Former House Speaker John Boehner’s Appointment to Acreage Holdings’ Advisory Board Shocks Cannabis Industry, Federal Bipartisan Hemp Bill Introduced: Week In Review

In a tumultuous week for the cannabis industry, former House Speaker—and former marijuana prohibitionist—John Boehner has been appointed to the advisory board for multi-state cannabis corporation Acreage Holdings; a bipartisan hemp cultivation bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate; Senators Kamala Harris and Orrin Hatch called for the Department of Justice to stop blocking medical marijuana research; the Maine legislature advanced a bill to further develop the state’s cannabis regulations; and more.

• A Missouri House committee killed a medical marijuana bill April 4. HB 1554, sponsored by Rep. Jim Neely (R-Cameron) would have provided access to medical marijuana for people who suffer from terminal illnesses. Read more

• San Diego’s legal marijuana stores could run short of recreational marijuana this summer when the seasonal rise in tourism sends the demand for cannabis soaring. Analysts and retailers say the government hasn’t been approving cultivation licenses fast enough to meet anticipated demand, and the state is preparing to prevent the sale of cannabis that doesn’t meet quality control standards, which could further tighten the supply. Read more

• The initiative to legalize medical marijuana in Utah is within 1,000 signatures of qualifying for November’s ballot. According to the most recent numbers from the Utah Elections office, organizers for the Utah Medical Cannabis Act have more than 133,000 verified signatures, which is more than the 113,000 needed to get on the ballot. Read more

• Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana advisory board voted to allow the sale of whole-plant cannabis and recommended expanding the number of serious health conditions that would qualify patients to participate in the program. Currently, Pennsylvania allows only for the sale of cannabis oils, extracts, pills and tinctures, and the state’s Secretary of Health, Rachel Levine, will weigh the board’s recommendations to decide whether to make the changes to the medical marijuana program. Read more

• Maryland lawmakers approved legislation April 9 that expands the state’s burgeoning medical marijuana industry in a way that gives minority-owned companies a better chance of opening a new cannabis business. The plan, passed by the Senate April 9 and the House of Delegates the previous weekend, would issue seven new cannabis cultivation licenses and 13 new cannabis processing licenses, and also calls for an award process that uses an application that takes race into account. Read more

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is accepting public comments on whether marijuana should be rescheduled in the context of international drug treaties. The request comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced plans to review the international perspective on cannabis. Read more

• The Maine legislature approved a bill that would set up a regulated retail market to complement the state’s 2016 voter-approved adult-use cannabis law. The House passed the legislation 112-34 and the Senate approved it 24-10, a margin wide enough to withstand a potential veto by Gov. Paul LePage. Read more

• Former Speaker of the House (and former marijuana prohibitionist) John Boehner, as well as former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, have been appointed to the advisory board for multi-state cannabis corporation Acreage Holdings, sending shockwaves through the industry but also creating optimism that the appointment will help drive marijuana policy reform. "We were excited to see Acreage’s announcement this morning that Speaker Boehner and Governor Weld will be joining Acreage’s board and believe that the state-legal cannabis industry just got two powerful allies,” said David Feuerstein, co-founder and partner at cannabis law firm Feuerstein Kulick LLP. Read more

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced a bill to formally legalize the cultivation and sale of industrial hemp and U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, of Oregon, have joined as co-sponsors. The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 would put cultivation oversight in the hands of states, building on a recent trend of allowing domestic research on the plant. Read more

• In a letter sent April 12, Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said they are concerned by reports that the Justice Department is effectively blocking the DEA from acting on more than two dozen requests to grow marijuana for use in research. “Research on marijuana is necessary for evidence-based decision making, and expanded research has been called for by President Trump’s Surgeon General, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the FDA, the CDC, the National Highway Safety Administration, the National Institute of Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Academies of Sciences, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse,” the senators wrote. Read more

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