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Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what's happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, the House began consideration of a bill to regulate hemp-derived CBD. In Florida, there's controversy over signatures. In Hawai'i, lawmakers introduced bills for a ballot initiative. And finally, cannabis becomes a staple for the snowed-in.
HOUSE CBD BILL
Late last week, Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), along with co-sponsor Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX), introduced a bill to regulate hemp-derived CBD products at the federal level. The bill would establish a framework within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that would set cannabinoid limits for hemp-derived products. These would be national standards, superseding the many state regulations currently in place.
FLORIDA
As we noted a few weeks ago, proponents of adult-use cannabis in Florida are working to put an initiative on the state ballot. Opponents of this measure have been hard at work as well, seeking to prevent the initiative from going before the voters. This week, a state appeals court ruled that 70,000 signatures collected by Smart & Safe Florida are invalid. Some were collected by out of state campaign workers, and some were from "inactive voters" – people who are on the voter rolls, but have not responded to mail from election workers to confirm their address. Will legalization proponents be able to get the signatures they need by the fast approaching deadline? Stay tuned!
HAWAI'I
Lawmakers in Hawai'i have tried repeatedly to enact adult-use cannabis laws, but to no avail. Now, Rep. David Tarnas (D) and Sen. Joy San Buenaventura (D) have introduced measures to put the question directly to voters. If the legislation passes, voters will decide if adult-use cannabis is legal in Hawai'i and will direct lawmakers to pass laws to establish a market. Although legalization attempts have come up short in the past, there's a sense that letting the voters decide may garner enough votes to pass. Gov. Josh Green (D) supports legalization, so presumably he would sign a bill that came to his desk.
AND FINALLY
Much of the country, including Week in Weed HQ, is blanketed by snow. Of course, when people hear that a storm is headed their way, they stock up on essentials: milk, bread, eggs – that sort of thing. Well, now you can add cannabis to that list. Retailers in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Maryland saw sales at Green Wednesday levels. Apparently, if the snow is high, you should be too.
Be well everyone – we'll see you next week.
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