California legal marijuana sales revenues decrease for the first time ever, a fourth Michigan city endorses natural psychedelic decriminalization, and more.

Attorney General Merrick Garland says DOJ is "still working" on marijuana policy. (DOJ)

Attorney General Says DOJ Still Working on Federal Marijuana Policy Approach. In an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland (D) said the Justice Department is "still working on marijuana policy" and that a broader review of marijuana's scheduling status was being led by federal health officials. "I think that it’s fair to expect what I said at my confirmation hearing with respect to marijuana and policy, that it will be very close to what was done in the Cole Memorandum," he said, referring to an Obama-era policy that directed federal prosecutors to generally not interfere with state cannabis laws but which was later rescinded by Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "We’re not quite done with that yet,"Garland said of the marijuana policy review. Garland added that the Justice Department had prioritized finalizing a memo of crack cocaine prosecutions, which has now been completed.

In Sign of Legal Industry's Woes, California Marijuana Sales Declined for First Time Since Legalization. According to the state Department of Tax and Fee Administration, legal marijuana sales totaled $5.3 billion last year, down 8.2 percent from the $5.77 billion in 2021. That marks the first time sales have decreased since the state launched its recreational marijuana market five years ago. Industry observers point to high taxes and the limited number of pot shops for the decrease. As one Emerald Triangle pot farmer, Johnny Casali of Huckleberry Hill Farms explained: "Most of us farmers have been trying to tell the state [regulators] that the marketplace is imploding,"says Casali. "The drop in retail sales means the customer is tired of paying the exorbitant taxes and are now buying it from a friend of a friend or the guy on the corner."

Medical Marijuana

Tennessee Medical Marijuana Bill Killed in Committee. No medical marijuana for you, Tennesseans! At least not yet. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on a near party-line vote Wednesday to kill Senate Bill 1104, which would have set up a system of medical marijuana access in the state. Meanwhile another medical marijuana bill, House Bill 172,was "taken off notice" last week, meaning it is effectively dead for this session. Maybe next time.

Psychedelics

Fourth Michigan City Decriminalizes Natural Psychedelics. Move over, Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Hazel Park—Ferndale has now joined the group of Michigan cities to embrace psychedelic reform. On Monday night, the city council voted unanimously to approve a resolution decriminalizing "entheogenic plants and fungi," such as psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, and its chemical compound, DMT. The resolution makes the "investigation and arrest of persons for planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, or possessing Entheogenic Plants or plant compounds which are on the Federal Schedule 1 list" the lowest law enforcement priority for the city The ordinance was pushed by the local Decriminalize Nature affiliate, Decriminalize Nature Ferndale. 

North Carolina's Senate gives initial approval to a medical marijuana bill, New Jersey lawmakers pass a bill giving pot businesses the ability to take state business tax deductions, and more.

Benzodiazepines such as Valium will be subject to tighter telehealth prescribing rules as the COVID emergency ends. (CC)

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Advances Yet Again. The Senate version of the bill, Senate File 73, passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Tuesday, bringing the number of Senate committees to approve the bill to six. A companion bill in the House has already passed 10 House committee. Democratic-Farm-Labor (DFL) Party officials, who control both the legislature and the governor's office, are confident the bill will pass and be signed into law in short order.

New Jersey Lawmakers Ease Tax Penalty for Marijuana Businesses. Legislators in Trenton gave final approval Monday to a bill that would allow the state's legal marijuana industry to take state business tax deductions like any other legal business in the state, Senate Bill 340. The measure would uncouple the state's corporate business tax from federal rules that bar marijuana businesses from getting deductions and credits on federal taxes. The Senate took a final vote Monday, months after the House passed a companion version of the bill last October. The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Phil Murphy (D).

Washington Bill to Bar Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing Advances. The state Senate has approved Senate Bill 5123, which would end almost all pre-employment marijuana testing in the state, on a 28-21 vote. There are exceptions for the airline industry, federally regulated jobs that require drug testing, and "safety sensitive" positions. The bill now heads to the House.

Medical Marijuana

North Carolina SenateGives Initial Approval to Medical Marijuana Bill. The state Senate on Tuesday voted to approve  Senate Bill 3, the North Carolina Compassionate Use Act, on a second reading. It still needs to be approved in a third reading before being sent to the House, and that is expected to happen within a few days. House leaders said they were positioned to pass the bill, too, despite having blocked a similar bill last year. The bill would allow patients with a specified list of ailments to use medical marijuana and buy it from licensed dispensaries. The bill contains neither home cultivation nor social equity provisions.

Drug Policy

Feds Will Start Limiting Telehealth Prescriptions for Painkillers, ADHD Drugs. Federal officials are tightening access to certain drugs with a potential for abuse after rules were loosened during the coronavirus pandemic. The Biden administration will require an in-person appointment rather than a telehealth appointment for patients to obtain an initial prescription for opioid pain relievers and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs like Adderall and Ritalin. Refills could be obtained via telehealth, though. The DEA is also tightening up access to drugs such as codeine, Xanax, Ambien, and buprenorphine. People will be able to get an initial 30-day prescription for such drugs via a telehealth appointment but will have to see a doctor in person to get a refill. The new rules are set to go into effect on May 11, when the coronavirus public health emergency ends.

They're trying again in North Caroliina, a Florida group wants to put a home grow initiative on the ballot, and more.

Colorado Legislative Committee Kills Medical Marijuana Expansion. A bill to expand access to medical marijuana was shot down by the first committee to consider it on Thursday. The measure, Senate Bill 81, sought to increase the amount of medical marijuana concentrate a patient can buy per day and allow doctors to recommend medical marijuana via virtual telehealth appointments for some patients, among other changes. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee killed the bill at the request of bill sponsor Sen. Kevin Van Winkle (R), who said he was not able to reach agreement with opponents to move the measure forward. Van Winkle said he would be back to try again.

Florida

Florida Campaign Seeks to Put Medical Marijuana Home Grow Initiative on 2024 Ballot. A group calling itself the WISE and Free Florida Committee is getting a campaign underway for a constitutional amendment initiative that would allow "caregivers and adult qualifying patients 21 years or older to cultivate marijuana for medical use" and would note that cultivation would be "limited to the cultivator’s home." To clear the first hurdle on its path, the campaign must come up with more than 291,000 valid voter signatures, which would then trigger a review by the state Supreme Court. If okayed to move forward by the court, the campaign would then have to come up with an additional 891,589 valid voter signatures to meet the next hurdle. A separate campaign committee calling itself Smart and Safe Florida, which wants to get a marijuana legalization amendment on the ballot, has already met that first signature goal.

North Carolina

North Carolina Medical Marijuana Bill Advances in Senate. A year after the Senate approved a medical marijuana bill only to see it die in the House, the bill, Senate Bill 3, is back and moving again. The measure passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The bill now heads to two more committees, the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Rules and Operations Committee before heading for a Senate floor vote. Although the House last year declined to take up the measure, the Republican House Speaker, Rep. Tim Moore, has suggested that the bill could pass with "the right restrictions." The bill would allow medical marijuana for a list of specified medical conditions and an advisory board could expand that list.  

Marijuana legalization bills advance in Hawaii and Minnesota, a Virginia psilocybin reform bill dies, and more.

The Vancouver safe injection site. Could one be coming to Denver? (vch.ca)

Twitter Becomes First Social Media Platform to Allow Marijuana Ads. As of Wednesday, Twitter is allowing marijuana companies to market their brands and products in the United States. It is the first social media platform to take that step. Previously, Twitter had only allowed ads for hemp-derived CBD prices. Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok continue to follow a "no cannabis advertising policy" based on the fact that marijuana remains illegal on the federal level. Twitter announced restrictions on marijuana advertising: Companies must be properly licensed, not target people under 21, and only target states where they are licensed to operate.  

Hawaii Marijuana Legalization Bill Wins Committee Votes. A marijuana legalization bill, Senate Bill 375, was approved by Senate Human Services Committee and the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee on Wednesday. The bill is supported by some of the industry's major operators, but small-scale growers and groups supporting them oppose the bill and instead support Senate Bill 669, which has a simpler regulatory scheme. The Senate voted to approve marijuana legalization in 2021, only to see the measure defeated in the House. The Senate is expected to pass some form of marijuana legalization this year as well.

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Advances Yet Again. The marijuana legalization bill,  House File 100, has won its ninth House committee vote, with the House Education Finance Committee approving it Thursday. The Senate companion bill also cleared its sixth panel this week. With an expected 18 committee votes needed before heading for floor votes, the measure is now most of the way there.

Medical Marijuana

Colorado Legislative Committee Kills Medical Marijuana Expansion. A bill to expand access to medical marijuana was shot down by the first committee to consider it on Thursday. The measure, Senate Bill 81, sought to increase the amount of medical marijuana concentrate a patient can buy per day and allow doctors to recommend medical marijuana via virtual telehealth appointments for some patients, among other changes. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee killed the bill at the request of bill sponsor Sen. Kevin Van Winkle (R), who said he was not able to reach agreement with opponents to move the measure forward. Van Winkle said he would be back to try again.

Psychedelics

Virginia Bill to Reduce Psilocybin Penalties Dies in House. A bill to lower penalties for possessing psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, as well as psilocybin advisory board to move toward therapeutic access, Senate Bill 932, has died in the House after being approved in the Senate. It was killed in the House Rules Committee on a 13-5 vote, joining two other psilocybin reform bills in the ash heap of history. A 2022 psilocybin decriminalization bill failed, as did a bill earlier this year that would have ended felony possession charges for people 21 and over.

Harm Reduction

. The city of Denver passed a resolution four years ago to allow safe injection sites but has been stymied because they remain illegal under state law. Now, lawmakers hoping to rectify that contradiction have filed a bill, House Bill 23-1202, that would allow the city to move forward with an "overdose prevention center." So far every lawmaker in support of the bill is a Democrat. In addition to allowing drug users to inject under medical supervision, the bill would provide access to sterile equipment, fentanyl testing, counseling, and referrals to treatment. It is now before the Public and Behavioral Health and Human Services Committee. Safe injection sites currently operate in only two states, New York and Rhode Island.