2021 is coming to a close—and seriously, how did that happen so fast? Since it’s that time of year to reflect on the year that was, these were some of the biggest stories in weed in 2021:
Sha’Carri Richardson was denied the chance to compete in the Tokyo Summer Olympics because she tested positive for THC. Richardson dominated the women’s 100-meter qualifying race at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon. However, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) prohibited her from competing after the positive test.
“Richardson’s competitive results obtained on June 19, 2021, including her Olympic qualifying results at the Team Trials, have been disqualified, and she forfeits any medals, points, and prizes,” a statement from the USADA said.
Richardson, who had just learned about her mother’s death, consumed marijuana in Oregon, a legal cannabis state. Despite the lack of evidence that marijuana or THC enhances athletic ability and a petition signed by more than half a million people, Richardson could not compete.
Colorado’s Speaker of the House, Alec Garnett (D-Denver), introduced legislation to tighten rules for medical marijuana and marijuana concentrates. The Colorado Legislature passed HB 1317 in June, and Governor Jared Polis (D-Colorado), signed the bill into law in the same month.
A new state tracking system will monitor medical marijuana patients’ purchases to prevent them from buying more than the allowed daily limit. Additionally, the law lowered the purchase limit on concentrates for medical and recreational to 8 grams per day, down from the previous 40-gram limit. For medical marijuana patients between the ages of 18-20, the limit on concentrates was lowered to two grams per day.
Amazon, one of the largest employers in the United States, dropped drug testing for applicants and employees this year.
“We will no longer include marijuana in our comprehensive drug screening program for any positions not regulated by the Department of Transportation, and will instead treat it the same as alcohol use. We will continue to do impairment checks on the job and will test for all drugs and alcohol after any incident,” the company said in a blog post.
Going one step further, the company said that they would actively lobby Congress to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would legalize cannabis nationally.
This may be the biggest story that wasn’t. We’re at the end of 2021, and there still hasn’t been any movement on ending the prohibition on cannabis or improving access to banking.
Several marijuana legalization and banking bills were introduced in the last few years, including the MORE Act and the SAFE Banking Act. In 2020, the House passed the MORE Act, but it never received a hearing in the Senate. The House passed different versions of the SAFE Banking Act five times, but like the MORE Act, it stalled in the Senate.
One of the sponsors of the SAFE Banking Act, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), said in a statement, “[P]eople are still getting killed and businesses are still getting robbed because of a lack of action from the Senate. The SAFE Banking Act has been sitting in the Senate for three years and with every passing day their unwillingness to deal with the issue endangers and harms businesses, their employees, and communities across the country.”
In states that have legalized adult-use marijuana, youth marijuana use has not increased.
A study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that teen marijuana use decreased after legalization. Researchers analyzed data from 1.4 million high school students between 1993 and 2017 and found an 8 percent decrease in teen use after states legalized recreational marijuana.
The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) analyzed ten years of data from students in grades 9-12 who reported marijuana use in the previous 30 days. They found that between 2009 and 2019, youth marijuana use has remained essentially unchanged.
“The overall percentage of students who reported using marijuana at least 1 time during the previous 30 days in 2019 was not measurably different from the percentage in 2009…. There was no measurable difference between 2009 and 2019 in the percentage of students who reported that illegal drugs were made available to them on school property.”
The findings are consistent with prior data concerning youth marijuana use.
Voting is over, and the results are in. Read on to find out how cannabis initiatives fared in this year’s Colorado elections.
Colorado
Colorado voters rejected a statewide ballot measure that would have increased the sales tax on recreational marijuana. Proposition 119 would have increased recreational marijuana sales tax by 5 percent to fund private after-school and tutoring programs. The initiative failed by 54.41 percent to 45.59 percent.
Peter Marcus, a spokesman for Boulder-based cannabis company Terrapin, said Proposition 119 was a “misguided policy.”
“Despite being significantly outspent by proponents, Colorado voters still soundly rejected using cannabis as a piggy bank for out-of-state special interest projects. Coloradans understand that lawmakers struck an appropriate balance when they planned for cannabis taxes. Disrupting that system would only set successful regulation back. We can’t balance the state budget and education on the backs of cannabis consumers; we need long-term solutions that address structural deficiencies,” Marcus said after Proposition 119’s defeat.
Denver
In Denver, another marijuana sales tax increase was on the ballot. Initiative 300 would have increased the recreational cannabis sales tax by 1.5 percent to fund pandemic research at the University of Colorado Denver City Center.
“Denver voters recognized that this measure — funded by an out-of-town billionaire — taxes people’s pain relief to pay for a random, pandemic preparation program that has no accountability, no oversight, no specific solutions, no connection to the marijuana industry and no relationship to core city services. We are hopeful that the city’s business community will oppose any future efforts to increase taxes on the Denver cannabis industry just as they would for any other industry in the city,” Chuck Smith of the cannabis business organization Colorado Leads told Westword.
An out-of-state special interest group funded the initiative, and CU Denver was not involved in getting the measure on the ballot. The vote was no/against the initiative by 60.35 percent to 39.65 percent.
Golden, Westminster, and Brighton
By a slim 58.68 percent to 49.60 percent margin, voters in Golden decided to lift the moratorium on recreational marijuana dispensaries in the city. Cannabis cultivation, extraction, and manufacturing are still a no-no in city limits. Still, marijuana sales will finally be a reality in Golden after the city council drafts and implements rules.
However, it doesn’t look like adult-use marijuana dispensaries will be coming to Westminster anytime soon. Despite voting “yes” on allowing retail marijuana in the city by 53 percent, voters said “no” to a separate tax measure tied to the initiative.
Brighton was a definite “no” on repealing the ban on recreational marijuana sales. Voters rejected the measure by 53 percent.
Lakewood
Lakewood’s sales tax on recreational marijuana will remain at 19.6 percent after voters rejected a measure to increase the tax rate by an additional 5 percent. If the initiative had passed, the City of Lakewood would have been able to increase the tax on adult-use marijuana by up to 10 percent without further voter approval.
Mead, Lamar, and Wellington
It turns out that 3 wasn’t a magic number in Mead, where voters rejected a ban on medical and recreational marijuana sales for the third time since 2013. 61 percent of voters rejected the measure.
There was better cannabis election news in Lamar, where voters approved two marijuana-related measures. 54 percent of voters approved Ballot Measure 2B, legalizing recreational marijuana sales. 55 percent of voters approved Ballot Measure 2A for a 5 percent local tax on adult-use cannabis sales.
In Wellington, the vote on Initiative 2B is still too close to call. As in, a 3-vote difference too close to call. The initiative would allow medical and recreational sales in Wellington. With a total of 3,341 votes counted so far, 1,672 voters said “yes,” while 1,669 voters said “no” to the measure.
However, it’s not so close when it comes to Initiative 300, the vote on whether to implement a 3.5 percent sales tax on adult-use marijuana purchases. The initiative looks like it will pass, with 231 “yes” votes in the lead.
Marijuana may be legal in Colorado, but there’s a slew of marijuana-related initiatives on the ballot this year.
Colorado
Statewide, Colorado voters will decide whether to increase the sales tax on recreational marijuana to fund after-school and tutoring programs for low-income and underserved youth.
Proposition 119, also known as the State Learning and Academic Progress Initiative (Leap), would give families earning between $25,000 and $50,000 a yearly stipend of $1,500 for after-school programs. Supporters of the initiative say the money would help close income-related learning gaps, which have been particularly exacerbated during the coronavirus pandemic.
If the initiative is approved, it will raise marijuana taxes from 15 percent to 20 percent. Local governments add their own marijuana sales and industry taxes, so the tax on recreational marijuana would go from 26.4 percent to 31.4 percent in Denver.
The state’s largest teachers union, the Colorado Education Association, initially supported the initiative. However, they withdrew their support and adopted a neutral stance over oversight issues and a lack of information about how the program would be implemented. In particular, they noted that the program may not be as accessible for rural students and that it funnels money toward private, for-profit programs while doing nothing to fund public schools.
State marijuana proponents oppose the ballot measure, arguing that increasing an already hefty tax on recreational marijuana could push people to the black market, as well as detract from social equity initiatives.
Denver
In Denver, voters will decide whether to increase the recreational marijuana sales tax by 1.5 percent to fund pandemic research. Initiative 300 would raise around $7 million annually to fund the University of Colorado Denver CityCenter for research.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock opposes the initiative. On Facebook, he wrote, “While we continue to grapple with the impacts of COVID-19, adding a cost burden to just Denver voters seems unfair. Let’s rely on our national research institutions to do this work and share the responsibility more broadly than just Denver taxpayers.”
The initiative was sponsored by a Delaware-registered advocacy group, Guarding Against Pandemics. The University of Colorado was not involved in the initiative, and they don’t have any plan on how to use the funds.
Golden, Westminster, and Brighton
Three Colorado suburbs may finally have the chance to open recreational marijuana dispensaries thanks to initiatives on the ballot in Golden, Westminster, and Brighton.
After recreational cannabis was legalized in the state, the city council in Golden placed a moratorium on adult-use marijuana businesses in the city. If voters approve the measure, recreational dispensaries could open their doors. Marijuana cultivation, extraction, or manufacturing facilities would still be off the table.
Similarly, Westminster banned marijuana sales in 2013. However, ballot measures presented by the city council would all adult-use marijuana dispensaries and create a new local sales tax.
Brighton City Council banned marijuana sales after it was legalized in 2012, but this year voters in the city will vote on whether to allow recreational marijuana dispensaries as well as create a 4 percent local sales tax.
Lakewood
This year it’s all about taxes as Lakewood voters weigh in on a special marijuana sales tax that would help fund the city. If approved, local taxes on recreational marijuana would be set at 5 percent, with the City of Lakewood retaining the right to increase the tax up to 10 percent without further voter approval. Currently, Lakewood’s overall sales tax for recreational marijuana is 19.6 percent. The sales tax increase would raise around $2.9 million per year for Lakewood.
Mead, Lamar, and Wellington
Three rural Colorado towns will also vote this November on whether to allow recreational cannabis sales.
In Wellington, Initiative 2B would allow medical and recreational marijuana sales, and Issue 300 would implement a 3.5 sales tax on recreational marijuana purchases.
A voter-backed initiative in Mead could end the prohibition of marijuana sales in the town. A similar measure failed in 2019.
Lamar has two separate ballot initiatives that would end the ban on medical and recreational marijuana sales. Ballot Question 2B would allow marijuana dispensaries, cultivation, extraction, and manufacturing, while Ballot Issue 2A would create a 5 percent local tax on recreational marijuana sales. The city would have the right to raise adult-use marijuana taxes up to 15 percent without further voter approval.
Surgeon General supports marijuana decriminalization
During an interview with CNN, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, said that he thinks it’s time to stop incarcerating people for marijuana.
“When it comes to decriminalization, I don’t think that there is value to individuals or to society to lock people up for marijuana use. I don’t think that serves anybody well.”
Murthy was commenting on new draft legislation to repeal federal marijuana prohibition introduced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) last week.
“In terms of our approach to marijuana, I worry when we don’t let science guide our process and policymaking and as Surgeon General that’s my role, is to work with policymakers who work with members in the community and the general public to help people understand what science tells us and where you gaps, to help fill those gaps with research and with honest inquiry.”
MMJ patient sues Governor Polis over new medical marijuana regulations
In June, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed House Bill 1317, which added a host of new restrictions to the state’s medical-marijuana program.
Under the new law, physicians must prescribe a THC dosage amount and method of consumption and refer the patient for medical and mental health reviews. In addition, all medical marijuana purchases must be entered into a new tracking system, and patients are limited as to the amount of medical marijuana concentrate they can purchase.
Proponents of House Bill 1317 said the legislation was aimed at curbing youth use of marijuana concentrates.
“The reality is that it’s too easy for Colorado’s youth to access high-potency marijuana when they shouldn’t be able to, and we don’t have the full picture of how these products impact the developing brain,” Garnett said at the bill signing. “This law will help educate consumers about high-potency cannabis, and it will advance critical research that will give us a better understanding of how high-potency products impact developing brains,” said House Speaker Alec Garnett, who introduced the legislation.
However, medical marijuana advocates feel that the new law adds unnecessary hurdles for patients and physicians.
Benjamin Wann, a nineteen-year-old medical marijuana patient who uses cannabis to treat seizures, is suing the governor over the new restrictions. Wann and his parents, Amber and Brad, say that the governor and legislators failed to include the medical marijuana community in their policymaking.
“Polis didn’t have a conversation with us. We reached out, and had a rally in front of his office after it passed. I don’t know of anyone in the community who he had a conversation with, especially those of us who just passed that other bill,” Brad told Westword.
The Wann family was with the governor on May 6 as he signed a bill into law that expanded medical marijuana access to underage patients in public schools.
“We’ve seen a roller-coaster effect over the years with Benjamin having seizures. People keep saying [marijuana] is so bad for the developing brain, and here’s Benjamin, and we’ve literally seen him flourish and grow from it,” Amber said.
Denver receives first marijuana delivery application
In April, the Denver City Council passed a bill to (finally) allow marijuana delivery and consumption lounges in the city. Now, the City of Denver has received its first application for a marijuana delivery permit.
“We are kind of accustomed to getting everything delivered. Our groceries, our medicine, our clothing, our basic needs. So now this is just one thing we can deliver and provide that type of service,” said Dooba owner Karina Cohen.
The same restrictions that apply to purchasing cannabis in a dispensary will apply to the new delivery service. Cannabis delivery will only be available to a residential address to a person with a valid ID. Purchases will be limited to one ounce of flower, 8 grams of concentrate, or edibles containing 800 milligrams of THC.
Colorado’s Speaker of the House, Alec Garnett (D-Denver), has introduced legislation that would create more stringent rules for medical marijuana patients and marijuana concentrates.
House Bill 1317 would require a review of a patient’s mental health history before a physician could recommend medical marijuana. That recommendation would have to include a prescribed THC potency level and daily dosage.
Additionally, a new state tracking system would monitor medical marijuana patient’s purchases.
Instead of being packaged and sold by the gram, marijuana concentrates, aka dabs, would be packaged in single doses no larger than 0.1 grams. Medical purchases of cannabis concentrates would be limited to 8 grams per day for patients 21 years and older. Medical marijuana patients between the ages of 18 and 20 would be limited to purchasing 2 grams of concentrate per day.
It’s not clear what data is driving the lawmaker’s desire to regulate marijuana concentrates and medical cannabis further. There has been an uptick in marijuana concentrate usage among teenagers from 2017 to 2019, but overall, marijuana usage rates in Colorado have remained flat in Colorado since legalization. Additionally, enrollment for Colorado’s medical marijuana program has fallen in recent years. It’s uncertain what impact the new legislation would have on patient access or the medical marijuana program as a whole.
“We have been at the table for months to produce a balanced policy measure, and we very much appreciate that the conversation has shifted to a more evidence-based approach to cannabis regulation,” according to a joint statement from the Marijuana Industry Group and Colorado Leads. “The cannabis industry has always supported youth prevention efforts and strict regulations that keep marijuana out of the hands of teenagers. That’s why we support an even more robust tracking system that limits the amount of medical marijuana concentrate 18- to 20-year-olds can purchase, as well as other provisions that make it harder for teenagers to obtain marijuana illegally.”
The new state system proposed under HB 1317 tracking the purchasing data of medical marijuana patients has raised both privacy concerns and fears about how that data could be used against minority communities.
Hashim Coats, executive director of Black Brown and Red Badged, a coalition of Black and Brown cannabis business owners, told Westword:
“The current draft legislation has serious racial bias implications and racial blind spots, particularly in the areas that address data collection and research,” he says. “We are supportive of some important provisions of this bill, [but] we are unfortunately still incredibly concerned about the racial tone-deafness and exclusion of Black voices from the discussion, which any legislation of this nature should include, and that the bill at this point has yet to strike the right balance.”
HB 1317 will have its first hearing in the House Public & Behavioral Health & Human Services Committee on May 18.
Pennsylvania governor calls for marijuana legalization to help boost state economy
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is urging state legislators to legalize adult-use marijuana. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, shutdowns have hurt the state economy.
The move to legalize recreational marijuana could boost revenue for the state, which in turn would fund grants for small businesses and restorative justice programs. Fifty percent of the funding for small businesses would be reserved for historically disadvantaged businesses.
Some of the tax revenue would go toward “restorative justice programs that give priority to repairing the harm done to crime victims and communities as a result of marijuana criminalization.”
It’s uncertain if the proposal would pass the Republican-majority General Assembly. House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R), called Wolf “disingenuous” by proposing “an unaffordable legislative agenda.”
Medical marijuana has been legal in Pennsylvania since 2016, and the first medical marijuana dispensaries opened in 2018.
Adult-use cannabis on Montana ballot in November
Two ballot measures aimed at legalizing recreational marijuana will be on the ballot in Montana this November.
Initiative 190 would legalize the sale and possession of up to an ounce of cannabis, as well as the cultivation of up to four cannabis plants and four cannabis seedlings at home. The initiative calls for a twenty percent tax on adult-use marijuana sales.
Constitutional Initiative 118 would amend the state constitution to allow the Legislature to set the age for adults permitted to possess and consume marijuana—which would likely be 21, the same age for legally purchasing alcohol.
New Approach Montana, the group who backed both ballot measures, estimates that legal adult-use marijuana sales will generate $48 million in tax revenue for the state by 2025.
“Our research has always shown that a majority of Montanans support legalization, and now voters will have the opportunity to enact that policy, which will create jobs and generate new revenue for our state,” said Pepper Petersen, campaign spokesman for the group.
Colorado recreational cannabis sales break record, again
Recreational marijuana sales continue to break records during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adult-use marijuana sales amounted to $158,102,628 during June, according to data from the Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division. That’s a 6 percent increase from the last single-month recreational sales record, and the first time that more than $150 million worth of recreational cannabis has been sold during the month of June.
The state collected $33.62 million in taxes from cannabis sales in June. Tax reporting for July, which comes out before sales data, shows the state collected $36.13 million in taxes. So far, in 2020, Colorado has collected $203.3 million in cannabis tax revenue.
$192,175,937 worth of marijuana products were sold in May, according to the Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division. That’s about 11 percent higher than the previous sales record of $173.2 million that was set in August 2019.
Colorado cannabis sales were up 29% from April, and up 32% as compared to May 2019.
May medical marijuana sales amounted to $42,989,322, and recreational cannabis sales amounted to $149,186,615. Altogether, that amounts to more than $779 million in cannabis sold so far in 2020, equaling more than $167 million in state tax revenue.
So why were sales up so much during May? Roy Bingham, co-founder and executive chairman of BDS Analytics, said that people are spending more time at home, which may mean that they’re simply consuming more cannabis.
“Everyone has perhaps become more used to consuming a little more,” Bingham said.
Plus, Coloradoans are buying more cannabis when they visit a dispensary, stocking up rather than making more frequent trips—a trend that started when Gov. Polis issued the stay-at-home order in March.
“It’s beginning to look like cannabis is anti-recession, or at least COVID-recession resistant,” Bingham said, adding Colorado has experienced “spectacular growth” this year.
State projections released in May predicted that marijuana tax revenue would decrease this year because of less tourism, more unemployment, and loss of wages from COVID-19. That hasn’t been the case so far in 2020, and sales numbers could increase during August, traditionally the biggest marijuana sales month of the year.
Colorado isn’t the only legal marijuana state that’s seen a jump in sales. Oregon cannabis sales are up nearly 60 percent from May 2019, surpassing $100 million for the first time since the legal sales began in 2015.
In Washington, sales are up nearly three times the rate in 2019, and up 8 percent compared to 2018.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill into law that will allow him to pardon marijuana convictions that occurred before the state legalized marijuana in 2012.
>House Bill 1424, passed by lawmakers on June 15, is aimed at increasing social equity in the cannabis industry. The bill allows Colorado residents who have been arrested or convicted of a marijuana offense, been subject to civil asset forfeiture related to a marijuana offense, or applicants living in economically disadvantaged areas toFor decades now, the Black community has been disproportionately criminalized because of marijuana while others have profited,” state Rep. James Coleman (D-Denver), one of the bill’s sponsors, toldThe Denver Post, “We have needed to act on this injustice for decades.”
A last-minute amendment to the bill gave the governor the ability to issue mass pardons for marijuana convictions of 2 ounces or less without approval from judges or district attorneys.
“There’s too many people that have a prior conviction for personal amounts of cannabis fully legal today that prevent them from getting loans, from getting leases, from raising capital, from getting licenses, from getting jobs, from getting mortgages, and that’s wrong,” Polis said during the bill signing. “We hope that this measure will be a first step for new opportunities for thousands of Coloradans who should not be living with a cloud over their head simply because they were a little bit ahead of their time.”
While the governor will have the ability to issue a mass pardon, the process isn’t automatic. People with marijuana convictions will still have to apply to clear their records.
While the new law is a step towards social equity in the cannabis industry, the Black Cannabis Equity Initiative and the Colorado Black Round Table urged Polis in a letter to immediately release low-level cannabis offenders and expunge their records.
This Pardon and Expungement are not the face of social equity in Colorado, however, they are important action steps in recognizing and acknowledging systemic and institutional racism as well as the past barriers and significant omissions in the evolution and history of the Colorado cannabis industry.”
The law will take effect in 90 days.
After predictions that Colorado’s marijuana market was plateauing, the latest numbers for 2019 showed a huge jump in sales growth. Marijuana sales at medical and recreational dispensaries set a new record at $1.75 billion in 2019, according to data released by the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR).
Colorado’s 2019 numbers saw a surge in cannabis sales, exceeding 2018 by more than $200 million, an increase of 13 percent. The state received more than $302.4 million in tax revenue–used to fund programs like public health and safety, drug education, law enforcement, school construction, and more.
From 2017 to 2018, cannabis sales increased by 2.5 percent. In 2018, the state saw $1.55 billion in cannabis sales, compared to $1.5 billion in 2017.
“To see it turn around in 2019 is a bullish indicator that price compression can’t keep the popularity of legal cannabis down,” said Tom Adams, the managing director at BDS Analytics. Adams told CNN that he attributed the increase in sales to the popularity in non-flower products like edibles, vapes, and concentrates. He said that recent BDS studies showed that the number of adults who reported consuming cannabis in the last six months was increasing, and more people were comfortable buying cannabis products.
“It’s just become a part of people’s lives more and more,” Adams said.
Truman Bradley, the newly appointed executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group, told The Denver Post that he attributed the increase in sales to the normalization of cannabis.
“People are moving from the unregulated market to the regulated market,” Bradley said. “As reefer madness goes away, as the stigmatism of cannabis reduces and people come over to the regulated market, I would expect that trend to continue.”
According to the DOR, Colorado dispensaries have sold nearly $7.79 billion in cannabis since recreational sales began in 2014, generating $1.21 billion in state tax revenue.
Higher Education: Colorado State University-Pueblo offers cannabis major
Starting this fall, CSU-Pueblo will offer a bachelor of science in cannabis biology and chemistry.
The degree program will offer students two tracks–a natural products track focused on biology or an analytical track that focuses on chemistry. Students will have to complete general biology and chemistry courses in addition to nine proposed cannabis courses to complete their degree.
This is Colorado’s first cannabis degree program, and one of the first cannabis degree programs in the country. Northern Michigan University and Minot State University in North Dakota offer bachelor programs in medicinal plant chemistry.
“We have been working on this particular degree program for over a year now, and the chemistry department and the biology department have put together a program that really emphasizes the science of cannabis,” said David Lehmpuhl, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at CSU-Pueblo.
The Colorado Commission on Higher Education approved the program earlier this month. According to Lehmpuhl, there are plans to create more cannabis-related degree programs at universities in the state.
“We anticipate this is the first of several cannabis-related degrees and certifications that will be developed by Colorado institutions of higher education in the near-term,” Lehmpuhl said.
“It’s a challenge in a way because cannabis has both positive and negative connotations. We want to make sure that we are viewed as being not pro or anti-cannabis, but just looking at the science behind it,” Lehmpuhl said.
“To those of us who are scientists, this is really exciting.”
Kentucky gives medical marijuana another try
A bill to legalize medical marijuana passed in Kentucky’s House Judiciary Committee for the second year in a row. House Bill 136 would legalize medical marijuana and allow doctors to prescribe it. Qualifying medical conditions have not yet been spelled out but would be determined by a panel of eight doctors, four public advocates, and a pharmacist.
The bill passed in the House committee last year, but failed to receive a full floor vote. The bill is expected to pass in the House but faces an uphill battle in the Senate.
Senate President Robert Stivers (R-Manchester) said that he hadn’t seen sufficient research into medical marijuana, but there’s a “narrow path” to passing the bill in the Senate.
“It’s a balancing test of do the goods outweigh the bads,” Stivers said. “And we just haven’t had anything done on that.”
Advocates of the bill say that medical marijuana is a better alternative to addictive opioids.
“If House Bill 136, medical cannabis, were to pass in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I would not be a criminal,” said Eric Crawford, who spoke before lawmakers. “I would not have to live in fear. I would not have to lay awake at night worrying about law enforcement coming to my home. I would not have to stress about going to jail, or losing my home, work or freedom.” Crawford has been in a wheelchair since being involved in a car accident in 1994.
If the bill were to pass in both the state House and Senate, it would create one of the more restrictive medical marijuana laws in the country. Smoking marijuana would be illegal, although flower would be available for other uses. Colorful packaging and gummies would be prohibited. Even THC may be a no-go under the bill, something that would be decided on at a later date by the Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services.
90 percent of Kentuckians support legalizing medical marijuana, according to a recent poll by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. That’s up from 78 percent support in 2012.
States with medical marijuana have fewer workers’ compensation claims
A new study found that in states with legal medical marijuana, there was a 6.7 percent decline in workers’ compensation claims. Medical marijuana “can allow workers to better manage symptoms associated with workplace injuries and illnesses and, in turn, reduce need for workers’ compensation,” according to the study.
Researchers from the University of Cincinnati Ash Blue College and Temple University analyzed data from the Census Bureau’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey. The data spanned from 1990-2013 and included survey interviews from 150,000 U.S. residents 15 and older.
“We think there is a lot of overlap between conditions for which medical marijuana can be used in managing symptoms and the types of illnesses that lead people to file workers’ compensation claims,” said study co-author, Catherine Maclean, an associate professor in the economics department at Temple University.
When workers did file claims, they were for shorter periods of time, on average, after medical cannabis was legalized.
“Our findings add to the small, but growing, literature on the effects of MMLs (medical marijuana laws) on labor market outcomes. On net, the available findings suggest that MML passage may increase work capacity among older adults, reduce work absences, improve workplace safety, and reduce WC (workers’ compensation) claiming and the pain and suffering associated with workplace injuries.”
