Category: Cannabis/CBD

President Donald Trump’s push to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III presents both new opportunities and fresh challenges for the industry and regulators. While rescheduling would end the notorious IRS 280E tax penalty, allowing cannabis businesses to claim normal deductions and improve profitability, it does not equate to federal legalization of state-licensed markets. Instead, only DEA-registered entities will access the full benefits, while state dispensaries remain outside federal legitimacy.

Big Pharma is expected to enter the space at the level of pharmaceutical-grade products, not retail dispensaries. State markets and jobs remain protected, as federal changes won’t force states to shutter their systems. For operators, adapting facility security and compliance are now critical, as the world watches this pivotal moment in U.S. cannabis history.

Read the full analysis at Forbes: “Trump And Cannabis Rescheduling: Opportunities And Limitations Under Schedule III”.

Nebraska’s Medical Cannabis Commission has voted to impose stricter regulations on the state’s medical marijuana program, despite overwhelming voter approval for broader access in 2024. The new rules cap the number of dispensaries at 12 statewide, limit cultivator and manufacturing licenses to four each, and prohibit smoking, vaping, and edible products. Patients will be restricted to purchasing up to 5 ounces of cannabis every 30 days, with additional limits on THC concentration.

Advocates, including Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana director Crista Eggers, say the commission has defied the will of voters who supported legalization by more than 70 percent. “This is a direct assault on patients, families and the democratic process itself,” Eggers said.

The revised rules now await Gov. Jim Pillen’s approval. Read more at Marijuana Moment.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is set to hold a key vote tomorrow on House Bill 1200, which would legalize recreational cannabis for adults 21 and older. The bill, introduced by a bipartisan group of 27 lawmakers, narrowly passed the House Health Committee in a 14-12 vote along party lines. If approved, HB 1200 would allow adults to purchase marijuana from state-licensed Pennsylvania Cannabis Stores and grow up to two mature and two immature plants at home.

The legislation proposes a 12% tax on marijuana products and a 6% tax on paraphernalia, with revenue directed toward community reinvestment, substance use prevention, and cannabis-related programs. It also includes automatic expungement of certain marijuana convictions and equity measures for communities impacted by prohibition. Governor Josh Shapiro has voiced strong support for legalization. For more details, see the original article at The Marijuana Herald.

Updates to Colorado’s marijuana regulations passed by the state legislature went into effect on Thursday, the Marijuana Enforcement Division announced.

From now on, the following new rules apply: Marijuana employees with responsible vendor designations can keep their designations if they change employment; marijuana transporter licensees may transfer the license to new or additional owners; and, eligibility for social equity marijuana licenses is valid for two years instead of one year.

Beginning on Jan. 1, medical marijuana cultivation facilities will be allowed to re-designate as retail marijuana cultivation facilities. After Jan. 1, 2024, regulated marijuana products must be labeled with use-by dates and storage conditions.

Read more at Colorado Politics

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Law-abiding marijuana enthusiasts could find themselves in a predicament following voter approval of a recreational cannabis initiative in Missouri.

Though it soon will become legal for adults to possess and ingest cannabis, it could take a few months before they can legally buy it.

Maryland residents will have to wait even longer — until the middle of next year — before a voter approved recreational marijuana measure can take effect.

With the addition of Maryland and Missouri, 21 states have legalized recreational marijuana for adults over the past decade — even though it remains illegal under federal law.

Marijuana advocates are pressing forward with similar efforts elsewhere, undeterred by defeats in the general election in Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Keep reading at bendbulletin.com

Voter referendums in Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota this Election Day address whether recreational marijuana should be legal, as it is in 19 other states and Washington, DC. If all five measures pass, adult-use cannabis will be allowed in nearly half the US. 

In October, US President Joe Biden issued an executive order pardoning all federal convictions for simple marijuana possession. 

“There are thousands of people who were previously convicted of simple possession who may be denied employment, housing or educational opportunities as a result,” Biden said in a statement encouraging governors to make similar moves. 

Here’s what to know about marijuana legalization in the US, including which states have passed laws, what’s happening on the federal level and how Americans feel about legalizing pot. 

For more on marijuana, find out about the cannabis company sued for not making customers high enough and check out the hottest new pot gadgets.

Keep reading at CNet

Patients will get safer products and better service at dispensaries, health officials say, but growers and processors predict production headaches and delays – and possibly higher prices – from the final version of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana law, approved Thursday.

The final law was a long time coming, with patients, growers/processors and dispensaries governed by temporary rules ever since Pennsylvania legalized medical marijuana six years ago and products became available to patients in early 2018.

One of the best pieces of news for patients is a requirement that medical marijuana dispensaries must have a pharmacist available either on-site or remotely during all business hours.

Officials in the state health department, which regulates medical marijuana, said patients have complained of not being able to get answers to questions about things including what product is best for them, and the appropriate dose. Department officials also worried patients would rely on non-medical staff.

Read more at pennlive.com

The Republican Study Committee—which represents nearly three out of four House GOP lawmakers—released a “Family Policy Agenda” that opposes legalization of marijuana and attempts to link it to suicide and violence. Some members spoke out against their own group’s agenda when approached by Marijuana Moment.

The Colombian Chamber of Representatives First Committee approved a marijuana legalization bill. The action comes as new President Gustavo Petro is broadly calling for an end to the war on drugs.

The Drug Enforcement Administration admitted in a new video that “racial, ethnic and class prejudice” led to drug criminalization and the agency’s own founding.

• “What had been a medical condition became deviant or criminal. This shift led to a wave of laws against heroin, marijuana and cocaine.”

Keep reading at Marijuana Moment

This November, voters in five states—Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota—will decide on whether they want to legalize adult-use marijuana. 

Currently, 19 states, comprising 44 percent of the U.S. population, have legal adult-use marijuana markets. If voters in Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota approve adult-use, about half of the U.S. population will reside in a jurisdiction where the possession and use of cannabis are legal for adults.

Because recent polling shows that most of these measures enjoy majority support from the public, experts are predicting a successful outcome at the ballot box for all aforementioned states, regardless of their being “red” or “blue.” 

Read more at Forbes

A bipartisan group of lawmakers and activists are calling for Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to include marijuana legalization on the agenda of the legislature’s upcoming special session.

The group also announced the launch of a campaign aimed at defeating a marijuana legalization constitutional amendment set to appear on the November ballot.

The legislature is set to return to the Capitol on Sept. 14 to debate a $700 million tax cut plan laid out by the governor.

“Rather than settle for an ill-suited and monopolistic program shoehorned into our (state) constitution, the Missouri General Assembly has an unique opportunity to consider legislation that would legalize cannabis in a truly free market fashion,” said state Rep. Tony Lovasco, R-O’Fallon.

Read more at Columbia Missourian

Each year, U.S. Poison Control Centers receive hundreds of calls related to synthetic cannabinoid poisonings. 

These drugs — with names like Spice, K2, and Mr. Nice Guy — can cause severeTrusted Source, life threatening health effects such as agitation, confusion, psychosis, and seizures.

Overall, synthetic cannabinoid exposures have dropped in recent years, Poison Control data shows — falling from a high of 7,792 in 2015 to 984 in 2021. That number continued to decline in 2022, with 313 cannabinoid exposures as of July 31.

Some researchers have attributed this decline, at least among adolescents, to increased federal regulation of these compounds, which has reduced their availability.

But a new analysis, published online on August 8 in Clinical Toxicology, suggests that the drop in synthetic cannabinoid poisonings may be due, in part, to the legalization of recreational cannabis in various states, which provides the option for many people to legally buy safer cannabis products, depending on where they live.

Read more at Healthline

Democratic lawmakers want to legalize marijuana, and they’re urging Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature to do it now.

Thus far, Democrats have proposed at least 10 marijuana-related bills in the 2022 Legislative Session. At least one measure would outright legalize marijuana (HB 467), while another would decriminalize the drug and other addictive substances.

All will face an uphill battle in Tallahassee.

“A bill legalizing marijuana has never been heard in the Florida House,” Democratic Rep. Yvonne Hinson said at a Thursday news conference. “That needs to change this year. States are legalizing cannabis all over the nation, and Florida is falling behind.”

States including New York, Virginia and New Mexico legalized recreational marijuana in 2021 via voter initiatives. Meanwhile, three states — Arizona, Montana and New Jersey — OK’d recreational marijuana use in 2020 via legislation.

Get the full story at the Fernandina Observer.