AZ Pot Foes File Suit to Block Initiative, House Votes to Allow Military Members to Use Hemp and CBD, More... (7/22/20)

The organized opposition makes a move in Arizona, a Pennsylvania lawmaker is trying to jumpstart a stalled marijuana legalization bill, and more.

Arizona Pot Legalization Foes File Lawsuit to Block Initiative. Opponents of the Smart and Safe Arizona Act marijuana legalization initiative have filed a lawsuit aimed at keeping the measure off the November ballot. The lawsuit, by Arizonans for Health and Public Safety, argues that the initiative's backers did not accurately describe the measure in a 100-word summary included on petitions that voters signed for it to qualify for the general election. The initiative campaign says the lawsuit is without merit, and the state Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that the 100-word summaries do not need to detail every provision of a ballot measure. The initiative has already handed in signatures and is awaiting verification from state officials that it has qualified for the ballot.

Pennsylvania Lawmaker Renews Push to Legalize Recreational Marijuana. State Sen. Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia) is trying to jumpstart a marijuana legalization bill, SB 350, that has been stalled in committee since last fall. He authored a letter to Senate and Republican leadership earlier this month to try to prod them, and more than a dozen other senators, all Democrats, signed it. Street says the state needs the revenues from marijuana legalization in the wake of the fiscal impact of the coronavirus crisis.

Hemp

House Approves Hemp, CBD Use for Military Members. The House Monday approved an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) that would allow service members to use hemp and CBD products. "The Secretary of Defense may not prohibit, on the basis of a product containing hemp or any ingredient derived from hemp, the possession, use, or consumption of such product by a member of the Armed Forces," the amendment says. The bill now must be approved by the Senate.