Massachusetts has surpassed one billion dollars in adult-use cannabis sales, according to the Boston Business Journal.
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission reported $1,000,521,905 in sales exactly four years after the state passed legal cannabis in 2016 and only two years after the first retail shops opened in the state in 2018.
“This sales milestone represents licensees’ ability to successfully support a safe, accessible and effective adult-use industry, and I am pleased the resulting tax benefits will have a significant impact on communities throughout the commonwealth. These numbers also speak to commission licensing and enforcement staff working around the clock to make sure these businesses and their products comply with all of our regulations, especially the health and safety provisions.” — Commission Chairman Steven J. Hoffman, in a statement
Hoffman said the state still has social equity goals to meet but he is encouraged by the work the state has done this year on the issue.
According to the Journal, Massachusetts will have collected some $200 million in taxes from its adult-use cannabis windfall. The tax revenue stems from a 6.25% sales tax, a 10.75 excise tax, and a maximum 3% tax at the local level.
The data also shows the state’s adult-use cannabis industry has 5,863 employees, according to the report. In early 2020, Leafly reported Massachusetts to be a leading state for cannabis employment.
Former National Basketball Association All-Star Shawn Kemp holds just a 5 percent stake in the dispensary which bears his name despite a press release from the company indicating the dispensary was the first Black-owned cannabis retailer in Seattle, Washington, MJBizDaily reports.
Ganjapreneur used information from that press release in an October 23 report.
Note: activists who disputed the store’s ownership claims raised the issue with our editors and we were in the process of verifying these claims when the company posted a statement to its website.
“Our PR team released a statement last week with the headline ‘Seattle’s First Black-Owned Dispensary, Shawn Kemp’s Cannabis, to open this month’ this statement should not have been released. As a result, it has caused great distraction to this store’s intention and the grand opening of Shawn Kemp’s Cannabis, a partnership between NBA All-Star Shawn Kemp and cannabis veterans Matt Schoenlein and Ramsey Hamide of Main Street Marijuana.” – Shawn Kemp’s Cannabis in a statement
Brian Smith, spokesperson for the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, told MJBizDaily, though, that “Kemp is the first person in Seattle to identify as ‘black or African-American’ among retail store owners in Seattle.”
KD Hall, a spokesperson for Shawn Kemp’s Cannabis, indicated in the report that the business plans to open four more shops and Kemp’s ownership stake would increase with those new stores.
“We began with this structured deal for the incubator location, knowing that Matt Schoenlein and Mr. Kemp plan to open five total cannabis stores in the next two years,” the company’s mea culpa states. “As we expand the venture, our intent has always been to partner with Mr. Kemp, his team, and the community to ensure people of color owned and Black-majority-owned cannabis stores.”
Shawn Kemp’s Cannabis dispensary license is a takeover from an existing license and is not part of the city or state social equity program, Paula Sardinas, a lobbyist for Washington’s Commission on African American Affairs, told MJBizDaily.
The company said that Schoenlein and Hamide “invested in creating a store that can serve as a social equity incubator, to train people of color and women to become successful cannabis store owners.”
Kemp was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in 1989 and played for the team until 1997.
United Kingdom-based CBD company Green Active is donating some profits to a Scottish boy suffering from Doose Syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy, as the National Health Service continues denying to cover the costs of cannabis-based medications, the Daily Record reports.
Eight-year-old Murray Gray was diagnosed with the disease in 2017 and had up to 12 seizures a day, eventually ending up in a vegetative state in the hospital. His mother, Karen, said he has been seizure-free for 15 months after he started taking Bedrolite and Bedica – which are approved for use in the UK – but the regimen runs £1,400 per month and the NHS refuses to write a prescription which would provide it to the family for free.
Jo Devall, co-owner of Green Active with his partner Melissa Lopes Correa, said he learned about the boy via Twitter and his story “resonated” with him. All sales using the code FORMURRAY will be donated to Gray’s family and customers who use that code will also get 10 percent off.
“…I just wished I could do something to help. Then it occurred to me that I could provide something to this family. It fits with who we are as people and the way we live our lives.” – Devall to the Record
He explained that funding the boy’s medicine wouldn’t bankrupt the company because they will still take their operating costs “but all the profit after that will go to Murray.”
Karen called the plan “absolutely brilliant” even though neither she nor GreenActive knew exactly how much the campaign might raise. She criticized the NHS inaction since Bedrolite and Bedica were added to the service two years ago.
“We should have a prescription for this rather than having to rely on our friends, family and the kindness of companies to pay for it,” she said.
According to pro-medical cannabis group End Our Pain, the NHS has issued just three prescriptions for medical cannabis oil since it was legalized for use on the national health care plan two years ago.
Canadian cannabis company Aurora reported a slight increase in 2021 Q1 revenue over the fourth quarter of last year, from $67.5 million to $67.8 million, but the company reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $57.9 million in the quarter which, it said, “includes restructuring payments such as contract and employee termination costs of $47.4 million.”
As of November 6, Aurora’s cash balance was about $250 million, according to figures outlined in a press release.
“Excluding these impacts,” the company said, “Adjusted EBITDA loss, as defined under the term credit facility, is $10.5 million. Aurora was in full compliance with its September 30, 2020 term debt covenants.” The company said its goal remains “to achieve positive Adjusted EBITDA in Q2 2021.”
CEO Miguel Martin described the Q1 results as “transitional” but “highlighting successes across a number of diverse profit pools,” including leading Canada’s medical market by revenue, a 40 percent revenue growth increase in international medical cannabis business, and the company’s Reliva CBD products number one Nielsen ranking in the U.S.
“While we are not satisfied with our past performance in the growing Canadian consumer business, we have a sense of urgency in the execution of our tactical plan to grow profitable market share. Our efforts are directed at delivering the highest quality products, refocusing on our leading premium and ultra-premium brands, better allocating our sales and marketing spend, and executing key account partnerships at both the province and retail levels.” – Martin in a statement
The company reported a 3 percent decrease in consumer cannabis revenues (to $34.3 million) from last quarter but a $3.6 million increase in consumer cannabis extract net revenue driven by vapes, edibles, and concentrates, led by a $1.1 million increase in U.S. CBD sales. The company’s medical cannabis net revenues increased 4 percent (to $33.5 million), which was “primarily attributable to a strong performance in the international medical business, which grew 41 percent quarter over quarter,” the company said.
Selling, General and Administrative — including research and development — was $46.9 million in Q1 2021, down $19.6 million, the company said, attributing the decline to the firm’s Business Transformation Plan. The company also reported a $3.2 million decline in capital expenditures from $16.4 million in Q4 2020 to $13.2 million in Q1 2021.
“Aurora continues to execute its announced plan for reducing production and complexity through the closure of five cultivation facilities,” the company said, noting that three facilities are now fully closed.
The firm indicated it remains Canada’s leading medical cannabis company by net revenues.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation last week raided the offices and homes of officials in California as part of a cannabis-related corruption inquiry, the Southern California News Group reports. Search warrants were executed at the office of Baldwin Park City Attorney Robert Tafoya, and the homes of Compton Councilman Isaac Galvan and San Bernardino County Planning Commissioner Gabriel Chavez.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller confirmed the searches to the News Group but did not outline specifics about the action because the warrants are sealed. She indicated that there were no arrests made as part of the probe.
Chavez said he was “mystified as anyone else” by the raid during which agents only seized his laptop. Later, he said, he turned in his cell phone to the FBI’s West Covina field office.
According to a Los Angeles Times report, the investigation stems from a sworn declaration by a former Baldwin Park Police officer – who helps oversee the industry in the city – alleging that three cannabis operators had reported “questionable business practices, which included paying as much as $250,000 cash in a brown paper bag to city officials.”
Mark Werksman, an attorney representing Tafoya, declined to provide details but, in a statement, said the city attorney “shares the federal government’s interest in rooting out corruption in the cannabis industry and prosecuting political corruption of any kind.”
Baldwin Park officials came under fire in 2017 for granting an exclusive permit to Rukli Inc. to distribute cannabis produced in the city. A lawsuit challenging that permit was denied by a judge, according to the Times.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Thursday said the upcoming legislative year is “ripe” for passing adult-use cannabis laws “because the state is desperate for funding,” according to a North Country Public Radio report.
“Even with Biden, even with the stimulus, we’re still going to need funding. I think we’re going to get there this year.” – Cuomo to NCPR
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, has not formally won the presidency as of Friday morning.
Cuomo’s comments come just days after New Jersey voters approved a legalization ballot initiative and less than a month after Vermont lawmakers approved legislation to allow a taxed and regulated cannabis marketplace. Cannabis sales in neighboring Massachusetts launched in 2018 along with sales in Canada. The green wall is closing in on the state and paired with the budget shortfalls pressure is on lawmakers and Cuomo to, finally, pass the reforms.
After years of opposition, the Democratic governor changed his tune in 2018 following a Health Department report supporting the move; however, the State Senate was controlled by Republicans who would not back the reforms. Last year, Democrats took control of the chamber, giving them control of both the Senate and House, but lawmakers couldn’t come to agreements on how the funds would be earmarked and the session ended without a deal.
The Legislature appeared poised this year to approve a legalization measure – Cuomo had included it in his executive budget – but that push was derailed by the coronavirus pandemic as lawmakers refocused their efforts on other issues.
The state estimates legal cannabis tax revenues could reach $700 million annually but is projecting $59 billion in revenue shortfalls through 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
