Today in cannabis news: A Kansas state House committee passes a measure that would make medical cannabis legal statewide; Alabama state House representatives filibuster a medical cannabis proposal that had already cleared the state Senate; and the U.S. Attorney General reconfirms that the DOJ shouldn’t be using its funds to pursue individuals who are legally consuming cannabis.
The Morning Buzz presented by TRICHOMES brings you late-breaking news that tells you what’s happening within the cannabis industry. Check in with the cannabis community at TRICHOMES.com
** First up: A Kansas state House committee passed a measure this week that would make medical cannabis legal statewide. Before voting 12-8 to advance the bill, members of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee introduced a number of amendments.
This is the second time this session that the committee has accepted the reformation plan. It was referred to the House floor following passage in March, but was then remanded to the committee for additional examination.
Rep. Blake Carpenter (R) proposed a broad amendment, which was approved by voice vote. It would encourage counties to opt out of enabling cannabis retailers in their jurisdictions, safeguard patients’ gun rights but eliminate their housing and job protections, reinforce advertisement limitations, and, with certain exemptions, mandate a minimum six-month arrangement with a client and doctor before medical cannabis can be recommended.
If cannabis is rescheduled at the federal level, the bill would update the word “recommendation” to “prescription.” Any new federal designation will also immediately alter the state’s drug protocol.
Proponents are optimistic that the measure will pass the full House and Senate in the legislative veto session in the days ahead.
Kansas Lawmakers Approve Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill In Committee
** Next up: On the Alabama state House floor this week, a medical cannabis proposal that had already cleared the state Senate was filibustered.
The bill came to the chamber for debate after passing two House committees last month, but adversaries dragged the process out by performing a multitude of speeches and raising questions up to completion of the day’s session at midnight.
Proponents think the bill will be discussed again on Thursday. If it passes the House, it would have to be sent to the Senate again so that the original body may evaluate the recent amendments.
There would be about 20 qualifying conditions for the state’s medical cannabis program under SB 46, including anxiety, sleep disturbances, PTSD, and untenable pain. Regulatory agencies would not be allowed to add more conditions on their own, so legislators would have to make the choice.
During a hearing last month, the House Judiciary Committee accepted ten amendments to the bill. Members decided, for example, to eliminate clauses granting reciprocity to out-of-state clients and to reduce the amount of cannabis tax revenue dedicated to cannabis studies from 30% to 15%.
Alabama Medical Marijuana Bill Gets Filibustered On House Floor
** Last up: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland reconfirmed this week that the Department of Justice ought not be utilizing its limited funds to pursue individuals who are legally consuming cannabis.
Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA) questioned Garland during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on what measures their department should take to prevent multinational corporations from illegally growing cannabis and pirating natural resources.
Garland replied that they’re “not precisely familiar with the specifics” of the situation, but that going after cannabis grow facilities that break state statute is “certainly within our jurisdiction and scope of concern.” Although the department will prosecute large-scale illegal smugglers, Garland said that individuals who use cannabis in states where it is legal is not an advantageous pursuit.
“The department’s view on marijuana use is that enforcement against use is not a good use of our resources,” Garland said. “And I understand that’s not what you’re talking about. You’re talking about growing and manufacturing at a large scale.”
“Criminalizing the use of marijuana has contributed to mass incarceration and racial disparities in our criminal justice system,” Garland said in written testimony in March, “and has made it difficult for millions of Americans to find employment due to criminal records for nonviolent offenses.”
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/biden-ag-stresses-that-marijuana-use-in-legal-states-is-not-a-justice-department-priority/
