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Another Federal Agency Urges Employees Not To Use Marijuana, Warns Of Repercussions

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While employees are not explicitly banned from using hemp-derived CBD, which is legal under the 2018 Farm Bill, USFS warned that those using it “could test positive for illegal drug use.”

Despite an increasing acceptance of marijuana use among Americans, policies penalizing federal workers over their off-the-clock marijuana use in states where the plant is legal still exist.

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is another federal agency urging its employees not to use cannabis, reported Marijuana Moment. “There have been no changes to the panel of drugs contained in the list of Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substance Act,” USFS’ human resources division said in a notice posted on Monday.

The agency warned employees that it would conduct random tests on those reasonably suspected of cannabis use. Workers in ‘Test Designated Positions’ will be tested regularly. In addition, repercussions for positive tests include “discipline up to removal for the first finding of illegal drug use.”

The notice warns: “All Forest Service employees must remain drug-free and refrain from illegal drug use whether on or off duty regardless of state laws.”

While employees are not explicitly banned from using hemp-derived CBD, which is legal under the 2018 Farm Bill, USFS warned that those using it “could test positive for illegal drug use.”

“It can be inaccurately labeled as having no to low levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol, and yet actually contain high levels,” the agency said.

Positive Drug Tests Hit In Workers Hit A Two Decade High
Photo by KLH49/Getty Images

The Largest Government Labor Union Works On Policy Change

Meanwhile, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) recently accepted a resolution supporting cannabis legalization and urging the removal of policies penalizing federal workers over their off-the-clock marijuana use in states where the plant is legal.

Titled “Resolution to Support Deleting Responsible Off-Duty Marijuana Usage from Suitability Criteria,” the measure notes that there’s an “increasing acceptance of marijuana use in American society, including for medical treatment for veterans of the armed forces and others,” while pointing out that “federal regulations unreasonably cast marijuana usage as a matter of concern for security reasons.”

While some municipal departments like the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) are considering changing their cannabis testing policy, it seems significant changes will occur once and when marijuana becomes federally legal.

Which Industries Drug Test Workers The Most And The Least?

It’s good to know that transportation and warehousing and the utility sectors both had higher testing rates than the others.

On the other end of the spectrum are accommodation and food services, arts, entertainment and recreation, information, educational services and financial sectors, which all have the lowest testing rates.

Source: https://thefreshtoast.com/news/another-federal-agency-urges-employees-not-to-use-marijuana-warns-of-repercussions/

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New Mexico cannabis operator fined, loses license for alleged BioTrack fraud

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New Mexico regulators fined a cannabis operator nearly $300,000 and revoked its license after the company allegedly created fake reports in the state’s traceability software.

The New Mexico Cannabis Control Division (CCD) accused marijuana manufacturer and retailer Golden Roots of 11 violations, according to Albuquerque Business First.

Golden Roots operates the The Cannabis Revolution Dispensary.

The majority of the violations are related to the Albuquerque company’s improper use of BioTrack, which has been New Mexico’s track-and-trace vendor since 2015.

The CCD alleges Golden Roots reported marijuana production only two months after it had received its vertically integrated license, according to Albuquerque Business First.

Because cannabis takes longer than two months to be cultivated, the CCD was suspicious of the report.

After inspecting the company’s premises, the CCD alleged Golden Roots reported cultivation, transportation and sales in BioTrack but wasn’t able to provide officers who inspected the site evidence that the operator was cultivating cannabis.

In April, the CCD revoked Golden Roots’ license and issued a $10,000 fine, according to the news outlet.

The company requested a hearing, which the regulator scheduled for Sept. 1.

At the hearing, the CCD testified that the company’s dried-cannabis weights in BioTrack were suspicious because they didn’t seem to accurately reflect how much weight marijuana loses as it dries.

Company employees also poorly accounted for why they were making adjustments in the system of up to 24 pounds of cannabis, making comments such as “bad” or “mistake” in the software, Albuquerque Business First reported.

Golden Roots was fined $298,972.05 – the amount regulators allege the company made selling products that weren’t properly accounted for in BioTrack.

The CCD has been cracking down on cannabis operators accused of selling products procured from out-of-state or not grown legally:

Golden Roots was the first alleged rulebreaker in New Mexico to be asked to pay a large fine.

Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/new-mexico-cannabis-operator-fined-loses-license-for-alleged-biotrack-fraud/

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Marijuana companies suing US attorney general in federal prohibition challenge

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Four marijuana companies, including a multistate operator, have filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in which they allege the federal MJ prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act is no longer constitutional.

According to the complaint, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, retailer Canna Provisions, Treevit delivery service CEO Gyasi Sellers, cultivator Wiseacre Farm and MSO Verano Holdings Corp. are all harmed by “the federal government’s unconstitutional ban on cultivating, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing intrastate marijuana.”

Verano is headquartered in Chicago but has operations in Massachusetts; the other three operators are based in Massachusetts.

The lawsuit seeks a ruling that the “Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to the intrastate cultivation, manufacture, possession, and distribution of marijuana pursuant to state law.”

The companies want the case to go before the U.S. Supreme Court.

They hired prominent law firm Boies Schiller Flexner to represent them.

The New York-based firm’s principal is David Boies, whose former clients include Microsoft, former presidential candidate Al Gore and Elizabeth Holmes’ disgraced startup Theranos.

Similar challenges to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) have failed.

One such challenge led to a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2005.

In Gonzalez vs. Raich, the highest court in the United States ruled in a 6-3 decision that the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to outlaw marijuana federally, even though state laws allow the cultivation and sale of cannabis.

In the 18 years since that ruling, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use marijuana and the federal government has allowed a multibillion-dollar cannabis industry to thrive.

Since both Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice, currently headed by Garland, have declined to intervene in state-licensed marijuana markets, the key facts that led to the Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling “no longer apply,” Boies said in a statement Thursday.

“The Supreme Court has since made clear that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate purely intrastate commerce,” Boies said.

“Moreover, the facts on which those precedents are based are no longer true.”

Verano President Darren Weiss said in a statement the company is “prepared to bring this case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to align federal law with how Congress has acted for years.”

While the Biden administration’s push to reschedule marijuana would help solve marijuana operators’ federal tax woes, neither rescheduling nor modest Congressional reforms such as the SAFER Banking Act “solve the fundamental issue,” Weiss added.

“The application of the CSA to lawful state-run cannabis business is an unconstitutional overreach on state sovereignty that has led to decades of harm, failed businesses, lost jobs, and unsafe working conditions.”

Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-companies-suing-us-attorney-general-to-overturn-federal-prohibition/

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Alabama to make another attempt Dec. 1 to award medical cannabis licenses

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Alabama regulators are targeting Dec. 1 to award the first batch of medical cannabis business licenses after the agency’s first two attempts were scrapped because of scoring errors and litigation.

The first licenses will be awarded to individual cultivators, delivery providers, processors, dispensaries and state testing labs, according to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC).

Then, on Dec. 12, the AMCC will award licenses for vertically integrated operations, a designation set primarily for multistate operators.

Licenses are expected to be handed out 28 days after they have been awarded, so MMJ production could begin in early January, according to the Alabama Daily News.

That means MMJ products could be available for patients around early March, an AMCC spokesperson told the media outlet.

Regulators initially awarded 21 business licenses in June, only to void them after applicants alleged inconsistencies with how the applications were scored.

Then, in August, the state awarded 24 different licenses – 19 went to June recipients – only to reverse themselves again and scratch those licenses after spurned applicants filed lawsuits.

A state judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Chicago-based MSO Verano Holdings Corp., but another lawsuit is pending.

Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/alabama-plans-to-award-medical-cannabis-licenses-dec-1/

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