Senate Schedules Second Cannabis Hearing For Next Week

A key Senate committee will hold a hearing next week to discuss hemp production, featuring witnesses from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In the months since hemp and its derivatives were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, there’s been strong interest in developing USDA and FDA regulations for the crop and its compounds such as CBD, and lawmakers have repeatedly pressed the agencies to speed up the rulemaking process to unlock the industry’s potential.

More Than 100 Marijuana Businesses Urge Congress To Include Social Equity In Legalization

A coalition of more than 100 marijuana businesses and industry associations sent a letter to congressional leadership on Thursday, pressing them to ensure that any cannabis reform legislation include provisions promoting social equity in the industry. The letter describes the evolution in public opinion around marijuana policy, the mass incarceration implications of prohibition and the economic potential of legalizing and regulating cannabis. It makes the case that as Congress considers various proposals to change federal marijuana laws, the work won’t be complete with the mere end of prohibition.

Cannabis banking reform secures landmark US Senate panel hearing

A key U.S. Senate panel will meet next week to consider steps that could make it easier for marijuana companies to obtain banking services, a move that could pave the way for crucial MJ reform. The July 23 Senate Banking Committee hearing – which took industry officials by surprise – includes Sens. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, and Cory Gardner, a Republican from Colorado. Both are backing the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. That bill would enable financial institutions to serve state-authorized marijuana businesses without fear of federal punishment. Lawmakers have become interested in the issue in part because of public-safety concerns of the largely cash-only cannabis industry.

FDA Says It Is Speeding Up The CBD Regulation Process

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday that it was “expediting” its efforts to develop rules for CBD and plans to issue a report on the department’s progress by early fall. FDA Acting Chief Information Officer Amy Abernethy tweeted that “FDA is expediting its work to address the many questions about cannabidiol (CBD),” describing it as “an important national issue with public health impact, & an important topic for American hemp farmers and many other stakeholders.” “We are enthusiastic about research into the therapeutic benefits of CBD products but also need to balance safety,” she said. “To understand the breadth of issues and gather data on safety we have conducted a public hearing, reviewed the medical literature, and have an open public docket.”

US growing largest crop of marijuana for research in 5 years

The U.S. government is growing the largest crop of research marijuana in five years, responding to interest in varieties with high levels of THC and CBD. The government is the only source of pot for nearly all research in the U.S., while it still considers it illegal and dangerous. Scientists have asked for weed that more closely matches what’s sold in states that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana, the National Institute on Drug Abuse said in an email Thursday to The Associated Press.

ACLU And Other Groups Form Coalition To Push Justice-Focused Marijuana Legalization Model

Ten leading civil rights and criminal justice reform groups announced on Tuesday the formation of a coalition to advocate that marijuana legalization legislation must be comprehensive and include wide-ranging social equity provisions. Members of the Marijuana Justice Coalition (MJC) include the ACLU, Center for American Progress, Center for Law and Social Policy, Drug Policy Alliance, Human Rights Watch, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, NORML and Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

Recreational marijuana legalization tied to decline in teens using pot, study says

(CNN)Marijuana use among young people in the United States overall has climbed in recent years, but a new paper suggests that in states where recreational marijuana has been legalized, marijuana use among youth may actually be falling. Laws that legalized recreational marijuana were associated with an 8% drop in the number of high schoolers who said they used marijuana in the last 30 days, and a 9% drop in the number who said they'd used at least 10 times in the last 30 days, according to the paper published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics on Monday. "Just to be clear we found no effect on teen use following legalization for medical purposes, but evidence of a possible reduction in use following legalization for recreational purposes," said Mark Anderson, an associate professor at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, who was first author of the paper. "Because our study is based on more policy variation than prior work, we view our estimates as the most credible to date in the literature," he said.

Scientists Sue DEA Over Marijuana Cultivation Application Delay

A group of researchers recently filed a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), asking a federal court to force the agency to respond to its application to manufacture marijuana for research purposes. The researchers argued that cannabis produced by the only federally authorized cultivation facility at the University of Mississippi is of poor quality and inadequate for their clinical trial on the use of marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans. It’s an argument that’s supported by a recent study, which found that cannabis from the sole approved source is genetically closer to hemp than it is to marijuana that’s available to consumers in state-legal markets—calling into question the applicability of much research to the reality of the cannabis market.

Lawmakers File Three Congressional Bills To Help Small Marijuana Businesses

Small marijuana businesses would be eligible for a wide range of federal economic services under three congressional bills that were filed on Thursday. Following a House Small Business Committee hearing on opportunities and challenges for small cannabis companies earlier this month, the chair and two other members of the panel filed legislation aimed at resolving some of the issues that were raised. One bill, from Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), would allow marijuana businesses to access resources from the federal Small Business Administration (SBA). Those resources include microloans, disaster assistance and the loan guaranty program. The congresswoman said her proposal, which is titled the Ensuring Safe Capital Access for All Small Businesses Act, is meant to support social equity in the cannabis industry.

Congress Schedules Hearing To Discuss Ending Marijuana Prohibition

A major congressional subcommittee will hold a hearing on marijuana policy next week, Marijuana Moment has learned. Though few details about the meeting are currently available, the House Judiciary Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee is expected to discuss various legislative proposals to allow states to set their own cannabis policies without fear of federal intervention. Several sources who did not wish to be be identified shared with Marijuana Moment the names of witnesses expected to soon receive formal invitations to testify before the panel on Wednesday, July 10. Given the backgrounds of these individuals, it seems apparent that committee members will be discussing not whether the U.S. should end federal cannabis prohibition, but will focus primarily on how to do it.