WeedLife News Network

The US House just reintroduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, an act that if passed, would help the cannabis industry have access to financial services.

Police in Pennsylvania made 20,200 arrests for marijuana possession in 2020, a year marked by the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent designation of cannabis businesses as essential services in many jurisdictions. Arrest data from the Pennsylvania State Police showed that an average of 55 adults were arrested for cannabis possession in the state every day last year. 

The data, which includes arrests by state and local police throughout the Keystone State, was acquired by Chris Goldstein, a regional coordinator with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Goldstein helped draft Philadelphia’s 2014 cannabis decriminalization ordinance, a move that was followed by action to reform marijuana laws in more than a dozen additional Pennsylvania cities, including the state capital of Harrisburg.

“Cannabis consumers were targeted even during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Goldstein said in a statement from NORML. “This shows just how aggressively prohibition is enforced, despite the unprecedented public health risks in our communities. It’s time to stop marijuana arrests, right now.”

The data from law enforcement shows that police in Pennsylvania made more arrests for marijuana possession than for all other illegal substances combined, which totaled 17,425 arrests. 

“Justice for marijuana doesn’t begin until arrests actually stop,” Goldstein added.

Florida's marijuana market consists of 22 Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs). Each center owns a vertically-integrated license that allows and requires them to grow, process, dispense, and deliver medical marijuana. Also, five laboratories are licensed to perform third-party testing of medical marijuana. 

In Florida, the medical marijuana license allows the current MMTCs to build out as big of a footprint as possible in preparation for adult use (recreational) legalization. This regulatory framework is unique from most other states, which provide specialized licenses and have a cap on the production of marijuana per license-holder.

Florida's market potential

The Total Available Market, or TAM, is one of the most critical factors for any industry. Due to marijuana being federally illegal, marijuana companies cannot ship marijuana across state lines. Thus, in the marijuana industry, the TAM is limited to the company's state. Florida's marijuana industry happens to have one of the strongest TAMs in the world.

As of December of 2020, Florida has more than 450,000 qualified patients, consistently increasing by almost 3,000 patients per week. Patient growth has made Florida the largest medical-marijuana market in the country by sales. More importantly, Florida has a population of more than 20 million and a tourist population of almost 150 million, which means it is positioned to be one of the largest marijuana markets in the world once adult-use regulations go into effect. Currently, there are almost 300 retail locations, with an expected 500 locations by the end of 2022, which will make Florida one of the most dominant markets in the world.

A full arsenal of products

In mid-2019, Senate Bill 182 became effective and allowed for the possession, use, or administration of smokable marijuana flower in Florida. In 2020, Florida established rules for the production of edibles. Demand for marijuana edibles is growing across the country due to the rise in product offerings, a smoke-free method of consumption, and a more sanitary consumption method when compared to smoking dried flower in a joint or bowl.

Delaware's latest marijuana bill focuses on keeping profits local, while at the same time promoting fairness and social equity.

Legislators said March 18 they crafted the bill based on what has been done in the 14 states that have already legalized marijuana – many plagued by out-of-state corporate interests and heavy regulation that cut into local profits.

“We have studied what's going on in the other states and we feel we have a pretty good bill,” said Rep. Ed Osienski, D-Newark.

Senate sponsor Sen. Trey Paradee, D-West Dover, said Delaware's approach is safe, smart and responsible. “We've seen what has worked and not worked,” he said.

House Bill 150 would make it legal for those 21 and older to sell and buy marijuana. A Marijuana Control Enforcement Tax of 15 percent would be levied on the retail product, and those who grow, manufacture and sell it would pay application and licensing fees.

The 2020 elections not only brought the U.S. a new president, but the electorate in four states also approved recreational marijuana.

Two more okayed medical marijuana, bringing the number of jurisdictions with those programs to 34. 

While CBD is legal on the federal level, states can legislate it themselves.

With cannabis illegal under federal law, and various states implementing their own guidelines about it, rules regarding CBD are murky.

Considerations complicating CBD’s legality are its intended use and source, as well as whether it should be used recreationally or medically.

After receiving a suspended sentence for possession of cannabis last year, Filip Dostovski walked out of the Skopje courthouse and lit a joint outside as cameras rolled.

It was an act of "revolt against their sentence and against their policy", said the 41-year-old cancer survivor, who is pushing for the free use of marijuana in North Macedonia.

The Balkan state is eyeing a chance to become a cannabis pioneer in Europe, as the government considers legalising marijuana in what would be a first on the continent.

But many worry about a lack of follow-through, a problem that has dogged the government's drug policy for the last five years.

Home to little over two million people, North Macedonia legalised the cultivation and sale of marijuana-derived medical products in 2016, hoping to get the edge in a fast-growing European market.

More than a year into the legal recreational marijuana industry in Illinois, a glaring omission remains among minority-owned businesses.

When Governor Pritzker and Springfield legislators pushed for recreational use of cannabis, they said they were doing so with an eye towards equity.  Dispensaries opened statewide on Jan. 1, 2020. Yet, 15 months later, no minority-owned cannabis businesses operate in the state.

Illinois’ cannabis business accounted for $1 billion in sales in its first year of legality. However, social equity remains a work in progress.

It is time that we stop treating cannabis like a street drug and start treating it like any other medicine or commodity in society.

Colorado has long been a shining beacon on how to legalize cannabis. Since they have officially gone green in 2012, they have been pioneering cannabis legislation and showing the world that if you legalize drugs — the apocalypse won’t come.

With some of the most inclusive and relaxed cannabis laws on the books, it’s no surprise that a new bill in Colorado would require schools to store cannabis-based medicines for students. Currently students may consume cannabis for medical purposes on school grounds as long as a legal Guardian provides them with the doses.

However, for working parents this is definitely a difficult thing to achieve. Especially when we’re talking about kids that require multiple doses during the day in order to manage their symptoms. For example, a child suffering from a seizure disorder requires multiple doses throughout the day in order to pacify any potential episodes.

This would completely inhibit any Guardian the ability to sustain any type of occupation other than that as the caregiver of the patient. In the instance of a parent that is working, it would be simply detrimental to the overall health and Wellness of the child. Especially if it’s inhibits the caretaker to earn a living.

The study of workers ages 40 to 62 found that cannabis had no adverse impact on productivity and offers workers a new, effective form of pain management therapy.

The slow unraveling of the many myths told about cannabis during decades of the War on Drugs continues. In the latest case, a new study has found that states where recreational marijuana is legal have seen a drop in the number of workers compensation cases.

The famed athlete is sponsored by Mendi, her sister's CBD company.

It is true that many, many professional athletes are involved in social causes and charities. But few, like Colin Kaepernick, engage to a level that puts their own comfort and career at risk.

One such person is Megan Rapinoe: Olympic gold medalist, two-time Women's World Cup champion, and 2019 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year.

Beyond her massive professional success, Megan is a feminist icon and an idol to many. In recent times, she’s become one of the faces of the equal pay movement, speaking up profusely on the issue in relation to the U.S. women’s soccer team during the last World Cup, capturing the attention of millions.

Fed-Ex and UPS are following suit after the PACT Act was passed by Congress.

Late in December 2020, Congress gave the go-signal to an appropriations bill called the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act (PACT), which prohibits the US Postal Service (UPS) from shipping both tobacco and cannabis vapor products.

Unfortunately, marijuana use can still disqualify you from getting hired, even in states with fully legal weed.

The embrace of marijuana reform and using CBD in wellness spaces could cause someone to think the stigma surrounding cannabis has disappeared. While that may be true from a cultural perspective—more than two out of every three Americans support cannabis legalization—you may want to reconsider if you’re looking for a job.

According to data from Simply Hired, more than 40% of hiring managers at mid-size companies and more than 51% at large companies say they still test for marijuana in the job application process. The anonymous survey, which included hiring managers at more than 700 companies, gives valuable insight into how companies truly view employees using cannabis. The majority of hiring managers said a job applicant would be immediately disqualify after testing positive for marijuana.

Legality of marijuana in the state also has little impact in determining cannabis policies at companies. Even in fully legal states, the majority of business maintain a marijuana policy for employees. According to the survey, this appears as an act of companies covering their own tail. While 75.4% of hiring managers say an employee would be fired for smoking weed at work, 68.4% also felt employee marijuana use was fine so long as companies didn’t know about it. Think of it as a don’t ask, don’t smoke on company property policy of sorts.

Photo by Matthew Henry via Burst

When this year started, I’d discussed when the United States was set to pursue the legalization of recreational cannabis. Cannabis use has ramped up in North American during the COVID-19 pandemic. Entrepreneurs and investors are scrambling to get in on the largest cannabis market on the planet. Today, I want to look at the best cannabis stocks to snatch up as U.S. legalization talks heat up.

Thailand. Some parts of the cannabis plant and the hemp plant are now exempted from the list of category V narcotics ("exempted cannabis" and "exempted hemp"). On 25 February 2021, the Thai Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) issued one of the highly anticipated notifications which amended the designation of foods which are prohibited from being produced, imported or sold (the "Prohibited Food Notification"). The Prohibited Food Notification no longer prohibits the use of exempted cannabis and exempted hemp in food products.

The Prohibited Food Notification repealed the previous MOPH notification that prohibited every part of the cannabis plant and the hemp plant from being used as food ingredients and amended the list of prohibited plants or parts of plants to remove exempted cannabis and exempted hemp from the list. Business operators will be able to use exempted cannabis and/or exempted hemp as an ingredient in food products in accordance with the applicable MOPH regulations to be issued in respect of the related food quality and standards.

Accordingly, another implementing regulation prescribing food products, food quality and standard of hemp seed, hemp seed oil, hemp seed protein and food supplement which contains hemp seed, hemp seed oil, and hemp seed protein as an ingredient (the "Hemp Seed Notification") was also issued on 4 March 2021 and became effective on the following day.

We expect additional implementing regulations with respect to hemp based food products to be issued soon.

We are closely monitoring this development and will keep you informed.

More than 1 in 10 opponents of legalization say they are likely to be a customer.

NEW YORK, March 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- While 61% of New York State residents support the legalization of adult-use recreational marijuana sales, more than half (52%) of those living in New York City would oppose its sale in their neighborhood. This disparity between general support and willingness to actually live near one is a significant problem when communities decide where, if anywhere, they want to allow marijuana retail sales. 

With 61% of New York state residents believing a community should have the right to "opt-out" and ban marijuana sales in their community all together, the battle to site facilities is likely to require extensive community outreach and education efforts.

"Legalization is only the beginning of the battle," said Patrick Fox, CEO of Consensus Strategies, a research and strategy firm with extensive experience in the siting of cannabis facilities, "The fight to find viable sites will be intense. We often hear from cannabis entrepreneurs who think that the level of support for legalization will translate into support for siting a retail or cultivation facility. It often does not."

Local zoning and planning authorities will have the ability to decide where retail and cultivation facilities will be able to locate within their communities. They can choose to allow them in higher visibility general retail zones treating them like a liquor store. They can relegate them to more obscure, lower profile areas like an industrial park and restrict signage and visibility or they can ban the use in their community completely. The majority of New Yorkers (53%) believe that marijuana retail should keep a low profile and locate outside of high visibility retail areas.

 Little Green Pharma has agreed to acquire two properties underlying its South West WA cultivation and manufacturing facilities as well as two adjacent properties.

IT'S been a big week for South West-based Little Green Pharma, with the medical cannabis company signing a binding agreement to acquire land for expansion and delivering its first shipment of medicinal cannabis oils into a French national medicinal cannabis trial.

LGP has agreed to acquire two properties underlying its South West cultivation and manufacturing facilities, as well as two adjacent properties, with a total land area of about 16,000 square metres.

The purchase is intended to help service higher-than-expected international market demand for LGP cannabis flower medicines, as well as the continued strong growth in demand for LGP's cannabis medicines in domestic markets.

Managing director Fleta Solomon said LGP had the ability to double its indoor cultivation capacity with 3000m2 available within its existing high-security fencing line.

State legislators seem to be highly motivated to push marijuana legalization through.

Lawmakers in New York are apparently close to a deal to make the state the latest to legalize recreational marijuana.

Leaders in Albany said Monday that a final version of the bill is imminent, and that it could be brought to a video perhaps as soon as next week.

Speaking at an event that day, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters that he spent the previous weekend on the phone with Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes.

“We’re very close on marijuana,” Cuomo said.

The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development has granted millions of dollars to fund cannabis equity grant programs.

Throughout the past year, there has been much talk about how to make things more equitable for people of color and marginalized communities, and a big part of that is providing equity programs and expungements to the cannabis industry, in order to right the wrongs perpetrated by the war on drugs. Now, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and some other California cities are making history with their Cannabis Equity Grant Programs.