LOCAL NEWS

Maine lawmakers have killed a bill that sought to decriminalize possession of all drugs. The measure was meant to curb some of the damage caused by the drug war by replacing the threat of incarceration with a $100 civil fine for personal possession of any controlled substance. Manufacturing or selling drugs would remain criminal offenses.

Ultimately, the state Senate rejected the bill. However, it is noteworthy that the drug decriminalization measure was previously advanced by a joint legislative committee and even managed to pass the House.

The decrim bill was not without supporters in the Senate. In an effort to gain the necessary votes, Sen. Mark Lawrence (D) amended the measure – making the first two possession offenses civil violations, while subsequent busts would remain criminal. However, the attempt at compromise failed to sway enough support in the Senate and the bill was defeated.

Even if drug decriminalization had passed the Senate, Gov. Janet Mills would have likely vetoed the measure, as her administration and the state’s attorney general have voiced opposition to the decrim initiative.

In addition to removing the threat of jail time for personal possession, the measure also would have increased access to Narcan, a provision that supporters believe would save lives by helping to prevent overdose deaths.

While Maine’s attempt at decriminalization fell short, the movement to deescalate the drug war continues elsewhere as lawmakers are beginning to view illicit drug use as a public health issue, which is often made worse through criminal penalties. Similar legislative efforts have been introduced in Vermont, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. And, in June, on the 50th anniversary of Richard Nixon declaring the government’s war on drugs, a decriminalization bill was introduced at the federal level.

Oregon bypassed the legislature on the subject of drug decriminalization and voters enthusiastically passed a ballot initiative making it the first state to remove criminal penalties for personal possession of all controlled substances.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

BORAT ACTOR SUES

Actor Sacha Baron Cohen, best known for his portrayal of the fictional Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev, is suing a Massachusetts Cannabis company for using his image in an advertisement without his permission. Baron Cohen’s suit claims Solar Therapeutics used an image of the actor as Borat on a billboard without his approval. The ad also included the character’s catchphrase, “It’s nice!” According to the complaint, Solar Therapeutics “falsely [has] conveyed to the public that Mr. Baron Cohen has endorsed their products and is affiliated with their business.”

The Somerset, Massachusetts-based Cannabis company pulled the billboard shortly after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from the actor’s attorneys in April.

Nonetheless, representatives for Baron Cohen filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Boston in July. The suit seeks a whopping $9 million in damages at minimum.

The complaint notes that Baron Cohen is “highly protective of his image and persona” and is “very careful with the manner in which he uses his persona and his characters to interact with his fans and the general public.”

The suit also states Baron Cohen’s concern that advertising might “weaken his credibility as an actor and as a serious social activist.” It even claims he previously turned down millions of dollars to appear in a car commercial.

Perhaps most surprisingly, the lawsuit states “Mr. Baron Cohen never has used Cannabis in his life,” and that he doesn’t view marijuana use as a “healthy choice.” In fact, the suit explains, Baron Cohen’s beloved Ali G character was intended as a “mockery of ‘stoner’ culture.” It goes on to claim, “He never would participate in an advertising campaign for Cannabis, for any amount of money.” Ouch.

JUSTICE IN NEW JERSEY

New Jersey residents are finally beginning to benefit from marijuana legalization, as the state Judiciary announced it has dismissed or vacated close to 90,000 Cannabis cases so far. The state’s decriminalization law requires cases created under marijuana prohibition to be dismissed. Since the law took effect July 1, nearly 88,000 such cases have been cleared. But that’s just the start of things as the state has around 360,000 Cannabis cases that qualify for dismissal.

Those cases are also eligible for expungement, which is the process of clearing a person’s record of past Cannabis crimes. The Judiciary says the expungement phase will begin “in the coming months.”

Legalization in New Jersey was an uphill battle. While voters approved a taxed and regulated marijuana industry on Election Day in 2020, it took more than three months to create legislation that Gov. Phil Murphy would sign into law. Now, five months after the governor approved the companion legalization and decriminalization laws, New Jerseyans are benefiting from the protections that come with Cannabis freedom.

The state can expunge cases involving the sale or possession of up to an ounce of pot, as well as paraphernalia possession and arrests for being under the influence of Cannabis. Those who aren’t automatically identified for expungement are allowed to petition the court. New Jersey will also drop cases involving probation violations related to marijuana and rescind driver’s license suspensions or revocations if such penalties resulted from failing to appear for a pot charge.

As the criminal justice reform component of the state’s legal Cannabis law gets underway, New Jersey remains months away from the start of retail sales. In fact, industry overseers have yet to establish rules and regulations for the legal pot market.

Photo by Patrick Slade

Safer in Rhode Island

Photo by Nastya Dulhiier W hile Cannabis legalization remains elusive in Rhode Island, the state has managed to pass a landmark measure legalizing safe consumption sites.

The measure, which calls for a two-year pilot program, allows the use of illegal drugs in a safe environment and under medical supervision. Rhode Island is the first state to establish such harm reduction centers.

The state Senate had passed a version of the safe consumption site bill earlier this year. Then, in June, the House approved an updated version of the measure. Ultimately the Senate passed the amended bill and Gov. Dan McKee signed it into law.

Rep. John Edwards (D), who sponsored the House bill, explained the importance of safe consumption sites in Rhode Island. “The opioid epidemic has become a tremendous public health crisis, with overdoses of prescription and non-prescription opioids claiming a record number of lives … Not only do harm reduction centers severely mitigate the chance of overdose, they are a gateway to treatment and rehabilitation of people with substance abuse disorder.”

Edwards added, “It’s a way to tackle this epidemic while saving lives in the process.”

A similar bill passed the state Senate in 2019, but stalled in the House. Massachusetts and California have also recently considered safe consumption and harm reduction measures. However, neither state has thus far managed to send a bill to its governor’s desk.

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POT PANIC IN NEW YORK

Marijuana industry hopefuls in New York are growing increasingly concerned as the state has yet to fill key regulatory roles and establish rules governing the newly legal Cannabis market.

It’s now been more than three months since Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act into law, legalizing Cannabis in New York and creating a regulated market with retail sales. But sales could still be at least 18 months away as the governor and lawmakers have done little to advance the new industry.

The state’s marijuana law calls for the creation of an Office of Cannabis Management as well as a Cannabis Control Board. These regulatory bodies are responsible for creating rules for the adult-use industry, including licensing for cultivators and retailers.

As the boards remain unfilled, the state is wasting precious time while other programs in the region get up to speed.

And, the announcement of a federal legalization bill by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is contributing to the concerns of New York’s marijuana business hopefuls. The recently unveiled federal measure would deschedule Cannabis but largely leave pot policy up to individual states. However, the measure would allow for interstate commerce, meaning that out-of-state cultivators and manufacturers could legally ship their products to New York and sell them there. If that happens before the state can establish its own Cannabis industry licenses, it would undercut local farmers and businesses.

However, the federal legalization bill appears a long way from actually passing. President Biden does not support the measure or legalization generally, and Sen. Schumer acknowledged that the bill currently does not have enough support to pass the Senate. The measure is now open to public comment until September 1 and could look substantially different by the time it is given a vote.

Meanwhile, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe is taking matters into their own hands. The tribe has adopted its own ordinance regarding Cannabis, which allows marijuana to be grown, processed and sold on tribal land.

The St. Regis Mohawks, whose territory is located in Northern New York near the Canadian border, anticipate making the state’s first Cannabis sales soon. If they succeed, they will beat the state to market by more than a year.

Weed and Taxes

In June, Connecticut became the latest state in the Northeast to legalize Cannabis – leaving just New Hampshire and Rhode Island as the lone states without adult-use programs.

Yet while marijuana will be legal to possess and purchase in Connecticut, it will not be cheap. Retail Cannabis will be hit with the state’s standard sales tax, as well as a local tax levied by the town the dispensary is located in and, on top of that, an excise tax based on the potency of the pot.

According to the Marijuana Policy Project, which opposes a potency tax, the three separate taxes mean retail marijuana in Connecticut will be subject to about a 20 percent tax. That’s a lot of extra cash to lay out when you’re trying to steer consumers away from the black market and to retail weed.

New York’s new recreational marijuana law also calls for a potency tax tied to THC rates. However, unlike Connecticut, which will collect that tax directly from the consumer, New York plans to tax its licensed cultivators based on potency.

While Connecticut’s Cannabis tax is certainly high, it’s roughly the same as some other pot taxes in the region, including that of Massachusetts and Vermont, both of which come in around 20 percent.

The other legal pot states in the Northeast – Maine, New York and New Jersey – all collect, or plan to collect, significantly lower tax rates on Cannabis sales.

Photo by Daniel Norin