Washington, DC - PRESS RELEASE: Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee introduced The RESPECT Resolution, Realizing Equitable & Sustainable Participation in Emerging Cannabis Trades, to elevate the importance of building pathways of opportunity for individuals who have been most adversely impacted by the war on marijuana consumers. 

Justin Strekal, NORML political director, said, “As more and more states dial back the war on marijuana consumers, it is important that those who were impacted by this oppressive criminalization are able to see previous harms remedied and be provided the opportunity to participate in the benefits that come along with legalization and regulation.

“It is absolutely crucial that future legalization efforts include avenues to expunge prior criminal convictions for actions which are now 100% legal. We sincerely appreciate Congresswoman Lee’s vision to facilitate those expungements at no cost to the individual. Currently, a complicated bureaucracy and unnecessary fees often prevent drug war victims from obtaining expungements and being able to fully participate in many aspects of civil society,” 

On the industry implications of the RESPECT Resolution, Strekal said, "By preventing arbitrary business license caps, a broader and more diverse pool of entrepreneurs will be able to enter a freer marketplace and have a race to the top competition in the development of goods and services to best serve their consumers. 

“By creating an equity permitting program to assist those who have been most adversely affected by the War on Drugs, it will create pathways to prosperity for those who, for too long, have been discriminated against for having a criminal record or even for simply living in an over-policed community.” 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee said, upon introduction, “There’s no question that there is growing momentum–-both within Congress and nationwide-–for cannabis legalization. However, as we move into this new era, we must learn from the failed War on Drugs and ensure that entrepreneurs of color are included in this expanding industry. Due to unequal criminalization rates and disparities in access to capital, people of color are being locked out of the new and thriving legal cannabis trade,” said Congresswoman Lee. “We need to address the systemic exclusion and discrimination at play. Otherwise, we will be prolonging and encouraging the injustices of the past-–where brown men spend their lives in prison for cannabis, while white communities get rich off the industry. I encourage my colleagues to support the RESPECT Resolution, the first bill in Congress focused on building equity in the cannabis industry.”

Background

The “RESPECT Resolution: Realizing Equitable & Sustainable Participation in Emerging Cannabis Trades” elevates the importance of equity within the legal cannabis marketplace. This resolution aims to address disparities and proactively addressing and repairing the most egregious effects of the War on Drugs on communities of color. The RESPECT Resolution seeks both economic and reparative justice, ensuring that disenfranchised communities will be able to benefit equally in the emerging legal and regulated industry.

Summary

The “RESPECT Resolution” encourages States and localities to adopt best practices already in effect in localities around the country and take bold steps to address, reverse, and repair the most egregious effects of the War on Drugs on communities of color, in particular to those who maintain criminal records for a substance that is now legal and regulated. 

Steps Encouraged by Resolution: 

• Establish licensing and application fees that are reasonable to cover only the costs of program implementation and necessary regulations
• Create a system where licensing is to be obtained at the local level and avoids arbitrary caps on licenses, which allows the community to determine the type and number of licenses and results in an industry more representative of the local marketplace 
• Eliminate broad felony restrictions for licensing and instead focus restrictions on entering the market to those with criminal convictions that are relevant to the owning and operating of a business to be made on a case-by-case basis 
• Establish a free and automatic process for the expungement and resentencing of penalties for persons previously convicted of cannabis-related crimes for which the criminal penalties have been reduced or removed
• Eliminate the penalizations for persons currently under parole, probation or other state supervision, or released on bail awaiting trial, for conduct otherwise allowed under state cannabis laws
• Combat the vestiges of the War on Drugs by utilizing tax revenue for small business and community reinvestment

A U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee vote pushed state-legal medical marijuana protections even further down the legislative process on June 14, echoing what the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment achieved in past spending bills. This time around, though, an amendment offered by U.S. Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) is gathering support as part of the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) spending bill, which directly funds U.S. Department of Justice operations.

The amendment would bar the DOJ from spending money on the prosecution of any licensed medical cannabis business or operator in states where medical cannabis is legal.

“Once again, members of Congress have signaled that protecting state-legal medical cannabis is no longer a controversial issue,” said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, in a public statement. “From protecting state medical cannabis programs from being targeted by federal law enforcement to growing support for allowing banks to work with the cannabis industry, lawmakers are increasingly unwilling to waste taxpayer money interfering with legal and responsible cannabis businesses.”

What’s next? These departmental spending bills will be rolled into the 2019 federal budget, which will garner full floor votes in the House and Senate later this year. We'll be keeping track of this policy's progress.

Top photo courtesy of Adobe Stock

BOULDER, COLORADO, April 2018 – PRESS RELEASE – Signaling a potential entrance into the $21B U.S. recreational and medical cannabis market, PittMoss has become the first ever growing medium company to successfully achieve Redfield Proctor’s “Suitable for Cannabis Growth” certification. Redfield Proctor, a research and development company that also provides sustainable soil disposal services for cannabis cultivators, launched the certification six months ago. While multiple companies have submitted their soil for certification, to date only PittMoss has managed to pass the stringent and confidential pesticide screening battery.

Redfield Proctor CEO Stephen Martin said, “Pesticide and chemical contaminate presence in soil is a real concern in the cannabis industry, which has probably the harshest regulations regarding them of any crop in the world. Growers have a real reason to be concerned about their product ‘testing hot’ due to pesticide and chemical contaminate uptake from poorly screened soil. We launched our certification to help growers identify what is and isn’t safe to use from that perspective. To date we’ve tested three other brands of soil, and every single one of them exceeded one or more of our pesticide limitations and as such failed to be certified. Pittmoss not only came in underneath our pesticide specifications, they actually scored ‘Not Detected’ on every single test. They not only passed, but did so with flying colors.”

PittMoss’ key to success may lie in its unique composition. Unlike traditional soils, PittMoss is made from recycled paper fibers, such as newspapers, with added mineral and nutrient content. Their products are peat-free, require 2/3 less water than traditional mixes and are manufactured in the USA. This unique approach to growing media fabrication is likely at the heart of PittMoss’ high levels of sterility and consistency in their products.

When questioned about the news, PittMoss’ director of business development, Ashley Mariani, said, “Although we are unsurprised by the results, PittMoss is so proud to have this distinction. At PittMoss, we are dedicated to providing the best and cleanest growing media on the market, while being dedicated to sustainable practices. To have third party screening and validation through Redfield Proctor is very rewarding. We look forward to working with farmers and growers both in and out of the cannabis markets.”

FITCHBURG, Wis. - Tim Obrien proudly displays CBD oil in his shop, Apple Wellness. He believes in the product, citing the benefits for chronic pain, seizures, anxiety and depression.

More importantly, he believes in his right to sell it.

“I totally understand why the public's confused and why law enforcement's confused,” Obrien said. “We're just trying to help people.”

Obrien said his attorney backs him. He said he only sells cannabidiol, or CBD, derived from hemp, which he says is different from CBD derived from marijuana, and hemp CBD is protected.

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