WeedLife News Network

Social justice advocates in New Jersey are flocking together to hold a special, free expungement clinic at Doubletree by Hilton Penn Station Hotel in Newark.

The clinic will be held on Tuesday, September 14 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time. Those who attend will get free support on how to expunge low-level cannabis convictions now that cannabis is legal in the state. 

The event will be hosted by 420NJEvents, a Black-owned cannabis lifestyle brand, and sponsored by Brach Eichler LLC, Columbia Care, REEForm New Jersey, Apothecarium, and Minority Cannabis Academy. Those who have been disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs will now have a chance to seek justice. Pro-bono attorneys from Brach Eichler law firm will be onsite to help and answer questions. 

New Jersey Steps Up

“We’re focused on educating minorities around cannabis as an avenue to create generational wealth, and break into an emerging industry ripe with opportunity and alternative medicine,” they explained via a press release. “We promise to remain true to the culture, true to ourselves and provide you with all the up-to-date information that’ll help you navigate the cannabis industry!”

One of the pro-bono attorneys who will be offering his services at the event explained in a press release why this event is valuable to communities of color in New Jersey. “Marijuana laws have often disproportionately impacted communities of color. As New Jersey looks to establish its recreational marijuana market, there must be a focus on righting the societal wrongs that the prohibition of cannabis has created. We need more individuals, particularly Black and brown people, to understand the law and their rights, what it means, and how it can help them,” said Charles X. Gormally, Co-Chair of the Cannabis Law Practice at Brach Eichler LLC.

Righting the wrongs of the War on Drugs is in full gear in Arizona. According to an August 30 press release, the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County granted 3,643 petitions for expungement of cannabis-related charges since the process started last month.

The court announced that following the passage of Proposition 207 in 2020, an average of 650 people per week are filing petitions with the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County to have felony cannabis-related convictions wiped off their records.

Before filing a petition for expungement, people should check with their respective court. In the event that the conviction was adjudicated in a justice or city court, that court should be contacted for more information. If the case was resolved in the Juvenile Department of Superior Court, there is a separate juvenile petition to expunge. Anybody who has been arrested but not charged will need to file a civil petition to expunge the record. 

A fee is not charged for the petition to expunge the conviction.

At its two bi-monthly meetings in August, the Hopewell Township Committee discussed COVID cases, food truck licenses, and the next phase of the cannabis ordinance.

As the COVID Delta variant continues to prolong the pandemic, Township Health Officer Dawn Marling explained at the August 2 meeting that Hopewell has seen a spike within its own residents. “We were doing about four cases a week during July, and I had five cases this past weekend, so that was a big uptick there. We are seeing cases among vaccinated residents, but again, given that a large number of our residents are vaccinated, that’s not unexpected,” Marling said.

Mayor Julie Blake explained that, even if residents are fully vaccinated, they are encouraged to continue to wear their masks to help stop the spread of the Delta variant. “I do want to remind them to use their best practices. Even I am having a hard time remembering to take a mask into public spaces. As you know, fully vaccinated or not, it’s really important. The CDC has been saying that we [may be] carriers of the virus even despite our vaccination status,” Blake said.

In a previous meeting, the Committee had discussed going back to in-person meetings in September. However, Marling advised that the pandemic is ever-evolving and could change within a month. “I think a lot can change by mid-September. Hopewell Valley isn’t considered one of the high transmission areas at the moment, but to have a crystal ball and say by the middle of September, it would be a wise decision to have a bunch of residents together in a meeting room, that could very well be something we need to pull back from,” she said.

On August 2, the Committee also discussed allowing licensed food trucks to operate within the Township without requiring a permit each time they “set-up shop.” The Committee considered, instead, a streamlined permitting process that would allow a food truck to come into the Township to different venues throughout the year under one annual license. Scott Miccio, an attorney for the Committee, presented the Robbinsville ordinance for the Committee to examine. “I turned to the Robbinsville ordinance [because] they had the scope, and the purpose of their ordinance, [which] I think is similar to what we might be trying to accomplish here in Hopewell,” Miccio said.

The decision to take an early-morning drive with cannabis debris clearly visible inside his vehicle turned out to be a bad one for a 20-year-old California man with a weed-sounding moniker.This past Saturday proved anything but relaxing for Kody Idica — just one letter shy of Indica, a cannabis variety long associated with sedating effects — when police stopped his vehicle at about 3:30 a.m. in Redwood Valley, Calif.

That find prompted a search of the vehicle, where the officer “found other evidence associated with the transportation and sale of illicit drugs.”

Recreational cannabis is legal in California, with adults 21 and older able to buy, possess and consume up to 28.5 grams of weed in their private residence or an establishment that has been licensed for consumption, FindLaw reports. The drug can not be consumed, whatever the method used, when a vehicle is in motion, adds Chambers Law Firm.

Under the Controlled Substance Act, first offenders for possessing cocaine could face imprisonment for as long as a year and a fine ranging from US$1,000 ($1,260) and US$100,000 ($126,000). Penalties increase with second or third convictions, according to McElfresh Law Inc.

When Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012, it didn't have a playbook.

While the state worked out the early rules regarding sales and taxation, it didn't initially consider how years of marijuana criminalization had impacted historically marginalized communities, and whether those communities should get special access to opportunities in the cannabis industry. (As originally posted on Westword by HILAL BAHCETEPE)

But in the years that followed, other states that legalized recreational marijuana did consider those issues and built social equity provisions into their programs.

Colorado is now playing social equity catch-up. On October 1, Governor Jared Polis pardoned 2,732 past marijuana possession convictions. When he signed Senate Bill 111 earlier this year, he approved $4 million going to support social-equity marijuana entrepreneurs. And on April 20 — that unofficial stoner holiday – Mayor Michael Hancock signed into law Denver’s social equity program, which began accepting applications for licenses in June.

This summer three U.S. senators released a discussion draft of legislation that would remove cannabis from the schedule of controlled substances under federal law and provide for federal taxation of cannabis products. Greg Kaufman of Eversheds Sutherland outlines the key provisions and urges lawmakers to consider data collected at the state level to get it right.

Currently, 18 states and the District of Columbia have the broadest allowances for marijuana use, legalizing medical and adult recreational use; a handful of other states have passed legislation allowing medical marijuana.

Overall, 47 states have some form of cannabis allowance, only Idaho, Kansas and Nebraska do not have any public programs for marijuana use. But marijuana laws and programs remain a highly contested topic and often see modifications as political power changes. (See also: State Marijuana Laws from 2019 Map)

Earlier this year, Mississippi overturned a 2020  medical-use marijuana measure, which could make the state’s already limited laws even tighter. South Dakota, which currently allows medical marijuana use, ruled earlier this year that a 2020 measure for nonmedical usage was unconstitutional and is awaiting appeal. Colorado, the first state to legalize marijuana in 2012, will limit high-potency concentrates in 2022 in an effort to decrease teenagers’ access to cannabis. But other states, including Alabama and Virginia, saw expansions of their marijuana programs within the last 18 months and Connecticut was the latest state to legalize recreational use of cannabis with the passage of SB 1201 in June.

Despite most states approving its use, marijuana is still considered a Schedule I illegal substance by federal law. But pressure is mounting to legalize cannabis nationally as the industry grows. Insurance lenders, testing labs and retailers are eager to keep up with the increasing demand (some businesses were even offering free weed as an incentive for getting vaccinated against COVID-19). Legal cannabis sales increased 45 percent last year and are predicted to reach $41 billion by 2026, but until there are federal policies, states will be left to determine how they will navigate the growing business.

Medicinal Marijuana

America’s increasingly liberal attitude regarding cannabis consumption has started to impact workplace policies. For decades, both federal and state law outlawed cannabis, which was in turn mirrored in workplace policies across the country. Most employers had a zero-tolerance policy on cannabis, with some even requiring regular drug tests and firing employees who failed. But with cannabis reform sweeping the nation, companies are starting to reconsider their drug policies.

This became increasingly clear when Amazon, the largest player in the e-commerce market with 1.3 million employees around the world, announced that it would cease testing job seekers for marijuana. A lot of businesses had been revising their drug policies in the wake of increased cannabis legalization, but Amazon’s announcement showed that the cannabis reform movement was gaining major traction. However, president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce Todd Maisch says that while plenty of companies are relaxing their attitudes toward cannabis, there’s still plenty that aren’t.

No business wants their employees to be impaired while on the job, he says, but for a lot of them, the days of random drug tests are drawing to a close. It ultimately depends on the type of business, with some having a lot of flexibility regarding their drug policies and others being unwilling and in most cases unable to relax their drug policies. For instance, businesses in construction whose employees have to use heavy machinery have to maintain a drug-free policy to keep their staff safe while on-site as well as to limit their culpability in case an impaired employee is involved in a workplace accident.

Additionally, entities and individuals that have contracts with the federal government are required to stay clear of all drugs, even the ones that are state legal, because drug use is outlawed by federal law. As such, Maisch says, the evolution of workplace policies regarding cannabis consumption has had two approaches, with some companies adapting to the changing times and others digging their heels in and adhering to federal policy on cannabis. Fortunately for cannabis-reform proponents, current events have influenced how employers treat cannabis.

The pandemic had a historic effect on the job market, forcing a lot of industries to slow down in the wake of lockdown orders and promoting a work-from-home culture. More than a year after the coronavirus struck and as the world started opening up, people began questioning the job market and demanding fair pay and benefits. This has led to a labor shortage of the likes we have never seen before, and employers are scrambling to hire employees who are willing to join their ranks.

There has been a recent flurry of movement – both in the courts and in state legislatures – on the marijuana law front across several states. As we previously reported, on February 22, 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed three separate cannabis reform bills into law (NJ A21, NJ A 1897, and NJ A5342/NJ S3454), formally legalizing the use and possession of recreational marijuana in the Garden State. The new laws contain express workplace-related provisions that impact New Jersey employers by establishing non-discrimination rules for recreational cannabis users or marijuana users, codifying that employers do not have a duty to accommodate cannabis use in the workplace, and establishing procedures for employee drug testing. The laws’ employment provisions were effective immediately, but they do not become operative until the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (“CRC”) adopts implementing regulations.

As we have also reported, on March 31, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill legalizing recreational cannabis in the state of New York, effective immediately. Among the many changes that this new legislation brought were amendments to and expansion of New York’s lawful off-duty conduct law to protect cannabis use by employees when they are not on the job. This statewide change follows New York City’s April 2019 ban on pre-employment cannabis testing, which deems screening for marijuana or THC as a condition of employment to be an unlawful discriminatory practice, with limited exceptions.

Other jurisdictions are catching up to the marijuana law frenzy. From East Coast to the South, Midwest, and Southwest, state lawmakers have legalized cannabis and restricted employers from making employment decisions based on employees’ and prospective employees’ use of marijuana. Here’s a round-up of the most recent developments:

New Laws

Alabama

On May 17, 2021, Alabama Governor Ivey signed the Darren Wesley ‘Ato’ Hall Compassion Act (“Hall Act”). Named in honor of the son of an Alabama lawmaker who had passed away at age 25, the Hall Act legalized certain forms of medical marijuana, but explicitly stated that Alabama has no plans to authorize recreational use of marijuana.

The investigations were spurred, in part, to conserve salmon and steelhead habitat.

None of the sites investigated were properly licensed and numerous sites were interfering with local watersheds and spawning streams

In a span of four days this month, deputies with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Marijuana Enforcement Team removed more than 64,000 illegally grown cannabis plants.

Among the 79 environmental violations, 42 relate to water diversions, 24 were for depositing trash in waterways and 13 were for water pollution.

Chuck Schumer’s dream of advancing nationwide cannabis reform must come now, or else it might not get another chance.

Democrats are on borrowed time with respect to their control of Congress, which means they either must work extra hard to ensure the votes necessary to stay in power, or beg, borrow, steal, and call in every favor to see that the party’s agenda is well-served before they are snuffed out by Republicans.

Among the many issues the Democrats are trying to pass, nationwide cannabis reform is a hot topic. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier that legalizing marijuana at the federal level was a top priority for the upper chamber, but he has so far come up short. Unfortunately, the clock is ticking for the Democrats to get something on the books.

As it stands, next year’s midterm elections aren’t looking good for Democrats. Early indicators show that the Republicans are poised to take back control of the House majority, further dividing Congress. “Based on all factors, you’d have to consider Republicans the early favorites for the House majority in 2022,” David Wasserman with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report recently told NBC News. As for the outcome of the Senate, it seems to be any party’s game at this point.

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Some politicians believe that history is repeating itself — and it’s not going in favor of the Democratic Party. Senator Lindsey Graham said earlier this week that next year is looking like another 1994. That’s when the GOP swooped in with a vengeance and gained total control of Congress. “I think a tidal wave is brewing,” he said. “When you look at rampant inflation, out-of-control crime, and a broken border and just [a] general lack of knowing what you’re doing, lack of competency … the Republican Party’s going to have a great comeback if we recruit the right people.”

“We received reports from a local factory of a strong smell of cannabis permeating through the building. It transpires it was being taken in via air-conditioning systems.”

Police in the U.K. were called after the smell of cannabis was brought inside a local factory by linked air-conditioning units.

Officers went to the factory’s rooftop and were able to determine where the smells were coming from by a “process of deduction,” eventually seizing about £200,000 ($350,000) worth of cannabis from two nearby properties, reports Yorkshire Live.

The bust was part of a string of arrests in the area over the last week, with officers seizing just under £1 million ($1,741,402) worth of cannabis.

Earlier this year, police in Scotland busted a $1 million illegal grow-op after the smell of weed and sound of fans led them to inspect a warehouse.

The California Supreme Court ruled this week that inmates in the state prison system do not have a right to possess marijuana under Proposition 64, the landmark 2016 ballot initiative that legalized cannabis in the state. The ruling overturns a lower court decision in 2019 that found that prisoners could possess marijuana but could not smoke or otherwise ingest it while behind bars.

“It seems implausible” that the voters intended to essentially decriminalize marijuana in prisons with the ballot measure’s passage, Associate Justice Joshua Groban wrote in the court’s majority opinion.

2019 Decision Overturned For California Inmates

The Supreme Court’s decision was handed down in a case of five men who were convicted of marijuana possession after being found with cannabis in their prison cells. In 2019, California’s 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled that although smoking and ingesting marijuana in prison is illegal under state law, possession of cannabis was not specifically outlawed by statute. Under that ruling, the appeals court found that state prisoners could legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana. Other appeals court decisions, however, had found that marijuana possession in prisons is still against the law.

“We agree with the Attorney General that if the drafters had intended to so dramatically change the laws regarding cannabis in prison, we would expect them to have been more explicit about their goals,” wrote Groban.

“While perhaps not illogical to distinguish between the possession and use of cannabis, it is nonetheless difficult to understand why the electorate would want to preclude laws criminalizing cannabis possession in prison, but permit laws criminalizing cannabis consumption in prison,” he continued.

Firearms remain out-of-reach for medical cannabis patients and recreational users, even if your state has legalized cannabis for either purpose.

Technically, if you own a firearm and use marijuana for recreational or medical purposes, you are in violation of federal law. It is unlawful for an unauthorized user of a controlled substance, including marijuana, to possess, ship, transport, or receive firearms or ammunition. It is also unlawful to sell a firearm or ammunition to any person if the seller knows or has reasonable cause to believe that such person is an unlawful user of marijuana. In this context, unlawful use is based on federal law. Therefore, any person who uses marijuana, even if legal under state law, is prohibited from possessing or purchasing firearms or ammunition.

This prohibition does not apply to users of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) or hemp products because these are not controlled substances for purposes of federal law, thanks to the 2018 Agricultural Improvement Act, known as the 2018 Farm Bill.

In order to purchase a firearm from a federally licensed dealer, an individual must complete Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) Form 4473, which asks if you are an “unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana,” and includes a warning that the recreational and medical use of cannabis under state law does not alter the federal Controlled Substances Act which makes it illegal to possess, manufacture, or distribute marijuana. It is a separate crime to lie about your marijuana use on the form. You can also be subject to heightened criminal penalties if found in possession of a firearm and marijuana at the same time.

If you are a medical marijuana user, it may be possible for law enforcement to obtain this information from a medical marijuana patient registry or state database to confirm your use of marijuana. Several states, including Maryland, have tried to protect medical marijuana patients by preventing state police from accessing the medical cannabis patient registry to verify whether a firearm applicant uses medical marijuana. However, some states, like Hawaii, explicitly grant law enforcement access to the state’s medical cannabis patient registry to evaluate whether an individual can legally possess a firearm.

Rep. Tom McClintock doesn’t approve of marijuana use.

He sees “clear evidence” its use can cause neurological problems in children.

He’s a reliable Republican, conservative vote in Congress.

Yet he’s one of the few congressional Republicans who for years has consistently called for easing federal restrictions on the drug’s use.

“He has the best record on the marijuana issue of any Republican congressman in California,” said Dale Gieringer, California NORML director.

Markland Allison, a Rastafarian resident of Mitchell’s Hill in Rock River, Clarendon, has strong views regarding the opening up of the ganja industry in Jamaica.

Jamaicans are encouraged to take advantage of the wealth that can be earned by entering the estimated US$42 billion industry – however, for Allison, it is just a pipe dream for the ordinary folks and Rastafarians.

Asking for a fair chance for Rastafarians across the country, he said his observation is that “classism in Jamaica is worse than racism in America”.

“The black man in America is being pressured in a certain way … we have certain class privilege in Jamaica just like how we have white privilege in Jamaica,” Allison noted, as he stated that people of a certain class are treated a particular way in Jamaica.

Allison, who shared with The Gleaner that he made the deliberate decision to remain in his community in order to create a positive impact amid the brain drain, said he has little hopes of getting a foothold in the ganja industry.

Cincinnati officials voted two years ago to expunge minor marijuana offenses, but so far, no cases seem to have been sealed due to the ordinance.

The 2021 Tokyo games is the first Olympics in which athletes are permitted to use CBD, a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis plants.

This year, some of the greatest athletes in the world, including Megan Rapinoe (women’s soccer) and Devon Allen (men’s track and field) have trained using CBD products to boost their athletic performance, thanks to a change in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) policies that removed CBD from the prohibited substances list.

The use of marijuana (AKA all products containing the psychoactive compound THC) is still prohibited.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) pulled CBD from its prohibited substances list in 2017. That change did not go into effect until January 1, 2018, though, and there was no time for athletes to incorporate CBD use into training before the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Very little research has been conducted on CBD, but users generally report feeling more relaxed after using this cannabis compound, without experiencing the psychoactive effects or “high” that THC induces.