​Oklahoma could have been the 22nd state in the country to legalize cannabis for recreational use, but those dreams have come crashing down.

On Tuesday, March 7th, citizens in the state rejected a measure to legalize adult use within the state, with nearly 62% voting against it, and only 38% voting in favor.

Going into the vote, it looked like things could really go either way, but for advocates, the loss was a huge dissapointment considering how much support they felt there is, and the many positive benefits that could happen with legalization.

Legalizing recreational use now could have given the state nearly half a billion dollars in excise tax revenue over the first five years of retail sales, as shown by an independant analysis by Vicente Sederberg LLP and the Oklahoma Cannabis Industry Association.

Legalization could have also drastically reduced costs within the criminal justice system for the state as well, with law enforcement and courts being alleviated of the 4,500 people who are annually arrested for cannabis posession in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma already has the most popular medical marijuana program in the country per capita, with nearly 10% of the state residents aquiring a valid med card since it was legalized by voters in 2018. However, despite this popularity and potential revenue increase, the opponents pushed hard, and obviously won this time.

One very key reason why it didn’t pass could have to do with timing. The measure was supposed to have appeared on the November 2022 ballot, when voter turnout would have been high, due to the fact that there were many issues for citizens to vote on. But thanks to some creative political opposition, the measure was forced off that November ballot, when it likely would have had a far higher turnout of people voting in favor of legalizing. Once that happened, the Governor, Kevin Stitt, set the measure up for doom by relegating it to a highly unusal special election in March, which ensured that far fewer voters would turn up. A professor of political science at the University of Oklahoma, Michael Crespin, told MJBizDaily, “It was a direct attempt: ‘Let’s make this the least likely to pass, and a time when it’s not going to hurt any other elections at the ballot.”

In addition to timing the election for the least likelihood of positive voter turnout, Oklahoma’s Governor Stitt, along with state Republican Party leaders, have been urging voters to reject the recreational marijuana legalization measure. The Governor, along with other conservative legislatures in control of the state government, have been promoting the idea that voters were misled into approving an earlier medical cannabis legalization initiative in 2018.

Pat McFerron who is the Republican leader of the opposition’s campaign told MJBizDaily that if voters reject adult use legalization, then the existing legal medical program should subsequently be reigned in and restricted. He said, “There is an element of our coalition that’s saying … if we defeat this, this gives the Legislature impetus to go in and clean up the medical situation we have."

Industry insiders are fearful of what the Governor and Conservative legislatures have in mind for the states existing medical marijuana program. Joanna Hamrick, who is Director of Operations and Sales at cultivation company Primal Cannabis, as well as also being a board member of the Oklahoma Cannabis Industry Association, told MJBizDaily that she is, “… afraid that legislators and government officials … will create more restrictions.” She said they’re, “… going to put the hammer down.”   

​When is cannabis going to be legalized?
Is it ever going to happen?

These are the questions most pressing on the minds of cannabis advocates and fans across America. Time keeps ticking on, and progress feels so slow.

Earlier this month the U.S. Attorney General, Merrick Garland, said the Department of Justice is “still working on [creating] a marijuana policy,” and that they are also continuing to work on reviewing cannabis’s status on the Controlled Substances Act.

On October 6th, 2022, President Biden directed the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to officially review the Schedule 1 classification of cannabis. His request was not just to review it, but more importantly, to come to an answer on the subject, and do it quickly.

Garland said it’s fair to expect that a new cannabis policy “will be very close to what was done in the Cole Memorandum.” That Cole Memorandum was an Obama-era policy which basically told federal prosecutors to generally not interfere with states’ managment of their own cannabis laws. That direction was later rescinded by Attorney General Jeff Sessions under the Trump administration.

Garland also said that their work on a new cannabis policy is “not quite done,” because they have had to finalizing work on more pressing items for the department.

One Washington legislature who has been a strong advocate for cannabis legalization and reform, Democratic Representative from Oregon, Earl Blumenauer, has spent some of his time this past week promoting and passing around a letter he would like his fellow legislatures to sign, which asks for very clear and compelling reasons for whatever is the final decision on a cannabis policy. Blumenauer’s letter said, in part, “To ensure accountability in your conclusions—which has been absent in so much of the history of federal marijuana regulation—transparency is key. We urge you to make available for public review and comment any evidence cited to demonstrate marijuana is more prone to drug abuse than descheduled substances already regulated at the state level.”

Blumenauer has also been urging the administration to completely remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, as opposed to rescheduling it to a lower level.

Merrick Garland has repeatedly stated that he does not believe the federal governement should be wasting time and resources on the prosecution of people who are in compliance with state cananbis laws. He has said over and over that he believes it is not a good use of govenment resources.  Garland has also written on the negative effects from keeping cannabis criminalized at the federal level, pointing out that it has led to “mass incarceration and racial disparities in our criminal justice system,” as well as making “it difficult for millions of Americans to find employment due to criminal records for nonviolent offenses.” Garland said, “The Justice Department has almost never prosecuted use of marijuana, and it’s not going to be.”

However despite Garland's obviously strong conviction on this subject, in the five months since the President’s request to look into this matter, there has been no official change made in cannabis policy or Schedule status. So without yet having an official government policy, it’s merely his personal viewpoint, and there fore has no real bearing on the lives and businesses of cannabis consumers across the nation. In other words, it’s just lip service at this point, until actual change is made. And until that happens, cannabis’ current federal status continues to create myriads of other barriers and problems for state legal cannabis businesses and consumers.   

​The federal government wants to keep everyone who has used cannabis from their second ammendment right to bear arms.

Current Federal law bans anyone who uses cannabis, even medical patients, from owning firearms, and they face felony charges if they lie about their marijuana use on the federal firearm application.

Recently, in an Oklahoma court, a judge ruled that banning cannabis users from owning guns is unconstitutional. The Oklahoma case stems from a traffic stop where police found a loaded revolver and marijuana inside the car. Charges were brought against the man and the case was brought before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. Judge Patrick Wyrick heard arguments from both sides but ultimately decided to dismiss the case. But Judge Wyrick said that the federal statute which specifically says it prohibits any “unlawful user” of a controlled substance from possessing firearms is, “unconstitutionally vague, in violation of the Due Process Clause, and unconstitutionally infringes upon his fundamental right to possess a firearm, in violation of the Second Amendment.” The judge further called this ban “concerning,” and cited the Second Amendment, which reads, in part, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Well, as expected, after the judge ruled against the ban, the U.S. government, via the Department of Justice, has officially filed an appeal over that ruling. The appeal was filed on Friday, March 3rd, 2023, in Oklahoma’s Western District Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

A similar lawsuit in Florida had a different outcome, with courts there ruling against cannabis user’s Second Ammendment rights.

Advocates and cannabis supporters have said that the current federal ban is unconsititutional, and forces cannabis consumers to either lie on a gun application purchase firearms on the black market, or give up their second ammendment right to bear arms.

One GOP congressman filed a bill this past January 2023 that hopes to change the law so that at least medical marijuana patients can bear arms. That bill was also filed a few years back, but failed to pass. It’s hoped that the more recent legalization momentum will help get this latest version of the bill passed.

As always, reach out to your local representatives to let them know where you stand.
Click here to easily find and reach your representatives online: 
Take Action - NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)

​California’s legal cannabis market continues to suffer, greatly, and now a large group of cultivators in California’s famed Cannabis Emerald Triangle are say they are facing “Socio-economic Collapse”, and are begging the government for help.

Data recently released shows that California’s legal cannabis sales declined for the year of 2022. This is the first yearly decline since California’s legal cannabis market began sales in 2018, according to MJBiz. The last three quarters of 2022 saw sales continually decline in the Golden State, bringing the state’s tax revenue down as well. This decline isn’t shocking to those in the industry, as over taxation has shrunk the legal market and increased the illegal one.

Responding to industry pleas, California’s government officials did recently adjusted some of the taxation, shifting excise tax from growers to retailers. This helped the growers, but not the rest of the industry, and overall, the same problems remain.

2022’s sales decline translates to a $300 million tax revenue loss for the state. Since money seems to make the world go round, perhaps this revenue decline will get official’s attention and motivate them to finally work with the industry to make some real, positive changes.

Cannabis farmers in Northern California have been particularly hard hit with financial struggles. Recently, a trade organization pleaded with California’s government for “urgent intervention to save their cultivation permits.

The group, Mendocino Cannabis Alliance, represents hundreds of small cannabis farmers in Mendocino County, and sent their pleas in a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom and the Department of Cannabis Control. They group’s letter pointed out that for several years, many cannabis cultivators and companies have tried to do things the legal way, but thus far have only been operating on “provisional” licensing permits. However, the temporary transition phase for those provisional permits comes to an end this July 2023.

Mendicino cultivators have been trying to have those provisional licenses turned into permanent ones, so they may continue operations after July of this year. However, due to what they say is local licensing dysfunction, thus far only six farmers have been able to receive their full annual state cultivation permit. Those six represent less than 1% of the 841 Mendicino County cultivators who have been waiting for their provisional permits to be transitioned to permanent ones.

The trade groups letter says that even with great optimism, they only expect about a quarter of the remaining provisional permit holderscould possibly be able to get their full license before the July 1st deadline. That will leave nearly 600 cultivators without a permit come July, putting them out of business. The letter states that these estimates “that approximately 75% of cultivators who entered the permitting process in good faith beginning in 2017 will be unable to obtain a state license,” and rightly, they call it out as being “unacceptable.”

Their letter further goes on to detail what they believe are the problems with the county level licensing procedures. They also compare their plight to similar ones in other nearby counties such as Humbolt and Trinity. These counties, along with Mendacino, represent what is colloquilly known as the “Emerald Triangle,” famed for it’s deep roots in the cannabis industry.

The executive director of the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance, Michael Katz, said if something drastic isn’t done, there will be a tremendous trickle down effect on the local economy due to so many hundreds of businesses having to close. He said, “It’s a community-wide socioeconomic collapse we’re headed for, if we can’t provide support to help the small-batch operators weather this downturn.”

​The letter was sent in early February, but thus far, they have not received a response from the Governor’s office, or the California Department of Cannabis Control. 

​Florida voters approved medical marijuana in 2016, but recreational legalization efforts have thus far failed to yield positive results. There have been efforts though, by groups such as Make it Legal Florida and Sensible Florida, but unfortunately the state’s Supreme Court has ruled that their proposed measures had misleading language, and were therefore invalid.

Now, though, things are looking more positive for a measure on recreational adult use possibly making it onto the 2024 ballot. In January, that measure hit a milestone of having enough signatures to initiate a state Supreme Court review of the measure’s language.

That analysis by the state’s Supreme Court is still on-going. What they’re looking for in their review, and what they rejected past measures for, is that the measure’s text does not violate the state Constitution’s single subject rule. They also want to ensure that the text does not mislead voters in anyway.

If the measure passes the Court’s review, then close to 900,000 signatures will be needed before it’s officially added to the 2024 ballot. So far they have aquired more than 420,000 signatures thus far, leaving a remaining 471,000 or so signatures needed.

The group Smart & Safe Florida first filed the adult-use cannabis measure last summer. They are being funded almost entirely by Trulieve, who is currently the state’s largest medical marijuana operator, and they have contributed $25 million thus far to the legalization effort.

If the measure is passed, it would take effect just six months after voters approve it.

​In 2021, a poll found that a 59% majority of Florida voters do support legalizing cannabis for adult use. This is a close enough margin, though, and there are strong political opposers, including the Governor, that means advocates will still have their work cut out for them if the measure ends up heading to the ballot. 

​Arizona’s Veterans could soon get free medical marijuana cards.

The state’s legislatures are currently reviewing Senate Bill 1466 which would allow for vets to get free med cards. The bill would also drastically cut down the cost of a medical marijuana card for all citizens in the state.

So far, the legislation has been passing through checkpoints and receiving bipartisan support.

Ann Torez, who is the Executive Director for theh Arizona Dispensaries Association, pointed out that the new legislation also opens up medical qualifications to include post traumatic stress disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder as qualifying medical conditions. Torez said, “We felt it was really important to provide the veterans in the state access to medical marijuana as they see needed.” She added, “that this now is the right time to make sure that the access becomes even more available.”

​The next step for this bill is for Arizona’s House of Representatives to review and hopefully pass the legislation, before heading over to Governor Katie Hobbs desk for consideration.   

Cannabis icon Snoop Dogg is continuing his industry business ventures with his latest announcement that he has signed an “exclusive international licensing agreement” with a Canadian-based cannabis company called Atlas Global Brands.

Atlas Global’s CEO Bernie Young said in a statement, “Consumers love Snoop, and our collective goal is to deliver premium products in all cannabis categories that will consistently exceed consumer expectations.”

Snoop Dogg’s licensing agreement is for five years, and it gives Atlas Global exclusive rights to distribute Snoop’s name and likeness “to produce, package, manufacture, distribute, sell, advertise, promote and market cannabis flower and products in legal markets".

Snooop said, “I chose Atlas to represent and launch my new brands because of their innovation and global reach. I am excited to work with their team to select my favorite strains for my brands and fans."  He added, “You know they’ll be amazing because they’ll be personally approved by me.”

​The federal government has now made available an application to apply for a cannabis pardon certificate.

​In October, when President Biden requested that administrators review cannabis policy and it’s status cannabis as a schedule 1 drug, he also said he would be pardoning minor cannabis offenses. Since then, advocates have pressed for a way people could obtain some sort of document or certificate that shows they have been covered by this pardon, as that could clear up any potential problems someone might encounter with things such as employment or housing.

This past Friday, the Department of Justice launched an application form people can fill out for such documentation that would show they had been granted clemency.

The Justice Department said, “…to be eligible for a certificate, an applicant must have been charged or convicted of simple possession of marijuana in either a federal court or D.C. Superior Court, and the applicant must have been lawfully within the United States at the time of the offense. Similarly, an individual must have been a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident on Oct. 6, 2022.”

They also clarified that, “those who were convicted of state marijuana offenses do not qualify for the [federal] pardon.” Also excluded are those who were convicted of selling cannabis.

The U.S. Pardon Attorney’s office says it estimates that there are “at least 20,000 applicants” who may be eligible for certificates using this new form.

The notice regarding the application says that it “is simple, and will not take long to complete, between 10 and 30 minutes.” Applicants will need to provide provide proof of their prior convictions or charges, which could add additional personal time to gather that information.

Click here for a link to the form.

​In other cananbis pardon news, under a court order from January, Alaska’s Supreme Court will is now clearing the records of people for their past cannabis convictions.

Alaska uses a state database called, “Courtview” for all court cases within the state, and this recent clearing will officially remove those records completely from that database, as of May 1st, 2023. This pardoning order applies only to cases of simple possession of one ounce or less of cannabis by an individual age 21 or older.

Unfortuately this new policy doesn’t remove the records of cannabis-related convictions from all state databases, as past cannabis convictions will still remain on state criminal records maintained by the Alaska Department of Public Safety which will still be on record at courthouses, and could be found in background checks.

Republican state Representative Stanley Wright’s Chief of Staff, Forrest Wolfe, pointed out that clearing some of these records could enable more people to qualify for certain jobs. He said, “In Alaska, we have a huge workforce shortage.” And he added that this new change should help alleviate that problem.

​Representative Wright is sponsoring a bill that would further protect infrmation on individual’s cannabis convictions from being released through criminal background checks. If passed, that cold affect up to 8,500 Alaskans. 

​You may have already heard the major social media news: Twitter is now allowing cannabis advertisements!

Not only that, but they’re also offering financial incentives for cannabis brands to advertise now, by price matching.

The newly updatd drug policy page on Twitter states that they will now “permit approved Cannabis (including CBD– cannabinoids) advertisers to target the United States.” This had already been allowed in Canada, where cananbis is legal on their national level, but until now that was not possible in the U.S.

MJBizDaily said an email they viewed specified that Twitter are “allowing advertisers to promote brand preference and informational cannabis-related content” for CBD products, THC products and “cannabis-related products and services” such as “delivery services, labs, growing technology, search engines (and) events.”

There are some restrictions on the new policy, though. First, while cannabis related content, such as products and services, are allowed, promotion of selling actual cannabis is not allowed. Only cannabis related products and services. Not the bud itself. Another restriction is thta the companies may not advertise products that contain more than 0.3% THC, so that puts it almost in CBD catagory. The ads also cannot make any health claims or show any images of consuming cannabis. There are additionally restrictions regarding who the ads are targeting. Cannabis ads must only target the locations where the business is licensed, and only advertise cannabis related ads to people age 21 and older.

Overall, though, even with these restrictions, this new policy change marks a huge step for the cannabis industry, a total game changer! Twitter is now the first of all the major social media platforms to take this step. Sites such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, all have tight bans on cannabis advertisements.

The change is one of many since Twitter was taken over recently by Elon Musk. From the begining of Musk’s announcing his plans to take over Twitter, Musk has made it clear he intends to make many changes to the social media platform. But Musk never publically said anything about planning to change this particular ban on cannabis ads, so the announcement came as a bit of a surprise. A surprise, but not a shock. That’s because Musk has publically shown support for cannabis in past; most famously, he smoked during an on air interview with Joe Rogan back in 2018.

Part of the support Musk is now rolling out for the cannabis industry includes a finacial incentive Twitter is offering to kick off the ban being lifted. Musk has offered to value match-up on every advertising dollar spent over the next month. So if you spend $1000, Twitter will match it, and you’ll essentially get a value of $2000 of advertising with them. They’re extending this match up all the way up to $250,000 in advertisement spending with them. This offer is only good through March 31st, 2023.

To extend this value to all of those in the industry, Twitter has said they will not require a minimum spending amount for cannabis companies. That’s fantastic for all the smaller cannabis companies out there, who can now afford to get in on the advertising, even if they only have a few dollars to spend on it. The co-founder of the Cannabis Media Council, Amy Deneson, told news site, Politico, “That’s one of the most generous things that an advertiser and publisher relationship can kick off with.”

The very first cannabis company to jump on the new permissions and incentives was multistate operator: Trulieve Cannabis Corp., who launched a multistate campaign just after the announcements were made. They certainly aren’t the only ones, though, as many more have already followed suit.

Online cananbis marketing resource company AdCann says that last year there were more than 20 million tweets about cannabis on Twitter, which makes cannabis one of the most talked-about topics on there. With that type of popularity, cannabis advertisements are sure to show up more and more on the platform.

Kate Lynch of Curaleaf said, …”we are hopeful [this] will serve as a catalyst for other social media platforms to follow suit.”

​In addition to hoping more social media sites will also lift their bans, Twitter’s change on policy stance should also help in the overall cannabis legalization movement in this country, by reducing stigma, and moving towards more main-stream normalization for this truly amazing plant. 

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA, has made clear that they offically classify Delta-8 and Delta-9-THC-O acetate to be Schedule I controlled substances.

The declaration was made in a letter, responding to a request from North Carolina attorney Rod Kight.

Kight had written to the DEA last August, asking what the control status of THC acetate ester was on the Controlled Substances Act. Kight told Cannabis Business Times in an email that his letter had said, in part, “I represent many businesses in the hemp industry and began to see the proliferation of THC-O products on the market. Since THC-O is not produced by the cannabis (hemp) plant, I had concerns that the DEA would view it as illegal ‘synthetic THC,’ rather than lawful ‘hemp.’” 

The DEA’s response letter took six months, but was finally issued on February 13, 2023.

In their response letter, the DEA said unequivocably that Delta-8- and Delta-9-THC-O acetate are considered to be Schedule I controlled substances on the Controlled Substances List.

The DEA stated that because Delta-8 and Delta-9-THC-O do not occur naturally in the cannabis plant and are synthetically made, they don’t fall under the definition of ‘hemp.’

The DEA’s letter went on to say that they have “similar chemical structures and pharmacological activities to those contained in the cannabis plant,” so they, “meet the definition of ’tetrahydrocannabinols,’ and they (and products containing [them]) are controlled in Schedule I,” on the Controlled Substances Act.

​Kight told Cannabis Business Times that he agrees with the DEA’s response regarding THC-O, but he disagrees with their view of Delta-8’s status. Kight said that Delta-8 is naturally produced by the hemp plant, where THC-O is not.    

The US Farm Bill is revamped every five years, and it’s up for congressional review this year.

The Farm Bill is a massive, $428 billion multifaceted bill which covers rural development, nutrition, what American farmers grow, and how they grow it.

The last time the Farm Bill was revised, in 2018, it legalized hemp, which led to the rise of hemp derrived cannabanoids being sold, such as Delta-8 THC. That, in turn, resulted in a huge, on-going controversy over regulations on hemp derrived cannabanoids.

Michael Bronstein, president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, one of the DC lobbies, said that when the 2018 Farm Bill was written, “There was no thought that {at the time that intoxicating} hemp-derived cannabinoids would be permissible in any way in the marketplace, and now an entire kind of gray-market product category has emerged.”

That gray market has left states scrambling to decide how they’ll handle it. To date, 14 states have banned delta-8 products outright, but many more are still stuck without clear direction on how to handle it. Federal agencies such as the US Food and Drug Administration have made it clear they are not responsible for regulating the CBD market, and that Congress should be the one to handle the next step, since they were the one’s who made it’s legalization possible. Congress has heard this message over and over from the Federal goverment, the state governments, and the hemp producers.

Jim Higdon, who is a co-founder of a CBD company called Kentucky-based Cornbread Hemp said, “principally, we’re looking for clarity” on what exactly is or is not legal to extract and sell from hemp, along with specifics about what the legal levels of extracted compounds will be.

In addition to pressure on hemp derrived cannabanoid legality and levels, Congress has also been receiving a lot of pressure to consider cannabis reform while considering this year’s Farm Bill structuring.

The ever-optomisic sponsor of the SAFE Banking Bill, Oregon Democratic Representative Earl Blumenauer, told MJBizDaily that he believes this year’s Farm Bill discussions could “absolutely [pose] a path forward” for federal cannabis reform.

​The eventual outcome of this years Farm Bill is still far away. Technically the bill expires at the end of the federal fiscal year, in September. However, the review process is always a very lengthy one, this year especially. It’s not unusual for negotiations to stretch past September, and out into the next calendar year. Initial discussions are underway now, but indications of how they’re going probably won’t start to materialize until this summer. 

​A controversial Rhode Island cannabis bill is being withdrawn for more editing and rewriting. The bill, S 125, was written with the intention of banning the use of cannabis in any gathering of three or more people. Violators would be slapped with fines ranging anywhere from $500 to $1000 dollars.

Rhode Island legislatures passed recreational adult use cannabis legalization last year, and sales were launched shortly after that, in December 2022.

The sponsors of this anti-group usage bill are six senators, including the bill’s main sponsor, Senator Walter S. Felag Jr. He told Marijuana Moment via email that, “The legislation has been withdrawn for more editing,” and rewriting. He didn’t say what they were editing or how the bill would change. He also failed to explain what they were thinking and why! The idea of banning gatherings of three people from smoking together seems rather ridiculous.

The bill, prior to being re-written, had stated that hosts of more than two other people must take “all reasonable steps” to prohibit the use or possession of “any marijuana or other controlled substances” by anyone at the gathering.

​The bill had first been introduced in early February, and then withdrawn just a few weeks later for revision. As the first bill of it’s kind in the nation, this one will be something everyone in the U.S. cannabis industry will want to keep an eye on when it is eventually refiled.

New Jersey cops will now, finally, be allowed to use cannabis in their off hours. 

The state’s adult use cannabis sales began just one year ago, on April 21, 2022. At that time, New Jersey’s Attorney General Matt Platkin issued a memo to law enforcement agencies and police chiefs regarding this new law and how it affects their staff. Platkin basically said it was okay for law enforcement employees to use cannabis. His memo specifically said that agencies “may not take any adverse action against any officers because they do or do not use cannabis off duty.” 

Following that initial annoucement,, though, opponents saw to it that those rights were quickly revoked, which then prompted months of back and forth negotiations on the issue.

Well, now they seem to have settled the issue for good, and announced new official “clear guidelines” on the matter.

The new guidelines say that New Jersey police officers will not be subjected to cannabis testing anymore, unless they are on duty, or if their position requires federal oversight and/or drug testing. Those federal positions would include those on special task forces or those who hold some type of federally-regulated license that requires drug testing, such as a pilot license or commercial driver's license. It also includes those who work for a law enforcement agency that receives a federal contract or grant which requires drug testing.

Despite police now being allowed to use cannabis off duty, they are still, of course, absolutely banned from any type of cannabis consumption, recreational or medical, while on duty. Platkin’s memo said, "To be clear, there should be zero tolerance for cannabis use, possession or intoxication while performing the duties of a law enforcement officer.” 

A House committee in New Mexico advanced a bill this past Friday, February 17th, which opens the possibility for firefighters to be able to use state-legal medical cannabis while off-duty.

The measure, House Bill 292, is seeking to redefine the term “safety-sensitive position” in regards to a Compassionate Use Act which regulates New Mexico’s medical marijuana program. The bill proposes to define it as only being applicable to jobs where a person is required to carry a firearm at work, or drive a vehicle. So, if this bill passes, it would then make it possible for jobs such as firemen who are not driving the truck to be able to use medical marijuana when off duty.

The bill was sponsored by Committee Chairwoman and Democratic Representative Liz Thomson, among others. Thomson emphasized to the rest of the committe that medical marijuana would be valuable to firefighters in particular, because they often deal with job related post-traumatic stress disorder. She said, "If you don't have [PTSD] by the first day, you will by the second, and I can truly see that, so we're just trying to give them another option to deal with the traumas that they see every day without it being alcohol.”

Another person who spoke before the House committee emphasized that passing this bill would help more than just firefighters. Miguel Tittmann is the president of a local firefighter union branch (Local 244 of the International Association of Fire Fighters), and represents 900 firefighters in Albequerque and Bernalillo County. He told the committee that passing this bill, “…will affect a lot more employees in the state than just firefighters, but … it'll positively affect our population so much."  Tittman also pointed out that other communities have already initiated similar measures with success, such as Vancouver, Pittsburgh and New York City.

One of the measure’s critics, Republican Representative Harlan Vincent, said he was concerned that passing this measure would jeopardize public safety by possible impairment while on the job. Vincent said, "If somebody called 911 and they were having a heart attack, I want my people dialed in, razor-sharp, and to give that person in our community every possible chance that they have to survive.”

​Besides this cannabis measure, New Mexico’s legislatures are also currently considering a measure to allow for more clinical trials to study the effect of medical marijuana on military veterans with PTSD and pain management. That measure is called the Medicinal Cannabis Research Act. 

Since 2020, Virginia has had a very limited state medical marijuana program. One year later, in 2021, Virginia’s former Governor, Democrat Ralph Northam, signed recreational adult-use into law, however, there is no place in the state to legally buy it.

Legal adult use sales were set to begin next January, 2024, however that was contingent upon the state lawmakers setting up a regulatory framework. But ever since Republicans won control of the state House of Delegates and Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin replaced the past Democratic one, they have been trying to block all efforts to create that regulatory framework, which would mean that sales cannot start.

​According to insiders, Virginia’s Republican legislatures have a history of trying to to undermine the state's legal marijuana industry. The most recent way they have done this is when the Republican-controlled state General Assembly committee blocked a bill that was structured to set up adult use sales regulations. Without a regulatory framework in place, adult use sales in the state will not be able to begin next January.

​In addition to blocking that bill, Virginia’s Republican lawmakers have also been trying to cut nearly 70% of the state’s Cannabis Control Authority’s budget. They have presentated a proposed state spending plan which slashes that budget by $13.4 million over two years. The budget is not final and is still subject to some negotiations over the next few days, but if passed, it would drastically damage the state’s current medical marijuana regulatory system.  

A study recently published on JAMA Open Network shows that while cannabis can bring on early on-set psychosis in certain individuals, it is not much of a concern for the general population.

Researchers used the Optum Clinformatics Data Mart Database to investigate psychosis related claims in relation to to state legalization. They poured through millions of peices of data on individuals’ diagnoses, medications, and follow ups prior to, during, and after state legalization measures.

The researchers came to the conclusion that states who had enacted cananbis legalization policies showed no significant increase in either psychosis-related diagnoses or prescriptions for antipsychotics. The only minor change they observed was in a very small subsection of the population they studied. Specifically, men between age 54-64 from an Asian demographic. They were the only group who showed a very slight increase in psychosis related diagnoses in states where cananbis was legalized.

​The researchers pointed out that this was a very limited study, as the data they used focused only on those people who had health insurance, since that’s where the data was pulled from. As such, the researchers hope to continue to study the subject.  

​Another recently publlished report by the journal Psychological Medicine found that there was no link between states with legal access to cannabis, and any increased likeliness of developing substance abuse problems.

The researchers said, “Cannabis legalization was associated with no other adverse outcome … including cannabis use disorder.” The study also noted that residents living in legal cannabis states did not appear to show an increase in problems associated with mental health, relationships, work and finances.

The study was done by observing 240 pairs of twins where one lives in the legal state of Colorado while the other lives in Minnesota, where cannabis remains prohibited. The twins were used as a way to control a wide range of variables, such as age, social background, early home life and even genetic inheritance. These factors can influence health outcomes, so using twins alleviates those.

The lead researcher Stephanie Zellers said they found that those living in legal cannabis states were also less likely to drive drunk or develop alcohol use disorders. Zellers also said that there was “no diffefrence” between people living in a state with legal acess or not, in regard to whether or not they go on to try ‘harder’ drugs such as heroin or methamphetamine. This rejects the “gateway drug” theory some opponents still try to cling to. The researchers acknowledge that while the results are promising, the study does have it’s limitations and needs further study. 

​The next time you hear someone criticize cannabis legalization because of their fears over potential teen usage increasing, you can let them know that federal studies actually show that cannabis use by teens is trending downward as states legalize the plant.

A federal biennial report has just been relased, titled, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey.” The study found that teen marijuana use declined from 2019 to 2021, and 2021 actually had the lowest rate in a decade; since states began legalizing for recreational use in 2012.

This Federal study directly contradicts cannabis opponents who fear that legalizing adult use will lead to an increase in usage by teens.

Cannabis advocates, on the other hand, have long maintained that legalizing adult use, along with proper regulation and legislation to uphold things like ID verification enforcement, would reduce teen use. This federal study confirms that.

But it’s not unique… there have actually been many prior similar studies. Last year, for example, another National Institute on Drug Abuse funded study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and they also found that state-level cannabis legalization was not associated with increased youth use.

Michigan State University researchers conducted another federally funded study which published their findings in the journal PLOS One last summer. They found that “cannabis retail sales might be followed by the increased occurrence of cannabis onsets for older adults” in legal states, “but not for underage persons who cannot buy cannabis products in a retail outlet.”

​There have also been numerous other studies with similar findings done by multiple agencies, including several more federally funded studies such as: the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics and earlier studies also done by the Center for Disease Control.  

​North Carolina is one of the few states that have not enacted any type of cananbis legalization measures. But despite the lack of laws being passed, the pubic has shown that, like the rest of the country, residents are supportive of it.

A recent poll interviewed nearly 1000 voters earlier this month. The vast majority of them, or 73%, said they will support a proposed bill to allow the use of cannabis in North Carolina for medical reasons. This echoes results from another poll that was taken last year, in May 2022, which got even higher numbers of support. The group, Carolina Partnership for Reform, found 82% of North Carolina voters they spoke to were in favor of legalizing medical cannabis. That particular poll also asked voters about recreational or adult-use legalization, and found 60% who said yes to that as well.

Despite the public wanting it, the North Carolina legislatures have not yet gotten anything passed. Last year a medical bill passed through the Senate, but at that time the House Republicans blocked it from advancing. This past month, that bill was refiled after some changes were made.

The North Carolina Senate President Pro Tempore, Phil Berger, told the Trying It Together podcast, that the updated legislation is “well-constructed,” and has addressed many of the concerns there had been with the prior version. Meredith Poll Director David LcLennan said, “There may be enough new members in the legislature to get the legalization of medical marijuana across the finish line in 2023.” 

​The Senators who support cannabis banking reform are not giving up. They’re still out there, trying.

The Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, has said that he and several other Democratic Senators are trying to find their next “path” to cannabis legalization.

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley told news site, The Hill, “We’re trying to find the formulation of Safe Banking Plus that can allow us to end this cash economy that’s doing so much to hurt so many across the country,”

The group of Senators who met to work on their next path to legalization did not include any Republican representatives. However, one Democratic Senator who was in attendance, Cory Booker of New Jersey, said there are people in this new congress now “ … who support some sort of reform legislation, and”, he said, “we’re going to continue to work on it this Congress.”

Another of the Democratic Senators in attendance at that meeting, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, was also optimistic. He said, “I think it’s realistic” and emphasized that he knew “so many different people and groups” who want it. And he believes the Republicans will get on board because all those in banking want this type of reform now. Brown said, “the bankers want it. … I bring up the bankers because that’s what will move Republicans.”

While many Americans are lucky enough to live in a state with some form of legalized marijuana use, not everyone is. There are still many states where cannabis is not legal in any form, or perhaps it’s only legal for a medical program, which often could be limited.

So whether you’re in one of those states, or travel to one, it’s absolutely imperative for cannabis users to be aware of, and obey, the local laws for cannabis use. Simply using the plant in the wrong place could have terrible consequences.

​One example of that happened earlier this month, when someone visited the state of Georgia. Georgia does not have a recreational program, but they do have a medical one. Unfortuanately it’s a limited one, with a very low THC threshold of just 5%. There are also a few of the big cities in the state that have decriminalized it, but not everywhere.

A North Carolina resident learned the hard way about Georgia’s cannabis laws, and their enforcement. Using a dab pen landed him in jail, and lost him his car.

The North Carolina man, Austin Banks, was in the city of Rincon, Georgia - which is just a short distance from Savannah. And on January 30th, 2023, he visited the Rincon Wal-Mart. While he was there, an anonymous tipster contacted the police and complained of him smoking weed from a “dab” pen in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Police came, an arrest was made, charges filed, and assets were seized.

Newsweek obtained the police report of the incident, and said it looks like Banks only had a small amount of THC product with him for personal use. Their police report described Mr. Banks as having on him a vaporizer pen, and what they called “5 amounts of dab,” which they say were able to all fit in the vaporizer single pen case. (That certainly sounds like it was a rather small amount for personal use.) However, the police charged him with a felony, specifically, intent to distribute. They took him to jail, and seized his car.

This is called asset forfeiture, and unfortunately it’s legal in most states.

So, for smoking cannabis from a small vaporizer pen, and having a small amount with him for personal use, this man was charged with a felony and lost his car - permanently. That is what can happen if you don’t pay attention to, and follow local jurisdiction’s rules on cannabis.

This event was actually brought to the public’s attention by the Rincon Police Department themselves. Sadly, they thought this was all hilarious, and they are actually quite proud of this disproportionate punishment. The Rincon Police Department has their own facebook page, and posted about the incident on January 30th. The post is still up! The post was written comedically, as if the whole thing were a funny joke. They said Mr. Banks was provided “with transportation to a local Effingham County bed & breakfast,” which is actually their jail. They also said he had “donated” his car to the police department, and also mocked the fact that he had paid off the car in full just one day prior to their taking it.

Here’s their full post: ”The Rincon Police Department had a sizable donation today by Austin Banks from North Carolina. Mr. Banks drove down to patronize our local Walmart and an anonymous caller helped him learn about our charitable program. He had no idea that if you get caught with enough of certain controlled substances, in this case concentrated THC referred to as Dabs, you can donate your vehicle to the police department. This was extremely generous since he had just purchased the Mercedes in full one day prior. With Mr. Banks being from out of state, we provided him with transportation to a local Effingham County bed & breakfast. We would like to extend this program to whomever wishes to participate although there are certain restrictions. Rincon’s beloved Lt. Snitch is available to see if you qualify.’A dabba dabb’ll do.’”

The facebook post has received more than 5,000 comments on it, which is enormous when compared to their usual posts, which at best get just over 100 comments, but often get only one or two. Most commenters were highly critical of the police in this case, although there were a few who expressed gratitude for the police handling this alleged ‘drug trafficking’. Of the critics, one mocked the police back, saying “Hey, look at us, we stole a car because of plants!" While another wrote, "I don't think we can legally call ourselves a free country anymore." And many said that it was, “unbelievably unprofessional behavior to joke about stealing a man's car and putting him in jail for *any* reason, least of all for carrying a substance that is legal in many places."

Until laws can be changed, cannabis users must pay attention to this unfortunate case, and take it as a very serious warning. It shows how extremely important it is to follow local laws on cannabis posession and use, or face the potential of a similar negative outcome.  

RAW Rolling Papers is in trouble!

An Illinois court has issued a verdict against HBI, the distributor of RAW and several other brands, saying that they engaged in unfair competition through their packaging and promotions. Specifically, the issue relates to advertising claims. There are actually several claims that HBI made which the court has now barred them from making any more, and is requiring them to change their packaging to remove the erroneous claims.

The situation started with a lawsuit by a competing company, Republic Brands, who also make and distribute rolling papers. Republic Brands sued HBI International over what they said were false claims, and the federal court agreed.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a permanent injunction against HBI International, requiring them to “immediately” cease “promoting, selling, distributing, shipping, or delivering products” that contain statements which the court found to be untrue.

The claims that they are barred from stating revolve around their alleged charity, and the validity of claims on their “Organic Hemp” rolling papers. RAW and their parent company HBI may no longer make the following claims because these were found to be untrue:
• That they operate and contribute funds to a charitable entity they referred to as the “RAW Foundation”
• That HBI or owner Joshua Kesselman invented rolling paper pre-rolled cones
• That their “Organic Hemp” rolling papers are “unrefined"
• That the adhesive is made with hemp
• That they are made utilizing the center of the hemp stalk
• That they are the world’s first or only organic rolling papers
• That they are made using wind power.
• That their Organic Hemp rolling books, cones, and papers are made in Alcoy, Spain
• That the OCB Organic Hemp papers are knock-offs, “RAWnabees”, copies, or fake versions of RAW.

​Again, these were all things that the court found to be unfounded claims, and which HBI and their subsidiary RAW are now permanently barred from stating in any way. 

​ The United States Attorney Office in the Northern District of New York state issued a press release detailing an elaborate multi state and multi year marijuana smuggling operation.

The joint investigation was also helped by the U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the DEA, the Troy Police Dept, and the Department of Homeland Security. In all, twenty-four defendants have been charged with marijuana distribution, money laundering, firearms, and related offenses in a 99 page indictment. The alleged events took place between at least 2016 and June 2022.

Perpetrators shipped thousands of kilograms of marijuana, as well as some edibles, from a small shipping store in Fresno, California, to locations throughout the United States, including the Capital Region of New York, where these charges were filed.

The marijuana was shipped in packages which were delivered by UPS and FedEx to recipients, who would then take them to so-called “knock spots,” where the they were then sold through a slot in the door. The proceeds from sales were allegedly laundered through a variety of means, including money transfers, money orders, cashier’s checks, cash deposits into various bank accounts, and the direct transportion of cash, including nearly $180 in cash seized from one woman at the Albany International Airport.

​Some of the proceeds were also used on real estate transactions, and property renovations. For example, one person purchased a house for just $9000 in 2016, spent cash to renovate, and then sold the property in 2020 for $250,000. This of course would be ‘clean’ laundered money. $300,000 in cash and funds, several vehicles, over $500,000 worth of jewelry, luxury items, and firearms that included large-caliber rifles, handguns, and ammunition. 

​FLORIDA: A Florida high court has said NO to cannabis users having gun rights, but an Oklahoma court has now just ruled that they CAN!

Current Federal law bans anyone who uses cannabis, even medical patients, from owning firearms, and they face felony charges if they lie about their marijuana use on the federal firearm application.

FLORIDA:
In the Florida case, the government was being sued to allow medical marijuana patients the right to buy and own firearms. The plaintiff’s argued that the federal ban requires state legal medical marijuana cardholders to choose between their health and their Second Amendment right. Unfortunately, the Florida judge presiding over that case ruled against cannabis users having gun rights, saying, “Florida’s medical marijuana users are ‘unlawful user[s] of . . . [a] controlled substance,’ so this law makes it a crime for them to possess firearms.”

The judge is referring to the Gun Control Act of 1968 which prohibits any “unlawful user” of a controlled substance from purchasing or possessing a firearm or ammunition. Because cannabis is still listed as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, the judge ruled that any cannabis user would be “unlawful” in the federal government’s eyes, even if they are in compliance with a state law.

The Florida case is currently being appealed.

OKLAHOMA:
But over in Oklahoma, it’s a different story. A judge there has just declared that banning cannabis users from owning guns is unconstitutional. The Oklahoma case stems from a traffic stop where police found a loaded revolver and marijuana inside the car. Charges were brought against the man and the case was brought before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Judge Patrick Wyrick heard arguments from both sides but ultimately decided to dismiss the case. He said that the federal statute which prohibits any “unlawful user” of a controlled substance from possessing firearms is, “unconstitutionally vague, in violation of the Due Process Clause, and unconstitutionally infringes upon his fundamental right to possess a firearm, in violation of the Second Amendment.” The judge further called this ban “concerning,” and cited the Second Amendment, which reads, in part, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” It’s excepted that the Department of Justice will most likely appeal that ruling.

MARYLAND:
Over in Maryland, legislatures there are also beginning to take action to protect the Second Amendment. Their House Judiciary Committee are currently reviewing a bill from Republican sponsors which seeks to preserve gun rights for cannabis users.

One of the bill sponsors, Robin Grammer, said the existing policy, “puts average Marylanders in a bind.”

FEDERAL:
While the state courts try to work out these cases, the whole problem could be solved by deschedling cannabis. But since that still hasn’t happened, the states have been attempting to pass local legislation.

But in Washington, there are also some lawmakers there who are also trying to find other ways to lift this ban. The late Republican Representative from Arkansas, Don Young, introduced the Gun Rights and Marijuana Act (or GRAM Act) in 2021, which would have ended the gun ban in legal marijuana states if it had passed. Unfortunately it did not.

​Last year, other legislatures in the US Senate attempted to attach a trio of cannabis bills, including the Gun Rights and Marijuana Act, to the National Defense Authorization Act, but those also did not pass.

Last month, the Republican US Representative from West Virginia, Alex Mooney, re-introduced his Second Amendment Protection Act which would allow medical marijuana patients to purchase and possess firearms. In the past, that bill has not made it through, but there is a stronger possibility that it could going into this new Republican led House. This could be because of the Republican leaders strong desire to protect gun rights, and this bill could be considered a gun bill, rather than a cannabis bill.