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Kiss Me, I’m Highrish! – Ireland Files Cannabis Legalization Bill
Ireland to legalize marijuana? Many feel the time has come for this EU nation!
The tide might be changing soon regarding the cannabis industry in Ireland. There has been a recent buzz among cannabis reform advocates in the country based on happenings in the National Assembly. A recent move by an Irish lawmaker for a cannabis legalization bill is what is getting many excited and there is good reason for it. While many are already thinking about the future, some are still sceptical that anything good can come from it. Read on as we go through all the is to know about the recent bill that was submitted.
The time has come for cannabis reforms in Ireland
Gino Kenny is a member of the People Before Profit Party of Ireland. He is a lawmaker who is also known as a Teachta Dala (TD) and he got into the news recently for his bill for cannabis legalization. The bill seeks to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis by adults for personal use. If the bill is passed, there is be a big reduction in the acceptable limit of possession for cannabis and cannabis resin. The new acceptable limit for cannabis will be 7 grams while that of cannabis resin will be 2.5 grams.
The present Misuse of Drugs Act for Ireland has been in effect since the 1970s. If this bill is passed, it will effect a change to that standing bill and Kenny has said that he expects debate on the bill to occur in 2023. In a debate in the Dail Eireann, Kenny explained that the existing legislation of the Misuse of Drugs Act dates back 42 years. He believes that 42 years is a very long time and that the legislation can now be regarded as out of date and out of time. This is why he believes it’s the right time for drug reforms to be done.
Kenny also explained that the proposed bill is quite moderate and he hopes that the government can support it. He explained that cannabis acceptance has commenced in different regions of the world and Ireland should follow suit. Gone are the days of stereotyping and prohibition, more people are welcoming the medicinal and recreational benefits of cannabis and they are better for it. He believes it is time for the government to look for cannabis reforms which will not criminalize people and reduce harm. He says that he looks forward to the debate on the bill and hopes for favourable results.
Prohibition and criminalization have been ineffective so far
In a recent op-ed on November 24, Kenny explained that the bill is more of a decriminalization measure. He likened it to moves made across Europe towards cannabis reforms that are important for coexistence. Kenny showed that the present laws aimed at criminalization have not worked and they have made more harm. He states that the policy of total cannabis reduction in Ireland has been ineffective and this new legislation would amend it. If Ireland accepts this bill, it will join a list of countries in Europe and beyond that are aimed at establishing cannabis reform policies.
Despite the total cannabis prohibition policy by Ireland, it has seen the use of cannabis in the country increased drastically. Kenny pointed to the fact that Ireland has one of the highest usage rates of cannabis in the EU. Statistics have shown that 30 percent of adults aged between 15 and 64 in Ireland have used cannabis at least once in their lifetime. Another statistic shows that 17 percent of the present Irish adult population has used cannabis in the last 12 months. This is more than double the statistic of the European average which stands at 7 percent presently. This and many more were presented by Kenny to show that criminalization and existing laws of prohibition have been far from effective.
The new bill is still far from the full package
Many that have been hearing about the recent proposal by Kenny have developed the idea that it will make the plant legal. Well, that is far from the truth at least from what this present bill seeks to achieve. The bill seeks to remove criminal penalties that are attached to low-level cannabis possession. This will be done by increasing the limit of cannabis that adults can possess. However, the plant will remain illegal and activities such as cultivation and sale will be prohibited. What this means is that the grey market which has been the source of cannabis so far will remain the only source of cannabis in the country.
The bill, therefore, has been seen by many as a mild continuation of existing prohibitory laws. Others however have faith in the bill as a stepping stone for open conversation for total cannabis reforms in Ireland. There appears to be stiff opposition to cannabis reforms in Ireland. The head of the Irish Government, Taoiseach Micheal Martin recently warned that cannabis legalization could make it more desirable among young people. He believes that the more cannabis is glamorized as a solution to most medical concerns, could increase its popularity. This he said while trying to speak on the subject matter.
Martin states that cannabis does great harm to young people according to the reports he has gotten from medical people around him. He states that he is an advocate for the facilitation of medical marijuana if it will be a solution to many of the rising health concerns in the health world. He however believes that the harms of possible addiction should not be completely looked over as we look towards decriminalization.
Bottom line
There are certainly interesting days ahead for the cannabis industry and Ireland. Discussions on the proposed bill by Kenny should commence in 2023 and how far it will go will be seen. Medical cannabis is presently legal in Ireland which shows that the government is not completely opposed to the benefits of marijuana. Hopefully, this new bill will signal the light for new cannabis reforms associated with the adult use of the natural herb in the country.
Source: https://cannabis.net/blog/news/kiss-me-im-highrish-ireland-files-cannabis-legalization-bill
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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