Top photo: © Sunshine Seeds | Adobe Stock
This week, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Senate President Stephen Sweeney have reportedly reached an agreement on how to tax and regulate the sale of recreational marijuana, after months of negotiations on the matter. Elsewhere, in Alaska, Gov. Mike Dunleavy is planning to introduce legislation to repeal the state boards that regulate alcohol and marijuana businesses.
Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.
- California: A new report from the state Cannabis Advisory Committee on the first year of legal cannabis sales in California says there is problem that requires urgent action: “Fragmented and uncoordinated” enforcement has allowed the black market to flourish, threatening licensed business with unfair competition. Gov. Gavin Newsom has urged patience with sluggish growth in the number of state-licensed cannabis businesses, saying he expected that such a complex regulatory system would take at least five years to fully develop, but now he is calling for tougher enforcement against the state’s illicit market. Read more
- Vermont: A Vermont Senate committee has approved legislation that would set up a system for regulating the production and sale of marijuana and marijuana products in the state. The measure creates a Cannabis Control Board that would adopt regulations and administer a licensing program for cannabis establishments. Read more
- West Virginia: The House of Delegates passed a bill Feb. 15 that aims to patch up a financial hole in the state’s medical marijuana program, which is set to launch this summer. HB 2538 would allow the state to bid out banking contracts to institutions like credit unions to allow them to process the fees, penalties and taxes associated with the program, after vendors informed the state treasurer’s office last year of their unwillingness to process the funds. Read more
- New Jersey: Marijuana legalization in New Jersey is nearer than ever as the result of a broad agreement tentatively reached among leading state Democrats. Gov. Phil Murphy and Stephen Sweeney, the president of the state Senate, have come to a consensus on how to tax and regulate the sale of recreational marijuana following months of negotiating the matter, according to local reports. Read more
- Georgia: Georgia may soon allow the production and sale of low-potency medical marijuana oil within the state. A plan introduced in the Georgia House would close a loophole created by the state’s 2015 medical marijuana law that allowed patients to possess the drug but provided no real way to obtain it. Read more
- North Dakota: North Dakota House lawmakers agreed to expand the state’s medical marijuana law Feb. 18, passing four bills aimed at the statutes stemming from a successful 2016 ballot measure. One bill passed by the legislators would add 13 new medical conditions that qualify for the program, while the others are aimed at alleviating physician concerns over signing off on the federally illegal drug, allowing cancer patients to purchase and possess more dried cannabis leaves and permitting edible medical marijuana products. Read more
- And while medical marijuana access is expanding, North Dakota House members voted down a marijuana decriminalization bill 47-43 on Feb. 20. The bill would have changed state law and made the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana or the possession of two marijuana plants or less a non-criminal offense punishable by a $200 fine, similar to a traffic offense. Read more
- Alaska: Gov. Mike Dunleavy is planning to introduce legislation to repeal the state boards that regulate alcohol and marijuana businesses. A letter from Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development Commissioner Julie Anderson told employees about the governor’s plans to repeal the boards, and said the intent “is to transfer the authority and responsibilities of the two boards to the commissioner and remove the marijuana control board and the alcoholic beverage control board.” Read more
- New Mexico: New Mexico’s medical cannabis market finds itself at a critical moment, with patient counts rising and plant yield declining statewide. In November 2018, a state district judge issued a stern ruling that medical cannabis businesses should no longer be hampered by “arbitrary” limits on the number of plants they may grow, but, as of mid-February, no action has been taken to expand the dwindling supply of medical cannabis. Read more
- New Hampshire: The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Thursday recommended passage of legislation that would end marijuana prohibition in New Hampshire and regulate cannabis for adults 21 years of age and older. The committee’s 10-9 vote in favor of HB 481 marked the first time it has approved such legislation. Read more
