Not many people get excited about revisions and updates to the very dry National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) handbooks. The NIST 44 Handbook contains the “Specifications, Tolerances, and Other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices.” It is adopted every year at the annual National Conference on Weights and Measures (“NCWM”). This year’s interim NCWM meeting has the cannabis crowd pretty stoked and looking toward the future where, for the first time, marijuana is actually being considered as an addition to the handbooks. What does this mean and why should you care? It could mean that the Feds are finally preparing for legalization and interstate commerce around marijuana. The NIST handbook: committee review The Laws and Regulations (L&R) Committee of NCWM develops “laws and regulations that range from the basic weights and measures law to specific laws and regulations for weighmasters, commodity regulations, price scanners, unit pricing, engine fuel and automotive lubricants and more.” Additionally, the L&R Committee addresses “test procedures for verifying the actual net quantity contained in packages offered for sale.” The Specifications and Tolerances (S&T) Committee is dedicated to issues related to the design, testing, tolerances and user requirements for commercial weighing and measuring devices.

Canna Law Blog – Harris Bricken, 01/20/2022 10:19:00

Open article: https://harrisbricken.com/cannalawblog/icymi-adding-marijuana-to-the-nist-handbook/

Hemp Today Reports Costa Rica’s president said he is studying a bill that would legalize medical marijuana and industrial hemp, giving no clear indication if he will sign the measure into law or not. President Carlos Alvarado said he is reviewing the measure with health authorities after it passed the Legislative Assembly earlier this month, with 29 of 57 deputies voting in favor. Economic potential Lawmakers have urged the president to sign the law, which supporters say can bring economic and social development to Costa Rica’s rural areas by authorizing the production, industrialization, and commercialization of hemp for industrial applications and food. The law covers cultivation, harvesting, processing, storage, and transport. Rosa Volio Pacheco, a deputy who co-sponsored the bill, said the proposed law could spark development in the pharmaceutical industry and a range of different value chains starting in agriculture. Medical marijuana provisions in the bill would also bring hope to patients whose suffering could be relieved by legal, prescription marijuana products, Volio Pacheco said. The law would limit marijuana to medicinal and therapeutic use and does not legalize adult-use (recreational) marijuana.

Cannabis Law Report, 01/19/2022 19:10:00

Open article: https://cannabislaw.report/costa-rica-will-he-wont-he-president-alvarado-sitting-on-cannabis-bill/

The new German coalition has indicated one of its many priorities is the legalization of cannabis for adult use. Those familiar with the United States’ cannabis policy climate will recognize a similar struggle underway in Germany between liberal and conservative political positions. Interestingly, both liberals and conservatives in countries like the U.S. and Germany want legalization, but differ on how to enact it. Let’s look at the state of adult-use cannabis in Germany and examine the international examples that would best inform market entrant strategy for this burgeoning industry. Politic Divides Must Not Muddle Market Priorities The German liberal coalition — consisting of the Social Democrats (SPD), the Green Party, and the Free Democrats (FDP) — have the legalization of adult-use cannabis on their docket as well as an entire suite of progressive initiatives such as phasing out coal by 2030, increasing voters’ rights, raising the minimum wage, and streamlining immigration. In addition to this ambitious set of initiatives, the creation of rules and regulations for the adult-use cannabis market could take six months or more.

Mmp News Author, Medical Marijuana Program Connection, 01/21/2022 06:17:00

Open article: https://mmpconnect.com/how-germany-can-enter-the-adult-use-cannabis-market-successfully/

A Missouri lawmaker on Tuesday filed a bill to decriminalize a range of drugs including marijuana, psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, and cocaine. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Peter Merideth (D), would amend state statute by making low-level possession of various drugs punishable by a maximum $100 fine or “participation in a treatment program” if approved by a court, or both. Currently, possessing any amount of controlled substances except marijuana is considered a class D felony that carries up to seven years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine. The bill lays out the specific possession amounts that would be decriminalized: up to 10 grams of cannabis, one gram of heroin, one gram of MDMA, two grams of methamphetamine, 40 units of LSD, 12 grams of psilocybin, 40 units of methadone, 40 oxycodone pills and two grams of cocaine. Possessing up to 10 grams of marijuana under current law is a misdemeanor but does not come with the threat of jail time, a policy that advocates often refer to as decriminalization even though it’s technically still a crime. The new legislation would formally reclassify the offense—as well as those for having small amounts of the other drugs—as an infraction.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 01/20/2022 10:53:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/missouri-lawmaker-files-bill-to-decriminalize-low-level-drug-possession/