A second Senate committee in Virginia has voted to pass a House-approved bill that would protect public employees who legally use medical marijuana.

House Bill 149 extends a law protecting medical marijuana users from workplace discrimination to include public employees, while expanding the definition to include marijuana products and not just oil. The measure was passed today through the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services by a vote of 10 to 5. The vote comes four days after the measure passed the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor  14 to 0. On January 29 the proposal passed the full House of Representatives 78 to 20.

Under current law “No employer shall discharge, discipline, or discriminate against an employee for such employee’s lawful use of cannabis oil pursuant to a valid written certification issued by a practitioner for the treatment or to eliminate the symptoms of the employee’s diagnosed condition or disease”.
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After months of discussion New York officials have approved regulations allowing those 21 and older to grow recreational marijuana at home for personal use.

New York is one of 24 states that have legalized recreational marijuana, but one of just three of those that don’t currently allow personal marijuana cultivation. The Cannabis Control Board (CCB) gave approval to rules last week that would change this by allowing adults to grow up to six marijuana plants at a private residence, no more than three of which can be mature. The rules must now go through a legally required 60-day public comment period before they can be finalized.

Under the rules approved by the CCB, up to five pounds could be harvested from the three mature marijuana plants. Licensed providers would be authorized to sell marijuana seeds as well as immature plants.
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In two separate letters sent this week a coalition of military veterans and an organization representing current and former law enforcement officials urged the Biden Administration to reschedule marijuana.

New Hampshire’s House of Representatives has approved a bill to legalize recreational marijuana, with 62% voting in favor.

House Bill 1633 was passed through the House today by a vote of 239 to 141, sending it to the state’s Senate. The measure would allow those 21 and older to possess up to four ounces of marijuana, 10 grams of marijuana concentrates and edibles with up to 2,000 mg of THC.

The measure would establish a system of licensed, regulated and state-operate marijuana stores. The law would retain criminal penalties for those caught smoking marijuana in public three or more times, with the first two times being a civil infraction.
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Arkansans Attorney General Tim Griffin has given approval to the ballot language of an initiative submitted by  Arkansans for Patient Access.

AG Griffin’s approval of the ballot language allows the group to immediately begin gathering signatures on their initiative to expand access to medical marijuana. They must collect 90,704 signatures by July 5 in order for the measure to appear on the November, 2024 general election ballot.

The initiative would expand the state’s medical marijuana law, passed in 2016, to allow patients to grow their own marijuana at a private residence, with the limit set at seven mature plants and seven immature plants. It would also remove the retail prohibition on certain smokeable marijuana products such as pre-rolls.
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South Dakota’s full House of Representatives has passed a bill to ban the production and distribution of THC derived from hemp, including delta-8 and delta-10 THC.

Delta-8 THC gummies (photo credit: FloraCBD).

The House recently voted 69 to 0 to pass House Bill 1125, which is scheduled for a public hearing today in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. If the measure makes its way through the Senate committee process and is passed by the full chamber, it will be sent to Governor Kristi Noem who is expected to sign it into law if given the opportunity.

The measure states that no person or entity may:
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The Arizona House of Representatives has passed a bill to establish stricter marijuana advertising laws.

The House Committee of the Whole voted yesterday to give approval to House Bill 2451, sending it to the state’s Senate.

The proposed legislation “would impose additional advertising restrictions to prohibit marijuana establishments and nonprofit medical marijuana dispensaries from advertising products to individuals under 21, including advertising products resembling food and drink brands marketed to children; advertising with likenesses of toys and cartoons that appeal to children; advertising in a way that primarily appeals to children; advertising at or on public transportation; and advertising via social media or a website unless at least 71.6% of the audience is projected to be over 21.”
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