Two decades after legalizing medical cannabis access, Maine lawmakers continue to work to perfect their program. Representative Lynn Williams (D- HD 135) says, “Support for the issues around Maine’s medical marijuana program crosses many lines: Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, and Greens; Downeast, Southern and Northern Maine; rural and urban; twenty-somethings, retirees and all in-between. Medical marijuana is bringing Maine together even among those who have no involvement with it.” Rep. Williams is the author of LD 1928, which streamlines the state’s medical access program and further limits the actions that law enforcement can take against registered medical card-holders, among other actions. The measure also expands patients’ access to cannabis by allowing them to utilize telehealth plans and by authorizing registered caregivers to provide plants to qualified patients. In its most recent work session, LD 1928 was voted Ought to Pass (OTP) by members of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee with strong bipartisan support. If you are a Mainer, send a message to the committee members thanking them for supporting cannabis legislation.

NORML, 03/29/2022 20:00:00

Open article: https://norml.org/blog/2022/03/30/maine-bi-partisan-efforts-to-improve-states-medical-program-and-protect-patients-continue-to-advance/

Eighteen states have legalized adult-use cannabis to date, providing 18 different examples of how to establish a licensed and regulated market. NORML announced on March 29 the release of a new report, “Marijuana Policies in the Legal States: A Comprehensive Review of Adult-Use Marijuana Rules and Regulations,” which examines various aspects of the regulated adult-use cannabis programs in the 18 states that have legalized it. The report is meant “to educate decision-makers at the state and federal level on the common features of states’ adult-use marijuana legalization laws and regulations so that they can make informed decisions on cannabis policy and better understand how existing state-licensed programs are successfully being implemented in jurisdictions throughout the country,” according to NORML’s announcement. “Despite the continued expansion of regulated adult-use cannabis markets and overwhelming public support for ending cannabis prohibition, many elected officials are still relatively unfamiliar with the specific policies that states have implemented over the last decade or with the lessons they have learned,” NORML Political Director Morgan Fox said in a public statement.

Cannabis Business Times, 03/30/2022 17:14:00

Open article: http://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/norml-releases-report-on-regulating-adult-use-cannabis-markets

As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to vote on a bill to federally legalize marijuana this week, congressional researchers have released a report detailing the challenges posed by ongoing federal prohibition and the options that lawmakers have available to address them. The House is set to take up the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act from Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) for the second time in history this week, following a Rules Committee hearing on proposed amendments that’s scheduled for Wednesday. While the bill touches on a wide range of issues—including tax policy and social equity—the new report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) focuses specifically on the impacts of having cannabis listed as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). “The Schedule I status of marijuana means that the substance is strictly regulated by federal authorities,” CRS said. “Yet, over the last several decades, most states and territories have deviated from across-the-board prohibition of marijuana, and now have laws and policies allowing for some cultivation, sale, distribution, and possession of marijuana.”

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 03/30/2022 08:43:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/congressional-researchers-identify-challenges-caused-by-federal-marijuana-prohibition-ahead-of-house-legalization-vote/

A top executive of the national prohibitionist group Smart Approaches To Marijuana (SAM) is launching a new political action committee (PAC), targeting pro-legalization candidates and supporting those who oppose the policy in key races. And one of the super PAC’s first targets is a freshman GOP congresswoman who is sponsoring her own bill to federally legalize and regulate cannabis. Luke Niforatos, executive vice president of SAM and CEO of the newly established Protect Our Kids PAC, told Marijuana Moment that he decided to branch out to create the committee in order to “give more political power to families and children, who want elected representatives in office who will put their health and safety first over industries looking to profit from drug legalization.” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is among the PAC’s first targets. It plans to put tens of thousands of dollars behind a campaign to specifically unseat the congresswoman, who made headlines after introducing a GOP-led bill to end cannabis prohibition late last year.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 03/29/2022 11:34:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-marijuana-prohibition-super-pac-targets-pro-legalization-gop-congresswoman-among-other-races/