WeedLife News Network

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

The initial licenses for cannabis retailers in New York under the coming market will include some applicants who have had connections to cannabis-related convictions and a small business background. 

The provision is meant to offset the historic enforcement of prior drug laws in the state and aid communities affected by the war on drugs. Law enforcement officials, including Albany County District Attorney David Soares, have concerns with how these applicants are vetted, however. 

Soares told Captial Tonight last month he did not want people who were convicted of "so much harm to our fellow citizens." 

But Chris Alexander, the executive director of the state Office of Cannabis Management, said the concern was misguided. 

"There's a miscalculation being made by the DA," he said in an interview on Wednesday. "These are not criminals; these are folks who otherwise would have been law-abiding citizens but for this conviction. And what really have gone on to own, operate, and run successful small businesses around the state. And so really if we want to characterize them, we should characterize them as small business owners, which is what they are."

Alexander is in charge of developing the regulatory structure for cannabis sales and licensing in New York, and has been holding information sessions around the state to answer questions about how the coming cannabis market will impact communities. 

The municipality's 120 employees have been notified that if they use marijuana it could lead to their termination, Mayor Keith Kazmark said. 

"Regardless of this change in law, the Borough Council and I want to emphasize that all policies and procedures and rules and regulations applicable to the employees of the Borough of Woodland Park will remain the same," Kazmark said.

Although it does apply to all municipal employees, it is most likely to affect those who work for the police and public works departments, as they are subject to random drug tests, borough officials said.   

"Our police officers are responsible for ensuring our public safety, enforcing laws and serving as our protectors," Kazmark said. 

"Our DPW workers utilize heavy equipment and hold CDL licenses to carry out their duties in maintaining the infrastructure, keeping our town looking beautiful."

Other workers are also entrusted with serving the community, such as those in the building and recreation departments. They, however, are likely to be tested only if there's a suspicion of impairment on the job. 

Vermont's Cannabis Control Board acknowledged on Monday that it will not meet a state mandated deadline of May 1 to issue licenses to small-scale weed growers.

The news comes as a blow to cultivators who are anxiously awaiting state approval so they can raise crops in time to have product available when the market fully opens in October. Some have applied to grow indoors, others outdoors and some a mix of both.

According to data from the board, 83 small growers have submitted applications, but only two are currently under review. Those two are among 25 "social equity applicants" who represent groups disadvantaged by the country's war on drugs and are now designated for priority licensing review — and breaks on fees — by Vermont.

"We've gotten a lot of messages saying, 'Hey, my plants need to be in the ground ASAP,' and we completely understand," Kyle Harris, one of the three board members, said at a meeting on Monday. "That is not lost on us." Harris said some frustrated applicants have called into the office and directed vulgar language at staff, which he called unacceptable.

"I know folks are under a lot of stress and anxiety, have a lot riding on these licenses; we totally get that," he said. "But there's just no room to be rude ... 

I just want to make sure everybody understands that they're working as hard as they possibly can."

In 2012, Colorado and Washington made headlines when they became the first two states in the U.S. to legalize cannabis for recreational use. Since then, 18 other states as well as the District of Columbia have followed suit by passing legislation for recreational distribution and consumption.

Classified as a Schedule I drug by the Controlled Substance Act, the same as methamphetamine or cocaine, cannabis is still illegal at the federal level. However, as more state lawmakers pass legislation to legalize recreational use, federal cannabis trafficking cases and charges have steadily dropped year-over-year.

According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s 2021 Sourcebook, in 2012, the same year Colorado and Washington first passed their legislation, there were roughly 7,000 offenders charged with cannabis trafficking by federal prosecutors. Cannabis made up 27.6% of all drug trafficking charges that year, the most of any category.

As more states continued to pass legislation to legalize recreational cannabis, the number of federal trafficking charges began to drop year-after-year. In 2016, when nine states in total had opened for recreational use, cannabis trafficking cases fell to approximately 3,500 cases.

Most recently, in 2021, that number dropped below 1,000 for the first time in this period, with 996 total people charged for trafficking cannabis, accounting for only 5.7% of the total federal drug trafficking cases, the least of all major categories.

Hundreds of marijuana users gathered in the German capital to mark 420, the annual cannabis celebration, and demand legalization of the drug. Germany's new government has promised a new law.

At least 500 pro-legalization protesters gathered in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday for 420, the annual April 20 celebration marked by cannabis consumers around the world, to urge the government to move forward with its plans to decriminalize the drug.

The police presence, enough to fill several police vans parked around the demo, prevailed on organizers to turn the German hip-hop and rap music down, but made no overt attempt to trace the many clouds of smoke hanging above the small crowd.

The gathering was made up of activists, rappers, former police officers, people who use cannabis for medical treatments and several small business owners who used the opportunity to promote cannabis-friendly products, from "ecological" hemp and beeswax firelighters to an all-in-one cannabis grow kit, complete with fume extractor and power unit.

Promises but no action

An estimated 4 million people in Germany consume cannabis, and the coalition contract presented by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's new government last December was clear enough about its aims.

"We will introduce the controlled distribution of cannabis to adults for recreational purposes in licensed stores," the government promised, before detailing its reasons.

While the DEA did not outright attribute recreational marijuana legalization to the decrease in trafficked weed over the U.S. border, there is certainly a connection to be made.

The United States and Mexico border has made front page news daily for nearly a decade for all sorts of reasons. Whether it is building an expansive border wall, or major immigration policy issues — or even the ever-evolving problems of drug smuggling — there is always something critical to report on this 1,954 mile long imaginary line.

Recently, however, there has been a shakeup in one of the U.S. and Mexican border’s previously-biggest talking points: marijuana trafficking. Only a decade ago, Mexico was smuggling a significant amount of the marijuana consumed by Americans, according to the DEA. Now it appears as though marijuana smuggling into the United States is decreasing, while Mexico is seeing an increase of American made pot entering its side of the border.

The DEA released a new report, stating that, “in U.S. markets, Mexican marijuana has largely been supplanted by domestic- produced marijuana.” This is a major shift from the days when the vast majority of marijuana was coming into the United States from Mexico. 

The report, titled “FY 2023 Performance Budget Congressional Budget Submission,” did, however, say that Mexico is still the main foreign supplier of U.S. marijuana. The report did not go so far as to attribute this decrease in illegal drug trafficking to legalization efforts in many U.S. states. Instead, it stated that “The national landscape continues to evolve as states enact voter referendums and legislation regarding the possession, use, and cultivation of marijuana and its associated products.”

While the DEA did not outright attribute recreational marijuana legalization to the decrease in trafficked weed over the U.S. border, there is certainly a connection to be made. In fact, this trend was noticed shortly after states began passing legalization measures. 

Legalization offers hope for social justice and it also has financial incentives.

A legislative push and initiative petition face looming deadlines in the coming weeks

With the end of the legislative session only weeks away, and organizers of an initiative petition campaign sounding the alarm about an even more pressing deadline, dueling efforts to legalize marijuana in Missouri face uncertain fates.

In the legislature, GOP state Rep. Ron Hicks is sponsoring a bill to legalize possession and use of marijuana for individuals 21 and older. 

But while it received a committee hearing in early March, it took nearly a month to get a vote — and when it did, a pair of amendments were added that the bill’s supporters labeled poison pills. 

“Do we still have time? Yes,” said Hicks, noting the legislature will adjourn at 6 p.m. on May 13.

“I’ve seen bills sail through the process in a week. It really comes down to whether we have the will to tackle it.”

The American Civil Liberties (ALCU) estimates that between 2001 and 2010, there were over eight million marijuana arrests across the U.S., and 88 percent of those arrests were for simply having the drug. 

Although marijuana use is almost equal among Blacks and Whites, Black people are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession. 

In 2012, Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational marijuana and since then, 17 more states have followed, with several more considering legislation this year. 

The U.S. legal marijuana industry is projected to earn $43 billion by 2025, according to cannabis industry researcher New Frontier Data, which begs the question: how much of that wealth will African Americans have access to? 

In Maryland, cannabis is only legal for medical use, and most are owned and operated by White Americans. However, in Washington, D.C. voters approved Initiative 71 in 2014, which legalized the possession of minimal amounts of marijuana for recreational use. The initiative made way for “gifting shops”, also known as I-71 businesses, which get around the ban on the sale of recreational marijuana by selling other items like art and clothing and including a free “gift” of marijuana. 

The House of Representatives approved the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, H.R. 3617 on April 1, sending it to Senate. The MORE Act removes cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act, allowing states to legalize cannabis, its production, and sale, free from federal interference. (Benzinga)

Reaching the Senate is an accomplishment in itself after many attempts, the legislation now needs bipartisan approval in the body and then President Biden’s signature. That said, let's look at where some senators stand on federal legalization of marijuana. 

When asked last week at the Capitol about the MORE Act, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said, “Okay, I don’t support that. I’ve had family members who have had a lot of drug issues, and so I’m not going to do it,” reported CNSNews. 

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) was asked if he used cannabis and whether he also thought it to be harmful, to which he replied:

“I do actually, and I think the science also shows that as well, so this is one of those interesting debates where people talk about ‘follow the science’ on it, okay – well, follow the science on it and be able to track the reports.”

While Congressional lawmakers are taking steps toward decriminalizing cannabis, Iowa Republicans say there's no appetite for it in their caucus.

Driving the news: The U.S. House passed a bill decriminalizing the possession and distribution of cannabis earlier this month — prompting Iowa activists to gather at the State Capitol and call on lawmakers to consider doing the same here, Iowa Capital Dispatch reports.

State of play: In March, the Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll showed that 54% of Iowans support legalizing recreational marijuana and 78% support expanding the state's medical cannabis program.

What they're saying: Iowa Rep. Steven Holt, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said legalizing cannabis, "... is something I would never support," according to ICD.

The other side: Just two and a half hours away from Des Moines — on the border of Illinois and Iowa — sits "Nature's Treatment of Illinois," a medical and recreational dispensary in Moline.

Since recreational cannabis was legalized in the state, the store's popularity has spiked — prompting its owners to expand and create a waitlist.

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.

The bill would have allowed for self-certification for adults 21+ to use medical cannabis and established a tax holiday for medical cannabis products during April.

District of Columbia Council Chairman, Phil Mendelson, introduced a new emergency bill to reform the medical marijuana market in the nation's capital where cannabis is fully legal but sales are banned, by a congressional spending bill rider that’s been annually renewed, prohibiting the use of local taxes to implement a system of recreational cannabis commerce. (Benzinga)

“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,” Mendelson said on Monday.

“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.”

The bill would have allowed for self-certification for adults 21+ to use medical cannabis and established a tax holiday for medical cannabis products during April.

The House of Representatives approved the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, H.R. 3617 on Friday, sending it to Senate. The MORE Act removes cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act, allowing states to legalize cannabis, its production and sale, free from federal interference. (Benzinga)

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), viewed as one of the leaders among GOP representatives in favor of removing cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances, voted against it. Why? 

“The MORE Act forces a system on South Carolinians and other states they do not want. By comparison, my bill, the States Reform Act, removes the federal government from the equation and allows states to decide for themselves,” Mace explained as reported by The State. 

According to Mace, the House passage of the MORE act may be a good start for creating a bipartisan consensus around legislation that would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, reported Marijuana Business Daily.

How much cannabis can you put in a drink or food in Europe?

The European Commission (EC), which is the regional unit charged with creating cannabis laws for all members of the EU, has finally released guidelines for the highest acceptable level of THC that can be allowed in hemp seed food products available for human consumption.

The Two-Part Regulation

The EC issued a two-tiered regulation. The first of them, which was authorized by the European Commission's Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food, and Feed, says that oil obtained from hemp seed should not contain THC levels greater than 7.5mg/kg.

The second regulation is that for dry foods that contain hemp, such as flour and protein powder that contain hemp seed, as well as hemp seed itself, the level of THC that can be found in them must not be greater than 3mg/kg.

To put this into an international point of view, a 10mg/kg limit has been placed on both dry foods and oils containing hemp seed in Canada. And in Switzerland, a limit doubles that of Canada's has been established for oil products at 20mg/kg while the limit for dry products remains the same at 10mg/kg.

Effects of Setting Limits in the World of International Hemp regulations 

German cannabis lawyer Kai-Friedrich Niermann, who is presently suing the government over laws as regards the importation of hemp, was glad about this development. In his opinion, the ruling of the European Commission was crucial and way-paving for the European hemp sector. Currently, it will be the first time organized guideline values apply across the European Union.

“Many countries would deschedule cannabis and reevaluate how cannabis is classified if the U.N. did so,” said Rep. Nancy Mace.

Representatives Nancy Mace (R) and Barbara Lee (D) filed a resolution on Friday expressing “the sense of Congress” that the United States representative to the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs should use “the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to seek to de-schedule cannabis from Schedule I of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 and treat the plant “as a commodity.” (Benzinga)

In 2020, the UN’s Commission for Narcotic Drugs voted to remove medicinal cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, following recommendations from the World Health Organization.

The US voted in favor of removing cannabis from Schedule IV. However, cannabis and cannabis resin are still on Schedule I.

“Many countries would deschedule cannabis and reevaluate how cannabis is classified if the U.N. did so. Cannabis has been shown to be effective in the treatment of numerous medical conditions such as epilepsy, PTSD, cancer pain relief, nausea, and chronic and terminal illnesses. Descheduling at the U.N. would support global research into how cannabis can treat a wide range of ailments and conditions,” stated Rep. Nancy Mace in a press release on Friday.

Local and national support for legal cannabis shows us that the best course of action is to work toward decriminalization and, eventually, full legalization.

The freedom to make one’s own choices is central to our nation’s values and the great state of Florida. With cannabis legalization growing in popularity across the country, it’s now time to legalize adult-use cannabis in Florida and give back a choice that has been denied us for almost a century.

Floridians overwhelmingly support cannabis legalization. The latest polling data shows that 70 percent of us believe cannabis should be legal. However, our lawmakers have been slow to respond to the will of the people.

Having sponsored two previous legalization bills, I know that it won’t be easy to win this fight. Still, we must persist. Local and national support for legal cannabis shows us that the best course of action is to work toward decriminalization and, eventually, full legalization.

We have known for 50 years that cannabis poses no real danger to our society. It does not induce violence, nor threaten public health. In 1972, President Richard Nixon received a report from the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse. The commission, led by Pennsylvania Gov. Raymond Shafer, a Republican, declared cannabis not harmful to our society and recommended that marijuana be decriminalized in the United States.

Fifty years and dozens of research studies later, it’s clear the prohibition of cannabis has caused more harm than cannabis itself. The enforcement of nonsensical drug policies has cost taxpayers millions of dollars. This is money that could have been used to fund programs and services for Floridians or kept in their pockets.

“It slipped by me,” said senator about bill legalizing Delta-8 THC