New Mexico lawmakers concluded their 60-day legislative session March 20, but Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham decided their work is not done without an adult-use cannabis bill on her desk. The Democrat executive announced Friday, March 26 that she will call the legislature into a special session on March 30 to take care of the unfinished business.

House Bill 12, which cleared the lower chamber of the state legislature, 39-31, on Feb. 26, would legalize adult-use sales and consumption for those 21 and older, allow possession of up to 2 ounces of cannabis flower or 16 grams of cannabis extract, levy a 12% excise tax on cannabis and provide reinvestments toward communities disproportionately affected by prohibition. 

But the Senate ran out of time to act, as the upper chamber postponed floor debate on the measure to focus on other bills, according to the Associated Press. At the conclusion of the 60-day session, Lujan Grisham said rushing through amendments in the final hours of a session, when there’s a mountain of work to be done, is not the right way to accomplish something of the magnitude as adult-use legalization.

As a result, she called the March 30 special session to take up a pair of economic and job creation items that were left unfinished: legalizing adult-use cannabis and expanding the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA), Lujan Grisham announced in a press release Friday.

“I am grateful to those legislative leaders and members who have expressed enthusiasm about returning to the people’s work so soon after a challenging 60-day session,” she said. “The unique circumstances of the session, with public health safeguards in place, in my view prevented the measures on my call from crossing the finish line. While I applaud the legislature and staff for their incredible perseverance and productivity during the 60-day in the face of these challenges, we must and we will forge ahead and finish the job on these initiatives together for the good of the people and future of our great state.”

With a bipartisan agreement on the importance of the legalization initiative—lawmakers from both parties approached a balanced compromise measure in the final hours of the 60-day session—Lujan Grisham intends to see through final passage of the potentially significant economic driver, she said.

According to Rep. Javier Martínez, who sponsored H.B. 12 with Reps. Andrea Romero and Deborah A. Armstrong, economic projections indicate that adult-use legalization would create more than 11,000 jobs and generate $28.6 million in tax revenue in the first year of implementing a program, which H.B. 12 aimed to have launched no later than April 1, 2022.

But House Republicans criticized the governor’s special session effort as frivolous and disrespectful in the run-up to Good Friday and Easter celebrations in a heavily Roman Catholic state, according to the AP. 

In response to the governor’s announcement, Emily Kaltenbach, senior director for Resident States and New Mexico at the Drug Policy Alliance, said the special session offers New Mexicans another chance to make sure equity and justice are center to the legalization.

“New Mexicans may not have to wait much longer to reap the benefits and justice cannabis legalization will provide—especially to Hispanic/Latinx, Black, Native and Indigenous communities, who have been disproportionately impacted by prohibition,” she said.

“We have been working around the clock to ensure that the racial justice and equity provisions, public health priorities, and medical cannabis patient protections will be included in the special session cannabis legalization package,” Kaltenbach said. “New Mexicans are ready to see marijuana legalization become a reality in the state, but they have made it clear that repairing the damage done by the drug war is non-negotiable.”

Nearly 75% of New Mexicans approve of cannabis legalization with provisions in place to ensure tax revenue is reinvested back into communities, including 94% of Democrats, 93% of Independents and 46% of Republicans, according to the Drug Policy Alliance.

This will be the third special session of the legislature Lujan Grisham has called, according to the governor’s press release. The first, in June 2020, encompassed an emergency agenda related to the COVID-19 pandemic, among other items. The second, in November 2020, included taking up a $330 million emergency relief package related to the pandemic.

Political momentum is quickly picking up speed in some U.S. states, with the prospect of adult-use legalization shining brightly in New York and New Mexico—with more to come. Those two states may very well cast formal votes on the question of legalization as soon as next week. We’re eagerly anticipating some statehouse action.

But that’s not the only narrative we’re following.

We’ve rounded up some of the key cannabis headlines from the week right here.

• Delaware is moving forward with its own legislation. The Health and Human Development Committee cleared House Bill 150, the Delaware Marijuana Control Act, on March 24. The legislation would create adult-use legal framework, including opportunities for small businesses to be licensed. Read more 
• Students at Mercer County Community College interested in entering the New Jersey cannabis industry after graduation can now receive industry training and education while in school. Read more 
  
• New Jersey has set aside a solid portion of cannabis licenses for smaller operators. This week, we took a close look at what the state’s microbusiness license could accomplish for the market. Read more 
  
• The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on the marketing messages that proliferate in the CBD space. A recent campaign, dubbed Operation CBDeceit, is moving in on certain companies. Read more 
• New Mexico legislators will convene March 30 for a special session to tie up some loose ends on a cannabis bill that nearly jumped the hurdle this month. Read more 
  

And elsewhere on the web, here are the stories we’ve been reading this week:

• The New York Times: A recent deal in New York “paves the way for a potential $4.2 billion industry, with millions of dollars in sales tax revenue reinvested in minority communities each year.” Read more 
  
• ABC News: “France’s government has launched a two-year nationwide experiment with medical cannabis with a view to eventual legalization.” Read more 
  
• Marijuana Moment: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signaled an interest in bumping up the decriminalization timeline of his state’s cannabis law—from 2024 to sometime this summer. Read more 
  
• FloridaPolitics: Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried voiced support for adult-use cannabis legalization. She is expected to run for governor next year. Read more 
  
• NMPoliticalReport: As New Mexico lawmakers gather in Albuquerque next week, rural residents are citing a need for social equity policies in any law that comes out of the legislative process. Read more 

Democrats in the Delaware House and Gov. John Carney are on the same side of the political aisle, but whether they’re on the same side of the adult-use cannabis legalization aisle remains to be seen.

The Health and Human Development Committee cleared House Bill 150, the Delaware Marijuana Control Act, on March 24. The legislation would create adult-use legal framework, including opportunities for small businesses to be licensed. It would also ensure people living in areas disproportionately affected by prohibition have equal access to the market, according to a press release by chief sponsor Rep. Ed Osienski.

Behind the support of six other sponsors and nine co-sponsors—all Democrat—in the 41-member House, H.B. 150 also aims at shutting down the illicit market by diverting demand from illegal enterprises, and empowering law enforcement with the ability to ensure a safe, legal market for the cultivation, sale and adult-use of cannabis, Osienski said.

“Support for adult recreational marijuana has been growing for years in Delaware and across the country. We have seen other states successfully enact policies that established a safe and legal market for cannabis, and we have studied those laws to craft the best policy for Delaware,” he said. “We believe we have a solid bill that has the support of the public, and we believe we have the political will to pass this bill into law.”

A University of Delaware poll in 2018 indicated that 61% of Delaware voters support legalizing adult-use cannabis. Support for legalization has also reached 68% nationally, according to a November 2020 Gallup Poll.

Neighboring New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed an adult-use cannabis legalization bill last month, following voters’ approval of a constitutional amendment in the November 2020 election. Up in New England, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine also have legalized adult-use cannabis.

“We would be establishing a new industry that will create good-paying jobs for Delawareans while striking a blow against the marijuana illegal market,” Osienski said. “We also listened to concerns from communities that have been historically impacted by the prohibition of marijuana, and to promote equity, we have included provisions so they can participate in this new market.”

But from a governor’s standpoint, Carney isn’t entirely sold on the adult-use legalization efforts, the Democrat executive’s spokesman, Jonathan Starkey, told the Associated Press March 24.

“The governor’s position hasn’t changed,” Starkey said to the AP. “He supported decriminalization and an expansion of Delaware’s medical marijuana program. But he still has concerns about legalizing recreational marijuana.”

Carney has not directly said whether or not he’d veto H.B. 150, if it reaches his desk, according to the AP.

While Osienski said he believes H.B. 150 aims at shutting down the illicit market, critics argue the legislation will have little impact on that front, and instead will result in increased use among minors, more traffic deaths and injuries, and more people struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues, according to the AP.

Under the bill, which would allow adults 21 and older to purchase up to 1 ounce of cannabis from a licensed retail store, the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement (DATE) would absorb cannabis enforcement and create a separate, administrative Office of Marijuana Control Commissioner within the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, according to Osienski’s release.

The legislation would allow for up to 30 retail licenses, 30 manufacturing licenses and 60 cultivation licenses to be issued within 16 months of the bill’s effective date. It also would establish a competitive licensing process through the Office of Marijuana Control Commissioner using a scoring system that rewards applicants for paying a living wage, providing employer-paid health insurance, providing a defined benefit pension plan, providing sick and paid leave to workers, hiring more full-time workers, focusing on diversity of workforce and other factors, according to Osienski’s release.

In addition, the measure includes a 15% tax, described as a cannabis control enforcement fee, that would be assessed at the point of sale, according to the bill’s text.

H.B. 150 also has companion support in the 21-member upper chamber, including sponsorship from five senators and co-sponsorship from four senators—all Democrat. Sen. Trey Paradee, the chief sponsor, offered his viewpoint in Osienski’s release.

“The time has come for us to replace an illegal market that has overwhelmed our court system and damaged lives with a legal, regulated and responsible industry that will create thousands of good-paying jobs in Delaware,” Paradee said. “We have seen the benefits of a thriving legal cannabis industry in 15 other states. We have had time to study what works and what does not. This legislation is sound economic policy, strong social justice reform and a job creator that we absolutely should pass this year.

Students at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) interested in entering the New Jersey cannabis industry after graduation can now receive industry training and education while in school.

Back by popular demand, MCCC announced on March 22, it would offer a second medical cannabis training course in May.

Sarah Trent, CEO of Valley Wellness, a medical cannabis dispensary, designed the course to educate, train and prepare individuals for entry-level positions in the cannabis industry.

"Working in the cannabis industry isn't just about knowing how to work in a grow or knowing how to be patient-facing in a dispensary," Trent said. "Really, the best staff members, even for entry-level positions, have a well-rounded education, and so I developed a class that is made to make that well-rounded employee."

The course was initially only offered at Raritan Valley Community College (RCVV) in New Jersey but recently expanded to MCCC as enrollment and demand began to increase, Trent said.

"I ran the program three times in 2020 with about 50 students each, and after the ballot initiative passed, we saw numbers really increase," Trent said. "So, we just started running the class at Mercer and ran the first class starting Jan. 25, 2021, where we had roughly 70 people enrolled in that class. And right now, I'm currently running a March class at Raritan Valley, and we have over 80 students."

As New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed an adult-use cannabis legalization bill last month, following voters’ approval of a constitutional amendment last fall, there has become a need for experienced individuals in the field. 

"There are so many open jobs because all of the existing operators are ramping up production," Trent said. "Because one of the requirements under the new law says the existing operators cannot start selling to the adult-use market until they can certify to the newly formed commission that they have enough product to meet patient demand first. So, I don't know of a single operator in New Jersey who is not hiring right now for multiple positions."

Trent said she wanted to find a way to help employees and employers. The course creates an opportunity to make cannabis training and education more accessible to individuals to fulfill that need. 

Since the course started, Trent has offered free tuition to the first five veterans who sign up for the program; however, she wanted to find a way to expand that concept to low-income individuals who need financial assistance in the state, she said.

"We get a lot of requests like, 'Hey, do we have to pay this all up front?' or 'Do you know, where can I find some scholarship assistance?'," Trent said. 

As Trent began to look for sponsors to help create scholarships, she was introduced to the New Jersey Cannabis Trade Association (NJCTA), with whom she has partnered with to provide six scholarships for the May training course at MCCC.

Shaya Brodchandel, chair of NJCTA and CEO of Harmony Dispensary, a fully vertical alternative treatment center, said the partnership was a 'no-brainer,' as he believes education is essential in the cannabis industry, but accessibility to the instruction is lacking, he said

Suppose an individual wants to become a doctor, lawyer, accountant or wants to study one of the various other trades. In that case, he or she has easier access to that education as a university or school likely teaches it. Still, in the cannabis industry, there isn't much precedent where people can go and get a proper education, he said.

"For us, [the partnership] was a natural fit from the education standpoint," Brodchandel said. "We are also going to provide scholarships and interviews immediately after. So, within a month, the [students] will have interviews with local retail and cultivation companies. As these [jobs] become available, we will be reaching out to participants and letting them know there are job opportunities. So, it's really connecting education with the industry and putting best practices in motion as best as we can."

Some of the roles that the course can prepare individuals for is a variety of entry-level cultivation positions, as well as patient-facing and dispensary staff positions such as a patient care agent or a wellness associate, where individuals can help patients, fill orders, work in the packaging department and more, Trent said.

Additionally, Trent is working toward making the class applicable to entry-level jobs in a manufacturing lab, as some of those positions do not require a college degree.

The next medical cannabis training course at MCCC will begin on May 3.

The course takes around 15 hours to complete and costs $500 to enroll. It is taught in five modules over five consecutive Monday nights on Zoom from 6-9 p.m., Trent said.

"Module one is the basics of cannabis laws. Module two is the basics of cultivation, harvesting and manufactured products, where students learn what manufactured products are in New Jersey right now and how they are made. Module three is the endocannabinoid system and testing. Module four is dispensary-specific training, compliance, tracking dosing administration, and module five is industry speakers,” Trent said.

Scholarship applications for the May 3 course are now open until April 12. Students must reside in specific New Jersey zip codes, demonstrate a financial need and be 21 years or older to apply.

"I think that this is a great opportunity for the colleges and universities to help connect education with the industry," Brodchandel said. "This is the first in New Jersey of hopefully many that we'll be seeing happening for connecting hires. I want to continue participating in these programs, and I hope to see this growth throughout the coming months. I think the timing is now, and the opportunity is tremendous for us to make a positive impact. Now is our time to execute and to deliver on all that we've been working on. So just proud to be a part of this.”