President Joe Biden is again proposing to keep blocking Washington, D.C. from legalizing marijuana sales as part of the budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2023 that he sent to Congress on Monday. To the relief of advocates, however, he again kept a separate rider intact to protect legal medical cannabis programs from federal intervention. Advocates and lawmakers expressed frustration and disappointment when the president’s last budget failed to remove the D.C. rider, which was sponsored in Congress by Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) and has continued to be annually renewed. It prevents D.C. from using its local tax dollars from implementing a system of legal adult-use sales even though local voters approved a legalization ballot measure in 2014. Both the House and Senate appropriators removed that language from their Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations legislation in spite of Biden’s request. However, it was ultimately included in a bicameral omnibus spending bill that was introduced by congressional leaders earlier this month and will remain in effect until at least the end of September. The latest Biden budget separately stipulates that D.C. cannot use federal funding to “distribute any needle or syringe for the purpose of preventing the spread of bloodborne pathogens in any location that has been determined by the local public health or local law enforcement authorities to be inappropriate for such distribution.” That seems to contravene the administration’s stated support for harm reduction services.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 03/28/2022 11:46:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-biden-budget-keeps-ban-on-d-c-marijuana-sales-but-preserves-state-medical-cannabis-protections/

With a vote on a bill to federally legalize marijuana set for House floor consideration this week, lawmakers on Thursday released a report on the legislation that effectively previews the partisan debate to come, with the majority and minority leaders of a key committee making their arguments for and against the reform. The 483-page report prepared by the House Judiciary Committee provides an extensive overview of the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, which is sponsored by the panel’s chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). Leadership announced late last week that the bill to end federal prohibition would be taken up on the floor for the second time in congressional history. It passed the House in 2020 but saw no action in the Senate. Then, in September, it again cleared the sponsor’s panel for the current session. Before heading to the floor, there will be a House Rules Committee meeting on Wednesday, where members will decide whether any proposed amendments can be made in order. The hearing was initially scheduled for Monday but was pushed back two days over the weekend for unknown reasons. “Enforcement of marijuana laws has been a key driver of mass criminalization in the United States,” the new report’s background and need for legislation section states. “The drug war has produced profoundly unequal outcomes across racial groups, manifested through significant racial disparities throughout the criminal justice system.” It further describes the collateral consequences of cannabis arrests and convictions, including the possible loss of opportunities for employment, voting rights, housing, education, government assistance and more, saying that “these exclusions create an often-permanent second-class status for millions of Americans.”

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 03/28/2022 08:37:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/nearly-500-page-house-report-on-marijuana-legalization-bill-previews-democratic-and-republican-arguments/

Some of the roughly 400 municipalities in New Jersey that opted out of hosting the adult-use cannabis industry ahead of an August 2021 deadline to do so have since changed their minds. Roughly 29% of the state’s municipalities now allow some form of adult-use business to operate within their jurisdictions after 35 towns that had previously banned all types of cannabis businesses have since approved ordinances that allow at least one type of adult-use operation to set up shop, according to an app.com report. Twenty-two municipalities that had previously opted out of hosting any form of adult-use cannabis business now allow dispensaries, the news outlet reported, while three other towns that had initially allowed other types of businesses—but not retailers—have since passed ordinances to allow adult-use cannabis retail. In addition, 10 municipalities that previously banned all types of adult-use cannabis operations have since decided to host other forms of cannabis businesses, but not dispensaries, app.com reported. New Jersey voters approved an adult-use legalization measure in the November 2020 election, and Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation in February 2021 to implement an adult-use cannabis market in the state. Included in that law was a six-month deadline for New Jersey’s municipalities to opt out of hosting adult-use businesses or pass ordinances regulating the industry within their borders, but the towns were not bound to their initial decision, app.com reported.

Posted Melissa Schiller, Cannabis Business Times, 03/28/2022 12:00:00

Open article: http://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/some-new-jersey-municipalities-opt-back-in-to-adult-use-cannabis-industry

Tim James, a leading Republican gubernatorial candidate in Alabama, has expressed opposition to the state’s medical cannabis program, claiming that state officials want to create a “drug cartel,” according to an AL.com report. “This is nothing but a bait and switch to desensitize and get recreational use started,” James said during a recent town hall forum, according to the news outlet. “Their dream is recreational pot and that is where they are going.” James went on to also criticize the state’s medical cannabis program for not requiring stringent enough training for the doctors who will ultimately be able to recommend cannabis to their patients, AL.com reported. James, a businessman and the son of former Alabama Gov. Fob James, is currently polling second behind incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey, according to the news outlet. Ivey signed Alabama’s medical cannabis legislation into law in May 2021, and John McMillan, director of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, and Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence), who championed the state’s legalization bill, told AL.com that James’ claims are inaccurate. All the state’s Republican gubernatorial candidates oppose the adult-use cannabis legalization, according to the news outlet, except Springville Mayor Dave Thomas, who has expressed his support on the issue.

Posted Melissa Schiller, Cannabis Business Times, 03/28/2022 12:31:00

Open article: http://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/alabama-gubernatorial-candidate-tim-james-medical-cannabis