Amid concerns over the associated dangers of cannabis inhalation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hawaii legislature has sent a bill to the Governor’s desk which would legalize the sale of edible cannabis products to medical patients. The bill would also allow cannabis manufacturers to extract and concentrate cannabis into more potent forms, but only in certain circumstances. Assuming the bill is signed into law, medical dispensaries will be able to begin selling edible products once the Department of Health has finalized its rules. Click here for more info. 

As the pandemic continues and the country faces a new wave of lock downs, cannabis sales continue to climb. Illinois reported a record high $47 million in total sales in June, with nearly one million cannabis items sold. Oregon also recently released data which showed record sales spikes in March and April, up to more than $25 million in a single week around the 4/20 holiday. These figures serve as a reminder that states struggling with budgetary shortfalls during the pandemic may find a strong and stable source of tax revenue in cannabis. Click here for more info. 

Maryland’s Court of Appeals, the highest state court, recently handed down a ruling which makes the odor of cannabis alone insufficient justification to search or arrest an individual for possession of cannabis. The ruling does not apply, however, to drivers or motor vehicles. Individuals have an increased expectation of privacy with regard to their person, compared with their vehicle, according to Maryland case law. This unique solution shows how states are taking different approaches to changing search and seizure precedent in light of cannabis reform, a topic that was recently addressed by Prof. Robert Mikos and his students at the Vanderbilt School of Law. Click here for more info, and click the button below to read Prof. Mikos’ paper on The Effect of Cannabis Law Reforms on Probable Cause to Search. 

California legislators are considering a bill which would extend legal protections to financial institutions who service cannabis businesses. The bill, A.B. 1525, specifies that it is not a crime for financial service businesses to work with cannabis companies, and permits the state's regulatory authority to share information on cannabis companies with financial service organizations. The bill is set for a hearing in the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee on August 11^th. Click here for more info. 

Arizonans for Health and Public Safety (AHPS) has filed a challenge against a legal recreational cannabis initiative set for the November ballot in Arizona. The challenge focuses on the language of the initiative; AHPS argues that the initiative is too broad because it does not create a separate category for cannabis concentrates, and that it eliminates restrictions on driving under the influence and advertising. The proponents of the initiative, Smart and Safe Arizona, see the legal challenge as a long shot, and maintain that public opinion is in support of smart recreational legalization. Click here for more info. 

Instead, the VA pointed to the differences in federal and state law as the source of the confusion. Reliance on income derived from legal cannabis is seen by many lending companies as “unstable” due to the fact that that source of income could be shut down by federal authorities at any moment. The reason for the denials, therefore, is the unreliability of the income, not its source generally. Now, Congress is asking the VA to better communicate this position to third party lenders to avoid the unnecessary denial of benefits to veterans. Click here for more info. 

On July 30^th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment designed to improve legal protections for state cannabis systems. The amendment, which bans the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) from using funds to interfere with the development of any state cannabis laws, expands on an existing appropriations amendment that has been in place since 2014 which forbids the DOJ from interfering in state-legal medical systems. The bill passed the house by a vote of 254 to 163 but is not expected to advance in the Senate. Click here for more info. 

On July 20^th, Members of the House passed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which would allow active service members to use hemp derived CBD products. As we have previously reported, the Department of Defense issued a memo back in February that clarified the departments stance on hemp derived CBD products, which concluded that the integrity of the military’s drug testing program demanded a complete ban on all such products due to inaccurate labeling and the chance of testing positive for cannabis. To address this, the amendment specifically bars the Secretary of Defense from banning the use of CBD products for military members. The bill passed the House with an overwhelming majority, but its prospects in the senate are still unclear. Click here for more info. 

In Colorado, a man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for running a multi-million-dollar illegal cannabis operation. Scott Pack, a California resident, was convicted on charges of securities fraud, racketeering, and conspiracy to cultivate marijuana back in February after a 4-year investigation concluded that Pack had overseen the cultivation and distribution of thousands of pounds of cannabis across various state lines, under the guise of a licensed retailer. Pack was also found to have mislead investors as to the fraudulent nature of the business, resulting in millions of dollars of financial harm to those investors. District Attorney George Brauchler is happy with the sentence, stating that this conviction sends a strong message to others who would seek to take advantage of the states regulatory system. Click here for more info. 

The authors of the study found that, in Colorado’s 6 neighbor states, rates of property crime decreased by around 400 cases per 100,000 residents, and rates of larceny decreased by around 300 cases per 100,000 residents. In 5 of the 6 neighboring states, the study found that simple assaults have also decreased substantially. The authors could only speculate as to the reason for the decreasing crime rates, but suggested that higher rates of cannabis use may result in lower rates of alcohol consumption, which has a strong connection to criminal activity. The authors also pointed out that the same effect has not been observed in states neighboring Washington, where crime rates have remained substantially unchanged. Click here for more info, and click the button below to read the study.

In a recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, several researchers highlight the dangers associated with designating Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis. The study examined the marketing materials from 167 different dispensaries in 7 states, comparing those in states where OUD is a qualifying condition to those where it is not.

On July 7^th, Partner Colorado Credit Union announced the creation of a new, first of its kind lending program for cannabis clients. The first products offered through the program will be real estate loans, which will include refinances and new loans to cannabis companies. The program is seen by many companies as a critical first step in eliminating their reliance on leases and building long-term equity in their business. Click here for more info. 

Brian T. Moran, U.S. Attorney, Western District of Washington State

Richard Rosenfeld, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri St. Louis

Kim Foxx, States Attorney for Cook County, Illinois

Robert Luna, Chief of Police for the City of Long Beach, California

Kris Brown, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

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