LOCAL NEWS

What Happens to a Pot Plan Deferred?

Photo by Lucas Fonseca

New Jersey legislators and Gov. Phil Murphy are in a stalemate over the state’s marijuana laws. Lawmakers approved bills decriminalizing Cannabis and establishing the legal framework for the state’s adult-use marijuana market over a month ago but in a surprise move, the governor has refused to sign the bills into law.

The holdup centers on Murphy’s insistence on adding penalties for underage Cannabis use. The governor announced he would not sign either the decriminalization or legalization bills, which he considers companion legislation, until lawmakers drafted a “cleanup” bill that specified punishments for minors possessing pot.

“This was never about legalizing marijuana for our kids,” Murphy said.

In an effort to preserve months of work on the Cannabis bills, legislators acquiesced and added penalties to a new bill. The new measure set fines for underage possession (people 18 to 20 years old) at $250 for up to an ounce of marijuana and $500 for up to six ounces. Minors (under 18) caught with Cannabis would be sent to a juvenile justice court.

However, in another surprise (but righteous) move, shortly after the “cleanup” bill was drafted, several state representatives pulled their support and a vote for the new measure was cancelled.

Lawmakers objected to adding penalties for pot possession to a legalization bill, and many felt that the change would disproportionately affect the communities of color that have suffered the most under prohibition.

“The governor can’t hold legislation hostage in an effort to further target over-policed communities and place a de facto tax on poor people whose children may suffer from drug abuse and addiction. This proposal is regressive, draconian and ethically perverse,” Assemblyman Jamel Holley (D-Union) said in a statement.

During his State of the State address in January, Gov. Murphy claimed, “We are on the verge of passing an innovative and groundbreaking set of laws to reform our historically unjust approach to marijuana and Cannabis.”

However, after frustrations boiled over and lawmakers pulled their support for the “cleanup” bill, Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) said the Senate was done with the issue and that the governor has to sign the bill or veto it. Senate President Steve Sweeney (D) said, “The ball’s in [Murphy’s] court.”

As we go to press, three weeks into January 2021, more than two months after voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment legalizing Cannabis on Election Day – which became necessary after years of disagreements in the legislature over recreational marijuana – the state remains unable to pass a Cannabis law. New Jersey politics are exhausting.

President Joe Biden has selected Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to head the United States Department of Commerce. If confirmed by the Senate, Raimondo would be in charge of overseeing the country’s economic recovery and growth in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic as commerce secretary. This is especially noteworthy because Raimondo proposed legalizing Cannabis as a plan for stimulating the economy as governor of Rhode Island.

Raimondo has been outspoken about legalization, calling it “the next logical step” and working with other governors in the Northeast on a regional approach to legal pot. She’s also included legalization in her last two state budget proposals. Each time, lawmakers decided not to adopt the plan.

While Cannabis has been legalized in 15 states and the District of Columbia, Raimondo’s most recent adult-use plan is unlike any current law in the country. The governor supports a state-run model for marijuana retail, instead of the privatized commercial system enacted in all adult-use states. According to Raimondo, a retail Cannabis program run by the state government would be “the most controlled way to do it, arguably the safest, and the way to maximize state revenue.”

Lt. Gov. Daniel McKee recently announced that he too supports legalizing Cannabis in Rhode Island. However, McKee’s plan favors an “entrepreneurial strategy” that would leave retail pot to private industry and not the state’s government. McKee would replace Raimondo as governor if she’s confirmed as commerce secretary.

Raimondo has repeatedly discussed the economic benefits of Cannabis legalization and clearly sees it as a means to address budget issues by bringing in much needed tax revenue. It remains to be seen if she would push for a similar solution at the federal level.

BIDEN PICKS

PRO -POT RI GOVERNOR

President Joe Biden has

selected Rhode Island

Gov. Gina Raimondo to

head the United States

Department of Commerce.

Photo by Yash Lucid

HEMP CBD COMING

TO MASSACHUSETTS DISPENSARIES

Hemp products created in Massachusetts can now be sold in the state’s Cannabis shops. The rule change is laid out in the new state budget approved by Gov. Charlie Baker.

While hemp-derived CBD continues to be remarkably popular among consumers, hemp cultivators and manufacturers in Massachusetts have had a difficult time capitalizing on the trendy products, as the state had barred them from using their crops to create CBD edibles and selling those products to dispensaries.

Under Massachusetts’ marijuana law, dispensaries can only purchase products that contain cannabinoids from companies licensed by the Cannabis Control Commission. The state’s Department of Agricultural Resources is responsible for licensing hemp cultivators and manufacturers.

The new rules would amend the law to allow the 79 farmers and 19 processors licensed to operate in the state to sell hemp-derived CBD ingestibles (food, drinks and supplements) to dispensaries, which could lead to a windfall.

Massachusetts launched its recreational retail program in 2018 with two stores initially serving the entire state. Since then, 82 additional stores have received official approval to operate in the Bay State, and another 201 rec shops are currently working through the licensing and compliance procedure. In less than two years, the state recorded $1 billion in adult-use Cannabis sales. It reached the marijuana milestone in October 2020 – just 23 months after retail sales began in November 2018.

Members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives have filed a bill that would legalize Cannabis and establish retail sales in the state. The measure would allow for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, as well as home cultivation of up to six plants.

Unfortunately, pro-pot legislation introduced in the New Hampshire House is unlikely to become law as the Senate and Gov. Chris Sununu (R) oppose Cannabis legalization.

Rep. Rebecca McWilliams (D-Concord), the primary sponsor of the adultuse bill, understands the difficulty in passing a recreational pot law – still, she continues the fight. “We keep refining it and negotiating and trying to come up with something that could potentially get to the two-thirds vote needed to override the governor’s veto,” McWilliams said.

However, supporters of the legalization bill will find those votes

Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton), who sponsored the budget amendment allowing sales of hemp products, explained that, “Unless this necessary first step is taken, Massachusetts hemp farmers and processors will continue to be unfairly locked out of the market here and face financial and personal ruin.”

While opening up legal sales of hemp-derived CBD should provide a long-awaited boon for growers and processors, the new provision is a plus for Massachusetts dispensaries as well, as retailers will be able to provide a more affordable CBD offering to clients. And the popularity of such products ensures plenty of interest from the canna-curious and experienced consumers alike.

Without federal guidance on the sale of hemp products, states have begun to adopt their own rules. In the last year, more than a dozen states have OK’d the sale of hemp-derived CBD through licensed dispensaries, including New York, Colorado and Illinois.

Like Massachusetts, New York recently lifted its ban on hemp CBD in consumables. However, potency caps and other restrictions make the Empire State’s rules regarding hemp-derived products among the strictest in the country.

difficult to come by after Republicans retook control of the Legislature in the last election.

A recreational Cannabis bill passed the Democrat-controlled House in 2014, but didn’t make it out of the Senate. Since then, legislation to legalize marijuana has been introduced every year to no avail.

Despite polling that indicates nearly 70 percent of residents favor legalization, progress in reforming marijuana laws has been slow in New Hampshire. In 2013, the state became the last in New England to legalize medical Cannabis. And, while adult-use efforts have failed to gain traction in New Hampshire, neighboring states Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont have all legalized. The Granite State could be the lone holdout in the region as Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York all push for recreational pot in 2021.

Photo by Elsa Olofsson

NH LAWMAKERS

KEEP LEGALIZATION DREAM ALIVE

Photo by Elsa Olofsson

VAPE CARTRIDGES

WORTH MILLIONS DESTROYED ON VIDEO

AMassachusetts marijuana company destroyed 40,000 vape cartridges valued at $2.6 million. And the demolition was filmed, so you can watch the Cannabis carnage from multiple angles.

Some readers may be inclined to look away, horrified by the idea of destroying precious pot products. However, the firm behind the stunt, Temescal Wellness – with locations in Framingham, Hudson and Pittsfield – says it was acting in the best interest of its customers.

Prior to the quarantines caused by the coronavirus pandemic beginning in the spring of 2020, vape cartridges were subject to their own quarantine in Massachusetts following the vaping lung illness outbreak in 2019 (EVALI). Gov. Charlie Baker banned vape sales in September 2019 and weed regulators called for a quarantine of all Cannabis-infused vape cartridges in November.

While the vape ban ended after several months, the state’s Cannabis Control Commission waited until August 2020 to lift the quarantine and allow cartridges produced before December 12, 2019 to be sold, after being tested for vitamin E acetate (the likely cause of the outbreak) and heavy metal content.

The cartridges demolished by Temescal Wellness were quarantined vapes that had been shelved for months and produced over a year ago. According to a press release, the company felt the cartridges no longer met their quality standards and made the decision to destroy all 40,000 in spectacular fashion (at a rate of approximately 2,000 an hour).

The EVALI outbreak took a toll on the vape market, even after sales resumed in early 2020. Temescal Wellness VP of Sales and Marketing Linda Katz told masslive.com that vape sales were down 24 percent as of August 2020. Meanwhile, sales of edibles and concentrates were on the rise and purchases of flower remained steady, according to Katz.

Naturally, it will take time for the market to regain its confidence in vape products. In the meantime, if you’d like to see $2.6 million of Cannabis concentrate cartridges ground up in slow motion and set to music, head over to ma.temescalwellness.com and click the “Vape Ban Cartridges Gone for Good” story in their blog section. Of course, if you’d rather remember these Cannabis carts intact, we understand entirely.

PURSUING POT

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) stressed his support for legalization during his State of the State address in early January. Lamont has consistently stumped for pot as governor of Connecticut, and presented his case for Cannabis to residents in last year’s State of the State and in a 2019 budget address.

In this year’s speech, Lamont pledged to work with the General Assembly on an adult-use plan for 2021. However, pro-legalization lawmakers have repeatedly failed to push a tax and regulate bill through the legislature, including a measure Democrats introduced on the governor’s behalf last year.

Still, Lamont is convinced that the time is right for legal Cannabis in Connecticut, citing tax revenue and new jobs the industry could create as essential for the cash strapped state.

A recent report by the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis estimates that retail marijuana could bring in up to $223 million in tax revenue by the fifth year of the program and create more than 17,000 jobs in that timeframe.

The pressure is on for Connecticut to implement a tax and regulate plan and begin collecting revenue, as nearby Massachusetts and New Jersey have already legalized, and New York and Rhode Island are pushing to advance adult-use legislation in 2021.

“I am working with our neighboring states … as well as the legislature on legalization of marijuana,” Gov. Lamont said in his State of the State Address. “Legalized marijuana [is] happening all around us. Let’s not surrender these opportunities to out-of-state markets or, even worse, underground markets.”

In Connecticut

Photo by Brianna Martinez

RETAIL ON THE RISE IN MAINE

Maine’s adult-use marijuana program is gaining traction. At the start of legal sales, recreational Cannabis customers faced obstacles including a shortage of licensed retailers and purchasing limits resulting from a lack of adequate supply. However, three months into the program, it’s clear the state’s legal pot market has grown.

The Office of Marijuana Policy, which is responsible for overseeing Maine’s marijuana industry, reported that retail sales have increased each month since the program’s debut in October 2020, despite operating during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. That first month saw more than $1 million in sales, followed by over $1.2 million in November and almost $2 million in December.

Unsurprisingly, Maine’s adult-use businesses have also grown since the program launched. Sales kicked off with six licensed pot shops servicing the entire state. There are now 15 retail stores, 16 cultivation facilities and nine manufacturers in Maine, and regulators continue to issue licenses to keep up with demand.

While the recreational industry is growing, it is still dwarfed by the state’s more established medical Cannabis program. Medical sales accounted for $22 million in October 2020 alone, compared to just over $1 million in retail sales. And the medical pot program is growing during COVID, too. From January through October 2020, Maine’s medical marijuana sales reached $221.8 million – more than double the $109.2 million in medical sales reported for all of 2019. Marijuana has become the most valuable crop in Maine thanks largely to medical Cannabis sales.

Maine voters approved a plan to tax and regulate Cannabis in 2016. After a delay of nearly four years, sales began on October 9, 2020. Regulators reported roughly 6,400 transactions over retail pot’s opening three-day weekend, which brought in $250,000 in sales.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao

Is It Finally

New York’s Turn?

ew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is again proposing a legalization plan for the state. In what has become an annual event, Cuomo will N put forward details of a plan to tax and regulate marijuana in a budget proposal for the third year in a row.

Previous attempts to legalize in New York have fallen apart in the legislature over disagreements on how to spend potential tax revenue generated by Cannabis.

Still, the governor is confident that New York will enact a new Cannabis policy in 2021, citing the pressure to act created by legalization efforts in Massachusetts and New Jersey, as well as the state’s growing deficit – which has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and has reached a whopping $15 billion.

Experts believe the Empire State will bring in approximately $300 million a year in marijuana tax revenue when an adult-use retail program is up and running.

In addition to the economic benefits of legalization, Cuomo spoke to reporters about the urgent need for marijuana-law reform in communities of color. During a press briefing, the governor said, “I think too many people have been imprisoned and incarcerated and punished … Too many of those people are Black, Latino and poor. It’s exaggerated the injustice of the justice system.”

Cuomo also announced that his plan would offer support for “those that have been most harmed by decades of failed Cannabis prohibition” through social equity programs, including “licensing opportunities and assistance to entrepreneurs in communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.”

In addition to Cuomo’s proposal, state senators in New York introduced their own bill to legalize Cannabis. The legislation, filed by Sen. Liz Krueger and 18 cosponsors, would allow adults 21 and older to buy Cannabis and grow up to six plants.

Like Cuomo, Sen. Krueger has long pursued pot policy reform for New York. The new bill is her fifth attempt at legalization since 2013. This year, Democrats have a supermajority in the Senate, giving them more influence over policy should the governor not see eye to eye with the legislature on a tax and regulate plan.

Photo by Jeffrey Czum Photo by Sharon McCutcheon