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Could marijuana legalization be on its way to South Dakota? As if 2020 couldn’t get any stranger, a new poll suggests that voters in the Mount Rushmore State could be ready to take the leap.

The survey, conducted by South Dakota-based marketing firm Lawrence and Schiller and conservative pollster Public Opinion Strategies on behalf of a group opposed to legalization, found that about 60 percent of voters intend to vote for Constitutional Amendment A, a proposal to allow adults aged 21 and over to use marijuana. 

There is, however, a significant caveat to the data. Constitutional Amendment A is not the only pot-related proposal on South Dakota’s ballot this November. There is also Initiated Measure 26, which would make medical cannabis legal in the state.

The poll was organized by the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry on behalf of the group “No Way On A.”

“Going back to the numbers, we know that a significant portion of that majority for (legalized recreational marijuana use) thinks it’s related to medical,” Chamber President David Owen told the Argus Leader newspaper. 

It will be quite some time before we understand the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. But history tells us one important thing: during times of crisis, how an industry is regulated often affects its ability to adapt and survive or even gain advantage.

Take payments and banking. While most brick-and-mortar retailers have been instituting contactless transactions to meet changing customer expectations and prevent the spread of the virus, cannabis dispensaries in the U.S. are still largely operating with cash only. They cannot accept major credit cards because marijuana is illegal under federal law. And now they’re facing a nationwide coin shortage.

With the coronavirus crippling economic activity in the U.S., the circulation of coins has dropped off significantly. Hardest hit has been restaurants, laundromats, convenience stores, arcades, and supermarket chains—businesses that rely on the flow of paper currency and need to make change. Yet unlike dispensaries, these businesses can more easily accept alternative forms of payments. 

“We still can’t operate like other businesses, unfortunately,” says Jerry Millen, owner of the Greenhouse of Walled Lake, a fully licensed medical and recreational cannabis dispensary in Michigan.

“First we ran out of pennies,” Millen says of the coin shortage. “We didn’t want to gouge the patient or the customer, so we rounded [transactions] down, which didn’t cost us a whole lot. But then we started running out of quarters, and suddenly we started to feel an impact.”

Two County Cavan farmers believe that growing hemp could help bring life back to rural Ireland. 

Kim Kindersley and Michael Ó Lionsaigh have been producing CBD oil from their hemp crops as global demand for the oil increases due to its perceived medical qualities. 

Both farmers believe that the cannabis plant, which is one of the oldest cultivated crops in Ireland, could help reinvigorate rural Ireland and Irish farming. 

Hemp was once extensively grown in Ireland to produce ropes, riggings and sails for ships at a time when sailing was the chief mode of transport. 

Now, the plant is used to make CBD oil, which consists of less than 0.3% THC. THC is a psychoactive that produces the highs associated with cannabis use. 

A nearly three-year-old case, Washington v. Barr, which pits former NFL star Marvin Washington and plaintiffs against Attorney General William Barr, received a boost this week.

A slew of organizations, including the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Americans for Safe Access and U.S. law firm Ansell Grimm & Aaron have joined the fight, filing amicus briefs in the case, which challenge the constitutionality of weed’s Schedule 1 status.

If the Supreme Court of the United States chooses to hear the case, it could change U.S. drug policy.

“Patients today face an untenable choice,” cannabis attorney Joshua Bauchner said in a statement. “They can either risk federal prosecution for using medical cannabis in accordance with state and local laws at the advice of their doctors, or risk serious, even fatal, health consequences. This is an unacceptable trade-off that no one should be forced to make any longer,” Bauchner argued.

Ansell, Grimm & Aaron are representing five organizations with a vested interest in the case, including Athletes for CARE, a non-profit of former pro athletes turned cannabis advocates, After The Impact Fund, an organization that helps military vets and ex-athletes receive treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, among other conditions, and NFL Sisters in Service, Inc., a non-profit comprised of the spouses, daughters and mothers of current and former NFL players who advocate on behalf of those players.

Zimbabwe has announced the rules for growing cannabis, as the country seeks to boost foreign currency revenue and benefit from the rapidly growing industry.

Anxious Masuka, the agriculture minister, under regulations published in a government gazette said three types of permits can be issued for growers, researchers and industrial hemp merchants.

Growers are only allowed to cultivate, market and sell industrial hemp and researchers may cultivate for research purposes. A merchant can contract individual farmers, procure and process industrial hemp into a specified product.

Prior to the new rule people found growing cannabis in Zimbabwe were liable to a jail term of up to 12-years.

From hash to heroin, Hong Kong has a reputation for being hard on drugs. But one business has managed to work its way around the region’s strict cannabis prohibition laws.

Found Café will offer a plethora of snacks and beverages such as biscuits, coffee, tea, juices, and even beer spiked with varying doses of CBD, Sky News reports.

Short for cannabidiol, CBD is a psychoactive but non-intoxicating compound derived from the cannabis plant that has exploded in popularity across the globe over the past few years.

The cannabinoid is used therapeutically for a variety of symptoms and ailments, ranging from inflammation to anxiety.

Patrons hoping for a high, however, will be disappointed to learn that none of the café’s offerings will include THC — tetrahydrocannabinol, the intoxicating compound in cannabis — which would cause the business to run afoul of local drug laws.

The passage of this bipartisan bill would help raise the quality and safety of hemp products, and thus, protect consumers.

Last week, Oregon Representative Kurt Schrader (D) and Virginia Representative Morgan Griffith (R) introduced The Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act of 2020 (“H.R. 8179”). If enacted in its current form, H.R. 8179 would legalize the manufacture, sale and marketing of hemp, hemp-derived cannabidiol and other hemp extracts (collectively referred to as “Hemp Products”) as dietary supplements under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”).

This means that these products would be exempt from the FDCA’s “Drug Exclusion Rule,” which, as we previously discussed, currently prevents the sale and marketing of any substance that has been approved or investigated by the FDA as a new drug as a conventional food or dietary supplement – In July 2018, the FDA approved CBD as a drug ingredient in Epidiolex.

To be compliant with the FDCA, these Hemp Products would need to meet the existing regulatory framework imposed on dietary supplements. This comprehensive regulatory framework mandates, in part, that these products be safe as well as properly labeled and marketed.

Because Hemp Products were not sold and marketed in the U.S. as dietary supplements or conventional foods before October 15, 1994, they would be deemed “new dietary ingredients” or “NDIs”.

All eyes are on the race between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, but South Dakotans have much more at stake on the ballot than just the presidential race.

Marijuana has remained a big conversation all over America with several states legalizing it in recent years.

In November, South Dakota voters will decide whether they want it legal. There are two proposals.

Amendment A would legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana and require the Legislature to pass laws regarding hemp as well as laws ensuring access to marijuana for medical use. Supporters said it would only be for adults 21 and older and would bring new revenue to the state, create new jobs, and would reduce arrests and criminal prosecutions.

Opponents argue that marijuana is highly addictive and can have long-term health consequences.

Five years after the legalization of cannabis in Washington, D.C., racial bias is still prevalent in arrests for marijuana-related offenses in the nation’s capital, according to an analysis of police records by the Washington Post. Between 2015 and 2019, nearly 90% of those arrested for cannabis-related crimes in Washington, D.C. were Black, although African-Americans make up only 45% of the city’s population and multiple studies have shown comparable rates of marijuana use among white people and Black people.

In 2014, voters in Washington, D.C. approved Initiative 71, a ballot measure that permitted possession of up to two ounces of marijuana by adults 21 and older. The initiative also allowed adults to gift up to one ounce of weed to other adults and for the home cultivation of up to six cannabis plants. Support for the measure was bolstered by a 2013 report from the American Civil Liberties Union that showed starkly disparate enforcement of the nation’s marijuana laws, including in Washington, D.C. where Black people were eight times as likely as white people to be arrested for possession.

But Republicans in Congress, flexing their power over the city’s budget, blocked Washington from eliminating penalties on public consumption and cannabis sales. That led police in the city to continue “buy and bust” operations and other law enforcement actions aimed at marijuana.

“The goal was to not only eliminate the criminality associated with cannabis but to establish a regulatory system for distribution,” G. Malik Burnett, a leader of the effort to reform Washington’s cannabis policy, told the Post. “When there’s a gray area, police are able to enforce what they feel they should enforce.”

Between 2015 and 2019, D.C. Metro Police made 3,631 arrests for marijuana-related offenses.

In this article, Eleri Williams, Associate at Hill Dickinson Life Sciences team, sets out an overview of the current legal and regulatory position on the import and export of medical cannabis to and from the UK.

While doctors are now allowed to prescribe medicinal cannabis in certain circumstances, many patients, particularly those who seek prescriptions through the NHS, still face an uphill struggle in obtaining this medicine, which can effectively treat or alleviate the symptoms of some medical conditions.

One of the many hurdles to overcome is the slow and bureaucratic process of importing medicinal cannabis, which runs paradoxically to the UK’s position as the world’s largest exporter. In recognition of this difficulty and the detrimental effect on patients, in March 2020 the UK government alleviated some of the import restrictions to allow patients easier access to medical cannabis once medically prescribed.

Legal overview

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 prohibits and criminalises various activities relating to controlled drugs in the UK, including the importation and exportation, production, supply and possession of cannabis and associated products. These activities can, however, be undertaken with an appropriate licence from the Home Office.

A definitive list of the different types of licence available is contained in the Misuse of Drugs (Licence Fees) Regulations 2010, which sets out the fees to be paid in respect of the different types of licence. Individual licences for the importation and exportation of cannabis can be obtained, though applicants may also be required to hold a domestic licence. Home Office guidance is available to applicants on the process for applying for import/export licences – National Drugs Control System – Guide for Users (October 2017).

Democrats in the House of Representatives postponed a planned vote next week on marijuana legalization following a backlash from moderate Democrats.

The legislation, the MORE Act, would legalize marijuana at the federal level and expunge some marijuana-related criminal records, though it left the decision on the sale of marijuana up to the states.

According to a senior Democratic aide, lawmakers in tough re-election contests wanted the House to first pass COVID-19 relief before acting on marijuana legalization.

Another senior Democratic aide said a group of moderate Democrats had made the case to party leadership that they wanted to focus on legislation other than pot legalization given the risks posed at the ballot box – and their argument won over party leaders. 

The MORE Act would probably not come up until after the election, according to twoaides.  

Medical cannabis expert Dr Sandra Carrillo details the history and future of medical cannabis in Colombia.

Dr Sandra Carrillo is a medical doctor and renowned expert in the medical use of cannabis and cannabinoids, with certifications in cannabis medicine from the University of Puerto Rico’s School of Pharmacology and Oaksterdam University in California.

She is a leading advocate of cannabis legalisation in Panama, where she has appeared as an expert witness at several sessions of the government’s Health Commission responsible for devising and implementing policy and regulation on medical cannabis. In Colombia, she is President of the Medical Colombian Association of Medical Cannabis (ASOMEDCCAM), which advocates evidence-based education on the medical applications of cannabis for doctors and patients. Dr Carrillo details the history and future of medical cannabis policy and education in Colombia.

Regulation and licensing

On 6 July 2016 the Congress of the Republic of Colombia approved Law 1787, under which a regulatory framework was created that would allow safe and informed access for the medical and scientific use of cannabis and its derivatives. This law was driven by former Senator Juan Manuel Galán, to open new health and wellness options for patients. It further promoted the creation and development of a new industry in the economic sector of the country, thanks to the unique advantages that Colombia offers through its privileged geographical location, climatic conditions, skilled labour, and agricultural traditions.

Through Decree 613, enacted in 2017, a regulatory framework was set out for the beginning of this new industry. The decree stipulated guidelines for the appropriate evaluation, monitoring and control of the cultivation and processing of cannabis and its derivatives, for medical and scientific purposes.

It’s been over nine months since Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Hemp Extract bill into law and businesses are wondering where the regulations are.

Those with Beak & Skiff in Lafayette, along with reps from the New York Cannabis Growers and Processors Association, held a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Businesses have not only invested in equipment but workers have as well. They are all looking on the state to see where to go from here.

“So we can have a framework to operate our businesses effectively, safe and continue to produce the crops and produce the products that our customers and people throughout New York have come to love,” said Eddie Brennan, president at Beak & Skiff.

Companies said that the regulations are needed to ensure a fair playing field for all involved.

A number of mothers, each with a severely epileptic child, are today holding a vigil outside the offices of the Department of Health & Social Care, the London headquarters of NHSE, the Scottish Parliament, and the Welsh Assembly.

The mothers are protesting as medical cannabis is the only medication that works for managing their children’s symptoms but they have been denied NHS prescriptions despite medical cannabis being legalised in November 2018.

No help for families

Private prescriptions, which can cost thousands of pounds, are the only option available to the families, which are unable to obtain medical cannabis through the NHS. The UK Government has told them that it will not offer financial support, despite the devolved administration in Northern Ireland recently stepping in to supporting a family there.

A spokesman for the End Our Pain Campaign said: “Everyone involved from the Government and NHS side says they want to help, but the months drag on and these families have not had any help. Some of the doctors in the leading medical professional bodies constantly say that they want more evidence that medical cannabis works and is safe. What they fail to acknowledge is that these families have got the best evidence of all that it works for their child.

“They have been securing and administering it for months now with dramatic improvements in their children’s wellbeing. Some of the children have gone from being exceptionally ill to going a year seizure free. Given what appears to have happened in Northern Ireland we are pleading with Matt Hancock and the health ministers Jeane Freeman MSP in Scotland and Vaughan Gething MS in Wales to find a way to make this work in their jurisdictions.”

Experts have been predicting marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania since at least as early as 2013, more than a year after the first few states in the U.S. legalized recreational adult use. The state didn’t make medical marijuana legal until 2016 and patients didn’t gain full access to medical marijuana in dispensaries until two years after that. All in all, it’s been a long journey, that some now believe may come to an end with recreational marijuana being legalized in the state thanks to the life-disrupting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While several Pennsylvania legislators have fought against or failed to get marijuana legalization passed, current governor Tom Wolf was the one who ultimately signed medical marijuana into law in 2016, making Pennsylvania one of 33 states to legalize medical cannabis. This is why, in August, when Wolf called on the legislature to legalize recreational marijuana, our ears perked up a bit.

Eleven states and Washington, D.C. have legalized cannabis for adult use. Could the man who garnered enough support for medical marijuana do the same to finally eliminate the prohibition of adult recreational use?

Some argue Republican and Democratic leaders are still too divided on the issue to see anything passed. Others say the one thing that makes the conversation different this time is COVID-19. The pandemic has left the state with a gaping $4 billion budget shortfall. Filling that budgetary hole has become a priority for lawmakers across party lines and revenues from taxes on legal marijuana sales could mean an influx of tax dollars to help make up the shortage.

“In challenging times like these, foregoing the chance to boost small business, minority entrepreneurship, employment and state tax revenue can hardly be passed up. That is true now more than ever,” executive vice president of the National Association of Cannabis Businesses Mark Gorman said in a recent statement.

Celebrations for medical cannabis access being added to Nebraska’s ballot in November turned out to be very short-lived. But the fight goes on.

There is no medical marijuana program in Nebraska currently and no other allowances for patients. That may have changed after the November election.

Late last month we reported Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana had announced its amendment supporting patient access to medical marijuana would appear on the November ballot. More than 182,000 petition signatures were delivered to support the initiative. However, the group expected a legal fight to keep it there and certainly got one.

Late last week, the Nebraska Supreme Court issued an opinion to remove the constitutional amendment from the ballot. Five judges ruled against the amendment’s inclusion and two supported it.

The amendment being dropped was based on a constitutional requirement that all proposed initiatives must be a “single subject”, to avoid voter confusion and attempts to have two separate and different issues being rolled into one to get something over the line. It appears the amendment was viewed to have multiple subjects, the right to access medical marijuana for medical purposes – and supply. But you can’t really have one without the other.

Marijuana possession arrests in the state of Texas dropped 30% in 2019 compared to the previous year, according to data recently released by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).

Texas legalized hemp last year, forcing law enforcement officials to drop low-level marijuana cases across the state due to the crop being virtually indistinguishable from the psychoactive and illegal form of cannabis. 

In order to prosecute someone for marijuana possession, a test proving the seized plant contains a THC content above 0.3% would need to be carried out.

However, as most crime labs in Texas are unable to perform potency tests, prosecutors have been dumping cases involving the possession of small amounts of potential weed, which is punishable with up to 180 days in prison or a $2,000 fine. 

The data released by the DPS showed there were roughly 63,000 marijuana prosecutions in Texas in 2018. Last year, the number dropped to 45,000 as the new law legalizing hemp took effect. Meanwhile, cannabis manufacturing arrests fell from 2,700 to 1,900 during the same period. 

This has been an unforgettably difficult year for many Americans. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has cost lives, jobs, and completely upended our normal societal habits. But amid this chaos is the reality that, in just 51 days, Americans across the country will head to their local voting booth or mail in their ballots to decide who'll lead this country for the next four years.

Keep in mind that it's not just the presidency or the make-up of Congress that'll be decided on November 3, 2020. Residents in six states will be heading to the polls to decide if marijuana will be legalized from an adult-use or medical standpoint.

We entered 2020 with two-thirds of all states having legalized medical pot, along with 11 states that have legalized the consumption and/or retail sale of recreational weed. By the time the November election is over, there could be as many as two new states to legalize medical marijuana and up to four new states that might wave the green flag on adult-use cannabis.

Here are the five states guaranteed to be voting on marijuana in November.

New Jersey

All the way back in mid-December 2019, New Jersey became the first state to guarantee that there would be a marijuana initiative on its November ballot. Interestingly, New Jersey appeared to be very close to legalizing recreational cannabis at the legislative level during the first quarter of 2019. However, momentum for a legislative approval was derailed by a late push for certain social reforms.