Wisconsin Sens. Jon Erpenbach (D-West Point) and Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point) and Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) introduced bipartisan legislation Sept. 20 to legalize medical cannabis in the state.

Under the bill, patients suffering from a wide range of conditions, including cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer’s, post-traumatic stress disorder, severe pain and chronic disease, could register with the state to use cannabis, according to an Associated Press report. A licensing system would be created for growers through the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer protection, the news outlet reported.

This renewed push for cannabis policy reform in the state comes after Gov. Tony Evers announced plans in February to include decriminalization and medical marijuana legalization plans in his state budget proposal. Republicans stripped those provisions from the spending plan, however, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced earlier this summer his plans to launch medical cannabis legalization efforts again this fall.

Democrats have tried to pass cannabis policy reform legislation in every legislative session for the past decade, the Associated Press reported, and this year’s attempt came from Rep. Melissa Sargent (D-Madison), who introduced legislation in April that would have legalized cannabis for both medical and adult use.

Any form of legalization faces obstacles in Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled legislature, according to the Associated Press, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has said he does not support the issue.

A U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Sept. 20 that Colorado’s cannabis industry is subject to federal labor laws, such as overtime pay rules, despite federal prohibition.

The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Robert Kenney, a former Helix TCS employee who sued the company in U.S. District Court in 2017 after it refused him overtime pay in his role as a security guard for Helix’s cannabis industry clients, according to a Denver Post report. The case alleges that the company’s refusal to pay overtime is a violation of the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act.

Helix’s attorneys moved to dismiss the case, the Denver Post reported, arguing that a federal court has no jurisdiction to hear the case because cannabis remains illegal at the federal level. The district court rejected the motion, and the decision was appealed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

The appeals court has now upheld the district court’s decision to reject Helix’s dismissal of the case, with Senior Judge Stephanie Seymour ruling that employers are not exempt from federal laws solely because cannabis remains federally illegal, according to the Denver Post. Seymour further argued that denying employees in the cannabis industry federal labor protections would give their employers an unfair advantage and encourage others to circumvent regulations, the news outlet reported.

The case now goes back to the district court.

This week, lawmakers announced that the House will vote on the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, bipartisan legislation that would allow the cannabis industry to access banking services. Elsewhere, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) awarded $3 million in the form of nine research grants to study whether CBD can relieve pain.

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

• Federal: The U.S. House of Representatives will vote later this month on the SAFE Banking Act, bipartisan legislation that would allow cannabis businesses to access the federal banking system. The bill, which was introduced in the House in February by Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Denny Heck (D-WA), Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Warren Davidson (R-OH), was approved by the House Financial Services Committee in March, and a Senate version of the legislation was introduced by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) in April, although the bill has yet to pass out of a Senate committee. Read more
• Vertically integrated multistate cannabis operator Cresco Labs has expanded its reach in Nevada and Arizona—and entered Utah’s nascent medical cannabis market—through the acquisition of assets from Tryke Companies, LLC, a vertically integrated seed-to-sale cannabis company that held Reef Dispensary locations and licensed cultivation and processing operations across the three markets. The purchase consideration for the acquisition is approximately $252.5 million for Tryke’s operating assets, plus $30 million for the company’s real estate assets. Read more
• The NCCIH, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has announced that it has awarded nine research grants worth $3 million in total to study whether CBD can relieve pain. THC research is excluded. Read more
• Hawaii: The state is cracking down on CBD products sold outside licensed medical cannabis dispensaries and removing them from commercial shelves after Hawaii health officials reported the state’s first case of vaping-related lung illness. “We are very concerned about the safety of CBD products on the market,” Hawaii Department of Health Director Bruce Anderson told lawmakers in the wake of headlines. Read more
• Colorado: Regulators are considering how to distribute new social equity cannabis business licenses, which are set to launch in 2020. The new licenses, reserved for low-income demographics, allow licensees to use established cannabis companies’ facilities to research and manufacture their own cannabis products. Read more
• Ohio: Ohio’s medical cannabis patients say cost is the greatest obstacle to purchasing products in the state, followed by the distance to the nearest dispensary, according to a survey conducted by Ohio State University’s Drug Enforcement Policy Center and an advocacy group called Harm Reduction Ohio. More than 600 of Ohio’s roughly 52,000 registered medical cannabis patients participated in the online survey, and nearly half indicated that they are “very dissatisfied” with the program, while less than 4 percent said they are “very satisfied.” Read more
• Illinois: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has proposed banning adult-use cannabis sales in most of the downtown area as part of a new zoning plan. The rest of the city would be split into seven “cannabis zones,” where licensed dispensaries could set up shop when adult-use sales launch on Jan. 1. Read more
• Alaska: The Alaska Marijuana Control Board is seeking public comment on proposed rules that would allow limited investment in cannabis testing facilities from outside the state, reversing an earlier policy that prohibited such investments. The Marijuana Control Board originally stipulated that only Alaska residents could own or invest in testing facilities, in part to keep the state’s cannabis industry in the hands of Alaskans, but the state’s small population and the industry’s lack of banking and loan services have limited the capital available for testing facilities, prompting a change in rules. Read more
• California: By the end of October, if all goes according to plan in California’s often-unpredictable cannabis market, all licensed cannabis businesses will finally be enrolled in the state’s track-and-trace system. Statewide, the state has issued more than 6,700 cannabis business licenses, and getting each one of those businesses on the same page has been a feat. Read more
• Canada: British Columbia’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) has banned the promotion of cannabis in the province’s licensed establishments, including restaurants, bars and even events that have special permits. A policy directive announcing this guidance was sent to all LCRB staff, licensees, industry associations, local governments, First Nations and law enforcement. Read more

NEWINGTON, CT, Sept. 20, 2019 – PRESS RELEASE – The owners of Fine Fettle Dispensary in Willimantic, Conn., have acquired a second medical marijuana dispensary license.  The company will open its second dispensary in Newington, Conn., on Sept. 23. The dispensary is located at 2280 Berlin Turnpike, Newington, CT and will do business as Fine Fettle Dispensary – Newington (Fine Fettle).

The acquisition was recently approved by the Department of Consumer Protection’s (DCP) Medical Marijuana Program. The license was originally granted to Bhadra Seva, LLC who was the top-ranked applicant in the state’s most recent round of medical marijuana dispensary licensing. Fine Fettle opened their first facility in Willimantic in June. 

Fine Fettle Dispensary – Newington will serve the needs of those who have been approved by a certified physician, or APRN, or other certifying provider who is registered by the DCP and the state’s medical marijuana program.  These patients include children suffering from cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis and severe epilepsy, among other conditions. Adults who have been prescribed medical marijuana suffer from such diseases as cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, sickle cell disease and epilepsy. In all, there are over 30 qualifying conditions that a patient can suffer from in order to qualify for medical marijuana.

“We are looking forward to the expansion of our company in Connecticut and having two of the eighteen licenses, which is significant for our brand going forward,” says Richard T. Carbray, Jr., RPh, Fine Fettle’s CEO. “With this new location in Newington, we will be able to serve an even greater number of patients in Connecticut and offer our unique brand. Our medical marijuana dispensaries give patients a different kind of experience. Our goal is that they not look like medical offices but give customers a true retail experience.  We focus on expertise, education, research and outreach on the use of cannabis for the greater health of Connecticut. What makes this dispensary particularly unique is its professional, respective, friendly and education-oriented environment.”

There are more than 30,000 people in the Nutmeg State who have been approved by their physicians and the state of Connecticut for treatment using medical marijuana. They have been issued certificates that allow them to legally purchase medical marijuana. To qualify for these medical marijuana certificates these people must be certified by a Connecticut-licensed physician as needing treatment for a debilitating medical condition. “Right now, patients and their caregivers in the towns surround Newington have to travel to get the treatment they’ve been prescribed to manage their symptoms and pain.  This new location will give them the comfort of having a local location to purchase the appropriate medicinal marijuana product to provide them with the relief they need for their specific condition.” says Carbray.  Fine Fettle Dispensary of Newington CT will offer them relief in a respectful, friendly, professional, safe and education-oriented environment. Fine Fettle Dispensary of Newington CT will provide both a true retail experience and learning opportunity for our patients in a calm, professional and friendly environment.”

Among the towns Fine Fettle Dispensary of Newington CT is expected to serve are: Berlin, Farmington, Glastonbury, New Britain, Newington, Rocky Hill, Cromwell, West Hartford and Wethersfield.

Fine Fettle’s team includes local professionals with experience in the medical marijuana industry and over 150 combined years of licensed pharmacy practice in Connecticut. FFD’s owners are in Connecticut and have experience in safe dispensing of medicine to patients in need, inventory control, security, finance, compliance, retail and community relations.

Carbray, the company’s CEO, has over 40 years of experience as a practicing pharmacist and owner and operator of pharmacies. Currently, he serves as a Pharmacy Commissioner for the State of Connecticut. This commission oversees Connecticut’s licensed pharmacies and pharmacists. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees at the University of Connecticut as well as a member of the Board of Directors at UConn Health.

“We wanted to make this dispensary a comfortable and personal experience,” says Carbray.  “Our dispensary in Newington, like our location in Willimantic, will offer a relaxed and open, but professional feel.  We will have live inventory on our website and will offer our patients the convenience of online ordering. Our patients have loved our rewards program in Willimantic, and we plan to offer the same plan in Newington.”  Both locations offer discounts to senior citizens, veterans, and both a compassionate care and compassionate need program for eligible individuals.

The pharmacists and healthcare experts at Fine Fettle Newington understand the critical role that medical marijuana plays in the lives of their patients. “The people we care for rely on this product for treatment of their specific condition and relief of symptoms such as pain, inflammation, spasm and insomnia,” said Carbray. “For that reason, the quality of the product is always on our minds.  Our products are held in the state’s only humidity-controlled vault to provide a consistent and optimal product.”

The company is currently in the final stages of construction of their dispensary in Newington and expects to open the doors by the end of the summer. For an update on their progress, go to www.finefettle.com.