Kentucky (Kind of) Decriminalizes Medical Cannabis

On November 15, 2022, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear issued an executive order intended to decriminalizes medical cannabis. This is one of the most interesting  executive orders we’ve seen in a bit – and that’s saying something after the last six years in this country. Let’s take a look at exactly what it does.

It’s worth noting that Kentucky has been an extremely pro-hemp state since the 2014 Farm Bill. But, the state hasn’t had success with medical or recreational cannabis. Like almost anywhere else though, opinions are changing quickly. According to the state’s own internal comment data, more than 98% of people who commented supported medical cannabis.

That brings us to executive order 2022-978: the “Executive Action Relating to Medical Cannabis.” It starts off with the obvious yet powerful statement that “Kentuckians throughout the Commonwealth suffer from a multitude of medical conditions from which they deserve relief.”

Much of the executive order is a lengthy recital of state and federal laws, data regarding local support, and the medical benefits of cannabis. This is standard practice in an executive order or law: the government essentially sets the background for why the order or law is necessary by expounding on a problem it is intended to solve.

The “meat” of the executive order comes in at the end of page 2 beginning with “NOW, THEREFORE.” Governor Beshear issued a prospective pardon if certain conditions are met. This means that as of January 1, 2023, anyone who is charged with or convicted or possession of certain qualifying amounts of cannabis will be pardoned if they meet certain conditions. Those conditions include:

• Purchasing medical cannabis in a state in which it is lawful to do so (note, this means that people will have to transport cannabis across state lines, which is illegal federally and almost certainly illegal in Kentucky’s neighboring states);
• Having proof of purchase;
• Possessing less than 8 ounces of cannabis (or a smaller amount as may be allowed in the state of purchase); and
• Possessing a “certification” (not a prescription!) from a KY physician with specific information and that shows that the person has a qualifying medical condition. There is a long list of conditions that includes serious mental and physical diseases/disorders, including chronic pain.

This looks a lot like what you’d expect to see in a medical cannabis statute, but instead was done via executive order. I am not aware of any other state implementing cannabis laws via an executive order. It likely has a lot to do with politics: Kentucky is a very conservative state and Governor Beshear is a Democrat (although more on the moderate side). He likely knew that despite the widespread support from Kentuckians, getting a decriminalization or legalization bill through the state legislature would be a huge problem and possibly impossible.

The problem with doing this via an executive order is that (1) the next governor could come along and completely undo it and (2) it could be more ripe for challenge than a bill that went through the standard legislative channels. The order is only a day old so it remains to be seen as to what will happen. It bears repeating that the Governor’s sanction of people transporting cannabis interstate is astonishing. And it won’t pardon federal offenses or offenses in other states.

As one final note, you’ll notice I used the term “decriminalize” as opposed to “legalize.” That’s because the bill does not create any kind of regulatory regime, change criminal laws, or allow sales in Kentucky. The legal landscape is the same but persons who meet the criteria outlined in the executive order would just be pardoned for their state-level offenses – unless the executive order is undone later.

Hopefully, the state can get with the times and move on to actual medical or adult use cannabis legalization next. In the meantime, it will be interesting to watch this strange gambit play out.

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No, marijuana is not more harmful than tobacco

Another questionable study is being used to stoke Reefer Madness 2.0. Here’s what that study really found, and why it’s being used to mislead the public. Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal published a health article titled “Marijuana May Hurt Smokers More Than Cigarettes Alone,” attempting to raise concerns that smoking cannabis may be […]

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Cannabis Industry Comes Together To Offer Free Turkeys, Canned Food Drives for Thanksgiving

Cannabis has always paired well with Thanksgiving, both as a way to enjoy the holidays with the people we love, or a way to help increase our tolerance for certain skeptical, judgmental, or opinionated family members. In recent years Green Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving), has become the cannabis industry’s second-highest grossing day of sales.

While the holidays are a great time to reflect on everything we have, it’s also an opportunity to look outside ourselves to help others. Some cannabis businesses have no shortage of altruism as they have created initiatives to aid those in need. Many businesses have made arrangements to give out free turkeys this year or reward customers who donate canned food for a good cause. This list is just a glimpse at the contributions that the cannabis industry brings year after year, but be sure to check out dispensaries near you to see what kind of efforts are underway.

In Michigan, there are a few cannabis businesses pulling out all the stops this year. Puff Cannabis will be giving out 1,700 birds on Nov. 18, and Nov. 21-22 at specific locations. Owner Nick Hannawa told CBS News how important it is to give back. “These things are tough, you know, with prices and inflation and all the things that are going on. Maybe people, you know, are lacking on jobs and different things, you know, might not do this,” Hannawa said. “It’s that feeling that you get, knowing that you did a good deed, that you put a smile on somebody’s face.”

Light’N Up Cannabis Company invited former Detroit Red Wings athlete Darren McCarty to help hand out 1,000 turkeys on Nov. 19. According to owner Kyle Cohee, who is also a veteran, he began this initiative in 2021 when he found out that he served 100 patients who were in need. “We’re just doing the right thing and taking care of people,” Cohee said. “Alpine Market in Linden said they will hook us up and got us the turkeys from Spartan Brand for cost.” Eighty of the turkeys will specifically be reserved for veteran patients, through a partnership with Genesee County Veterans Services.

Multiple Michigan dispensaries are working with Common Citizen and High Life Farms for the “Bring a Can, Get a Gram” campaign. The initiative is striving to collect 2,000 cans to donate to local food pantries, and any customer that brings in at least one can of food will receive one pre-roll. “We want to show people that cannabis isn’t just about consuming. It’s far more than just being a big name company that wants to make money or kind of things like that. We want to show people that as much as we love growing and producing and sharing our love for the product with other people, we want to show other people we care more about helping the community and helping others in need especially around the holidays,” said High Life Farms’s Marketing Manager Laura Bywalec.

MariMed (who you might remember as the company who made the world’s largest infused brownie in December 2021) is offering hundreds of turkeys in a giveaway at its locations in Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois, and Delaware. “MariMed is proud to do our part and help others in the communities where we operate. Helping to ease a bit of the financial burden on Thanksgiving and doing what we can to improve people’s lives through our actions, products, and values is core to our mission as a leading cannabis company,” said MariMed CEO Bob Fireman.

In Massachusetts, Terps Cannabis is working with Chip-in-Food-Pantry, asking customers to donate canned food. It’s also celebrating the opening of its third location in Charlton with an event Nov. 18-20, featuring free food from local food trucks.

In Thousand Palms, California, local dispensary Bulldog Cannabis is partnering with Riverside County to provide 100 turkeys to residents (1 per household). “We really appreciate Bulldog Cannabis for providing this generous donation to the community of Thousand Palms,” said Riverside County Supervisor Manuel Perez. “I look forward to helping in this distribution and thanking this local business for assisting the community with food for the Thanksgiving holiday.”

Oakland, California-based savory edibles company TSUMo is not only offering two new flavors of its savory chips (Turkey Dinner and Churro) but it’s partnering with Wunder (a local cannabis beverage company) and Nugg Club (a cannabis subscription service) to donate $2 for every bundle purchased, which will be given to the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.

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The Netherlands To Crack Down on Nitrous Oxide Gas

Fed up with party companies renting out tanks of nitrous oxide and providing balloons and other equipment, leaders in The Netherlands are taking action.

The high provided by nitrous oxide—aka laughing gas or whip-its—will no longer be tolerated in The Netherlands under a bill proposed recently. Until recently, Dutch party hosts could call up a laughing gas company and rent equipment as if it were renting a photo booth.

In a November 14 briefing to MPs, Dutch Health Minister Bruno Bruins is leading a bill that would compel retailers and wholesalers to invoke a voluntary age limit for the sale of nitrous oxide canisters (whip-its), and to limit the number of canisters people can buy.

“The recreational use of laughing gas leads to enormous health risks,” State Secretary Van Ooijen (VWS) said in the briefing, translated on Google. “In addition, the safety of non-users is also at stake. We have seen enough reports in the news that terrible accidents have happened due to road users using laughing gas. In recent years, there has been a call from society to ban the recreational use of laughing gas. I am pleased that we can bring this ban into effect from January 1, 2023.”

Last June, The Volkskrant reported that dozens of companies have come out of the woodwork in The Netherlands selling and delivering laughing gas as a party drug—reportedly with names like Partygas and Lachgas Express. The companies provide the gas tanks as well as the balloons which are used to store hits of gas.

“The nitrous oxide ban helps the police enormously in enforcement. With the ban, having nitrous oxide with you—possession—in itself becomes a criminal offense,” said Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius (JenV), as translated from Google. “This allows the police to act sooner. Now that is only possible when someone uses laughing gas and causes nuisance or dangerous situations in traffic. With the ban, the police will soon be able to take immediate action if someone possesses non-professional laughing gas and has balloons with gas bottles in the car. Hopefully we can prevent accidents this way.”

Nitrous Oxide for Recreational Purposes

Get a load of this: according to High Times writer Nico Escondido, High Times founder Thomas King Forçade conceived the idea for the top pot magazine with a group of friends over a tank of nitrous oxide. As Amsterdam was the birthplace of Cannabis Cup, it’s likely those tanks were present at early events.

But leaders hope the move will make roads in The Netherlands safer. According to road safety monitor TeamAlert, laughing gas has played a role in 1,800 accidents across The Netherlands over the past three years. “Almost two a day, figures that really shocked us,” Maartje Oosterink of TeamAlert told AD newspaper earlier this month.

The dangers are legitimate for the ignorant. Unlike weed, too much nitrous oxide can actually kill you.

People who use nitrous oxide intended for technical purposes and intended as a food additive are exempt from the ban. However, the purchase, sale, possession, and handing of nitrous oxide in gas cylinders to private individuals will be prohibited beginning on January 1, 2023.

Manufacturers and wholesalers of medical nitrous oxide in The Netherlands must apply for an opium exemption on the basis of Articles 6 and 8 of the Opium Act. The small ampoules of nitrous oxide commonly used in the catering industry for whipped cream remain permitted, but may not be resold to third parties. 

In the coming weeks, the final details of the ban will be ironed out.

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New York Adult-Use Cannabis Rules and Regulations: They’re (Almost) Here

On November 15, 2022, New York’s Cannabis Control Board (CCB) announced a significant CCB meeting that is scheduled to be held in-person and virtually on November 21, 2022. The rumor was that the full set of licensing rules and regulations would be released at the meeting. On November 17, 2022, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) issued a “preview” that confirms that almost all of the adult-use rules and regulations will be released at least 24 hours before the CCB meeting.

We will obviously be providing comprehensive summaries for each license type, but the preview actually includes pretty significant information that lots of applicants have been waiting for. One significant note: the rules and regulations that will be released are proposed and are subject to a 60 day public comment period. Realistically, the license application process won’t start until Spring of 2023.

Here are the big takeaways from the preview, broken down by license type:

Cultivation License

• The regulations create 5 tiers of cultivation licenses that are differentiated by light source. The allotted square footage per license ranges from 5,000 – 100,000 square feet.
• The regulations incentivize sustainable cultivation practices and limited energy utilization including outdoor cultivation.

Processing License

The regulations create three types of license authorizations under the processing license to allow for more entry points into the market:

• Minimal processing (branding/packaging and labeling)
• Blending/infusing (Must have a Good Manufacturing Practices facility)
• Extraction (Must have a Good Manufacturing Practices facility)

Cannabis Collective (Co-op)

• the regulations allow for either cooperative association or traditional cooperative model so that these entities can receive investments.
• The regulations also allow holders of this license to scale up their operation in proportion to how many members join with a minimum of five members required to get the license (not inclusive of investors).

Retail Dispensary

• The regulations provide specificity to the design of dispensary operations including all security and staffing requirements.
• The regulations also provide dispensary operators with the additional authorizations to conduct delivery operations and to allow on-site consumption in approved locations.

Microbusiness License

• The regulations set the amount of canopy authorized to be utilized by a microbusiness license holder at 3,500 square feet indoor or 10,000 square feet outdoor.
• The regulations also allow microbusinesses to have retail locations that are distinct from their cultivation and processing facility.

This is obviously a significant development, but stay tuned for the full breakdowns after the CCB’s meeting on November 21, 2022!

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Congress sends marijuana research bill to Biden’s desk, finally

The bill was passed back in April, but Texas Sen. John Cornyn threw a fit and blocked it—until earlier this week.

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Congress Passes Landmark Cannabis Research Bill

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved landmark legislation to expand medical marijuana research, marking the first time both chambers of Congress have passed a standalone cannabis bill. The measure, titled the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, received the approval of the House of Representatives during the summer and now heads to the desk of President Joseph Biden for his consideration.

Democratic Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, the co-sponsor of the legislation in the House along with Maryland Republican Representative Andy Hariss, noted the significance of the legislation after the Senate vote on Wednesday.

“After working on the issue of cannabis reform for decades, finally the dam is starting to break. The passage of my Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act in the House and Senate represents a historic breakthrough in addressing the federal government’s failed and misguided prohibition of cannabis,” Blumenauer, the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said in a statement. “As we have seen in state after state, the public is tired of waiting for the federal government to catch up. More than 155 million Americans—nearly half of our nation’s population—now reside in states where adult-use of cannabis is legal.” 

In July, the bill was passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 325 to 95, an overwhelming bipartisan majority in a time of intense partisan division in Washington, D.C. Passage of the bill could signal a new era for marijuana policy in Congress, where other legislation including a bill to allow regulated cannabis businesses access to the banking system are awaiting Senate approval. In the Senate, where the legislation was passed by unanimous consent on Wednesday, the bill was sponsored by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley and Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii.

“For far too long, Congress has stood in the way of science and progress, creating barriers for researchers attempting to study cannabis and its benefits,” Blumenauer continued. “At a time when more than 155 million Americans reside where adult-use of cannabis is legal at the state or local level and there four million registered medical marijuana users with many more likely to self-medicate, it is essential that we are able fully study the impacts of cannabis use.”

Legislation Eases Restrictions on Marijuana Research

The bill is designed to ease federal restrictions on researching cannabis, which is still classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. The legislation streamlines the application process for the approval of marijuana-related scientific studies, making it easier for researchers to understand the potential medical benefits of cannabis. 

Under the legislation, the U.S. attorney general would be given a 60-day deadline to approve an application for marijuana research or submit a request for additional information to the research applicant. The bill also includes provisions to encourage the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to support the development of medicines derived from cannabis.

“There is substantial evidence that marijuana-derived medications can and are providing major health benefits. Our bill will make it easier to study how these medications can treat various conditions, resulting in more patients being able to easily access safe medications,” Feinstein said in a statement from the senator’s office. “We know that cannabidiol-derived medications can be effective for conditions like epilepsy. This bill will help refine current medical CBD practices and develop important new applications. After years of negotiation, I’m delighted that we’re finally enacting this bill that will result in critical research that could help millions.”

President Expected To Sign Bill

While campaigning for office in 2020, Biden called for easing the federal restrictions on cannabis research. And last month, he directed the “Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.” In a statement, Schatz appeared to indicate that he expects the president to sign the cannabis research bill passed by Congress.

“The medical community agrees that we need more research to learn about marijuana’s potential health benefits, but our federal laws today are standing in the way of us finding those answers,” said Senator Schatz. “Our bill, which is now set to become law, will remove excessive barriers that make it difficult for researchers to study the effectiveness and safety of marijuana, and hopefully, give patients more treatment options.”

But not everyone is hailing the legislation as a step forward for cannabis policy reform. Shane Pennington, an attorney with the cannabis and psychedelics law firm Vicente Sederberg LLP, wrote in an email to High Times that the legislation “is a terrible terrible bill that will make research harder, not easier.” He explains the legislation unnecessarily complicates research into cannabidiol, among other issues.

“The bill imposes various DEA-registration requirements on entities seeking to handle CBD and/or ‘any [marijuana] derivative, extract, preparation, or compound.’ Under current law, however, neither CBD nor any non-marijuana cannabis ‘derivative, extract, preparation, or compound’ qualifies as a ‘controlled substance.’ Thus, as things stand today, you don’t need any special DEA registration to research them,” Pennington wrote on Substack. “By imposing registration requirements on these otherwise-non-controlled substances, this bill dramatically increases barriers to cannabis research.”

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