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The longer it takes for the Senate to approve the SAFE Banking Act, the longer it takes for traditional financial institutions to render their services to businesses in the cannabis industry.

Marijuana businesses have been operating on an all-cash basis for years now. No thanks to the federal government’s ancient policies that make accessing the services of banks and lenders impossible for hemp-based companies. This circumstance makes the cannabis industry a target of crime.

In 2017, a beacon of hope appeared in the form of a bill called the SAFE Banking Act, though the edict has not been authorized, despite passing the house several times. This begs the question, “How long before the Senate approves the SAFE Banking Act?”.

Photo by Hillary Kladke/Getty Images

The SAFE Banking Act and Its Origin

The Secure and Fair Engagement Banking (SAFE) Act was originally sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado in 2017. Since this initial introduction, it has been introduced eight more times to the House.

2020 is a year we’ll never forget. How could we? If 2020 was a story, then the COVID-19 pandemic would be the main antagonist. It upended everything, reorienting the economy, business operations, and our own livelihoods.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers from both houses of Congress reintroduced on Thursday the Marijuana Data Collection Act, a bill that would require the federal government to study the effects of legal cannabis. The measure, which was previously introduced by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in 2018 and again in 2019, is sponsored by Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Democratic Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Texas, and Rep. Don Young, a Republican from Alaska.

“As more and more states legalize and regulate marijuana, we must take a thorough examination at how different laws and policies in different states have been implemented, what works, what doesn’t, and what can be replicated elsewhere,” Menendez said in a statement on the legislation.  “It’s important to understand how communities and people are ultimately impacted by marijuana legalization and its effect on local economies, public health, criminal justice, employment, and our nation’s battle with opioid and other drug addiction.  Having this data at our fingertips and making it available to the public will help drive public policy decisions and dispel any misconceptions about marijuana legalization.”

The bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, and relevant state health agencies to enter a ten-year arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study on the effects of legalized state marijuana programs every two years. The research would evaluate the effects of legal recreational and medical cannabis programs on state economies, public health, criminal justice, and employment. 

“Congress and the American people need reliable facts on the impact of states’ legal marijuana programs.  We need independent data on how these programs impact state budgets, the public health, and employment,” said Garcia. “This is especially important amid the pandemic, that’s been filled for many with isolation, depression, and financial stress that has led to an alarming rise in opioid deaths—especially among communities of color.”

Marijuana Data Collection Act Puts Medical Marijuana Under The Microscope

At times, marijuana stocks have the ability to be the best-performing stocks in the market. They can catch fire — no pun intended — on headlines or reports and scorch higher. During some of these runs, it’s not odd to see the stocks double or triple in value over a short period of time.

A high level of short interest also helps spark a nice move. In other words, bears put on a number bets to the downside, shorting these stocks as they look for a big move lower. Oftentimes, these bears get exactly what they’re looking for, as marijuana stocks tend to be a volatile bunch.

However, sometimes these bets backfire.

Here are three strategies for cannabis companies to avoid drawn out regulatory investigations and to decrease the risk of facing regulatory penalties. Those penalties could include significant fines, license suspension or, in a worst-case scenario, license revocation.

1. Develop an expertise in your company’s security measures

Often, what causes a cannabis company trouble are the “unknown unknowns” of the business operation or, another way to put it, the “blind spots.” While it is easy to observe strategic errors in a competitor, a company generally has trouble seeing its own until it’s too late, which can be costly. To counter this, get another set of eyes on the operation with an objective viewpoint.

Reliable security experts can:

More needs to be learned about what drives behavioural strategies used by different cultures to combat cannabis consumption, intoxication and related harms to enhance the protection of those who use the drug, a U.S. study suggests.

Researchers at the University of New Mexico explored the cannabis protective behavioural strategies (PBS) used by five different countries — namely the U.S., Argentina, Uruguay, Spain and the Netherlands — by seeking input from 1,175 colleges students from those jurisdictions who reported past-month weed use.

In essence, cannabis PBS are behaviours used before, during, after, and/or instead of cannabis use to reduce consumption, intoxication and related harms, explains the study published online in pre-proof on Apr. 28.

Cannabis PBS has “been identified to play an important role for harm reduction in adolescent and young adult users,” according to a Swiss study published last month.

With 135 tons of food seed and a growing amount of hemp fiber imported every year, Sweden has the basis for a strong national hemp industry, stakeholders suggest. But the market can thrive and benefit Swedish companies only if hemp gains wider recognition and rules become clear.

Swedish and international experts will gather online Wednesday, May 5, to talk hemp and soil health, carbon neutral hemp building materials, bio-based textiles and food as they explore the potential for hemp during a one-day event, “Industrial Hemp for a Bio-based and Fossil Free Future.” Organizers said the event will especially showcase the potential for hemp in Swedish agriculture. Registration for the event is free.

Status of hemp

It is legal to grow certified hemp varieties in Sweden under permitting by the Swedish Board of Agriculture. But businesses have suffered raids and other hassles with law enforcement authorities that reflect a lingering ignorance that is holding back the sector in Scandinavia’s biggest market of 10 million consumers.

Hemp barely registers in Swedish agriculture, and the sector has survived only because of court cases that went against the government. Most notable, hemp farmer Ulf Hammarsten received damages from the Swedish state after his hemp crop was repeatedly destroyed by authorities. EU officials found in Hammarsten’s favor in 2003, ruling that national legislation prohibiting the cultivation and possession of industrial hemp was incompatible with the “common organization of markets” under EU law.

150 hemp operators

Modern-era records that date to 2004 show 150 hectares were under hemp in Sweden that year. By 2007, hemp fields had grown to 829 hectares, but then started to decline. A total of 170 hectares were cultivated in 2020, according to government statistics, with estimates that there are about 150 hemp operators in Sweden, most of which are small family businesses

It is fair to say the legal cannabis industry has exploded over the past two decades, ever since the state of California got the ball rolling in 1996 by legalizing medical cannabis, followed quickly by Colorado.

Since then, we’ve seen a total of 36 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands all approve comprehensive, fully legal medical cannabis programs.

Colorado was one of the first states to decriminalize cannabis in 1975, then establish legal medical and recreational cannabis programs in 2000 and 2012.

As the nation’s first legal retail market, Colorado has made itself a hub for legal cannabis in both the U.S. and the world, with some of the most influential, creative, and innovative cannabis brands and entrepreneurs residing there.

The legalized cannabis industry has generated hundreds of millions of dollars a year for Colorado. That’s a massive industry for most small countries, let alone a state with a population of 5.8 million. 

When Illinois lawmakers approved recreational cannabis in 2019, they did so hoping that it would prove popular enough to generate taxes to help offset state debt and fund a variety of programs. So far, Illinois residents have come through for them in a big way.

Recreational cannabis has proven extremely popular in Illinois. Even with the pandemic resulting in lockdowns for many months in 2020, marijuana taxes raked in $174.8 million for the state.

As the state sees its final few frosts, the buds sprouting in Nick Hice’s greenhouse are yearning to take root in his sprawling Warren County fields.

Every day, the hundreds of tiny tufts of green Hice is cultivating grow a little taller, a little stronger and by the fall, he hopes they’ll make a fruitful harvest. His second Ohio-grown hemp crop.

What You Need To Know

While Hice only bought his farm, Natural Horticulture, a few years ago, he’s not new to planting or new to Warren County.

“I actually grew up about 10 miles down the road from here and my family had a garden center,” he said. 

A bipartisan group of 44 members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to congressional leaders on Thursday calling for a prohibition of federal interference with cannabis activities that are legal under state or tribal law. The letter, which was addressed to the ranking members of the House Appropriations Committee’s Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) Subcommittee, was signed by dozens of representatives and led by Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chairs Earl Blumenauer and Barbara Lee, along with Tom McClintock and Eleanor Holmes Norton.

In the letter, the House members wrote that as 2022 appropriations bills are drafted, “we respectfully request that you include language barring the Department of Justice from prosecuting those who comply with their state or tribal marijuana laws. We also request that you maintain the current language barring the Department of Justice from prosecuting those who comply with their state’s medical marijuana laws.”

The drafters of the letter went on to note that nearly all of the states have passed some sort of cannabis policy reform, writing that “to date, 48 states have enacted laws that, to varying degrees, relax their prohibitions against the use of marijuana or its components, such as CBD oil. Of those, 36 states have medical marijuana programs, and 17 of those have adult-use programs.”

Respecting The Will Of The People With The Prohibition Of Federal Interference of Cannabis

The representatives added that in most states that have relaxed prohibitions, cannabis policy reforms had been approved by the voters. The letter called on the subcommittee to respect the will of the people by protecting state-legal cannabis from federal prosecution.

This particular strain is very popular, as it is a pure and classic sativa strain. It is sought after in the cannabis market all over the world.

Year in year out, new sativa strains are being developed, while the already existing ones are being improved. Experienced cannabis smokers already know which strains to go for if they want a classical or newly developed strain. Newbie smokers might however be confused on which to go for.

As we all know, the cannabis market is littered with different products. This is why this list has been carefully researched and put together to help everyone know the most potent sativa strains on the market this year.

To curate this list, the energizing, euphoric, and creative effects of several sativa strains were observed, along with their THC level.

Let’s dive in!

I don’t blame any small business owner for scrutinizing expenses and pushing away salespeople touting their latest and greatest product. I’ve been there. My keep-your-hands-off-my-tiny-pile-of-cash approach saved me time initially, but I also missed opportunities where I could have spent money to make money and run my business more effectively.

The only way Senate Democrats have been able to bypass Republican opposition so far this year and move forward with its agenda is through budget reconciliation.

Cannabis advocates are still waiting to see the bill that the Democratic Senate has promised to throw down in an effort to legalize marijuana at the federal level. They are excited about the possibilities. After all, the Democrats have control of Congress this year, so getting marijuana matters pushed through should be a piece of cake. Only that’s not entirely true.

There are still immense challenges in getting any cannabis reform measure through the halls of Congress this year, and some of the roadblocks for legalization begin with the Democratic party itself.

Photo by Darren415/Getty Images

Although Democrats have majority rule in the U.S. Senate, it is only by a slim majority. This means they will need every bit of support from their own part, not to mention some backing from Republicans to get any pot-related measure beyond a discussion. A marijuana bill would need 60 Senators to sign off on it to beat the filibuster, an old Senate rule that demands a super majority on controversial issues.

Earlier this month, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation to legalize recreational marijuana in the state.

While advocates say it's a huge win, it could mean big losses for dispensaries in Colorado.

Since 2014, when recreational marijuana went on sale in the Centennial State, business has boomed for Colorado dispensary owners with more than $10 billion in marijuana sales and billions more reaped in tax revenue.

It has also been an economic boost for those in the tourism industry. People from around the country come to Colorado every year to consume cannabis products.

It is estimated that as many as 75% of the world’s population has played in sports leagues at some point during their lifetime.

Sports competitions, for better or worse, play a huge role in the everyday lives of the international community. 

Prior to the pandemic, sporting events were some of the largest gatherings in the world, and that’s virtually guaranteed to be the case after the pandemic is over.

With that in mind, it’s a really, really big deal when a major sports league updates its cannabis policy, which was recently the case with the National Football League (NFL).

No More Off-Season Cannabis Testing

Historically, the NFL has had one of the harshest cannabis policies out of the major international sports leagues.

A discussion paper calls on the UK Government to review what it says are outdated laws and regulations hindering the UK’s CBD and wider medical cannabis industry.

According to the paper’s authors, cannabis consultancy Maple Tree and Mackrell.Solicitors, current laws in the UK have resulted in the majority of its cannabidiol (CBD) and all of its other medical cannabis supply being imported. The perplexing aspect is that the UK is one of the biggest exporters of medical cannabis in the world.

The paper states if red tape is reduced, the UK’s medical cannabis market could be worth £2 billion, create 50,000 new jobs and make patient access to medicinal cannabis much easier.

The main recommendations in the report:

With regard to hemp specifically, currently in the UK hemp can only be grown for industrial applications and only the fibre and seed utilised. Leaves and flower must be destroyed on-site. In 2019, there were just 900 hectares of hemp farmland across the UK. The paper says the suitability of the British climate makes it extremely viable for domestically grown CBD medicinal cannabis in the UK.