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Roanoke, Virginia Bans Cannabis Use in City-Managed Housing

7/27/2021

The Roanoke, Virginia Board of Commissioners has voted unanimously to prohibit cannabis use—both adult-use and medical use—from public housing managed by the city’s Redevelopment and Housing Authority, WFXR reports. Current tenants will have to sign a lease addendum acknowledging the cannabis ban or face eviction if they refuse to sign it.

The policy—which takes effect 30 days following the vote—comes less than a month after portions of the state’s Legislature-approved cannabis law took effect. Individual violations will be treated on an individual basis, the report says. The new rules ban cannabis consumption and possession, which are both legal in Virginia as of July 1.

Mark Loftis, a commercial litigation attorney, told WFXR that there “is a process to determine whether [a] violation is of sufficient seriousness to warrant an eviction” and the new policy is “subject to that same grievance procedure.”

A memo has already been sent to tenants warning them that the board was considering the new policy and a second memo detailing the newly-approved policy will also be provided.

The cannabis law also prompted some colleges in the state to update their code of conduct to ban cannabis use and possession on campus. In June, prior to the law taking effect, Virginia Tech officially banned cannabis use and possession over concerns not making the official change would put the university at risk of violating the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, which could put their federal funding at risk. Off-campus cannabis use and possession is not included in the directive, so students 21-and-older who use or possess cannabis off school property would not be in violation of the new rules.

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How to Keep Your Cannabis Business Out of Trouble

7/27/2021

Legal cannabis sales are soaring, with U.S. revenue projected to surpass $28 billion in 2022, a whopping 60 percent increase over 2020 reported figures. But when an industry is on the rise, an influx of questionable people and businesses inevitably follow, resulting in a steady stream of opportunists looking to make a quick buck off hard-working—yet inexperienced—business owners. Here are some things you can do to protect your company from scamsters who come bearing all sorts of promises:

Avoid workaround solutions for credit card payments

If someone offers you a workaround solution to accept credit cards, turn it down immediately. No matter what anyone tells you, none of the major credit card companies allow cannabis transactions across their rails. Everyone understands that customers like the convenience of paying with credit, but teaming up with a vendor that breaks the card company bylaws just so you can please your clientele is not a road you want to take. Earlier this year two consultants for Eaze Technologies were caught scheming to trick banks into processing more than $100 million in credit card payments. Then they were sent to prison. Prison. And they are far from the only ones of their kind. There are many criminals out there, so be wary, and don’t look the other way or “forget” to ask questions when something doesn’t seem right.

Read your merchant agreement

Dishonest types bet that you won’t read the fine print. So read it! For example, some of the same payment processors who peddle sketchy workaround solutions for credit cards will bury deep in their merchant agreements a note stating that their policy is to hold a percentage of your funds for a certain amount of time. They will say it’s to make sure you’re good on your payments, but that waiting period might cause you problems if an unexpected expense comes your way and you can’t access your money to cover it. And what if your processor gets caught breaking the law and goes out of business? If that happens, they are never going to give that money back to you. Case in point: Linx Card was recently shut down, and many of its merchant customers with funds in reserve were simply out of luck without any recourse whatsoever.

Some crooked processors that get shut down resurface under a different name. This can also cause you headaches, as working with operators that repeatedly disappear, or bouncing around between different processors, is disruptive to your operations. And interruptions have a tangible cost. In our experience at Dama, retailers that don’t take some form of electronic payment see an immediate drop in sales by 25-30 percent. You do not want that to happen to you.

Don’t hide from the banking system

If you open a bank account—or let someone open an account for you, as many shifty actors in the industry will offer to do—but don’t indicate that you’re in cannabis, inevitably the bank is going to find out and shut down your account. No matter how hard you try to conceal the nature of your business, sooner or later something is going to raise a red flag, whether it’s a check from a suspiciously named company or too many cash deposits. And if you open a new account after yours gets closed, which is what will most likely happen, that account will get shut down too. This cycle will continue until you are eventually blackballed, which will affect not just your business but your personal banking situation—and that can have serious implications for your life outside of work. It’s just not worth it, so don’t do it.

Staying legal = staying safe

Every cannabis business wants to make money, but it’s important to run your operations legally and transparently, no matter how tempting the alternatives may be. You’ve worked hard to get where you are, so don’t throw it all away by getting caught up with cheaters who are only out for themselves. If something looks too good to be true, it usually is. And when you deal with cheaters, eventually they will cheat you too.

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June Cannabis Sales Surpass Previous Monthly Sales Record in Maine

7/26/2021

Adult-use cannabis sales in Maine set a new record in June reaching $6,470,936, besting the previous record of $5.3 million set in May, according to Office of Marijuana Policy (OMP) figures outlined by WMTW. Since sales commenced in the state last October, OMP has reported more than $29 million in adult-use purchases.

Flower sales account for more than half of the $6.4 million of the record-setting sales, comprising $3,830,664, according to OMP data. Concentrates accounted for $1,453,364 of adult-use sales last month, with infused product sales—including edibles, drinks, and topicals—reaching $1,186,935. It is the first time the infused product category has surpassed $1 million in a month of sales.

The state has set successive monthly sales records since the launch of adult-use sales in October 2020—almost four years after the reforms were approved by voters. No municipality in Maine has completely opted out of the adult-use market, with some allowing only retail sales, cultivation, manufacturing, testing, or a combination.

From January through November last year, medical cannabis sales in Maine surpassed $221.8 million making it the state’s most lucrative crop; outpacing potatoes, milk, hay, and wild blueberries.

Maine has taken in about $2.9 million in sales taxes from adult-use sales since they commenced. There are currently 42 active licenses for dispensaries.

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Arkansas Advocates Campaign for Legalization Question on 2022 Ballots

7/26/2021

Advocates in Arkansas are gathering signatures to put an adult-use legalization question to voters during the 2022 midterm elections, 40/29 News reports. The campaign by Arkansas True Grass is seeking to codify the reforms in the state constitution.

The proposal would allow cannabis use and possession by adults 21-and-older, allow sales through licensed retailers, allow for expungement of all cannabis crimes that would be legal under the amendment, and adults would be allowed to cultivate up to 12 plants in their homes.

The industry would be regulated by the state Agriculture Department.

“While Arkansas does have a great medical marijuana program, it does have shortcomings. It doesn’t allow for the patients to grow and the medicine itself is very expensive.” — Jesse Rapheal, a representative for Arkansas True Grass, via 40/29 News

The deadline to get the initiative on next year’s ballots is July 2022.

Medical cannabis sales in the state commenced in mid-2019 and surpassed $300 million last May—an average of $885,000 per day. In Arkansas, there are 32 dispensaries serving the state’s 76,553 active medical cannabis patients. The number of patients represents a 9,915 patient increase from April. Ultimately, the state will allow 33 dispensaries total.

A separate group—Arkansas for Cannabis Reform—had attempted to put the issue to voters during last year’s election; however, Melissa Fults, the organization’s executive director, told Cannabis Wire that the coronavirus pandemic “killed” the campaign’s ability to collect signatures.

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Washington Regulators Issue Position on Hemp-Derived Cannabinoids

7/26/2021

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) has issued an interpretive statement regarding the conversion of hemp-derived CBD into delta-9 THC by licensed adult-use cannabis processors, according to the Cannabis Observer.

The statement, which was drafted by WSLCB staff in consultation with council from the Washington State Attorney General’s office, hinges on the safe harbor doctrine, the legal term describing the practice of allowing for the production and distribution of a federally prohibited controlled substance (cannabis). The statement says under state law only licensed cannabis producers, or growers, are granted safe harbor for creating Delta-9 THC, not cannabis processors.

Specifically, the new interpretive statement says, “producer and researcher licenses allow for the production of ‘marijuana’ products exceeding 0.3 percent THC concentration.”

“The statutes do not authorize a licensed processor to source hemp-based product, such as legal CBD, and convert it to delta-9 THC, regardless of the method of production, nor are they licensed to process hemp into marijuana concentrate,” the agency said in the statement. “As ‘conversion’ activity is not an identified privilege, it would not fall under the safe harbor protections.”

Justin Nordhorn, director of policy and external affairs at the WSLCB, confirmed that processors are “not afforded safe harbor for the activities of creating delta-9-THC.”

“Only licensed producers may grow cannabis for that purpose. Processors are allowed to purchase Delta-9-THC from a licensed producer, but not create their own.” – Justin Nordhorn via Cannabis Observer

The statement was made in response to a June 16 meeting of the Special Board Caucus at which Board Member Russ Hauge raised concerns that licensed processors were synthesizing delta-9 THC from hemp-derived CBD.

Going forward, the WSLCB said they will use an education-first approach but the agency’s Director of Enforcement, Chandra Brady, said staff “can use administrative holds, warnings, notice to correct” for licensees who do not “get on the path to compliance.”

Over the past several months, in an effort to address the emerging delta-8 and hemp-derived synthesized delta-9 phenomenon, the WSLCB has held two deliberative dialogs on cannabinoid chemistry and started a THC rule-making process, according to the report.

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Arizona Hotel Now Billing Itself as ‘Cannabis-Friendly’

7/26/2021

The Clarendon Hotel and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona is dedicating a wing of its hotel for cannabis consuming guests and billing itself as the state’s first “cannabis-friendly hotel,” 3 TV/CBS 5 reports. Cannabis-friendly rooms each contain a ‘scrubber,’ which recirculates air, and between guests, a more powerful cleaner is brought in for a deeper clean.

Tobacco smoking remains prohibited.

“We are a cannabis-friendly hotel and have a cannabis-friendly event company that is elevating and educating the community about cannabis.”— Daron Brotherton, Clarendon Hotel and Spa VP of Operations, via 3TV/CBS 5

The hotel is also hosting a six-course dinner with cannabis-infused cuisine tonight—the hotel’s first such event. Chef Derek Upton, known as the Arizona Cannabis Chef, is also available to provide in-room cannabis-infused dinners for hotel guests. The hotel also offers car service for rides to and from a dispensary and pipe and bong rentals.

In Arizona, there are three listings on BudandBreakfast.com—a site that helps tourists to book cannabis-friendly accommodations. The Clarendon Hotel and Spa is listed alongside Wow Arizona, based in Tucson which bills itself as a “cannabis-friendly environment in a nature preserve” that provides cannabis; and the BTC Lofts, which is located in Bisbee.

Arizona was the quickest state to allow legalized sales following voter approval. The reforms passed during the 2020 general election and sales commenced about two months later.

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Connecticut Accused of Shutting Down Consumer Cannabis Info Website

7/23/2021

The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) is being accused of shutting down a cannabis information website over its use of cannabis strain names, the Hartford Courant reports. DCP Spokeswoman Kaitlyn Krasselt told the Courant that the owners of Terp Street had agreed to remove the so-called “street names” for cannabis from the website after being contacted by the agency but then decided to shut down the site instead.

DCP does not allow the use of standard strain names for medical cannabis products—such as “Fruity Pebbles,” “Wedding Cake,” and “Do-si-dos”—because officials cannot verify the strain purchased outside of the regulated market is the same as that purchased at licensed dispensaries.

“Additionally many of the names are inappropriate for medical products and in several cases would appeal to children or inappropriately encourage recreational use of medical products. If they’re not getting adequate information about what’s prescribed they should definitely let us know that. It’s a shame that they feel this website is the only place they’re getting their information.” — Krassalt to the Courant

Earlier this month, the state launched its own cannabis information website which includes information on what parts of the state’s adult-use law are currently in effect and on the state’s medical cannabis program.

The shutdown of the site has led to criticism of DCP on social media, including claims that dispensary managers notified the agency about the site.

Carl Tirella, general manager in Connecticut of Acreage Holdings—the parent company of the dispensaries accused of notifying state officials—indicated that employees from Terp Street contacted the company’s dispensaries two years ago asking them to share information about their products. In a statement to the Courant, he neither confirmed nor denied whether managers at the dispensaries informed the DCP.

“We appreciate those in Connecticut who advocate for cannabis education as we ourselves are strong advocates for cannabis accessibility, affordability, and education,” he said in the statement to the Courant. “We believe—and it is always our intent—in providing as much medicinal cannabis information as possible with patients in Connecticut.”

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Cannabis Consultant Launches Campaign to Replace California Gov.

7/23/2021

Cannabis industry consultant and lobbyist Jackie McGowan has launched her bid to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in the state’s recall election in September, the Napa Valley Register reports. McGowan, a Democrat, is one of 46 candidates that will appear on the ballot.

In an interview with the Register, McGowan said, if elected, she would battle the cannabis industry’s existential crisis by cutting cannabis taxes for cultivators, distributors, and retailers and put pressure on cities that have opted out of adult-use sales.

“I’m highlighting cannabis because we (in the industry) have been pushed aside for so long. This isn’t a game; this is literally life or death right now. The cannabis industry is in crisis, and it cannot be ignored any longer.”— McGowan to the Register

In the interview, the 46-year-old former stockbroker noted that by the time cannabis gets to the end consumer “it’s been taxed 10 or 15 times” depending on the jurisdiction. Her platform includes eliminating the cultivation tax on cannabis and lowering the excise taxes. She said she would also call on the federal government to allow cannabis to be exported to other states where it is legal and for all parts of the cannabis plant to be regulated fairly, be it THC-rich or hemp products.

While she did concede that it would be an uphill battle getting her pro-cannabis platform through the California Legislature, she said she would seek to implement as many of the reforms as possible through executive orders.

In the state’s 2003 recall election of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger beat out more than 130 candidates.

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Activist Planted Cannabis Plants at Cork, Ireland City Hall

7/23/2021

Police in Cork, Ireland have removed six cannabis plants that were placed outside of the City Hall by a pro-cannabis activist, the Irish Examiner reports. Martin Condon planted the specimens in front of City Hall with little signs reading “#BringAliciaHome”—a reference to Alicia Maher, a cannabis patient who moved to Spain after she was unable to get cannabis in Ireland to treat her chronic pain.

“It’s important that we’re down here doing this, highlighting the suffering caused by the prohibition of cannabis. Alicia Maher is a Cork girl who had to leave home because of lack of access to cannabis here. She’s living over in Alicante in exile, a medical cannabis refugee. … Why can’t Ireland, a European country, provide the same to our citizens as what’s provided to citizens in Spain?”— Condon in a video posted to his Facebook page, Martin’s World

Earlier this month, Condon twice planted cannabis by the Shandon Bridge in the city, with signs reading “#TalkToVera” to highlight the case of Vera Twomey and her daughter Ava. Ava has a license to receive the medical cannabis product Bedrocan from The Netherlands but it costs the family nearly €10,000 every three months—which was not reimbursed under Ireland’s national healthcare program until this week when Health Minister Stephen Donnelly announced the state would cover the costs for Twomey and 16 other families in Ireland.

However, Condon said despite the change, very few patients are allowed to access Ireland’s program.

“I’m going to continue to engage with this campaign of civil disobedience until patients have effective access to cannabis and this prohibition is ended,” he said in the report.

Police said they are analyzing the plants and the investigation is ongoing.

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North Carolina Medical Cannabis Bill Passes Senate Finance Committee

7/23/2021

North Carolina’s medical cannabis bill has passed the Senate Finance Committee, the second committee on its way to a potential floor vote in the Senate, according to Port City Daily. Known as the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act, the legislation has two more committees to pass before making it to the Senate floor in the push to pass medical cannabis this year in the state.

Backed by powerful Rules Chairman Sen. Bill Rabon (R) and a bi-partisan cadre of Senators, the legislation heads next to the Senate Healthcare Committee, followed by the Rules Committee.

Championed by veterans groups, in addition to including qualifying conditions like cancer and HIV/AIDS, the bill includes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a qualifying condition.

During a hearing, Rob Rens, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran testified that his “position on it has always been that we’re aware of the veteran suicide issue.”

“We know what it is, and we know that opiates, uppers and downers—what we call the combat cocktail—is not having the right effect that it should, and we need to seek out some alternatives.”— Rens, in his testimony, via Port City Daily

Rens says he has been meeting with mostly Republicans to assure them the legislation is not a slippery slope to adult-use cannabis.

Rabin and other sponsors have been pitching the bill as the most restrictive medical cannabis bill in the country. Under the legislation, licensees would be responsible for owning their facilities and participating in seed-to-sale tracking. Ten supplier licenses would be available and each licensee would be allowed four dispensaries, capping retail outlets at 40 statewide. A license would cost $50,000 with a $10,000 renewal fee. The state Department of Health and Human Services would get 10% of medical cannabis revenue under the proposal.

Phil Dixon, a University of North Carolina School of Government assistant professor described the bill as “narrow” and “makes the modest acknowledgment that there’s therapeutic value to the substance for certain conditions.”

He sees the patchwork of cannabis laws in North Carolina as a place for needed reform.

“There are several counties that are not pursuing low-level marijuana possession prosecutions anymore at all. In other places they’re still aggressively prosecuting them,” he said in the report. “That’s a hot mess, and long term, that’s an issue that needs to be dealt with.”

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Oregon Regulates Delta-8 THC, Expands Police Authority Against Illicit Cannabis

7/22/2021

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) on Monday signed a bill giving police more authority to crack down on illicit cannabis grows, limit the THC in hemp products, and allow for more product testing, KOBI-5 reports.

Steven Marks, executive director of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), said the bill makes the state Department of Agriculture “look a bit more like the OLCC,” allowing them to do background checks, increase staffing, and have more oversight of rurally produced products produced under the state’s hemp program.

“Hemp producers in some of the products that you were getting in mainstream grocers and retailers, the CBD products had too much THC in them so they could actually make you intoxicated … [The bill] now creates the crime or if you’re not in a state program or it’s not homegrown, it’s a class A misdemeanor to grow cannabis not in a state program so law enforcement can go check it out.”— Marks to KOBI-5

The legislation also sets up a task force for tracking how to monitor illegal grows and how cannabis will be regulated in the future.

Jackson County Sheriff Nathan Sickler said he hoped the bill will “help get some compliance and control on a lot of these grows that are not operating on the up and up.”

The bill, passed last month, also regulates hemp-derived cannabinoids such as Delta-8 THC.

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New York Bill Would Create Provisional Licenses for Cannabis Cultivators

7/22/2021

A bill introduced last week by Democratic state Sen. Jeremy Cooney would allow licensed cannabis cultivators to start growing their crops prior to the launch of the formal program, creating provisional licenses that would allow businesses to operate if the Office of Cannabis Management doesn’t propagate program rules by January 1.

“Now that NY legalized cannabis, I’m proposing provisional cannabis licenses to fulfill the economic justice promises we made, so that farmers will be able to put seeds in the ground and create new economic opportunities.” — Cooney via Twitter

Cooney, who co-chairs the Black Puerto Rican Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus’ Marijuana Task Force, added that the bill would allow “farmers to put seed in the ground so that the economic benefits of legalizing marijuana are not delayed for another growing season.”

“We passed adult-use recreational marijuana with the promise of investing in communities most negatively impacted by the failed war on drugs,” he said in a statement. “This bill allows us to start fulfilling that promise by creating a supply chain of products for retailers in the new economy.”

So far, at least two New York municipal governments—Middletown and Watertown— have already opted out of allowing adult-use cannabis operations. Lawmakers in both cities can opt back into the program. Officials from both Middletown and Watertown said they wanted to take a wait-and-see approach before deciding to allow cannabis operations.

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Georgia Picks Six Companies to Produce Low-THC Medical Cannabis Oil

7/22/2021

Georgia has tabbed six companies to produce and distribute low-THC cannabis oil, according to WSB-TV. The names of the firms will not be unveiled until Saturday.

In all, the state will license two Class One producers with a capacity of up to 100,000 square feet and four Class Two licenses with capacities up to 50,000 square feet.

The bill allowing the businesses was signed in May. Despite there being 14,000 registered medical cannabis patients in Georgia, there is currently no way for them to legally access their medicine and many patients run the risk of violating federal law by having to cross state lines.

Under state law, the University of Georgia and Fort Valley State University are the only entities in Georgia allowed to cultivate cannabis to study its medicinal benefits; however, neither school has applied for a license.

The legislation allowed just 70 companies to apply for the permits.

The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, which is tasked with reviewing and scoring the applications estimate it could take six to eight months for the companies to get operational and make the oil available to registered patients.

The state program only allows medical cannabis products to contain up to 5% THC and allows patients with one or a combination of just 17 medical conditions to enroll. The legislature passed the law in 2019.

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Hyosung America: Improving Cash Management for Cannabis Retailers

7/22/2021

The cannabis industry is currently the most cash-laden industry that still has to pay taxes. So when it comes to handling their cash, many cannabis companies — particularly retailers, whose consumer-facing businesses work almost exclusively with cash — are turning to top-of-the-line cash management solutions to both safeguard their business and improve their company’s workflow. Enter Hyosung Americas, a globally recognized provider of powerful cash management solutions for financial and retail settings.

Hyosung Americas is the North America-based subsidiary of Hyosung, Inc, which is an international conglomerate based in Seoul, South Korea. Hyosung is always on the lookout for ways to reimagine and improve cash flow through advanced hardware and software solutions. In 2019, as the U.S. cannabis industry picked up steam, Hyosung Americas noted that cannabis retailers were facing an extraordinary number of cash-related obstacles in their day-to-day operations. These obstacles, however, could be sidestepped or even thwarted through the use of Hyosung’s Retail Cash Recyclers, which can automate cash counting, track the cash flow of a business, offer built-in vault storage capabilities, and more.

What is a cash recycler?

Hyosung’s Retail Cash Recycler (RCR) looks like a high-tech ATM, or automated teller machine. While Hyosung’s RCRs are technically capable of accepting consumer credit/debit cards and dispensing cash, that is not their true function — rather, cash recyclers have automated cash input and output capabilities that let operators carefully monitor their business’s cash flow. The machine’s software allows company owners to not only track the amount of cash coming in and out of their business in real-time but also see who is submitting and retrieving the cash, when each interaction occurs, and more.

How do cannabis retailers use Hyosung’s RCRs?

Hyosung’s Retail Cash Recyclers can help cannabis retailers overcome any of the industry’s cash-related obstacles, from cash counting, secure storage, verifying the authenticity of banknotes, monitoring the business’s cash flow, and more. The RCRs are particularly helpful in the back end of a dispensary’s day-to-day operation — the automated cash counting not only saves valuable employee time, freeing up budtenders to better serve their clients, it also works as a safeguard against employee theft.

Hyosung’s RCRs are also modular in design, meaning business owners can pick and choose certain RCR characteristics when they choose to work with Hyosung. For example, while all RCRs may serve a double function as a vault for a business’s cash, Hyosung includes options for automatically loading the cash into a cassette for secure transfer (whether to one’s bank for deposit or even to the state Capitol to pay one’s taxes).

Hyosung’s RCRs have incredible capabilities. To maximize those features and benefits, Hyosung offers white glove delivery, configuration, bring-live, on-site training, and maintenance. Hyosung also offers a full end-to-end service department that can answer any questions and help operators establish new RCR workflows, and more.

You can learn more at HyosungAmericas.com.

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Report: Cannabis Arrests Down in Colorado but Black People Still Disproportionately Targeted

7/21/2021

A new Colorado Division of Criminal Justice report covering Colorado’s cannabis reforms found a 68% decline in cannabis-related arrests between 2012 and 2019—from 13,225 to 4,290—however, the arrest rate for Black people (160 per 100,000) was still more than double that of White people (76 per 100,000).

The report also found a 3% increase in arrests related to cannabis production.

Stan Hilkey, executive director of the Department of Public Safety, said the information in the report “is presented in a comprehensive and unbiased manner.”

“This report provides a wealth of valuable information to help policy makers, law enforcement, schools, the marijuana industry and the public understand the effects of legal recreational marijuana in our communities.” — Hilkey in a statement

While the report does show a 140% increase in the number of traffic fatalities where the driver tested positive for any cannabinoid (55 in 2013 to 132 in 2019), it notes that “the detection of any cannabinoid in blood is not an indicator of impairment but only indicates presence in the system.”

The report also found an increase in calls to poison control mentioning cannabis exposure increased from 41 in 2006 to 276 in 2019. However, there are several factors that can lead to that increase, including people being more willing to call poison control for exposure to a legal substance.

The study also found “no significant change” in past 30-day cannabis use among teens post-legalization, with 19.7% of respondents on the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey admitting to using cannabis over the last 30 days in 2013, compared to 20.6% in 2019. The rate of juvenile cannabis arrests also decreased 42% from 599 in 2012 to 349 in 2019.

The report is required by a 2013 bill and is published every other year.

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New York Police No Longer Seizing Cannabis in Airports

7/21/2021

Police at Albany International and other major New York airports are no longer making arrests, writing tickets, or conducting product seizures in the case of low-level cannabis possession by travelers, according to a Times Union report.

The new policy is a result of New York’s recent legalization of adult-use cannabis.

According to Bart R. Johnson, former State Police colonel and current federal security director for 15 upstate New York airports, “We don’t seize [cannabis]. We just look for threats—explosives, knives, guns; we don’t look for illegally possessed narcotics.” Rather, if a suspected illegal substance is discovered during TSA officers’ search for threat-related contraband, “we notify law enforcement.”

Officers with TSA—a federal agency—are required to notify local law enforcement whenever they encounter an illegal substance, and cannabis remains federally prohibited. But cannabis has been legalized in New York and Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said that if a passenger is discovered to be carrying cannabis, deputies will no longer take action unless the amount of cannabis appears to surpass the state’s three-ounce possession limit.

“We don’t take it anymore. It’s legal if not more than three ounces and, well, have a nice day.” — Sheriff Apple, via the Times Union

The change follows similar policy shifts in other post-prohibition states. In 2018, officials at LAX in Los Angeles announced the airport would allow cannabis possession by travelers.

Last January, Chicago airports established so-called “cannabis amnesty” boxes where travelers could deposit any cannabis products they were carrying before going through security — notably, security footage showed that one such amnesty box was pilfered by an arriving traveler within weeks.

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Medical Cannabis Company Sues State Officials Over Corruption Claims

7/21/2021

A medical cannabis company that was denied a license in Utah is suing current and former state officials along with companies that did receive a license claiming “corruption” in the licensing process and a “bias toward out-of-state applicants,” Fox 13 reports. The firm, JLPR, has previously lost a separate lawsuit asking the Utah Court of Appeals to undo the licensing process.

The lawsuit claims state Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) officials improperly influenced bids, rushed the process, changed the application requirements to favor certain companies, conflicts of interest in license evaluators, and improper communication between agriculture officials and some applicants.

The lawsuit cites an audit by State Auditor John Dougall which uncovered the conflicts of interest and improper communication. The report went so far as to suggest the state redo the medical cannabis licensing process.

“UDAF’s process was not a ‘blind’ evaluation, meaning the evaluation committee members were aware of the applicants’ identities. The committee awarded licenses to eight growers. We analyzed various aspects of the evaluation and award processes. We note concerns about certain factors and conditions that call into question the independence of the process.”— Dougall, in the audit, via Fox 13

Kerry Gibson, the agriculture commissioner named in the report, no longer holds the post. The current commissioner, Logan Wilde, has said the agency “does not have statutory authority to reevaluate the awarding of cannabis cultivation facility licenses” but would “carefully consider the renewal of licenses by the Cannabis Production Establishment Licensing Board in December of this year.”

The lawsuit asks a federal judge to either grant JLPR a license or deny any renewals until the company is awarded one.

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Tribal Court Allows Dispensary to Remain Open Despite Challenge by St. Regis Mohawk Tribe

7/21/2021

A Mohawk Tribal Court ruled that one of the dispensaries that was sent a cease-and-desist order earlier this month can remain open, according to an NCPR report. Chief Judge Carrie Garrow ruled that the Tribe failed to show evidence that the owners of Good Leaf are breaking the law—or that they are even the owners—or that the business is selling cannabis at all.

Good Leaf, which operates on Akwesasne tribal land in upstate New York, was one of seven businesses issued a cease-and-desist letter by tribal leaders who claimed they were illegally selling cannabis to adults without permission from the Tribe—which passed an adult-use ordinance late last month but has yet to issue industry rules and regulations or licenses.

The other six dispensaries are reportedly still operating as well.

Judge Garrow added in the decision that Good Leaf was issued a business license by the traditional Longhouse Council in Akwesasne. Many traditional Mohawks argue that they are not subject to governing councils established by the U.S. or Canada, the report says. The judge notes that the Tribe did not address that business license issued by the Longhouse and that the license is not for cannabis-related business, rather for “trade goods.”

In a statement, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council called the decision “a procedural ruling” and that “the court erred, and the Tribe has filed today motions to reconsider given that the record is clear that Good Leaf admitted in court it is operating outside of tribal law.”

Good Leaf did not comment on the decision.

While New York state legalized cannabis earlier this year, adult-use sales have not yet commenced.

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Virginia Gov. Appoints Cannabis Regulators

7/21/2021

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has appointed five individuals to the state’s Cannabis Control Authority (CCA), the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. The appointees will work with the CEO of the CCA, who is expected to be chosen by Northam in the coming weeks, to roll out the state’s adult-use cannabis program in 2024. The list of CCA members is comprised of a high-powered cohort of Virginia businesspeople, entrepreneurs, attorneys, and one social equity advocate.

In addition to the CCA, two other groups will assist in developing the state’s fledgling cannabis system. The governor and legislative leaders recently appointed 13 members to the 20-member Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board and other positions on the Cannabis Public Health Advisory Board—a 21 person board tasked with issuing binding guidance on cannabis public health and studying the effect legal cannabis has on public health in Virginia. The state attorney general will also tap a state “cannabis attorney” to guide Virginia through the legal pitfalls of adult-use cannabis, the Times-Dispatch reports.

Citing the disproportionate effect of the war on drugs on communities of color, especially Black Virginians, the legislature took the groundbreaking step to pass adult-use cannabis this year, making it the first state in the South to embrace the reforms. Although retail sales will not commence until 2024, Virginians are allowed to possess up to an ounce of cannabis and grow four plants at home.

However, despite the progress, Virginia Republican Delegate Glenn Davis recently called the social equity provisions of the new law “asinine” and described putting people who had previously broken the law at the front of the line as, “insanity run amok.”

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Study: Legalization Sees Short-Term Decline in Opioid ER Visits

7/20/2021

Researchers at the Pitt Graduate School of Public Health found that in the first half of 2017 California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada all saw a 7.6% decline in opioid-related emergency room visits but that those rates returned to pre-legalization levels after the six months, according to a WESA outline of the study.

However, Coleman Drake, the study’s lead author and assistant professor of health policy and management, said the researchers found no “evidence to support the theory that cannabis functions as a gateway drug.”

“If anything, we find that recreational cannabis legalization decreases opioid-related emergency department visits. … Cannabis is a substitute for pain relief, but it’s not a treatment for opioid use disorder. People might be finding that cannabis does help treat pain for opioid use disorder, but ultimately isn’t treating other symptoms of the condition.”— Drake to WESA

The study focused on California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada because the states had only legalized cannabis for adults in 2016. The study notes that the reduction in opioid-related ER visits was “driven by men and adults aged 25-44.” It also stressed, “while cannabis liberalization may offer some help in curbing the opioid epidemic, it is likely not a panacea.”

Drake noted that there have not yet been enough “high-quality studies” on post-legalization issues, such as opioid use or related ER visits, and Alice Bell of Prevention Point Pittsburgh, a nonprofit specializing in drug user health and harm reduction agreed, noting that it is hard to draw hard conclusions from the study.

“This data hopefully once and for all puts a nail in the coffin that marijuana is a ‘gateway drug,’” Bell said in the report. “It would be useful to do qualitative research and ask people who use drugs what they are actually doing.”

The study, “Recreational cannabis laws and opioid-related emergency department visit rates,” was published July 12 in the Health Economics Letter.

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Competing Campaigns in Missouri Seek to Add Legalization Question to 2022 Ballots

7/20/2021

Competing advocacy groups in Missouri are seeking to put an adult-use question to voters next year, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The groups include Fair Access Missouri and Legal Missouri 2022, which was once known as New Approach Missouri—the group behind the successful medical cannabis initiative in 2018.

Fair Access is comprised of cannabis proponents who are disenchanted with the medical cannabis program created by the 2018 initiative. That campaign, a constitutional amendment, required the state to issue at least 338 industry licenses. The licensing process was marred by controversies, which included an investigation into the scoring process over claims that Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s office was able to influence how industry applications were scored and a report that was used to limit the number of licenses awarded.

Eric McSwain, the spokesman for Fair Access and chair of the Missouri Cannabis Industry Association, told the Post-Dispatch that under the current medical cannabis system, prices are too high and that his organization is pushing for an “open market” approach to broad legalization.

“We’re not big fans of the limited license scheme that’s in place. I don’t think it does justice to all those entrepreneurs in Missouri. I don’t think it does justice for all of the individuals who want to be employed in the industry, and I don’t think it’s fair to patients either, who at this point don’t have an adequate supply.”— McSwain to the Post-Dispatch

The groups diverge on several issues, including micro-licenses, social equity provisions, allowing current operators the first shot at new licenses and which state agencies would regulate the new industry.

Fair Access last week filed multiple versions of its ballot question with the secretary of state’s office. Campaigns must gather enough signatures to get the issue on midterm ballots in 2022.

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