Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
The medical marijuana industry in Maryland and the District gained a bit more security this week after Congress' spending bill blocked funding from going toward federal enforcement against those operations.
Advocates of legal cannabis across the U.S. worried about where Attorney General Jeff Sessions might steer federal enforcement. They say they are are encouraged, to a degree.
"Medical marijuana patients and the businesses that support them now have a measure of certainty," Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said in a statement.
Along with D.C. and Maryland, 28 states have made medical marijuana legal.
It has been available in the District since 2013. In Maryland's young, tightly regulated medical marijuana program, the sale of medical cannabis has not yet been allowed but is expected to become available by the end of this summer as the industry slowly builds up. Last fall, Maryland regulators awarded 15 grower licenses and 15 processor licenses. There were 102 pre-approvals to companies to dispense medical cannabis but no final licenses have been awarded yet.
Still, plenty of money has been poured already into creating Maryland's industry. Medical marijuana company Holistic Industries LLC, for instance, is constructing large warehouse operations to begin growing and processing the plant by this summer.
Blumenauer, who co-chairs the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and whose name is attached to the provision, was weary of having to wedge the protective language into legislation once again. It's necessary because marijuana is illegal under federal law.
"This annual challenge must end," Blumenauer said. "We need permanent protections for state-legal medical marijuana programs, as well as adult-use."
To that end, in March, Blumenauer and Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, announced a package of bills called the "Path to Marijuana Reform."
That three-bill package is intended to address tax equity issues; ease banking, advertising and other restrictions; and de-schedule, tax and regulate marijuana while allowing states to keep it illegal if they choose.
As it is, states that have legal recreational marijuana, like Oregon, rely on an Obama-era Justice Department memo for a thin veneer of protection from the feds. Whether the Trump administration will continue to respect the directive has been called into doubt.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: https://www.bizjournals.com/washing...s-industry-gets-small-victory-in-federal.html
Contact: https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/about-us/contact
Photo Credit: Matthew Staver
Website: https://www.bizjournals.com/washington
Advocates of legal cannabis across the U.S. worried about where Attorney General Jeff Sessions might steer federal enforcement. They say they are are encouraged, to a degree.
"Medical marijuana patients and the businesses that support them now have a measure of certainty," Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said in a statement.
Along with D.C. and Maryland, 28 states have made medical marijuana legal.
It has been available in the District since 2013. In Maryland's young, tightly regulated medical marijuana program, the sale of medical cannabis has not yet been allowed but is expected to become available by the end of this summer as the industry slowly builds up. Last fall, Maryland regulators awarded 15 grower licenses and 15 processor licenses. There were 102 pre-approvals to companies to dispense medical cannabis but no final licenses have been awarded yet.
Still, plenty of money has been poured already into creating Maryland's industry. Medical marijuana company Holistic Industries LLC, for instance, is constructing large warehouse operations to begin growing and processing the plant by this summer.
Blumenauer, who co-chairs the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and whose name is attached to the provision, was weary of having to wedge the protective language into legislation once again. It's necessary because marijuana is illegal under federal law.
"This annual challenge must end," Blumenauer said. "We need permanent protections for state-legal medical marijuana programs, as well as adult-use."
To that end, in March, Blumenauer and Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, announced a package of bills called the "Path to Marijuana Reform."
That three-bill package is intended to address tax equity issues; ease banking, advertising and other restrictions; and de-schedule, tax and regulate marijuana while allowing states to keep it illegal if they choose.
As it is, states that have legal recreational marijuana, like Oregon, rely on an Obama-era Justice Department memo for a thin veneer of protection from the feds. Whether the Trump administration will continue to respect the directive has been called into doubt.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: https://www.bizjournals.com/washing...s-industry-gets-small-victory-in-federal.html
Contact: https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/about-us/contact
Photo Credit: Matthew Staver
Website: https://www.bizjournals.com/washington
