A newly filed large-scale spending bill to keep the government funded for the 2022 Fiscal Year does not include language to protect banks that work with state-legal marijuana dispensaries—and the sponsor of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act would like to know why. In a lighthearted exchange in the House Rules Committee early Wednesday morning when the panel was discussing the omnibus spending package, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) said with a smile, “I appreciate this bill. I hope the next one has SAFE Banking in it.” “You mean it isn’t in it?” Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA) jokingly asked. “No, it’s not,” Perlmutter replied. House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) chimed in so say, “I don’t know how we missed it, Ed.” It’s far from the first time that Perlmutter has made a point to talk about enacting cannabis reform legislation during committee hearings on ostensibly unrelated or wider-ranging legislation. At a hearing on a postal service reform bill before the panel last month, he said worker shortages could be partly resolved by ending federal cannabis prohibition, telling his colleagues to “kind of keep that in the back of the mind.”Also last month in a separate Rules Committee hearing, the congressman stressed that he’s planning to offer the SAFE Banking Act as an amendment to “every single bill I possibly can until it’s passed,” and he acknowledged that his colleagues are probably “becoming all too familiar with” the legislation in light of his repeated advocacy for it.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 03/09/2022 11:24:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/marijuana-banking-sponsor-wont-stop-talking-about-his-bill-in-hearings-on-unrelated-legislation/

A South Carolina bill to permit the use of investigational drugs for patients during epidemic or pandemic outbreaks was amended on Wednesday to specifically add marijuana as a treatment option. This comes about a month after the state Senate approved a separate, broader medical cannabis legalization bill that’s set to be taken up by the House of Representatives. The Health and Environmental Affairs Subcommittee of the House Medical, Military, Public, and Municipal Affairs Committee held a hearing on the investigational drug bill from Rep. Melissa Lackey Oremus (R) on Wednesday. And while time constraints meant that members were not able to vote on the overall proposal, they did adopt an amendment from Rep. Krystle Matthews (D) that would add medical cannabis to the list of investigational treatment options that would be authorized under the broader legislation. Marijuana wasn’t specifically included in the original bill, which is designed to give doctors the ability to treat patients with substances that are not currently approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine in the event of an epidemic or pandemic declaration.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 03/09/2022 15:53:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/south-carolina-lawmakers-add-marijuana-access-to-investigational-drug-bill-as-house-considers-broader-reform/

Michiganders voted to legalized adult-use cannabis in the November 2018 election, but the plant remains scheduled alongside controlled substances like LSD, ecstasy and heroin under state law. Aiming to address repercussions associated with that designation, House Bill 5877 would remove cannabis from the state’s list of Schedule I drugs. Substances on that list have a high potential for abuse and have no currently accepted medical use in treatment, as defined by Michigan law. While many state residents who purchase and use medical or adult-use cannabis under Michigan’s state-legal program are not impacted by the designation, House Democratic Floor Leader Yousef Rabhi, who sponsors H.B. 5877, said continuing to classify cannabis as a Schedule I drug does have broad implications, MLive.com reported. Those who use or possess Schedule I drugs could face consequences related to employment, guardianship, criminal punishment and housing, such job or tenant applications that include policies that prohibit substances on the list, Rabhi told the news outlet.“And then there are things like Child Protective Services,” Rabhi said. “People who have been legal cannabis users, even medical users, it has been used in our CPS laws, because [they] reference our schedule of substances.” Rabhi currently has eight Democratic colleagues signed on for sponsorship. He’s hoping to gain support from across the aisle, he told MLive.

Cannabis Business Times, 03/09/2022 14:05:00

Open article: http://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/michigan-bill-aims-to-remove-cannabis-schedule-1

Missouri state lawmakers must act now on adult-use cannabis legalization or risk having their hands tied should an initiative petition change the state Constitution. That was the bottom line from Rep. Ron Hicks, a St. Charles County Republican, when he presented his legislation during a hearing before House Public Safety Committee members on March 8. Several Missourians testified to voice their support of the bill, which Hicks filed last month. Titled the Cannabis Freedom Act, House Bill 2704 aims to legalize the possession and personal use of cannabis for those 21 and older, allow for home cultivation of up 12 mature plants, and tax cannabis sales at a rate not to exceed 12%, among other provisions, according to a summary of the 74-page legislation. In addition, cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, processors, and distributors would not be subject to special zoning requirements or licensing fees under the legislation. The main reason Hicks said Missouri state lawmakers need to act now is so they can control any forthcoming legalization parameters.

Cannabis Business Times, 03/09/2022 11:54:00

Open article: http://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/missouri-lawmaker-urges-adult-use-bill-over-initiative