NATIONAL NEWS

from May 2022 - NW Leaf

by Northwest Leaf / Oregon Leaf / Alaska Leaf / Maryland Leaf / California Leaf / Northeast Leaf

EDIBLE OF THE MONTH

east coast

NJ WILL ALLOW OFF-DUTY COPS TO USE MARIJUANA

New Jersey will allow police to buy and use marijuana once it’s officially and legally for sale. Acting NJ Attorney General Matthew Platkin issued a memo, telling police chiefs they “may not take any adverse action against any officers because they do or do not use Cannabis off duty.” That was codified in the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act. Cops are treated just like any other customers under the legalization laws passed last year. Officers still may not possess or use Cannabis while on the clock, or performing any work while under the influence.

politics

HOUSE CLEARS WAY FOR CANNABIS RESEARCH

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan marijuana scientific research bill on April 4, removing barriers to research on Cannabis, allowing scientists to access herb from dispensaries of legal states. The Medical Marijuana Research Act passed the House on an overwhelming 343-75 vote. All of the ”No” votes came from Republicans, reports The Hill. Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon introduced the bill in October 2021. It is co-sponsored by 11 Representatives, both Democrats and Republicans. Both the House and Senate passed earlier versions of the bill in 2020. The Senate also approved a separate marijuana research bill last month.

18

states and D.C. have legalized the adult use of Cannabis.

may 2022 44%

of college students reported using marijuana in 2020 – a record number.

52

marijuana cultivation licenses – the first in the state – have been awarded to hemp farmers in New York.

61%

of Wisconsinites favor adult-use legalization of Cannabis.

$93k

worth of marijuana was found on a group of Guatemalans – including a 4-year-old boy – entering the U.S.

4/21

saw the first legalized adult-use marijuana sales in New Jersey.

STORIES by STEVE ELLIOTT, AUTHOR OF THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF MARIJUANA

the feds

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE RETURNS CASH

The U.S. Department of Justice on April 13 agreed to return all cash seized from an armored car company used by legal Cannabis dispensaries during several traffic stops in California last year. The company, Empyreal, had filed a federal lawsuit in response. The seizures occurred during a May traffic stop. In that incident, Kansas officers stopped an Empyreal Logistics car. Conversations between state and federal law enforcement agencies stemming from the stop resulted in a series of events in which Kansas and California officers stole – we mean “seized” – more than $1.2 million. The company soon filed its federal lawsuit detailing how a deputy in Dickinson County stopped one of their vehicles transporting cash from licensed Cannabis dispensaries to banks and credit unions and “seized” more than $165,000 on Interstate 70. Empyreal said the cops issued no traffic citations to their drivers during any of the five stops mentioned in its complaint, but the company said it was forced to stop transporting cash through Kansas because of the seizures.