Business
Japanese Health Officials Propose Revision of Law To Allow Import, Medical Cannabis
Japanese officials released the latest report in an ongoing review to consider a revision to its cannabis law.
The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare stated on Sept. 29 that it recommends an amendment to the country’s drug law, known as the Cannabis Control Act. According to Reuters, the agency expressed the need to allow cannabis to be imported and permitted for medical use, which would align it with other countries that already have established medical cannabis programs.
Medical cannabis would be regulated like pharmaceuticals, and “would apply to marijuana products whose safety and efficacy were confirmed under laws governing pharmaceuticals and medical devices,” according to Reuters.
According to translated documents published on Sept. 28 by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, a large number of individuals contributed to the review and recommendations, including professors and medical professionals. According to the report, only 1.4% of people in Japan report having ever used cannabis. In western countries, consumer percentages range between 20-40%.
In the U.S., Epidiolex is the first CBD medicine approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating children with epilepsy, and specifically those who suffer from Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet’s syndrome, and tuberous sclerosis complex. As of March 2019, Epidiolex began undergoing clinical trials in Japan, although there have been no further reports or updates. The trials are exempt from the country’s Cannabis Control Act, which prohibits cannabis import/export and consumption. At the time, the country reported having 3,000 residents who suffer from Dravet syndrome, and 4,300 who suffer from Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
In its current form, the Cannabis Control Act is limiting all forms of progress in relation to cannabis, including hemp.
In January 2021, the Hokkaido Industrial Hemp Association (HIHA) released a statement addressing the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare’s investigation on cannabis and other drugs. “The Cannabis Control Act is a profoundly unreasonable law that restricts all cannabis regardless of the quantity or even presence of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana, the chemical synthetic substance of which are designated as an illegal drug in Japan), and even prohibits the cultivation of hemp from overseas (see note below) containing none of this substance,” HIHA wrote. “First, concerning the Cannabis Control Act and problems with its application, we would like to recommend the development of a more reasonable law formulated based upon discussion that is made public to the citizens of Japan and upon scientific knowledge.”
HIHA concluded that the Cannabis Control Act is preventing the hemp industry from flourishing since it was enacted in 1948. “In order to develop a hemp industry on par with those overseas and protect national interests concerning industrial hemp, this country must revise the Cannabis Control Act and other related laws as soon as possible, position the hemp industry appropriately within the legal system, and strike a balance between the control of drugs and the encouragement of industry.”
In August 2021, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare released a report detailing their recommendations for allowing medical cannabis for patients. Earlier this year in May, the ministry met again to continue the discussion of medical cannabis, addressing the need for treatment for those who abuse cannabis use and how to address youth consumption.
In December 2021, the gaming company Capcom partnered with the Osaka Prefectural Police to use its fictional character Ace Attorney to campaign against cannabis youth consumption. According to the Japanese National Police Agency, there were 5,482 people who were caught violating the country’s cannabis law (4,537 were in possession of cannabis, while 273 were illegally selling the plant, and 230 were arrested for illegally cultivating). Beatles band member Paul McCartney received an 11-year ban from Japan for possessing half a pound of cannabis back in 1980.
Business
New Mexico cannabis operator fined, loses license for alleged BioTrack fraud
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/
Business
Marijuana companies suing US attorney general in federal prohibition challenge
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.”
Business
Alabama to make another attempt Dec. 1 to award medical cannabis licenses
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/
-
Business1 year ago
Pot Odor Does Not Justify Probable Cause for Vehicle Searches, Minnesota Court Affirms
-
Business1 year ago
New Mexico cannabis operator fined, loses license for alleged BioTrack fraud
-
Business1 year ago
Alabama to make another attempt Dec. 1 to award medical cannabis licenses
-
Business1 year ago
Washington State Pays Out $9.4 Million in Refunds Relating to Drug Convictions
-
Business1 year ago
Marijuana companies suing US attorney general in federal prohibition challenge
-
Business1 year ago
Legal Marijuana Handed A Nothing Burger From NY State
-
Business1 year ago
Can Cannabis Help Seasonal Depression
-
Blogs1 year ago
Cannabis Art Is Flourishing On Etsy