Business
New Version of German Cannabis Legalization Bill Draft Possibly Arriving Next Week
Just one month after German officials released the first draft for cannabis legalization, new changes are expected in the most recent version.
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach recently said in an interview with the Rheinische Post on August 9 that the federal cabinet will approve the proposed legalization plan for cannabis soon.
“I expect the cannabis approval to come into the cabinet next week. There will be small changes…” Lauterbach said.
When the interviewer inquired about the changes, he said that it’s up to the cabinet to determine changes. “But I can already say this much: parallel to the legislation, we will run a major campaign to draw attention to the risks of cannabis consumption,” Lauterbach continued. “Cannabis is particularly harmful to the still-growing brain. The brain is still being remodeled up to the age of 25. Anyone who consumes in this age phase is particularly harmful. My goal is that we reduce cannabis use among young people and make it safer for those who want to use it.”
The first public draft was revealed last month on July 5, which at the time Lauterbach referred to it as a “two-pillar model” that would “legalize private cultivation by adults for personal consumption as well as communal, non-commercial cultivation of cannabis in cultivation associations.”
That draft noted that adults over 18 years and older would be allowed to possess up to 25 grams of cannabis and cultivate up to three plants at home. Social clubs would also be established as places to purchase cannabis, as well as restrictions regarding location from schools. The number of clubs per city is determined by population, with one club serving every 6,000 people. Social club permits would last for up to seven years, and permit owners would be eligible to renew their permit after year five.
Lauterbach mentioned a pending educational campaign presented by the government to “draw attention to the risks” of cannabis. Some states in the U.S. have successfully launched education campaigns surrounding cannabis as well.
Back in 2019, an educational initiative was presented in the form of a game show called “Weeded Out” in Denver, Colorado. The jeopardy-style show asked teenage participants to answer questions about cannabis and promoting education.
Last April, New York launched a massive education campaign that spanned television commercials, radio ads, advertisement on public transit, social media, and billboards. It included coverage of the law, storing cannabis products safely, among other topics. “With the ‘Cannabis Conversations’ campaign, we’re following through on our commitment to provide New Yorkers with the information they need to safely navigate the new Cannabis Law,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “Education is the best tool to keep New Yorkers healthy as we continue to ramp up this safe, inclusive, and equitable industry.”
In September 2022, Connecticut launched an educational campaign to provide “people with the tools and knowledge to make informed decisions to keep their families safe,” said Gov. Ned Lamont. It included information on how to safely store cannabis, how to dispose of cannabis waste, and what to do if a child or pet accidentally consumes cannabis products, all in a variety of mediums such as videos, brochures, flyers, and social media graphics.
In October 2022, a Pennsylvania grant program provided a total of $200,000 to organizations promoting hemp education and awareness. “These grants will feed a new industry that was once a staple of Pennsylvania’s economy and is again presenting opportunities for farm income and jobs as well as new possibilities for climate-friendly, environmentally beneficial products,” said Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding.
Most recently, Oklahoma advocates ramped up awareness for a special election for State Question 820 in February with an educational video. However, voters still rejected the measure with 62% opposed and 38% in favor.
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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