Law The Cannabis Chronicles - Misc Cannabis News

[momofthegoons]

D.C. Lawmakers Reject Bill To Effectively Legalize Marijuana Sales For Adults And Crack Down On ‘Gifting’ Market​

Washington, D.C. lawmakers on Tuesday rejected a measure to effectively circumvent a congressional ban on locally legalizing adult-use marijuana sales by allowing adults 21 and older to “self-certify” themselves as medical cannabis patients without needing a doctor’s recommendation.

The emergency resolution faced criticism from some advocates over separate provisions that would have cracked down on unlicensed businesses that are using existing policy to “gift” cannabis to people who purchase unrelated products and services.

District Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) sponsored the legislation, which is the product of a unique legal and regulatory quandary that the District has found itself in since voters approved the legalization of personal cannabis possession, cultivation and gifting at the ballot in 2014.

Despite strong interest in creating a regulated sales model for cannabis, congressional appropriations legislation has blocked local lawmakers from implementing a system of marijuana commerce.

The Council defeated a resolution to declare emergency status and allow expedited action on the bill even after an amendment to the underlying legislation was floated to significantly increase the cap on medical cannabis business licenses.

The emergency declaration resolution received majority support, with an 8-5 vote, but it needed a supermajority of nine members to clear the way for the bill to be considered without moving through the traditional committee process. It is likely that lawmakers will bring up the proposed reforms as non-emergency legislation at a later time.



“There’s nothing in the bill about criminal penalties—nothing. It’s entirely in terms of [civil enforcement],” Mendelson said at a press briefing on Monday, reacting to concerns from advocates who say the enforcement component could further the disproportionate harms of the war on drugs while benefiting existing medical cannabis companies by increasing their customer base. “The important part of the legislation is that it’s making it easier for the legal medical marijuana businesses, which we are licensing, to be able to maintain their customer base.”

“The legal shops have seen a substantial erosion of their business to the legal market and I want to be clear, this is not a gray market, it’s an illegal market,” he said.

While local legislators, as well as the mayor, are eager to formally create a regulated market for adult-use marijuana, they’ve been blocked from doing so because of a GOP-sponsored congressional spending bill rider that’s been annually renewed, specifically prohibiting D.C. from using its local tax dollars to implement a system of recreational cannabis commerce.

But it remains to be seen when that rider might be lifted. Under Democratic control, both chambers of Congress have proposed lifting the rider from Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) in recent years, but last year’s appropriations bill maintained the ban, and President Joe Biden last month proposed for the second time a budget that would continue the cannabis restriction.

Mendelson said on Tuesday that Congress “left us in a purgatory” with the rider.

“The solution is to remove the rider,” he added, noting that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) also called for a federal fix to this unique problem in a letter she released ahead of the Council’s consideration of the resolution on Tuesday.

The mayor said that the “Council should continue to level the playing field for licensed providers, keep pushing for an adult-use and tax and regulate system, but be careful to advance unfunded mandates for our enforcement agencies during times of great change.”

“This could result in creating expectations in the community that we have no ability to fully achieve,” she said. “We continue to call on the president and Congress to remove these anti-home rule riders. These policy changes are best left to our elected legislature.”

As an interim solution to the congressional blockade—as well as the grey market of businesses that are “gifting” cannabis in exchange for non-marijuana items and services—Mendelson’s legislation proposed to reform the District’s medical marijuana laws, primarily by creating a quasi-recreational market by allowing those 21 and older to self-certify themselves as patients eligible for cannabis sold at licensed dispensaries. The self-certification policy would have sunsetted on September 30.

But while a main part of the intent behind the emergency legislation was to “reduce administrative barriers as much as possible for patients”—including by raising the possession limit from two to eight ounces—not all advocates were supportive of the measure as drafted.

Some wondered why the chairman didn’t take further steps to approve far more medical cannabis providers, including by extending licensing opportunities to those operating in the grey “gifting” market. The new amendment was circulated in an attempt to address those concerns, though it never got a vote after the emergency declaration resolution failed.

For current grey market operators, the resolution proposed civil enforcement action that would have resulted in a maximum $30,000 fine for unregistered businesses that “gift” marijuana in exchange for other products.

The fine could have also been imposed on landlords that permit such business activity on their property. And landlords could have faced an additional $60,000 fine for subsequent violations.

As introduced, those penalties wouldn’t have started to be enforced until May 16. The amendment as floated would have pushed back that enforcement date to August 2, however.

Ahead of the vote, several councilmembers raised concerns about the chairman’s proposal at a District Council breakfast meeting, and it became increasingly clear that the resolution would not receive the nine votes required.



Councilman Kenyan McDuffie (D), who is running to become the District’s attorney general, circulated the amendment to significantly increased the number of dispensaries that could be licensed, increasing the cap from eight to 32.

Councilman Charles Allen (D) spoke in favor of the chairman’s bill and the amendment, and he echoed frustration over the ongoing congressional blockade.

“We thought that with a Democratic majority, we no longer be subject to the whims of one member of Congress from the eastern shore of Maryland. But we’re still in the same place and angry [at the] national leadership for letting us down yet again.”

“They used us as a bargaining chip before. They will do so again until we have no budget riders and we get the statehood that we deserve,” Allen said. “But that aspiration is not where we find ourselves today. If we could have regulated non-medical marijuana, we would have and we’d be collecting taxes with the ensuring safety of all the businesses that call themselves I-71 compliant, but there’s no such thing as a commercial transaction that is I-71 compliant.”

The emergency declaration resolution accompanying the legislation said that it is “estimated that the illicit cannabis market in the District logs $600 million in sales annually, including those by illicit cannabis storefronts and delivery services, and this, in turn, is economically harming the medical cannabis program where the majority of registered dispensaries are owned by minorities.”

“These businesses sell untraced, untested cannabis that is mostly cultivated outside of the District, are often located in areas where legal facilities are not allowed, such as being within 300 feet of schools and recreation facilities, due to concerns of youth exposure to cannabis and cannabis products, and do not pay the fees and taxes licensed facilities must pay, putting licensed cannabis businesses at a competitive disadvantage.”

Mendelson has faced pushback over the specifics of the proposal from advocates who viewed the civil penalty as unnecessary. The advocacy group D.C. Marijuana Justice (DCMJ) has been especially vocal about their criticism of the resolution.



The D.C. chapter of the NAACP also said in a letter to Mendelson that the resolution as drafted would “make it harder for many Black-business owners to enter and operate within this licensed system and will adversely affect those who are currently operating under Initiative 71.”



The patient self-certification provision of the measure would have represented a significant expansion of another piece of legislation enacted into law this year that allows people 65 and older to self-certify for medical cannabis without a doctor’s recommendation.

The bill also further extended the registration renewal deadline for patients and created a week-long medical marijuana tax relief “holiday” that coincides with the unofficial cannabis event known as 4/20.

In 2019, another D.C. lawmaker proposed a separate medical cannabis reform bill meant to ease the registration process for patients. Instead of having to wait several weeks for regulators to process their medical cannabis approvals, patients would simply fill out an application with the city health department and would then automatically qualify to legally purchase marijuana on a provisional basis.

D.C. lawmakers have been preparing to implement a more traditional, regulatory model for adult-use marijuana for years.

Lawmakers held a joint hearing in November on a pair of bills to authorize the legal sale of recreational marijuana and significantly expand the existing medical cannabis program in the nation’s capital.

At the time, a provision of the bill that could have led to a broad crackdown on the city’s unregulated market for recreational cannabis was removed, much to the relief of advocates who criticized the proposed measure over a component that would have punished businesses that “gift” marijuana in a manner that circumvents the local prohibition on retail cannabis sales.

The mayor said last April that local officials are prepared to move forward with implementing a legal system of recreational marijuana sales in the nation’s capital just as soon as they can get over the final “hurdle” of congressional interference.

Bowser introduced a cannabis commerce bill last February, though her measure was not on the agenda for November’s hearing alongside the cannabis legalization proposal put forward by Mendelson.

The chairman said on Tuesday that, as soon as Congress removes the D.C.-specific cannabis rider, “we will move forward with that legislation” to formally enact adult-use legalization.

Local marijuana activists also proposed an amendment to Mendelson’s legalization bill that would allow small entrepreneurs to sell cannabis at farmers markets.

Last March, a federal oversight agency determined that the congressional rider blocking marijuana sales in D.C. does not preclude local officials from taking procedural steps to prepare for the eventual reform, such as holding hearings, even if they cannot yet enact it with the blockade pending.

This year, a D.C. Council committee unanimously approved a bill to ban most workplaces from subjecting job applicants to pre-employment marijuana testing. It would expand on previous legislation the D.C. Council approved to protect local government employees against workplace discrimination due to their use of medical cannabis.

Separately, a group of activists last year announced an effort to pressure local lawmakers enact broad drug decriminalization, with a focus on promoting harm reduction programs, in the nation’s capital. A poll released last year found that voters are strongly in favor of proposals.

At the congressional level, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said in November that she is “closer than ever” to removing the federal blockade on cannabis commerce in her district.

 

[Baron23]

Well, Biden's party controls both chambers of Congress and the executive branch. He is supposed to be the leader of his party. He needs to start cracking heads together like coconuts. Particularly Schumer who has taken an all or nothing approach and will not support incremental bills like the SAFE act.

Biden Treasury Secretary Says Congress’s Marijuana Banking Inaction Is ‘Extremely Frustrating’​

The Biden administration’s treasury secretary says it is “extremely frustrating” that Congress has yet to enact marijuana banking reform legislation, adding that the department is “supportive” of the bipartisan Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act.


Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), the sponsor of that bill, raised the issue with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. He brought up the spike in violent crime targeting cannabis businesses and workers in legal states and asked to get her “sentiment on this subject.”


Yellen didn’t mince words.


“We have talked about it for a very long time, and I agree with you: It’s an important issue—and it’s an extremely frustrating one that we haven’t been able to resolve it,” she said, adding that she appreciates the congressman’s leadership on the topic.


“We’ve worked with you on this bill,” the secretary said. “We’re supportive of it.”

“As you know, there is a conflict between state and national law. Banks trapped in the middle of that. And some legislative solution, I think, is necessary to move this forward,” Yellen said. “I share your frustration that we haven’t been able to make progress. I think it does really require congressional action.”


The SAFE Banking Act has passed the House six times in some form, but it’s persistently stalled in the Senate under both Democratic and Republican control.


While the bill would help resolve certain financial challenges that state-legal cannabis businesses face under federal prohibition, Perlmutter and state officials have stressed that this is a public safety issue that demands urgent action, especially amid recent crime surges targeting the cash-intensive businesses.


The congressman asked Yellen to “impress upon the administration the need” to pass the reform legislation either as part of the America COMPETES Act—large-scale manufacturing and innovation legislation to which it was attached in the House and which is now pending consideration by a bicameral conference committee—or as a standalone bill “so that nobody else dies because there’s so much cash” in the state markets.


“We would like to see that happen,” Yellen replied.


Washington State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti (D) has been especially vocal about the need for congressional reform, and he wrote in a recent letter to his colleagues that it’s “just not safe to have this financial volume in cash.”


Pellicciotti made similar remarks at a recent conference of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST). And Colorado Treasurer Dave Young echoed that sentiment in a recent interview with Marijuana Moment.


Meanwhile, a Pennsylvania Senate committee approved a bipartisan bill late last month to safeguard banks and insurers against being penalized by state regulators for working with state-legal medical marijuana businesses as congressional reform continues to stall.


Perlmutter, for his part, has reiterated his committment to getting something done before his retirement at the end of this session. He’s even made a point to talk about enacting the reform legislation during committee hearings on ostensibly unrelated or wider-ranging legislation, like at a recent House Rules Committee hearing.


At a recent event hosted by the American Bankers Association (ABA), the congressman said that he will “continue to be a real pest, and persistent in getting this done” before he leaves Congress.


Following the bipartisan House passage of the banking bill, Perlmutter said he naively expected it “to sail through the Senate, which is always a bad assumption, because nothing sails through the Senate.”


But he’s taken pains to build support, including from current Senate leadership that has insisted on enacting comprehensive legalization with firm equity provisions in place before advancing a bill viewed as friendly to the industry.


Despite recently saying that he’s “confident” that the Senate will take up his bill this session, the congressman recognized that while he’s supportive of revisions related to criminal justice reform, taxation, research and other issues, he knows that “as we expand this thing, then we start losing votes, particularly Republican votes and we got enough votes in the Senate to do it” as is.


Ahead of last month’s ABA event, the financial group released a poll that it commissioned showing that a strong majority of Americans support freeing up banks to work with marijuana businesses without facing federal penalties.


Meanwhile, the number of banks that report working with marijuana businesses ticked up again near the end of 2021, according to recently released federal data.


It’s not clear if the increase is related to congressional moves to pass a bipartisan cannabis banking reform bill, but the figures from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) signal that financial institutions continue to feel more comfortable servicing businesses in state-legal markets.


Some Republicans are scratching their heads about how Democrats have so far failed to pass the modest banking reform with majorities in both chambers and control of the White House, too. For example, Rep. Rand Paul (R-KY) criticized his Democratic colleagues over the issue in December.


In the interim, federal financial regulator Rodney Hood—a board member and former chairman of the federal National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)—recently said that marijuana legalization is not a question of “if” but “when,” and he’s again offering advice on how to navigate the federal-state conflict that has left many banks reluctant to work with cannabis businesses.

 

[Baron23]

"White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters last week that President Joe Biden agrees that “our current marijuana laws are not working,”


Yeah, well he's done fuck all about it, eh?

Schumer Talking To GOP To ‘See What They Want’ In Marijuana Legalization Bill Coming This Month​

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on Tuesday that he and colleagues are in the process of reaching out to Republican senators to “see what they want” included in a bill to federally legalize marijuana he’s planning to introduce later this month.


The leader was pressed during a briefing with reporters about the fact that he’s been discussing plans to file legalization legislation for more than a year. The new comments come less than a week after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a separate legalization bill from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY).


“We hope to [file the bill] towards the end of April,” Schumer said, adding that he, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) “are talking about it and, in fact, we’re trying to reach out” to other lawmakers about the forthcoming bill.


“I’ve reached out already to a few Republicans to see what they want,” he said.


Schumer said in February that the plan was to introduce the Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (CAOA) in April. He and his colleagues first unveiled the legislation in draft form for public comment last year.


The leader also recently said in a meeting with activists that he expects committee hearings on the proposal shortly after it’s finally filed.


In February, Schumer and his cannabis co-sponsors also circulated a letter asking fellow lawmakers to weigh in on the provisions of the bill.


It’s unclear what kind of GOP input on the bill the senator might be inclined to incorporate to build bipartisan support for the reform measure, but the House bill that passed last week contains similar provisions to the draft CAOA and received just three Republican votes in support.


The senators’ proposal as released in draft form last year would federally deschedule cannabis, expunge prior convictions, allow people to petition for resentencing, maintain the authority of states to set their own marijuana policies and remove collateral consequences like immigration-related penalties for people who’ve been criminalized over the plant.

The bill would also impose a federal tax on marijuana products and put some of that revenue toward grant programs meant to support people from communities most impacted by prohibition who want to participate in the industry.


Further, the legislation would transfer regulatory authority over cannabis from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).


The three senators accepted public comments on the draft to help inform a revised bill for introduction, now expected this month.


Schumer emphasized late last year that he wants to keep the “big boys” out of the marijuana industry in favor of creating opportunities for smaller operators when cannabis is federally legalized, and he said that the upcoming bill would accomplish that.


He’s also stressed that his reform measure will take specific steps to restrict the ability of large alcohol and tobacco companies to overtake the industry.


Also in Congress, a separate bill to tax and regulate marijuana is also in play this session. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is sponsoring that legislation, and she said in a recent interview that she’s received assurances from Democratic leaders that her States Reform Act will receive a hearing following the MORE Act floor vote.


Meanwhile, on the same day that it was announced that the MORE Act would be heading to the floor again, the Senate unanimously approved a bipartisan bill meant to promote research into marijuana, in part by streamlining the application process for researchers who want to study the plant and to encourage the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop cannabis-derived medicines.


The House on Monday approved a separate, bipartisan marijuana research bill that’s meant to streamline studies into cannabis, in part by allowing scientists to access products from state-legal dispensaries.


Congressional researchers separately released a report recently that details the challenges posed by ongoing federal prohibition and the options that lawmakers have available to address them.


Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters last week that President Joe Biden agrees that “our current marijuana laws are not working,” but she declined to directly address whether the president supports House-passed Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act.

 

[Baron23]

Will Biden keep his word and pardon federal cannabis offenders?​

Running for president, Joe Biden promised he’d decriminalize marijuana and pardon federal offenders. So why is Daniel Muessig about to go to prison for five years?​

In the fall of 2020, Daniel Muessig was urging everyone he knew to get out and vote. He lived in the swingiest of swing states and, while he’d supported Bernie in the primaries, he was now convinced of the importance of carrying Pennsylvania for Joe Biden.

Millions of people who share Daniel’s politics had come to the same conclusion. The difference is that Daniel was facing a federal prison sentence—and he had every reason to believe that a Biden presidency would save him.

As federal drug charges go, the one he was facing was nothing. Daniel wasn’t accused of doing anything violent, and, other than one minor brush with the system when he was a juvenile, it was the first time he’d even been arrested.

To be clear, by his own cheerful admission, he’s sold a lot of weed over the years. He was what a kingpin looked like in Squirrel Hill—a pleasant and prosperous Jewish neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh. But he didn’t mess with hard drugs or associate with people who did. And he constantly urged the people who worked for him not to carry weapons.

He knew all about the added legal risks doing any of that would bring. Before he switched careers and became the leader of what would later be called the “Orange Box Gang,” he was a practicing lawyer.

When I interviewed Daniel, I had the unsettling sense that he was both nothing like me and exactly like me. We’re both overeducated leftists. We’d both probably be in better shape if we didn’t like specialty pizzas quite so much, and, yes, we’ve both smoked our fair share of weed. I even spent a year living in Squirrel Hill.

But Daniel has a wild streak that I just don’t have—a drive to push every limit in sight. He comes from a nice Jewish family. His father got most of the way through a PhD in Russian history at the University of Chicago before his mother got pregnant. His brother is the business and technology editor at the Los Angeles Times. But Daniel was getting into trouble even as a teenager, staying out with girls until three in the morning, rapping, selling small amounts of weed, and running from the cops. Before he decided to settle down and go to law school, he was touring the United States and Europe as a freestyle rapper. And when he needed an innovative way to drum up business for his law practice, he came up with a way of getting his name out into the world that worked so well that it destroyed his career.

In a viral ad that could be a Mr. Show sketch, we’re introduced to a series of seedy characters. Again and again, the character’s image freezes and a list of petty crimes like prescription fraud and receiving stolen property appears on the screen. As the music continues, the character flashes a friendly smile and says, “Thanks, Dan!”

It was hilarious—but not to any of the judges or prosecutors Daniel encountered when he actually tried to work as a defense attorney. These people cared deeply about the system he had mocked, and when they found out that he was that lawyer, they wanted to destroy him.

When Daniel himself appears in the screen a little over a minute into the commercial, he speaks a line that would be quoted many years later in the prosecution’s sentencing memo.

“Consequences! They sure suck, don’t they?”

About 15 seconds before that, we see a hard-faced older man who looks a little like a cross between Willie Nelson and the kind of steelworker who might get arrested for getting into a fistfight with a scab on a union picket line. His name is Dale, and he actually was a steelworker. When the mills closed, Dale Worton was part of a group of workers who protested the loss of their jobs and the devastation of their communities with tactics Daniel describes as having ranged from “throwing blood into the pools of steel executives” to “dynamiting the entrance to Mellon Bank in Homestead” to “oh so many dead animals and stink bombs being tossed into family parties and mansions across western PA.” Dale liked boats and prostitutes and listening to Led Zeppelin cranked up to 11. Unsurprisingly, he also liked weed—and when his upstairs neighbor Daniel Muessig couldn’t be a lawyer anymore, they collaborated to open up an illegal dispensary known simply as “the store.”

Daniel understands that he was being stupid. He had a sense of daring and adventure. He was also, for all his socialist political convictions, one hell of an entrepreneur: innovative, clever and consistently at least a step or two ahead of the competition. But his wife was always warning him that he’d pushed so far so fast that he was asking for trouble. He was operating an illegal business in a store built out of the laundry room of a building he didn’t own—and it was so popular that cars would be lined up around the block. After Dale died, Daniel just doubled down and expanded the operation.

His crew operated in plain sight, storing their product in orange lock boxes at construction sites and buildings. Weed wasn’t quite legal, but in the 2010s enforcement was already a shadow of what it once was. When the raid happened in May 2019, it was a fluke. They walked into a trap ultimately set for a different gang—one that didn’t just sell weed.

Daniel went through two excruciating years of waiting and wondering after that. Meanwhile, his friends were indicted, one after another. A 63-year-old man only marginally involved in the business hanged himself when the indictment came down and he realized how many years he’d have to spend in prison. Daniel described to me how he bent over and vomited in a Target parking lot when he got the news.

As he waited, the world was shut down by Covid-19. A new president was elected—one who’d promised that he would pardon and expunge the record of everyone in federal prison for cannabis. Daniel and his wife let themselves believe the Justice Department wouldn’t bother with him, and eventually they even made plans to fulfill their long-held dream of adopting a child. That’s when the hammer finally came down.

He was offered, again and again throughout the process, the option of informing on his friends. He easily could have gotten off with probation. Instead, when he reports to prison on May 11, he’ll serve a minimum of five years—unless President Biden finally makes good on his promise.

There’s no denying that Daniel was reckless. But if you listen to him tell his story, sometimes peppering it with pop-culture references and jokey asides and sometimes lapsing into deep sadness, I defy anyone who’s made of human parts to truly believe that this man deserves what’s being done to him. He’s about to be separated from the many, many people who love him. He’s going to be locked in a cage for five years.

That’s five years for committing a “crime” that’s been made entirely legal in states from Maine to Oregon and from Michigan to California. And, when you get right down to it, for being a cocky loudmouth who offends judges and prosecutors.

Daniel has been a self-described “loyal foot soldier for the Democratic Party” since he turned 18. He’s pushed hard for insurgent democratic socialists, even selling his customers on his favored candidates while he packaged up their weed, but he’s also sucked it up and voted for the most mediocre centrists to keep right-wing Republicans out of office. Now, he’s giving everyone the opposite advice. Along with 2020 Bernie Sanders organizer Daniel Ezra Moraff, Daniel Muessig is pushing a high-risk strategy to make Biden keep his promise—no pardons, no votes.

Some people reading this article may be prepared to take the pledge and do the electoral equivalent of shooting the hostage next fall. Others might be disturbed by the idea of rolling the dice on the possible consequences of electing the greater evil. Ultimately, you’re going have to make your own calculations between pragmatism and principle.

Daniel Muessig has already made his. Starting on May 11, he’s going to wake up in a cell every day for the next 1,875 days. That’s longer than most people he grew up with in Squirrel Hill spent getting their college degrees. It’s longer than a presidential term.

He doesn’t have to do it. If he were willing to cooperate with prosecutors, he could spend the next five years watching television with his wife and going to work and getting high with whatever friends he’d still have if he made that decision.

I recently picked up a T-shirt I plan to wear when I give interviews and lectures about other topics. It features a picture of one of the orange lockboxes used by Daniel’s crew and a single four-word sentence. Honor has a price.

 

[Baron23]

There are a lot of factors influencing this potential legislation in the Senate, not least of which is Schumer's abject insistence on all-or-nothing/my way or the highway approach that has inhibited consideration of smaller bites at the apple in favor of a hugely broader act that is having trouble garnering votes from both sides of the aisle.

Deschedule and banking reform should be doable. Massive, broad, legislation....not so much, IMO.

Democrats face tough climb on winning Senate approval of legal marijuana​

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is facing significant obstacles in his legislative push to legalize marijuana, with resistance from Republicans and members of his own party threatening chances of passage in the upper chamber.

Schumer has said that his aim is to bring a comprehensive marijuana reform bill forward later this month, weeks after the House passed a bill that would remove marijuana from the federal controlled substances list.

“We hope to do that towards the end of April,” Schumer said in remarks last week, noting discussions with Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who are involved in the push. He also added that he has been reaching out to “a few Republicans to see what they want.”

Staunch Republican opposition to legislation to legalize marijuana is one of the biggest hurdles Schumer faces in passing a measure through the evenly split Senate, where Democrats would need the backing of all of their members and at least 10 GOP members to make the bill law.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of GOP leadership, cast doubt on his chances. “I would not think it would pass the Senate right now,” he said.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), whose state has legalized recreational marijuana in recent years, also said he doesn’t “support legalization,” citing “serious drug problems in Montana.”

Schumer also faces a tall task in unifing Democrats on a path forward to legalization, as a few in his party have continued to express reservations about recreational marijuana.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a key centrist, told The Hill he is “very much supportive of medical marijuana,” though he still has concerns “about legalizing recreational marijuana.”

Pressed for her thoughts on the House’s marijuana legalization bill, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) also voiced concerns.

“I have concerns about recreational marijuana, and given the substance abuse crisis we have in this country, and we have an issue in New Hampshire and the lack of comprehensive data on how people are affected,” she said.

The comments underscore the heavy lift on the bill.

The reality presents a stark contrast from the Democratic-led House, where members voted 220-204 largely along party lines this month to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would nix marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances, expunge certain marijuana-related convictions and impose a tax on marijuana sales to help communities disproportionately impacted by the nation’s war on drugs.

The uncertainty also comes as public support for legalization steadily grows. More than two-thirds of Americans want to legalize recreational weed, according to a November Gallup poll, the highest figure on record. The survey found that 83 percent of Democrats, 71 percent of independents and 50 percent of Republicans back legalization.

The House had previously passed the MORE Act in December 2020, marking the first vote by a congressional chamber to legalize marijuana federally. It was not taken up by the Senate, which had at the time been led by Republicans.

Senate Democrats are expected to bring forward their own measure in the weeks ahead, after previously releasing a draft of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) last year.

Senate Democrats released the draft plan last July, while also asking for feedback from the public and stakeholders, as well as government and state officials. Backers have said the plan seeks to build upon the text seen in the MORE Act, with proposals aimed at addressing items like drugged driving and safety standards, among other measures.

Wyden told The Hill on Thursday that he and senators hope to take swift action on the bill shortly after its introduction.

“It’s going to get referred to the Finance Committee, I believe, and I want to work with both sides to have hearings as quickly as possible,” said Wyden, who chairs the Senate panel.

The momentous effort would be a welcome change of pace for advocates.

“The issue has been talked about quite a bit more in the House than it has in the Senate, which so far has not really had a substantive hearing on cannabis policy generally,” said Michael Fox, policy director at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Fox said the House has led the charge in passing both incremental and comprehensive bills, pointing to passage of items like marijuana and banking legislation, the MORE Act and a recent medical marijuana research bill that was approved this week.

“In this Congress, we really haven’t been able to do that in the Senate, because the CAOA hasn’t been introduced yet. It’s kind of difficult to really rally conversations and hearings around a bill that doesn’t technically exist,” he said.

Cannabis executives, wary that the bill won’t pass the Senate, are pushing Senate Democrats to prioritize bills that have bipartisan support, like the SAFE Banking Act, which would enable operating cannabis firms to use banking services.

The bill’s advocates say that under current law in which financial institutions could be penalized for working with cannabis businesses, dispensaries are forced to hold large sums of cash, making them prime targets for robberies.

Schumer has previously blocked the legislation, which has passed the House several times and has nine Republican co-sponsors in the Senate, over concerns that its passage would make it harder for lawmakers to pass comprehensive marijuana reform.

The fast-growing cannabis industry, which employs over 400,000 U.S. workers, has suggested that lawmakers could pass the banking bill alongside other bipartisan bills to expunge weed convictions.

“We expect congressional leadership to do everything in their power to advance descheduling, but we also realize that the clock is ticking on this session of Congress and it’s critically important that we see some reforms happen that are within reach,” said Steve Hawkins, CEO of the U.S. Cannabis Council, an industry group.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday that her department is “supportive” of the SAFE Banking Act and lamented that Congress has not updated federal law to accommodate states that have legalized weed.

“It’s an important issue, and it’s an extremely frustrating one that we haven’t been able to resolve it,” Yellen told Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), the bill’s lead sponsor, during a House hearing.

The rare show of support from the Biden administration, which has largely remained silent on cannabis issues and even dismissed staffers over their previous marijuana use, could give the banking bill a timely boost.

This week, Democratic leaders tapped lawmakers to serve on a conference committee to craft the final China competitiveness bill. The House-passed bill included SAFE Banking, while the Senate version did not.

“We’re optimistic that SAFE will get across the finish line,” Hawkins said, noting that he’s hopeful it will be included in the China competitiveness bill that goes to President Biden’s desk.

 

[momofthegoons]

DEA Says Marijuana Seeds Are Considered Legal Hemp As Long As They Don’t Exceed THC Limit​

Marijuana might be federally prohibited, but the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has effectively acknowledged that the plant’s seeds are generally uncontrolled and legal, regardless of how much THC might end up being produced in buds if those seeds were cultivated.

DEA recently carried out a review of federal statute and implementing regulations in response to an inquiry from attorney Shane Pennington regarding the legality of cannabis seeds, tissue culture and “other genetic material” containing no more than 0.3 percent THC.

The agency affirmed that while it used to be the case that marijuana seeds were controlled—full stop—that’s no longer the case because of the federal legalization of hemp, as Pennington discussed in an edition of his On Drugs newsletter on Substack on Monday.

Following the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp has been excluded from the Controlled Substances Act’s (CSA) definition of marijuana, making it so all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L. are uncontrolled as long as they don’t exceed 0.3 percent THC.

“Accordingly, marihuana seed that has a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis meets the definition of ‘hemp’ and thus is not controlled under the CSA,” Terrence L. Boos, chief of DEA”s Drug & Chemical Evaluation Section wrote in the letter, dated January 6. “Conversely, marihuana seed having a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis is controlled in schedule I under the CSA as marihuana.”

Because both hemp and marijuana seeds generally contain nominal THC levels that wouldn’t exceed the legal threshold, DEA is essentially conceding that people can have cannabis seeds no matter how much THC the resulting plant might produce, as long as the seeds themselves contain less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC. Of course, it continues to be federally illegal to use any cannabis seeds with the intent of growing still-prohibited marijuana.

“In my view, the letter is significant because we continue to see confusion over the source rule—the argument that the legal status of a cannabis product hinges on whether it is ‘sourced’ from marijuana or hemp—influencing legislative proposals even at the federal level,” Pennington told Marijuana Moment.

Pennington’s colleague Matt Zorn put together a flow chart that lays out their statutory interpretation:

“Now that we know that the legality of the ultimate ‘source’ of both hemp and marijuana plants (their seeds) hinges on delta-9 THC concentration alone, reliance on the source rule is much harder to defend,” Pennington said. “I’m hopeful this will clear up a lot of confusion in this area of law.”

Beyond seeds, the new DEA letter also clarifies that “other material that is derived or extracted from the cannabis plant such as tissue culture and any other genetic material that has a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis meets the definition of “hemp” and thus is not controlled under the CSA.”

Pennington and Zorn are no strangers to DEA. The attorneys have an extensive history of litigating against the agency on cannabis and broader drug policy issues, helping to break the federal monopoly on marijuana cultivation for research purposes, for example.

Zorn is also involved in a separate challenge to DEA’s proposal to ban five psychedelic compounds. Researchers and advocates scored a procedural victory in that case in February after the agency’s own administrative court agreed to hold hearings on the matter before the prohibition can be enacted.

Meanwhile, DEA officials last year clarified to state regulators that an increasingly popular, psychoactive cannabinoid known as delta-8 THC is not a controlled substance under existing statute.

The agency officials said that only products containing more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC—the most commonly known intoxicating cannabinoid—is controlled, but the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp does not explicitly ban THC isomers.

Separately, a bipartisan group of members of Congress sent a letter to DEA in January, urging the agency to let terminally ill patients have access to psilocybin. Lawmakers said DEA is “obstructing access to psilocybin for therapeutic use consistent with the letter and intent Right to Try (RTT) laws.”

Congress and 41 states have adopted right-to-try laws, which allow patients with terminal conditions to try investigational medications that have not been approved for general use. Lawmakers said that DEA “has failed to abide” by the law.

DEA has increased production quotas for the production of certain psychedelics like psilocybin in an effort to promote research, but its scheduling decisions have continued to represent obstacles for scientists—a point that’s been repeatedly echoed by the head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Read the letter DEA sent on the legal status of marijuana seeds and other materials by following title link and scrolling to the bottom of the article.

 

[momofthegoons]

New Congressional Bill Would Put Marijuana Penalties For Military Members On Par With Alcohol-Related Punishments​

A new congressional bill would make it so the punishment for military service members who use or possess marijuana could not exceed penalties for being drunk or incapacitated on duty.

Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD) filed the Restoring Equity For Offenses Related to Marijuana (REFORM) Act last week. It would amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to more closely align cannabis- and alcohol- related penalties.

The text of the bill says that the penalty for “wrongful use of marijuana” shall not exceed that for being “drunk on duty” under existing statute.

Further, the penalty for “wrongful possession of marijuana” couldn’t exceed that for “incapacitation for duty from drunkenness or drug use.”

As it stands, the punishment for wrongful possession of up to 30 grams of cannabis carries a maximum penalty of “dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for two years.” Possession of more than 30 grams can escalate that maximum confinement to five years.

In contrast, if a person’s use of alcohol renders them incapacitated for duty, they can face three months of confinement, or forfeiture of two-thirds of their pay ever month for three months. Being drunk on duty is more serious, carrying a maximum penalty of a bad conduct discharge, forfeiture of allowances and pay and confinement of up to nine months.

It should be pointed out that a bad conduct discharge is significantly less serious than a dishonorable discharge under UCMJ. The latter is considered to be the military equivalent of a felony convictions.

Brown’s REFORM Act seeks to reduce that marijuana and alcohol punishment disparity.

“Equal justice and our efforts to ensure equity in our country cannot ignore the disproportionate toll cannabis prosecutions have on servicemembers of color,” Brown told Marijuana Moment. “Black servicemembers are disproportionately investigated and punished for drug-related offenses.”

“The current code is out of date and out of touch with the current reality in our country, especially when you consider that some of these servicemembers are enlisting from states where cannabis is legal,” he said.

Additionally, the bill would require military branches to annually report to congressional defense committees about drug testing and evaluation programs.

Those reports would need to include information about the number of drug tests that were administered, the number of positive tests, disaggregated by “statistical category and substance” and the resulting punishments for positive tests.

The reports would also need to include an “analysis of any disparities among race, gender, ethnicity, and military installation during the year covered by the report.”

Brown, a member of the House Armed Services Committee to which his new bill has been referred, separately worked to get report language attached to a large-scale defense spending bill that voiced concerns about racial disparities in military drug testing practicesand ordered the Pentagon to conduct a review of the issue.

“The men and women of our armed forces defend our shared values,” the congressman said. “We need to ensure the military justice system is providing equal, unbiased justice for all. The REFORM Act is a critical step in those efforts.”

Separately, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has consistently tried to get legislation enacted to clarify that military branches can grant reenlistment waivers to service members who have committed a single low-level marijuana offense.

In any case, while cannabis is legal in some form in the majority of states across the U.S., the military has been especially inflexible about its cannabis policies, with service members even being precluded from using hemp-based products even though the crop was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill.

Various branches have put out notices about their cannabis policies over the years to make it abundantly clear that serving in the military means the plant is off limits, regard of its legal status under state or federal law.

In 2019, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced a policy barring all active and reserve service members from using hemp products, including CBD. DOD more broadly reaffirmed that CBD is off limits to service members in earlier notices published in 2020.

About one year after hemp was federally legalized, the Air Force sent out a notice that similarly warned against using CBD products that are commonly found on the market. A Massachusetts base of the Air Force told pilots last year that they could face disciplinary action for possessing any type of hemp product, even if it’s “for your pet.”

Officials with the military branch also said the previous year that it wants its members to be extra careful around “grandma’s miracle sticky buns” that might contain marijuana.

The Navy, for its part, issued an initial notice in 2018 informing ranks that they’re barred from using CBD and hemp products no matter their legality. Then in 2020 it released an update explaining why it enacted the rule change.

The Naval War College has gone so far as to warn Sailors and Marines about new hemp products on the market, issuing a notice earlier this month that says members can drink a new Pepsi-owned Rockstar energy drink that contains hemp seed oil.

The Coast Guard said that sailors can’t use marijuana or visit state-legal dispensaries.

A factor that may have influenced these policy updates is that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released guidance to federal agency drug program coordinators in 2019 that outlined concerns about THC turning up in CBD products and causing failed drug tests. The agency issued an updated warning in 2020 after several more states voted to legalize marijuana.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has separately faced criticism over its stance on cannabis issues.

Last month, for example, VA made clear that it won’t provide support for treatment involving marijuana as part of a new grants program aimed at preventing veteran suicide.

VA’s position on marijuana has been a source of consistent frustration for advocates and veteran service organizations who have been pushing for expanded research into the therapeutic potential of cannabis.

House and Senate committees held joint hearings last month to hear from veterans service organizations (VSOs) about how Congress and the federal government can better serve their constituents, and several of the groups brought up the need to ease restrictions on marijuana.

The testimony echoes what the VSOs have repeatedly raised with lawmakers. The specifics ranged in scope between the various groups, but the overall message was made clear: military veterans uniquely stand to benefit from marijuana treatment and it’s time for Congress to do something about it.

Separately, military veterans would be “encouraged” to discuss medical marijuana treatment without the fear of losing federal benefits under a recent bill being sponsored by Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA). The main thrust of the legislation is to codify existing policies that allow VA doctors to talk about medical cannabis with patients as well as protections for veterans who are candid about their history with marijuana treatment. By doing so, it would enshrine these polices into law so that they could not later be changed administratively by future VA leaders.

 

[Baron23]

Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD) filed the Restoring Equity For Offenses Related to Marijuana (REFORM) Act

"Equity"....the empty, overused, and therefore meaningless buzz word of the new millennium.

 

[Baron23]

Chuck Schumer’s cannabis legalization bill: Back to the drawing board until August​

The bill will remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances and “help repair our criminal justice system, ensure restorative justice, protect public health, and implement responsible taxes and regulations.”​

Democratic senators leading a push to legalize marijuana say they are now on track to introduce legislation in the Senate before the August recess, after initially announcing plans to file a comprehensive reform bill later this month. (Benzinga)

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has been leading the push to legalize cannabis along with Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), said in a statement Thursday that he’s proud of the progress they’ve made “bringing this vital bill closer to its official introduction” before the recess in early August.

That said, the long-anticipated Senate bill to federally legalize cannabis will have to simmer until the democratic leadership works out various provisions “with the assistance of nearly a dozen Senate committees and input from numerous federal agencies.”


The bill, Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (CAOA), will remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances and “help repair our criminal justice system, ensure restorative justice, protect public health, and implement responsible taxes and regulations,” among other measures.

The announcement came after Schumer said several weeks ago that he and the senators behind the effort had intended to bring the reform bill forward in late April.

“We hope to do that towards the end of April,” Schumer said then, noting that he was reaching out to “a few Republicans to see what they want.”

Many Republicans are opposed to legalizing cannabis, which poses one of the biggest hurdles to Schumer getting his bill through the 50-50 split Senate. To secure passage, Democrats would need the support of their entire caucus and at least 10 Republicans to bypass a likely filibuster.

However, some Democrats have also expressed reservations regarding adult-use marijuana, which presents additional challenges to the party getting the necessary 60 votes for approval in the upper chamber.

Wyden said in a statement that it was important for the text of the bill to be produced “well before the August recess to continue building momentum for cannabis reform.”

The Thursday announcement comes weeks after the House passed its own legislation, known as the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE), to remove marijuana from the federal controlled substances list.

 

[Baron23]

I've been waiting for this for quite some time. The current position is without logical rational and demotes the establishment of issues of law to an unelected bureaucracy. Let's see....enumerated individual right in the Constitution or bureaucratic regulations written by ass hat fucking drug cold warriors. Fuck the ATF in all of its manifestations.

Florida’s top democrat suing Biden admin. over rule barring medical cannabis users from buying guns​

The highest ranking Democrat in Florida is taking on the leader of her party—and the country—over weed and guns.​

Nikki Fried, the state’s agriculture commissioner and a Democratic candidate for governor, “Plans to sue the Biden administration Wednesday to try to block a federal rule that prohibits medical marijuana users from buying guns or maintaining concealed-carry permits,” according to NBC News, which obtained a copy of Fried’s lawsuit.

“I’m suing the Biden Administration because people’s rights are being limited. Medical marijuana is legal. Guns are legal,” Fried said in a tweet on Wednesday morning. “This is about people’s rights and their freedoms to responsibly have both.”

(The 4/20 announcement of Fried’s lawsuit against the Biden administration was not a coincidence, by the way.)

NBC reported that the “lawsuit targets a federal form that asks whether the gun buyer is an unlawful user of drugs and specifies that marijuana is illegal under federal law.”

Prospective customers who check “yes” are denied and those who lie “[run] the risk of a five-year prison sentence for making a false statement,” according to NBC News.

The lawsuit from Fried, who is currently the only Florida Democrat holding a statewide office, will have a major bearing on her own jurisdiction, where medical cannabis has been legal since voters there passed an initiative in 2016 and where gun ownership is ubiquitous.

But it could also set a precedent for the dozens of other states where medical cannabis is legal.

Fried is a longtime champion of cannabis reform. “I’ve always been pro-cannabis but didn’t really understand the movement [early on],” she told High Times in an interview last year, saying that her passion was sparked as a student at the University of Florida.

She won her race for agriculture commissioner in 2018 on a platform dedicated to changing Florida’s cannabis laws.

“At the time, we weren’t talking legalization, we were trying to still get medical, but they knew that I was in favor of legalization when the time was right for Florida,” Fried told High Times.
Fried has ramped up her legalization push in her gubernatorial campaign, which she launched last year.

She is running for the Democratic nomination against Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor turned Democratic congressman. Both candidates have pledged to legalize cannabis for adults if elected, but Fried has called out Crist on his GOP past, saying in October that people have been imprisoned, and Crist and other Republicans “supported and enforced racist marijuana crime bills.”

Fried and Crist are vying for the chance to take on Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential candidate who has said that recreational cannabis will not be legalized while he’s in office.

“Not while I’m governor,” DeSantis said in 2019.

“I mean look, when that is introduced with teenagers and young people, I think it has a really detrimental effect to their well being and their maturity.”
Polls show that both Democrats are longshots against the incumbent.

“Ron DeSantis is motivated by money,” Fried told High Times last year in explaining the governor’s opposition to cannabis reform.
“I think his motivation is more his ability to raise money.”

As NBC News explained, the lawsuit “is laden with political opportunity for Fried, who became the only Democrat elected statewide in 2018 when she ran on an unabashedly pro-cannabis platform,” with polls repeatedly showing that a majority of Floridians—like the rest of the country—support legalizing pot.

According to NBC, Fried “is bringing the suit with three citizens who have been affected by the federal rules,” and the suit “names the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Attorney General Merrick Garland as defendants.”

 

[Baron23]

Schumer Makes ‘Promise’ On Marijuana Legalization Bill Timeline After Repeated Delays


Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Friday made a “promise” to marijuana activists that he will introduce a bill to federally legalize cannabis before the congressional August recess—a statement tacitly acknowledging again that he hasn’t met deadlines previously put forward for the highly anticipated legislation.


The leader and colleagues have been working on the cannabis reform bill for over a year, and there’s been some frustration among advocates and stakeholders over the protracted timeline for its formal introduction, which Schumer said in recent months would happen in April before putting out a statement last week walking that back.


Schumer, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) filed a discussion draft of the Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (CAOA) last summer. That draft’s release also came months later than expected, as the sponsors previously said that it would be put out “in the early part of this year” in 2021.


In any case, the senators said that the newly extended timeline is necessary, enabling them to spend more time refining the bill’s provisions with feedback from the public and bipartisan lawmakers that could help them overcome a steep vote threshold for passage in the chamber. Democrats hold just a slim majority in the Senate, and not everyone in the party is on board with legalization.


Schumer’s latest comments were made at the National Cannabis Policy Summit in the nation’s capital. He remarked that an event like the marijuana summit wouldn’t even have been conceivable years ago, but the issue is finally being taken seriously in Congress.

“Make no mistake, I’m working diligently with my Senate colleagues to make sure that the federal government catches up” to states and the public, Schumer said. “This bill will be comprehensive, and I promise we will introduce this important legislation before the August recess.”


“It’s the right thing to do. It’s about individual freedom and basic fairness,” he said, adding that the war on drugs has been “a war on people—and overwhelmingly people of color.”


He concluded by reiterating that he’s making a “promise to keep working on” the bill.


Still, at this point, some advocates and stakeholders have become skeptical about Senate leaders’ follow-through on cannabis, especially when it comes to the timeline. Schumer had made prior commitments to bring legalization to the floor—not just for CAOA but also for his earlier reform bill, the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act. It’s not yet clear if he still intends to hold a vote on the new legislation after it is introduced, even if it doesn’t have enough support to pass.


In a floor speech on the unofficial marijuana holiday 4/20 last year, he said he wanted to see the legalization proposal advance to a floor vote and go to the president’s desk by this 4/20.


But things haven’t panned out exactly as planned, and the leader emphasized that there are about a dozen committees reviewing and making recommendations for the proposal as it continues to be finalized.


Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to tax and regulate marijuana at the beginning of the month, largely along party lines. That marked the second time that the chamber approved Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler’s (D-NY) Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE Act).


With growing frustration over the delays in the Senate, there are some holding out hope that the leader will allow a more incremental piece of cannabis reform legislation to safeguard banks that work with state-legal marijuana businesses to advance first.


Schumer and colleagues have repeatedly insisted that comprehensive legalization is the priority and should come before the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which has passed the House in some form six times now.


The more recent potential vehicle for the banking reform is the America COMPETES Act, a large-scale manufacturing bill that’s heading to bicameral conference. The House included the SAFE Banking language in its version, but it was stripped out in the Senate. However, key conferees in both chambers have signaled that they will be pushing to re-attach the proposal in the final package that’s sent to the president’s desk.


It remains to be seen if Schumer will pose an obstacle to that end, as SAFE Banking sponsor Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) accused him of doing after the House put the reform in a wide-ranging defense bill last year.


Meanwhile, several Republican members of Congress introduced a bill last November to federally legalize and tax marijuana as an alternative to far-reaching Democratic-led reform proposals and scaled-down GOP cannabis descheduling legislation. The sponsor of that bill, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), said she expects a committee hearing on her proposal.


A bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers also filed a bill last week that would simply direct the attorney general to create a commission charged with making recommendations on a regulatory system for marijuana that models what’s currently in place for alcohol.


Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Brian Mast (R-FL) are teaming up on what’s titled the Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment Act (PREPARE) Act—an incremental reform meant to inform comprehensive cannabis policy changes in the future.

 

[Baron23]

Clearly we need a new set of Senators.

More seriously, this is the flaw in Schumer's insistance on all or nothing legislation....and what he's going to end up with is nothing instead of moving forward what can be realistically done like banking reform.

@momofthegoons - yo, Mom....see, I didn't use the word "asshole" anywhere in here....oh?....d'oh!!

Most senators still oppose doing a hugely popular thing: legalizing marijuana​

The federal government is strikingly out of step with public opinion on cannabis.​

Even though a supermajority of Americans say marijuana should be legal for adults and the House has passed a bill to legalize it, major cannabis reform remains unlikely this year.

Why? Because Republicans and a few Democratic senators don’t want to do it.

“Marijuana? I haven’t even thought about marijuana. Jesus Christ, you smoking?” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) asked HuffPost on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the House passed a bill that would legalize weed at the federal level, expunge cannabis-related criminal records and set the stage for a nationwide legal marijuana industry. But that bill is almost certainly dead on arrival in the Senate.

Instead, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) have been trying to build consensus for a Senate version of cannabis reform.

The trio collaborated on a discussion draft last year that, like the House bill, would have legalized marijuana by removing it from the list of drugs banned under the Controlled Substances Act, which lists “marihuana” in the same category as heroin. The bill would also have expunged nonviolent federal criminal records and allowed marijuana businesses greater access to financial services.

Schumer has said he intends to introduce the new version of the bill sometime before the August recess. It’s an open question whether it’ll get a vote.

The problem for Schumer is the math. Democrats control 50 seats in the 100-member Senate, and they would need 60 votes to move a cannabis bill, meaning at least 10 Republicans would need to come aboard, and possibly more, since several Democratic senators seem like they’re not ready to legalize weed.

“I’m not where many people in my party are,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) told HuffPost. The senator, whose state voted to legalize marijuana in 2020, expressed concern with implementation of a cannabis legalization on the national level.

“Are we set up to keep it out of the hands of young people? What’s the law going to be? Can anybody smoke it? There’s a lot of ifs and buts there,” Tester said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), another key Democratic holdout, said she would take a look at the bill but generally isn’t supportive of legalizing marijuana.

Republicans are even less enthusiastic about cannabis reform. “I don’t know what their bill looks like, but I would think it’d be unlikely” that Republicans would support it, Sen. John Thune (S.D.), a member of the Republican leadership team, told HuffPost. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said marijuana’s ill effects on children and other vulnerable populations need more study.

The illegality of marijuana at the federal level is strikingly out of step with popular opinion. A poll this month found that 69% of Americans favor full legalization, and that’s a typical survey finding. Support for legal weed has grown in recent years as most states have legalized the drug for medicinal use, with 18 states greenlighting cannabis for recreational use.

Schumer should be prepared to settle for lesser alternatives to legalization this year, said Morgan Fox, policy director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

“It’s my hope that Senate leadership will be open to incremental reforms between now and the end of the current Congress,” Fox said.

One smaller reform that’s on the table would disallow banking regulators from sanctioning banks that provide services to cannabis companies. Financial institutions have shunned state-legal cannabis industries because of their illegality under federal law, forcing firms to operate on a cash-only basis, making them easy targets for thieves.

The SAFE Banking Act, as the measure is known, is currently attached to the House version of a bill designed to boost U.S. semiconductor chip manufacturing. The House and Senate are set to reconcile differences between their respective chip bills; it’s not clear if the pot provision will make the cut.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said she supports comprehensive cannabis reform but added that it’s urgent for the cannabis industry to get access to banks.

“It’s critically important that we get the SAFE Banking Act put in place because right now they’re all-cash businesses, putting them and their employees at risk every single day,” Murray said.

Booker has framed marijuana legislation as a matter of social justice in light of the racial disparities in marijuana-related arrests. But the New Jersey Democrat was clear-eyed about the prospect of advancing a major marijuana bill in the Senate this year.

“I’m going to do everything I can to push this forward but… I just want to be realistic that there’s a lot of competing priorities right now, so I’m not sure on the timing of this,” Booker said Tuesday, citing crises including the war in Ukraine.

Still, he said, the arguments that resonated most with his colleagues hinged on restorative justice and economic opportunity for states and communities that legalize marijuana.

As for Manchin, HuffPost told the senator on Tuesday that we had not, in fact, been smoking marijuana and asked if he supported such legalization.

“I’m all for medical,” he said. “I’m totally committed to medical marijuana. I’ve never heard of anyone ever overdosed on medical marijuana. And I have people overdosing right and left on opioids and everything else.”

Most states have legalized marijuana for medicinal use, but using the drug remains a federal crime. Allowing adults to use marijuana for medicinal purposes at the federal level would require legalizing it first, which Manchin has not said he supports.

HuffPost also asked Manchin if he had ever tried marijuana himself.

“Never,” he said.

 

[Baron23]

A 'recalcitrant boomer': GOP Congressman criticizes Biden for 'betrayal on marijuana'​

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) from Florida, called President Joe Biden a “recalcitrant boomer” criticizing him over the lack of marijuana reform, a policy change that he campaigned on, reported Marijuana Moment. (Benzinga)

The Congressman made the ageist comments during an episode of his podcast “Firebrand.” He contrasted his stance toward legalization against that of President Biden.

Gaetz boasted that he was one of just three Republican members of the House who voted in favor of a Democratic-led bill to end federal cannabis prohibition, while Biden opposes adult-use marijuana legalization.

“[The] real issue here is Joe Biden’s betrayal on marijuana,” he said, in reference to Biden’s campaign promise to expunge records and decriminalize cannabis.
“Joe Biden, where are you at? The House has passed legislation. That’s one of your presidential demands, and it’s headed to a death in the Senate,” he added.

“I’m here to remind you and [Vice President Kamala Harris]: you’re missing a critical moment for a policy accomplishment. Do what you said you would do and, by the stroke of the president’s pen, we could have substantial marijuana reform in this country.”

‘Bad News For Big Pharma’​

Gaetz also referred to a study that found a relationship between adult-use legalization in states and a decrease in the use of prescription drugs.

“Bad news for Big Pharma,” he said.

“In Florida, we stand to benefit from streamlined research grants at a large scale to learn more and help more people unlock potential. However, the conclusion of this study is that recreational cannabis use is weaning people off of prescription drugs—it’s just hard to ignore,” Gaetz added.

“Unfortunately, there’s this tumultuous road ahead, even with legitimate research and factual basis and evidence at hand. The cultural stigma hangover of the Boomer era weighs heavy.”

 

[Baron23]

This is sort of a big F You" to "all or nothing" Schumer who NOW is willing to support the banking bill if it includes expungement. Not his position until...well, until his caucus looks to stick it up his arse and attach the safe banking legislation to a larger unrelated bill and it appears that they may even have a filibuster proof majority (but I'll believe that when I see it)

"Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.) and Roy Blunt (Mo.), two of the banking bill’s GOP backers, told The Hill that they aren’t sure whether it’s a fit for the China competitiveness legislation."

This is the funniest thing I've seen in months. I live in DC (well, MD suburbs) where its politics and government 24x7. I have seen countless, even more unrelated, riders attached to large, "must pass", legislation without ANYONE worrying about whether the rider was a good "fit" for the larger bill. If you have observed our feckless political leaders for any significant time, you will know for certain that NOBODY cares if its a good fit or not, its just whether they want that particular rider to be jammed through without normal debate and process.

The word that comes most commonly to mind when I think of politicians of any stripe is a great one from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof...."mendacity"

Wow. Just wow.

Momentum builds in Senate for major cannabis bill​

Senators on both sides of the aisle are throwing support behind a proposal to tuck key marijuana banking legislation into a larger package aimed at boosting U.S. competitiveness, increasing the odds that a significant cannabis bill gets through the upper chamber this year.

Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the No. 3 Senate Democrat, is leading a push to pass the SAFE Banking Act, which would enable cannabis firms to use banking services, as part of a sweeping package lawmakers are hashing out in both chambers that is intended to bolster the country’s supply chains and manufacturing.
While the cannabis measure was not included in the bipartisan U.S. Innovation and Competition Act that passed the Senate, the legislation was featured in the House’s version of the bill, known as the Competes Act, that passed in February.

Murray says she is “fighting every which way” to get the cannabis legislation included in the final bill. She noted that federal law currently forces weed dispensaries to use cash, making them prime targets for robberies.

“This is a cash-only business right now. It’s dangerous for the employees,” Murray, a member of the Senate conference committee heading negotiations for the final version of the bill, told The Hill.

“It’s dangerous for the patrons, and it can be fixed.”

Several senators are pushing to include the bill, which has passed the House six times and has dozens of Democratic co-sponsors in the upper chamber, in the broader competition bill.

“The bottom line is that banking bill’s been out there for a long time. It’s ready to go. It needs to pass,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), a member of the conference committee and a co-sponsor of the SAFE Banking Act, told The Hill.

Sen. Steve Daines (Mont.), one of nine Senate Republican co-sponsors of the bill, told The Hill that he thinks other Republicans could get behind the idea.
“We’ve got nine Republican co-sponsors officially on it, close to 50 Democrats,” Daines said. “There are some other Republicans that I’m confident, if we had a vote, would vote for it. So, we’ve got the votes to pass the SAFE Banking Act as a standalone, if we’d like to.”

Conferees are expected to complete a compromise China competitiveness bill that could win the support of 60 senators before the August recess, when Congress shifts its focus to the November midterm elections and legislation slows to a crawl.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who previously blocked the SAFE Banking Act over concerns that its passage would hurt the prospects of wider reforms, hopes to unveil the text of his comprehensive bill to legalize marijuana and expunge federal pot convictions, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity (CAO) Act, around the same time.

“Clearly it’s not aimed for passage this Congress if it’s coming out in August,” said Steven Hawkins, president of the U.S. Cannabis Council, an industry group, referring to Schumer’s bill. “Even if it comes out sooner than that, it’s too late in the calendar year. So what that means is we really have an open playing field to push for passage of SAFE.”

Schumer and other Democrats pushing for pot legalization have said that they’d be open to passing the banking bill if it is coupled with provisions to expunge marijuana convictions and repair damage done by the war on drugs.

“I think to not include restorative justice provisions is something I just can’t support,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who is helping craft the CAO Act with Schumer, told The Hill when pressed about the SAFE Banking Act’s inclusion in the larger bill.

But under conference committee rules, lawmakers cannot modify the SAFE Banking Act to add additional social equity or criminal justice reform provisions, complicating its chances of winning Schumer’s approval and making it into the final package that goes to President Biden’s desk.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) could also play a role in blocking the SAFE Banking Act’s inclusion. He didn’t nominate any of the bill’s nine Senate Republican co-sponsors to the conference committee, and in a statement he attacked House Democrats’ efforts to include “marijuana banking” in the package.
K Street lobbyists expect that around a dozen GOP senators would vote for the bill, which passed the House last year with the support of every Democrat and 106 Republicans.

Still, Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.) and Roy Blunt (Mo.), two of the banking bill’s GOP backers, told The Hill that they aren’t sure whether it’s a fit for the China competitiveness legislation.

Industry lobbyists are citing a wave of robberies targeting cash-only pot dispensaries to pressure lawmakers to pass the banking bill sooner rather than later. An employee at a Washington state dispensary was shot and killed during an armed robbery in March, and a burglar shot the owner of an Oakland, Calif., dispensary last month.

“I think there needs to be more concern because right now this is an untenable situation,” Hawkins said. “People should not be in a position where they go to work and are not certain they’re going to come home to their families, and that’s what we’re faced with right now.”
Advocates have sought to convince Schumer and other wary Democrats that the banking bill’s passage would boost momentum for further cannabis reforms, not weaken it.

“My experience has been that every time you get somebody who’s not quite comfortable with broader reform, but is potentially swayable on incremental measures, once you get them to vote for those incremental measures, it becomes much easier to get them to support future and much broader legislation,” said Morgan Fox, policy director at marijuana advocacy nonprofit NORML.

The American Bankers Association and bankers groups from all 50 states urged Senate leaders to include the banking bill in the conference report last week, stating that the “urgently needed” legislation would address the recent wave of robberies and improve transparency and tax collection among cannabis businesses.
“The inability of the state-licensed cannabis industry to access safe and regulated financial services is a pressing concern for so many of our nation’s communities and the banks that serve them,” the banking groups wrote in a letter to top senators.

Senators are being inundated with similar messages from state officials. Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser (D) and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) wrote a letter to Senate leaders last month warning that the current system encourages crime and “prevents proper tracking of billions of dollars” in marijuana sales.

 

[Baron23]

IMO, Schumer is continuing to totally fuck this up with his all or nothing approach and opposition to incremental legislation. He doesn't have a fillibuster proof majority and has no way to get his giant "everything but the kitchen sink" act passed thru the Senate. Meanwhile, legislation that can pass, like the House's banking reform bill, languish with no action.

Schumer, IMO....is just playing for the optics and has no real and realistic plan to get any significant MJ legislation thru the Senate.

Schumer pushes back release for Senate legalization bill​

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is backtracking after saying the legislation would be unveiled this month.​

The wait for the Senate’s version of a cannabis legalization bill will continue for months, with Democratic leaders in the chamber indicating Thursday that it will come sometime in the summer.

According to The Hill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that he’s proud of the progress senators have made in “bringing this vital bill closer to its official introduction” before the recess in early August.”

The timeline marks a shift from what Schumer had said previously and it may dismay legalization advocates who had hoped that the Senate’s legislation would arrive sooner—especially after the U.S. House of Representatives passed its own bill to end prohibition on the federal level earlier this month.

The New York Democrat said after the House’s passage that he hoped the Senate would unveil its legalization measure by the end of this month.
On April 1, the Democratic-led House passed the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, effectively ending the federal prohibition on pot.

Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat who is working with Schumer and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden on the Senate’s legalization bill, said that the bill passed by the House was unlikely to win approval in the Senate, which is also controlled by Democrats.

“Right now we’re looking at doing the one that we’ve been working on for a long time,” Booker said, as quoted by Roll Call.

According to The Hill, Schumer said that the Senate’s bill is titled “the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act,” and the majority leader said the legislation will remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances and “help repair our criminal justice system, ensure restorative justice, protect public health, and implement responsible taxes and regulations.”

Schumer and other Democrats on Capitol Hill have made it clear since the party took control of Congress and the White House last year that they intended to move on federal legalization.
In an interview with Politico last year, Schumer said that Democrats would take action, despite President Joe Biden’s reluctance to support legalization.
“We will move forward,” Schumer said.

“[Biden] said he’s studying the issue, so obviously want to give him a little time to study it. I want to make my arguments to him, as many other advocates will. But at some point we’re going to move forward, period.”

Schumer said in the interview that seeing legalization work on the state level contributed to his evolution on the issue.
“In 2018, I was the first member of the Democratic leadership to come out in support of ending the federal prohibition. I’m sure you ask, ‘Well what changed?’ Well, my thinking evolved. When a few of the early states—Oregon and Colorado—wanted to legalize, all the opponents talked about the parade of horribles: Crime would go up. Drug use would go up. Everything bad would happen,” Schumer said.

“The legalization of states worked out remarkably well. They were a great success. The parade of horribles never came about, and people got more freedom. And people in those states seem very happy.”

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden said that he supported decriminalizing cannabis, but stopped short of advocating legalization.
Following the House’s passage of the MORE Act earlier this month, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the president believes “current marijuana laws are not working.”

“We look forward to working with Congress to achieve our shared goals, and we’ll continue having discussions with them about this objective,” Psaki said at a press briefing.

Winning over Biden may prove easier than getting support from Republicans, however. As The Hill noted, “Many Republicans are opposed to legislation legalizing marijuana, posing one of the biggest hurdles to Schumer getting such a measure through the 50-50 split Senate,” and that to “secure passage, Democrats would need the support of their entire caucus, and at least 10 Republicans to bypass a likely filibuster.”

 

[Baron23]

My kind of enlightened government.

Thailand to give away 1 million free cannabis plants for home cultivation​

Thailand residents may also grow “as many cannabis plants” as they wish at home for medical purposes.​

Let the planting begin. Thailand’s government leadership signaled optimism regarding the country’s recent shift in medical cannabis reform with a massive plant giveaway.

Thailand Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he will offer households 1 million cannabis plants for free in a May 8 Facebook post. Furthermore, beginning on June 9, Thailand residents will have the freedom to grow “as many cannabis plants” as they like in their own homes for medical purposes, according to Charnvirakul.
The Nation Thailand reports that the homegrown cannabis must be grown for medical purposes. Licensing will not be required for home cultivation, unlike commercial cannabis and hemp companies in the country.

“This will enable people and the government to generate more than 10 billion baht [$288,846,200 per year] in revenue from marijuana and hemp,” Charnvirakul said.
“Meanwhile, people can showcase their cannabis and hemp-related products and wisdom and sell their products nationwide.”
Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to legalize medical cannabis in 2018. In 2020, the Cabinet in Thailand has approved amendments to the country’s narcotics act which would allow for private production and sale of medical cannabis. Last January, Thailand also became the first country in Asia to legally allow cannabis.

Licensed companies in Thailand can sell hemp products with less than 0.2 percent THC—a tad bit more strict than the 0.3 THC limit imposed on hemp in the United States.

While home cultivation of medical cannabis will have few restrictions, large cannabis-related businesses must request permission to operate from the Thailand Food and Drug Administration, he added.

People who grow commercially without first obtaining permission from the government will face a fine of up to 20,000 baht ($577.76). People who sell commercial cannabis without a license face a fine of up to 300,000 baht ($8,665.76) or three years in jail, or both.

The intention is to redefine cannabis as a “household crop,” and it’s the latest maneuver in Thailand’s plan to transform cannabis into a cash crop.
About one-third of Thailand’s entire labor force works in agriculture, according to The World Bank.

The free market in Thailand​

Charnvirakul added that he wants to allow entrepreneurs and businesses to compete freely in Thailand’s cannabis market.

After legalizing medical cannabis in 2018, the country reportedly saw its own “Green Rush,” primarily composed of infused edibles, drinks, and cosmetics companies with a big focus on hemp-derived cannabinoids like CBD as well as terpenes. This took place after the use of hemp-derived ingredients were approved for use in edibles and cosmetics.

Dirk De Cuyper, CEO of S Hotels and Resorts told Benzinga that it is a destination for medical tourism, when asked about the country’s latest developments.
Businesses such as Chopaka, OG Papers, and Bloom discussed the blossoming cannabis community in Thailand.

“The new market is interesting,” entrepreneur Kitty Chopaka told High Times in March, representing a terpene-infused gummy company.
“Because we’re in Asia, many people are curious but don’t want to get high.”

Despite the new focus on medical applications, cannabis is well-known in the country for recreational purposes as well. Legendary Thai Sticks have been supplied on and off to the U.S. since the Vietnam War. Only the finest sativas were chosen, tied with silk to bamboo or hemp stalks, and rolled in hash oil (or opium). Reportedly it was the highest quality weed around in the 70s. The modern equivalent might be a strong canna cigar. According to Danny Danko in 2015, Thai Sticks fell out of favor years ago as some farmers in the lowlands of Thailand were forced to switch from the cultivation of the country’s stellar sativas for more profitable poppy plants.

 

[Baron23]

"Some Republicans are scratching their heads about how Democrats have so far failed to pass the modest banking reform with majorities in both chambers and control of the White House, too."

Not hard to understand...its Schumer and nothing but Schumer and his all or nothing approach.

Bipartisan Senators Push To Finally Enact Marijuana Banking Legislation​

Nearly a quarter of the members of the U.S. Senate are joining together to call on congressional leaders to ensure that marijuana banking provisions are enacted into law as part of a large-scale manufacturing bill.


The 24 senators—including 19 Democrats and five Republicans—wrote in a letter that the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act would “help cannabis-related businesses, support innovation, create jobs, and strengthen public safety in our communities.”


The lawmakers, led by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), want the marijuana provisions included in the America COMPETES Act, which a bicameral conference committee will discuss at its first meeting on Thursday.

Noting that cannabis banking legislation has passed the House six times at this point, including as a standalone bill “garnering the support of more than three quarters of the chamber and a majority of the members of each party,” the bipartisan group of senators said that finally getting the reform enacted into law has “demonstrated broad support.”


“The cannabis industry has become a powerful job creator and a significant generator of tax revenue,” they wrote. “However, financial institutions are often reluctant to transact with cannabis-related businesses, even in states that have some form of legalized cannabis, due to legal and regulatory risks arising from inconsistent federal and state laws. Allowing cannabis businesses operating legally and in compliance with state law to access financial services without federal reprisal would address public safety and compliance challenges, helping communities reduce cash-motivated crimes.”


“Law enforcement organizations have publicly testified before Congress about these cash-related safety risks, including theft, robbery, and serious violence perpetrated against employees responsible for conducting what should be routine business operations. The same law enforcement organizations also have testified about the importance of moving these large amounts of cash in the cannabis industry into the banking system, where accounts are monitored in accordance with existing federal anti-money laundering laws and the Bank Secrecy Act.”


Also siging the letter are Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Angus King (I-ME), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Patty Murray (D-WA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), John Hickenlooper, (D-CO) and Chris Coons (D-DE).


“Enacting the SAFE Banking Act via the jobs and competitiveness legislation before us would support a rapidly growing industry that creates jobs, fosters innovation, supports small businesses, and raises revenue in states that have chosen to legalize cannabis, while reducing safety risks to industry employees and the public alike,” the lawmakers said.

Despite continually passing though the House, the Senate has been reluctant to advance the measure under Democratic and Republican control. Current Senate leadership has insisted on passing comprehensive legalization legislation first before the cannabis banking bill.


A top aide for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who is working to finalize his own legalization bill, recently tempered expectations about the prospects of moving marijuana banking through the America COMPETES Act.


The standalone Senate version of the SAFE Banking Act currently has 42 cosponsors, including nine Republicans.


That reluctance on the Senate side was also the subject of a letter that SAFE Banking Act sponsor Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) sent to leadership last month.


The congressman has even made a point to talk about enacting the reform legislation during committee hearings on ostensibly unrelated or wider-ranging legislation, like at a recent House Rules Committee hearing.


Despite recently saying that he’s “confident” that the Senate will take up his bill this session, Perlmutter recognized that while he’s supportive of revisions related to criminal justice reform, taxation, research and other issues, he knows that “as we expand this thing, then we start losing votes, particularly Republican votes and we got enough votes in the Senate to do it” as is.


Meanwhile, the governor, attorney general and other top officials in Washington State sent a letter to congressional leaders last week, again emphasizing the urgent need to pass marijuana banking reform as a public safety imperative.


With respect to the AMERICA Competes Act, the third-highest-ranking Democratic member in the Senate, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), has taken special interest in the issue, describing marijuana banking reform as a priority as an appointed member on the bicameral conference committee.


Separately, Washington State officials also recently held a virtual roundtable to address the spate of deadly robberies targeting marijuana retailers, with regulators reiterating their call for a federal policy change and discussing steps the state can take on its own while Congress fails to act.


Washington State’s treasurer has been especially vocal about the need for congressional reform, and he wrote in a recent letter to his colleagues in other states that it’s “just not safe to have this financial volume in cash.”


He made similar remarks at a recent conference of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST). And Colorado Treasurer Dave Young echoed that sentiment in a recent interview with Marijuana Moment.


In the absence of congressional action, more states are moving to enact marijuana banking reform policies on their own. For example, Pennsylvania House lawmakers filed a companion bill to a Senate-passed measure late last month that would provide banking protections and tax relief for marijuana businesses.


Meanwhile, the number of banks that report working with marijuana businesses ticked up again near the end of 2021, according to recently released federal data.


It’s not clear if the increase is related to congressional moves to pass a bipartisan cannabis banking reform bill, but the figures from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) signal that financial institutions continue to feel more comfortable servicing businesses in state-legal markets.


Some Republicans are scratching their heads about how Democrats have so far failed to pass the modest banking reform with majorities in both chambers and control of the White House, too. For example, Rep. Rand Paul (R-KY) criticized his Democratic colleagues over the issue in December.

 

[Baron23]

Gee, don't know why they are doing this. After all, cannabis has absolutely zero medical use....just ask the DEA. sigh

Feds Funding Research On Role Of Cannabis In Treating Cancer​

The federal government is promoting funding opportunities for researchers to study the benefits and risks of marijuana for cancer patients.

In a notice of special interest posted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Thursday, the agency said that about one in four cancer patients have reported using cannabis products to manage their symptoms—including anorexia, nausea and pain—but “research about their health effects, including potential harms and benefits, remain limited.”

NIH’s National Cancer Institute said that the purpose of the solicitation is to “promote research in understanding the mechanisms by which cannabis and cannabinoids affect cancer biology, cancer interception, cancer treatment and resistance, and management of cancer symptoms.”

It provided an overview of the existing research into the relationship between marijuana and cancer, as well as a list of eight areas of interest that the agency is asking researchers to investigate.

NIH said that the current body of epidemiological studies on this topic has “yielded limited and inconsistent results.” For example, while cannabis smoke may contain harmful constituents, it hasn’t been directly linked to an increased risk of lung cancer, the notice says.

The agency said “studies of other cancer types have shown no or inconsistent association with cannabis use, but these data are limited.”

The compounds in marijuana affect the endocannabinoid system, which plays a role in modulating “many cancer relevant processes, such as cell proliferation, motility and survival,” the notice says.

“Cancer cell line experiments show that THC and CBD can mediate many anti-tumor effects, including inducing apoptosis and inhibiting cell proliferation, invasion and angiogenesis,” it continues. “These anti-tumor activities have led to early clinical testing of THC and CBD for glioblastoma and prostate cancers.”

While NIH isn’t taking a position on the validity of past studies, it’s notable that the federal agency is recognizing where there might be therapeutic value in cannabis for the serious illness, especially considering that marijuana remains a prohibited Schedule I drug in large part because the government maintains that it has no legitimate medical use.

Here’s a list of research topics that NIH is seeking studies on with various funding opportunities:

• Understanding how exogenous cannabis and cannabinoids affect cancer development (preneoplasia through malignancy) and biology, including the tumor microenvironment;
• Understanding how endogenous cannabinoid pathways influence cancer development and biology;
• Defining the effects of cannabis and cannabinoids on cancer treatment (particularly targeted treatments and immunotherapy) and the development of treatment resistance;
• Understanding the use of cannabis and cannabinoids in cancer interception and delineating how endocannabinoid signaling pathways may inhibit early cancers;
• Defining the mechanisms of cannabis and cannabinoid action in alleviating symptoms of cancer and cancer treatment (such as pain, nausea and neuropathy);
• Understanding the combinatorial effects of cannabis and cannabinoids in conjunction with other factors (such as tobacco constituents, alcohol, microbiome or diet) on cancer biology, treatment and symptom management;
• Identifying biological mechanisms underlying disparities in sex or ethnicity in cannabis and cannabinoid action in cancer biology, treatment or symptom management; and
• Developing or validating new and human-relevant model systems to understand cannabis and cannabinoid action in cancer biology, treatment or symptom management.

The notice states that the list is just a guideline, however, and researchers are invited to propose other research objectives within the basic framework.

“Studies that integrate expertise from multiple disciplines, incorporate state-of-the-art, human-relevant models (e.g., organoid or patient-derived xenograft models) and utilize advanced technologies and methods are strongly encouraged,” NIH said.

NCI also published a paper late last year arguing that administrative burdens stifle much-needed scientific investigation into the drug’s potential health applications and safety concerns.

Several federal health agencies have worked to bolster cannabis science as the legalization movement spreads. In 2020, for example, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) highlighted funding opportunities for research into the therapeutic benefits of marijuana with an emphasis on pain management.

Meanwhile, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) recently renewed its push to promote federally funded research into marijuana as more states enact reform—specifically expressing interest in studies on differing cannabis regulatory models that are in place across the country.

 

[momofthegoons]

Delta-8 THC Products Are Federally Legal Just Like Hemp, Appeals Court Rules​

The federal legalization of hemp through the 2018 Farm Bill removed restrictions on a wide range of molecules produced by the cannabis plant—including, a new court ruling says, the psychoactive cannabinoid delta-8 THC.

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit wrote in an opinion published Thursday that products containing delta-8 THC are generally legal because federal law defines hemp as “any part of” the cannabis plant, including “all derivatives, extracts, [and] cannabinoids,” that contains less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by weight.

The law, the court said in the 3-0 ruling, “is silent with regard to delta-8 THC.”

Delta-9 THC, often referred to simply as THC, is the most abundant psychoactive cannabinoid in marijuana and remains federally illegal, classified as a Schedule I controlled substance. By contrast, Delta-8 THC typically occurs in only trace amounts in the cannabis plant.

Current cultivation and manufacturing techniques, however, allow for so-called minor cannabinoids to be concentrated from hemp plants and refined into consumer products. And delta-8 THC products have surged in popularity in recent years, especially in states where marijuana remains illegal.

Like its more famous counterpart, delta-8 THC also has psychoactive properties, although proponents say the experience is generally more subdued and has gentler side effects than delta-9 THC. Health officials and even some advocates of marijuana legalization, however, say far less is known about the health impacts or potential risks of delta-8 THC.

The Ninth Circuit panel, for its part, noted that although delta-8 THC has “psychoactive and intoxicating effects,” it falls within federal law’s definition of hemp and is therefore legal.

“Regardless of the wisdom of legalizing delta-8 THC products, this Court will not substitute its own policy judgment for that of Congress,” Judge D. Michael Fisher wrote for the three-judge panel, which also included Judges Andrew Kleinfeld and Mark Bennett. All three were appointed by Republican presidents.

If lawmakers inadvertently created a loophole and didn’t intend to legalize psychoactive substances such as delta-8 THC, Fisher said, “then it is for Congress to fix its mistake.”

Oral argument in the case took place in March.



The Ninth Circuit ruling stems from a dispute over alleged trademark and copyright infringement that hinged on delta-8 THC’s legality. In it, AK Futures, which manufactures e-cigarettes and vaping products, claimed that a Los Angeles company, Boyd Street Distro, had been selling counterfeit versions of its branded products that contain delta-8 THC.

Boyd Street Distro responded that the trademark and counterfeit claims were invalid on the grounds that delta-8 THC is federally illegal. But in its opinion this week, the Ninth Circuit panel disagreed, upholding a lower court’s preliminary injunction against Boyd Street Distro.

“The record on appeal convinces us that AK Futures’ delta-8 THC products are lawful under the plain text of the Farm Act and may receive trademark protection,” the new opinion concludes.

For its part, Boyd Street said in the case that it purchased the products from a person who said they were an authorized dealer of the brand. The company has already sold its entire inventory of the products in question, it claimed in court, and has “no plans” to sell the brand in the future.

Darrel Menthe, a lawyer for Boyd Street, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he had seen no evidence that Congress had intended to legalize delta-8 THC. If products containing the cannabinoid are deemed broadly legal, he predicted, “federal and state governments will probably get in the business of making sure it’s safe and not marketed to children.”

Menthe said Boyd Street had no immediate plans to appeal the decision.

Dale Gieringer, NORML’s California director, told the Chronicle that it would make more sense from a policy perspective to simply legalize delta-9 THC, which he said “has been studied exhaustively in thousands of subjects and research protocols over the decades.”

Following the passage of the 2018 farm bill, delta-8 THC and some other minor cannabinoids entered a sort of legal gray area. Many businesses in the hemp industry insisted the products were legal, but officials in many jurisdictions disagreed.

The issue is increasingly bubbling up to the federal level. Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its first set of warning letters to companies over the allegedly illegal sale of products containing delta-8 THC.

FDA previously released a notice cautioning consumers about such products, similar to how the agency has sent warning letters to certain businesses over unauthorized marketing around CBD.

FDA rules currently don’t allow for the marketing of cannabinoids in the food supply, though lawmakers and advocates have been pushing the agency to craft regulations permitting such activity for CBD since hemp was federally legalized.

Congressional lawmakers from both parties have been pushing FDA to develop rules on CBD. But during a U.S. House committee hearing on Thursday, FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf said he needs more support from Congress to do so.

“I don’t think the current authorities we have on the food side or the drug side necessarily give us what we need to have to get the right pathways forward,” the commissioner said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, meanwhile, signaled late last year that delta-8 THC was legal.

In Texas last year, the state government said delta-8 THC was illegal—a move that opponents challenged in court, securing a pause on state enforcement of the ban.

 

[Baron23]

State Financial Regulators Tell Congress To Pass Marijuana Banking Protections In Manufacturing Bill​

An organization that represents state financial regulators from across the U.S. is putting pressure on Congress to pass marijuana banking reform as part of a large-scale manufacturing bill that’s currently being finalized in a bicameral conference committee.

The head of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) sent letters to Senate and House leaders, as well as conferees on the America COMPETES Act, on Wednesday, imploring the inclusion of language that would protect banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses.

“By granting a safe harbor for financial institutions, Congress can bring regulatory clarity to the financial services industry, address public safety concerns and ensure access to financial services for state-compliant marijuana and marijuana-related businesses,” CSBS Acting President James Cooper said.

“I further ask for the safe harbor be extended to all financial services, including money transmission, as the adverse impact of the current inconsistency in state and federal law is not limited to depository institutions,” he said.

Cooper said a majority of states have now legalized cannabis in some form, but “due to legal and regulatory risks associated with the contradictory federal and state laws, many financial institutions remain reluctant to conduct business with cannabis-related businesses.”

“As a result, cannabis-related businesses are blocked by federal law from accessing financial services such as bank deposits, loans, money transmission and accepting credit cards for payment. This leaves marijuana businesses—legal under state law—operating largely as cash-only operations. In recent weeks, we have seen increased violent crime at cannabis businesses as criminals know these businesses keep large quantities of cash on hand.”

What CSBS and other financial associations are pushing for is that bicameral negotiators agree to put the provisions of the bipartisan Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in the final package of the manufacturing bill that’s delivered to the president’s desk. The House did include it in its version, but the Senate removed the language.

“Enacting the SAFE Banking Act would also support economic development in states that have legalized cannabis, while enhancing safety for industry employees and the public alike,” the new letter says. “Tax collection, consumers and the financial system will remain at risk until financial institutions can serve the industry without concern of violating federal law. Clarity between state and federal law is needed to allow state-compliant cannabis businesses to access financial services without the risk of federal penalty.”

“In summary, state bank regulators support retention of the SAFE Banking Act as part of the conference report of the America COMPETES Act. Additionally, we encourage the Senate to provide a safe harbor for money transmitters to protect all industry participants by allowing them to use safe, regulated and verifiable money services. State banking regulators look forward to working with you toward passage of this important legislation.”

Banking associations representing all 50 states and one U.S. territory also sent a letter to Senate leaders late last month that made similar points about the importance of enacting the SAFE Banking Act.

Last week, a coalition of cannabis regulators representing 40 U.S. states and territories separately explained to Congress what the current lack of access to traditional financial services means—not just for the businesses and the programs they oversee, but for the regulators navigating this federal-state conflict themselves.

The non-partisan Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA), which doesn’t take a stand on legalization itself, sent a letter to congressional leaders, outlining areas of concern for their states’ respective marijuana markets under the status quo of federal prohibition.

Another group of marijuana regulators, Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition, has separately weighed in on the cannabis banking conundrum, and argued in a Marijuana Moment op-ed that the SAFE Banking Act alone will not provide sufficient help for small businesses. The group says advocates should push to add provisions to the bill providing interim safeguards for Community Financial Depository Institutions (CFDIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), as well as measures to prevent predatory lending and promote loan availability for people from disadvantaged communities.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), an appointed conferee on the America COMPETES Act, recently said that he feels there “tremendous momentum” to get the marijuana banking job done through their negotiations.

“We’ve got a vehicle that needs to to be acted upon relatively soon. There’s broad support for it,” the Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chair, who led a letter to leadership late last month that stressed the urgency of enacting the banking reform, said. “I think that there’s tremendous momentum.”

The conference committee held its first meeting on the America COMPETES Act earlier this month, with multiple appointed conferees urging the body to attach the SAFE Banking Act language in the interest of economic competitiveness and public safety.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), who chairs the House Financial Services Committee and previously listed marijuana banking as a legislative priority ahead of the conference, said that the bipartisan nature of the reform proposal is “evident” based on the fact that the House included it in the chamber’s version of the manufacturing bill before it was removed in the Senate.

Additionally, nearly a quarter of all senators sent a bipartisan letter this month urging that cannabis banking be included in the final bill.

The third-highest-ranking Democratic member in the Senate, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), has taken special interest in marijuana banking reform, describing it as a priority of hers as an appointed member on the bicameral conference committee.

Despite continually passing though the House, the Senate has been reluctant to advance the measure under Democratic and Republican control. Current Senate leadership has insisted on passing comprehensive legalization legislation first before the cannabis banking bill.

A top aide for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who is working to finalize his own legalization bill, recently tempered expectations about the prospects of moving marijuana banking through the America COMPETES Act.

Asked by Marijuana Moment whether there are any specific, equity-centered policies that he’s discussed adding to the SAFE Banking Act with Senate leadership, Blumenauer said that he’d “prefer not to go into” discussions he may have had with Senate colleagues, and he put the onus on the opposite chamber to propose any specific changes that would make the legislation more palatable to them.

“They have the opportunity to move something forward, and I welcome those efforts,” he said. “I’m perfectly willing to work with them as far as they can go as long as it doesn’t get in the way of solving this.”

The standalone Senate version of the SAFE Banking Act currently has 42 cosponsors, including nine Republicans.

That reluctance on the Senate side was also the subject of a letter that SAFE Banking Act sponsor Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) sent to leadership last month.

In a previous statement to Marijuana Moment, Perlmutter pointed out that “more than two-thirds of the conferees have already voted for or cosponsored the SAFE Banking Act.”

The congressman has even made a point to talk about enacting the reform legislation during committee hearings on ostensibly unrelated or wider-ranging legislation, like at a recent House Rules Committee hearing.

Despite recently saying that he’s “confident” that the Senate will take up his bill this session, Perlmutter recognized that while he’s supportive of revisions related to criminal justice reform, taxation, research and other issues, he knows that “as we expand this thing, then we start losing votes, particularly Republican votes and we got enough votes in the Senate to do it” as is.

Meanwhile, the governor, attorney general and other top officials in Washington State sent a letter to congressional leaders earlier this month, again emphasizing the urgent need to pass marijuana banking reform as a public safety imperative.

Separately, Washington State officials also recently held a virtual roundtable to address the spate of deadly robberies targeting marijuana retailers, with regulators reiterating their call for a federal policy change and discussing steps the state can take on its own while Congress fails to act.

Washington State’s treasurer has been especially vocal about the need for congressional reform, and he wrote in a recent letter to his colleagues in other states that it’s “just not safe to have this financial volume in cash.”

He made similar remarks at a recent conference of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST). And Colorado Treasurer Dave Young echoed that sentiment in a recent interview with Marijuana Moment.

In the absence of congressional action, more states are moving to enact marijuana banking reform policies on their own. For example, Pennsylvania House lawmakers filed a companion bill to a Senate-passed measure late last month that would provide banking protections and tax relief for marijuana businesses.

Meanwhile, the number of banks that report working with marijuana businesses ticked up again near the end of 2021, according to recently released federal data.

It’s not clear if the increase is related to congressional moves to pass a bipartisan cannabis banking reform bill, but the figures from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) signal that financial institutions continue to feel more comfortable servicing businesses in state-legal markets.

Some Republicans are scratching their heads about how Democrats have so far failed to pass the modest banking reform with majorities in both chambers and control of the White House, too. For example, Rep. Rand Paul (R-KY) criticized his Democratic colleagues over the issue in December.