Today in cannabis news: A cannabis legalization measure is passed by a Rhode Island state Senate panel; Nebraska cannabis advocates plan a “mass scale” drive to place the issue on the state’s 2022 elections ballot; and following the Montana state governor ratifying cannabis reform policy, anti-cannabis organizations in the state dismiss their lawsuit contesting a legalization initiative approved by voters.
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First up: A cannabis legalization measure was passed by a Rhode Island state Senate panel this week, marking the first time that a law to recreationally legalize cannabis has moved through the state Legislature. Rep. Scott Slater (D) and numerous cosponsors have introduced a third legalization bill in the state House.
The Senate panel’s decision comes shortly following House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (D) stating that legalization would not be considered until the summer or autumn. The Senate, on the other hand, seems to have other ideas, and is scheduled to vote on its proposal as early as next week.
In general, the Senate proposal would permit adults 21 years and older to buy and carry a maximum of an ounce of cannabis. They would also be able to grow a maximum of six crops for personal consumption.
Prior to the Senate proposal progressing through the panel, it was subjected to a number of significant amendments. This includes setting a hold on the approval of new cannabis producers, which the state’s current medical cannabis producers have demanded due to market saturation. In addition, one-third of cannabis shop licensure will now be allocated for companies that meet the criteria for social equity candidates.
Next up: Since the Nebraska state Legislature this session refused to implement a measure to approve medical cannabis legalization, advocates are planning a “mass scale” drive to place the issue on the ballot for voters in 2022.
Because the state Supreme Court overturned a proposal that qualified for the 2020 ballot solely on a statutory dispute, voters should anticipate numerous, related proposals being evaluated by attorneys to guarantee that critics cannot use the judicial system to again obstruct the policy shift.
One petition, a prospective constitutional amendment, has been developed and is in the process of being circulated. In avoiding a repeat of the single-subject issue, the bill explicitly says: “Persons in the State of Nebraska shall have the right to cannabis in all forms for medical purposes.”
Subsequent petitions would almost certainly be statutory, requiring less signatures to be eligible for the ballot. Those bills, which are currently being evaluated by lawyers, would bolster the constitutional amendment by laying out laws and infrastructures for a medicinal cannabis system.
Activists will need roughly 124,000 registered voter signatures to get the constitutional amendment proposal on the ballot.
Last up: Following Montana state Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) ratifying cannabis reform policy, anti-cannabis organizations in the state filed a dismissal of their lawsuit contesting a legalization initiative approved by voters.
Wrong For Montana and SAFE Montana says their suit is now irrelevant because Gov. Gianforte last month approved HB 701, a watershed bill that enacts and controls the recreational cannabis system approved by voters last year in a ballot measure and finances a substance abuse prevention system heralded by Gianforte.
The suit claimed that Initiative 190, which was passed by voters, was unlawful because it took some cannabis tax income, reportedly in violation of a section of the state Constitution that bars such action in voter initiatives. The court case was no longer necessary, according to Steve Zabawa, executive director of SAFE Montana, since the legislature was given the opportunity to allocate cannabis money, and also a parallel statute that forbids ballot initiatives from allocating funds.
“While we hoped to see this process proceed successfully, we instead will champion the work done in the legislature to pass HB 701 into law,” Zabawa said in a statement. “We are proud to say that as a result of HB 701, Montana will move forward with some of the tightest regulations on the marijuana industry in the country.”
