make it easier for people with past marijuana convictions to get their records expunged completely, or their sentences significantly reduced.

And finally, if you’re intrigued at the thought of a marijuana/beer mashup, you won’t be able to try it in Michigan.

Legislation that would prohibit the use, possession or sale of cannabis-infused beer, wine, liquor and mixed drinks in Michigan was approved by the state House on Tuesday by a 101-4 vote.

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

Big legalization news from the Northern Mariana Islands – they’ve legalized marijuana and they’ve done it via legislation.

On Friday, Gov. Ralph Torres of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a U.S. territory, signed a cannabis legalization bill into law.

Meanwhile, back on the U.S. mainland, voters in Utah will be voting on whether to allow medical marijuana in the state.

Utah’s Prop 2 is fast becoming a struggle between supporters of medical marijuana and the Mormon church.

No matter who wins Utah’s U.S. Senate race in November, the Beehive State will have an advocate in Washington, D.C., for moving marijuana off the list of Schedule 1 controlled substances, a designation that cannabis now shares with heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

And finally, here’s yet another reason to make Las Vegas your vacation destination.

LAS VEGAS — A glass bong taller than a giraffe. Huggable faux marijuana buds. A pool full of foam weed nuggets. Las Vegas’ newest attraction — and Instagram backdrop — is a museum celebrating all things cannabis.

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

Once marijuana is legal in a state, the process for providing it is just beginning.  And that process can be fraught with difficulty, as the state of Ohio is finding out.

Ohio’s auditor said the state’s process for selecting medical marijuana grower applicants suffered from numerous errors and inconsistencies.

Meanwhile, the federal government is moving closer to approving more licenses to grow marijuana for research.  But there’s drama here too: a provision that those with prior drug convictions need not apply.

A powerful U.S. House panel that oversees federal drug enforcement efforts approved a bill on Thursday to require the Department of Justice and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to begin issuing more licenses to grow marijuana for research.

This greater interest in marijuana research will be of no help to Canadian cannabis workers, who are facing a lifetime ban at the border.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that he will not “impress upon the U.S. who they have to let in or not.”

And finally, we couldn’t help but include this story that combines Maine lobster and marijuana.

Lobsters in one Maine restaurant go out in a blaze of glory once they hit the pot. The owner of a lobster joint is sedating her crustaceans with marijuana smoke before cooking them — which she says gives them a blissfully humane death.

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

The latest entry in our “politicians now supporting marijuana” category is Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX).  And no, he’s no relation to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The move would be a full 180 for Sessions, who has personally blocked dozens of cannabis policy amendments and bills from consideration on the floor of the House via the Rules Committee, which he chairs.

Not all government officials are in favor of legalization, however.  The former attorney general of North Dakota is actively working against the ballot initiative.

As North Dakota voters look to decide whether to approve adult-use cannabis in the state’s November general election, opposition is mounting.

Apparently, it’s not just young people using cannabis.  Older Americans are lighting up as well.

Boomers are experimenting with marijuana more than ever before.

Finally, when Canada legalized marijuana, it was only a matter of time before the National Hockey League had to issue a statement.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly says the NHL does not expect to change its rules on marijuana with the legalization of cannabis in Canada coming on Oct. 17.

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

Following up on last week’s look at an expungement proposal in California, this week we note that Delaware has enacted such a statute.

Expungement is mandatory but not automatic; eligible individuals still need to apply and pay a fee.

When we wrote about North Dakota’s effort to legalize recreational cannabis, we thought that was pretty surprising.  We had no idea that Mississippi was looking to put medical marijuana on the 2020 ballot.

A group in Mississippi, one of the country’s most conservative states, is aiming to put what looks to be a business-friendly medical marijuana initiative on the ballot in 2020.

Not all the action is on the state level; new legislation on the federal level would allow veterans access to medical marijuana.

Veterans Affairs doctors are currently prohibited from prescribing the drug by federal law.