NATIONAL NEWS

from Vol. 2 Issue 2 (2022)

BEER & CANNABIS PAIRING

New York Doctors Can Now Recommend Medical Cannabis To Patients For Any Condition

Congress Files New Cannabis Banking Reform Amendment To Large-Scale House Bill

NEW YORK – Doctors in New York can now recommend medical cannabis to patients for any condition they see fit. As New York prepares the launch of its adult-use cannabis market, the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced on January 24, 2022, a significant expansion of the existing medical cannabis program.

Previously, and like Utah’s program, only certain types of severe disease sufferers could safely, legally access tested medical cannabinoids in The Big Apple. Now doctors will be able to issue medical cannabis recommendations to patients for any condition that they feel could be treated by cannabis. Physicians were granted that discretion through the state’s recreational cannabis law that was enacted last year.

Additionally, the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) voted unanimously to advance a policy change which allows medical cannabis patients in the state to grow for personal use, another change many in the state believe was made possible by the broad adult-use law that was enacted.

During November of 2021, regulators also authorized rules for the state’s cannabinoid hemp program, notably clarifying that cannabis flower from the crop can be sold but delta-8 THC products are currently prohibited from being marketed.

While cannabis retailers have yet to launch in New York, the legalization law signed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) already permits adults 21 and older to possess and publicly consume cannabis.

With the cannabis industry budding in the state, lawmakers have been working to address reform. For example, Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D) filed a bill last month which will allow gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to qualify as social equity applicants under the state’s new cannabis law.

Cooney introduced the legislation shortly after filing a separate bill to include transgender and non-binary people in the cannabis social equity program.

Washington D.C. – The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking ACT, which only seemed defeated when it was stripped out of the military spending bill earlier in the year, has been revived as an amendment to a domestic spending bill in the U.S. House of Representatives thanks to a Colorado Senator.

According to a news release from U.S. Rep Ed Perlmutter’s (DCO) office in January, the bill has been connected to the America COMPETES (Creating Opportunity to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology) Act of 2022. Perlmutter (D-CO) is the original sponsor of the SAFE Banking Act, and has expressed interest in pursuing another route to carry out his proposal after it was removed from the defense bill. The congressman’s legislation cleared the House in five forms since it was introduced during 2013.

It still remains to be seen whether the America COMPETES Act will serve as a more effective route for the cannabis banking bill than the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), where the language was successfully attached on the House side, but later removed amid bicameral negotiations.

Perlmutter is not running for reelection in November, but promised in the statement from his office that he “will continue to pursue every possible avenue to get SAFE Banking over the finish line and signed into law.”

There are over 30 Utah medical cannabis businesses who have started operation since pharmacy doors opened during March of 2020 who are relying on this bill to pass.

DEcrimiNAlizE vS. lEGAlizATiON

For most cannabis consumers over the age of 40, they’d be telling you they have been waiting for legalization their whole lives. Activists like Ed Rosenthal, known for writing the Marijuana Growers Handbook, have been fighting the good fight since the early 60’s. Although many have given up the endless battle, in recent years, pressure on state legislatures across the U.S. has increased to legalize or decriminalize the use, possession, and sale of cannabis.

BUT WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO?

Decriminalization of cannabis means the plant would remain illegal, but the legal system would not prosecute a person for possession under a specific amount.

Legalization of cannabis is the process of removing all legal prohibitions against the plant. The Good Herb would then be available to the adult general population for legal use and purchase. This is very similar to current tobacco and alcohol laws. This would also grant the federal government broad powers to regulate a national cannabis industry.

This would also enable the current patchwork model with some states making cannabis fully legal for adult-use, while others like Utah are permitting medical use only, and other states like Indiana and Idaho are maintaining blanket prohibition. Penalties would range from none at all, civil fines, drug education, or drug treatment.

As of January 2022, there are 31 states and the District of Columbia who have decriminalized low-level cannabis possession offenses. This typically removes the possibility of jail time at least for first time offenses, though the possibility of a fine or a criminal record remains in some places.

LEGAL FOR ADULT RECREATIONAL USE

LEGAL FOR MEDICAL USE ONLY

STATUS PENDING

NO PROGRAM

Amazon, one of the largest private employers in the U.S., is backing a Republican-led bill to federally legalize, tax, and regulate cannabis. The States Reform Act was filed by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) during November 2021 as a middle-ground alternative to a more scaled back GOP proposals and wide-ranging legalization bills that are being offered by Democrats.

Months before backing the States Reform Act, Amazon announced they would also stop testing most employees for cannabis. Their decision was widely celebrated by reform advocates and industry stakeholders.

Brian Huseman, Amazon’s vice president of public policy, said the bill “offers comprehensive reform that speaks to the emergence of a bipartisan consensus to end the federal prohibition of cannabis.”

The reason for moving away from cannabis testing was easy according to Amazon, mostly because it was becoming difficult to keep up with the state-level legalization movement sweeping the country.

The South Carolina congresswoman’s bill already has support of the Koch-backed conservative group American for Prosperity.

The measure would end federal cannabis prohibition while taking specific steps to ensure that businesses in existing state markets can continue to operate unencumbered by changing federal rules.

WHO IS TUrNiNG GrEEN IN 2022?

Americans are changing their minds about cannabis. Currently there are 34 states who now allow medical cannabis, while 18 allow adult-use. Advocates across the country made a significant number of cannabis reform victories in state legislatures during 2021, but they’re hopeful the momentum will continue into 2022. November is approaching quickly, and activists are already in the process of qualifying cannabis legalization and other drug policy reform measures for ballots. All while lawmakers separately work to advance reform bills. Here’s a rundown of which states are most likely to enact broad cannabis or psychedelics reform this year: