Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign legislation recently passed by the state Legislature that would regulate and create prohibitions for cannabinoid and hemp-derived THC products currently sold in the state.
Hemp-derived THC could soon be allowed in food and beverage products in Minnesota, while the sale of inhalable products containing more than 0.3% THC could be prohibited.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign legislation recently passed by the state Legislature that would regulate and create prohibitions for cannabinoid and hemp-derived THC products currently sold in the state.
According to Hellmuth & Johnson (HJ) Law Firm, this measure would allow for the use of CBD, CBG and THC in food and beverage products for adults 21 years and older. However, THC added to a food or beverage product must “contain no more than 5 mg of THC in a single serving and [a] total of 50 mg per package, and the food product cannot contain more than 0.3% weight by volume of any THC,” the law firm reported.
However, the measure also defines products containing more than 0.3% THC as an adulterated drug, which would “prohibit THC vape cartridges and flower, including delta-8 and delta-10 products, from being sold in Minnesota,” HJ Law Firm reported.
The measure also includes a list of labeling and packaging restrictions for CBD and THC products. Edibles would need to be sold in child-resistant packaging and include the statement “Keep this product out of reach of children” on the label. The serving size would also need to be clearly listed on the label, StarTribune reported.
In addition, product packaging would be prohibited from containing any characteristics or designs that could be appealing to children.
Kurtis Hanna, lobbyist for the Minnesota chapter of NORML, said the reform efforts will help Minnesotans see “what it's like to have legal products being sold on shelves in a non-gray market," StarTribune reported.
A bill to legalize the possession of up to 1 ounce of adult-use cannabis lost six votes in the chamber following Gov. John Carney’s veto.
On May 5, the Delaware House voted, 26-14, to pass legislation that would allow adults 21 and older to legally possess up to 1 ounce of cannabis.
On June 7, that same chamber voted, 20-20, on the same legislation.
The only thing that changed between those two votes was Democratic Gov. John Carney’s veto, which was enough to sway six representatives from honoring what most Delawareans support. That legislation, House Bill 371, and the hopes for broader reform via a regulated and taxed industry are now dead for the year.
The Delaware General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn June 30 without a meaningful path forward on cannabis reform, a defeat that comes after the bicameral Legislature originally sent H.B. 371 to Carney’s desk with supermajority support in both chambers—the Senate passed the bill on a 13-7 vote on May 12.
House Assembly members who voted no on June 7, after previously voting yes on May 5, include Democratic Reps. Andria Bennett, William Carson and Sean Matthews, and Republican Reps. Michael Ramone and Jeffrey Spiegelman.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Valerie Longhurst did not vote June 7, after previously voting yes. And Democratic Rep. Stephanie Bolden voted no June 7, after previously not voting.
Before that vote, Democratic Rep. Ed Osienski, who sponsored H.B. 371, addressed his colleagues in the chamber about the opportunity they had before them.
“We had a brief victory on May 12, when the Senate passed House Bill 371,” he said. “We ended 50 years of prohibition and criminalization. We removed penalties for possession of under 1 ounce of marijuana for persons 21 years of age and older. And, most importantly, we did what a majority of Delawareans asked us to do.”
Osienski’s push for cannabis reform policies comes at a time when 71% of Delawareans support broad legalization, according to Civiqs polling.
Despite public support, Carney said in his May 24 veto statement that he has been clear about his position against cannabis legalization since before he took office in 2017 and has articulated those concerns many times since.
Osienski said the people of Delaware and the General Assembly have also been clear on their position.
“We cannot, nor should not, ignore the will of this body, nor the will of the people who voted to send us to Dover,” he said Tuesday. “The governor has made it clear he wishes us to wait until 2025, but the majority of Delawareans don’t agree. I feel we’re missing an opportunity here:19 states around the United States have passed this legislation.”
Osienski added, “Some of them have been functioning now for over a decade, and nobody has come back to say this was a mistake. Nobody has come back and said, ‘We need to repeal this.’ They have learned a way to work out the problems. And I know Delaware is capable of that.”
While H.B. 371 aimed to legalize simple possession, Osienski is also sponsoring companion legislation, H.B. 372, which aims to establish a regulated and taxed adult-use cannabis industry in Delaware.
Osienski had planned to bring that legislation up for a vote this month on House floor —after it previously came one vote shy of passage amidst a key supporter’s absence last month—but he said Tuesday that there was no path forward on H.B. 372 without overturning the governor’s veto on H.B. 371.
“We need to have this freedom and this liberty for Delawareans to be able to purchase good, regulated product that is safe, and it does not get into the hands of children,” Osienski said. “New Jersey did it, and New Jersey is being very successful. [In] the first month, they brought in over $25 million in sales. To me, that’s $25 million that’s not in the illegal market.”
He added, “We need legalization. So, I beg of my colleagues not to wait until 2025 to do this, but to override this veto and then we can work together on the regulation and taxation.”
Without the 25 House votes needed to override Carney’s veto, Delawareans will have to wait longer until they can enjoy “the freedom and the liberty” of being able to possess small amounts of cannabis.
Carney, who is term-limited, cannot seek reelection in November 2024.
The city will allow licensed cannabis retailers to apply for an emblem that can be displayed on their storefronts to help differentiate legal and illegal dispensaries.
Competition with the illicit market remains one of the largest obstacles for California’s cannabis businesses, prompting the Los Angeles City Council to take action to protect consumers from untested and unregulated products at unlicensed retailers.
City Council members approved the "Emblem Program for Authorized Cannabis Stores" June 7 to allow licensed retailers to apply for an emblem that can be displayed on their storefronts to help differentiate legal and illegal dispensaries, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
Licensed cannabis dispensaries and delivery services are eligible to apply for the emblem, and after a requisite inspection, the businesses can place the emblem on their premises so it is visible from outside the building, the news outlet reported.
“The item we have before us today is an important step towards making it easier to differentiate between legal and illegal dispensaries, but there’s a lot more to it than that because the conversation is often couched in terms of dispensaries simply operating as unpermitted or illegal without considerations of the larger issues, which are health and safety impacts that come from these illegal operations,” Councilman Paul Koretz, who co-introduced the motion with Councilman Curren Price, said during Tuesday’s City Council meeting, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
Now that City Council has approved the motion, the Los Angeles City Attorney's office must draft an ordinance to implement the emblem program, which will launch later this year upon final adoption of the ordinance, the news outlet reported.
“[The Department of Cannabis Regulation] (DCR) looks forward to facilitating, educating and verifying that our licensed operators also meet all public health standards which will allow the public to make informed and healthy consumer decisions,” DCR’s acting executive director, Michelle Garakian, told the Los Angeles Daily News. “We welcome our partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health; our collective aim is to partner to protect the health of consumers, employees and the community."
The measure cleared its final hurdle in the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 36-7.
The North Carolina Senate signed off on a medical cannabis legalization bill June 6, sending the proposal to the House for consideration.
Senate Bill 711, called the Compassionate Care Act, passed the Senate in a 35-10 vote last week, but the chamber was required to take a second vote Monday before the legislation could advance to the House.
The measure cleared its final hurdle in the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 36-7, the Associated Press reported.
S.B. 711 will likely face more opposition in the House, where Speaker Tim Moore has said the issue may have to wait until next year, according to AP.
The legislation has already been postponed once; S.B. 711 was initially introduced in April 2021 and cleared several Senate committees last summer before lawmakers ultimately decided to hold off on a full floor vote until 2022.
RELATED: North Carolina Medical Cannabis Legalization Bill Expected to Resurface Next Year
The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick County, would allow North Carolina to license 10 businesses to grow and process medical cannabis, as well as 80 dispensaries to sell it to qualifying patients with a short list of medical conditions, including cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Rabon told AP that the bill “has undergone years of work” and has "[benefitted] from successes and failures in other states."
The general assembly passed a two-year state budget proposal June 1, which includes regulations on synthetic THC products, like delta-8.
The Virginia General Assembly passed a two-year state budget proposal June 1, which includes regulations on hemp-derived THC products, like delta-8.
Senate members passed their version of the budget bill in a 32-4 vote, while the House voted 88-7 on theirs, WHSV reported.
The proposal, which now awaits Gov. Glenn Youngkin's approval, includes language that would implement regulations for hemp-derived THC products.
The budget would restrict the sales of such products to individuals 21 years and older and would place restrictions on product packaging, which lawmakers claim is appealing to children, ABC 13News reported.
The proposal would require packaging to state that the product "cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 21, and [the label must] include a list of ingredients and the amount of THC," ABC 13News reported.
Del. Sam Rasoul (D) told the news outlet that while these restrictions are a good first step, he thinks there needs to be further regulations on the actual products inside the packaging.
Sen. Mark Peake (R) told ABC 13News that he favored the measure, adding that even though these products contain delta-8, "they still have psychoactive side effects and could be a problem, especially for youth. And especially with the packaging, the way it was directed at younger, younger people."
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