Amazon Endorses Federal Cannabis Legalization

Amazon said this week that it supports a Republican congresswoman’s proposal to end the prohibition of marijuana on the federal level, the company’s latest embrace of legalization. 

In a tweet posted on Tuesday, Amazon said it was “pleased to endorse” a bill introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).

“Like so many in this country, we believe it’s time to reform the nation’s cannabis policy and Amazon is committed to helping lead the effort,” the company said. 

Mace introduced the legislation, called the “States Reform Act,” in November, saying at the time that “Washington needs to provide a framework which allows states to make their own decisions on cannabis moving forward.”

The bill would remove cannabis from Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act, a law that has kept weed illegal on the federal level and has made some states hesitant to pursue their own cannabis laws. 

“Today, only three states lack some form of legal cannabis,” Mace said in her November announcement. “My home state of South Carolina permits CBD, Florida allows medical marijuana, California and others have full recreational use, for example. Every state is different. Cannabis reform at the federal level must take all of this into account. And it’s past time federal law codifies this reality.”

Mace said that her bill would enshrine protections for veterans who have used cannabis to treat their PTSD, and would be respectful of each state’s own unique laws.

“This is why I’m introducing the States Reform Act, a bill which seeks to remove cannabis from Schedule I in a manner consistent with the rights of states to determine what level of cannabis reform each state already has, or not,” she continued in her announcement. “This bill supports veterans, law enforcement, farmers, businesses, those with serious illnesses, and it is good for criminal justice reform. Furthermore, a super-majority of Americans support an end to cannabis prohibition, which is why only three states in the country have no cannabis reform at all. The States Reform Act takes special care to keep Americans and their children safe while ending federal interference with state cannabis laws. Washington needs to provide a framework which allows states to make their own decisions on cannabis moving forward. This bill does that.”

On Tuesday, Mace touted the bill’s endorsement from Amazon, saying the company “is making a common-sense decision that many other businesses, large and small, agree with.”

“Amazon employs nearly a million U.S. workers, and this opens up their hiring pool by about 10 percent. Cannabis reform is supported by over three quarters of the American public, and the States Reform Act is something both sides of the aisle can get behind,” Mace said.

For Amazon, America’s second largest employer, the endorsement is yet another sign of the company’s weed-friendly stance.

Last June, Amazon said that it would “no longer include marijuana in our comprehensive drug screening program for any positions not regulated by the Department of Transportation, and will instead treat it the same as alcohol use.” In September, the company went further, saying it was reinstating “employment eligibility for former employees and applicants who were previously terminated or deferred during random or pre-employment marijuana screenings.”

The are also emerging signs that the company is set to ramp up its pro-marijuana lobbying efforts, with Politico reporting in July that cannabis groups “are pinning their hopes on Amazon using its experienced lobbying team and deep pockets to support their efforts, believing it could help them launch ad campaigns and persuade lawmakers opposed to legalization—especially those who represent states where cannabis is legal—to change their minds.”

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source https://hightimes.com/news/amazon-endorses-federal-cannabis-legalization/

EU Cannabis Consumption Increased and Ecstasy Use Decreased in 2021

A new survey studying the consumption habits of participants in the European Union (EU) reveal that cannabis use has increased, and the use of ecstasy has decreased considerably.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) recently found that cannabis and ecstasy saw the strongest changes in consumption habits. The European Web Survey on Drugs was conducted online between March and April 2021 with the intention of illuminating patterns of drug use to consider in future regulation. Throughout 21 EU countries and nine non-EU countries, the survey recorded answers from those who were 18 or older and had used drugs.

The survey results, published on January 20, recorded the drug use breakdown of the 48,469 participants. “Cannabis was the drug used most, with 93 percent of survey respondents reporting to have used it in the previous 12 months and with little variation between countries,” the survey results state. “MDMA/ecstasy (35 percent), cocaine (35 percent) and amphetamine (28 percent) were the next most reported illicit substances, with the order of the three drugs varying by country. Around a third of respondents (32 percent) reported using more (herbal) cannabis and 42 percent using less MDMA/ecstasy.” The results also show that a group of participants had used LSD (20 percent), a new psychoactive substance (16 percent), ketamine (13 percent) and heroin (three percent).

Furthermore, participants from the Western Balkans (which is made up of a Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo) also echoed the high consumption of cannabis, and decreased use in other substances—especially ecstasy. “Most respondents (91 percent) reported using cannabis in the previous 12 months, followed by cocaine (38 percent), MDMA/ecstasy (22 percent) and amphetamine (20 percent). Again, around a third of respondents (32 percent) reported using more (herbal) cannabis and 34 percent using less MDMA/ecstasy.”

In terms of where these substances were consumed, 85 percent of participants in the EU and 72 percent of the Western Balkans used these substances at home, rather than at public venues. It also takes into account that the motivation for cannabis use at home was because of a multitude of reasons. Participants wanted to relax, get high in order to improve sleep, but their use of MDMA or ecstasy was used to attain “euphoric and socialising [sic] effects.”

The study result breakdown states that the information shared by the 50,000 people included in the survey is just a small portion of the EU, but still offers a useful glimpse into the changing habits of residents. “While web surveys are not representative of the general population, when carefully conducted and combined with traditional data-collection methods, they can help paint a more detailed, realistic and timely picture of drug use and drug markets in Europe. Over 100 organisations [sic] took part in the initiative, including the Reitox national focal points, universities and NGOs.”

EMCDDA Director Alexis Goosdeel shared a statement regarding the goal of this survey, and the amount of participation needed from organizations to sort and analyze the data. “Web surveys are a key ingredient in our monitoring of Europe’s shifting drugs problem,” Goosdeel said. “They help us reach an important target population through innovative online methods. Today’s results reveal the wide variety of drugs available across Europe and provide valuable information on emerging trends and changing patterns of use during the COVID-19 pandemic. An impressive 100 organisations [sic] joined us this time in building, translating and disseminating the survey, ensuring that this is now an invaluable tool to help tailor our responses and shape future drug policies.”

Other studies in the U.S. have shed light on other topics related to cannabis, such as targeting teens with ads on social media or an updated Gallup survey that shows that a majority of Americans support legalization.

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Hablamos con Carolina Gaillard, la Diputada que Juró por ‘No más Presos por Plantar’

Nota por Ulises Román Rodríguez publicada originalmente en El Planteo. Más artículos por El Planteo en High Times en Español.

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

Anochecer de un día agitado en Paraná. Después de mirar una película en el Festival Internacional de Cine de Entre Ríos y de darle la teta a Felipe, la flamante diputada nacional Carolina Gaillard se sienta un rato, a solas, a conversar con El Planteo.

Hace apenas unos días, cuando juró como diputada del Frente de Todos con mandato hasta el 2025, lo hizo con un mensaje en referencia a su agenda política que causó cierto revuelo en los medios.

Contenido relacionado: Semáforo Electoral: ¿Qué Piensan los Candidatos Sobre la Marihuana?

“Por la Patria libre, justa y soberana que soñaron nuestros compañeros detenidos-desaparecidos. Por mi pueblo entrerriano. Por un Estado que cuide y acompañe y no que castigue y criminalice a los usuarios. No más presos por plantar. ¡Sí, juro!”

—¿Qué hay que hacer para que no haya más presos por plantar?

—Lo primero que hay que hacer, de manera urgente, es un protocolo de actuación para los casos de personas detenidas o presas por cultivo medicinal y, en segundo lugar, es urgentísimo que nosotros hagamos la despenalización. Eso va a ser una ley más benigna, con lo cual todos lo que estén presos por plantar van a tener el beneficio de poder salir en libertad.

Con estas consignas como bandera, la diputada entrerriana reafirmó, el día de la jura, su militancia por la legalización del cannabis que comenzó en 2016.

Contenido relacionado: Argentina: Presos y Presas Por Plantar Marihuana Reclaman Justicia

“Había asumido en diciembre del 2013 y desconocía absolutamente la temática. Hasta que llegaron las madres a pedirnos a los legisladores que sancionáramos una ley que modificara la ley de drogas porque tenían una pena de 4 a 15 años para quien cultivara y ellas estaban cultivando para poder hacer el aceite a sus hijos que sufrían de epilepsia refractaria”, cuenta Gaillard.

Como presidenta de la Comisión de Salud se le ocurrió que era importante instalar el tema y dar el debate para modificar la ley de estupefacientes número 23.737.

Vacíos legales

Hay que tener en cuenta que gobernaba el macrismo y que Patricia Bullrich era la ministra de Seguridad, con lo cual el oficialismo no tenía intenciones de avanzar en ese sentido. Entonces se hizo una ley que declaraba de interés la investigación en cannabis.

“Es una ley muy enfocada en la investigación pero tiene cosas piolas como, por ejemplo, que es para las patologías que prescribe el médico y/o lo que está en la reglamentación, entonces si la reglamentación era restrictiva, el médico podía ampliar la mirada y si prescribía otra cosa valía lo que decía la ley y no la reglamentación”, explica.

Carolina Gaillard y Valeria Salech, fundadora y presidenta de Mamá Cultiva Argentina

De alguna manera, todo este recorrido, con varias idas y vueltas en el medio, allanó el camino para la creación del REPROCANN: el registro de cultivadores en el que cualquier persona que hace uso medicinal del cannabis se inscribe y accede de manera legal.

Contenido relacionado: ¿Qué Pasa con el REPROCANN? Médicos y Médicas Comparten sus Experiencias

—A pesar del REPROCANN todavía hay gente que va presa por plantar y vos lo expresaste en la jura. ¿Qué es lo que está fallando ahí?

—El desafío es capacitar a las fuerzas de seguridad porque todavía siguen haciendo allanamientos a gente que está inscripta en el REPROCANN. Para eso necesitamos protocolos de actuación claros de que no es delito cuando hay un uso medicinal, porque es un uso autorizado.

—¿Cómo considerás que se debe trabajar en ese sentido?

—Sacando adelante una ley para permitir el cultivo, la comercialización, la exportación y la producción de todos los productos de cannabis, sus derivados y de cáñamo. Todo eso hoy no está permitido porque la ley se limita al cultivo experimental, por eso es importante autorizar la comercialización, creando una agencia que regule todo y dándole mucha participación a las cooperativas de cultivadores que van a elaborar productos.

—Aunque no habría que adelantarse, ¿se puede pensar en que el siguiente paso sea la despenalización para consumo personal?

—Creo que hay que tomar lo que dijo la jurisprudencia de la Corte hace muchos años y que el Estado tiene que estar presente para acompañar, para cuidar y no para criminalizar. Así que me parece que eso es urgente, que lo tenemos que hacer, porque va a ser la manera de que los fiscales, la policía y la Justicia dejen de considerar delito cultivar una planta o hacer un acto personal como es el consumo de marihuana que no daña a nadie. Y, si uno se pone a pensar, vivimos en una sociedad medicalizada, que hace abuso de los psicotrópicos, que tiene legalizado el alcohol y el tabaco. Por eso es momento de avanzar en una legislación que esté más a la altura del siglo XXI y de la demanda social.

Contenido relacionado: Guía Paso a Paso: Cómo Inscribirse en REPROCANN

La apertura de una chica ‘medio pacata’

Ana Carolina Gaillard se crió en General Campos, un pueblo de 5.000 habitantes de la provincia de Entre Ríos, en el seno de una familia católica que nada tiene nada que ver con la marihuana.

“Nunca había fumado marihuana y no tuve ninguna relación previa con el cannabis. Soy medio pacata. Más que fumar un cigarrillo y tomar cerveza, no. Y cuando fumé me hizo mal, me mareé, lo hice como una cuestión social con amigos y no me cayó bien”, cuenta sobre su experiencia cannábica.

El día que llegaron las madres de Mamá Cultiva y otras agrupaciones a plantearles su necesidad de legalizar el cannabis cambió su visión sobre la planta.

“Nosotros, como legisladores, somos los responsables de que haya presos por plantar. Por eso creo que nosotros tenemos que hacernos cargo urgentemente de esa demanda, el delito es matar alguien, ser violento, no es delito cultivar una planta y menos una planta que alivia el dolor”, dice la diputada entrerriana.

¿Quién manejará el negocio?

Cuando se piensa en el negocio que generará la legalización de la marihuana entra en discusión en manos de qué actores quedará la comercialización de la planta y sus derivados.

“Es central la participación de la economía social, no queremos que el negocio quede para dos o tres vivos o grandes empresas que puedan presentarse y tener las licencias, creemos en el cooperativismo porque Entre Ríos es una provincia cooperativista”, dice Gaillard.

Contenido relacionado: La Entrerriana: Historia de la Primera Cooperativa Cannábica Legal de Argentina

La legisladora sostiene que de ese modo “se van a lograr precios justos y los que más saben de cannabis son los cultivadores que hace años que vienen trabajando con la planta, entonces todos esos saberes empíricos tienen que ser valorados por el Estado”.

—¿En qué estado se encuentra la ley que se aprobó en Entre Ríos?

—Tenemos una ley de adhesión a la 27.350, pero además tenemos una ley de regulación de cannabis que establece que se estará siempre a favor de como principios de los derechos del usuario. Es una ley con perspectiva de derecho. Es una ley que establece que el Estado provincial debe autorizar las licencias para la producción a cooperativas, a mutuales o a empresas del Estado. Es una ley trabajada con las organizaciones de la sociedad civil, todo un grupo de APAC y otras organizaciones de la provincia. Es una ley muy de avanzada en materia de regulación. En cuanto a leyes provinciales, creo que la mejor es la entrerriana.

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source https://hightimes.com/news/carolina-gaillard-diputada-jura-marihuana/

Minnesota Groups Bind Together to Oppose Legal Cannabis

With Minnesota set to become the next front in the battle over cannabis legalization, a coalition of opponents is banding together to keep prohibition in place.

Under the straightforward name of “Minnesotans Against Marijuana Legalization,” the coalition “consists of the Minnesota Trucking Association, the state’s police and peace officers association and the Minnesota Catholic Conference, a policy arm of the Catholic Church of Minnesota, among others,” according to the Associated Press.

The group of likeminded, anti-pot groups is targeting a bill that passed the state House of Representatives last May. That bill would have legalized recreational pot use for adults in Minnesota, while also expunging previous low-level cannabis-related convictions.  

It also would have created “a responsible regulatory structure focused on developing micro-businesses and a craft market… fund[ed] public health awareness, youth access prevention and substance abuse treatment; provide[d] grants, loans, technical assistance and training for small businesses; require[d] testing and labeling of products; restrict[ed] packaging based on dosage size; and allow[ed] limited home grow abilities,” according to a press release last year from Minnesota Democrats.

But after passing the Democratic-controlled House, the legislation went nowhere in the state Senate, where Republicans hold the majority.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Ryan Hamilton of the Minnesota Catholic Conference said that the “marijuana bill that passed the Minnesota House last session wasn’t a justice bill, it was a marijuana commercialization bill.”

“As we’ve seen from other states that have opened the doors for the marijuana industry, the promises made to justify marijuana legalization rarely come true, particularly for communities of color,” Hamilton said, as quoted by the Associated Press.

The Minnesota legislative session is slated to convene on January 1, and as the Associated Press noted, the bill that passed the state House last May “is technically still alive, though it’s unclear whether Republicans in the Senate will take up the measure.”

The author of that bill, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, is one of the most vocal advocates of marijuana legalization among lawmakers in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

“The failed criminalization of cannabis has resulted in a legacy of racial injustice that can no longer go unaddressed,” Winkler said in a statement after the bill was introduced last year. “Adults deserve the freedom to decide whether to use cannabis, and our state government should play an important role in addressing legitimate concerns around youth access, public health, and road safety. Veterans and Minnesotans with serious illnesses like PTSD deserve better access to our medical program, which is not working well for most people. It’s time to legalize, expunge, and regulate.”

According to the Associated Press, Winkler “told the Minnesota Hemp Growers Cooperative at an event on Wednesday [that] his goal is to reexamine parts of the bill this session to improve the proposal and attempt to get senators on board,” but he acknowledged its outlook in the state Senate is “up in the air.”

After Winkler introduced his bill in the state House last year, Republicans in the legislature were dismissive. 

Paul Gazelka, the GOP leader in the state Senate at the time, said at the time that he “would not consider legalizing recreational marijuana as a Minnesota priority.” 

Gazelka stepped down as majority leader in September and is now running to challenge Democratic Governor Tim Walz in this year’s gubernatorial race. It could set the stage for legalization to emerge as a dominant issue in the campaign, with Walz a full-throated supporter of ending pot prohibition. 

“I support legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use by developing a system of taxation, guaranteeing that it is Minnesota grown, and expunging the records of Minnesotans convicted of marijuana crimes,” Walz said when he ran for governor in 2018.

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source https://hightimes.com/news/minnesota-groups-bind-together-to-oppose-legal-cannabis/

Sisters of the Valley Plan to Mail 13,000 Hemp Seeds to 1,000 Customers

Perhaps due to fate, The Sisters of the Valley—the nun-like hemp bearers of Central Valley, California—are mailing approximately 13,000 high-CBD hemp souvenir seeds to 1,000 customers under a new program designed as a “thank you” to their customer base.

The Sisters are pulling a list on February 1 from their store of the last 1,000 customers who purchased from them, and each of them will receive a thank you card and a packet of hemp seeds in the mail this spring. They expect to send out 500 in February and another 500 in March.

The Wee Bairn seed strain was “born of adversity,” as the Sisters were under the threat of having their crops pulled out due to a sudden local law change that appeared to impact their farm. The Sisters let the males live, go to seed—and ended up with their own proprietary CBD-rich seed strain. The seeds are not guaranteed feminized, nor are they guaranteed anything else, but customers report decent cannabinoid levels from the seeds.

“For a brief moment in time—2018 to 2019—they made it illegal to grow on anything less than 20 acres,” Sister Kate told High Times. “So when they first opened the hemp laws they said, ‘Okay, but you have to have 30 acres.’ So here we were, and we’ve already three to four years into operating, and every year growing a big crop in our backyard—a one-acre farm, so we can’t grow more than like an eighth of an acre outside. So it’s not a lot of plants.”

Sister Kate let the males go to seed—thinking they were bound to get ripped anyways. But their crop never became an issue, and the 20-acre-law was dropped. 

By then, the Sisters had given birth to their own proprietary strain of hemp, unplanned. The Wee Bairn seeds were bred from plants of only high-CBD strains that had been bred with other hemp strains—Charlotte’s Web, Suzy Q, Cherry Pie and Remedy to be precise.

Hemp and cannabis farmers in California are already burdened with regulations and taxes that make business nearly impossible. Adversity is nothing new for the Sisters. The Sisters, for instance, battled the City of Merced in 2016 in order to keep growing hemp.

The Sisters have been giving away seeds with bigger bundle purchases of their salve and tinctures since 2019. Customers who grow the plant and have it tested report getting from 12:1 THC:CBD ratio to as wonderful as a perfect 1:1—which The Higher Path calls “The Golden Ratio.”

Souvenir Hemp Seed Packets. Photo Courtesy of Sisters of the Valley.

“It’s actually very interesting—the person who tested the flower at a perfect 1:1 was a Catholic nun!” – Sister Kate

“It’s actually very interesting—the person who tested the flower at a perfect 1:1 was a Catholic nun!” Sister Kate laughed. The Sisters of course are in no way affiliated with the Catholic church.

Before becoming Sister Kate, Christine Meeusen (her birth name) followed advice from a doctor to use cannabis to treat symptoms of menopause. 

“We’re not in the seed business,” Sister Kate says. “We never felt it was right to sell them for very much, but we did sell them for about $3-4/seed and put them in bundles. We gave them away in bundles in products. Now we have so many, and with COVID causing a scare on some people, we thought it was a good idea—just to get the seeds out of the house and to say thank you to our customers.”

She explained the benefits of strain rich in CBD and THC, which often need to work together synergistically. “We are always seeking the 10:1 or 12:1 ratio of CBD to THC as that is best for our products. But neurologists and people dealing with illness prefer the 1:1 ratio,” said Sister Kate. 

In order to make $1 million in sales in a year, the Sisters need one thousand customers to spend one hundred dollars a year in The Sisters of the Valley store—which is the model she would like to build other sisterhoods upon. “This is our thank you to the 1,000 customers who buy from us every year,” she said.

“We aren’t shipping internationally,” said Sister Sophia, “because, firstly, there won’t be a lot of them since our international sales have fallen from 20 percent to three percent during COVID. And secondly, we don’t want to get anyone in trouble. We will reach out to those international customers and see if they want us to mail them, before we do.” 

Sister Quinn added, “We have a strong calling to be the Johnny Appleseed of the hemp industry and share our seeds. If we could sell them, we could make a million dollars, but the seeds were a gift to us from the Goddess and we need to re-gift them to the people.” 

Sister Quinn and her other sisters used to take seeds along during bike-riding, to spread along the canals, and let Nature take her course, but she said they never saw any plants sprouting. “I suspect that the surrounding Mennonite farmers pull them as soon as they are recognizable. Or maybe the dogs eat them,” said Sister Quinn. “Mailing them to customers who already appreciate the medicine is a more certain way of knowing those seeds will be nurtured.”

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source https://hightimes.com/news/sisters-of-the-valley-plan-to-mail-13000-hemp-seeds-to-1000-customers/

South Carolina Senate To Debate Medical Cannabis Bill

South Carolina senators will debate a bill to legalize the medicinal use of cannabis this week after an eight-year effort to bring the proposal to the floor of the state Senate. If passed, Senate Bill 150 would allow patients with certain debilitating medical conditions to use medical cannabis products. A companion measure, House Bill 3361, is also pending in the South Carolina House of Representatives.

Last week, Senators unanimously agreed to assign special order status to the bill, which faces strong opposition in deeply conservative South Carolina. As a legislative priority, senators will be required to approve or reject the bill before moving on to other legislation. Debate on the bill is expected to begin Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, according to media reports.

The measure, known as the South Carolina Compassionate Care Act, was first proposed in 2015 by Republican Sen. Tom Davis. In 2018, the Senate Medical Affairs Committee advanced the bill to the Senate floor but senators opposed to the measure blocked the legislation from coming up for debate. At the close of the 2021 legislative session, Republican leaders promised Davis that the bill would come up for a vote this year.

“If you pound at the door long enough. If you make your case. If the public is asking for something, the state Senate owes a debate,” Davis told The Post and Courier. “The people of South Carolina deserve to know where their elected officials stand on this issue.”

South Carolina Medical Cannabis Bill Contains Strict Limits

The Compassionate Care Act would allow patients with one or more qualifying health conditions to use cannabis medicinally. Qualifying debilitating medical conditions include cancer, multiple sclerosis, a neurological disease or disorder (including epilepsy), sickle cell disease, glaucoma, PTSD, autism, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, cachexia, a condition causing a person to be home-bound that includes severe or persistent nausea, terminal illness with a life expectancy of less than one year, a chronic medical condition causing severe and persistent muscle spasms or a chronic medical condition for which an opioid is or could be prescribed based on accepted standards of care.

Smoking cannabis would not be allowed. Instead, patients would have access to medical marijuana products including vaporizers, topicals, and patches. Patients would be allowed to purchase up to a two-week supply of cannabis products at a time.

The bill also establishes rules for physicians to recommend medical cannabis and regulations for the production and sale of medical marijuana, including a requirement that cannabis dispensaries complete a licensing process every two years. Dispensaries would be required to contract with a state-licensed pharmacist, physician’s assistant or clinical practice nurse with training in the medicinal use of cannabis. Cannabis products would be subject to testing and labeling requirements and a seed-to-sale tracking system would be established to monitor transfers of medical marijuana products. Davis said the legislation would create the nation’s strictest medicinal cannabis program.

“I want to empower physicians. I want to help patients who could benefit from cannabis to alleviate their medical conditions,” Davis told reporters. “But I want it to be tightly regulated and controlled. I don’t want it to be a precursor to adult recreational use.”

Advocates Back Legislation

The South Carolina Compassionate Care Act is supported by medical cannabis advocates including Jill Swing, the founder and president of the South Carolina Compassionate Care Alliance. She believes her daughter would benefit from medical cannabis.

“Mary Louise shouldn’t have to continue to suffer and other patients across the state shouldn’t continue to suffer when this medication is available in 36 other states,” said Swing.

“I genuinely hope that every single Senator that walks into that chamber opens their minds and their hearts,” she added.

But Davis’ bill is opposed by law enforcement leaders, who cite public safety issues and the fear that permitting medical marijuana will lead to the legalization of recreational cannabis.

“If marijuana is medicine, it should be regulated as every other medicine is regulated. We are aware of no other medication that has to be approved by the General Assembly,” said Jarrod Bruder, executive director of the South Carolina Sheriff’s Association. “This (bill) includes a lot of other things — including vaping, including edibles. This is not going to your local pharmacy — it’s going to a dispensary. This is not being treated like every other medicine is.”

Kevin Tolson, the executive director of the law enforcement group, said in a statement that legalizing medical cannabis in South Carolina would lead to increased traffic accidents and financial crimes by cannabis businesses.

“I understand supporters of this bill are seeking to bring comfort and relief to friends and family members who are suffering from debilitating illnesses,” Tolson wrote. “But I can’t endorse or even ignore the attempt to provide relief through illegal methods, especially when those attempts will jeopardize public safety.”

Davis, however, believes that public opinion is on the side of reform. In December, a poll of 300 registered voters found that 54 percent favored legalizing the medicinal use of cannabis, with another 14 percent undecided on the issue.

The post South Carolina Senate To Debate Medical Cannabis Bill appeared first on High Times.

source https://hightimes.com/news/south-carolina-senate-to-debate-medical-cannabis-bill/

Arizona Cannabis Generates Over $1B of Revenue in 2021

Cannabis is officially a billion dollar business in the state of Arizona.

Voters in the Grand Canyon State passed a measure at the ballot in 2020 that made recreational pot legal for adults ages 21 and older. Medical cannabis, meanwhile, has been legal in the state since 2010.

That made 2021 the first year with both markets open for business, and the results were lucrative for Arizona.

According to figures released by the state Department of Revenue, medical and recreational cannabis sales combined to generate more than $1.23 billion in revenue last year.

“Rarely does an industry produce over $1.2 billion in revenue in its first year. This number shows that the legalization of cannabis is something Arizonans believe strongly in and the many benefits it contributes to the state’s economy,” said Samuel Richard, the Executive Director of the Arizona Dispensaries Association (ADA), as quoted by azfamily.com.

The Department of Revenue provided a detailed breakdown of the sales data, revealing that recreational adult-use pot brought in $528,001,278 in revenue, while medical cannabis generated $703,803,194.

According to the figures, November brought in $60,299,191 in adult-use sales, making it the highest-grossing month for recreational pot. It was also the only month of the year in which recreational sales topped $60 million. 

April was the top month for medical cannabis, with $72,944,477 generated then. Complete sales figures for December were not provided.

Moreover, the state raked in $196,447,570 in taxes on the combined sales last year, and that does not include sales in December. 

According to the Arizona Department of Revenue, “there is a transaction privilege tax (TPT) rate and an excise tax (16 percent) on the retail sales” of adult use recreational cannabis in the state.

In 2020, 60 percent of Arizona voters approved Proposition 207, a ballot initiative that legalized recreational pot use in the state. (Arizona was one of four states that year where voters approved legalization measures at the ballot, joining Montana, South Dakota and New Jersey in moving to end prohibition.) 

In August, Arizona launched a social equity program for aspiring cannabis dispensary owners as part of Prop 207’s commitment to “promote the ownership and operation of marijuana establishments and marijuana testing facilities by individuals from communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of previous marijuana laws.”

Through the program, the state’s Department of Health Services will award 26 dispensary licenses to applicants who come from communities most adversely affected by anti-drug policies.

“The social equity ownership program is intended to promote the ownership and operation of licensed Marijuana Establishments by individuals from communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of previous marijuana laws,” the Department of Health Services explained. “Social equity license holders will be required to comply with all statutes and rules that govern Adult-Use Marijuana Establishment licenses, including obtaining approval to operate before opening their retail location. Additionally, social equity license holders will be required to develop and implement policies to document how the Marijuana Establishment will provide a benefit to one or more communities disproportionately affected by the enforcement of Arizona’s previous marijuana laws.”

But that effort has also faced scrutiny, with a group of female investors filing a lawsuit in November targeting the program. The plaintiffs, a pair of organizations known as the Greater Phoenix Urban League and Acre 41, assert that the rules governing the program are inconsistent with the goals of Prop 207.

Defendants in the suit are the state of Arizona, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, the state Department of Health Services and Don Herrington, the director of the Department of Health Services.

The post Arizona Cannabis Generates Over $1B of Revenue in 2021 appeared first on High Times.

source https://hightimes.com/news/arizona-cannabis-generates-over-1b-of-revenue-in-2021/