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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Feb 27 2024

California: $4.4 Billion in Legal Marijuana Sold in 2023, Resulting in Over $1 Billion in Tax Revenue

There was over $1.1 billion in legal marijuana sold in the final quarter of 2023 in California, bringing the yearly total to $4.4 billion.

According to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, there was $1,050,401,980 in marijuana sold legally in Q4, 2023. This brings the total for 2023 to $4,399,048,681.

The over $4 billion in marijuana sales in 2023 resulted in $1,082,452,368 in tax revenue for the state. $461,308,257 of this came from the state’s sales tax, and $621,144,111 coming from the state’s marijuana excise tax.
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Feb 26 2024

Wyoming Senate Passes Measure to Ban Delta-8 THC

Legislation that would place a ban on the production and distribution of THC derived from hemp, including delta-8 and delta-10 THC, has been passed by Wyoming’s full Senate.

Gummies made with delta-8 THC.

On Thursday the Wyoming Senate passed Senate Bill 32 in an 18 to 13 vote, sending it to the state’s House of Representatives. Today the measure was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

Under the proposed law, the production and distribution of synthetic THC would be prohibited, as would any delta-8 and delta-10 THC derived from hemp. Hemp products would not be permitted to have more than 0.3% delta-9 THC.
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Feb 26 2024

DEA Should “Reject” Arguments that Rescheduling Marijuana Violates International Treaties, Says Congressmember

Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) has sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) urging them to reject any argument in support of maintaining marijuana in Schedule I or Schedule II based on U.S. Treaty obligations.

This letter is in response to a former letter from the DEA, which stated that the Administration would conduct a review of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recommendation to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), states a press release.

The letter emphasizes that applicable Treaties neither require the U.S. to keep marijuana in Schedule I or II nor do they preclude the DEA from accepting HHS’s recommendation.
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