LOCAL NEWS

RHODE ISLAND’S SISYPHEAN STRUGGLE

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon

Rhode Island is on the verge of passing legalization legislation (stop us if you’ve heard this one before). After months of negotiations, a revised legalization initiative is headed to Judiciary and Finance committees and then (hopefully) to the House and Senate for floor votes in late May.

Welcome to the latest installment of Rhode Island’s legalization saga. This month (just like each installment that came before it) lawmakers in the Ocean State struggle to hash out compromise legislation while invariably characterizing themselves as “close” to legalizing Cannabis.

The state has been stuck in neutral on legalization for months. Lawmakers originally considered three separate adult-use proposals – from the House, the Senate and the governor’s office. After attempting to create a compromise bill, the primary sticking point the legislature encountered was whether a currently existing agency or a new regulatory body should oversee the state’s Cannabis industry.

A new bill attempted to settle that question with a hybrid approach that calls for a Cannabis Office to operate under the state’s Department of Business Regulation, as well as a newly created Cannabis Control Commission. Unfortunately, Gov. McKee felt this approach from legislators might limit his Constitutional power to appoint all commission members. And so, desperate to avoid a veto, lawmakers went back to work.

The latest iteration of Rhode Island’s legalization bill addresses the governor’s “power to appoint” concerns. Additionally, lawmakers agreed to streamline licensing for hybrid medical/adult-use dispensaries, to provide automatic expungements of past Cannabis convictions by July 1, 2024, to allow local governments to create their own public consumption rules and to several other minor changes that move the legislation closer to consensus.

In response to the latest attempt at legalization, Gov. McKee’s office said, “While this bill is different than the Governor’s original proposal – it does accomplish his priorities of making sure legalization is equitable, controlled and safe.”

Should the new bill actually become law, adults 21 and older would be allowed to purchase up to an ounce of marjiuana, with retail sales beginning on December 1, 2022. Home cultivation of up to six plants would also be allowed.

A spokesperson for the governor added, “We look forward to reviewing the final bill that comes out of the General Assembly and signing legalization of adult-use Cannabis into law.”

Find out why that fails to occur in next month’s installment of Rhode Island’s legalization saga.

$3 BILLION OF BUD IN THE BAY STATE

he Massachusetts recreational marijuana market continues to grow, as officials announced in April that the state has sold nearly $3 billion worth of T pot since launching adult-use sales in 2018.

In three and a half years of retail – November 2018 through April 2022 – Massachusetts has recorded $2.87 billion in marijuana sales, according to the Cannabis Control Commission.

The Commission also reported that the state has licensed 887 marijuana establishments, while an additional 109 applications await approval.

Record sales numbers have led to higher than anticipated tax revenue generated by Cannabis. In 2021, Massachusetts took in over $112 million in marijuana excise tax. That’s twice as much as analysts expected, according to the Commission. A recently introduced bill would bolster the state’s social equity program by earmarking 10 percent of marijuana excise tax revenue for a Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund that would provide grants to qualified applicants.

Massachusetts has long led the region’s adult-use market. While Vermont legalized pot possession in 2018, it only recently voted to commercialize Cannabis. And marijuana may be the top crop in Maine, but the state’s market is comparatively small and its medical sales far outnumber recreational retail. With New Hampshire a nonfactor and the region’s other states mired in prohibition, Massachusetts has been the Northeast’s unquestioned adult-use standard-bearer.

However, the region is on the verge of a sea change. With nearby New Jersey launching its recreational pot program in April and New York and Connecticut planning to follow suit in the coming months, Massachusetts will no longer be king of the hill. Yes, the state reported $3 billion in adult-use Cannabis sales over a 42-month period. But, when fully operational, industry experts expect the Garden State to reach $3 billion in retail sales annually. And the sky’s the limit in neighboring New York.

Nonetheless, Massachusetts has gained experience through the growing pains of creating and running a taxed and regulated recreational Cannabis industry for nearly four years. Surely the start-ups in newly legal states will learn from the businesses that have thrived in the Bay State’s marijuana market.

THEFIX IS IN

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

Lawmakers in New Jersey are keeping Cannabis regulators’ feet to the fire as the state irons out wrinkles in its nascent pot program. In May, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a lengthy hearing with the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC). The goal was to address several issues stemming from New Jersey launching retail sales on April 21.

The Garden State had a big opening day, selling nearly $2 million worth of Cannabis to

more than 12,000 customers.

But building a successful adult-use Cannabis program is a marathon, not a sprint. The states that boast the most successful industries have learned from their mistakes and sought to correct them. It’s clear that Senate President Nick Scutari, who has long supported legalizing pot, hopes New Jersey can be proactive in addressing concerns that arise from its legalization law.

During the hearing, the committee addressed several issues – including impairment in the workplace. Under the state’s law, employers can prohibit workers from showing up to work high but not from consuming Cannabis during non-working hours. Employers can also force workers to take a drug test if they believe the worker is high on the job. However, because THC can remain in the system long past the point of impairment, a failed drug test is not sufficient evidence for an employer to take action against a worker.

New Jersey’s law requires a “Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert” (WIRE) to examine the employee under suspicion to determine if they were truly high on the job. WIREs must perform field sobriety tests and be certified by the state. But because it is an entirely new job, the CRC is responsible for creating the guidelines for the certification. This has yet to happen and it’s problematic because employers want to be able to follow state regulations and, most importantly, avoid lawsuits.

The other major issue brought up during the hearing was the high price of retail pot in the Garden State. On average, eighths have been selling for $50 to $65. This comes out to $400 to $520 an ounce. Definitely steep, even for taxed and regulated Cannabis – particularly when compared to legal states like Massachusetts where eighths can be purchased for under $30.

Regulators believe the best way to bring pot prices down is by expanding the market and increasing the supply of Cannabis. And the way to accomplish that is by awarding additional cultivation licenses.

Unfortunately, that supply will not come from homegrows any time soon. New Jersey remains the only state that bans personal cultivation by both medical patients and recreational consumers.

FACING REALITY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

After making history in April when a Senate committee passed a Cannabis legalization measure for the first time ever, New Hampshire abruptly brought us all back to the harsh reality of their prohibitionist mindset when the chamber rejected the bill.

While the measure would not have commercialized Cannabis by establishing retail sales, it would have allowed possession of up to threefourths of an ounce of pot. The bill, which previously passed the New Hampshire House, would have also legalized home growing – allowing adults to cultivate up to six plants (secure and out of sight from others). Limited marijuana gifting and THC-infused products would have been permitted as well. Public consumption, on the other hand, would have remained banned and punishable by a civil fine.

The legalization bill narrowly passed the Judiciary Committee in April by a 3-2 vote and was defeated in the Senate 15-9. Still, in New Hampshire, this outcome is considered historic progress when it comes to marijuanalaw reform. That’s how difficult it has been for pro-Cannabis initiatives to gain traction in the Senate, which just recently rejected a GOP-led home cultivation bill and a separate initiative to legalize adult-use retail sales through a state-run Cannabis industry (a pointless, infeasible proposal).

For the latest measure, which simply would have legalized possession of less than an ounce of pot, the Senate voted “non-concur” and opted not to request a conference committee – which could have theoretically salvaged portions of the proposal.

One of the few senators voicing frustration with the chamber’s intransigence, Becky Whitley (D) said, “This is an issue that young people care deeply about because they understand the nuance of it … We have a problem in New Hampshire of attracting young people to come and move to our state to start families, to participate in our workforce. We’re not listening to our constituents and we are further impairing our ability to have a robust workforce.”

Photo by Yash Lucid