A member of New Jersey’s Assembly is calling for the immediate suspension of all minor or “petty” cannabis charges. Jamel Holley (D) also argued that in addition to suspending the arrests, all low-level cannabis charges should be dismissed to free up resources in municipal courts.
Holley is calling on law enforcement to heed the will of voters and stop making cannabis arrests, asking for swift legislation to address the issue. Holley identified a case of two college students who were recently arrested for smoking cannabis on a New Jersey beach as an example of the overreach of prohibition.
“It is more obvious than ever that New Jerseyans want our lawmakers to focus on serious crimes that affect the safety and welfare of the people. As we will quickly see at the ballot box, there is no patience anymore for prosecuting people caught smoking and possessing marijuana. It will be a legal, regulated recreational drug, similar to a glass of wine. There is no longer a need for our courts to deal with such petty offenses.” — Assemblyman Jamel Holley, in a press release
Holley is also asking for swift legislation to jump-start the cannabis industry and to ensure the new law benefits “mom and pop” businesses throughout New Jersey. Industry leaders expect New Jersey’s cannabis industry to have a $6 billion per year economic impact, according to the press release.
New Jersey voted to legalize adult-use cannabis during Tuesday’s election, joined by South Dakota, Montana, and Arizona with similar votes. South Dakota and Mississippi also voted to legalize medical cannabis.
Anti-legalization group Wrong for Montana has filed a post-election lawsuit challenging the voter-approved legalization measure claiming the financial allocation provisions in the measure violate the state constitution, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports.
Montana voters approved the initiative 57 percent to 43 percent.
Wrong for Montana spokesperson Steve Zabawa, who also serves as the director of SAFE Montana, said the initiative’s wording and promotion are “not transparent” because it proposes that portions of the 20 percent tax on sales be used for conservation, substance abuse treatment, and veterans’ issues.
“Even though this thing got voted in last night doesn’t mean it’s going to be law. There’s a lot more that has to be done, and I think the Montana Supreme Court or the (Helena) District Court will throw this thing out.” – Zabawa to the Daily Chronicle
Dave Lewis, policy advisor to New Approach Montana and former Montana legislator, defended those allocations, telling the Daily Chronicle that the earmarking of funds are proposals – not part of the law – that require legislative approval.
“The Legislature is the only body of the (government) that can appropriate money. We’re not challenging that,” he said in the report. “If one part of this is unconstitutional, everything else still stands. [Zabawa’s] suing to say it’s unconstitutional, the way we talked about the money. Well, if we throw that out, then all the money just goes to the general fund.”
Prior to the election, the state Supreme Court rejected a similar lawsuit brought by Wrong for Montana regarding the appropriation of funds under the measure. However, the court ruled that the lawsuit failed to show the necessary urgency to be heard by the high court – rather than on the merits of the argument – and suggested plaintiffs take the case to district court.
Lewis indicated the initiative includes a severability clause that would protect the remainder of the bill if the proposed allocations are deemed unconstitutional.
The legalization for personal use and cultivation provisions of the measure are scheduled to take effect January 1, while commercial sales would become law on or by October 1.
A study of 27 people found that psilocybin therapy was more effective than traditional antidepressant medications, “producing large, rapid, and sustained antidepressant effects in patients with major depressive disorder.”
Alan Davis, an author of the study and a faculty member at both Johns Hopkins University and Ohio State University, described the effect as “more than four times greater” than usual antidepressant medications.
In the study, participants received two doses of psilocybin on different days along with about 11 hours of psychotherapy. The hallucinogen was administered in a supervised yet comfortable setting designed to put patients at ease, Davis told NPR.
“They have a blindfold on, they have headphones on, listening to music. And we really encourage them to go inward and to kind of experience whatever is going to come up with the psilocybin.” – Davis to NPR
Half the study participants began treatment immediately while the rest were waitlisted so they could serve as a comparison group until their own treatment began eight weeks later.
Davis explained that “there was a significant reduction in depression in the immediate-treatment group compared to those in the waitlist.” The effect, he said, “happened within one day after the first session and sustained at that reduced level through the second psilocybin session all the way up to the one-month follow-up.”
Dr. Charles F. Reynolds III, distinguished professor emeritus of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine and the author of an editorial that accompanied the research, said the study was notable for its scientific rigor and shows “a good deal of promise as a feasible approach to treating particularly chronic forms of depression.”
The study comes in the midst of psychedelic drug law reforms, akin to the medical cannabis push in the 1990s. During Tuesday’s General Election, Oregon voters approved a measure to legalize psilocybin for medical use, while voters in Washington, D.C. decriminalized psychedelic plants, including fungi containing psilocybin.
Voters in Denver, Colorado passed an initiative in May decriminalizing psychedelic mushrooms, while lawmakers in Oakland and Santa Cruz, California passed psilocybin decriminalization measures in June and February, respectively. In September, the Ann Arbor, Michigan City Council passed a resolution decriminalizing psilocybin possession.
A woman is suing a Tennessee State Highway Patrol officer after she was fired from her job following being charged with drug-related felonies despite the substance in question being legal, state-licensed, hemp, according to a Law360 report.
Rose M. Hembrook’s lawsuit against Trooper Donald Seiber states that the officer charged her with felony possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, sell or manufacture following a traffic stop in September 2019. During the stop, Hembrook provided the officer with hemp permits from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and six certificates of analysis from a private laboratory. During the stop – for seatbelt and moving violations – two sheriff’s deputies also explained to Seiber that the farm had been investigated and the hemp permits were legitimate and in order.
“Trooper Seiber failed to examine and willfully ignored the readily available exculpatory evidence presented by both Ms. Hembrook and the two sheriff’s deputies. The exculpatory evidence provided to Trooper Seiber defeats any probable cause he had to arrest Ms. Hembrook.” – Hembrook’s attorneys in the complaint
In March, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation submitted its own forensic chemistry report to Seiber stating that the substance was hemp. That month Seiber initiated another traffic stop and, in her complaint, Hembrook said she pulled into an auto shop and ran into the building, calling for help and demanding another officer be called in. The complaint says during that stop she was harassed and intimidated before being placed under arrest for evading, resisting, and disorderly conduct.
All charges stemming from both cases were dropped in July.
Hembrook is suing for two counts of false arrest and two counts of malicious prosecution. She is seeking punitive and compensatory damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, attorney fees and litigation costs, and a judgment that Seiber violated her constitutional rights.
With so much uncertainty hanging over an election marred by intense polarization and partisanship, one thing is clear: legalizing marijuana is an issue with broad, bipartisan support. Ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana for adult or medical use passed overwhelmingly in five states on Tuesday bringing the total number of states with adult-use legalization laws to 15, and legal medical marijuana states to 36.
But not all legalization measures are created equal. Only two of the night’s successful initiatives included provisions that would provide for retroactive relief for those still suffering from the criminalization of cannabis.
Arizona may have seen the biggest shift in the way the state classifies cannabis offenses. Currently, Arizona is the only state where first-time possession of any amount of marijuana is considered a felony offense. The newly passed Proposition 207 not only amends criminal penalties for marijuana possession and creates a regulated market for legal sales, but also creates a mechanism for the expungement of prior, low-level cannabis offenses.
The inclusion of any kind of retroactive relief in Arizona — where hundreds of thousands of lives have been impacted by prohibitionist laws which disproportionately impact the state’s communities of color (Hispanic people in the state are sentenced to significantly longer jail and prisons sentences than their white counterparts and on average, Black people are three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people) — is a big win.
Similarly in Montana, where racial disparities in marijuana arrests are the highest in the nation, the successfully passed Initiative 190 allows an individual currently serving a sentence for a prior low-level marijuana offense to apply for resentencing or an expungement of the conviction. This is the only ballot measure or piece of legislation to provide for resentencing for those currently serving a marijuana sentence since the passage of California’s Prop. 64.
These provisions, though, are just the starting point for repairing the past harms of prohibition. We know that resentencing and expungement laws that are petition-based, as both of these measures are, are susceptible to an “uptake gap” which occurs when individuals are forced to navigate a complex and expensive legal process in order to clear their records. Petitioning the state is a complicated, expensive, and time-consuming process, doubly-so for those without formal legal training and/or the resources to engage an attorney.
The data shows that when expungement is not automatic, only a small fraction of eligible individuals receive them. In Denver for instance, where cannabis has been legal since 2012, less than 1% of all individuals eligible for the state’s expungement law have successfully vacated their convictions, a trend which is consistent across the country.
Beyond the barriers to accessing these petition-based laws, the class of offenses which are eligible for either expungement or resentencing are incredibly narrow in scope. These retroactive relief measures are limited to possession of two and one-half ounces or less and cultivating no more than six cannabis plants for personal use in Arizona, and one ounce or less and up to four plants in Montana. The provisions as drafted are silent as to charges which often accompany cannabis-related offenses such as conspiracy, money-laundering, and possession with intent to distribute. Nor do they contemplate an individual who may have been originally convicted on a marijuana-related offense but who ultimately pled to a different, potentially lesser offense.
Despite the limitations of these initiatives and the work that still needs to be done to ensure that any state which is set to legalize in the upcoming year is also providing relief for those still suffering under unjust marijuana laws, the passage of these initiatives, along with broader drug reform measures like Oregon’s Measure 110 which decriminalized all drugs for personal use and possession, are undoubtedly signs of monumental progress for criminal justice and drug policy reform across the country, signaling the imminent demise of the failed war on drugs.
A high school dean in Florida was fired on Wednesday by the Marion County School Board for using medical cannabis, the Ocala Star-Banner reports. Mike Hickman, who is also a military veteran, uses medical cannabis for pain stemming from surgeries related to his combat wounds.
In November 2019, Hickman broke up a fight at the school and was injured in the process, the report says. He had to report to a worker’s compensation physician for treatment and tested positive for cannabis during the visit. The superintendent of schools subsequently fired him for failing the drug test and an administrative law judge upheld the termination; however, the judge said the Marion County School Board could choose to suspend him instead.
The board offered Hickman a 20-day suspension without pay rather than termination if he stopped using medical cannabis – which is a violation of the Marion County Public Schools’ drug-free workplace policies. Hickman declined the offer and was fired.
Hickman’s attorney, Mark Herdman, called the 5-0 ruling “another unfortunate decision handed down by the Marion County School Board to fire yet another good employee.”
Chris Altobello, an executive director for the local teachers’ union, the Marion Education Association, decried the decision, saying Hickman “was no more impaired than someone who took an aspirin for a headache” and that the board “implied that this is tantamount to smoking pot in the boys bathroom.”
“Imagine if this employee just sat back and let the two students continue to fight without regard for their safety, we wouldn’t be here right now. Or if we were, it would have been for not intervening.” – Altobello to the Star-Banner
School officials argued that cannabis use is a violation of federal law and if they continued to employ Hickman the school could lose federal funding. In the ruling, Judge Suzanne Van Wyk said Hickman didn’t notify his supervisor that he was using medical cannabis as the board policy requires. She noted that he would be allowed “to continue teaching under the influence of opioid pain medications, which he took for years prior to the availability of medical marijuana.”
The board did agree to clarify its policies on medical cannabis. It is illegal under Florida law for medical cannabis patients to report to work under the influence.
Traditionally, the cannabis industry has been powered by brick-and-mortar retail sales by dispensaries. But since 2020, cannabis is far from stuck in this traditional approach to driving sales and we are beginning to see glimpses of the future of the cannabis industry. In this article, we’ll dig into how the cannabis industry may transform to be predominantly online and how cannabis businesses will adapt to various changes brought on by COVID-19.
Shifting to Local Delivery
2020 has been an extremely trying year and has forced many businesses to shift and adapt to COVID-19. Although these changes have been difficult for many cannabis businesses, it’s also created a major shift in how the cannabis industry conducts itself. In 2020, even a major seed bank like Crop King Seeds had to change their business quite drastically. Prior to COVID-19, Crop King Seeds relied heavily on their physical location in Vancouver where they sold hundreds of cannabis seeds and accessories per day. But when the virus started to impact foot traffic to their store, they began experimenting with local delivery and eventually shifted to the nationwide delivery of their seeds.
They began having employees deliver orders to local customers while taking both online and phonecall orders. This shift in job responsibilities allowed employees to keep their positions and allowed them to safely fulfill orders. They also had setups of “curb-side” pickup where customers would wait in their cars and have their orders walked out to them, contact-free. Although hopefully in the near future we won’t need to worry about contact-free options, the shift to local delivery options is something that I believe will stick around post-COVID-19.
Delivery options have dramatically increased in the COVID-19 era, especially for the cannabis industry which was deemed essential during most pandemic-related lockdowns.
Improving Ecommerce Experience and Worldwide Shipping
As mentioned earlier, COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the amount of physical traffic your business will receive. This could potentially destroy businesses that rely solely on foot traffic. Businesses experienced with worldwide shipping, however, are presented with the opportunity to become a leader in the cannabis industry during this period. ILoveGrowingMarijuana, a seed bank based in Amsterdam, has been experimenting with shipping cannabis seeds online worldwide for the past few years, but they’ve really committed to this during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shipping cannabis seeds online faces a large number of hurdles and challenges such as laws and regulations in multiple countries, germination guarantees, and shipping processes. That being said, during this time period, Growers Choice made the effort to adapt their shipping process to ensure that customers were receiving their seeds without issue. They began by completely revamping their online website, which in turn made the purchase and payment experience much easier for customers. Additionally, they began identifying logistical issues that were causing slow shipping times and began fulfilling orders in-house which helped to improve order and fulfillment times.
A woman uses her mobile phone to issue a digital payment.
Will These Industry Changes Stick Around After COVID-19?
As the cannabis industry continues to grow in both recreational and medicinal popularity across the world, the industry is going to continue to advance. As mentioned previously, COVID-19 has caused many industries to shift how they conduct business to adapt to health and safety guidelines, and the cannabis industry is no different. So once COVID-19 is under control and the world starts to return to normal, will we see these industry changes toward local delivery and worldwide shipping stick around?
I believe we will. As cannabis becomes legal and more widespread throughout the world, the demand for high-quality and convenient cannabis products is going to continue to climb. This means there will be more customers looking for cannabis businesses that they value and trust.
If the Amazon business model of the past 10-15 years has taught us anything, it’s that customers will repeatedly use a business that provides a convenient value to them, such as the delivery of cannabis products. Although this initiative will force cannabis businesses to shift and adapt, it will also allow them to potentially have a larger client base. There’s a reason the cannabis industry has been named the “Green Rush,” and that’s because it’s a vastly growing market, and any business that can provide additional value to its potential customers will grab a huge chunk of the marketplace.
Oregon made history on Election Day this week with two major drug policy reforms after voters approved Measure 109, which legalizes psilocybin therapy, and Measure 110, which decriminalizes drug possession and reallocates some cannabis funding to pay for addiction treatment services.
The success of Measure 110, which passed with nearly 60% of the vote, makes Oregon the first state to decriminalize the possession of most drugs, including heroin. The measure also reallocates some cannabis tax revenue to help fund new state-run addiction treatment services.
“Today is a huge day of celebration but the work is not over and we have a lot more work to do to win a better system for everybody,” Peter Zuckerman, campaign manager for Measure 110, told The Oregonian.
With the passage of Measure 109, meanwhile, Oregon is also the first state to legalize psilocybin — the substance that gives hallucinogenic mushrooms their intoxicating effects — for medicinal use. The measure passed with 56% support, The Oregonian reports. Under the initiative, the Oregon Health Authority is now tasked with creating a psilocybin-assisted therapy program where licensed facilities will administer the drug in a controlled, therapeutic setting.
Recent research shows that psilocybin has significant medical potential against severe depression, which has prompted the FDA to label the psychedelic a potential “breakthrough therapy.” This is likely a sign that the agency intends to accelerate the drug development and review process.
Voters in New Jersey have approved the state’s adult-use cannabis legalization ballot question with overwhelming support, making it the 12th state to end cannabis prohibition.
The yes vote on Ballot Question No. 1 leads to a constitutional amendment that tasks lawmakers with legalizing cannabis for adults 21 and older; the vote also calls for lawmakers to establish a regulatory framework for cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and retail.
Lawmakers expected the outcome and have been preparing legislation in advance, NJ.com reports. The bill will likely be “very similar to the final draft” of a legalization proposal that failed to pass in 2019, according to its primary sponsor Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union). The legislation would apply the state’s sales tax of 6.625% to legal cannabis purchases plus a 2% municipal tax, which would make New Jersey’s cannabis market the least heavily taxed in the nation, according to the report.
The question was posed by lawmakers via a bill passed last December, as New Jersey does not have an initiative process.
“Garden State voters spoke resoundingly. They are demanding their lawmakers end the failed policy of marijuana criminalization, and instead pursue a more sensible path of regulation and legalization.” — Erik Altieri, Executive Director of NORML, in a statement
New Jersey was joined tonight by Arizona, South Dakota, and Montana in voting on whether to legalize cannabis for adults. Voters in Mississippi and South Dakota are also considering medical cannabis initiatives.
New Jersey legalizing is also likely to pressure neighboring New York — where a legislative effort to legalize cannabis was stymied this year due to the coronavirus — into legalizing more quickly, for fear of being left behind.
Arizona voters have approved Proposition 207, also known as the Smart and Safe Act, which legalizes the use and possession of cannabis by adults aged 21 or older.
Under the measure, adults are allowed to possess up to 1 ounce of cannabis and cultivate up to six cannabis plants at home for personal use. The initiative includes a 16 percent excise tax on cannabis products with tax revenue slotted for public education and safety. The bill also opens pathways for people who were convicted of cannabis crimes to petition the courts to have their records expunged.
“Today, Arizona’s voters opted to put their government’s failed war on marijuana in the rear-view mirror where it belongs.” — Ryan Wilson, Executive Director of Arizona NORML, in a statement
Voters approved the legalization initiative with approximately 60 percent support. This is Arizona’s second attempt at legalizing adult-use cannabis after voters there narrowly rejected a legalization measure in 2016.
“We are pleased with the results of this election, but our work is not done,” Wilson said. “In coming months, we look forward to addressing other pressing matters in Arizona, including anti-competitive local ordinances, and to pressuring our representatives in Congress to fight for federal laws — like the MORE Act — that reflect the preferences of Arizona voters.”
Arizona is the 13th state to legalize cannabis having followed shortly after New Jersey, where voters approved legalization earlier in the evening.
Polls suggest that a strong 66% majority of Americans — including a majority of Republicans — support legalizing cannabis.
South Dakota voters have approved adult and medical cannabis use – the first time a state has approved both during one election. The recreational measure was approved 53 percent to 47 percent while the medical reforms passed 70 percent to 30 percent.
South Dakota joins Montana as the only states in which voters legalized cannabis while backing a Republican for president.
Amendment A will create a taxed and regulated cannabis marketplace, setting the legal age at 21. The amendment takes effect on July 1.
The medical cannabis reforms – an initiated measure – covers chronic or debilitating diseases or medical conditions; treatments that cause cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe, debilitating pain; severe nausea; and seizures or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis.
The Health Department has 120 days to enact the program’s rules.
Drey Samuelson, political director for South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, the committee behind the amendment, told the Argus Leader that the campaign expected voters “would realize the economic, health and social justice benefits of marijuana reform.”
“No longer will South Dakotans have to potentially face the loss of their jobs, their reputations or their freedom for doing what in 11 other states is perfectly legal.” – Samuelson to the Leader
Both campaigns were opposed by state lawmakers, including Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, and she and the legislature could overturn the medical cannabis law as it’s an initiated measure rather than a constitutional amendment. According to the Rapid City Journal, Noem and the legislature overturned the voter-approved anti-corruption measure IM22 in 2017.
In order to repeal the adult-use reforms – a constitutional amendment – lawmakers would have to initiate their own constitutional amendment process and put it to voters.
David Owen, director of the opposition group No Way on A, told the Leader that the vote sends a message to Noem, the legislature, and the state’s “entire political establishment” that “as the state motto says, under God, the people rule.”
“I think South Dakota voters are thoughtful and you live with the conclusion of the voter,” he said in the report.
The pro-legalization campaigns, led by New Approach and Better Marijuana Laws, raised $1.68 million – mostly via New Approach Pac which contributed $1.37 million in cash and $54,892 in in-kind contributions, according to Ballotpedia. Owen said the opposition group had raised just $130,000 despite support from Noem and Republican lawmakers who comprise the legislative majority.
The recreational use amendment takes effect on July 1.
Montana voters approved two ballot initiatives to legalize cannabis for adult use by a 58 percent to 42 percent margin. The campaign included both a statutory measure to establish a legal marketplace and a constitutional amendment setting the legal age at 21.
This election marks the first time that states legalized cannabis for recreational use while simultaneously backing a Republican for president as President Donald Trump won in both Montana and South Dakota.
NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri said the result “illustrates that support for adult-use marijuana legalization extends across geographic and demographic lines.”
“Marijuana legalization is not exclusively a ‘blue’ state issue, but an issue that is supported by a majority of all Americans – regardless of party politics. By approving these voter-initiated measures, Montana now joins the growing list of states that have recognized that it is time to end marijuana criminalization and move forward with a new approach.” – Altieri in a statement
The measure tasks the state Department of Revenue with implementing and regulating a commercial system for growing and selling cannabis, imposes a 20 percent tax on sales, and allows local governments to ban cannabis businesses, commonly referred to as municipal control. The measure also includes provisions allowing people convicted of past cannabis crimes to seek resentencing or expungement.
The Revenue Department must start accepting industry applications by January 1, 2022.
The reforms do not include social-use provisions and includes language allowing $50 fines for smoking cannabis in a public place, but it does not mention other methods of consumption.
The campaign was led by New Approach Montana which, according to a Ballotpedia analysis, received $7.2 million in cash and in-kind contributions. The campaign’s two highest contributors were New Approach PAC ($1.9 million) and the North Fund ($4.8 million). The opposition group, Wrong for Montana, reported $306,750 in contributions.
Washington, D.C. voters have overwhelmingly approved Initiative 81, decriminalizing psychedelic plants. The measure does not legalize psychedelic plants and fungi but re-categorizes them “as the lowest level police enforcement priority,” according to the initiative language.
It was approved 76 percent to 24 percent.
The District follows Denver, Colorado, Oakland and Santa Cruz, California, and Ann Arbor Michigan in decriminalizing some psychedelics.
Denver passed its initiative in May, while lawmakers in Oakland and Santa Cruz passed their resolutions in June and February, respectively. The Ann Arbor, Michigan City Council passed their measure in September.
None of those measures decriminalizing psychedelic plants include synthetics such as LSD or MDMA.
Oregon voters legalized medical psilocybin during last night’s General Election and passed another measure decriminalizing all drugs.
The D.C. initiative was introduced by Melissa Lavasani, a city government employee who microdosed with psilocybin to help her recover from postpartum depression.
“Everyone knows, in the campaign at least, that I was shooting for 70 percent. I got my hand slapped multiple times for that and I just want to say, ‘I told you so.’ … We have changed the game here. We have shifted this dialogue into something that people can feel, touch, see, and hear. We are trying to normalize mental health, we’re trying to normalize psychedelics, we’re trying to normalize connecting with your community. The psychedelics movement was born out of the West Coast but D.C. tonight has proven that we belong here and psychedelics has a major part in how we can heal as a community, how we can heal as a city, and how we can heal as a country.” – Lavasani, during a press conference following the vote, via Facebook
The D.C. campaign was led by Decriminalize Nature D.C. Financial backers included the New Approach PAC which has backed cannabis-related initiatives throughout the U.S. since its founding in 2014. The campaign raised a total of $796,943 – $641,378 of which was donated by New Approach, according to Ballotpedia which notes that there were no identified political action committees organized to oppose the reforms.
The Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program (OMMCP) is accepting petitions for new qualifying conditions. Petitions will be accepted by the State Medical Board of Ohio until December 31, 2020; petitions will not be accepted, however, if it “seeks to add a broad category of disease or conditions,” or if the condition has already been rejected by the Board, though petitioners can still submit new research related to conditions the board has previously rejected, according to the OMMCP website.
The annual petition process is required under Ohio’s medical cannabis law.
This year, the Board added cachexia or wasting syndrome — a condition related to various other chronic health conditions like cancer, HIV, or AIDS — to the list of medical conditions that will qualify a patient for medical cannabis in Ohio, but rejected applications to add autism and anxiety to the list. According to the requirements for a 2020 petition submission, anxiety and autism could not be considered again unless new research is submitted to the Board.
Ohio’s medical cannabis system, which was approved in 2016, uses a unique method of tracking and delivering cannabis medicine to patients. With an approach more akin to pharmacies, Ohio patients can purchase medical cannabis in the form of “day units.” One day unit of flower is 1/10th of an ounce, while a day unit of a topical cannabis product is 195 milligrams of THC. Edibles and other oral administrations come in 110-milligram units and vaporization products can have 590 milligrams of THC. Patients and caregivers can only purchase a 90-day supply of medical cannabis in a 99-day window
Mississippi opted to legalize medical cannabis on Election Day with more than two-thirds of voter support.
For voters, however, it was more complicated than just a yes or no question. Voters were faced with two questions on their ballots: whether medical cannabis should be legalized at all and, if it were legalized, which of two options — Amendment 65 and Amendment 65A — would be their preference. Amendment 65, which appeared on the ballot following a successful citizen-led petition drive earlier this year, establishes a comprehensive medical cannabis program that would allow doctors to prescribe cannabis for patients suffering from one of 22 qualifying conditions. Amendment 65A was offered later by lawmakers as a more-strict alternative.
Ultimately, voters overwhelmingly supported the activist-backed Amendment 65.
“It is great to see that the tides of change are continuing to flow across the country and now they have come to Mississippi. As we saw in Utah in 2018, and as we see in Mississippi this year, medical marijuana can pass in any state in the country.” — Steve Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, in a statement
WE DID IT!
What an incredible day for patients!
Voters overwhelmingly approved INITIATIVE 65, making Mississippi the 35th state to establish a medical marijuana program. Thank you to everyone who supported 65 & got out & voted today. You made a difference for these patients! pic.twitter.com/E1vHB1OG1i
Mississippi was joined by South Dakota in legalizing medical cannabis this Election Day. Additionally, voters embraced adult-use cannabis legalization in New Jersey, Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota.
It’s Election Day and Americans across the country are casting votes in a series of potentially groundbreaking cannabis initiatives.
Cannabis battleground states who are considering adult-use legalization this year include Arizona, New Jersey, Montana, and South Dakota — where voters will actually consider two cannabis initiatives, one for adult-use and one for medical cannabis. Mississippi voters will also decide on the issue of medical cannabis. In Oregon, voters will consider initiatives to legalize medical psilocybin therapy and to decriminalize the possession of illegal drugs.
Adult-use cannabis initiatives
Arizona
Arizona Proposition 207 would legalize cannabis for people age 21 or older. If approved, adults would be allowed to possess up to 1 ounce of cannabis and existing medical cannabis dispensaries would be allowed to sell to non-patients. The Smart & Safe Arizona Act would also establish 26 new social equity retailer licenses and includes a process for the expungement of previous convictions of crimes that would no longer be illegal under the new law. The cannabis excise tax would be set at 16 percent.
Last month, a Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll of 500 likely Arizona voters showed narrow support for the measure with 45.6 percent backing the reforms and 34.2 percent opposed.
Arizona voters narrowly rejected a cannabis legalization proposal in 2016 in a 52-48 percent split.
New Jersey
New Jersey voters are also set to determine their state’s future cannabis policies on Tuesday after elected lawmakers decided last December to put the question on the ballot. New Jersey Public Question No. 1 would amend the state’s constitution to allow for cannabis use and sales for adults 21 and older. The question was put to voters by lawmakers because New Jersey does not have a citizen’s initiative process.
Montana’s legalization proposal, which will appear on the ballot as Issue 14, is a constitutional initiative that would legalize cannabis for adults aged 21 or older, implement a taxed and regulated marketplace, and establish a 20 percent tax which would be reserved for the state’s general fund and other programs.
The initiative is accompanied by a second constitutional amendment giving lawmakers the right to set the legal consumption age for cannabis.
Montana advocates overcame a lot of opposition this year to get the issue in front of voters. In April — after the coronavirus pandemic’s onset — the advocacy group New Approach Montana sued the state for the right to collect e-signatures for their ballot initiative petition. In October, Montana’s Supreme Court rejected a legal bid by anti-cannabis group Wrong for Montana to invalidate the legalization voter initiative.
South Dakota
South Dakotans will vote on two cannabis initiatives this year, including a bid to legalize adult-use cannabis. If approved, South Dakota would be the first state to vote to legalize cannabis without first establishing a medical cannabis framework.
Amendment A, if approved, would create a constitutional amendment legalizing cannabis for adults 21+ in the state. The amendment would also call for state legislators to adopt medical cannabis and hemp reforms.
October polling data showed 51 percent of South Dakota voters were likely to support the reforms, but the margins were extremely slim with 44 percent opposed.
This year’s General Election contains the largest number of major cannabis initiatives appearing before voters since 2016.
Medical cannabis initiatives
South Dakota
In addition to its adult-use cannabis bid, South Dakota will consider Measure 26, which would establish a medical cannabis program allowing registered patients to “treat or alleviate debilitating medical conditions certified by the patients’ practitioners.”
Under the measure, medical cannabis cardholders would be allowed to possess up to 3 ounces of cannabis and other products made from the plant. Patients who grow their own cannabis would be allowed to possess “a minimum of 3 plants, as well as marijuana and products made from those plants,” according to the initiative’s text.
Mississippi
Mississippi’s bid to legalize medical cannabis, Initiative 65, was approved for the ballot in January. If approved, Initiative 65 would allow physicians to make medical cannabis recommendations for patients suffering from at least one of 22 debilitating conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, and PTSD.
Mississippi lawmakers, however, have since put forward an alternative — Initiative 65A — which is less comprehensive and contains stricter limitations on who could access the program. Under Initiative 65A, for example, only terminally ill patients would be allowed to smoke cannabis products.
Voters will be asked to rank the initiatives with their preference, even if they choose to vote against both. Polls have indicated that upwards of 80 percent of Mississippi voters support legalizing medical cannabis although it’s unclear which initiative will prove to be the more popular option.
Oregon psilocybin & drugs decriminalization
In Oregon, there is Measure 109, which would legalize psilocybin therapy, and Measure 110, which would decriminalize the possession of most drugs and redirect some cannabis tax revenue toward drug education and rehabilitation programs.
The psilocybin therapy initiative would allow for the manufacturing, delivery, and administration of psilocybin at supervised, licensed facilities. The FDA has designated psilocybin as a “breakthrough therapy” but Oregon, if the initiative passes, would be the first state to legalize and regulate its medicinal administration.
Oregon’s drug decriminalization initiative would allot a percentage of the state’s cannabis taxes toward expanding drug addiction treatment options. Notably, the initiative does not legalize any drugs — rather, it reduces the penalties for possession of small amounts, which advocates say will save the state money on enforcement costs and will prevent peoples’ lives from being ruined over minor drug charges.
Hemp licenses in New Mexico dropped from more than 400 in 2019 to 276 this year – a 31 percent decrease – amid new state rules, the coronavirus pandemic, and industry consolidation, the Albuquerque Journal reports. Last year was the first year the state issued commercial hemp cultivation licenses.
State Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte told the Journal that officials chalk the decrease up to “those who tried it and decided it wasn’t for them.”
Ricardo Berroteran, lead cultivator for Rich Global Hemp, indicated that the pandemic had decreased demand. He said he had planned to grow up to 10 million clones this year but ended up growing about 10,000 due to the lack of demand.
New Mexico‘s hemp rules are also being challenged in court by some medical cannabis companies due to language barring medical cannabis and hemp cultivation on the same property.
Duke Rodriguez, founder of Ultra Health, one of the petitioners challenging the rules, said cannabis companies growing both hemp and medical cannabis needed to choose one or the other. The rules, Rodriguez said, brought the company’s hemp production “to a complete standstill.”
Last year, the New Mexico Economic Development Department made three investments into the state’s hemp industry, including $200,000 in 420 Valley LLC, a Las Cruces-based hemp productions and processing plant, $2 million to Rich Global Hemp, and $250,000 to New Mexico Hemp Services, a Santa Rosa-based industry job training business.
The United Kingdom’s National Health Service has only issued three prescriptions for medical cannabis oil since it was legalized for use with the national health care plan two years ago, according to End Our Pain – a pro-medical cannabis group. The group told the BBC that at least 20 families are paying out-of-pocket for the drug after they were turned down by the NHS.
In 2019, cannabis-derived pharmaceutical drugs Sativex and Epidyolex were approved for the NHS but neither are full-spectrum cannabinoid products and some say the latter doesn’t effectively control seizures like products that contain trace amounts of THC. One parent told the BBC that the medicine costs £2,000 ($2,582) per month.
The Department for Health and Social Care said Epidoylex could be prescribed on the NHS because there was clear “safety [and] clinical” evidence and it was cost-effective.
Hannah Deacon, whose son Alfie Dingley is one of the two to receive the drug via the NHS said it was “not fair” that the agency has only issued prescriptions to families that have received “media attention.”
“We feel very blessed. It’s changed our lives and it should be available to everyone. … Why on earth should [families] have to try and find the money to pay for it?” – Deacon to the BBC
Last month, Billy Caldwell – the boy who became the face of medical cannabis in the U.K. – received his first bottle of the cannabis oil after a two-year fight with the NHS which included a legal battle in the Northern Irish High Court.
In July, the NHS indicated plans to manufacture medical cannabis products itself and said that it had reviewed a clinical trial design for medical cannabis as potential use as a treatment for epilepsy. In August, the agency announced a trial of the Medipen, a CBD vaporizer.
The Michigan Court of Appeals last week ruled that using butane to create hash oil is illegal for individuals, concluding that the practice constitutes the manufacturing of a controlled substance. The ruling comes in the case of Alexan Korkigian who was charged with manufacturing a controlled substance in 2018 after authorities were called to his residence after an explosion caused by butane extraction.
Korkigian’s case reached the court of appeals after his attorneys sought to have the charge dismissed or be able to use personal-use affirmative defense under the state’s adult-use legalization law in the circuit court. Korkigian argued that he could not be charged because state law allows some cannabis manufacturing for personal use and the definition of “manufacturing” under state laws “excludes preparing or compounding” cannabis for personal use, according to court documents.
According to court documents, Alex Goodnough, a chemist at Precision Extraction Solutions and expert witness in the hearing, testified that Korkigian was “isolat[ing] the cannabinoids away from [the] carbon” in the cannabis plant “to increase THC concentration and make smoking healthier.” Further, Goodnough testified that both the primary extraction material and final product were “marijuana.”
Prosecutors argued that preparation and compounding of cannabis “involve simple activities” such as “rolling a joint or making ‘special’ brownies,” but “more complex activities, like converting powder cocaine into crack cocaine or ‘cooking’ methamphetamines, are manufacturing acts outside the scope of the personal-use exemption.”
“The open blasting used in this case was more akin to the second category, in the prosecutor’s estimation,” the ruling states.
The circuit court had previously agreed that while Korkigian’s extraction process both began and ended with the same substance – cannabis – he had engaged in “manufacturing” because the cannabis changed its form as a result of Korkigian’s manipulation.
And, the circuit court said, Korkigian “engaged in a significantly higher degree of activity involving the controlled substance beyond merely preparing or compounding it for use.” Rather, Korkigian’s extraction process constituted “conversion” or “processing” under the statute, precluding dismissal of the charge or reliance on the personal-use affirmative defense.
The Appeals Court determined that the butane extraction method makes cannabis “‘ready for use’ through multiple steps, none of which are easy or uncomplicated.”
“We reject the notion that the open-blasting technique merely “makes ready” marijuana plant material for personal use,” the court ruled, affirming the circuit court’s decision.
The ruling does not outlaw butane extraction by licensed cannabis companies.
In 2017, then-Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law a bill amending the state’s medical cannabis law specifically prohibiting butane and “open blasting” forms of extraction for registered patients.
New hemp regulations proposed in New York would ban the sale of CBD flower while requiring licensing for all segments of the supply chain regulated by the health and agriculture departments.
The proposal includes seed-to-sale tracking requirements, potency and safety standards, random testing at all stages of production, and regulations for CBD food and drink infusions. The regulations would not allow CBD-infused alcohol or transdermal patches.
The rules, authored by the Health Department, would impose application fees between $500 and $1,000 for processors along with license fees between $2,000 to $4,500 depending on whether the licensee will extract CBD in addition to product manufacturing. Retailers would have to pay a $300 license fee for each location, according to the draft rules.
In the proposal, the Health Department says state regulations are needed since the Food and Drug Administration “is just beginning the rulemaking process” and “therefore, there are currently no federal standards for cannabinoid hemp processors or cannabinoid hemp retailers.” The rules would require cannabinoid processors in the state meet third-party good manufacturing practices within six months of application approval.
“Due to the confusion of the regulatory status of cannabinoid hemp products at the federal level, products have been left in an unregulated status. These regulations are intended to bring cannabinoid hemp products on par with other standards already developed in similar industries and is not meant to disadvantage small businesses. Many operators in the hemp industry are looking for regulations to legitimatize and standardize the neophyte industry.” – New York State Health Department in the draft rules
The Health Department indicates in the document that the proposed regulations include recommendations from the New York Cannabis Grower and Processor Association and other, unnamed, industry stakeholders.
Allan Gandelman, president of the association, told the Observer-Dispatch that he shares “in the frustration of [NYCGPA] members and the hundreds of growers throughout the state who have spent significant resources in harvesting their crop…that hemp flower will not be allowed for sale.”
The rules, which have yet to be adopted, come just about two months after state Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball said the state would not submit an industrial hemp plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the 2021 growing season due to “unrealistic” federal regulations.
The New Jersey Assembly Appropriations Committee last week advanced a bill that would require workers’ compensation and personal injury protection auto insurance benefits to cover medical cannabis under certain circumstances, NJ.com reports. The measure would cover individuals enrolled in the state’s medical cannabis program.
Alison Cooper, vice president for state affairs for the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, said during last Monday’s hearing that the “biggest concern” stemming from the proposal for the insurance industry “is that it puts insurers in a very difficult position by potentially forcing them to violate federal law.” She said that lawmakers should delay advancing the bill until Congress resolves conflicts between federal and state law concerning cannabis.
New Jersey courts have ruled on three separate cases in favor of workers’ comp covering medical cannabis for an injured worker. In 2018, Workers’ Compensation Judge Lionel Simon ruled that Freehold Township must pay for medical cannabis treatment for an injured worker. In that case, Simon said the plaintiff was at risk of getting addicted to opioids if the insurer was not forced to cover medical cannabis, which the judge called “safer,” “less addictive,” and “a better treatment for pain.” In 2017, Administrative Law Judge Ingrid L. French ruled that a private business’ workers’ compensation insurance must pay for an injured worker’s medical cannabis because it is “reasonable and necessary” to treat the worker’s ongoing pain, according to a review of the case by law firm Scarinci Hollenbeck.
The bill still requires approval by both legislative chambers and the governor.
New Jersey voters will decide during the General Election whether to legalize cannabis use for adults.
Gwyneth Paltrow, actress and founder and CEO of wellness brand Goop, has invested in cannabis beverage company, Cann, CNBC reports. Cann founder Luke Anderson called her endorsement “a sign that Cann (and microdose beverages more broadly) are a viable answer to that very common consumer pain point.”
He added that when people think of Paltrow, “they don’t think of ‘weed’ – they think of cutting-edge solutions for today’s health and wellness needs.”
Cann is not the first cannabis company Paltrow has invested in but financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The fundraising round also included investments from former National Basketball Association player Baron Davis and singer Tove Lo.
“There’s a whole sober-curious movement that’s going on and the cannabis-curious movement that’s going on, this is kind of at the intersection of those things in a way. … We’re very clearly and definitively moving in the direction of cannabis being legalized, and I think it should be. I’m actually not a big personal user of it. But I do think that there are amazing medicinal qualities to it and it is really helpful for a lot of people.” – Paltrow to CNBC
Cann products are currently available in California and Nevada and the company said it would use the funds – along with $5 million it raised in January – to expand into four more legal states within the next six months.
Paltrow’s Goop has come under fire in the past for making false and misleading health claims about its products, most recently in February from nonprofit advertising watchdog Truth in Advertising Inc. In 2018, the company reached a settlement with 10 California District Attorneys barring it from making such claims, Ars Technica reports.
Analytics firm Headset estimates the U.S. cannabinoid-infused drinks market in legal states doubled over the last two years from $4.2 million in September 2018 to $8.3 million last September.
Before his work at BIOS, Robert Soler acquired a Master of Science degree from the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego. Robert also helped design and build the lighting system on the International Space Station (ISS) — he collaborated with scientists to use LED lighting for photobiological purposes in space, which included designing a circadian lighting system to synchronize circadian rhythms of astronauts aboard the ISS. Through this experience, he gained insight into how LEDs could be utilized to develop valuable technology for the cannabis industry.
This interview covers how BIOS uses biology to understand and create optimized lighting systems, the benefits of growing cannabis under LEDs, and more!
Ganjapreneur: What is the origin story behind BIOS, and what led to the decision to create energy-efficient grow lights for indoor cultivation?
Robert Soler: I’d say BIOS started at NASA’s Space Life Sciences Lab, where I was an engineer designing lighting technologies for all types of life. There I learned about how LED lighting could be used to change plant morphology, provide unique seasonal cues and drive the most efficient photosynthetic growth.
On the BIOS website it states that your products are “designed by nature.” How does BIOS use plant biology to direct product development?
Rather than taking a technology and trying to shoehorn it into a biological application, BIOS is looking at the biological mechanisms, photobiology and biochemistry and develops technology based on that fundamental science.
What are some of the benefits of cultivating cannabis indoors with LED lighting?
The main benefit is consistency. Indoor lighting as a whole is more consistent day-to-day. When comparing to HPS indoors, LED provides the most uniformity. This bodes well for the crop, ensuring no portions of the plant is getting too much light and no portions are getting too little. This will lead to more consistent yields and higher yields harvest after harvest.
Research suggests that LED lighting can increase biosynthesis of flavonoids in fruits and some plant species. Could these results translate to the elaborate system of secondary compounds found in cannabis flowers?
Absolutely! Spectrum is the key to these secondary compounds. A couple of tweaks to say the near UV can help boost some things while far reds can boost others. We haven’t testing everything yet, but we can help you get there with some basics.
How does BIOS lighting differ from other LED lighting options on the market?
BIOS is dedicated to the grower. We think about things from the perspective of the plant, and operators when we design our products. An example of this is our optimized white light spectrum, providing the optimal photosynthetic yield without compromising the comfort of the workers inside the facility. Another example is our industrial grade fixtures, designed to take all the dirt and water you can throw at it, and wipe clean to keep you producing. A final example that we’re really proud of is our upcoming rapid rack system designed to get these lights up in record time.
What scale of indoor cultivation project is a good fit for a BIOS system?
I haven’t seen a bad scale of a project. Small ones are good for R&D. Tweaking spectrums and learning about your product.
What are the most common mistakes that cannabis cultivators make when switching over to LED lights after using other indoor cultivation lighting systems?
The most common one is temperature. The leaf temperature is much cooler when grown under LED lights compared to Sodium (HPS) lamps. This means you need to run your HVAC a few degrees warmer to obtain the best benefits. The other major one is measuring light. Light intensity is so important to the plant growth, yet few people measure it correctly. You measure in umol/m2, not lux, at the canopy level.
How does BIOS continue to support cultivators who are using your products?
BIOS is committed to helping our customers throughout the life of our products. We provide our customers with tips on maintenance and troubleshooting (even if it has nothing to do with the lights). We also work hand in hand with those growers who are looking at tweaking spectrum and once that spectrum is finalized, we help them cost effectively scale that unique spectrum to a full scale grow facility.
Thank you, Robert, for answering our questions! You can learn more about Robert Soler and BIOS’s offerings at BIOSlighting.com.
A study by Canadian researchers suggests that 43.5 percent of patients who began using medical cannabis to mitigate harmful alcohol habits were able to reduce the frequency of their alcohol use or quit entirely. The researchers found that median drinking days from study participants went from 10.5 to eight.
The study included information from the Canadian Cannabis Patient Survey 2019 from patients registered with Tilray. Of the 2,102 surveyed, 973 participants reported past or current alcohol use and 44 percent of those (419) reported decreasing alcohol-use frequency over the last 30 days, 34 percent (323) decreased the number of drinks per week, while 8 percent (76) reported using no alcohol over the 30 days prior to the survey.
Philippe Lucas, a study co-author, graduate researcher at the University of Victoria, and vice president of global patient research and access for Tilray, said the survey feedback adds “to a growing body of evidence that medical cannabis use is often associated with reductions in the use of other substances, including alcohol, opioids, tobacco and illicit drugs.”
“Since alcohol is the most prevalent recreational substance in the world, and its use results in significant rates of criminality, morbidity and mortality, these findings may result in improved health outcomes for medical cannabis patients, as well as overall improvements in public health and safety.” – Lucas in a statement
Other studies have purposed links between cannabis use and alcohol use reduction. An Oregon State University study published in January found that binge drinking rates among college students were reduced in states with legalized cannabis. A study published last year found binge drinking rates 9 percent below the national average in those states.
The University of Victoria study included researchers from the University of British Columbia. It was published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.
