The Vermont House approved a deal Sept. 17 on a bill to tax and regulate cannabis sales in the state, according to an AP News report.

The House and Senate agreed on a compromise proposal Sept. 15 to create a legal cannabis market, and the House approved the legislative conference committee report in a 92-56 vote, sending it to the Senate for a final vote, AP News reported.

Gov. Phil Scott said at a press conference Sept. 18 that lawmakers have addressed many of his concerns about a legal cannabis marketplace and have “come a long ways” in creating a bill to allow legal sales, VTDigger reported.

“They’ve come a long ways and we’ll see what happens,” Scott said at the press conference, although he did not say whether he plans veto the measure or sign it into law, according to the news outlet.

Scott has indicated in the past that he would support legislation to tax and regulate cannabis sales if the measure supported education and drug use prevention programs, included a requirement for municipalities to opt in to allowing sales within their jurisdictions, and allowed law enforcement to use saliva tests to screen drivers for impairment without a warrant, VTDigger reported.

The legislature’s proposal directs 30% of excise tax revenue from cannabis sales to drug use prevention and education programs, according to the news outlet, and allows Vermont’s cities and towns to opt in to hosting cannabis dispensaries. It also legalizes saliva testing for police officers, VTDigger reported, although law enforcement would have to obtain a warrant to use the test.

This week, cannabis operators in Oregon and Washington continued to work to save their businesses and homes amid wildfires as the ongoing crisis stymies the industry. Elsewhere, the U.S. House postponed its floor vote on the MORE Act, scrapping plans for a vote sometime next week.

Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.

• Federal: Plaintiffs in the Washington v. Barr case, which seeks to declare the federal law that criminalizes marijuana unconstitutional, have received impressive support in the form of several amicus briefs from cannabis industry organizations, researchers and current federal lawmakers. Eight industry organizations and seven members of Congress all wrote in support of Marvin Washington’s appeal to the Supreme Court. Read more
• Wildfires on the west coast continue to threaten and destroy some cannabis businesses, forcing evacuations and causing growers to work to save their operations and homes as the ongoing crisis stymies the industry. This week, Cannabis Business Times checked in with Okanogan Gold and East Fork Cultivars to see how they were faring in the wake of the fires. Read more
• Industry stakeholders by and large support the House Committee on Energy and Commerce passing on a voice vote a modified version of the Medical Marijuana Research Act of 2019. While there is no scheduled vote on the bill in the full House as of now, the fact that the bill made it out of committee on a bipartisan vote signals a political tide change for cannabis research. Read more
• The cannabis industry has been awaiting a U.S. House vote on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, legislation that would federally decriminalize cannabis by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act, but the floor vote, which had been slated for the week of Sept. 21, has been indefinitely postponed by House Democratic leaders. The delay comes after some lawmakers indicated reluctance to take up the legislation before tackling a COVID-19 relief package, which they view as must-pass legislation. Read more
• Vermont: The Vermont House has voted to approve S. 234, legislation that would automatically expunge low-level cannabis convictions involving the possession of two ounces or less. The measure, which the House advanced in a preliminary vote of 113-10, would also decriminalize the possession of between one and two ounces of cannabis. Read more
• The Vermont House and Senate reached a deal this week on legislation to legalize cannabis sales and create a legal marketplace in the state. The bill, S.54, would allow dispensaries to open May 1, 2022, and would impose a 14% excise tax and a 6% sales tax on cannabis sales. Read more
• Illinois: The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced plans this week to “review questions” raised about its licensing process before setting a date for its cannabis dispensary license lottery. Regulators announced Sept. 3 that 21 social equity applicants would be included in a lottery to win the 75 licenses, with the lottery to be held later this month, but the licensing process has drawn criticism from those denied access to the lottery. Read more
• Missouri: Counsel for Missouri House Democrats have alleged in a new memo that the agency responsible for regulating the state’s medical cannabis industry obstructed an investigation into the program. The memo alleges conflicts of interest and other issues with a consultant the state hired to score medical cannabis license applications, and also claims that Gov. Mike Parson’s office was able to influence the state’s medical cannabis program, particularly with how applications were scored. Read more
• Oregon: The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has approved permanent rules allowing licensed recreational marijuana retailers to continue curbside delivery transactions, and increased the marijuana flower purchase amount for OMMP cardholders and caregivers. The commission also approved ten marijuana violation stipulated settlement agreements at its regular meeting. Read more
• California: The state’s three cannabis licensing authorities—BCC, CDFA and CDPH—have announced the launch of a unified licensing search platform, the culmination of a collaboration between the California Department of Technology, the California Health and Human Services Agency Office of Innovation, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), and the licensing authorities. The unified license search tool allows the public to search for cannabis license information from all three licensing authorities by using one search tool. Read more

The cannabis industry has been awaiting a U.S. House vote on the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, legislation that would federally decriminalize cannabis by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act, but the floor vote, which had been slated for the week of Sept. 21, has been indefinitely postponed by House Democratic leaders.

“This delay by the House does not change the fact that the overwhelming majority of voters support ending the federal prohibition of cannabis, including majorities of Democrats, Independents and Republicans,” NORML Political Director Justin Strekal said in a public statement. “This delay does not change the fact that 33 states and the District of Columbia regulate the production and distribution of medical cannabis in a manner that is inconsistent with federal policy, and that one out of four Americans now reside in jurisdictions where adult-use is legal under state law. This delay does not change the fact that voters in several states, including key electoral battleground states for both control of the Presidency and the Senate, will be passing similar state-level marijuana measures on Election Day.”

The delay comes after some lawmakers indicated reluctance to take up the legislation before tackling a COVID-19 relief package, which they view as must-pass legislation, according to The Hill.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) did not include the MORE Act on the floor schedule for the week, and it is unclear when the vote may be rescheduled.

Hoyer told The Hill that Democratic leaders are “committed” to scheduling a vote on the bill before the end of the year, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY), the primary sponsor of the MORE Act, said the vote may occur after the November elections.

“It’s sounding like the vote will definitely be delayed until the lame duck,” Patrick Martin, principal and director of the Midwest arm of Cozen O’Connor, told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary in an emailed statement. “While the industry, activist community and civil rights organizations will be disappointed that politics got in the way of this vote taking place next week, if the MORE Act passes before the end of the year, it will be an historic moment for the movement.”

Aside from federal decriminalization, the MORE Act also would also address the past harms of cannabis prohibition, particularly on communities of color and other marginalized groups. The legislation would require federal courts to expunge prior cannabis-related convictions and would impose a 5% excise tax on the legal cannabis industry to fund these efforts, as well as three grant programs to aid those most impacted by the War on Drugs.

While the legislation’s passage in the Senate is less likely, Martin told CBT and CD in an interview last month that passing the bill on the House floor would be a monumental moment for the industry, even if the legislation falters in the Senate.

“Passing a legalization bill on the House floor would be tremendous progress, and I think it would set a precedent moving forward that will ultimately help lead to legalization,” he said.

Ohio set a new medical cannabis sales record in July with the state’s dispensaries selling roughly $21.4 million worth of products, according to a Crain’s Cleveland Business report.

Sales grew to about $5 million per week at the end of July and through mid-August, the news outlet reported, compared to weekly sales of $2 million to $3 million from January through March.

The state has seen $120.1 million in total medical cannabis sales to date in 2020, according to Crain’s Cleveland Business, compared to $56 million in total sales in 2019.