Mar 05 2024

New Kentucky Bill Would Make Over 430,000 More People Eligible to Become Medical Marijuana Patients

Legislation filed in Kentucky would greatly expand the list of qualifying medical marijuana conditions.

Senate Bill 337 was filed last week by Senator Steve West (R), who was the lead sponsor for the medical marijuana legalization bill that was enacted in 2023. Senate Bill 337 was assigned to the Committee on Committees the same day, and assigned to the Health Services Committee on March 1.

Under the proposed law, the number of qualifying medical marijuana conditions would expand from six, to 21. New qualifying conditions would include arthritis, HIV, AIDS,  fibromyalgia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, irritable bowel disease, sickle cell disease, cachexia or wasting syndrome, neuropathies, muscular dystrophy, Huntington’s disease, glaucoma and all terminal illnesses.
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Mar 05 2024

Hawaii Senate Votes 19 to 6 to Legalize Recreational Marijuana, Votes 24 to 1 to Decriminalize Marijuana

Hawaii’s full Senate passed two marijuana-related bills today, one to decriminalize the substance and one to legalize it entirely.

The Senate voted 19 to 6 today to pass Senate Bill 3335, sending it to the House of Representatives. The proposed law would legalize the possession, personal cultivation and license distribution of recreational marijuana for those 21 and older. The Hawaii Cannabis Authority and Cannabis Control Board would be established within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and tasked with overseeing licensing and regulations for the legal marijuana industry.

The measure would place a 14% tax on recreational marijuana sales, with the tax being 4% for medical marijuana. It would allow those with convictions for marijuana-related crimes that would be legal under the bill to have the charges expunged from their record.
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Mar 04 2024

Virginia Legislature Passes Bill to Double the Maximum Expiration Date for Marijuana Products

Legislation that “increases the maximum expiration date allowable for a cannabis product after registration absent stability testing, from six months to 12 months” has received unanimous approval by Virginia’s House and Senate. Expiration

House Bill 815 was filed last month by Delegate Mike Cherry (R). The measure was approved through the House of Delegates on February 13th; the vote was 99 to 0. Exactly two weeks later the measure was approved by the Senate, also unanimously, 39 to 0. It will now be sent to Governor Glenn Youngkin, who can sign it into law, allow it to become law or veto it, with the latter being at most a political gesture given the measure has well more than the 2/3rds required to override a veto.

According to its official summary, the bill “increases the maximum expiration date allowable for a cannabis product after registration absent stability testing, from six months to 12 months”, and “allows pharmaceutical processors to employ as pharmacy technician trainees individuals who have less than one year of experience and allows pharmaceutical processors to employ persons with less than one year of experience to perform certain other supervised duties for which current law requires two years of experience.”
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Mar 04 2024

Washington Legislature Sends Governor Inslee a Bill to Allow the Sale of Marijuana Waste

Washington’s full legislature has approved a bill to allow licensed cannabis producers and processor “to sell specified solid waste generated during cannabis production or processing”.

Cannabis waste.

Senate Bill 5376 was given final passage today through the Senate in a unanimous 48 to 0 vote. The measure passed the full House of Representatives on February 29 by a vote of 94 to 2. The measure was filed in January, 2023 by Senator Derek Stanford (D) with cosponsors Senators Anna Rivers (R), Karen Keiser (D), Rebecca Saldana (D) and Claire Wilson (D).

The measure states that “A licensed cannabis producer and a licensed cannabis processor may sell cannabis waste to a person not licensed by LCB if:
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Mar 04 2024

Arizona: In February, Marijuana Tax Revenue Passed $25 Million for Just the Fifth Time Ever

In Arizona there was $26 million in taxes made from legal marijuana sales in February, marking just the fifth time marijuana tax revenue in Arizona passed $25 million in a given month.

There was $26,034,924 in taxes made from licensed marijuana sales in February, according to the Arizona Department of Revenue. Revenue comes from a variety of marijuana and marijuana products sold through marijuana retail outlets, including dried marijuana flower, shake, prerolls, marijuana concentrates (oil, wax, live resin, etc.), edibles, tinctures and topicals.

Since recreational marijuana sales began in early 2021, there have been just four other months with marijuana tax revenue above $25 million, all occurring last year in January, May, October and November. Marijuana taxes last February were $23.2 million, 10% lower than this year.
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Mar 04 2024

Study: Beer Sales Declined Following Marijuana Legalization

According to a new study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, retail beer sales declined in Canada following the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2018.

“There is increasing interest in understanding the impact of non-medical cannabis legalization on use of other substances, especially alcohol”, states the study’s abstract “Evidence on whether cannabis is a substitute or complement for alcohol is both mixed and limited.” With that in mind, this study “provides the first quasi-experimental evidence on the impact of Canada’s legalization of non-medical cannabis on beer and spirits sales.”

Researchers used “the interrupted time series design and monthly data on beer sales between January 2012 and February 2020 and spirits sales between January 2016 and February 2020 across Canada to investigate changes in beer and spirits sales following Canada’s cannabis legalization in October 2018. We examined changes in total sales, nationally and in individual provinces, as well as changes in sales of bottled, canned and kegged beer.”
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Mar 04 2024

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Says There’s “Little Evidence” to Support Per Se THC Driving Limits

A report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) puts into doubt the evidence behind per se THC driving limits.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there are five states with per se THC driving limits – Illinois, Montana, Nevada, Ohio and Washington. These type of limits mean that if someone has over a certain about of THC in their blood – often either 2 or 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood – they are automatically guilty of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID). This is a clear issue given that, especially for regular marijuana consumers, THC can remain in the blood for days and sometimes weeks after last use.

Now, a report released by NHTSA says; “Several states have determined legal per se definitions of cannabis impairment, but relatively little research supports their relationship to crash risk. Unlike the research consensus that establishes a clear correlation between [alcohol content in blood] and crash risk, drug concentration in blood does not correlate to driving impairment.”
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Mar 04 2024

Minnesota Bill Would Allow Marijuana to Be Restricted On Land Covered By Commissioner of Natural Resources

Legislation filed today in the Minnesota Senate would allow marijuana to be restricted on land administered by the state’s Commissioner of Natural Resources.

The Minnesota State Capitol.

Senate Bill 4538 was filed today by Senator John Hoffman (D), and assigned to the Senate Committee on Environment, Climate and Legacy. The bill states that “By written order published in the State Register, the commissioner of natural resources may establish restrictions on the use or display of cannabis flower, cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles, or hemp-derived consumer products in a public place on state lands administered by the commissioner of natural resources.”

For purposes of this subdivision, “public place” does not include “a private residence, including the curtilage or yard of a private residence, or a “private property not generally accessible to the public, unless the owner of the property explicitly prohibits consuming cannabis flower, cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles, or hemp-derived consumer products on the property”
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Mar 04 2024

Custom Cones USA Launches “The Ultimate Stoner Dream Job”, Paying Over $70k for Cannabis Content Creator

Custom Cones USA, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of pre rolled cones, today announced a campaign for the company’s new direct-to-consumer brand DaySavers, “the most compliant and tested rolling paper brand in the market.”

“Have you ever wanted to get paid to smoke weed? DaySavers is offering the Ultimate Stoner Dream Job – an opportunity to smoke test the latest cannabis products, be part of the best cannabis industry events, and share your experience with the world – all while getting paid”, states a press release sent by Custom Cones USA.

What exactly is the Ultimate Stoner Dream Job? “DaySavers is looking for passionate and hard-working content creators, writers, videographers, and social media gurus to earn money while doing something they are incredibly passionate about.”
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Mar 04 2024

US Congress: New Federal Spending Bills Include Multiple Marijuana and Hemp Provisions

Federal legislation introduced in US Congress meant to cover Fiscal Year 2024 includes multiple marijuana and hemp-related provisions.

Today leaders in both the Senate and House of Representatives introduced a massive package of six spending bill covering Fiscal Year 2024. U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the first bicameral, bipartisan package of six fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills alongside Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX-12) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03).

The section of the bill covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies includes a provision that makes it illegal for the federal government to interfere with state medical marijuana laws. The provision has been included in previous spending bills, but with a new House Speaker some advocates were concerned it could be stripped.
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