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Tennessee Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced

by Travis C | Feb 24, 2022 | Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Legalization, Medical Marijuana

Tennessee medical marijuana bill would legalize medical cannabis

A bill introduced to the Tennessee General Assembly in early February that would legalize medical marijuana in the state has moved into the Senate Judiciary Committee for discussion. SB 2477 and HB 2458 were introduced by Reps. Janice Bowling (R) and Iris Rudder (R) respectively.

These bills together establish the framework for a regulated Tennessee medical cannabis industry. Patients with qualifying conditions would be able to purchase cannabis products from licensed retailers. Licensing and regulations for cultivation, production, distribution, transport, selling, and acquiring cannabis for medical use and research will be created.

Tennessee medical marijuana cards will be available to patients and caregivers. Patients and caregivers must be 18 years or older to obtain a medical marijuana card. However a caregiver may not use medical marijuana without having a qualifying condition themself. A Tennessee medical marijuana card will be valid for two years, with an option for renewal.

The bill requires a patient registry to be established by June 1, 2023. This includes application forms and procedures for obtaining patient and caregiver medical marijuana cards, and an integrated, electronic system for tracking the application process and the status of medical marijuana cards.The commission must ensure that a process is available for healthcare providers to electronically report a qualifying diagnosis as part of the patient medical cannabis card registry process by September 30, 2022.

This Tennessee medical marijuana bill will create the Tennessee medical cannabis commission, which will have 12 members. The Governor, Speaker of the Senate and Speaker of the House must make their initial appointments to the commission by August 30, 2022. However each member of the commission must meet specific, individual requirements which are as follows:

(1) One person with professional experience in industrial or agricultural systems management, including commodities, manufacturing, or distribution in a regulated industry;

(2) One person with professional experience in legal or social justice issues related to a regulated industry;

(3) One person with professional experience in public health, mental health, substance use, toxicology, biochemistry, or medical research and

(4) One person with professional experience in the field of law enforcement and peace officer standards (POST) certification;

(5) One person with experience in multiple crop development and agricultural practices;

(6) One person with experience in complex agriculture, health, science, business, or government systems;

(7) One person who is a licensed pharmacist; and

(8) One person with professional experience in the field of law enforcement and POST certification;

(9) One person with experience in public or rural land use management;

(10) One person who is a physician licensed to practice in this state;

(11) One person who is licensed to practice law in this state; and

(12) One person with professional experience in agricultural lending or banking or with state-chartered banks or credit unions.

Each member of the commission will receive $700 for each meeting of the commission that the member attends and will be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in connection with their official duties.

The bill also specifies that the state will regulate medical marijuana from seed to sale to use and reasonably regulate and control all aspects of industry. Any county or municipality seeking to ban the cultivation, processing, manufacture, or sale of medical cannabis may do so by a two-thirds vote of the local legislative body. This must be done by April 1, 2023.

Tennessee medical marijuana law will impose a 9% tax rate on retail medical marijuana sales, with an additional 2.1% maximum permitted from counties or municipalities. The bill also includes a 10% excise tax applied to net earnings.

Tax collected from the retail sale of Tennessee medical marijuana will be apportioned and allocated in the following manner:

(1) Five percent to the POST commission for opioid and methamphetamine drug enforcement training purposes;

(2) 25 percent to the department of agriculture for programs and grants administered by the department that facilitate agricultural development in this state, including, but not limited to, the agriculture enterprise fund and the Tennessee agricultural enhancement program;

(3) 20 percent to the department of economic and community development for community and rural development program grants administered by the department;

(4) 45 percent to the medical cannabis fund; and

(5) Five percent to the department of veteran’s services for programs administered by the department that provide treatment for veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Lastly, the bill will license medical cannabis cultivation operations which will be able to sell and distribute cannabis products to retail dispensaries. The bill currently does not include any cap on how many licenses may be given out for cultivations.

The bill will allow the following medical conditions to quality for Tennessee medical marijuana: cancer; glaucoma; epilepsy; HIV/AIDS; Crohn’s disease; muscular sclerosis; opioid addiction; renal failure; severe nausea or chronic pain and many more. The commission may, by rule, add other qualifying conditions at any point.

Read the full text of the bill here.

Nevada Governor Signs Multiple Marijuana Reform Bills

by The Real Dirt | Jun 14, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Industry News, Legalization

nevada governor passed more cannabis reform bills last week

Carson City, NV: Democrat Gov. Steve Sisolak has signed multiple marijuana reform bills into law.

On Monday, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 341. The new law, which takes effect on October 1, 2021, provides regulations for the establishment of on-site “cannabis consumption lounges” for those ages 21 and older. Regulators must still determine the specific types of cannabis products that are “appropriate for consumption” in the facilities.

Alaska and Colorado have previously enacted legislation explicitly permitting social consumption sites for cannabis, and New York’s nascent adult-use law also regulates on-site facilities. Similar legislation is currently pending in California.

Late last week, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 400 into law. It amends the state’s traffic safety statutes so that the operation of a motor vehicle with trace amounts of either THC or its metabolite is no longer a per se violation of law. The new law takes effect on October 1, 2021.

Under the state’s existing traffic safety laws, it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle with low levels of either THC or the 11-hydroxy-THC metabolites in one’s blood or urine, even absent any further evidence of psychomotor impairment. The revised measure eliminates the application of those limits in certain circumstances.

NORML has consistently opposed the imposition of THC per se limits, opining that such thresholds are not evidence-based and that they may lead to the criminal prosecution of people who consumed cannabis several days previously but are no longer under its influence.

Also on Friday, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 158, which revises first-time penalties imposed upon minors who possess small quantities of cannabis. It reduces existing penalties — which include up to six-months in jail and a $1,000 fine — to community service. The measure also requires courts to automatically seal records for these offenses if the offender completes the term of their sentence. The new law takes effect on July 1, 2021.

Original Story from Yes Weekly

Texas Marijuana Concentrates and Psychedelics Bill Passed in Senate

by The Real Dirt | May 24, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Culture, Hemp Law, Medical Marijuana

Texas marijuana concentrates and psychedelics got a big win in the state senate

The Texas Senate has approved House-passed bills to reduce criminal penalties for possessing marijuana concentrates and require the state to study the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA. But because senators amended both pieces of legislation, they must first head back to their originating chamber before they can be sent to the governor’s desk.

Meanwhile, advocates are closely monitoring a separate bill to expand the state’s medical cannabis program, which cleared the House and was referred to a Senate committee on Thursday. But the fate of that proposal remains murky as a legislative deadline approaches. It must be acted on in the Senate State Affairs Committee in order to advance to the floor, and the end of the session is nearing.

Under HB 1802, which passed the Senate on Saturday in a 25-5 vote, the state would be required to study the medical risks and benefits of psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine for military veterans in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine and a military-focused medical center. As amended by a House committee, it would also mandate a clinical trial into psilocybin for veterans with PTSD, in addition to a broader review of the scientific literature on all three substances.

The Senate adopted a balanced budget amendment to the bill clarifying that the psychedelic studies wouldn’t be carried out unless there’s funding allocated the effort—a situation already accounted for by a contingent rider for the funds.

Former Gov. Rick Perry (R), who also served as U.S. energy secretary, has called on lawmakers to approve the psychedelics legislation.

The cannabis concentrates measure that also advanced through the Senate is a modest reform compared to another proposal to more broadly decriminalize marijuana possession that recently passed the House but has since stalled. But if enacted, HB 2593 would mark the first time that Texas has reduced penalties associated with marijuana since the 1970s.

Read Full Story on Marijuana Moment

Marijuana industry expected to add $92 billion to US economy in 2021

by The Real Dirt | May 12, 2021 | 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Business, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Culture, Legalization, Medical Marijuana

Marijuana revenue is expected to surpass $90 billion in 2021

From jobs to tax revenue to commercial real estate, the marijuana industry has a large – and growing – impact on the broader economy in the United States.

The total U.S. economic impact from marijuana sales in 2021 is expected to reach $92 billion – up more than 30% from last year – and upwards of $160 billion in 2025, according to analysis from the newly published MJBizFactbook.

To measure the industry’s economic impact, MJBizDaily analyzed similar industries and applied a standard multiplier of 3.5 on projected recreational and medical marijuana retail sales.

The numbers are a best guess because the marijuana industry’s structure is somewhat unique because it encompasses agricultural, manufacturing and retail activity.

The economic impact of the marijuana industry is not the same as supply-chain revenues that are often used to estimate the “total size” of an industry.

Rather, the economic multiplier paints a picture of the impact the industry has on the broader economy.

In this case, for every $1 consumers and patients spend at retail locations, an additional $2.50 will be injected into the economy, much of it at the local level.

That impact comes directly from the day-to-day needs of workers in the cannabis industry, including spending on life’s necessities such as housing, transportation, entertainment and more.

Marijuana businesses, consumers and patients also pay hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local taxes that are used to fund state and local government activities, including schools and roads.

In addition, real estate receives a boost from new retail, manufacturing and agricultural businesses moving into an area or established companies expanding, increasing broader demand for commercial properties.

Cultivating and manufacturing marijuana can require large investments in equipment and technology that boost not only the local economy but also areas throughout the U.S.

The list goes on.

Using the same multiplier methodology can also offer insight into the local-dollar impact from sales of recreational and/or medical marijuana.

The economic impact will vary by state based on the size, maturity and type of market.

For example, as the largest market in the U.S., California’s marijuana industry is expected to pump close to $20 billion into the state’s economy in 2021.

No other state comes close to that amount.

But states such as Colorado, Illinois, Oregon and Washington will provide more than $10 billion each for their local economies in the coming years.

Expect the same for markets in densely populated states such as New Jersey and New York as they develop.

If we consider total population, some states benefit more than others.