420DC Weekly Round Up

Headlines from 2/16-2/23

Brought to you by The Outlaw Report

VA

Advocates Call for Racial Equity Amendments to Virginia Cannabis Bills

The Outlaw Report asked Marty Jewell, board chair for Cannabis Equity Coalition of Virginia (CECVA), which signed on, about his group’s vision for the cannabis market in Virginia in five years. “A successful Black- and Brown-led Cannabis Community Reinvestment Board is in place and actively funding [groups] and initiatives in ways to help repair the badly torn human, social and economic fabrics needed to stitch Black and Brown families and communities back together so that such will be fully functional in the future,” he said. 

 

MD

Bill Require Workers’ Compensation to Cover Medicinal Cannabis Like Opioids

H.B. 683 would require employers or their insurance to cover the cost of medical cannabis treatment under worker’s compensation, providing employees with a safer alternative to prescription opioid treatment for work-related injuries. Maryland would be the sixth state to require worker’s compensation to cover medical cannabis, following behind Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey and New Mexico. 

 

FEDERAL

Bipartisan Bill To Legalize CBD Supplements

The bill, first introduced last year, was reintroduced on Feb. 4, creates a legal way for hemp extracts (most popularly, CBD) to be sold while making sure hemp extracts comply with the regulations that exist for dietary supplements. In effect, the bill legalizes CBD in dietary supplements and would be the first step towards a regulated CBD market many advocates, businesspeople, and farmers have been demanding for years. “This bill prioritizes consumer safety, requiring manufacturers to comply with existing federal regulations for dietary supplements and ensuring that products are properly labelled and prepared,” a press release from the bill sponsor Kurt Schrader said.

 

QUICK HIT

Legalization in Jersey is Imminent—But Cops Keep Making Pot Busts

Police in New Jersey have arrested more than 6,000 people for minor cannabis possession since November’s election—an election where 2.7 million New Jersey voters went to the ballots in support of legalizing cannabis. According to a report from the state judiciary, 2,378 people were arrested for cannabis possession of 50 grams or less in January alone. “I think the confusion—the dangerous confusion—isn’t among consumers,” NORML’s Chris Goldstein said. “I think there’s a dangerous confusion among the police and prosecutors out there. The problem is police are still enforcing prohibition. I think they need a clearer directive.”