Medicinal Cannabis Flower Sales Begin In Minnesota

Sales of medicinal cannabis flower began in Minnesota on Monday, giving the state’s medical marijuana patients a new and more affordable option to access their medicine of choice. The Minnesota Department of Health announced in February that cannabis flower would be added to the state’s medical marijuana program, which until this week only permitted patients to use processed cannabis products such as extracts, distillates, capsules, and topicals.

Chris Tholkes, the director of Minnesota’s Office of Medical Cannabis, said that the addition of cannabis flower was made primarily to make medical marijuana products more affordable for patients. With manufacturing costs included in the cost of processed cannabis products, they are generally more expensive than dried and cured cannabis flower. Regulators expect the addition of cannabis flower to the medical marijuana program to result in a spike in the number of registered patients.

“It gives patients a much more affordable access point to the medicine that cannabis provides,” said Dr. Kyle Kingsley, the CEO of Vireo Health of Minnesota. “Many patients switching from our more standard products to flower will be able to save about 50 percent on a monthly basis to treat their various medical conditions.”

Patricia Gates was one of the first patients to purchase cannabis flower at the Green Goods medical dispensary in downtown Minneapolis on Monday. She agreed that the new option is much more affordable, saying the change will significantly impact her monthly budget.

“So this is going to save me probably upwards of 400 or more,” Gates told local media. “So I see this as a huge blessing … huge blessing!”

Gates had a shingles infection in her ear in 2017 that resulted in Ramsy Hunt syndrome, a condition that causes her constant pain and has left half of her face paralyzed. Before beginning treatment with medicinal cannabis oil and tablets two years ago, she was taking 18 daily prescriptions. Cannabis is much more effective, but a full month’s supply cost $800, an amount unaffordable for Gates. As a result, she often had to make do with less.

“This particular chemical has literally saved my life every day since June of 2019 when I was certified on the registry,” said Gates.

“This is really exciting for cannabis patients,” she added. “I’m not even kidding—this is, like, huge!”

Minnesota Patient Roster Expected to Spike

Based on the experience of other states with legal cannabis, the health department said last month that it expects patient enrollment in the medical marijuana program, which currently stands at about 30,000 patients, to likely double or even triple. The agency cited an October 2021 survey of registered patients in which 71 percent of respondents said they were either very likely or somewhat likely to try smokable cannabis flower if it was made available.

“We did a price point study in 2019, and the average cost for a patient in a month is a little over $300,” said Tholkes. “I think we’re going to see a very sharp increase now that we have lowered the cost for folks.”

Under the new regulations, medical dispensaries will offer pre-packaged, dried cannabis flower and pre-rolled joints in a variety of strains and cannabinoid potency levels. Registered patients will be able to purchase up to a 90-day supply of cannabis at one time. Before purchasing cannabis flower, however, patients must first complete a consultation with a medical dispensary pharmacist to change the type of cannabis they receive. Patients have the option of either in-person or virtual consultations to satisfy the requirement.

“In preparation for the change, registered patients interested in smokable cannabis can make an appointment for a consultation with a medical cannabis dispensary pharmacist beginning February 1, so they will be pre-approved to buy pre-packaged dried flower and pre-rolls once available,” the department of health wrote in its statement from last month’s announcement of the change. 

Smokable cannabis flower will only be available to patients and caregivers aged 21 and older who are registered with the state’s medical cannabis program. Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm urged patients who are considering switching to cannabis flower to seek the advice of a health care professional before making the change.

“Patients need to weigh the risks of smoking medical cannabis, including those related to secondhand smoke and lung health, with any potential benefits,” said Malcolm. “Smokable cannabis may not be right for everyone; patients should have a conversation with their health care practitioner for guidance.”

The Minnesota Department of Health also announced last month that medical patients will have another new option later this year, noting that edible cannabis products including gummies and chews will become available on August 1. The change in regulations was made last year during an annual petition and comment process that the MDH uses to solicit public input on potential additions to qualifying medical conditions and cannabis delivery methods.

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Bill To Legalize Pot Dies in South Dakota Legislature––For Now

A proposal in the South Dakota legislature to legalize recreational pot finally cleared one hurdle last week only to be stymied by another on Monday. 

But the legislation, Senate Bill 3, may not be completely dead just yet, much to the joy of advocates. 

The bill, which sought to uphold a ballot proposal that was passed by voters in 2020 but later nullified by the courts, was approved by a single vote in the South Dakota state Senate last week. But that momentum proved to be short-lived.

On Monday, members of the the House State Affairs Committee rejected the bill by a vote of 8-3, although according to local television station KELO, “rumors speculate it could be brought back to life on the House floor later in the week.”

The bill represents just the latest twist in what has become a years-long saga surrounding legalization in the Mount Rushmore State. 

In 2020, voters there passed a pair of measures at the ballot dealing with cannabis: Amendment A, a proposed change to the state constitution to legalize recreational pot for adults aged 21 and older, as well as hemp and medicinal cannabis; and Initiated Measure, which sought to legalize only medicinal cannabis. 

But Amendment A faced resistance from the state’s Republican governor, Kristi Noem, almost immediately after the ballots were counted.

Noem and a pair of law enforcement officials challenged the amendment in court and, in February of last year, a judge in South Dakota ruled in their favor. In November, a day before Thanksgiving, the state’s Supreme Court upheld that ruling, saying that Amendment A violated the South Dakota Constitution’s “one subject” requirement. 

Supporters of Senate Bill 3 argued last week that the proposal represented a chance for lawmakers to effectively get ahead of voters on the issue, with advocates preparing to get a recreational pot proposal on the South Dakota ballot again this year.

“This is your opportunity to take control of the issue,” one of the bill’s sponsors, Republican state Senator David Wheeler, said last week. “This bill is your opportunity to do what the people said they wanted in Amendment A.”

“The train on marijuana is only moving in one direction nationwide,” he added. “It is better for us to get ahead of it.”

But the bill always faced an uphill climb in the state House, which, like the state Senate, is dominated by Republicans. 

“That hasn’t been very favorable in the House,” state House Majority Leader Kent Peterson said last week. “I would assume that’s going to have a decently tough path going forward.”

The legislative session is slated to wrap up next week, but the Associated Press reports that advocates of the legalization bill have “vowed to mount a last-ditch effort to resurrect the proposal on the House floor—a move called a smoke out that would require widespread support from House Republicans.”

The vote against Senate Bill 3 wasn’t the only action that the House committee took on cannabis this week. According to the Argus Leader newspaper, the committee also “advanced a separate measure that repeals portions of the medical marijuana law adopted by voters in 2020.”

The measure would eliminate language in the current medical cannabis law that “allows individuals without certification from the state’s Department of Health who are arrested for small amounts of cannabis to claim what’s known as an ‘affirmative defense’ in front of a judge,” the newspaper reported.

“In other words, marijuana possession charges can be dismissed by a court if a defendant can show they have conditions that qualify them for a medical marijuana card,” the Argus Leader said.

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France Moves to Begin Cultivating Medical Cannabis

March 1 may not go down in history as a revolutionary date in France—like, say, the July standbys such as Bastille or Independence Day—but it will still stand as a significant one in the world of cannabis. 

The French government has finally seen the light and announced that medical cannabis is here to stay. They have, as a result, now agreed to a decree authorizing the medical cultivation, manufacture, and distribution of medical cannabis in the country as of today.

The move has been a long time coming, particularly given the forward motion of another large economy, Germany, which kicked off this process, albeit messily, in the spring of 2017. Nevertheless, several promises at a national level later, German confirmation of a recreational market in the offing (along with several other EU countries implementing one—see Malta and Luxembourg), not to mention COVID and a national lawsuit that ended up changing EU policy on CBD, the French have arrived.

Medical cannabis will, in the future, be cultivated in France, along with the establishment of a medical supply chain.

Now, as the Germans have already found out, the real fun begins.

Quelle Fromage!

There are likely to be all sorts of contretemps over interpretation by an industry tired of endless loopholes. There are also going to be interesting challenges to a law clearly written to favor the pharmaceutical industry if not create a medically certified (EU-GMP) supply chain.

Here is the first twist. According to Article 2, the production, including cultivation, manufacture, transport, import, export, possession, offering, acquisition, and use of cannabis in France, are still prohibited unless a medical authorization has been specifically issued by the relevant authorities—in this case, the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products. 

Look for all the same issues in Germany, plus a few more, as the French now move to establish the domestic medical cannabis industry.

This means that the biggest public Canadian companies which have not already done so, are going to establish at least some kind of foothold in France. The national medical trial kicked off last year where corporate participants had to donate meds and equipment. It also means, no doubt, that there will be entries into the market by other pharmaceutical firms, if not a rush to set up domestic distribution companies (just as has already occurred in Deutschland).

What this all leaves very unclear however, is whether the French authorities will continue to accept flower cannabis as medicine. Given the language of the resolution, however, specifically “only growers who have contracted to supply their production (to a licensed and authorized manufacturer) may cultivate cannabis plants for the purpose of manufacturing medicines,” it appears that flower may be on the way out. Unless, of course, someone sues first.

What has France got Against Cannabis Flower?

It seems very clear that whoever is writing official French cannabis policy right now failed to get the memo that France just lost a war on the banning of the CBD flower front.

In January, in fact, while trying to establish the regulatory environment for a CBD market in the wake of both the Kanavape case and an EU decision on the matter, the French government was slapped down by the nation’s highest court (at least temporarily) when the authorities also tried to ban the sale of CBD flower.

Don’t think such a decision has gone unnoticed at any federal French agency. This is either sloppiness or, more realistically, a final attempt to cut off the flower discussion at a federal level for both THC and CBD. 

Don’t expect the industry to sit this one out, particularly having just won several major victories.

Pharmaceutical Interests vs. the Rest of the Industry

Here is the thing to remember. The forces arraigned against the plant are moving in lockstep, and this position is increasingly falling out with court challenges. Such legal showdowns are likely to be necessary everywhere, and France, so far, has been one prime example of that, and at an EU level. 

That beats the record, so far, of other challenges launched from other sovereign countries in the bloc. See the failed attempts of the Spanish cannabis club industry last year at the same nosebleed level. In fact, so far, the Spanish industry (in direct comparison) has yet to succeed legally even at a federal one. Perhaps, unlike the French, the Spanish already have tried to cut off the entire recreational discussion by (so far) allowing a limited number of cultivation licenses.

Indeed, that is the strategy Germany tried to take—and ended up with large public Canadian companies instead, not to mention a new government which has been essentially forced into moving forward on recreational reform, no matter how slowly it is dragging its feet.

It is not clear who would move into this slot in France, but with cultivation footprints now firmly established in other EU countries (including Portugal, Denmark, and Deutschland) it is highly unlikely that these folks will be focused on domestic cultivation in France in quite the same way as they were back in 2017.

This is also what the French government intended. European leaders and regulatory agencies are so far not seeing cannabis as an economic development.

However, as history (including in France) has long taught, incremental moves in the face of an overwhelming political, medical, and social paradigm shift rarely hold the dam for long.

This development in other words, no matter how overdue, may not be exactly the storming of the Bastille, but, perhaps, will finally light the powder keg.

Vive la cannabis revolution!

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New Hampshire Poll Finds 74 Percent of Residents Approve of Legalization

Seventy-four percent of New Hampshire survey participants share that they support recreational cannabis legalization, and 68 percent approve of a specific cannabis bill that would place the New Hampshire Liquor Commission in charge of regulating sales.

A recent poll was released on February 25 by the Granite State Poll and published by the University of New Hampshire. Among polled topics such as congressional redistricting, yearly car inspections, and the current job performance of Governor Chris Sununu, poll participants were asked their current stance on cannabis legalization. Results reveal that more than two thirds of residents support cannabis legalization bills that are currently being proposed.

Two cannabis-related polls were presented to participants. One explored the opinion of a recently introduced cannabis legalization bill, and the other asked what if the individual approved or opposed legalization overall.

House Bill 1598 was recently approved in the New Hampshire House of Representatives on February 16. Referencing this, Granite State Poll survey asked participants if they want to see recreational cannabis legalization, and require statewide sales regulation to be managed by the New Hampshire Liquor Commission. “More than two-thirds (68 percent) of respondents are strongly (47 percent) or somewhat (21 percent) in support of this bill, 20 percent are somewhat (five percent) or strongly (15 percent) opposed to it, 11 percent are neutral, and two percent are unsure,” the poll states. Furthermore, the political party breakdown shows that 79 percent of Democrats, 68 percent of Independents and 56 percent Republicans are also in favor of this particular bill.

The legalization poll that was presented to determine the participants’ support or opposition of cannabis legalization also revealed strong support. “Support for legalizing marijuana generally in New Hampshire has increased dramatically in the past decade,” the poll stated. “In 2013, Granite Staters were split nearly evenly, with 49 percent in support of legalizing marijuana and 45 percent opposed. Today, nearly three-quarters (74 percent) support legalizing marijuana and only 15 percent are opposed.”

Previously in poll results, the divide between support and opposition was not as wide. The first differing gap is shown as presented sometime between 2014 and 2015, reflecting a 59 percent approval and 34 percent opposition. Between 2015-2016, the results bounced back slightly with 54 percent approval and 37 percent opposition. However, subsequent polls over the last few years show a significant increase in New Hampshire cannabis support and interest.

Data to create this poll was pulled from 1,081 Granite State Panel Members who completed the survey online, which consists of a varied diversity of people of different genders, age ranges, locations political parties and more. Each individual was tasked to answer questions between February 18-22, 2022. Additionally, 7,500 New Hampshire residents who were contacted through randomly-selected landlines or cell phone numbers.

House Bill 1598 was last discussed nearly two weeks ago, which resulted in a floor vote of 235-119. The bill’s sponsor, Representative Daryl Abbas, believes that the bill is “a compromise by many who favor recreational cannabis and many who like me that have traditionally opposed recreational cannabis. [It] creates a policy like no other state that works for and serves the people of New Hampshire,” Abbas said during the floor discussion. “The time for talking is over. It’s time for us together to take action and to deliver this.” The bill will have its next hearing on March 3, and will need to pass through both the House Finance Committee to reach the Senate for further consideration.

While recreational cannabis is still up in the air for New Hampshire, the state’s medical cannabis received an upgrade last year in May 2021 when Governor Sununu passed House Bill 89. Effective as of July 2021, the law allows physicians to authorize patients who suffer from moderate or severe insomnia, as well as those who have autism, to use medical cannabis.

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Maryland House Approves Legalization Bills

On Friday, Maryland’s House of Delegates approved two bills designed to legalize recreational marijuana. Under the measures, Maryland voters will decide if marijuana should be legalized, leaving lawmakers to then draft the details for regulating a commercial cannabis industry.

“We’re at the beginning of an important process where we begin to look again at how we have treated the substance—cannabis,” Democratic Delegate Luke Clippinger, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee and the sponsor of the legislation, told his colleagues in the House.

He made note of the “thousands and thousands and thousands of people we have incarcerated because of it,” adding that “those thousands of incarcerations have not made us any safer.”

The legislation approved by lawmakers last week includes House Bill 837, a measure that would legalize possession of up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis for adults and create an equitable path to cannabis legalization, according to Clippinger. The bill would also allow adults to cultivate up to two cannabis plants at home.

House Bill 837 will go into effect if voters approve House Bill 1, a cannabis legalization constitutional amendment ballot measure planned for the November general election. The legislation is based on the findings of the House Cannabis Referendum and Legalization Workgroup, which began working on a legalization plan in September.

The measures were approved by the House of Delegates after a second reading on February 23, clearing the way for Friday’s final vote. HB 1 was passed by a margin of 96-34, while HB 837 was approved with a vote of 92-37. 

Maryland Legislation Includes Social Equity Measures

House Majority Leader Eric Luedtke expressed his support for the legislation, noting that HB 837 includes social equity provisions to help address the harm caused by decades of cannabis prohibition.

“We’re going to be doing some work to expunge past cannabis crimes, to reduce penalties in this period before we get a legal industry set up, and also do the work necessary to make sure that Black-owned businesses in particular and minority-owned businesses more generally have a real opportunity to participate in the industry,” Luedtke said on a radio program on Friday after the vote. 

“Given that the drug war was disproportionately prosecuted against communities of color, we’re extremely committed that everybody has a chance to benefit from a legalized recreational cannabis industry.”

Both measures were approved largely along party lines. Delegate Gabriel Acevero, one of the few Democrats to vote against HB 837, said the bill should include stronger restorative justice provisions.

“It is not enough for us to acknowledge the harm that is done to communities by the intentional war on drugs,” Acevero told the House. “It is not enough for us to address the criminal legal aspect of cannabis legalization for the communities that have been harmed. What is equally as important is that we repair the harm that was done to the communities that have been disproportionately impacted. And unfortunately, that bill does not do that.”

But some Maryland cannabis policy reform advocates believe that substantial progress on the issue is more important than crafting perfect legislation. Olivia Naugle, a legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project, said earlier this year that “I think the biggest thing is, we don’t want to see any more delay.” 

“The longer we delay the longer Maryland is going to continue to subject its residents to police interactions, arrests and criminalization for cannabis, which is now legal in 18 states,” Naugle said in an interview earlier this year.

Before Friday’s vote, Republican House Minority Whip Haven Shoemaker argued against the proposal, noting that studies on impaired driving and the health effects of cannabis will not be conducted until after the constitutional amendment is passed. He said that the legislation is akin to “putting the marijuana cart before the proverbial horse” and is not “quite ready for prime time.”

“If you think it is, maybe you’re smoking something, I’m not sure, but I’ll be voting no,” Shoemaker added.

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Medical Cannabis Tracking System Set to Launch in Oklahoma

Medical cannabis businesses in Oklahoma have about three months to get in line with the state’s “seed-to-sale” tracking system after a lawsuit that had delayed its implementation finally reached a settlement late last week.

The Oklahoman reported that attorneys who had filed a lawsuit regarding the constitutionality of the system said Friday that they “had reached an agreement with the state, clearing the way for the state to move forward.”

Oklahoma lawmakers approved the tracking system in 2019, a year after voters in the state passed an initiative at the ballot to legalize medical cannabis. 

Implementation of the system, which was designed to ensure that production of medical cannabis was in compliance with the state’s law, was postponed last spring after a group of medical cannabis businesses challenged it in court.

The dispensaries contended that they should not be subject to fees and other financial obligations associated with the tracking system and METRC LLC, the company with which the state contracted to implement the system. 

Ron Durbin, an attorney for a cannabis business that brought the lawsuit, also called out the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) for its implementation of the program, which he said came as a result of “backdoor rulemaking.”

“I’m arguing those are not the way you adopt regulations, and the regulations don’t require any of this,” Durbin said in June. “If that’s the case, we’re back to where I said we should be, which is: Go adopt some lawfully appropriate regulations to implement your seed-to-sale tracking program. OMMA has way over complicated this. Quite frankly, they dropped the ball and didn’t do their job in getting regulations done.”

Now with an agreement struck between the plaintiffs and the state, the tracking system is set to launch in 90 days, according to The Oklahoman. 

“It’s going to help us with that chain of custody of every single product in the state,” said Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority Director Adria Berry, as quoted by The Oklahoman. “If there is a product that is not in the seed-to-sale tracking system, then it is not legal—and we will be able to discover that quickly.”

According to The Oklahoman, Durbin “said he and the state’s attorney agreed this week to compromise on most of the issues raised in the lawsuit,” and that under the order signed by the judge, “all medical marijuana licensees have 90 days to become compliant with the tracking system.”

The agreement represents a major breakthrough for the Sooner State’s medical cannabis program. It also comes at a time when activists in Oklahoma are looking to take the next step in cannabis reform and bring more access to the state.

Voters in the state could see two different recreational pot proposals on the ballot in November, with the latest petition drive launched at the start of the year.

That campaign centers around a proposed initiative to “impose a 15 percent excise tax on recreational cannabis sales and includes a criminal justice element that would make the new law apply retroactively, which would allow some drug offenders to have their convictions reversed and records expunged,” The Oklahoman reported at the time.

In October, a group called Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action filed its own petition for a ballot proposal to legalize recreational pot for adults 21 and older.

“A lot of this is stuff that has been advocated for by a lot of folks in the community and industry over the last three years, and I don’t see it’s going to make it through the legislative process any time soon,” Jed Green, an organizer of the group, said last year.

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NCAA Eases Rules, Testing for Cannabis Use Among College Athletes

The NCAA said last week that it is relaxing its policy for cannabis testing among collegiate athletes in the United States, while also recommending that it ease penalties for a positive test. 

The decision came after a meeting on February 22 and 23 of the NCAA’s Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, (CSMAS) which raised the amount of THC required to constitute a positive test from 35 to 150 nanograms per milliliter.

The NCAA said that the new THC threshold for its student athletes was established by the World Anti-Doping Agency, the global agency that oversees drug testing in athletics. 

“Reconsidering the NCAA approach to cannabis testing and management is consistent with feedback from membership on how to better support and educate student-athletes in a society with rapidly evolving public health and cultural views regarding cannabis use,” Dr. Brian Hainline, the NCAA’s chief medical officer, said in a press release on Friday. 

“Marijuana is not considered a performance-enhancing substance, but it remains important for member schools to engage student-athletes regarding substance use prevention and provide management and support when appropriate.”

The policy shift by the NCAA, which comprises more than 1,000 schools in the U.S. spanning three different divisions, is the latest example of American sports reckoning with the changing attitudes and laws in the country.

With a majority of states having legalized cannabis in some form, domestic sporting leagues like the NBA and NFL have also updated their drug testing rules. And the incongruity between the changing laws and the drug testing policies in the athletic world drew attention last summer, when U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was suspended from the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for cannabis.

In addition to raising the THC threshold, CSMAS also recommended that all three divisions of the NCAA change the penalties for a positive cannabis test. (The NCAA said that such drug testing penalties “are legislated under NCAA bylaws, so each division will be required to separately adopt new legislation before changes are made.”)

According to the Associated Press, under the previous penalty structure “one positive test for marijuana would mean an NCAA athlete would immediately have to miss 50 percent of a regular season and a second would mean an athlete would sit out for ‘the equivalent of one season … of regular-season competition.’”

The NCAA said that under the new structure, the first positive test would result in “no loss of eligibility if the school provides a management plan and education for the student-athlete.” A second positive test would likewise result in no loss of eligibility “if the school provides additional management and education and confirms the student-athlete was compliant with the original management and education plan,” although “the student-athlete must be withheld from 25 percent of regular-season contests if they were not compliant with the original management and education plan.”

A third positive test would not result in a loss of eligibility either “if the school provides additional management and education and confirms the student-athlete was compliant with the previous two treatment and education plans,” but the “the student-athlete must be withheld from 50 percent of regular-season contests if they were not compliant with the previous management and education plan.”

“These adjustments to the NCAA drug testing program were approved after careful consideration and extensive discussion of the recommendations made by the Drug Testing Subcommittee, which has been meeting since last fall,” said Dr. Stephanie Chu, chair of the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports. 

“The updated cannabis testing policies create a clear pathway for student-athletes to participate in education and management programs specific to their needs at the campus level.”

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