In the past week, Vermont’s governor signed a bill legalizing marijuana in the state, California introduced legislation to legalize banking for cannabis businesses, Massachusetts and New Mexico moved to protect their state cannabis laws from federal intervention, Congress passed a spending bill that keeps the key industry protections outlined in the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment safe until Feb. 8 and a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers asked Trump to intervene on Sessions’ Cole Memo repeal.
- Massachusetts cannabis industry leaders are drafting legislation that would prohibit state and municipal employees from cooperating with federal investigators intending to prosecute marijuana businesses operating legally under state law. The bill, called The Refusal of Complicity Act, is being written in response to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recent repeal of the Cole Memo, which barred federal intervention in states’ cannabis laws. Read more
- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed a study surrounding the recreational use of marijuana. Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara said he’s not quite sure how the study may take effect, considering states who have implemented adult-use marijuana laws have a different policy than federal law. Read more
- Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill legalizing marijuana Jan. 22. H. 511 eliminates Vermont’s civil penalty for possessing one ounce or less of marijuana and removes penalties for possession of up to two mature marijuana plants and up to four immature plants for people 21 and older, beginning July 1. Read more
- Virginia marijuana advocates are refocusing their agenda after the state’s senate majority leader Sen. Thomas Norment Jr. (R-James City) introduced a bill that eliminates jail time for first-offense possession but falls short of decriminalization, which Norment earlier said he would support. A spokesperson said a decriminalization bill would have little chance of passing the House of Delegates. Read more
- Congress voted Jan. 22 to pass a spending bill to fund the federal government through Feb. 8, ending a three-day government shutdown and keeping the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment, a key medical marijuana industry protection, intact for three more weeks. Lawmakers have passed three short-term spending deals since Oct. 1, and now have until Feb. 8 to reach an agreement and pass a permanent spending bill for 2018 that may or may not include the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer protection. Read more
- New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy ordered a 60-day review of the state’s tightly regulated medical marijuana program, indicating he would consider allowing home delivery, purchases beyond the two-ounce limit and expanding the number of licensed dispensaries to improve patient access. He did not mention anything about approving an expanding list of qualifying medical conditions. Read more
- New Mexico House Rep. Bill McCamley (D-Mesilla Park) introduced a House Memorial that makes a statement about recent federal actions related to cannabis and calls for the legislature to make a formal request of New Mexico’s congressional delegation to create legislation that protects New Mexico medicinal cannabis users from federal prosecution. Currently, there are more than 40,000 medicinal patients enrolled in the state’s program. Read more
- Canada’s federal government announced a $1.4-million investment in cannabis research as the July 1 deadline to legalize marijuana draws closer. Member of Parliament Bill Blair said the money will support 14 research projects across the country that will be carried out over the next year. Read more
- A bipartisan group of U.S. representatives and U.S. senators wrote a letter to President Donald Trump requesting that he urge Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reinstate the Cole Memo, which had previously directed U. S. attorneys not to prioritize marijuana-related criminal prosecution in states that had legalized the use of the plant. Many of these politicians, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), have been especially vocal in the wake of Sessions’ decision. Read more
- California State Sen. Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) introduced a bill that would allow California-chartered banks, credit unions and other financial institutions to open checking and savings accounts and issue checks for marijuana retailers. The proposed law, known as SB930, is an attempt to deal with U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration rules that still classify cannabis as a Schedule I drug. Read more
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