Once again, South Dakotans were at risk of losing their voice on affecting public cannabis policy, but a legislative bullet was dodged on Feb. 23. Senate Bill 20 would have undone protections included in the state’s medical cannabis program, which 70% of voters approved in the November 2020 election, but the legislation was defeated by an 8-5 committee vote Wednesday. Under voter-approved Initiative Measure 26, an affirmative defense provision allows those who don’t have medical cannabis cards to defend themselves against punitive action for possessing certain amounts of cannabis by arguing they’ve met a qualifying health condition under the state’s medical program. S.B. 20 would have eliminated that defense measure, Keloland reported. “S.B. 20 was about the medical purpose defense, after the fact that I could have had a medical card,” Sen. Helene Duhamel, a Republican senator from Rapid City, told the media outlet. Duhamel’s sponsorship of the bill came after South Dakota began issuing medical cannabis cards, which the senator indicated as a reason to eliminate the protective measure for those who do not have cards. Duhamel’s effort wasn’t the first that took aim at a voter-approved measure from the 2020 ballot. In November 2021, the state’s Supreme Court overturned Amendment A, an adult-use legalization measure that was passed by 54.2% of voters.

Posted Melissa Schiller, Cannabis Business Times, 02/23/2022 15:37:00

Open article: http://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/sd-bill-to-upend-voter-approved-cannabis-measure-defeated

After missing a self-imposed Tuesday deadline to open the state for legal marijuana sales, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday night New Jersey is “within weeks” of having existing medical weed dispensaries sell recreational cannabis to adults 21 and older. “If I had to predict, we are within weeks — I would hope in March — you would see implicit movement on the medical dispensaries, some of them being able to sell recreational,” Murphy said during his radio show on WBGO in Newark. “They’ve got to prove they’ve got the supply for their medical customers. I hope shortly thereafter, the standalone recreational marijuana operators.” New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved legalizing recreational marijuana in November 2020, but sales have not started after more than a year. The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, which is in charge of regulating the new industry, is still reviewing applications for licenses. The panel missed a self-imposed Feb. 22 deadline to open the state for adult-use cannabis. Jeff Brown, the commission’s executive director, said a number of factors are still in the way before the doors can open, including lack of municipal buy-in. Local officials must attest in writing they support the alternative treatment centers — the growers and sellers of medical marijuana in their communities— have permission to sell the product for recreational use

Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news, 02/24/2022 10:02:08

Open article: https://www.cannabisbusinessexecutive.com/2022/02/legal-weed-sales-could-start-in-new-jersey-within-weeks-murphy-says/

With the 2022 election season already in full swing, candidates and political parties are busy creating their campaign strategies and communicating their views on key issues to voters. With many expecting this year’s midterm elections to be in large part a referendum on the Biden administration, candidates setting themselves apart from the pack could create a path to success. And for two Democratic candidates for the US Senate, cannabis reform has become a primary campaign issue of choice. In Louisiana, Democratic candidate for US Senate Gary Chambers made headlines last month when he smoked a blunt in a campaign video. As a social justice advocate from Baton Rouge, Chambers used the video of him smoking marijuana in a New Orleans park to bring attention to the impact of cannabis prohibition, particularly on communities of color. “Every 37 seconds, someone is arrested for possession of marijuana,” Chambers says in the video as the sound of a clock ticks down the seconds. “Since 2010, police have arrested an estimated 7.3 million Americans for violating marijuana laws. Black people are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana laws than white people.”

Cannabis Now, Cannabis Now, 02/23/2022 09:00:00

Open article: https://cannabisnow.com/cannabis-reform-us-senate-candidates-embrace-weed-in-campaign-strategy/

Does federal law protect employers who choose not to cover medical marijuana costs for workers injured on the job, even in states that seek to require it? State courts have reached different conclusions on the question, and now the U.S. Supreme Court is asking the top Justice Department lawyer to weigh in. Justices were scheduled to discuss a pair of cases at a private conference on Friday that concerned Minnesota employees who sought workers’ compensation for medical cannabis expenses after being hurt while working on the job. Now the Supreme Court is asking the solicitor general to submit a brief—a notable development in the cases that appear to hinge on an interpretation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. For its part, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled late last year that both worker’s comp claims were invalid because of marijuana’s Schedule I status under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In one case, Susan Musta filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court in November after her state’s highest court determined that the CSA did, indeed, mean her employer did not need to provide reimbursement for medical cannabis after she was injured at her place of work, a dental center. Empire State NORML and two other groups—the New York City Cannabis Industry Association and the Hudson Valley Cannabis Industry Association—submitted amici curiae briefs urging the court to hear the case in December.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 02/22/2022 15:06:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/u-s-supreme-court-asks-feds-to-weigh-in-on-medical-marijuana-workers-compensation-cases/

About three-fourths of Florida voters support legalizing marijuana possession for adult use, including strong bipartisan majorities, according to a new poll. The survey released by the University of North Florida on Tuesday didn’t ask about where voters stood on creating a regulated system of cannabis sales, but 76 percent said they either strongly or somewhat support allowing adults to “legally possess small amounts of marijuana for recreational use.” Just 20 percent said they oppose the policy change. This marks a 12 percentage point increase in support since the last time the university polled on the issue in November 2019. “Previous polls we conducted have shown support in the mid-60s for marijuana legalization but Floridians are now highly supportive of recreational marijuana,” Michael Binder, a political science professor who led the survey, said in a press release. The crosstabs of the survey show majority support for legalizing cannabis possession across every demographic, including party, age, sex, race, and education. Levels of support did follow common themes, however. For example, Democrats were more favorable of possession legalization (76 percent) compared to Republicans (64 percent). Among people with no party affiliation, 90 percent back-ended cannabis prohibition.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 02/22/2022 12:51:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/three-in-four-florida-voters-support-legalizing-marijuana-new-poll-finds/