Texas Supreme Court Takes Case Challenging Smokable Hemp Ban

The Texas Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case challenging the state’s ban on smokable hemp and has scheduled oral arguments for early next year.

After hemp was legalized at the federal level through the 2018 Farm Bill, the following year, Texas state lawmakers approved legislation that bans the manufacturing of smokable hemp products. Often rich in CBD and other cannabinoids, smokable forms of hemp have become popular with consumers, particularly in states without other forms of legal cannabis.

In 2020, four hemp businesses filed a lawsuit in Travis County District Court against the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), the agency responsible for regulating consumable hemp in the state, and its commissioner, John Hellerstedt. Judge Lora Livingston of the 261st District Court ruled in August that the ban on smokable hemp is unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction barring the DSHS from enforcing its provisions.

“Based on the entire record in this case, the Court concludes that Texas Health and Safety Code Section 443.204(4) is not rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest,” Livingston wrote in her final judgment.

“In addition, based on the entire record in this case, the real-world effect of Texas Health and Safety Code Section 443.204(4) is so burdensome as to be oppressive in light of any legitimate government interest,” Livingston continued in her ruling.

Zachary Maxwell, the president of Texas Hemp Growers, applauded Livingston’s ruling after the judge struck down the ban.

“Today’s ruling is a major win for Texas’ hemp industry, and may set a new standard in similar cases across the country,” Maxwell said in a press release at the time. “The attorneys behind the Texas Hemp Legal Defense Fund fought hard, brought fact-based arguments to the courtroom and proved the undeniable financial harm caused by this cavalier ban.”

Health Department Appeals Injunction Against Ban

On December 3, the DSHS appealed the judge’s ruling to the Texas Supreme Court, asserting that the high court has jurisdiction in the civil case. On December 17, the high court agreed to hear the case, scheduling arguments for March 22, 2022.

The plaintiffs in the suit against DSHS, four hemp companies led primarily by Crown Distributing, argue that the smokable hemp ban is unconstitutional, writing that “the regulation at issue shuts out hemp businesses from manufacturing and processing a good that is legal.” They also argue that the DSHS has interpreted the law too strictly by banning the sale of smokable hemp, noting that the regulations only prohibit the “processing or manufacturing” of such products.

“In June 2019, Governor Abbott signed legislation establishing a hemp program for Texas. Among other things, it directs the executive commissioner of DSHS to prohibit ‘the processing or manufacturing of a consumable hemp product.’ The Rule DSHS later adopted in 2020, however, went much further: The Rule prohibits the ‘manufacture, processing, distribution, or retail sale of consumable hemp products for smoking,’” the companies wrote in court documents.

After the ban on smokable went into effect in 2020, Sam Alvez, the manager of the 7th Heaven Smoke Shop in Killeen, Texas, told local media that his patrons use smokable hemp therapeutically.

“Our customers always tell us how much CBD changes their lives,” Alvez said. “They sleep better; their knees don’t hurt—they’re taking medicine away, that’s what they’re doing.”

With the ban, he noted, a sizable portion of his revenue was put at risk.

“This is likely to cut our business by 50 percent maybe—we’re looking at a good 50 percent. I personally don’t think they know what they’re doing,” referring to Texas lawmakers. “They legalized it, but now they’re taking it back. I don’t understand that part of it.”

The post Texas Supreme Court Takes Case Challenging Smokable Hemp Ban appeared first on High Times.

source https://hightimes.com/news/texas-supreme-court-takes-case-challenging-smokable-hemp-ban/

Seven Kayne Abre su Corazón y su Cerebro en ‘7 Secretos’: ‘Mi Sangre es Pop Rock’

Nota por Hernán Panessi publicada originalmente en El Planteo. Más artículos por El Planteo en High Times en Español.

Síguenos en Instagram (@El.Planteo) y Twitter (@ElPlanteo).

“Soy muy emocional”, avisa rápido Seven Kayne, que anduvo afligido y hoy está bastante, bastante mejor. “Si lo dejás fluir, es lindo. Y más en las letras”, sigue el joven artista de 22 años que acaba de sacar “737”, su nuevo single en el que vomita algunas tristezas producto de un desamor.

“La gente quiere pasarla bien, olvidarse de todo y yo soy el que los hace pensar. Por ahí no sé si es lo que más rinde industrialmente”, se sincera Joaquín Cordovero, el pibe de Acassuso que, desde hace unos pocos años, lleva levantando millones de reproducciones. Este 21 de diciembre ofrecerá un show en el Teatro Vorterix que lo tiene obsesionadísimo. “Va a ser un show muy único. Lo voy a dejar todo”.

Contenido relacionado: Acru Habla de Todo: Nueva Banda, Disco en Proceso, Mirada de la Escena y su Futuro en el Freestyle

Por caso, “737” es apenas la puntita de 7 Secretos, su próximo EP, que dejará a flor de piel algunas de sus emociones más íntimas. “El EP va en esa línea”, afirma. “La primera canción es especial porque la estoy haciendo con instrumentos de rock. Estoy incursionando mucho en ese género. La escena se fue al reggaetón y yo nunca escuché reggaetón ni fui a boliches”, explica.

Entonces, si el devenir contemporáneo del trap viró hacia al reggaetón, Seven Kayne decidió pegar un golpe de timón y acercarse al rock alternativo. “Twenty One Pilots, 30 Seconds to Mars e Imagine Dragons son mis bandas favoritas”, cuenta.

“El rock es donde yo arranqué, donde aprendí a tocar la guitarra. Estaba full vibrando trap y había dejado la guitarra. Ahora no la saco del escenario. No quiero ir a lugares forzados”, devela Seven Kayne. “Al final del día, se va a notar que mi vibra y mi sangre es pop rock”.

Brain on fire

En la antesala de su presentación en Vorterix, Seven Kayne anda repasando sus shows favoritos. “En el 2016 estuve debajo del escenario mirando a Twenty One Pilots en el Lolla, intentando llegar a Josh Dun. Ahora, en 2021, tengo todo ese bagaje de estos años, y miro cuándo respira, cuándo se cambia, el arte, tratando de entender qué quiero yo”.

Contenido relacionado: Entrevista con YSY A: Cómic, Tango y el Fin del Trap

—¿Y qué querés?

—Lo que me vibra a mí. Mis colores, mis atuendos, mi guitarra, que justamente me compré una nueva para marcar esta vibra. Estoy pensando en las visuales, si quiero hacer algo más cinematográfico o qué. Yo quiero lograr eso. Que se transmita lo visual, generar un ambiente. Y entender qué hice mal todos estos años. Quiero abrirme, que vean qué me está pasando en el cerebro.

—¿Te ponés en ese espejo?

—Muy. Eso es todos los días. Soy muy autoexigente. El otro día estuve en la radio, en Perros de la Calle, y canté horrible, sin autotune. Me pasan cosas como que nunca practiqué cantar sin autotune y sin auris. Me tendría que haber sacado los auriculares. Mi cerebro como que flasheó. Estas cositas clave las tengo que modificar porque, en stage, cambia mucho.

—¿Pensás dejar el autotune?

—Estoy yendo a clases. Retomé. Al inicio, yo había dejado de cantar antes de rapear. Mi voz no me gustaba. Aprendí a rapear y cuando llegué del rap al autotune, me gustó. Ahora, años después, estoy encarando esto: voy y me la estoy bancando. Tengo ciertas cosas que mejorar, pero las estoy preparando para el Vorterix y para el Lolla. No pienso fallar. Voy a dejarlo todo.

Contenido relacionado: Tiago PZK: El Abrazo de la Escena, la Canción para su Madre y su Preparación para Red Bull

¿Habrá colaboraciones en 7 Secretos? Obviamente: Khea y Asan, dos de sus viejos compañeros de ruta. ¿Habrá invitados en el show de Vorterix? Por supuesto: Duki, Khea, Asan, Polima WestCoast… “todos los pibes”.

Mundo espiritual

En general, Seven Kayne no suele estar carteleando que fuma porro. “El porro es algo que ya está completamente naturalizado”, dice.

A la sazón, todas las mañanas, Joaquín medita –careta- durante 20 minutos. Desde chico, que tenía el trip de hacerlo y ese despertar se lo debe al dibujo animado Avatar: La leyenda de Aang, un cartoon norteamericano en el que el protagonista, Aang, medita y controla los cuatro elementos.

Y, en rigor, desde 2020 que anda interesado por el budismo, los chakras y todo su costado espiritual.

“El porro me ayuda a volver a ese estado de claridad que también me lo da meditar. No me gusta fumar todo el tiempo, sin sentido. Me gusta fumar para. El porro lo uso para relajarme mental, física y espiritualmente”, reflexiona.

Cambia, todo cambia

Después de vivir con Arse, Midel, Khea, Asan y Eich, Seven Kayne se mudó solo y, ahora sí, pudo encontrar nuevos ribetes de su personalidad. Y pasó el tiempo desde “Te lastimé”, el primer tema que compuso en su vida, hasta hoy: miles de anécdotas, shows, situaciones, crecimiento, pegarse como una calcomanía.

Contenido relacionado: Cumbia 420: Cómo L-Gante y Su Crew Conquistaron América Latina con Su Música Cannábica

“En perspectiva, estoy muy orgulloso. Soy el mismo, salvo que ahora tengo más data. Lo hicimos todo con los chicos, muy de guachines. Éramos nosotros y nada más. Hicimos las cosas como pudimos. Sé que pudimos hacer más, pero también hay mucha nostalgia de los primeros shows y demás. Ese primer año fue todo muy explosivo”.

Y tras ungirse como uno de los grandes nombres del trap criollo, Seven Kayne anda buscando nuevos rumbos. Reinventarse. Cambiar. Mutar.

“Todo mi público me preguntaba por qué no tocaba con la guitarra. Y tenían razón”, continúa.

—Con toda esta llegada y en esta nueva búsqueda, ¿con quién te gustaría colaborar de tener la posibilidad?

—Quiero conectar con argentinos mucho más experimentados y del ámbito en el que me estoy metiendo. Te voy a responder: el Dante. Con él quiero colaborar, lo tengo muy arriba. Le tengo aprecio a su autenticidad y a su esfuerzo. Ya no estoy mirando lo que pasa ahora. Estoy mirando para atrás. Voy a la Bresh y pasan un montón de temas que no escuché. Me divierto y todo, pero no me vibran. No es la música que yo quiero hacer. Estoy aprendido de los grandes. Quiero explotar en la música que me vibra.

Contenido relacionado: Entrevista Exclusiva a Duki: ‘Me Regalan Porro para Vérmelo Fumar’

—¿Y cuáles fueron tus referencias cuando te metiste en el trap?

—Cuando me metí con el trap, estuve con Duko e YSY A. Ya estuve encerrado con ellos, pude aprender de ellos y son mis amigos. Ya tenemos ese trato y eso es una locura. Cuando yo arranqué, me metí en esto porque mi compañero de banco me mostró el video de YSY contra Midel. Ahora te puedo decir que soy amigo de YSY y que viví con Midel. Es un camino larguísimo. Yo quería vestirme como Midel. Me compré la campera de los Red Sox por él. Cuando se la mostré, me dijo: “No era mía” [risas].

—Hay pocos videos tuyos rapeando…

—Yo era malardo compitiendo. En las batallas me hacían pollo.

Fotos de cortesía

The post Seven Kayne Abre su Corazón y su Cerebro en ‘7 Secretos’: ‘Mi Sangre es Pop Rock’ appeared first on High Times.

source https://hightimes.com/espanol/seven-kayne-7-secretos/

DEA Presents Emoji Explanations for ‘One Pill Can Kill’ Campaign

In a campaign to educate parents on the emoji conversations of their children in regards to drug use, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has created a legend for parental reference.

On December 16, the DEA held a press conference featuring DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, who reviewed the dangers of illegal drug use, especially on the nation’s youth. Specifically, as a part of the DEA’s “One Pill Can Kill” Campaign, the conference content reviewed a reference sheet of identifiable emoji compilations.

Entries include Oxycodone, Xanax, Percocet, Adderall, cocaine, meth, heroin, MDMA/mollies, cough syrup and mushrooms, as well as phrases that the DEA identifies as “drug dealer adverting that they sell/dealer,” “bomb ass shit,” “high potency,” “universal for drugs” and “large batch/amount,” according to the DEA’s breakdown. “Do you know the meaning behind certain emojis? Emojis were originally designed to represent an emotion, event or activity, but have recently taken on a language of their own,” the DEA writes. “Criminal organizations, including drug traffickers, have noticed and are using emojis to buy and sell counterfeit pills and other illicit drugs on social media and through e-commerce.”

The emoji combination for “marijuana” includes six characters that some might, or might not, consider applicable in translation (although it’s all about interpretation). “The reference guide is intended to give parents, caregivers and influencers a better sense of how this language is being used in conjunction with illegal drugs,” the DEA writes. “It is important to note, this list is not all-inclusive and the images contained below are a representative sample. Emojis, on their own, should not be indicative of illegal activity, but coupled with a change in behavior; change in appearance; or significant loss/increase in income should be a reason to start an important conversation. We understand initiating those conversations can be difficult so we have resources available at dea.gov/onepill.”

The DEA also provided a PowerPoint presentation regarding a variety of stats and information about black market drug sales and how to identify counterfeit pills. It also included a brief mention of which social platforms are most commonly used, referred to as “Cases involving criminal drug network activity on social media platforms,” the top three of which are SnapChat, Facebook Messenger and Instagram. The emojis for cannabis in the presentation differed slightly from the provided infographic.

Milgram wrote in her press conference statement the tragedy of youth deaths due to drug overdoses such as fentanyl produced by Mexican drug cartels. “What is equally troubling is that the cartels have harnessed the perfect drug delivery tool: social media… social media applications that are available on every smartphone in the United States. Eighty-five percent of all Americans have smartphones: that is about 280 million smartphones.”

Cannabis is only mentioned once in her statement, specifically in regards to the DEA illegal drug haul over the past few months. “In total, between September 29 and December 14 of this year, DEA seized over 8.4 million fake pills, over 5,400 pounds of methamphetamine, and hundreds of pounds each of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, often in the same places that we seized fentanyl. During this surge, DEA has arrested 776 people and seized 288 firearms connected to these drug seizures,” Milgram stated. She concludes the statement with a message urging citizens to “Know the dangers and accessibility of deadly drugs online.”

A recent report from the Mexico Defense Secretary state that Mexican cartels are beginning to shift from cannabis and opium production to that of synthetic drugs, partially due to the legal status of cannabis in many states in the US. Fentanyl is now the leading causes of death for Americans between ages 18-45, as according to 2019-2020 data collected from the CDC and presented by Families Against Fentanyl. More people died from fentanyl poisoning than suicide, COVID-19 and vehicle accidents.

The post DEA Presents Emoji Explanations for ‘One Pill Can Kill’ Campaign appeared first on High Times.

source https://hightimes.com/news/dea-presents-emoji-explanations-for-one-pill-can-kill-campaign/

Higher Profile: Jesce Horton, CEO of LOWD

Jesce Horton founded LOWD, a craft cannabis company located in Portland, Oregon, in 2015. Immersed in Oregon cannabis causes and beyond, Horton was appointed by Oregon Governor Kate Brown to the Task Force for Cannabis Environmental Best Practices in 2016 and sits on the Board of Directors for both the Oregon Cannabis Business Association and the Oregon Cannabis Association.

With his wife, Jeannette Ward Horton—also an established industry leader in the space—they founded NuProject, a nonprofit seeded in-part by the City of Portland since 2019. The organization provides grants, loans, educational resources, job matching assistance and entrepreneurial services to cannabis business owners and start-ups.

Nationally, Horton co-founded the Minority Cannabis Business Association, founded and is an advisory board member for Marijuana Business Daily and is involved with, and past board member of, the Resource Innovation Institute—a national leader in establishing and educating on standards of farming practices.

An advisory board member of Ben’s Best, a venture by Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company, its focus is on funding Black-owned cannabis companies, supporting the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition and the Last Prisoner Project. 

He’s also on a number of federal, state and local cannabis regulatory advisory committees, helping to design and strengthen cannabis markets in both Oregon and California and then some.

Horton’s resume may read as though he was born into the cannabis industry, but his journey to his place in the space, and to the Pacific Northwest from his birthplace of Charlottesville, Virginia, really did begin before he was born, when his father was arrested for carrying less than an ounce of weed.

Courtesy of Jesce Horton

Less than an Ounce, One Seed and Persecution

Horton knows first-hand how the failed War on Drugs can negatively affect just one small family for years, as his father was arrested for cannabis before he was born, with a lifetime of struggle to follow.

The charge should have been simple possession for carrying less than an ounce, but the bags were individually wrapped, sending him to prison for the maximum five-year sentence for distribution, serving four years for good behavior.

“After I was born the charges followed us, and my family would have to move wherever he could find work,” he shared. “As I grew older, the family did everything they could to keep me away from cannabis. It wasn’t that they were against it; it’s just that they didn’t want me being arrested.”

His family’s good intentions were all for naught, as he was indeed arrested a number of times. Mostly for misdemeanors—all surrounding cannabis.

“Once, I was stopped coming home from a party, and they patted me down and found one seed in my pocket,” he shared. “I spent that night and others in jail, but never went to prison.”

It’s no secret that white neighborhoods do as many drugs as neighborhoods with people of color. It’s also no secret that minority neighborhoods are policed more often and heavier than lighter hoods. This fact, this imbalance of justice, leaves a mark—with or without prison time.

“Just having a record means opportunities lost, depression, anxiety and a lack of belief—feeling like your life is ruined because of this plant,” he added. “It’s never made any sense.”

Engineering a One-Room Grow

Moving from state to state for his father’s work eventually led the family to Florida, where Horton majored in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Mathematics and Physics. He graduated from Florida State University in 2007 and was hired by German engineering company, Siemens, one of the largest engineering firms in the world.

“I started out in Atlanta with Siemens; then they sent me to Baltimore, then Houston,” he said. “I spent about a year and a half in Munich, Germany, when they transferred me back to the states and Portland, Oregon in 2011.”

Still working for Siemens, Horton set up a one-room grow op in the basement of his home, growing medicinal cannabis under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP), helping a Fraternity brother and his wife.

“He had chronic pain in his knees, but his wife had breast cancer,” he said. “I worked with their caregiver to provide plant material, and the caregiver would make cannabis oil capsules and suppositories for them.”

Courtesy of Jesce Horton

The Art of Urban Craft Cultivation

From his greater good basement grow, to overseeing 24,000 square feet of indoor, and 12,000 square feet of greenhouse space today, Horton has come full-circle in the burgeoning essential industry too big to fail.

Notable is its win for Best Medical Hybrid at the 2016 Dope Industry Awards, with its 503 Wifi, bred from Wifi OG (White Fire OG) using cultivars, Fire Og and The White.

Quoting its website, “LOWD exists effortlessly at the intersection of urban culture and epic nature unique to the City of Portland.”

The brand’s SLAG jars, or “Smoke like a Grower,” jars, hold “intentionally selected buds” stick-trimmed right into the ultra-violet resistant glass jars, resulting in a slow cure—making the end-partaker the first one to touch the flower.

It’s attention to detail like this that makes a craft cannabis farmer stand out. But, what does this mean at the distribution site? How does one differentiate between slow cured craft flower and large-scale production bud—and should there be a pricing difference?

This conundrum is not lost on Horton, who laments the literal abandonment of legacy farmers—and the outright alienation of the industry’s pioneers.

“Legacy farmers in particular have found coming into compliance daunting, to say the least,” he said. “But, craft farming is the future of the high-end cannabis market. I really believe that portion of the market will increase in size and pricing will rise up accordingly. That’s my hope, anyway.”

Regarding the ongoing debate on whether high THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) cultivars are more in demand than a fuller profile via flavorful terpenes, Horton is forever hopeful.

“High THC isn’t a straight line to better cannabis,” he concluded. “People aren’t as discerning right now—they aren’t knowledgeable, but the more information we get out there about genetics, methodologies, the lack of pesticides and just growing healthy, flavorful plants, I feel more will gravitate to the craft cannabis market.”

The post Higher Profile: Jesce Horton, CEO of LOWD appeared first on High Times.

source https://hightimes.com/culture/people/higher-profile-jesce-horton-ceo-of-lowd/

Pair of Cops Booked After Being Caught Smoking Pot in Mississippi

According to a Flowood Police Department news release, which was posted on Facebook, two rookie police officers from the Jackson County Police Department in Mississippi were charged with possession of cannabis and paraphernalia after being caught smoking weed, in the act. The Clarion Ledger first reported the arrests of the two officers—both of whom just finished police academy.

Kenya Shardae McCarty and Darius Jamal Short were off-duty at the time, relaxing and puffing by a pond, minding their own business, when they were spotted and approached by officers from another division. 

Officers with the Flowood Police Department in Mississippi responded to reports of two people smoking weed at the Nature Trail Park at about 5:45 p.m. on December 17. Flowood’s Park Trail includes an elevated walkway—the perfect place to toke. 

Instead of letting the fellow cops off, the Flowood Police officers arrested and booked them. The two cops were charged with possession of cannabis and an open container violation, Flowood Police officials said, and they were given a court date for the charges. The officers were also in possession of two firearms, which is not unusual for an off-duty police officer.

“On December 17, 2021 officers were dispatched to the Nature Trail Park of Flowood in reference to individuals smoking marijuana,” the news release reads. “Officers arrived and located two subjects inside the park near the pond. The subjects were identified as Darius Jamal Short B/M and Kenya Shardae McCarty B/F. The officers located a small amount of marijuana on a bench where the two were seated. Officers also took possession of a firearm which was present on the table.”

The release continues, “A second firearm was also recovered along with open containers and marijuana paraphernalia. The subjects were transported to headquarters for booking on the charges of Possession of Marijuana and Open Container Violation. The subjects were given a court date for above charges. These two individuals are recent graduates of the Jackson Police Academy and are currently employed by the Jackson Police Department.”

Meanwhile—Flowood Police Department is being sued by a man who said they sicced a K9 on him three times, in a separate incident a few years ago. That case escalated to a $5 million federal lawsuit.

“Such a waste of resources,” the top comment on the Facebook post reads. “Legalize weed, let them go, and move on.”

Per Mississippi law, possession of 30 or less grams of cannabis is punishable by up to three years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $3,000.  

Instead of reprimanding them, Jackson Police Department Chief James Davis defended the behavior of his officers, explaining that they were off-duty at the time. Davis did not confirm whether the police officers were placed on administrative leave or are subject to any other type of punishment beyond the Flowood Police charges. “If an officer did something off duty, that’s their personal life,” he said. 

According to the Flowood Police Department, someone called officers around 5:45 p.m. last Friday due to two people smoking marijuana in Nature Trail Park. https://t.co/z8spUl79Df

— WLBT 3 On Your Side (@WLBT) December 20, 2021

The maximum penalty for a first-time offender in possession of 30 grams or less of cannabis in Mississippi is a maximum $250 fine, Whitt Law Firm explains. Anything above 30 grams is a different story, however, and is elevated to a felony.

Possession of up to 250 grams is punishable by one to three years in jail and a $1,000 fine, while five kilograms or more of cannabis can result in a maximum penalty of 10 to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, according to the NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws).

Lots of cops are smoking or selling pot around the country, and occasionally they get caught. A Cincinnati police dispatcher in Ohio was one of six people arrested for hundreds of pounds of pot in 2017. The next year a patrol officer with the Paterson Police Department in New Jersey was caught selling pot and many other drugs to an undercover federal informant.

The post Pair of Cops Booked After Being Caught Smoking Pot in Mississippi appeared first on High Times.

source https://hightimes.com/news/pair-of-cops-booked-after-being-caught-smoking-pot-in-mississippi/

Proposal to Legalize Cannabis Heads to Ohio Legislature

More than 200,000 signatures later, a proposal to legalize cannabis in Ohio is heading back to the legislature.

Activists in Ohio submitted their petitions totaling 206,943 signatures this week to the secretary of state for verification for a proposal that would legalize possession and purchases of cannabis for adults.

Once the verification is done, “lawmakers will have four months to act on the legislation,” the Columbus Dispatch reported, and if they fail to pass the bill or an amended version, “supporters can collect another 132,887 valid signatures to put the measure on the ballot for the next general election.”

The Dispatch reported that the proposal “would allow Ohioans age 21 and older to buy and possess 2.5 ounces of cannabis and 15 grams of concentrates,” and that they “could also grow up to six plants individually and no more than 12 in a household with multiple adults.”

Cannabis products “would be taxed 10 percent, with revenue going toward administrative costs, addiction treatment programs, municipalities with dispensaries and a social equity and jobs program,” according to the newspaper.

The group behind the legalization effort is the “Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.”

“Marijuana legalization is an issue whose time has come in Ohio. According to recent polling, Ohioans are not only in favor of legalizing marijuana for regulated adult-use, they view it as inevitable,” the coalition says on its website. “We hope that Ohio’s leaders seize this opportunity to take control of our future. Support for a regulatory and taxation system is critical in order to set Ohio up for success should we see changes at the federal level.”

The group says its campaign is “an effort to encourage Ohio legislators to regulate marijuana for adult-use, just like we do for alcohol,” and to advance a proposal that would fix “a broken system while ensuring local control, keeping marijuana out of the hands of children, and benefiting everyone.”

Shutterstock

Ohio Plans for Legalization

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol first drafted the proposed bill in the summer, and began gathering signatures shortly thereafter. 

The Dispatch reported that this campaign is different from the one waged in 2015, “when voters rejected a constitutional amendment pushed by ResponsibleOhio that would have paved the way for adult marijuana use.”

Additionally, the latest legalization proposal would grandfather the state’s medical cannabis businesses into the newly created recreational market, according to the Columbus Dispatch. 

Ohio’s medical cannabis program may already be on the cusp of a significant overhaul. The state Senate last week passed a bill that would result in the first changes to the program since it began five years ago. 

Most notably, the legislation would permit physicians in the state to “recommend marijuana for treatment for any condition if the physician, in the physician’s sole discretion and medical opinion, finds either of the following”: that the patient’s symptoms may reasonably be expected to be relieved from medical marijuana” and “that the patient may otherwise reasonably be expected to benefit from medical marijuana.”

The bill, which is currently under consideration by the state House of Representatives, would also add arthritis, migraines, autism spectrum disorder, spasticity or chronic muscle spasms, hospice care or terminal illness and opioid use disorder to the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis treatment.

Currently, cannabis treatment may be recommended for the following qualifying conditions: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Alzheimer’s disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Cancer; Chronic traumatic encephalopathy; Crohn’s disease; Epilepsy or another seizure disorder; Fibromyalgia; Glaucoma; Hepatitis C; Inflammatory bowel disease; Multiple sclerosis; Pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable; Parkinson’s disease; Positive status for HIV; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Sickle cell anemia; Spinal cord disease or injury; Tourette’s syndrome; Traumatic brain injury, and Ulcerative colitis.

The post Proposal to Legalize Cannabis Heads to Ohio Legislature appeared first on High Times.

source https://hightimes.com/news/proposal-to-legalize-cannabis-heads-to-ohio-legislature/

Three Iowa Senators Aim to Legalize Recreational Cannabis

A trio of Democratic lawmakers in Iowa want to bring cannabis legalization to the ballot. 

The idea comes via three state senators, Joe Bolkcom, Janet Petersen and Sarah Trone Garriott, who said at a press conference on Tuesday that they intend to push a constitutional amendment that would legalize recreational pot use for adults aged 21 and older. 

“Marijuana prohibition has been a costly failure,” said Bolkcom, who represents Iowa City (home to the University of Iowa), as quoted by local television station KWQC. “It’s ending across America because it has caused far more harm than good.”

The station reported that the proposal “requires a simple majority in both the state house and senate in two consecutive General Assemblies to be included on a ballot,” and that once it is in on the ballot, “more than half of Iowans need to vote for the amendment for it to become a part of the state’s constitution.” KWQC added that the three lawmakers “already submitted language to the Legislative Services Agency to propose this amendment in the next legislative session.”

“Right now, you can go to Hy-Vee or Kum & Go, and buy a six-pack of beer,” Bolkcom said, according to the television station. “What this constitutional amendment would do… it would basically begin to treat marijuana like we treat a six-pack of beer.”

Bolkcom, Petersen and Trone Garriott pointed to survey data showing that voters in the Hawkeye State are ready to end pot prohibition. A poll earlier this year from thee Des Moines Register found that “54 percent of adults [in Iowa] say they favor legalizing marijuana for recreational use, 39 percent oppose it and six percent are unsure,” which the newspaper reported was “about the same level of support shown in a March 2020 Iowa Poll, which for the first time found a majority of Iowans (53 percent) favored legalizing recreational marijuana.”

It is a marked increase since 2013, when the same poll found “just 29 percent of Iowa adults said they favored the idea; 68 percent opposed it and three percent were unsure.”

“Iowans are ready to join the growing list of states that are regulating marijuana for adult use,” said Petersen, as quoted by Iowa Capital Dispatch.

The senators also pointed to Iowa’s neighbor to the east, Illinois, which has legalized pot and currently boasts a thriving recreational market. South Dakota, another state bordering Iowa, may also look to pass a legalization measure next year after efforts to end prohibition were stymied by the state’s court system.

“The world is changing around us, and Iowa is getting left behind,” Trone Garriott said, as quoted by KWQC. “Unlike many of our neighboring states, the citizens of Iowa do not have the ability to put this issue on the ballot as referendum. So, we think it’s time that I once got to have a voice and a vote in this matter.”

But the three Democrats are already facing immediate opposition from Republicans in the legislature. GOP state Senator Brad Zaun, who chairs the senate judiciary committee, told a local newspaper that the bill will not make it out of committee.

“Gimmicks like a constitutional amendment on recreational marijuana do a better job of illustrating the lack of ideas Senate Democrats have to solve the problems of Iowans than any response I have,” Zaun told the Quad-City Times. “I have no intention of advancing this bill out of the judiciary committee.”

Bolkcom took to Twitter on Tuesday to call out Republicans, saying the party is out of step with the majority of Iowans on the issue.

“This has become a mainstream issue. The majority of Iowans support this,” Bolkcom said, according to the Quad-City Times. “The Republicans are in the minority on this. That said, we need their help to move this constitutional amendment to voters so they can have their voices heard.”

The post Three Iowa Senators Aim to Legalize Recreational Cannabis appeared first on High Times.

source https://hightimes.com/news/three-iowa-senators-aim-to-legalize-recreational-cannabis/