Government
Is North Carolina Poised to Be the Next State to Legalize Medical Cannabis?
For those who do not know this is 2022, the year of cannabis. The world of cannabis has never seen a better time in terms of legalization as open markets are being set up in different regions. North Carolina looks set to be the next in the line of states in the United States approving medical marijuana. The Senate of the state just gave the first approval to legalize medical marijuana in the state. This is good news for residents of the state and cannabis enthusiasts everywhere.
Read on as we take a closer look at the cannabis industry scene in the region, what we should expect from the bill and what it can accomplish in the state.
The journey of the bill in the house so far
As stated earlier, the North Carolina Senate has just given first-stage approval for a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state. This came just a day after the bill cleared a major committee of the Senate chaired by Sen. Bill Rabon (R) who also doubles as the sponsor of the bill. On getting to the chamber, the bill got immense support on the second reading as 35 voted in favor against 10 who opposed.
The sponsor of the bill said on the floor of the Senate before the vote that this bill will aid many people at the end of their life which is a time when they need compassion. He believes medical cannabis can help people in the few days or whatever time they have left to be as comfortable as they can be. These views were very personal to the senator who is also a survivor of cancer and can relate to medical patients needing comfort.
The bill is called the NC Compassionate Care Act and it has already cleared three different panels in 2021. Senator Rabon believes it is the duty of lawmakers to rubberstamp the bill and ensure it helps those in need. The bill only needs another vote of validation next week which will see it be sent formally to the House of Representatives for proper consideration.
What will the bill accomplish?
When such bills surface, what the people want to know is what the bill will accomplish when passed. Well, the NC Compassionate Care Act much like other medical marijuana bills in other states will help many patients with debilitating health conditions. It also addresses the number of cannabis patients will be allowed to purchase as well as other issues such as cultivation and cannabis-infused product.
Here is the major targets points of the NC Compassionate Care Act as amended:
- Access to cannabis will be granted to patients who have debilitating health conditions which include epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Patients with terminal illnesses and less than 6 months to live and those requiring hospice care are also added to the list as amended by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
- Home cultivation of cannabis is completely prohibited but patients are allowed to have up to one and a half-ounce of cannabis.
- The bill also saw the definition of “cannabis-infused” product change to the more recent version. This version sees the cannabis-infused product as a tablet, capsule, concentrated oil, suspension, preparation, resin or wax”.
- Vaping and smoking cannabis are allowed. Doctors are however required to prescribe a specific mode of use and dose for patients under the amended legislation.
- Eligibility of patients will be assessed and evaluated for the program minimum of once a year.
- A Compassionate Use Advisory Board will be set up to add new medical conditions to qualify patients.
- A Medical Cannabis Production Commission will also be created to ensure an adequate supply of cannabis for patients. The committee will also be saddled with the responsibility of generating revenue to oversee the program and issue licenses.
- A North Carolina Cannabis Research Program will be established to undertake objective, scientific research on the administration of cannabis and cannabis-infused products.
- The amended bill also offers further protection for patients as agents of the state are required to handle cannabis as a prescribed controlled substance for qualified patients.
- Limitations of the bill include where marijuana can be smoked, the operating hours of medical cannabis businesses, the location of the businesses, and the number of certifications a physician can give per time.
These are only some of the present revisions of the bill and many advocates are still hoping and pushing for expansion of the program towards ensuring social equity.
Senator Rabon was the first to offer an amendment to the bill on the floor of the Senate before voting on Thursday. A significant change offered was to allow 10 licensed marijuana suppliers to operate up to 8 dispensaries. This is an upgrade to the maximum of four dispensaries that was on the cards in other versions of the bill. The changes offered also clarified other issues around fees, reporting requirements, conflicting interests for physicians, and other technical corrections.
Beyond the NC Compassionate Care Act
While many are still waiting for the medical ship for the marijuana bill to come to life, others are already looking beyond. A poll done by the Carolina Partnership for Reform shows that 82 percent of voters in North Carolina want the legalization of medical marijuana in the state. This composition also includes 86 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of Republicans. Surprisingly, 60 percent of the voters also back the legalization of recreational use of cannabis in the state.
These present figures are an improvement from the results of the same question when asked earlier in the year. Presently, three in four persons in the state believe patients should have access to medical marijuana as needed. This creates an ideal situation to see proper incorporation of medical marijuana in the state. For now, all that can be done is to wait to see the outcome of the final vote on the bill in the Senate after which other needed acts will follow.
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:
- Regulators alleged in August that Albuquerque dispensary Sawmill Sweet Leaf sold out-of-state products and didn’t have a license for extraction.
- Paradise Exotics Distro lost its license in July after regulators alleged the company sold products made in California.
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/
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.”
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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