Jun 16 2023

Louisiana Governor Signs Marijuana Expungement Bill Into Law, Goes Into Effect August 1

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has signed into law a bill that will allow for the quick expungement (removal from records) of convictions related to marijuana possession.

House Bill 286 allows those with a misdemeanor conviction for marijuana possession to file a motion to expunge the charge 90 days following their conviction. First-time offenders would be exempt from processing fees.

Under current law a person may file a motion to expunge his record of arrest and conviction of a misdemeanor offense if the conviction “was set aside and prosecution was dismissed”, or if more than “five years have elapsed since the person completed any sentence, deferred adjudication, or period of probation and parole, and the person has not been convicted of any felony offense during such period, and has no felony charge pending against him.”
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Jun 15 2023

Michigan Senate Votes to Allow Marijuana Agreements With Indian Tribes, Exempt Them From Taxes

Michigan’s full Senate has given approval to legislation that would allow the state to enter into agreements with Indian tribes while exempting them from the state’s marijuana excise tax.

The Senate voted 29 to 9 to pass Senate Bill 180, filed by Republican Senator Roger Hauck along with six Democrat cosponsors. The proposal would “allow the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) to enter into an agreement with an Indian tribe pertaining to marijuana related business”, and would “specify that sales of marijuana by a tribal marijuana business on Indian lands would be exempt from the State’s 10% excise tax on marijuana.”

SB 180 now goes to the House of Representatives. Proposal in that chamber would send the measure to the desk of Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
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Jun 15 2023

Study: Medical Cannabis Products Associated With “Clinically Significant Improvements in Anxiety”

The prescribed use of cannabis-based medicinal products for those with generalized anxiety disorder “is associated with clinically significant improvements in anxiety with an acceptable safety profile in a real-world setting.”

This is according to a study published in the journal Psychopharmacology and epublished online by the National Institute of Health. The study was conducted by researchers at Imperial College London, King’s College London, London’s Global University and Sapphire Medical Clinics.”

“Cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) have been identified as novel therapeutics for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) based on pre-clinical models; however, there is a paucity of high-quality evidence on their effectiveness and safety”, states the study’s abstract. “This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients with GAD treated with dried flower, oil-based preparations, or a combination of both CBMPs.”
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Jun 15 2023

Study: Prenatal Marijuana Exposure Not Associated With Neuropsychological Deficits at Age 10 and 20

According to a study published in the journal Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, infants exposed to marijuana in utero “did not perform worse on neuropsychological assessments than unexposed children at ages 10 and [again at ages] 19 to 20”.

For the study researchers “evaluated the association between prenatal marijuana exposure (PME) and neuropsychological test scores in late childhood and early adulthood, accounting for a wide range of parental characteristics.” The study was conducted by researchers at Columbia University in New York and the University of Western Australia.

The study evaluated participants from the Raine Study, a cohort of 2,868 children born between 1989 and 1992. Children whose mothers provided information on marijuana use during pregnancy were included, and the “primary outcome was the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF) at age 10.”
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Jun 15 2023

Arkansas Judge Voids 27 Medical Marijuana Laws Passed by Legislature

A Pulaski County Circuit Court judge has nullified 27 different medical marijuana laws and regulations that were passed by the Arkansas General Assembly since 2017.

Judge Morgan “Chip” Welch ruled that in passing the 27 laws that altered the state’s medical marijuana program, the legislature took unconstitutional actions that are not legally valid. Some of those laws include a limit on the amount of THC in medical marijuana products and limits on marijuana advertising. Judge Welch ruled that all 27 laws are now “void”.

The ruling stemmed from a case brought forward by Good Day Farm Arkansas, LLC, a medical marijuana cultivator, and Capital City Medicinal, LLC, a medical marijuana dispensary. The companies argued that the legislature overstepped their bounds when they changed the voter-approved law without seeking voter input.
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Jun 14 2023

Rhode Island Senate Committee Passes House-Approved Marijuana Advertising Bill

A key Senate committee in Rhode Island has given approval to legislation that would allow local marijuana businesses to advertise their products and services, something that is currently prohibited.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted yesterday to pass House Bill 5829, a little over a month after the House of Representatives passed it in a unanimous 67 to 0 vote. The measure, filed by State Representative Scott A. Slater, will need to be passed by the full Senate before it can be sent to Governor Daniel McKee for consideration.

Under current law out-of-state marijuana businesses are allowed to advertise their services in Rhode Island (those who live in the state have probably noticed numerous billboards along the highway for Massachusetts-based marijuana stores). However, the law prohibits local marijuana stores and dispensaries that are located within Rhode Island from placing such ads. House Bill 5829 would change this by explicitly giving local marijuana businesses permission to advertise.
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Jun 14 2023

Arizona: Record-Breaking $28 Million in Marijuana Taxes Made in May, $125 Million Year-to-Date

In May Arizona garnered over $28 million in tax revenue from the legal distribution of marijuana and marijuana products.

In total Arizona made $28,423,424 in marijuana tax revenue in May. This marks the most marijuana tax revenue the state has made in a single month since the start of legal recreational marijuana sales in February, 2021.

The $28 million made in May is a significant increase from the $24.8 million made in April, the $23.4 million made in March and the $23.2 million made in February
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Jun 14 2023

New Mexico Legal Marijuana Industry Employs Nearly 5,000 People

According to a new report by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, despite marijuana only being legal since 2021, the marijuana industry already employs thousands of people in the state.

The report found that as of the end of 2022, the state’s cannabis industry employed more than 4,600 workers, with 88% of those workers employed at a marijuana store or dispensary. With it already being June, 2023, these numbers are likely even higher now.

The report shows that there are 112 marijuana retailers in New Mexico, 21 growers, 10 manufactures, four wholesale traders and four who fall in the miscellaneous category (testing, etc.).
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Jun 14 2023

Washington State to Vacate 350,000 Drug Possession Misdemeanors and Felonies

Washington State plans to vacate the charges of over 200,000 felony drug possession convictions dating back to the 1970s, with an additional 150,000 misdemeanor drug charges also potentially eligible.

According to a press release by Washington Courts, the landmark State vs Blake decision issued on February 25, 2021 by the Washington Supreme Court, ruled that the state’s drug possession law was unconstitutional and void because it did not require individuals to have knowledge of the drug possession. As a result, those convicted of drug possession on or before February 25, 2021 became eligible to have their convictions vacated and removed from their criminal record, and their paid court-ordered fines and costs — called legal financial obligations (LFOs) — reimbursed.

It is estimated that over 200,000 felony drug possession charges dating back to the 1970s may be eligible to be vacated in superior courts. An estimated additional 150,000 misdemeanor marijuana charges may also be eligible for vacation.
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Jun 14 2023

Illinois Governor Signs Bill Allowing Marijuana Businesses to Take State Tax Deductions

Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker has signed into law legislation that will allow marijuana businesses that are legal under state law to take standard state-level tax deductions.

Filed by State Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth, House Bill 3817 is cosponsored by 19 other legislators. The measure passed the Senate 36 to 20, and passed the House of Representatives 73 to 38.

The new law alters the state’s existing tax code to allow marijuana businesses to take deductions for “an amount equal to the deductions that were disallowed under Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code for the taxable year”. House Bill 3817 makes several other changes to state law, but this is the only provision that applies to the legal marijuana industry
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