Despite suggesting he is in favor of its decriminalization, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis cited the “putrid” scent of cannabis as a reason he may remain opposed to fully legalizing its use in the state, Politico reported. “I think a lot of those other areas that have done it you know have ended up regretting it,” DeSantis said Wednesday during a press conference in Tallahassee, according to Politico. “I could not believe the pungent odor that you would see in some of these places and I don’t want to see that here. I want people to be able to breathe freely.” Democrat Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who has publicly acknowledged her use of medical marijuana, is running to unseat DeSantis in 2022 and has incorporated marijuana legalization into her platform. Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2016 that legalized the drug’s medicinal use. “You can still go to jail for weed in Florida because Ron DeSantis doesn’t like the way it smells!?!” Fried said in a tweet on Wednesday. “Sounds like Dictator Karen wasn’t having much fun at Yale and Harvard so he’s taking it out on the rest of us.”

Cannabis Law Report, 01/31/2022 17:51:00

Open article: https://cannabislaw.report/florida-desantis-says-cannabis-has-putrid-stench-so-hell-only-legalize-for-medical/

In the civil suit filed in federal district court, lawyers for Empyreal, a Pennsylvania-based company that transports money on behalf of institutions that include cannabis dispensaries, accuse the FBI and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department of scheming to illegally pull over company vehicles and seize money from its clients. The lawsuit claims that Empyreal vehicles have been stopped by local law enforcement five times between Kansas and California since May 2021, twice resulting in the seizure of cash totaling more than a million dollars, which was then turned over to the FBI. “These repeated, ongoing stops, searches, and seizures are costly to Empyreal and extremely disruptive to its business. Empyreal has been forced to suspend business operations in the largest county in the United States, San Bernardino County, and has stopped driving through Kansas,” the lawsuit says, adding the company has lost customers because of these incidents and hasn’t rolled out new services in multiple states because of similar concerns.

Mmp News Author, Medical Marijuana Program Connection, 01/31/2022 22:43:00

Open article: https://mmpconnect.com/fbi-and-california-sheriff-illegally-seized-marijuana-cash-belonging-to-licensed-dispensaries-lawsuit-claims/

The House sponsor of a bill to protect banks that work with state-legal marijuana businesses announced on Friday that he is seeking to attach an amendment containing the reform to a broader bill dealing with research and innovation in the tech and manufacturing sectors. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), sponsor of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, has expressed interest in finding another vehicle to pursue his proposal after it was stripped from a separate defense bill late last year. The congressman’s legislation has cleared the House in five forms at this point, only to stall in the Senate. His latest attempt to get the reform enacted is by filing an amendment with the SAFE Banking language to the America COMPETES Act, which does not deal specifically with cannabis issues as drafted but was introduced in the House this week. “Cannabis-related businesses—big and small—and their employees are in desperate need of access to the banking system and access to capital in order to operate in an efficient, safe manner and compete in the growing global cannabis marketplace,” Perlmutter, who is retiring from Congress after this session and committed to passing his bill first, said in a press release.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 01/31/2022 10:54:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/congressman-files-new-marijuana-banking-reform-amendment-to-large-scale-house-bill/