Cultivation
The Florida Primary Election and Cannabis
The Florida primary election is approaching, meaning it’s time for voters to learn about candidates. Here is what some of those vying for statewide office have to say about cannabis.
Governor
The two leading Democratic candidates in the Florida gubernatorial primary support cannabis reform. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried self-describes as “Florida’s leading statewide advocate on cannabis issues and the sole statewide elected official to call for full cannabis legalization.” Last April, Fried sued the federal government “over federal cannabis policies that prohibit Floridians from purchasing a firearm on the sole basis that they are a state-law-abiding medical marijuana patient.” According to Fried, this constitutes a violation of patients’ Second Amendment rights.
Fried’s main rival in the Florida primary is Charlie Crist, who in 2006 successfully ran for governor on a Republican ticket. Perhaps eager to cement his progressive bona fides, Crist is not ceding any ground to Fried on cannabis to Fried, tweeting, “As Governor of Florida I will legalize marijuana.”
How this Florida primary race is shaping up depends on who you believe, with narratives going from from a “commanding” Crist lead to a “dead heat.” Come what may, however, the eventual Democratic nominee will be on record as supporting legalization.
As for the Republicans, incumbent governor Ron DeSantis will not be facing a primary challenge. DeSantis has made it clear that he does not support legalization, though he has “suggested he was in favor of decriminalizing marijuana.” This said, do not expect DeSantis to make waves on this issue as his focus increasingly turns to his national ambitions.
Attorney General
Former prosecutor Jim Lewis, running for AG in the Florida primary, is urging Democrats to “legalize marijuana for home use, [and] stop the medical marijuana farce that lines the pockets of a favored few, and puts poor people in jail.” Barring an unexpected turn of events, however, it will not be Lewis facing incumbent Ashley Moody, with the real race taking place between Aramis Ayala and Daniel Uhlfelder.
As a Central Florida prosecutor, Ayala established a diversion policy for cannabis-related misdemeanors. There is no indication, though, that Ayala supports wider decriminalization, let alone legalization.*
Without doubt, the most colorful of the candidates in this Florida primary race is Uhlfelder, known for visiting beaches in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic dressed as the Grim Reaper. For proponents of cannabis reform, though, Uhlfelder is a harbinger of hope, having described himself as someone “who advocates *for* legalizing marijuana instead of the current Attorney General who *twice* took it upon her office to advocate against Florida voters even getting to vote on marijuana legalization.”
That tweet also sums up what we could expect from a second Moody term, and this is confirmed by her “F” grade from NORML. The current AG has already secured the Republican nomination.
Commissioner of Agriculture
Fried’s departure leaves a big gap in the Florida Cabinet when it comes to cannabis advocacy. But there is one candidate in the Florida primary that is well placed to take up Fried’s mantle. Ryan Morales is, in his own words, a “well-known cannabis activist with a small Hemp Farm in Clermont.” Just so there are no doubts as to his views on cannabis reform, Morales’ campaign website states that he is “in full support of the full legalization of Marijuana.” He adds that “Home Grow is a must and decriminalization along with the release of any incarcerated due to possession needs to be done!”
Some say Morales is a “long shot candidate,” but he has been holding his own as far as fundraising. As for how his Florida primary rivals stack up when it comes to cannabis, back in 2016 J.R. Gaillot said that “the jury [was] still out” for him as far as recreational legalization goes, while being supportive of medical cannabis. It is unclear if his views on adult-use cannabis have changed since then.*
A third candidate, Naomi Esther Blemur, has indicated that she “will advocate for … building a strong hemp economy for Floridians with inclusive access for all!” However, Blemur does not appear to have made any pronouncements regarding the legalization of adult-use cannabis.*
Over on the other side of the aisle, as president of the Florida Senate, Wilton Simpson expressed support for THC caps on medical cannabis. Meanwhile, “Let Farmers Farm” is one of the rallying cries of his opponent James Shaw. Not sure if that includes cannabis for adult use,* but it is likely a moot point, as he is considered to be “token opposition” to Simpson.
Conclusion
The key moment for the prospect of cannabis reform in the Sunshine State over the next few years will be the November election. However, the upcoming Florida primary is worth watching as well. While both Democratic candidates support legalization, Fried is strongly identified with her cannabis advocacy. A Fried win (or even a strong performance) could hold valuable lessons for politicians in Florida and elsewhere, especially those in the Democratic camp, about the role of cannabis in electoral politics.
Source: https://harrisbricken.com/cannalawblog/the-florida-primary-election-and-cannabis/
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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