Mar 21 2023

New York Committee Approves Bill to Add Medical Marijuana Coverage to Public Insurance Programs

Legislation that would “add coverage of medical marijuana to public insurance programs and clarify that it may be covered by private insurance” has been passed by its initial committee in the New York Assembly.

Sponsored by Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, A04713 was given approval today in an 18 to 7 vote by the Assembly Health Committee, moving it forward to the Ways and Means Committee .

“For thousands of patients, medical marijuana is a safer and more effective medication than other drugs, especially opioids”, states the “Justification” segment of the bill’s text. “While it can be prohibitively expensive for many patients, especially in the absence of insurance coverage, it may often be less expensive than what their insurance coverage pays for other medications.”
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Mar 21 2023

WA House Committee Votes to Protect Marijuana Users From Discrimination When Job Hunting

A Washington State House committee has voted to approve legislation that would protect most job applicants from discrimination if they use marijuana during their personal time.

Senate Bill 5123 has already been passed by the full Senate in a 28 to 21 vote. Now, the bill introduced by Senator Karen Keiser along with nine cosponsors has passed the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee by a vote of 6 to 3. The measure will need to be passed by one more House committee before it can receive a vote by the full House of Representatives.

“It simply doesn’t make sense to base an employment decision on that kind of unreliable outcome and test,” says Senator Keiser, who points out the fact that most employers test for THC metabolites which can remain in the system for weeks.
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Mar 21 2023

Bill to Legalize Psychedelics Passed by California Senate Committee

Legislation that would legalize the personal possession of certain psychedelics while establishing a system to facilitate their use has been passed by a key senate committee in California.

The California Public Safety Committee voted 3 to 1 today to pass the Senate Bill 58 by Senator Scott Wiener. The bill, which would legalize the personal possession of DMT, ibogaine, psilocybin and psilocyn, now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Passage in that committee would allow it to receive a vote by the full Senate.

Specifically the measure would legalize the “possession, preparation, obtaining, transfer, as specified, or transportation” of the above-mentioned substances” for personal or facilitated use”. It would also allow for “group counseling and community-based healing” and would legalize “any spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other material which contain psilocybin or psilocyn.”
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Mar 20 2023

North Dakota Legislature Approves Bill Allowing Those 65+ in Hospice Care to Self-Certify as Medical Marijuana Patients

A North Dakota bill that would allow those aged 65 and older to certify themselves as patients eligible to take part in the state’s medical cannabis program has been passed by the House and Senate.

House Bill 1478, “relating to the self-certification of an individual admitted into the hospice program for the medical use of marijuana”, will now be sent to Governor Doug Burgum after being approved by both the House and Senate. The measure passed the House by a vote of 86 to 6, and it passed the Senate unanimously, 45 to 0.

Filed by State Representative Mary Schneider with a bipartisan group of 10 cosponsors, House Bill 1478 allows those 65 and older to to “submit to the department a copy of the individual’s medical records identifying a designation of being admitted” into the program. The department “may use medical records in place of a written certification to approve or deny the application”.
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Mar 20 2023

Texas Committee Approves Bill to Add Chronic Pain as Medical Marijuana Condition and Replace THC Cap

Legislation to expand Texas’ medical marijuana program has been passed by its initial House committee.

The House Public Health Committee gave approval today to House Bill 1805, sponsored by Representative Stephanie Klick.

As amended, HB 1805 adds chronic pain “for which a physician would otherwise prescribe an opioid” to the state’s list of qualifying medical cannabis conditions. The measure would also replace the 1% cap on THC content by instead instituting a volumetric dose of 10mg, and it empowers the Department of State Health Services to add additional qualifying condition through an administrative process.
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Mar 20 2023

Massachusetts Marijuana Company Becomes First to Make 4/20 a Paid Holiday

Temescal Wellness, which runs three licensed marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts, has announced that they’re making 4/20 a paid holiday for all their employees.

Sian Leininger, Director of Retail and Customer Engagement, says that this move honors both marijuana culture as well as employees, and will apply to its dispensaries, production facilities and corporate office.

“4/20 is a day to show appreciation, love and respect for cannabis and its power to help amplify the health and happiness that people experience in their daily lives,” says Leininger. “For us, it’s a day to celebrate our employees, whose passion, knowledge and true dedication inspires their unparalleled service to our customers and our community all of the other days of the year.”
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Mar 20 2023

Mississippi Legislature Approves Bill to Alter Medical Marijuana Law

Legal medical marijuana sales began in Mississippi less than two months ago, but the state’s legislature has already approved a bill to alter the state’s law.

The mostly technical piece of legislation, House Bill 1158, has been passed by the House and Senate and has been sent to Governor Tate Reeves for consideration. The measure would limit the information available to the public about businesses’ citation records and attempts to reduce inconsistencies from the agencies that are running the state’s medical marijuana program.

“Unfortunately the Department of Health in their rules and regs probably accepted some things that were not intentioned (sic) by the bill,” said Senator Kevin Blackwell, one of the bill’s sponsors. “So we are trying to correct those.. and we do so in the bill.”
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Mar 20 2023

State Report Finds Compliance Rates at WA Marijuana Stores Much Higher than Tobacco and Liquor Stores

According to a report by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, the compliance rate for the marijuana industry is considerably higher than other similar industries.

The report found that compliance rates for the marijuana industry was 92% through 2022, which was considerably higher than the liquor (77%), tobacco (80%) and vapor (75%) industries.

These numbers continues a trend, with compliance rates for the marijuana industry being higher than the liquor, tobacco and vapor industry every year since the start of legal marijuana sales in 2014. For example, in 2021 compliance rate for the marijuana industry was 95%. The liquor industry’s compliance rate was 75%, exactly the same as the tobacco industry.
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Mar 20 2023

Nevada Bill Would Legalize Cannabis Events and Allow Portable Cannabis Vendors

Legislation filed by State Representative Cameron Miller would legalize cannabis events and establish a license for “portable cannabis vendors”.

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Assembly Bill 253 would legalize the social use of marijuana in licensed places and during licensed events. It also explicitly allows for portable cannabis vendors who would be authorized to sell marijuana and marijuana products to those 21 and older at cannabis events and certain other events such as concerts.

The measure has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee. It will need to receive approval by two committees before it can receive a vote by the full House of Representatives.
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Mar 20 2023

Maine: $14.4 Million in Legal Marijuana Sales in February, 242,282 Different Transactions

There was $14 million in legal marijuana purchased in Maine in February, bringing the total for the year to $28 million.

This is according to data released by Maine’s Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP), which is part of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services. In total there was $14,451,293 worth of marijuana and marijuana products purchased in Maine, which has a population of around 1.3 million. This is a slight increase from the previous month, with $14,235,248 sold in January. The yearly total is now $28,686,541.

OCP data shows there were 242,282 different marijuana sales transactions in February, and 484,459 for the year. The average price of a gram currently stands at $7.93, $0.11 lower then the average in January. The average cost per transaction was $59.
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