With a new majority in the House of Delegates, Virginia Republicans are seeking changes to the Virginia marijuana legalization bill passed by state lawmakers last year. Republican lawmakers have advanced several proposals to change the legalization bill, including moving up the date of licensed retail sales, altering the amount of cannabis taxes and how the revenue is spent, as well as potential amendments to the legislation’s social equity provisions. When Virginia’s marijuana legalization bill was passed along strict party lines in 2021, Democrats held a majority in both houses of the state legislature. But Republicans regained control of the House of Delegates in the November election, and now hold a 52-48 majority in the chamber. Democrats maintained their hold on the state Senate with a razor-thin majority of 21-19. Under Virginia’s cannabis legalization bill, possession of up to one ounce of marijuana will become legal on January 1, 2024. At the same time, regulations governing the production and sale of adult-use cannabis will go into effect, and legal sales of recreational marijuana will begin at licensed dispensaries. Another provision of the legislation requires lawmakers to take a vote on the regulatory plan, giving Republicans an opportunity to propose changes to the regulations.

Cannabis Now, Cannabis Now, 02/10/2022 14:22:00

Open article: https://cannabisnow.com/virginia-republicans-want-changes-to-cannabis-bill/

Courthouse News Service Reports In recent weeks Governor Gavin Newsom and multiple lawmakers have expressed support for easing the tax burden on California’s cannabis growers and retailers. The industry says high taxes are killing jobs and propping the black market. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Coming to the aid of California’s legal marijuana growers and sellers, state Democrats are preparing to prescribe the struggling industry with an old-fashioned dose of tax relief. Weeks after cannabis business leaders gathered on the steps of the state Capitol and threatened a coordinated pullout of California’s $4.4 billion legal market, a pair of lawmakers on Wednesday detailed potential tax reforms and promised to crack down on the black market. “We definitely have to take action so that the cannabis industry thrives and really benefits all workers and organizations,” said Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park. “We need a competitive price structure in California.” Retail marijuana shops opened their doors in 2018 but the industry’s growth — and tax generation — have fallen well short of projections sold to voters under Proposition 64. Currently, there are under 1,000 legal dispensaries in the Golden State, a precipitous drop from the nearly 10,000 in operation in 2018.

Cannabis Law Report, 02/09/2022 22:55:00

Open article: https://cannabislaw.report/article-tax-relief-planned-for-californias-legal-pot-industry/

Pro Pakistani reports on the lack of progress The Federal Cabinet had approved the initial plan to legalize industrial hemp in September 2020, with an aim to use the hemp market to increase export and meet the demand for hemp fiber, CBD-based medicines, and other sectors. The project is led by the Ministry of Science and Technology under the supervision of Senator Shibli Faraz, who claimed to have worked hard on Industrial Hemp & Cannabis Policy 2021. However, several companies that initiated the process of registration or licensing for the use of industrial hemp are still awaiting approval. A group of British Pakistani professionals told Propakistani that they are still waiting for a license to be issued to start the cultivation of medicinal hemp The company has entered the Pakistani market with big plans to help the country in providing cheap cancer treatment to common Pakistanis as well as bringing in foreign exchange for the country among other services. CEO of the company, Reza Shah, told ProPakistani that the company, besides bringing in foreign investment along with technology, aims to create employment opportunities as well.

Cannabis Law Report, 02/10/2022 18:58:00

Open article: https://cannabislaw.report/pakistani-companies-still-awaiting-licenses-despite-pakistans-new-cannabis-policy/

Rep. Ed Perlmutter, who sponsored the Secure and Fair Enforcement (“SAFE”) Banking Act, revealed last week that he’d been having discussions with Senate leadership about altering his bill to place more focus on equity issues. Perlmutter said this shortly before the House passed the SAFE Banking Act for the sixth time. The act was attached to the America COMPETES Act, a large-scale manufacturing and innovation legislation. During the press briefing, the congressman stated that he’d initiated discussions with Sen. Cory Booker’s and Sen. Chuck Schumer’s offices, in addition to having discussions with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Perlmutter explained that the time had come to pass a bill that rationalized banking, noting that any research elements, tax reforms or criminal justice reforms were all bonuses that needed to be viewed in a positive light. In addition to this, he mentioned that the discussions had begun before the House passed the banking measure when it was attached to the National Defense Authorization Act, noting that the conversations didn’t produce results in time as the banking language was excluded after bicameral negotiations. The Senate already approved its related version of this new innovation legislation, which doesn’t contain the marijuana banking language but focuses on competing with the People’s Republic of China on trade. Schumer, who is the Senate Majority Leader, recently stated that he was open to advancing the banking legislation if some amendments that further promoted equity were added. Perlmutter revealed that while he was open to making amendments, adding too many new equity provisions would alter the bipartisan measure too much, which could prompt Republican members such as Patrick McHenry, the House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member, to oppose the bill’s passage. This, he said, would reduce support for the bill from that side of the aisle.

CannabisNewsWire, 02/10/2022 16:20:00

Open article: https://www.cannabisnewswire.com/420-with-cnw-cannabis-banking-bill-sponsor-talking-with-senate-leadership-about-equity-amendments/

South Carolina’s Senate gave preliminary approval to a medical marijuana legalization bill on Wednesday. If the legislation clears a forthcoming third reading vote for final passage, which is expected on Thursday, it will formally proceed to the House of Representatives. Senators, who spent weeks debating the legislation and considering dozens of proposed amendments, voted 28-15 on the second reading passage Wednesday evening. Gov. Henry McMaster (R) said earlier this week that it was too early to comment on the proposal, as changes were still being made by lawmakers. “This is one that’s going to depend on a lot of things,” he told a local FOX station, adding that he’ll wait to see the final version before deciding whether he would potentially sign or veto the bill if if were to arrive on his desk. The Compassionate Care Act was prefilled in late 2020 and passed out of the Senate Medical Affairs Committee last March, but alone senator blocked it from reaching the chamber floor in 2021.

Ben Adlin, Marijuana Moment, 02/09/2022 20:26:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/south-carolina-senate-approves-medical-marijuana-bill-on-initial-vote-after-weeks-of-debate/

The activist-led push to legalize marijuana in Oklahoma has become seriously contentious, with one campaign waging a legal challenge against a separate group of advocates working to end prohibition. The latest result of the conflict is the filing on Wednesday of a newly revised initiative to put legalization on the ballot. The new measure comes from a campaign that’s being backed by the national New Approach PAC, which has been behind a number of successful state-level reform initiatives across the country. It filed its first 2022 Oklahoma legalization measure last month before facing the legal challenge from other activists over statutory concerns. The separate campaign, Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action (ORCA), contested the prior New Approach measure with the state Supreme Court late last month, arguing that, among other things, the competing initiative violated a single-subject rule for ballot proposals. It argued that the measure covers too many policies beyond simple legalization, which they say should render the initiative invalid. But while ORCA chose to make that argument, its own initiative also covers the significant ground. As filed, for example, both would provide pathways for expungements of prior cannabis convictions. That’s changed now in the latest New Approach-backed measure, and if the legal challenge against the prior measure goes forward and is successful, the initial draft would be rendered ineligible for the ballot and New Approach would pursue their second version.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 02/10/2022 11:17:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/oklahoma-becomes-marijuana-legalization-battleground-between-advocates-with-legal-challenges-and-a-new-ballot-initiative/