In another triumphant week for cannabis, Hemp made its way through the House and Senate! Vermont became the ninth state to allow recreational use of cannabis. The state hasn’t had any shops open at the moment, aiming for next year for the plant’s sale. This does leave a grey-area problem for consumers who can either grow it themselves or purchase from illicit dealers. This may cause problems down the road for Massachusetts, who went legal in 2016. Their first shop just opened this past week which could send consumers illegally over the state lines to buy product. As long as they don’t come back with it, they aren’t breaking any laws but, could lead to this.
Vermont currently has no provisions to allow shops to sell but, as legislation is looked further into, we can hope that the problem doesn’t come up.
Hemp Laws in Farm Act Approved
Bipartisan support remains the deciding factor in cannabis legislation for the country. The lack of it holds many advancements back as both the House and Senate have roadblocks to overcome in that arena. Despite this, Hemp did make it through some stringent legislatures. Last Thursday, the U.S. Senate voted 86-11 to pass its revised version of the 2018 Farm Act Bill. This version of the bill includes provisions to federally legalize the industrial production and use of Hemp.
“The Senate’s overwhelming approval of the Farm Bill validates the importance of this crop and will make hemp more pervasive, including increased availability in health and wellness products, which are already being adopted by consumers around the world.”
-Rory Millikin, co-founder and co-chairman for cannabisMD, in an email to Ganjapreneur
This is one spot where both republicans and democrats can come to a compromise and agreement. We can only hope as an industry that this opens doors for cannabis as education on Hemp continues.
There is fear that the new bill will not be able to pass until the current one expires on September 30. Either way, the bill awaits a Congressional conference before being delivered to the President for approval.
Russia Condemns Canada’s Cannabis Legalization
After Canada legalized cannabis last month, one country wasn’t as pleased with the decision. The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the legalization citing that the country had breached “international legal obligations. The issue has been brought up on multiple occasions but no statements about the possible contradiction have been made aside from this one.
“We expect Canada’s partners in the G7 to respond to its “high-handedness” because this alliance has repeatedly declared its adherence to the domination of international law in relations between states.”
-The Russian Foreign Ministry, via the Information and Press Department statement
Some of the issues have come up with the previously legalized country, Uruguay. After their change in legality in 2013, several U.S. banks refused to work with them due that the handling of cannabis funds. It would have implicated banks in federal drug trafficking and money laundering.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has met with Canadian senators about the difficulties both of our countries will face with the new decisions. At the moment, no decisions have been made on how to deal with it.
California’s Discounts In Light of July 1st Changes
As California circles back to their recreational legalization date-though sale didn’t begin until the beginning of this year- testing regulations have come around as well. When the market switched from their medical market to a recreational one, only a few testing sites were licensed with even fewer shops and cultivators. The lack of resources and strict regulations caused many shops to suffer through these last few months of legalization.
“Right now, we’re looking at an estimated loss of about $350-$500 million … in an industry that has already been regulated to the brink of destruction,” said Jerred Kiloh, owner of The Higher Path in Los Angeles and president of the United Cannabis Business Association (UCBA), one of the signatories of the letter to Brown.
Regulation changes were made to help phase shops into legalization back in January, requiring stricter quality standards. The change in rules was part of the state’s decision to allow the industry in its legal infancy to get a running start at the beginning of the year. Shops were given six months to sell out of products that wouldn’t fall into compliance. As a result of the change, shops offered deep discounts over the last few weeks to get through products that didn’t pass new testing regulations.
Unfortunately, in an industry were many rather break the law than lose money. The situation puts many shops in a difficult position. Other shops owners feel that this was no news. “Everyone in the game knew this was coming.”
This news comes before the launch of the city of Los Angeles’ delayed cultivation licensing announcement.
CBD In Sports
Following the World Cup’s allowance of CBD, rapper and producer, Ice Cube’s BIG3 League announced that it would do the same. The 3-on-3 basketball league typically played by former NBA players is currently in its second season but the policy will go into effect immediately. Though the World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) made the decision to allow CBD, or cannabidiol, back in 2016 after an incident with Nate Diaz, not all professional sports leagues have openly voiced their acceptance of it.
In a press release, BIG3 made these statements:
“Despite many states around the country making efforts to decriminalize or legalize cannabis, both medicinally and recreationally, professional athletes who could benefit medicinally are prevented from doing so by league outdated mandates.
More than a dozen countries, including Canada and Israel, have approved CBD-based medications for both professional athletes and consumers. In the U.S., the shift is beginning to happen as the medication is not only used for pain management but preferred over the powerfully addictive opioids and pain-relief drugs that are often the only other option.’’
Millions Invested in Iowa Market
Acreage Holdings, one of the largest cannabis companies, is looking to Iowa for a new cultivation facility. The news can come as a shock considering Iowa’s medical market only has 415 patients registered under the states MMJ program. This is a direct result of the state only allowing the sale of products lower than 3% THC.
Regardless, a firm of parent company Acreage Holdings, plans to build the cultivation facility, roughly costing $10 million. They are also petitioning for regulators to remove the low limit of THC levels, allowing for a wider variety of products. At the moment, there are only 5 dispensaries in the state who all agree the THC limit is “too strict to a support a viable market”.
Texas Endorses Discrimination and Rescheduling
In a more surprising news, the Texas GOP made strong supportive comments in regards to cannabis. It certainly helps bridge the gap between Democrats and Republicans as cannabis discussions become more mainstream. The Republican party called for the rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to II under Controlled Substance Act.
“Civil Penalty: We support a change in the law to make it a civil, and not a criminal, offense for legal adults only to possess one ounce or less of marijuana for personal use, punishable by a fine of up to $100, but without jail time. …
“Cannabis Classification: Congress should remove cannabis from the list of Schedule 1 and move to Schedule 2. …
“Hemp: We recognize industrial hemp as a valuable agricultural commodity. We urge the Texas Legislature to pass legislation allowing cultivation, manufacture, and sale of industrial hemp and hemp products.” — Texas GOP party platform excerpts
Coalition coordinator for ‘Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy’, Heather Fazio shared the parties sentiments in a recent Forbes interview, adding “like the majority of Americans, are ready to see more sensible marijuana policies enacted. Our state wastes valuable criminal justice resources arresting between 60,000-70,000 Texans annually. Delegates took a stand this week for a better approach.”
