Business
U.S. Forest Service Reminds Employees That They Are Still Subject to Federal Law
One official addressed cannabis consumption for federal U.S. Forest Service employees.
On June 22, U.S. Forest Service (USFS) deputy chief for business operations Tony Dixon published a statement exploring the relationship and impact of cannabis on federal employees.
“Over the last 10 years or so, our views around the use of marijuana have shifted radically,” Dixon stated. “Many states have legalized use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, and some have even allowed recreational use in much the same manner as tobacco or alcohol products. But where does that leave the federal government?”
Like other federal agencies, USFS employees are subject to the same federal laws as everyone else. However, he also explained the ongoing problem of federal employees not passing drug tests. “As a result of the confusion around these state-by-state changes, there has been a noticeable uptick in cases of employees failing drug tests,” he said. “Those results have been associated with the legalization of marijuana and have resulted in corrective action, including suspensions and loss of employment.”
Depending on the agency, some people are disqualified from applying if they have consumed cannabis within one year up to five years. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) previously required applicants to abstain from cannabis use for up to three years in order to be eligible for a job, although that was changed to one year back in July 2021.
The U.S. Secret Service used to allow applicants 24 or younger to apply for a job if they were cannabis-free for one year, and those 28 and older would need to be cannabis-free for at least five years. However, in May the agency updated its rules to allow applications to be reviewed for those who consume hemp-derived cannabis products within one year prior to the application.
According to Dixon though, cannabis can prevent employees from doing their work. “I value all my co-workers and want to ensure that we all continue to do the work we love in a safe environment,” he added. “I don’t want to see anyone penalized or even lose their jobs for something that could easily be avoided.”
“Many Forest Service employees already work in risky environments in the service of our communities,” he continued. “We want you to be aware of how this choice could have a negative effect on the rest of your lives. So, I wanted to take this time to refresh everyone on regulations and expectations placed upon us as Forest Service employees.”
Dixon addressed CBD as well, warning that some products inaccurately label products which contain trace amounts of THC and could potentially lead to a positive drug test. He also provides information for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s National Helpline, and online resources for treatment for those “struggling with addi[c]tion.”
“Above all, I want to make sure that at the end of the day, no one’s employment is affected or cut short by situations that are within our control,” Dixon concluded. “Please remember that no matter the state, as a federal employee, you are always subject to federal law.”
Although Dixon suggests that federal employees should abstain from cannabis use, and cites substance abuse services if they have trouble doing so, some studies have found evidence that many substances can be used to treat certain forms of addiction.
The results of a study published in JAMA Psychiatry in August 2022 found that psilocybin can be used to treat alcohol misuse disorder.
In October 2022, a study published in Substance Use & Misuse stated that four out of five patients featured in the study reported a decrease or reduction in opioid use after using medical cannabis. “The findings suggest that some medical cannabis patients decreased opioid use without harming quality of life or health functioning, soon after the legalization of medical cannabis,” researchers explained.
In March, researchers wrote in an Addiction Neuroscience journal study that CBD helped female rats curb opioid addiction. “The ability of [whole-plant extract] to reduce opioid reward and drug seeking behavior appears quite robust and of great clinical utility,” researchers wrote.
Another study published in the journal Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics earlier this year in April also found that many chronic pain patients who consumed cannabis for six months decreased their use of opioids. Researchers also found that “…patients prescribed oils or both types of CBMPs experienced reduced anxiety and an improvement in their ability to perform daily activities,” the authors wrote.
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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