This week saw huge strides forward for the cannabis industry with U.S. Sens. Cory Gardner and Elizabeth Warren introducing the STATES Act, bipartisan legislation that would protect state-legal marijuana programs; Canada’s Senate approving a bill to legalize and regulate marijuana for adult use that will now head back to the House; the June 5 primary elections advancing key cannabis candidates and tax measures in New Mexico and California; marijuana legalization heading to the November ballot in Michigan; and more.
- Federal: U.S. Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced bipartisan legislation June 7—The Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act of 2018—to remove the threat of federal intervention and prosecution in states that regulate marijuana use and sales. This marks the first bicameral, bipartisan legislation to end the federal enforcement of prohibition in states that have reformed their marijuana laws. Read more
- Louisiana: Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has agreed to allow more residents the option of using medical marijuana to treat their ailments by signing an expansion proposal into law June 2. The measure adds glaucoma, severe muscle spasms, intractable pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and Parkinson's disease to the list of diseases and disorders eligible for medicinal-grade cannabis. Read more
- Illinois: Illinois lawmakers have approved a measure not only to allow medical marijuana to be used in place of prescription painkillers, but to eliminate requirements for patients to get fingerprints and criminal background checks. The change would allow all new applicants to buy medical marijuana from licensed dispensaries based on their doctors’ orders, rather than having to wait up to four months for bureaucratic approval. Read more
- Colorado: Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday vetoed a bill that would have allowed licensed marijuana “tasting rooms” in Colorado—legislation that was the first of its kind in the nation—citing health and safety concerns. House Bill 1258 would have let adults at current recreational marijuana retailers consume small amounts of cannabis through edibles or by vaping. Read more
- Michigan: The Michigan State Legislature was not able to garner the votes needed June 5 to pass the marijuana legalization ballot initiative supported by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, and the issue will now appear on the state’s Nov. 6 ballot. “While we would have been happy to see our initiative passed by the legislature as written, we are confident Michigan voters understand that marijuana prohibition has been an absolute disaster and that they will agree that taxing and regulating marijuana is a far better solution,” said CRMLA Spokesperson Josh Hovey. Read more
- New Mexico: U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham will face U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce in New Mexico’s gubernatorial election this fall after the state’s primary election June 5. While Grisham was not the most ardent cannabis legalization supporter among the field of Democratic primary contenders, she has walked a pragmatic line and called for expanded health and safety regulations for the state’s medical marijuana market, and is also a co-sponsor for the CARERS Act in Congress, which would allow the growing and processing of certain cannabidiol products in accordance with state law. Read more
- California: Key cannabis candidates and tax measures prevailed in California’s primary election June 5. Cannabis supporter Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom will advance to November in the gubernatorial race, while counties and cities across the state largely approved cannabis tax measures within their borders. Read more
- Ohio: Delays in licensing 25 marijuana growers in Ohio have pushed back the medical marijuana program's Sept. 8 launch, the Ohio Department of Commerce said June 5. "We really should have had plants in the ground by this time,'' said Mark Hamlin, an Ohio Commerce Department spokesman. Read more
- Florida: In a second stinging blow to Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature, a Leon County Circuit Court judge June 5 lifted an automatic stay on her ruling that the state's ban on patient access to the smokable form of medical marijuana is unconstitutional. Judge Karen Gievers gave the state until June 11 to put into action a process that will make smokable marijuana available to patients at marijuana dispensaries throughout the state. Read more
- Canada: Canada moved another step closer to ending its prohibition of marijuana on June 7 when the Senate approved legislation to legalize and regulate marijuana for adult use. Bill C-45 will now head back to the House of Commons, which has already approved a previous version. Read more
Top Image: © michele.pautasso | Adobe Stock
