The governor of New York on Tuesday signed a bill to provide provisional marijuana cultivator and processor licenses for existing hemp businesses that take certain steps to promote equity in the emerging industry. Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, who championed the state’s adult-use legalization bill that was enacted last year, and Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D) sponsored the newly signed legislation. The aim is to simultaneously expedite the process of standing up New York’s adult-use market while supporting efforts to reach ambitious equity goals with respect to cannabis business participation. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said in a press release that she is “proud to sign this bill, which positions New York’s farmers to be the first to grow cannabis and jumpstart the safe, equitable and inclusive new industry we are building.” “New York State will continue to lead the way in delivering on our commitment to bring economic opportunity and growth to every New Yorker in every corner of our great state,” the governor said.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 02/22/2022 10:43:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-york-governor-signs-bill-to-let-hemp-farmers-start-growing-adult-use-marijuana-while-promoting-equity/

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. And younger people were generally for supportive of the proposal than older generations, though even a majority of those in the 65+ group still support the policy (63 percent).

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/

Texas hemp manufacturers are in a legal battle with the state to try to stop it from banning THC isomer products their businesses have come to rely on in the last couple of years. But federal legislation introduced by a Democratic representative from Maine last week could make that fight for naught. Dubbed the “Hemp Advancement Act of 2022,” the bill aims to do something Texas lawmakers attempted during the last legislative session: implement a low-percentage cap on all THC in hemp products, not just delta-9 THC. (Texas is also actively trying to ban all other THC isomers except for delta-9.) Both federal and state hemp laws legalized the growing of the plant, as long as it contains less than 0.3% delta-9 THC, the main chemical in marijuana that gets users high. But, the law didn’t spell out any limitations on other forms of THC, like delta-8 and delta-10. These are THC isomers, chemicals that share the same formula as delta-9 but have different chemical structures and effects. Delta-8, for example, is generally regarded as less potent.

420 Intel – Marijuana Industry News, 02/21/2022 19:00:00

Open article: https://420intel.com/articles/2022/02/22/not-just-texas-bill-could-ban-delta-8-products-across-whole-country