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Law The Cannabis Chronicles - Misc Cannabis News

I saw the sentence about there’s a lot of money to be made as well in the Gene Simmons article. I love Willie Nelson but I refuse to buy his overpriced cannabis. Same thing with Cheech and Chong. Maybe it’s Chong that has the cannabis?

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Country outlaw legend Willie Nelson inhales deep on his love for cannabis in a new Rolling Stone cover interview.

Just part of the article...

The Red Headed Stranger appears on the May 2019 cover of the music and cultural magazine, an issue dedicated to marijuana.

In a 4,000-word profile that takes readers to Nelson’s Texas-based Luck Ranch, the “Whiskey River” singer shared that he smoked his first joint in 1954, an introduction to the drug that he “wouldn’t be alive without.”

“… It saved my life, really," Nelson told Rolling Stone. "I wouldn’t have lived 85 years if I’d have kept drinking and smoking like I was when I was 30, 40 years old. I think that weed kept me from wanting to kill people. And probably kept a lot of people from wanting to kill me, too — out there drunk, running around.”
 
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I believe that the analysis in this article is accurate and true. And, to be completely open, we have so many critical issues facing our country, that even as a med user and fervent legalization advocate, I just can't see MJ legalization as THE litmus test in my voting for elective representatives.


A new cannabis survey reveals the No. 1 legalization hurdle

As recently as a decade ago, marijuana was considered to be a taboo topic. Politicians skirted the issue if ever questioned, and Americans mostly avoided the discussion of what was largely an illicit drug throughout the United States.

But a lot has changed in a decade. Today, two-thirds of the country have given the green light to medical marijuana, and Illinois recently became the 11th state to OK adult-use marijuana. Recreational sales will commence in the Land of Lincoln on Jan. 1, 2020. We've also witnessed a number of politicians openly discuss, and perhaps even support, marijuana reform at the federal level.

So, if so much has changed, at least among the public and at the state level, why hasn't the government shifted its stance on marijuana at the federal level? A recent poll from CBS News reveals the key insight that's holding the industry back.

Support for legalization hits an all-time high in this annual survey
In April, just ahead of 4/20 (April 20), a celebrated day among the cannabis community, CBS News released its now-annual survey that outlines how the public perceives marijuana. When asking if respondents favored the idea of legal marijuana use, an all-time record 65% were in support, which is up 6 percentage points from April 2018, and 20 percentage points from April 2013. This result more or less jibes with national pollster Gallup's results, which showed 66% support for legalization in its October 2018 survey.

Among the findings, CBS News found that, for the first time ever in its polling, a majority of Republicans supported legalization (56%). However, as has been the case for some time now, seniors aged 65 and up were still on the fence about legalization, with just 49% in support of such an idea. Comparatively, 72% of young adults aged 18 to 34 were in favor of legalization, along with 72% of self-identified Democrats.

One of the primary reasons marijuana has been growing in popularity is that most Americans view it as a positive for the local economy. Just over half of those people polled (52%) suggested that cannabis could be an economic positive, compared to just 15% who viewed it as a negative for the local economy. The remainder of those polled foresaw little or no economic effect.

Furthermore, exactly half of all people polled felt that legalizing marijuana use would have "not much effect" on the number of violent crimes committed. Comparatively, 20% expected a decrease, while 26% forecast an increase in violent crimes with increased cannabis use.

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Marijuana isn't viewed as a political game changer
Each and every one of these data points would appear to be a selling point for federal reform. Americans overwhelmingly favor legalization, believe it's helping their local economies, and don't think cannabis use will lead to more violent crimes. And yet, it remains an illicit substance at the federal level.

The reason? According to the CBS News poll, 56% of Americans questioned said their presidential candidate's support for legal marijuana wouldn't make a difference in their vote. Meanwhile, 21% suggested they're more likely to vote for a candidate who supports legalizing weed, with an equal 21% less likely to vote for a candidate who supports legalizing pot. Put in another context, a majority of the public may have an opinion on whether they believe cannabis should be legal or not, but the stance their candidate takes won't be enough to sway their vote.

A 2018 survey from the independent Quinnipiac University yielded a very similar finding. Quinnipiac posed the following question to its respondents:

"If you agreed with a political candidate on other issues, but not on the issue of legalizing marijuana, do you think you could still vote for that candidate or not?"

A mere 13% of respondents affirmed that they wouldn't vote for such a candidate, with a whopping 82% noting that they still would. Marijuana simply doesn't have enough political clout on Capitol Hill to cause elected officials to lose their seats. This means there's little rush for lawmakers to endorse the legalization movement, even if the public tide has dramatically shifted in favor of legalization in recent years.

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Cannabis could remain illegal at the federal level for years to come
Even if voters won't be making marijuana a single-voter issue, it doesn't reduce the importance of the 2020 elections. On top of numerous states expected to vote on recreational cannabis, the federal government could see shake-ups at the congressional and presidential level. With Republicans having a historically more adverse view of cannabis than Democrats, hanging onto the Senate and/or Oval Office could doom pot to at least another two years without any chance of federal reform. In short, a lot is riding on next year's elections.

Although there are plenty of ways for marijuana investors to make bank in the U.S. via the hemp and cannabidiol markets, a lack of progress on the federal cannabis front could certainly dent investors' near-term expectations.

For example, last quarter we witnessed multistate cannabis operator Acreage Holdings (NASDAQOTH:ACRGF) fall by 20%, making it one of the 25 worst-performing cannabis stocks. Acreage, which has retail stores, grow farms, and processing sites in more states (20) than any other vertically integrated U.S.-focused pot stock, agreed to be acquired by Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC), the largest marijuana stock in the world by market cap, in April.

The $3.4 billion cash-and-stock deal was made on a contingent-rights basis, with Canopy Growth paying $300 million in cash up front, and handing over $3.1 billion in stock later, upon the legalization of marijuana at the federal level in the United States. Although the deal has a roughly 90-month runway to occur, Republican wins in the Senate or Oval Office next year could possibly push back any chance of reform for another 24 months, at minimum. Canopy Growth might look to have an easy in to the United States' burgeoning pot market, but there's no guarantee that the contingent rights of the deal with Acreage will be met anytime soon, if ever.

Until marijuana becomes more of a single-voter issue, there's little chance of real federal reform in the United States.
 
Many things to consider when selecting a president or someone in office. Cannabis shouldn’t be the ultimate reason to vote for someone. Locally I think voters can do more in individual states and changing some governors minds about cannabis. Money in taxes will do that.

A good medical cannabis state with many conditions including pain management is a great place to be even if you don’t have legal cannabis right away. I loved the large jars of weed i could smell before buying. Everything is all packaged up here now since legalization. Some very costly edibles too. I appreciate the awesome selection but it’s at a price money wise and some freedoms.
 
CarolKing said:
Many things to consider when selecting a president or someone in office.
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Carol - just to be clear, I never said anything about the office of the President and that is a can of worms that I am definitely NOT opening up! jaja I did say "elected representatives" which is a much larger set. Just saying.

Now, onto more news.


Teen cannabis use has significantly dropped in States where weed is legal
Opponents to cannabis legalization often argue that allowing regulated sales of the substance will be bad for youth. Not only would legalization make cannabis more accessible, they argue, but it would also teach young people that marijuana is safe and OK to use, writes Calvin Hughes.

But that doesn't seem to be the case, according to a new survey of research gathered by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

After analyzing data collected from 1.4 million high school students by the CDC between 1993 and 2017, researchers found that teen cannabis use has actually decreased in legal states. In jurisdictions that allow recreational cannabis use, the number of high school students that reported consuming cannabis in the past 30 days dropped by eight percent over those 24 years. The amount of high school students who reported consuming cannabis at least ten times in the past 30 days also decreased by nine percent.

However, the reduction in teen cannabis use was only noticed after states legalized recreational cannabis. Allowing medical marijuana was not associated with any decrease in adolescent cannabis consumption.

"Because our study is based on more policy variation than prior work, we view our estimates as the most credible to date in the literature," Mark Anderson - an associate professor at Montana State University and the study's lead author - told CNN.

While researchers said it isn't clear why fewer teens are consuming cannabis in legal states, they did offer one possible explanation: "It is more difficult for teenagers to obtain marijuana as drug dealers are replaced by licensed dispensaries that require proof of age."

But since some of the states included in the study had legalized recreational cannabis very recently, the research team thinks it would be worthwhile to re-evaluate the data at a later date.

"Because many recreational marijuana laws have been passed so recently, we do observe limited post-treatment data for some of these states," Anderson said. "In a few years, it would make sense to update our estimates as more data become available."

But for the time being, it looks pretty likely that cannabis legalization doesn't encourage more teens to smoke weed.
 
Nice that they show support, but this petition isn't effective in any way. If it ain't legislation, it ain't doodley squat.

Congressional Democrats launch petition calling for Nationwide Cannabis Legalization


A group of eight congressional Democrats have come together in support of a new petition calling for the end of federal cannabis prohibition, writes Calvin Hughes.

"Nearly two-thirds of Americans support ending the prohibition of marijuana," the petition stated. "It's wasteful, it's destructive, and it's simply wrong."

The petition is being supported by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Jim McGovern (D-MA), most of whom have previously supported cannabis reform in some way.

The petition comes as these lawmakers are beginning to prepare their campaigns for re-election to Congress. While the petition is not clear on what exactly these Democrats would do to push federal cannabis legalization forward, it does give voters a pretty clear indication of which congressional lawmakers consider cannabis a key political issue.

The Democratic support for cannabis reform in Congress isn't particularity surprising, given that it is already a popular issue among their voter base.

In a tweet, Rep. Huffman said signing the petition will help push the House to continue to support cannabis legalization.

Wide-sweeping shifts in federal cannabis policy seem increasingly likely in the coming years. It is already a popular issue among voters from both sides of the political divide and the vast majority of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates support reform.
 
FFS....for $174K per year, our Congress people have discovered the obvious. Oh, still my beating heart. And what else was accomplished....well, pretty much nada.


Republicans and Democrats agree at landmark hearing that U.S. marijuana laws are a mess


Congress is struggling to do much on protecting personal data, ending surprise medical bills or addressing other issues with bipartisan appeal, but Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday talked up the potential for overhauling restrictions on the cannabis industry.

“Marijuana decriminalization may be one of the very few issues upon which bipartisan agreement can still be reached in this session,” said Republican Rep. Tom McClintock of California at a hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on crime and terrorism.

“I believe more permanent reforms are needed to allow individual states to control, regulate and tax marijuana as each one sees fit. The present conflict between state and federal law is no longer sustainable, and it must be resolved,” McClintock said at the hearing, whose title referenced “racial justice and the need for reform.”

That drew some qualified praise from Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the New York Democrat who chairs the House Judiciary Committee. Nadler said he “had the pleasure of agreeing with every word” spoken by McClintock, with the exception of the Republican’s “last paragraph.” In wrapping up his remarks, McClintock had said Democrats “decided to play the race card at today’s hearing.” Nadler responded that it’s “a fact of life” that “enforcement of marijuana laws has been done in a racially disparate manner.”

Eleven states have legalized marijuana for recreational use, while 33 states and the District of Columbia allow medical use of the drug, but it remains illegal at the federal level. Attorney General William Barr is among those who have criticized the state of affairs, saying in April that he personally prefers prohibiting cannabis, but a framework that supports states‘ own decisions — such as the STATES Act — would be better than the current approach.

That bill, whose full name is the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States Act, would create protections for states that have legalized cannabis for medical or recreational use. A different measure, the Marijuana Justice Act, would go further — ending the federal prohibition of the drug and expunging the records of people who have served time for marijuana use and possession.

But analysts have warned that legislation affecting the cannabis industry could run into trouble in the Senate, given factors such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s wary stance. Last year, the Kentucky Republican applauded a farm bill that legalized industrial hemp, but he described marijuana as hemp’s “illicit cousin which I choose not to embrace.”

There is a less than 25% chance that the current Congress will enact the STATES Act or a separate bill that would protect banks that work with the pot industry, according to Height Capital Markets analysts. “Ultimately, the political divide between the House and Senate will serve as the greatest roadblock,” the Height team wrote in a recent note.

At Wednesday’s hearing, an executive from one cannabis company — Malik Burnett, chief operating officer with Tribe Companies — told lawmakers that the Marijuana Justice Act would provide a solid framework upon which more progress can be made. He was less enthusiastic about the STATES Act, as he emphasized that “restorative justice” should be the guiding principle for any reforms.

“The state of cannabis policy today is best described as a tale of two Americas,” Burnett said.

“In one America, there are men and women — most of them wealthy, white and well-connected — who are starting cannabis companies, creating jobs, amassing significant personal wealth and generating billions in tax dollars for states which sanction cannabis programs. In the other America, there are men and women — most of them poor, people of color — who are arrested for cannabis and suffer the collateral consequences associated with criminal conviction.”

This year, questions about conviction clearing and other social-equity issues helped hold up New Jersey and New York’s efforts to legalize recreational marijuana.
 

US gov’t growing a record 2-ton cannabis crop—but still won’t let others grow

Ole Miss still the only approved cannabis grower as DEA sits on dozens of applications.

With the recent explosion of cannabis access and CBD products, federally funded scientists are craving more research on the potential risks and benefits. But if any researchers were hoping for more varied sources of cannabis—sources that could better reflect what patients have access to, for instance—they may be left holding their breath.

Three years after saying it wanted more suppliers of cannabis for research, the US government continues to hold a monopoly on growing the crop. While more than two dozen entities have submitted applications to the Drug Enforcement Administration to become growers, the government has dragged its feet in processing the paperwork and is instead stepping up its own crop; its exclusive supplier, the University of Mississippi, is growing 2 tons this year, the largest crop in five years, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Orthopedics researcher Emily Lindley at the University of Colorado and other researchers are not happy with the situation, according to the AP. Lindley, who is studying whether cannabis with high THC levels could be an alternative to addictive opioids for chronic back pain, says she wants more suppliers than just Ole Miss, which has had limited strain varieties and product availability. “We want to study what our patients are using,” she said.

While patients can follow state laws on access to cannabis for medical and/or recreational purposes, federally funded researchers have to follow federal law, which still classifies cannabis as a Schedule I drug. These drugs are defined as having a “high potential for abuse and the potential to create severe psychological and/or physical dependence.” Other Schedule I drugs are LSD and heroin.

Dank deal
The government’s exclusive deal with the University of Mississippi to grow the highly restricted drug dates back to 1968, when a scientist there offered to grow cannabis for research as a favor to some colleagues. The federal government subsequently set up a contract for the university to be its sole supplier. Though the contracts had five-year terms, no institution out-competed Mississippi for the deal.

In 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration said it would consider licensing additional suppliers to aid research efforts. “Based on discussions with NIDA [the National Institute on Drug Abuse] and FDA, DEA has concluded that the best way to satisfy the current researcher demand for a variety of strains of marijuana and cannabinoid extracts is to increase the number of federally authorized marijuana growers,” the DEA wrote at the time.

It added that it “fully supports expanding research into the potential medical utility of marijuana and its chemical constituents.”

And since 2016, some of that potential medical utility has been realized. In June of 2018, the Food and Drug Administration approved a CBD-based treatment for certain seizure disorders affecting children. (CBD, the acronym for cannabidiol, is a component of cannabis that does not cause intoxication or the euphoric “high” linked to cannabis use.)


Still, the DEA has not acted on the more than two dozen applications potential growers have submitted. The AP notes that in June, the Scottsdale Research Institute in Arizona asked an Appeals Court in DC to order the DEA to process the applications. The case is ongoing.

A spokesperson for the DEA responded that the agency is “still working through the process and those applications remain under review” but did not comment on the litigation.


 
I generally don't like "list of 10 best/worst whatevers"....reminds me of Buzzfeed or some other vacuous publications. But for the most part, I do believe this is a fairly accurate view of the lay of the land.

7 reasons marijuana has virtually no chance of being legalized in the U.S. before 2021

f investors were to look around, they'd probably find a number of fast-growing trends, such as blockchain, cloud computing, and gene therapy in the healthcare sector. But there's perhaps no industry with a more impressive growth rate at the moment than marijuana.

It would appear that sales for the cannabis industry are only limited by our imagination. Whereas I personally thought that Cowen Group's estimate of $75 billion in global sales by 2030 was fairly aggressive, I was blown out of the water by Stifel analyst Andrew Carter's recent report calling for $200 billion in yearly sales in a decade. Such a scenario has one key cog if it's to be successful: the United States has to legalize marijuana at the federal level.

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Make no mistake about it: We've come an incredibly long way in the U.S. since 1995, when no states had legalized medical or recreational pot, and support for legalization stood at roughly 25%. Today, two-thirds of respondents to Gallup's annual poll favor legalizing marijuana, with 33 states having approved medical cannabis in some capacity. Of these 33 states, a third (11) also allow recreational consumption, with Illinois being the latest to legalize marijuana last month. Retail sales in the Land of Lincoln will commence on Jan. 1, 2020.

According to Carter, the U.S. represents a $100 billion annual opportunity, or roughly half of all sales in a decade. This somewhat jibes with Bank of America's Christopher Carey, who has called for $166 billion in utopian annual sales, with the U.S. generating more than $56 billion a year in legal revenue.

But there's one pretty substantive problem with a majority of these pie-in-the-sky sales estimates: They generally all assume that the U.S. will legalize marijuana at the federal level, which is far from a guarantee. In fact, there are seven good reason to believe that, despite cannabis reform discussions ongoing at the Congressional level, there's virtually no chance of federal marijuana reform before 2021.

1. Republicans generally aren't fans of cannabis
As many of you may already know, Republicans have historically had a more negative view of cannabis than folks who identify as Democrats or Independents. In Gallup's October 2018 poll, 75% of Democrats and 71% of Independents favored broad-based legalization, which compares to "just" 53% of Republicans.

It is worth noting that favorability toward legalization has improved significantly within the Republican Party over the past 15 years (20% in 2003 versus 53% in 2018), but there's a clear gap in support for the party that currently controls the Senate and Oval Office.

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2. McConnell will probably block reform attempts in the Senate
Another reason marijuana reform efforts won't go anywhere in the U.S. prior to 2021 is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). On more than one occasion, McConnell has blocked riders or specific bills tied to cannabis reform from heading to the Senate floor for vote. Even if there was the possibility of passage in the Senate, which isn't guaranteed given the slight GOP majority in the upper House of Congress, McConnell appears unlikely to allow marijuana-focused bills to make it to vote.

3. Congress has more pressing issues
As much as I enjoy covering, and investing in, the pot industry, it's important to recognize that there are far more pressing issues on the docket for lawmakers in Congress. Yes, legalizing marijuana could help to create jobs and fuel economic growth via tax revenue collection, but broader economic topics, such as the trade war with China, or resolving healthcare reform, are going to take precedence over the idea of cannabis reform on Capitol Hill.

4. Despite public favorability, cannabis isn't a single-voter issue
A fourth problem is that favorability alone isn't enough to coerce lawmakers to take up marijuana reform in Washington, D.C.

Last year, the independent Quinnipiac University asked adult respondents whether or not they could still vote for a political candidate whom they shared a lot in common with, but who had a different view on cannabis from their own. A mere 13% of the respondents said they could not vote for that candidate, with 82% noting that they still would vote for a candidate with an opposing view on marijuana. What this shows us is that cannabis isn't a single-voter issue, which means elected officials have little fear of losing their elected seats by taking an opposing view from the majority.

5. Marijuana remains largely an unknown to the FDA
Lawmakers are also taking their cues from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which currently views cannabis and its cannabinoids as having two medical benefits -- the treatment of two rare forms of childhood-onset epilepsy. Aside from approving a single cannabis-derived drug, the FDA doesn't view marijuana as having medical benefits. In the regulatory agency's view, considerable study needs to be undertaken to understand its benefit and risk profile, which is something select lawmakers have been harping on for years.

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6. There's no defined limit of cannabis impairment
Yet another dilemma for lawmakers to consider is that there aren't defined impairment parameters for drivers behind the wheel who've used marijuana. When it comes to alcohol impairment, there's a pretty well-defined line in the sand of 0.08% blood alcohol content. If you're above this limit, you're legally considered impaired. But there aren't uniform impairment limits for cannabis consumption, which makes some lawmakers hesitant to even bring up the idea of modifying federal cannabis laws.

7. It's a money issue
The seventh and final reason you shouldn't expect marijuana legalization in the U.S. at any point before 2021 (and 2021 could even be pushing it) is that reform creates a bit of a money issue.

U.S. businesses that sell marijuana are constrained by U.S. tax code 280E. In short, this tax code disallows pot companies from taking normal corporate deductions, save for cost of goods sold, which is often only a small portion of total sales. This can lead to profitable marijuana companies paying an effective tax rate of more than 70% -- and that can mean slower expansion and hiring capacity. Nonetheless, despite being illegal at the federal level, the IRS has no qualms about collecting income tax on profitable cannabis companies.

However, if marijuana were legalized at the federal level, these businesses would no longer be subject to Section 280E. Or, to put this in another context, the federal government would lose its ability to levy a really high effective tax rate on profitable pot businesses. Estimates suggest this would cost the federal government about $5 billion over a 10-year period.

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The wait goes on for U.S. hemp-market entrants
So, what does this all mean for marijuana stock investors? As you might imagine, it suggests that established Canadian licensed producers that are itching to get in on the much larger U.S. cannabis movement are going to have to be patient. Of course, this doesn't mean these licensed producers won't still find a way to make their mark in the United States.

Since President Trump signed the farm bill into law in December, we've seen no fewer than six major Canadian cannabis producers announce their entrance into the hemp and hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) market. Two of the more recent entrants include HEXO (NYSEMKT: HEXO) and CannTrust Holdings (NYSE: CTST).

HEXO recently created a U.S. subsidiary (HEXO USA) and announced plans in its latest operating results to enter up to eight U.S. states in 2020 with its CBD products. Meanwhile, CannTrust is forming a 50-50 joint venture with Elk Grove Farming Company in California. The duo will initially plant 300 acres of hemp in 2020, but joint venture will have access to as much as 3,000 acres of farmland for future hemp-harvesting purposes.

Like many of their peers, HEXO and CannTrust are using this opportunity to establish infrastructure and business relationships that could prove fruitful if and when the U.S. federal government ever legalizes marijuana. But for the time being, the sales ceiling remains relatively low in the U.S. for at least a half dozen licensed Canadian growers.
 

Congress exerting pressure on FDA for clarification on CBD regulations


Many are accusing the FDA of dragging their feet when it comes to approving and regulating CBD products. Following a dedicated public meeting recently, many expected some long-awaited guidance by now.
Lawmakers are now putting pressure on the Food and Drug Administration to get moving and draft their rules on the regulation of CBD products. However, to their defense, the whole issue is so complex, it’s taking the FDA longer than expected to get their heads around the matter and issue some guidance.

One has to have some sympathy for the FDA after they were forced to scramble to get a hold on hemp-derived CBD (cannabidiol) products following the Farm Bill 2018. The bill allowed for the industrial cultivation of hemp and sent many people into a tailspin; not least, the good people over at the FDA.

CBD is both considered to be a health supplement and a drug, and that’s the main reason why the FDA has such a difficult battle on their hands. Some lawmakers have even gone as far as to threaten that they won’t wait for FDA guidance and will proceed as they see fit at the legal level. Like Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the industry advocacy group U.S. Hemp Roundtable said according to a report from The Hill, “In Congress, some are itchy [for action]. If their patience ends [and FDA doesn’t act], there will be an effort for legislation,” Miller said.

The FDA’s public hearing on May 31st was supposed to resolve the matter, as expert after expert stood and spoke about CBD and its numerous benefits. Despite 10 hours back and forth at that meeting, the FDA Commissioner, Ned Sharpless did not indicate timeframes.

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CBD has been around for many years but the FDA tried to ignore it
“While we have seen an explosion of interest in products containing CBD, there is still much that we don’t know,” Sharpless said. One sticking point is dosing levels; another is the long-term effects of CBD (if any) that are not known about due to decades of cannabis prohibition. CBD from hemp is legal, but a separate issue arises when it comes to CBD in food, beverages or as a dietary supplement due to consumption and other issues.

As Miller pointed out, those inside the cannabis industry are willing to wait for the FDA to get their act together, but only because they believe it’s good for business. “We want to give FDA the appropriate space to come up with their conclusions,” Miller said. “They are under a lot of pressure from Congress, and Congress is under pressure from the public. I think they realize they need to move quickly.”

At the same time, Senators on a bipartisan level are pushing the FDA to get moving and offer some clarification. More than $100,000 was earmarked and set aside as part of a House appropriations package to study CBD. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell even met last week with Sharpless and told him to get a move on.

“Congress’s intent was clear with the passage of the Farm Bill that these products should be legal, and our farmers, producers, and manufacturers need clarity as well as a workable pathway forward regarding the agency’s enforcement,” McConnell said to reporters.

While the process for approving new products with the FDA traditionally takes at least a couple of years, it’s taking much longer than that to get a hold on CBD. While everyone is mainly on the same team here; all wanting a better understanding of CBD, it’s effects and level of safety, lawmakers don’t want the FDA to use that as an excuse to drag their feet on this occasion.

As attorney Jessica Wasserman noted, “FDA needs to create a pathway without taking years worth of safety data,” she said. “[CBD] has been on the market for a long time, and they [FDA] haven’t been using their enforcement powers on it.” And while that may be true, the buck stops with the FDA, and that’s one of the reasons why they need to proceed with extreme caution when it comes to hemp-derived CBD and CBD products.
 
How the U.S. tax code keeps the illegal market for marijuana alive and well


Everyone needs to pay their fair share of taxes, including the cannabis industry. But there is nothing fair about how the federal government treats cannabis under an outdated provision put into the Internal Revenue Service tax code decades ago. It’s fueling the underground market for weed and reducing the tax revenues the federal government should collect.

Under Section 280E of the code, cannabis businesses are not allowed to take tax deductions on normal business expenses like employee salaries, rent and utility bills because the federal government considers their trade illegal drug trafficking -- even where cannabis sales are legal under state law. As a result, the effective federal tax rate for legal cannabis businesses can reach 70% to 90%. No other industry has to operate with this very high tax rate.

Section 280E came into effect during the height of the drug war in the 1980s. A California cocaine dealer was gutsy enough to file his federal tax return with his drug income and expenses listed on it. When the IRS challenged the deductions for his illegal venture, the Tax Court sided with the dealer: There was nothing on the books to prevent him from doing so at the time. Congress and the IRS were outraged and swiftly passed 280E to make sure it would never happen again.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute »
Fast forward to the present day when cannabis is legal in 33 states medically and in 11 states and the District of Columbia recreationally. For some legal cannabis firms, Section 280E is enough to force them out of business. Consider that California was home to about 2,000 nonprofit dispensaries prior to 2018. Legalization introduced regulations that increased the cost of operation. Bigger dispensaries were able to go to Canada and raise funds on the public market, but most legacy cannabis businesses could not afford to do that, and more than 65% of dispensaries shut their doors, resulting in loss of jobs, sales tax and income taxes.

For the remaining cannabis retailers, many had to raise prices to pay off their tax bills. Artificially increasing cannabis prices in the legal market just drives businesses – and consumers – underground. In fact, industry experts estimate that licensed cannabis sales of about $3 billion in California in 2018 accounted for only about 20% to 25% of all the marijuana purchased in the state.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has said that despite legalization unlicensed grow operations in Northern California have proliferated. Indeed, underground markets put progressive states in a precarious position. Legalization was meant to reduce heavy policing of cannabis. Instead, there are new calls for crackdowns on illegal sales.

A better approach would be to use market dynamics to fight the illegal markets. Reduce the taxes that artificially raise prices. Lower the barriers that prevent more growers from entering the industry. License more storefronts to give consumers real access. If lawmakers remove the financial incentives to participate in the unregulated market, they wouldn’t have to resort to force.

A legalization wave is sweeping across America because states recognize the positive benefits of cannabis and the social harms caused by criminalization. But the unfair IRS tax provision is one factor keeping the underground industry alive. Consumers still face unnecessary hazards because they don’t know what they’re buying. There are no legal protections for buyers or sellers. And of course, the government doesn’t get a cut of those revenues.
 
Is The Federal Government finally serious about marijuana research?


A long-gestating back-and-forth between scientists, cannabis advocates, and legislators has been the paucity of marijuana research. Lawmakers at the state and federal level have both referenced a lack of scientific literature around medical cannabis as reason not to push through reform. That happened just this year when Texas expanded its medical marijuana program but refused to post-traumatic stress disorder as a qualifying condition. There wasn’t enough research available, Texas legislators claimed, to support marijuana’s efficacy in treating PTSD.

Of course, those same legislators failed to mention just why there isn’t enough medical marijuana research in America. (They also politely declined a rider provision that would’ve provided funding for that same research they were requesting, which makes you question if these people place the proper value on research they say they do.) Many scientists have complained the marijuana provided by the federal government to conduct research is of poor quality. And due to the drug’s illegal classification at the federal level, many universities have steered clear of cannabis, fearing they’d lose federal grants if they did.

Now, the U.S. government is at least responding to one of those requests. In an email to the Associated Press, the National Institute of Drug Abuse announced plans to grow the largest crop of research marijuana in five years. Heeding scientists’ requests, the crops will match the quality found at many dispensaries. NIDA will also grow marijuana with varying levels of THC and CBD content, including high-THC and high-CBD strains, so that scientists can more closely analyze the effects of these cannabinoids.

However, the plants will be grown at the University of Mississippi, which maintains the exclusive license by the federal government to grow research marijuana. Scientists and legislators have urged the government to expand the number of growers nationwide, as the samples provided for research have been moldly and stored in freezers for several years.

Though the US Drug Enforcement Agency created an application to expand its list of farmers, the government organization has not responded to dozens of applications. Rep. Matthew Gaetz (R-FL) has persistently urged Congress to act on the issue, but to no avail. In addition, the Scottsdale Research Institute in Arizona requested via the US Court of Appeals an order for the DEA to process these applications, though that effort has similarly gotten nowhere.

“We are still working through the process and those applications remain under review,” DEA spokeswoman Katherine Pfaff told the AP in an email.

Whether the new increases in available cannabis to research is a sign the federal government is finally serious about the issue remains to be seen. Let’s just hope these samples aren’t as moldy as the last ones.
 
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It may be just my opinion, but I think the conservatives in this great nation of ours will never legalize cannabis as that would be an admission of an error in their judgment all of these year's. :myday:

So just as soon as the Dems have the majority in each house...that will happen again...won`t it?

What's that you say? It will happen when the "hot air" Cons admit man is the major cause of global warming? :confused:

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"And the issue is increasingly bipartisan — Republicans senators like Cory Gardner (CO) and Rand Paul (KY) are both regular sponsors of marijuana legislation, and the Congressional Cannabis Caucus is co-chaired by two Republicans and two Democrats."​

Not reacting to anything in particular here by pulling out this one quote! :rofl::naughty2::whipit::smoke::smilie-devil:

Three Republicans Stand in the Way of Federal Weed Legalization

There’s finally bipartisan support for cannabis legislation — but unless it can get past a small group of Republican senators, the bills will continue to fizzle

The Capitol Hill Club sits kiddy-corner from Cannon House Office building in downtown Washington, D.C. White table cloths and carved wooden elephants define the decor of this Hill hangout, which caters to mostly Republican lobbyists, staffers, and the occasional politician. But on a stifling day in June, a Democrat lobbyist came to lunch.

Saphira Galoob was there to talk about cannabis legalization with Republican lobbyist Don Murphy. Over sweet potato fries, Murphy — a former GOP state representative in Maryland who has been working in marijuana policy for over 15 years — and Galoob traded war stories about advocating for cannabis on Capitol Hill, where, as Murphy explains, public opinion only goes so far.

Back in 2017, she said, senators like Tom Cotton told her to her face that their states and voters didn’t care about cannabis. “There was a ripeness issue. There was no standing because it wasn’t yet ripe, for members of Congress. And I think that is where the tide has turned.”

Now, over 60 percent of Americans nationwide are in favor of full marijuana legalization. Eleven states and Washington, D.C. have legalized adult-use cannabis use, and 36 more have some form of legal medical or recreational cannabis use.

That public support has translated into more cannabis-related legislation introduced into this congress than ever before. The SAFE Banking Act makes banking easier, for example. The STATES Act solidifies the right of states to legalize cannabis and protects them from federal interference, while the Veterans Equal Access Act opens up more research opportunities into how cannabis can be used to help veterans, from treating PTSD to pain management.

And the issue is increasingly bipartisan — Republicans senators like Cory Gardner (CO) and Rand Paul (KY) are both regular sponsors of marijuana legislation, and the Congressional Cannabis Caucus is co-chaired by two Republicans and two Democrats.

But public and bipartisan support are not enough for full marijuana legalization, says Galoob. “We are still in a situation where the temperature within the Republican Party conference — within the leadership — is not yet signaling that it’s OK.”

The circle of people on Capitol Hill who will decide if cannabis legislation passes is actually pretty small. There are three names that are continually listed — by lobbyists, advocates, and lawmakers — as the gatekeepers to any federal cannabis legislation: Republican Senators Mike Crapo (ID), Lindsey Graham (SC), and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY).

They make decisions about which cannabis bills — if any — the Senate in Congress will have opportunity to vote on this session.

“I used to think that in civics, in government, you need 50 percent plus one to pass legislation,” Murphy says. “Not exactly. You need one, plus 50 percent.” That one, says Murphy, is a committee chairman.

In order to get a bill to the floor for a full Senate vote, it must first pass the House, then get seen by a Senate committee. However, there are absolutely no guarantees that a committee will ever hear a bill. That’s completely up to the committee chairman.

Senators Crapo and Graham are chairmen of the Senate Banking and Senate Judiciary committees, respectively — the two committees that have the highest chance of seeing standalone cannabis legislation in this congress.

Take, for example, the SAFE Banking Act, which is expected to pass the House by a strong margin. But because the bill deals with banking, it will have to pass through the Senate Banking Committee, which has been led by Crapo since 2016.

Crapo’s home state of Idaho is one of only three in the nation with no legal marijuana; not even CBD for limited medical use. The state has the second-largest Mormon population in the nation, and the Mormon Church — of which Crapo is a member — has taken a stance on marijuana that is cautiously pro-medical but strongly anti-recreational. A 2018 poll showed that 79% of Idahoans support medical marijuana, but a majority are still against legalization for recreational use. In an attempt to sway Crapo to consider the legislation, the Marijuana Policy Project says they are currently gathering signatures to put a marijuana legalization bill on the 2020 ballot there, in hopes of showing Crapo how his constituents feel.

mcconnell-graham-crapo.jpg

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-ID, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-SC. Photo credit: J Scott Applewhite/AP/Shutterstock, 3

“I’d say the key players right now are the citizens of Idaho — Crapo’s constituents,” says Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a co-sponsor of the SAFE Banking Act. “Ultimately it’s up to the chairman and committee leadership to get it to the floor if that’s what they want.”

Until very recently, the chairman and his office avoided taking a hard stance on the SAFE Banking Act by arguing that cannabis’ Schedule I status on the Controlled Substances Act should be dealt with first. But on July 16th, a hearing popped up on the Banking Committee calendar titled “Challenges for Cannabis and Banking: Outside Perspectives,” to be held in late July. Sen. Crapo’s Senate Banking committee, turns out, has scheduled a hearing on the SAFE Banking Act, officially pulling it into the Senate sphere of influence before it has even formally passed through the House of Representatives.

While that is good news for pro-SAFE Banking advocates and a big step forward for the bill itself, the story is far from over. The bill still needs a vote — called a “markup” — scheduled, it needs to pass that committee vote, and then it moves on, most likely, to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The situation in the Judiciary Committee, where Sen. Lindsey Graham is chairman, is similar to banking. Most cannabis bills — not just the banking bill — would have to pass his committee before being considered in the full Senate, because they involve the Controlled Substances Act, which is overseen by the Department of Justice.

Sen. Graham’s track record on marijuana is mostly cold. He co-sponsored the medical marijuana-focused CARERS Act of 2015, which would have re-scheduled marijuana and given added protections to states that legalized marijuana. But since then, Graham has voted against other bills such as the SAFE Banking Amendment — which have been tacked onto different appropriations bills multiple times over the years. Graham told Roll Call in April that he is “not very excited about” the SAFE Banking Act, and in 2016 told POLITICO Magazine he rejects recreational marijuana. His scorecard on marijuana advocacy group NORML’s website gives him a “C” grade.

What he would do if cannabis legislation is sent to his committee is unclear. Most advocates don’t think Graham is motivated to hear standalone marijuana legislation unless there was additional pressure on him from GOP leadership. His state — South Carolina — allows small amounts of CBD to be taken for specific medical ailments, but has no large medical or recreational cannabis market. Without voters whose cannabis businesses are impacted by current federal banking regulations, Graham has little incentive to look at the SAFE amendment. (Graham’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.)

Even if a cannabis bill passes a Senate committee in this congress, though, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will make it to a vote. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell holds the keys to the Senate chamber, and he only brings bills to the floor that he personally wants passed. Though he worked hard last year to legalize hemp –– Kentucky has a long history of farming industrial hemp, and McConnell was looking for a way to help the state’s economy — he’s said he will not consider descheduling cannabis. (McConnell’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.)

Some advocates believe that the majority leader could be swayed if a cannabis bill could also help the hemp industry. Right now, some hemp farmers are still having issues opening bank accounts or accessing other programs that should be legal for them, because to the untrained eye, full-spectrum cannabis and hemp look incredibly similar. The difference between legality and classification as a Schedule I drug is in how much CBD and THC the plant possesses, and banks don’t want to be held liable if a hemp company grows a crop with too much CBD or any THC. So many banks and credit card companies are avoid working with the hemp industry entirely. At a tour of a Kentucky hemp facility earlier this month, McConnel himself acknowledged the service gap, saying the banks “need to be convinced, and we hope to explain it to them.”

If the SAFE Banking Act was passed, it would arguably give hemp – which Sen. McConnell worked hard to make legal for his state – some breathing room. Republican Cory Gardner, one of the more influential GOP members on this topic, is optimistic. “I think we’re making more progress than we’ve ever had,” he says.

When asked about the chances for cannabis legislation in the Senate, Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon said he believes the SAFE Banking Act — and potentially other cannabis legislation — has the votes to pass. “It would help a lot to have the support of leadership in this chamber,” he says. “If there’s no obstruction, if we have a free chance to have a debate on the floor, I think we can get the sixty votes and pass it.”



If no cannabis legislation is passed by the time a new congress arrives in January of 2021, the whole process — introducing bills, committee hearings and votes, House votes, Senate votes, etc — will have to start over at square one.

The 117th Congress, though, will have even more pro-cannabis lawmakers than the 116th, as more states legalize recreational and medical cannabis. Illinois will begin selling cannabis recreationally in January 2020, for example, adding 18 Congressmembers and two senators who represent a legal cannabis state. New Jersey, New York, Florida, Ohio, and Arizona are all states that also may legalize adult-use marijuana in 2019 or 2020, and other states are in line to consider medical programs.

“As a practical matter,” says Rep. Earl Blumenauer. “What you’re seeing on the floor of the house is a manifestation of broad a growing support for simple, common sense cannabis reform.”
 
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