Feb 28 2024

WA Legislature Votes 145 to 1 to Move Accreditation of Marijuana Testing Labs to Department of Agriculture

A measure “reassigning the accreditation of private cannabis testing laboratories from the department of ecology to the department of agriculture” has been approved by Washington’s full legislature.

House Bill 2151 was advanced by the House of Representatives on February 12 in a 96 to 1 vote. Today, the Senate passed the measure unanimously 49 to 0. The legislation will soon be sent to Governor Jay Inslee for consideration.

The proposed law “Reassigns agency authority and responsibility for accreditation of cannabis testing laboratories to the Department of Agriculture (WSDA), effective July 1, 2024, and authorizes expedited rulemaking.”
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Feb 28 2024

US Senate: SAFER Banking Act to Allow Marijuana Banking Gains 36th Sponsor

The SAFER Banking Act is now sponsored by 36% of the entire United States Senate.

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has signed on as a cosponsor for the SAFER Banking Act (S.2860), which would give federal protections to banks and other financial institutions (such as credit unions) that provide services to marijuana businesses that are legal under their state’s law. Senator Cantwell is the measure’s 36th sponsor.

The SAFER Banking Act was filed in September with 13 sponsors. It has since nearly tripled its total number of sponsors.
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Feb 28 2024

South Dakota Bill to Ban Delta-8 THC Passed by Legislature, Sent to Governor

South Dakota’s full legislature has passed a bill to ban the production, distribution and possession of delta-8 and delta-10 THC.

Delta-8 THC gummies.

On Monday the full Senate voted 31 to 1 to pass House Bill 1125, which passed the House of Representatives in January by a vote of 69 to 0. Given it was amended slightly in the Senate, the House gave the measure one final vote of concurrence today, 69 to 1, officially sending to to Governor Kristi Noem. Even if Governor Noem decides to veto the bill, it has well more than the 2/3rds support required to override a veto.

The legislation states that no person or entity may:
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Feb 28 2024

Full Virginia Legislature Passes Legislation to Legalize Marijuana Sales, Will Soon Be Sent to Governor

Virginia’s Legislature has passed legislation that will allow the licensed distribution of marijuana and marijuana products.

Today the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate passed identical bills to legalize recreational marijuana sales. After one final technical hurdle, expected to occur either today or tomorrow, the legislation will be sent to Governor Glenn Youngkin.

House Bill 698 passed the House today 21 to 18, while the identical Senate Bill 448 passed the Senate 51 to 47.
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Feb 28 2024

Mitch McConnell, Longtime Opponent of Marijuana Legalization, Stepping Down as Senate Minority Leader

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), a longtime opponent of legalizing marijuana, announced today they he will step down as GOP leader in November.

(Photo credit: Getty Images).

In a speech on the Senate floor, McConnell said that he will continue to serve in Senate but will allow “the next generation of leadership” to lead the Senate and Republican Party. McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984. He became minority leader in 2007, and first became Majority Leader in 2014. He once again became minority leader in 2021 after Democrats took back control of the Senate.

Last week McConnell said “the end of my contributions are closer than I prefer”, hinting that this announcing could be coming. McConnell is currently 82 years old.
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Feb 28 2024

Ohio: Fee to Become Medical Marijuana Patient Dropping to $0.01 on March 4

The Ohio Division of Cannabis Control (DCC) has announced that they will soon be drastically reducing the fee to become a medical marijuana patient and to renew the card annually.

The DCC says that starting March 4, the cost to become a medical marijuana patient as well as the annual renewal fee for patients will drop from $50 ($25 for caregivers), to just $0.01. Once vendor software is update, the $0.01 fee will become free.

“The DCC understands that a one cent charge is not ideal, however, at this time the Division feels it is appropriate and necessary to provide this immediate financial relief for patients and caregivers in the short term while working toward a full fee elimination as soon as the updates to the registry can be made.”
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Feb 28 2024

FDA Is “Actively” Considering Regulating CBD and Kratom

An official with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says the agency is  “actively” exploring a regulatory framework for cannabidiol (CBD), with plans to prioritize the move in the coming months.

At a webinar hosted by Alliance for a Strong FDA, Kimberlee Trzeciak, who serves as the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Legislation, and International Affairs, says that either this year or next the agency is planning to establish “an appropriate regulatory framework for CBD.”

“In almost every neighborhood you go to, you can see stores on the corners that are marketing CBD and kratom and others,” said Trzeciak. “And one of the things that we have been thinking through here at FDA, using CBD as an example, is what does the regulatory framework for those products look like?”
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Feb 27 2024

New Hampshire Committee Votes Unanimously to Double Medical Marijuana Possession Limit

A committee in New Hampshire’s House of Representatives has voted to advance a bill to double the possession limit for medical marijuana.

House Bill 1350 was filed in December by State Representative Heath Howard (D) along with four cosponsors. Today, the measure was approved through the Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee 19 to 0, moving it one step closer to a full House vote.

Under the proposed law, the possession limit for medical marijuana patients would be increased from two ounces, to four ounces. The current two ounce limit was established under the state’s medical marijuana law, passed in 2013.
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Feb 27 2024

After Saying Biden Administration Has “Changed Federal Marijuana Policy”, Vice President Kamala Harris Criticized By Advocates

In a campaign video posted earlier this month on the social media platform X, Vice President Kamala Harris said the Biden Administration has “changed federal marijuana policy”. Now, proponents of federal marijuana reform say the administration is “willfully lying to the American public”.

(Photo credit: Bloomberg / Getty Images).

“We changed federal marijuana policy, because nobody should have to go to jail just for smoking weed”, VP Harris said in the video, which was posted on February 9 and currently has over 435,000 views.

Now, the Cannabis Freedom Party (CFP), the “leading political action committee dedicated to cannabis reform”, has expressed “profound disappointment in Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent campaign video touting the administration’s alleged cannabis policy reform at the federal level”, according to a press release.
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Feb 27 2024

Florida Bill to Preemptively Limit THC Content of Legal Marijuana Dies in Committee

Legislation to place a THC cap on recreational marijuana appears to have died in committee.

Earlier this month the Senate Health Policy Committee voted 7 to 3 to pass a bill placing a 30% THC cap on dried marijuana flower and a 60% THC cap on marijuana concentrates, despite marijuana not yet being legal in the state. This sent the measure to the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee. Given the committee’s final meeting of the session is today, and Senate Bill 7050 is not on the committee’s agenda, this signals that the measure will not receive a vote and thus is officially dead for the session.

A companion measure – House Bill 1269 – also appears unlikely to advance in the Senate this session, even if it’s approved by the full House of Representatives. The measure was approved earlier this month by the House Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee.
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