WeedLife News Network

DOVER - Hero Technologies, a cannabis company focused on a "seed-to-sale" vertical integration strategy, today announced that, subject to certain minimal conditions, it has received license and permit approval from Vassar Township, Michigan, to build a local cannabis growing facility.

The company was approved subject to certain conditions; however, approval requires only resubmission, not an additional planning commission meeting. Vassar Township Planning Commission meetings are only once per month. The company's application was sufficient to avert another one month wait to receive Commission approval. All conditions have been satisfied by the company. Blackbox management sent requested revisions to Vassar Township on Monday, November 14th. Relevant conditions included revisions to the drawings to reflect a future processing facility and changes to the lighting plan.

In a parallel development, the company expects to close on its previously agreed-upon purchase of a 10-acre parcel in Vassar within the next 10 days.

Hero Technologies' subsidiary, BlackBox Systems and Technologies LLC, previously received pre-qualification approval from the state of Michigan for Adult (recreational) and Medicinal Use cannabis licenses.

"We are grateful to the Vassar Township Planning Commission for its thorough and expeditious review of our license and permit application," said Hero Technologies' CEO Gina Serkasevich. "Now that we have the necessary local approvals, we look forward to closing on our 10-acre property in Vassar as soon as possible, transforming the site into a state-of-the art cannabis production facility, and capitalizing on the strong cannabis market in Michigan."

Michigan's legal marijuana market has grown rapidly since the state legalized adult recreational use in 2020. According the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency, sales of legal cannabis in the state were approximately $1.8 billion in 2021 and should approach $2.8 billion in 2022.

'My own country had pardoned me but that didn’t matter. They told the federal government of the United States of America not to forget'

The move affects 63 of the 150 licenses that the state planned to issue.

A federal judge has temporarily barred the state of New York from issuing the first batch of retail licenses for recreational cannabis in five regions pending resolution of a lawsuit filed by a Michigan-based company challenging the program’s selection requirements.

The decision on Thursday from the Federal District Court in Syracuse spells trouble for the state’s plan to begin recreational cannabis sales as soon as this year.

The judge, Gary L. Sharpe, said the state could not issue conditional licenses to operate dispensaries in Brooklyn, Central New York, the Finger Lakes, the Mid-Hudson area and Western New York while the case is pending. His decision affects 63 of the 150 licenses that the state planned to issue to businesses and individuals who met a narrow criteria.

The case, brought by Variscite NY One, argues that requirements that applicants have a cannabis-related conviction under New York state law and significant ties to the state violate constitutional protections of interstate commerce.

New York legalized cannabis for nonmedical use by adults 21 and over in March 2021. Lawmakers set out to build a market that included people convicted of crimes or otherwise harmed by decades of policies targeting those who grew, sold and used cannabis.

Even people who use cannabis for medical purposes risk severe penalties for daring to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

President Joe Biden, who recently issued a mass pardon for low-level marijuana offenders, says cannabis consumption should not be treated as a crime. His administration nevertheless defends the federal ban on gun possession by marijuana users, arguing that Second Amendment rights are limited to "law-abiding citizens."

Last week, a federal judge agreed, dismissing a challenge to that rule by medical marijuana patients in Florida. The reasoning underlying that decision shows that the constitutional right to armed self-defense, which the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld, is still subject to legislators' arbitrary whims and irrational prejudices.

Florida is one of 37 states that allow medical use of marijuana, most of which also have legalized recreational use—a policy supported by two-thirds of Americans. Under federal law, by contrast, marijuana remains illegal for all purposes except government-approved research, and simple possession is punishable by a fine of $1,000 or more and up to a year in jail.

For marijuana users who own guns, the potential penalties are much more severe. They include up to 15 years in prison for illegal firearm possession, up to 15 years for "trafficking in firearms" by obtaining a gun, and up to 10 years for failing to report cannabis consumption on the form required for gun purchases from federally licensed dealers.

The plaintiffs in the Florida lawsuit included Nikki Fried, a Democrat who runs the state's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; two patients who participate in Florida's medical marijuana program; and a gun owner who says he would like to do so but does not want to surrender his right to arms. They argued that the ban on gun possession by cannabis consumers violates the Second Amendment.

"The Risk of a Post-Election Funk”

“We would be less optimistic about SAFE Plus in the lame duck if the Republicans were to take both chambers,” said Cantor Fitzgerald's Pablo Zuanic. “We will wait for Wednesday morning to have more definitive views.”

Zuanic, who is worried that SAFE Plus may not be a high priority for the Senate leadership in the lame-duck session. “Republicans taking control of both chambers of Congress (as the latest polls signal) could lead to a 'post-election funk' among Democrats."

There is a scenario, says Zuanie, that Sen. McConnell (future Senate Leader, probably) may press Republican Senators to withhold support for SAFE Plus until the 118th Congress.

"True, with cannabis stocks not pricing favorable reform news (MSOS ETF at 11) and 2023 around the corner, the downside may be limited. SAFE Plus with hemp/CBD features (HR 841?) passed by a Republican Congress could be the type of incremental reform the industry needs, but then we are talking 2023-2024, and not lame duck," Zuanic said.

Beyond that, "we would be skeptical about more comprehensive reform in the 118th Congress with Republicans potentially controlling both chambers, although we should not overlook efforts by Representatives Mace (SC) and Joyce (HO)," with proposals like the States Reform Act and the PREPARES Act, respectively, according to the industry report.

It’s time to vote, and will it be cannabis or can’tabis?

This year, five more states are considering legalizing marijuana, potentially adding to Washington, DC, 19 states and two territories where it is already legal. That number increases when you look at where medical cannabis is legal: Washington, DC, 37 states and three territories.

The five states where voters will be deciding in the midterm elections this November are Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota, reports the Washington Post.

Back in 2018, voters rejected the ballot measure in North Dakota, so the issue is arising again. Similarly, in 2016, Arizonans rejected legalization – but approved it in the next election cycle.

Legalized recreational marijuana use is something that most Americans want. Two-thirds of the population, according to a CBS poll cited by the Post, want it to be legalized both federally and in our state.

But even after polls close in November, decisions may not always be safe or firm. For instance, in South Dakota in 2020, 54 percent of voters approved both medical and recreational legalization. But the state’s Supreme Court nullified the vote since it addressed two issues at once. Instead of fighting, proponents simply put better wording on this year’s ballot.

Just 26 per cent of drivers surveyed said they believed driving high is an “extremely dangerous” activity.

SIOUX FALLS - The group that pushed forward South Dakota’s medical marijuana measure in 2020 is officially sitting out of the 2022 election and not actively promoting any measure.

But it’s taking a closer look at the actions from opponents of Initiated Measure 27 and other pro-marijuana measures.

New Approach South Dakota is sending a number of information requests to government offices across the state, to officials they say may have broken state laws by speaking out against marijuana measures. Some of those officials include Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead, Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender, and more.

“The decision to do this and call this out was not an easy one. We’re submitting public record requests for multiple political officials throughout the state. And the decision to do that was not easy. These are dealing with a very powerful political establishment in the state.” New Approach SD Deputy Director Ned Horsted said.

Under SDCL 12-27-20, any government official or employee of the state is permitted to speak their opinion of a candidate or ballot measure in their personal capacity. That same law states that no government agency or official can influence the election of any candidate or ballot measure in their official capacity. Additionally, South Dakota Constitutional Law 11-11 states that the making of a profit directly or indirectly not authorized by law is deemed a felony.

“However under the South Dakota Constitution, they are not allowed to use taxpayer resources to promote a political agenda.” Horsted said.

The bill was sent for review after coalition partner Democratic Party said the bill would promote the recreational use of the drug.

BANGKOK – A farmers’ representative and a businessman called on the House to speed up the legislation of a cannabis control law so businesses know what they can and cannot do.
The statement came on Monday from Prapat Panyachatraksa, president of the National Farmers’ Council, and Ong-art Panyachatraksa, owner of the Organic Phet Lanna Farma and a partner of the RG420 Cannabis Store on Khao San Road in Bangkok.

The two were referring to the September 14 House resolution to indefinitely defer the second reading of the cannabis bill and return it to the special House committee that had vetted the draft.

“I understand the delay was caused by politicking,” said Prapat, who is a member and adviser to the ad hoc panel.

The bill was engineered by coalition partner Bhumjaithai Party, which had promised to legalise marijuana while campaigning for the 2019 general election.

The House voted 198:136 to return the bill to the ad hoc panel for review after Democrat Party, also a coalition partner, said the bill would promote the recreational use of marijuana. Democrat MPs also cited concerns that children and youth would abuse cannabis as a drug. The Rural Doctors Society was among groups that voiced such concersn.

An Edmonton city councillor wants the city to become the cannabis capital of the world.

Coun. Michael Janz says after four years of legalization, he wants to see Edmonton become a pot tourism destination in Canada.

“I think we already have all the ingredients here in Edmonton and Alberta,” said Janz, the councillor for Ward papastew. “We’ve got some of the best post-secondaries, we’ve got a great (agriculture) tech sector.

“We already have people innovating in this space… but we as a city can get out of the way.”

With 164 stores, Edmonton has the highest number of retailers per capita.

Janz says city council is currently reviewing zoning bylaws around cannabis. He’s hoping to see rules change so consumers can have more options.

“Germany has long been the leader in medical cannabis reform and all the other countries in EU will follow with similar versions once completed,” said Mike Sassano, CEO of Somai Pharmaceuticals.

Germany, the largest economy in Europe, is making plans to legalize and regulate recreational cannabis. On Wednesday, the health minister, Mr. Karl Lauterbach, presented a plan for cannabis legalization to the German cabinet. This move will make Germany among the first countries in Europe to legalize recreational cannabis, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Currently, Malta is the only country in Europe that has made this bold move.

Legalizing cannabis for recreational use was captured in the coalition government’s manifesto. The coalition government is made up of three parties: Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and liberal Free Democrats.

How things are unfolding is therefore not surprising. How long the process will take is however not clear. While the Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) believes that this should happen by 2023, the Federal Drug and Addiction Commissioner Burkhard Blienert suggested that it will not be possible to have the law in place before the end of 2024.

According to Lauterbach’s plan, about 4 million Germans used cannabis in 2021. This signifies the existence of a vibrant illicit market which by all means presents a significant public health risk.

The plan presented by Lauterbach made a number of provisions for adult-use cannabis in Germany. Adults will be allowed to use and possess 20 to 30 grams of cannabis. Private cultivation of cannabis will be restricted to 2-3 plants per household, according to reports from the local media. In addition, marijuana-related cases that are ongoing but no longer illegal due to the new laws will be dropped. The coalition government plans to introduce a special tax for marijuana consumption alongside the usual sales tax. The plan also includes rolling out country-wide cannabis education and drug abuse prevention programs.

‘This will lead to increased patient access to plant-based medicine and will introduce new patients to the flourishing local medical marijuana landscape’

BALTIMORE - Members of the Maryland House of Delegates and community members, including retired law enforcement and former Baltimore Ravens player Eugene Monroe, said legalization of recreational cannabis would create new jobs and investment opportunities and save the state money by eliminating the incarceration of thousands of residents annually on marijuana possession charges.

Spearheaded by Monroe’s advocacy organization, Yes on 4, the group urged Maryland residents to vote yes on question four to approve legalization of recreational cannabis when they go to the polls Nov. 8.

“Marijuana sales would create tens of thousands of well-paying jobs.” Monroe said during a press conference in West Baltimore. “It would also open doors for hundreds of new small business owners and create opportunities for workers in other industries, including those in real estate, construction and manufacturing.”

A recent poll by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland showed that 73% of registered Maryland voters support legalization of recreational cannabis.

“The numbers show Maryland residents want to legalize cannabis, because they know it will create good paying jobs and boost the state’s economy,” he said.

Maryland is one of five states that will consider legalization initiatives on Nov. 8, including Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota. So far, 19 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized cannabis for adults 21 and older.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden released a three-prong plan to fulfill a campaign promise to roll back punishments for people convicted of marijuana possession.

He pledged to pardon everyone convicted in federal or Washington, DC courts of simple marijuana possession; encouraged governors to do the same for those convicted in state courts; and he promised he would ask his Secretary of Health and Human Services to examine rescheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act

As many were quick to note, the plan’s immediate impact will likely be slight, at best. No one is in federal prison on marijuana possession charges, and though the White House said perhaps 6,500 people may have marijuana convictions pardoned, the plan will have little effect for those who also have any state conviction or any other federal conviction. Rescheduling may lead to some improvements in how we treat marijuana, but cocaine and methamphetamine are among the drugs in Schedule II, and both are still subjected to heavy criminalization.

Nor is it likely that marijuana pardons will prove a gateway policy to the broader use of mass pardons and commutations, a practice that was more widespread in the past but has fallen into almost complete disuse. The most likely issue to follow the Biden plan would be relief for elderly people serving life sentences, but the effectiveness with which Dr. Mehmet Oz is attacking Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on his tenure as chair of the Pennsylvania pardon board suggests that clemency has nowhere near the popular support of marijuana policy.

A bigger concern, though, is not just that the policy might accomplish very little, but that it might make things worse for criminal legal reform in the long run because it reinforces a false narrative about the causes of mass punishment in general and mass incarceration in particular. It’s a narrative that shapes—or, better put, misshapes—policy.

Most Americans are deeply misinformed about why people are in prison. A survey in 2017 found that solid majorities across the ideological spectrum agreed with the claim that a majority of people in U.S. prisons are there for drug crimes. That’s a far cry from reality: 14 percent of people in state prisons were locked up for drug offenses at the time, a number that has fallen since then. (Those held in state prisons make up 90 percent of the nation’s incarcerated population.) This misbelief likely contributed to the next two results from that survey: while majorities of liberals, moderates, and conservatives favored lesser sanctions for those convicted of non-violent crimes who posed little risk of reoffending, majorities of all three groups also opposed lesser sanctions for those convicted of violence who likewise pose little risk of reoffending.

President Biden’s move to reevaluate marijuana’s legal status and pardon federal weed convictions has reinvigorated momentum for congressional action to boost the ailing cannabis industry. 

Lawmakers see the lame-duck session as their best chance yet to pass the SAFE Banking Act, a bipartisan measure that would enable cannabis businesses to more easily access banking services and loans. 

The bill — which would be a boon for cash-only dispensaries that are plagued by robberies and exorbitant banking fees — has already passed the House six times in recent years. But it’s stalled in the Senate amid concerns from top Democrats who said it doesn’t do enough to support communities disproportionately harmed by the nation’s drug laws. 

Public pressure is building on Congress to take on marijuana reform, and lawmakers are showing signs of optimism about the prospects of a bipartisan marijuana banking bill that addresses those systemic issues making its way to the president’s desk this year. 

Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), who first introduced the bill in 2019, told The Hill on Tuesday that there’s “a lot of activity” around the legislation, which he said some senators have referred to as “SAFE Banking Plus” amid ongoing negotiations.  

RAPID CITY -The debate over the recreational marijuana issue continues. However, according to a federally funded survey, youth marijuana use decreased significantly in 2021, as well as teen consumption of illicit substances overall.

“Colorado’s 171 million dollars was appropriated strictly to education; that’s educating our youth on the effects of marijuana and what that looks like, and that’s resources well-spent. Other tax revenues went to drug addiction, law enforcement, roads and infrastructure amongst building brand new schools and a wide variety of things that can help benefit the South Dakota community,” says proponent Kittrick Jeffries, CEO for Puffy’s Dispensary

Jim Kinyon, chairman for Protecting South Dakota Kids, counters by saying some Colorado resident, have moved to South Dakota because of the negative impact cannabis has had on Colorado.

“We don’t lock up people for marijuana. We try and get them healthy,” said Kinyon, “In the state of South Dakota, if this gets legalized, we’re leaving South Dakota because our kids and our families won’t be safe.”

Meade County Sheriff-elect Pat West says you would be allowed to grow up to three or six marijuana plants in a household but no more than an ounce of product.

“So if they’re allowed to have six marijuana plants in a house, that means you can grow up to 60 pounds of marijuana every three months; that’s an excessive amount of marijuana,” said West.

The State of Alabama gave its OK to medical cannabis more than two years ago, and the process of making that a reality — from growing it to getting it to patients in need — will begin in coming months as the application process for the limited number of business licenses begins.

For cites and counties to have a shot at landing one of those businesses, their governing bodies must approve an ordinance saying they are open to cannabis-related industries.

The Gadsden City Council approved that ordinance last week, seeking to be added the state's list of approving cities or counties by Oct. 17 — the deadline set by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission for requests for licenses for businesses related to medical cannabis.

Gadsden joins Glencoe — the only other Etowah County site listed — Tuscaloosa, Montgomery and 15 other municipalities or counties.

There are a limited number of licenses to be granted, City Attorney Lee Roberts told Gadsden council members. "It's going to be very competitive," he said, when it comes to landing these industries.

Council member Jason Wilson said it's estimated that one of these licensed dispensaries could generate $20 million in sales, which would be subject to sales tax.

As I often said during my campaign for President, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana.

Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit. Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities.  And while white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.

Today, I am announcing three steps that I am taking to end this failed approach.

First, I am announcing a pardon of all prior Federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana.  I have directed the Attorney General to develop an administrative process for the issuance of certificates of pardon to eligible individuals.  There are thousands of people who have prior Federal convictions for marijuana possession, who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result.  My action will help relieve the collateral consequences arising from these convictions.

Second, I am urging all Governors to do the same with regard to state offenses.  Just as no one should be in a Federal prison solely due to the possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either.

Third, I am asking the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.  Federal law currently classifies marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the classification meant for the most dangerous substances.  This is the same schedule as for heroin and LSD, and even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine – the drugs that are driving our overdose epidemic.