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Olympic Anti-Doping Group Will Review Cannabis Ban

by The Real Dirt | Sep 15, 2021 | Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Culture, Legalization, Medical Marijuana, Politics

Olympic anti-doping group with evaluate the cannabis ban

The World Anti-Doping Agency will review its ban on cannabis, in what the agency says is a response to “requests from a number of stakeholders” in international athletics. But it’s not clear when, or if, a change to the controversial policy might take effect: cannabis will remain forbidden for the 2022 athletic season.

The news comes after WADA’s ban on cannabis prevented U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson from competing in the Tokyo Olympics, despite her victory in the 100-meter race at the U.S. Olympic trials.

WADA’s executive committee has approved a plan to organize “a scientific review of the status of cannabis” that will start next year, the group said. But it reiterated that cannabis remains on its list of prohibited substances — a new version of which is due to come out by Oct. 1.

Richardson was hit with a 30-day suspension this summer after she tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. The decision triggered an outpouring of support for Richardson, at a time when dozens of U.S. states have legalized marijuana to some degree.

The ban also prompted widespread confusion over why marijuana might be considered a performance-enhancing drug.

“I didn’t think the evidence base for marijuana would be particularly strong,” Dr. Michael Joyner of the Mayo Clinic told NPR in July. “But as I looked at the papers yesterday, I was surprised at how weak it is.”

Original Story from NPR

Historical First: Ohio Cannabis Legalization Bill Introduced by Lawmakers

by The Real Dirt | Aug 2, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Legalization, Politics

Ohio lawmakers on Friday formally introduced a bill to legalize marijuana possession, production and sales—the first effort of its kind in the state legislature. This comes as activists are pursuing a separate ballot initiative that would effectively force the legislature to consider similar cannabis reforms.

Reps. Casey Weinstein (D) and Terrence Upchurch (D) filed the legislation, weeks after circulating a co-sponsorship memo to colleagues to build support for the measure.

The 180-page bill would legalize possession of up to five ounces of cannabis for adults 21 and older and allow them to cultivate up to 12 plants for personal use. It also includes provisions to expunge prior convictions for possession and cultivation activities that are being made legal under the measure.

A 10 percent excise tax would be imposed on marijuana sales, with revenue first going toward the cost of implementation and then being divided among municipalities with at least one cannabis shop (15 percent), counties with at least one shop (15 percent), K-12 education (35 percent) and infrastructure (35 percent).

“It’s time to lead Ohio forward,” Weinstein said in a press release. “This is a big step for criminal justice reform, for our veterans, for economic opportunity, and for our individual liberties.”

The state Department of Commerce would be responsible for overseeing the program and issuing cannabis business licenses.

Individual municipalities could restrict the type and number of marijuana that operate in their area. The bill specifically states that the state’s existing medical marijuana program would not be impacted by the establishment of an adult-use market.

“This bill is much needed in Ohio, and it’s time for Ohio to become a national leader in marijuana decriminalization and legalization,” Upchurch said. “This bill is more than just about legalization, it’s about economic and workforce development, it’s about decriminalization, and it’s about healthcare! The time is now, and I look forward to getting this done in a bipartisan fashion.”

Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is likely to oppose the effort given his record, but activists have effectively demonstrated through local initiatives that voters in the state broadly support enacting a cannabis policy change.

A newly formed organization called the the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CTRMLA) is also actively collecting signatures for a statewide ballot measure that would separately force lawmakers to consider taking up legalization legislation once a certain signature gathering threshold is met.

Read Full Story on Marijuana Moment

The Most Common Cannabis Compliance Issues

by Travis C | Jul 1, 2021 | Blog, Business, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Hemp Law, Legalization, Medical Marijuana

Operating in a legal cannabis industry, whether recreational or medical, comes with strict regulations that requires compliance for businesses. Underestimating the level of cannabis compliance has led to the downfall of many new cannabis businesses.

Cannabis compliance is more than just meeting required plant counts or ensuring safe working conditions for employees. Every industry is regulated in some form, however the cannabis industry lacks any form of federal regulations.

Without any federal oversight, states are left to create their own regulations and cannabis compliance requirements. These requirements vary widely by state, making operating in multiple states more challenging.

There are some common cannabis compliance requirements that any business owner will have dealt with at some point. However there are others that a new business owner may overlook. This can have drastic consequences, such as removal of an operating license, extreme fines, or even being shut down completely.

Licensing

Cannabis licensing is typically the first step any would-be business owner takes. Each state varies in how they handle licensing, from application fees and financial requirements to how many total licenses are given out.

Pricing alone is large barrier to entry for many, with some states like California charging higher and higher license fees the larger a business’ revenue. Others may just charge a flat fee for all licenses, but the fee is also high, and recurs annually.

Common licenses include manufacturing, retail, dispensary, and cultivation. Cannabis businesses need to know what’s required in their state and when to get their licenses and permits renewed. Having an expired or illegitimate license or permit can result in hefty fines and a risk of closure.

It isn’t just the business that has to be licensed either in many states. Employees are typically also required to have specific licensing to work in a cannabis business.

Cultivation

From plant limits to seed to sale tracking, every state can implement different cannabis compliance requirements for cultivation facilities and farms. This can include mandatory reporting of water usage and run-off, pesticide restrictions, limited employees permitted in the grow, and tracking such as METRC.

Justin Jones from Greener Consulting Group opened the first recreational cannabis dispensary in Denver, Colorado. He was also one of the first growers in the country to implement METRC tracking in his grow.

In the past, growers just grew. Today’s growers need real management skills in the highly regulated legal markets and just as much time is spent meeting compliance requirements as is spent growing the plants themselves. It is a complete turn around from the past. Programs like METRC that were resisted at first, have now become tools for improving your business and collecting data on production, potency, testing and more.

Justin Jones

There is no worse feeling for a grower than going through an entire season and having it thrown out or being fined an exorbitant amount for failing to adhere to cultivation compliance requirements.

Cannabis Testing

Testing requirements for cannabis cultivators and processors has been a hot button issue in the legal cannabis industry. Due to lack to federal regulation there is no federal guidance or requirements for cannabis products, again leaving the decision to the states.

While every state will have testing requirements in order to prove the potency and safety of cannabis products, the requirements can vary and the labs that do the testing can vary as well. One lab might only test for cannabinoids, while another may test for terpenes and heavy metals as well.

The majority of the time, these labs are not state-run either, which can lead to some shady business transactions between labs trying to make some money and a grower who wants their harvest to pass. Real Dirt host and Greener Consulting Group founder Chip Baker has plenty of experience dealing with cannabis testing in a variety of states.

He knows first hand how difficult it can be to find an affordable and reliable testing facility for a wide range of cannabis products.

Keeping up with the different testing regulations throughout the US is pretty much an impossible task. Every state is similar but different. Every lab is similar but different. Every state has different microbial and pesticide determinations. Some are lax and others are bordering on impossible to follow. You really have to be careful about the products you use on a plant. One day it could be legal and the next day not, literally. There needs to be a standardization of COAs (certificate of authenticity).

Chip Baker

Real Estate Cannabis Compliance

Real estate and zoning for cannabis businesses is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome. Not only do states create their own zoning requirements for cannabis businesses (e.g. distance from schools, parks, etc.), land owners can restrict cannabis businesses on their land as well.

Additionally, local governments and neighborhood groups who lobby them can also implement more restrictions. Cannabis businesses often face special zoning restrictions including security, lighting, crowd control, delivery traffic, parking, and drainage.

It can be a very time consuming process planning out a building design to meet the various strict requirements set by state and local governments. In turn, cannabis compliance in real estate can become more difficult dependent on the state.

Security and Surveillance

Any potential cannabis business owner will implement some form of security and surveillance out of necessity. So while it isn’t an aspect of cannabis compliance that is likely to slip the mind, states can still set specific requirements for security and surveillance that must be met.

These requirements will almost always include cameras and some sort of ID verification at the entrance. Other requirements may be hired security at the entrance, alarm systems, and even security patrols at cannabis cultivation facilities. Luckily security is something most cannabis business owners take very seriously, which makes cannabis compliance in this regard rather easy.

However like other state requirements placed on cannabis businesses, the costs of meeting security requirements can prevent smaller businesses from complying.

Sales and Reporting

Beside the age limit placed on medical and recreational cannabis purchases, states can add additional requirements when it comes to reporting. States may require an up to date record of inventory at all times, seed to sale tracking, purchase limits for consumers and more.

It isn’t uncommon for a cannabis business to try and skirt cannabis compliance in some of these aspects, and some have paid the price for it. Sales and reporting is a major aspect of cannabis compliance that will vary by state, and should be taken seriously.

More cannabis compliance requirements

The requirements listed above may be some of the most important for any cannabis business owner, but cannabis compliance is more broad than just a few key aspects.

Taxes, consumer privacy, employee hiring and practices, health and safety are just a few more that should never be overlooked, and can vary by state. If a cannabis business operates in a state with delivery options, that adds a whole new tier of cannabis compliance that must be met as well.

Similar to any business in any industry, the larger you are the more it costs to operate. The larger you are, more difficult it will be to maintain compliance in an ever changing industry with regulatory updates happening frequently.

Owning a business is no easy task. However owning a cannabis business is a challenge many won’t be able to handle.

House Committee Approves Marijuana Protections For Banking

by The Real Dirt | Jun 25, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Industry News

A house appropriations committee has approved a cannabis banking amendment

A House subcommittee on Thursday approved a large-scale funding bill that includes provisions protecting banks from being punished for working with marijuana businesses and allowing Washington, D.C. to legalize cannabis sales.

The move by congressional Democrats to let the District of Columbia set its own marijuana policies is in contrast with a budget released last month by President Joe Biden, which proposed continuing the longstanding Republican-led rider that has prevented the city from spending its own money to regulate adult-use cannabis commerce.

The banking-related provision is less far-reaching than more robust standalone bills the House has passed on four occasions, but would still provide some protections to banks that work with state-legal marijuana operators.

Both measures are attached to a bill to fund various federal agencies for Fiscal Year 2022 that was approved by the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Subcommittee in a voice vote. The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to take up the legislation on Tuesday.

In a press release, the panel called the rider blocking local D.C. marijuana policymaking an “objectionable” measure that “undermine[s] home rule.”

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said in a press release that she’s “very pleased the bill respects D.C.’s right to self-government by allowing D.C. to spend its local funds as it sees fit, including on…recreational marijuana commercialization.”

“With Democrats controlling the White House, House and Senate,” she said, “we have the best opportunity in over a decade to enact a spending bill with no anti-home-rule riders, as this D.C. appropriations bill does and as I requested.”

After the Biden budget was released, Norton told Marijuana Moment that she was “very disappointed” over the decision, especially considering that fact that he’s voiced support for D.C. statehood.

The exclusion of the D.C. provision from the Fiscal Year 2022 FSGG appropriations bill could set the stage for conflict between lawmakers and the president. The Biden administration has already disappointed advocates by declining to take meaningful action on cannabis reform as promised on the campaign trail, and his inclusion of the D.C. rider was seen as an outright hostile act.

The District’s mayor said in April that local officials are prepared to move forward with implementing a legal system of recreational cannabis sales in the nation’s capital just as soon as they can get over the final “hurdle” of congressional interference.

The ongoing blockade is the result of an amendment that was first added by Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) when Republicans controlled the House and has since been continued in annual appropriations legislation. The House on several occasions has since passed spending bills that do not include the cannabis ban, but it has been included in final enacted legislation because the Senate under GOP control insisted on reinserting it.

Read Full Story on Marijuana Moment

United Nations calls for global ban on cannabis advertising

by The Real Dirt | Jun 24, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Culture, Industry News, Legalization, Medical Marijuana, Politics

The United Nations on Thursday called for a global ban on all advertising that promotes cannabis products, in a move that it said could mimic its efforts to lead a global effort to limit tobacco marketing and use.

The UN can only recommend such a move, and it would be up to member nations to implement and enforce any kind of advertising ban.

“A comprehensive ban on advertising, promoting and sponsoring cannabis would ensure that public health interests prevail over business interests,” the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime wrote in its annual World Drug Report.

“Such a ban would need to apply across all jurisdictions,” the global agency added.

The agency noted in its report that pot products “have almost quadrupled in strength in the United States of America and have doubled in Europe in the last two decades.”

Even as the products have become more potent over the last 20 years, the percentage of adolescents who view the drug as harmful has decreased by as much as 40 percent over the past 20 years, the UNODC said.

It added that marijuana can lead to mental health disorders in long-term, heavy users.

“Aggressive marketing of cannabis products with a high THC content by private firms and promotion through social-media channels; can make the problem worse,” the UN officials wrote in their report.

The UNODC did not specify how such a ban would work, but noted that “the measures could work in a way similar to the provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.”