Legislative proposals that seek to legalize the adult-use cannabis market have advanced in several states in recent days.
The post Adult-Use Legislative Efforts Advance in Delaware, Maryland, and South Dakota appeared first on NORML.
The cannabis industry created an average of 280 new jobs per day in 2021. That represents a 33 percent year-over-year increase, and it marks the fifth year in a row of annual jobs growth greater than 27 percent.
The post Report: Legal Marijuana Industry Employs Over 428,00 Full-Time Workers appeared first on NORML.
It took a decade of legislative politics and nearly three million voters changing the New Jersey state constitution to end cannabis prohibition in the Garden State.
The post One Year Ago Today, New Jersey Ended Mass Arrests for Cannabis Possession appeared first on NORML.
Here is NORML’s weekly update on state legislative activity in Maryland, Vermont, Utah, South Dakota, Alabama, Ohio, Washington, Nebraska, Colorado, Maine, Hawaii, California, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming, New Hampshire, and Arizona.
The post State Policy Weekly Update 2/18/2022 appeared first on NORML.
The legislation authorizes already licensed hemp growers to obtain temporary conditional licenses to commercially cultivate and process cannabis for the state’s forthcoming adult-use market.
The post New York: Lawmakers Advance Legislation to Expedite Adult-Use Cannabis Production and Manufacturing appeared first on NORML.
AB 2188 would prevent employers from using bodily fluids testing to discriminate against employees who consume cannabis when they are not at work.
Write to your to Assembly Member in support of the AB 2188.
Assembly Member Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) has introduced legislation, AB 2188, that would end discrimination based on cannabis metabolites testing by California employers. The bill is sponsored by California NORML, which advocates for the rights of California cannabis consumers.
Testing or threatening to test bodily fluids for cannabis metabolites is the most common way that employers harass and discriminate against employees who lawfully use cannabis in the privacy of their own homes.
“California employers do not have the right to prohibit employees from engaging in legal behaviors when they are not at work. Adult-use cannabis has been legal in California for over five years, yet many employers in California still discriminate against employees and prospective employees who consume cannabis off the job,” said Assembly Member Quirk.
Cannabis metabolites are the non-psychoactive substances that can be detected in a person’s bodily fluids for up to several weeks after they have consumed cannabis. Testing positive for cannabis metabolites has no scientific value in establishing that a person is impaired or “high.” When employers use cannabis metabolites tests to discriminate against employees or prospective employees, they are most likely discriminating against people who are not impaired at work and who consumed cannabis when they were not at work.
Five other states (NV, NY, NJ, CT & MT) have passed laws in recent years protecting recreational cannabis users’ employment rights, and 21 states protect those rights for medical marijuana users. Philadelphia, Washington DC and Atlanta also protect the rights of workers in their cities who use cannabis. “It’s high time California protected its workers’ rights also,” said Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML.
As in other states, the proposed California bill has exemptions for employers who are required to follow federal drug-testing mandates.
Assembly Member Quirk’s bill does not bar employers from requiring that employees not be impaired on the job. It does not prohibit other forms of testing, such as performance-based impairment testing or testing for THC—the active ingredient in marijuana—which may establish that a person has consumed cannabis in the past several hours. Assembly Member Quirk’s bill does not prohibit employers from taking action against employees or prospective employees who test positive for THC or who fail a performance-based impairment test.
Studies have shown that off-the-job cannabis use is not positively associated with elevated rates of occupational accidents or injuries, and that liberalized marijuana laws are associated greater labor participation, lower rates of absenteeism, declines in workers’ compensation filings, and higher wages.
Asm. Quirk introduced AB1256 with similar language last year as a two-year bill, in order to begin the process of reaching out to stakeholders and supporters. The cities of Oakland and San Francisco have passed resolutions last year in favor of the measure.
Write to your to Assembly Member in support of the AB 2188.
The post Cal NORML-sponsored Legislation Would Protect Employees’ Right to Use Cannabis Off the Job appeared first on CaNORML.org.
Senate Bill 391 advances to the House of Delegates on a historic bipartisan 21-18 vote.
The post Virginia: Senate Approves Adult-use Cannabis Retail Sales in Bipartisan Vote appeared first on NORML.
“Every single day that Harrisburg delays there are Pennsylvanians charged with marijuana possession and paraphernalia offenses.”
The post Lawmakers, Cops Consider Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization in Pennsylvania appeared first on NORML.
Quirk Bill Would Assert Right of Doctors to Prescribe Medication to Patients Using Medical Cannabis
Assembly Member Bill Quirk has introduced a bill (AB 1954) to protect the right of patients to medical treatment if they use medical marijuana, and the right of physicians and clinics to treat them. The bill is sponsored by CANORML.
“Many physicians are under the mistaken impression that they can’t prescribe medication to patients who test positive for cannabis,” said Dale Gieringer, Director of CANORML. The Quirk bill would clarify that physicians cannot be punished for treating patients who use medical cannabis, notwithstanding its illicit status under federal law.
Cal NORML regularly hears from patients who are terminated from pain management medications on account of their use of medical cannabis. A great many studies have shown cannabis is effective for pain, and can help patients reduce their use of opiates.
The California Medical Association House of Delegates adopted a resolution in 2019 condemning the automatic elimination of patients who use medicinal cannabis from pain management programs. AB 1954 would specify that a positive drug test for cannabis should not in itself be the sole basis for denying medical treatment to a patient absent a medically significant reason.
“It is irresponsible and unethical for pain management programs to eliminate patients who are using medical cannabis for their chronic pain, because there is conclusive scientific evidence that cannabis is a safe and effective treatment for chronic pain,” said Larry A. Bedard, a Marin-based physician who authored the CMA resolution.
“I’m so happy Asm. Quirk has taken this issue up for patients. We can’t wait any longer,” said Yami Bolanos, a patient and advocate from Los Angeles who was instrumental in the passage of AB 258 (Levine; 2015), ending discrimination against organ transplant patients who use cannabis in California.
The legislation is expected to face its first vote in the Assembly Business and Professions Committee in March. Californians can take action on AB 1954 by writing to their Assembly Members.
Bonta Bill Would Expedite Clearing of Past Marijuana Convictions
Cal NORML is also in support of AB 1706 (Bonta), a bill that provides urgently-needed solutions to the delayed implementation of our automatic marijuana record-sealing statute.
In 2018, we passed groundbreaking legislation that mandated the automatic sealing of cannabis criminal records for offenses that are no longer illegal. Authored by current Attorney General Rob Bonta, AB 1793 was a nation-leading step not just in cannabis reform, but also in criminal justice reform, and has been modeled in many states since. Its automatic process ensured that the individual with the eligible record would not have to petition the court for relief; rather, that relief would be automatically provided in light of the state’s repeal of cannabis prohibition.
Unfortunately, the implementation of AB 1793 has been inconsistent across the state. While some counties were proactive in implementing the legislation, others were not, and the statute lacks certain deadlines to ensure completion of the process. According to an investigation by the Los Angeles Times, there are at least 34,000 cannabis-related records that still have not been fully processed by the courts.
These implementation gaps have created a system of justice by geography, and a solution is urgently needed. By adopting AB 1706, we can ensure that California finally lives up to our overdue promise to remove these erroneous criminal records and allow individuals criminalized by an unjust prohibition to move on with their lives. I strongly support this needed legislation and ask for your aye vote on it. Please take tell your Assemblymember to support AB 1706.
Other 2022 Legislation
Other bills Cal NORML is tracking in Sacramento this year:
OPPOSE: Asm. Thurston Smith of San Bernardino County has introduced AB 1725, to re-felonize the cultivation of more than six cannabis plants. “A showpiece for the Republican anti-pot narc constituency,” Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer told L.A. Weekly about the bill. “It would be struck down by the courts as violating Prop 64.” Another bill, AB-1599, would increase penalties for various drug crimes.
SUPPORT: AB 1014 (McCarty) addresses regulations for cannabis delivery vehicles and AB 1646 (Chen) would authorize cannabis beverages to be packaged in clear containers.
IN PROGRESS: AB 1646 (Aguiar Curry) is a clean-up bill on hemp. We have been in communication with the author and are watching the evolution of this bill. In addition, we’re expecting several cannabis tax reform proposals that we will be keeping our members posted on.
The post Medical Marijuana Patients’ Rights Bill, Expungement Bill, Others Introduced in California appeared first on CaNORML.org.
Here is NORML’s weekly update on state legislative activity in Wisconsin, Washington, Tennessee, South Dakota, South Carolina, New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Iowa, Illinois, Hawaii, and Colorado.
The post State Policy Weekly Update 2/11/2022 appeared first on NORML.