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Switzerland to legalize cannabis use and cultivation

by The Real Dirt | Oct 21, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Legalization

Switzerland cannabis legalization has passed

Switzerland has moved closer to a legal cannabis market, an article by local news outlet Blick said on Tuesday.

According to the report, The Social Security and Health Commission of the Council of States (SGK-S) has carried out an investigation on cannabis, concluding that current laws should be updated. Their findings and recommendations for new legislation were supported by forty members of the National Council, who signed the initiative, giving the proposed reform backing from across the Swiss political sphere. As a result, the bill, which will allow the production, cultivation, trade and consumption of cannabis, was passed by a vote which ended nine votes to two in favor.

The new regulation was launched by the SGK-S’s National Councillor for Bern Centre, Heinz Siegenthaler with a parliamentary initiative which states “cannabis should be regulated in Switzerland in order to control the cannabis market for better youth and consumer protection”. The bill goes on to say that “the cultivation, production, trade and consumption of cannabis containing THC to be reorganized by law in accordance with the recommendations of the Federal Commission on Addiction (EKSF).”

Specified within the bill are ways to control the production and trade through the use of state bodies, with particular attention paid to the protection of minors, quality control and the availability of information.

Another important intention of ending prohibition is to make an impact on the cannabis black market by allowing the cultivation of plants at home for personal use.

Although cannabis will remain illegal until the new bill comes into force, Switzerland has been working towards a regulated cannabis market for some time. Earlier this year leafie reported the country was planning to launch a recreational cannabis trial involving 500 participants as a means to collect data on the impact of a fully legal recreational cannabis supply chain.

It is estimated that around 500,000 adults in Switzerland consume cannabis. The country has already removed criminal prosecution for small scale possession as of 2012. Anyone caught with less than 10 grams will not be prosecuted, but instead will face a fine of 100 Swiss Francs (£78). The country also allows the sale of ‘light’ cannabis, containing no more than 1% THC, which can be legally bought over the counter from tobacco stores.

Read Original Story on Leafie

Washington DC Marijuana Laws Could Be Changing

by Travis C | Oct 20, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Business, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Culture, Industry News, Legalization, Politics

If the current Washington DC marijuana laws confuse you, you aren’t alone.

If you went to Washington DC today in search of cannabis, you might struggle to find it. Despite Washington DC marijuana laws allowing the possession, cultivation and consumption of cannabis for recreational use, there isn’t a single retail recreational cannabis store where you can legally purchase cannabis.

Cannabis is still attainable in DC just like most places in the country without legal access to cannabis, but the methods can vary with different levels of success.

Washington DC Marijuana Laws

Washington DC legalized cannabis nearly seven years ago in February 2015. While the legislature legalized everything necessary to begin the process of opening up a retail cannabis industry, there was one major roadblock.

Rep. Andy Harris, a Republican, included a rider in the bill that including language preventing DC from implementing any sort of recreational cannabis industry, by not permitting district funds to be used for the process. In other words, Washington DC is unable to have a recreational cannabis industry because they are currently not allowed to fund a regulatory commission, establish licensing processes and design a regulated industry framework.

So while Washington DC marijuana laws resemble that of every other state that has legalized cannabis, there is still no legal industry. With all that said, finding weed in DC is relatively easy these days thanks to a thriving grey market.

The law in DC permits any one person to give any cannabis they have or have grown to any other person as long as they do not charge for it, as selling cannabis is currently illegal under the rider. This has led to the creation of a gift/donation system that has helped bloom a massive underground industry in DC.

This can work in various ways; from “donating” $40 for a T-shirt in a hydroponic store and being “gifted” a few grams of cannabis, to full-blown delivery services where you donate for a single sticker (that happens to cost about $200) in exchange for a gift box with cannabis flower, edibles and cartridges. Unfortunately for the consumer, this market is still completely unregulated since it is being done through a loophole in the bill’s language.

Consumers constantly run the risk of over paying for low quality cannabis from a shady shop or service, and there are so many different delivery services, finding one that doesn’t rip you off can be a real challenge. But that could be changing thanks to a new adjustment to the Senate budget proposal for 2022.

Washington DC could have legal cannabis for sale soon

Washington DC marijuana laws are particularly complicated due to the nature of Washington DC itself. It is considered the Capitol of the country, but it is not actually a state or a city, and its Mayor is also the Governor, among other peculiarities. Due to the nature of how DC works, it creates complications when the district has differing opinions on legislation compared to the federal government that is housed there.

When Joe Biden released his 2022 budget proposal it still included the Harris Rider, leaving many advocates disappointed. The Democrat president has expressed consistent opposition to cannabis legalization on the federal level. However the House voted to remove the rider back in June, and now the Senate Appropriations Committee seems to be moving that sentiment forward.

In a new text of legislation released by Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a budget proposal to fund the federal government for Fiscal Year 2022 is presented, which among other measures, purposely fails to include the Harris Rider.

The legislation also contains several other cannabis provisions, including to continue an existing protection for state medical marijuana laws, call on the federal government to reconsider policies that fire employees for cannabis, criticize the restrictive drug classification system that impedes scientific research and encourage the development of technologies to detect THC-impaired driving.

It is very common for legislators to attempt and slide in additional changes to legislation in most cases, but also regarding cannabis. Some advocates blame this practice for why a lot of cannabis legislation does not pass, saying that if legislators focused on one issue at a time that has more broad support, they would see more success.

A long fight may be ending

It is too soon to say if the final Budget Proposal will be approved, and more changes could occur before it is. The fight to change Washington DC marijuana laws has been long and fraught with disappointment.

The latest proposal appears to be a large step in the right direction, with House and Senate support for removing the rider. The 2022 Budget Proposal has a deadline of December 3rd, with Democrats eager to get everything finalized before then. However it is still unclear whether the spending panel or full Senate will take up the new revised proposal before then.

Yet again, the further progress of cannabis legalization depends on the slow moving legislature, notorious for “extending” deadlines as an excuse for just missing them. Only time will tell the future of cannabis legalization in Washington DC now.

Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission Sets Timeline for Licensing

by The Real Dirt | Oct 19, 2021 | Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Legalization, Medical Marijuana

Alabama medical cannabis commission says licenses won't be available until 2022.

An Alabama regulatory commission has plenty to do before people can apply for medical cannabis licenses, so it won’t push for a date that might allow sales next year, a commission official said.

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission had said earlier that it might ask for the date to be moved up. It decided last week not to do so, the Montgomery Advertiser quoted commission Vice Chairman Rex Vaughn as saying.

Before people can apply, the commission has to establish rules and train physicians, Vaughn noted. It also must create a central database to register patients by next September. Registration cards will cost up to $65 a year.

Since would-be growers and distributors cannot apply for licenses before Sept. 1, 2022, the substance probably won’t be available before 2023, supporters of medical marijuana have said.

But Vaughn noted that the legislature would have to change the date, and he said asking it to do so could open the way for those who want to weaken the law.

“We could lose what we’ve got,” he said.

The legislature approved the medical cannabis bill in May after hot debate in the House, which had blocked earlier bills. The commission must decide license applications within 60 days.

“If you start looking at the timelines for what it’s going to take to get rules and regulations approved, and the growth cycle and the 60 days that people have to get in business after they get the license, it starts adding up,” John McMillian, the commission’s executive director, said after the commission’s meeting last week.

Sen. Tim Melson, a Florence Republican and sponsor of a bill to move up the date, said he supported the commission’s decision because he is in favor of a program implemented in a “thoughtful and correct” manner.

Once available, doctors will be able to prescribe cannabis for at least 16 conditions including cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. Cannabis would be available as tablets, capsules, gummies, lozenges, topical oils, suppositories, patches, and in nebulizers or oil to be vaporized. The law forbids smoking or vaping medical cannabis, or baking it into food.

The law also forbids the recreational use of marijuana.

Original Story from AL

Three in four California cannabis companies aren’t licensed

by The Real Dirt | Oct 18, 2021 | Blog, Business, Cannabis Business, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Industry News, Legalization

Only 1 in 4 California cannabis companies have a permanent business license

State will give 17 cities and counties grants to help license cannabis businesses. But many say bigger problems remain.

Nearly four years after California started regulating its cannabis industry, three in four businesses still operate on provisional licenses.

As temporary license holders, 75% of the state’s cannabis industry lacks protections and privileges that come with holding full licenses — a situation that worries some in the business. Those temporary operators also haven’t passed extensive environmental reviews required of full licensing — a fact that concerns environmental groups.

Cannabis licensing is slow for a number of reasons, ranging from the sometimes dizzying complexity of California’s environmental rules to conflicting language between state and local cannabis laws to the high costs for permits and a shortage of government workers needed to process the paperwork.

The weed licensing glitch also isn’t new. For several years, state legislators have extended the permitting process so that thousands of businesses don’t become unlicensed overnight.

But now, California is pushing to change the situation. The state has set aside $100 million to help 17 cities and counties transition their cannabis businesses from temporary to full licensees. Los Angeles is eligible for $22.3 million of that money, while five other Southern California cities — Long Beach, San Diego, Commerce, Adelanto and Desert Hot Springs — are in the running for a combined $6.9 million. Applications are due by Nov. 15.

Eligible cities say they’ll use the money to hire staff and, in some cases, to offer direct support to businesses. They’re confident that over the next few months they can make a significant dent in the problem.

“I know it will help,” said Edgar Cisneros, city manager for Commerce, which has seven fully licensed cannabis businesses and 12 others waiting to get through the process.

“There is a real need for staff and also consultants… to get these permits to permanent licensing at a much faster pace.”

Still, while business owners and others applaud the one-time state funding, they say it doesn’t go far enough. Many cities and counties remain left out of the applicant pool, and there is no statewide plan to ease the business hurdles that caused the backlog in the first place.

“No amount of money is going to change the significant amount of time it takes to come up to speed for local approval,” said Hilary Bricken, a cannabis industry attorney out of Los Angeles who said some businesses have failed during the multi-year wait to get licensed.

Read Full Story on OC Register

Nevada cannabis sales break $1 billion in 2021

by The Real Dirt | Oct 15, 2021 | Blog, Business, Cannabis Business, Cannabis News, Industry News, Legalization

Nevada cannabis sales broke a record in 2021

Nevada retailers sold more than $1 billion in medical and recreational marijuana over a one-year period, state officials announced on Wednesday.

The Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) and the Nevada Department of Taxation released the data, which shows $1,003,467,655 in taxable cannabis purchases in Fiscal Year 2021, which ran from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

By contrast, total marijuana sales for the prior 2020 fiscal year amounted to $685 million.

The bulk of the marijuana purchases ($791,100,017) came from Clark County, where Las Vegas is located. Another $135,326,790 of cannabis was sold in Washoe County, with Reno being the major city in that jurisdiction. The $77,040,859 remainder came from other counties.

Ten percent of tax revenue from recreational cannabis sales will support pubic education funding, as prescribed under a bill that Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) previously signed.

“This is what Nevadans expected since the legalization of recreational marijuana,” the governor said in a press release about the new sales data. “Education remains one of my top priorities, and I’m proud to see promised tax revenue from cannabis sales directly funding our students and classrooms.”

Sisolak also signed a bill in June to legalize marijuana consumption lounges in the state.

The new social use license types statewide and giving consumers this option—especially in the tourist-centric state—could further boost marijuana and other tax revenues.

The governor has also committed to promoting equity and justice in the state’s marijuana law. Last year, for example, he pardoned more than 15,000 people who were convicted for low-level cannabis possession.

That action was made possible under a resolution the governor introduced that was unanimously approved by the state’s Board of Pardons Commissioners.

Read Full Story on Marijuana Moment

Canopy Growth Pays Nearly $300 Million To Acquire Wana Edibles in the U.S.

by The Real Dirt | Oct 14, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Business, Cannabis Business, Cannabis News, Industry News, Legalization

Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth is (kind of) acquiring Wana Brands, the #1 cannabis edibles brand in North America by market share – per Headset data.

According to information procured exclusively ahead of an official announcement, the deal features a similar structure to the one Canopy struck with Acreage Holdings a couple of years ago. Under the agreement, the Canadian operator will acquire the right to purchase Wana (comprised of Mountain High Products, Wana Wellness and The Cima Group) once THC becomes federally legal in the U.S.

The call option to acquire 100% of the membership interests in each Wana entity is being acquired by Canopy for upfront cash payment of $297.5 million.

When Canopy decides to move forward with the acquisition, it will pay 15% of the fair market value of the entities being acquired. Until the purchase is complete, thought Canopy Growth will have no economic, voting or controlling interest in Wana, which will continue to operate independently.

“Through the agreement with Wana, Canopy is adding another industry leading brand to power our rapid growth across the U.S. Wana has built a successful business using an asset-light licensing model, allowing them to scale across North America,” David Klein, CEO of Canopy Growth, said in an exclusive interview.

Breaking down the key strategic benefits of the acquisition, Klein explained Wana:

Strengthens Canopy Growth’s U.S. ecosystem.
Provides exposure to one of the fastest growing segments in both the U.S. and Canadian cannabis markets: edibles.
Would automatically make Canopy a leader in the edibles category.
Increases Canopy’s exposure to the U.S. market upon federal legalization.
Represents an opportunity to acquire a profitable and highly scalable business.