Know Your Herbs

Category: recreational cannabis

Three States in Australia Push for Adult-Use Cannabis

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Leaders in three state parliaments in Australia—Victoria, NSW, and Western Australia—introduced draft laws simultaneously on June 20 to push for adult-use cannabis. 

Cannabis remains illegal under federal law in Australia, though a growing number of city and state governments have legalized recreational cannabis use, thus creating a checkerboard of cannabis laws. Sound familiar to what is seen in the U.S.?

Legalise Cannabis Victoria MP Rachel Payne, Legalise Cannabis NSW MP Jeremy Buckingham, and Legalise Cannabis WA MP Dr Brian Walker introduced the three-pronged bill in their respective parliaments, which would end cannabis prohibition in those states.

The “Regulation of Personal Adult Use of Cannabis Bill 2023” would allow adults who are lawfully in possession of cannabis to gift it to another adult in those jurisdictions. It would only allow people 18 and older to access it and would make no changes to the crime of selling cannabis.

The proposed legislation would allow adults to possess and grow small quantities of cannabis at home, and it is similar to Australian Capital Territory (ACT)’s bill that came into effect in 2020.

Landmark measures were passed in the ACT Legislative Assembly, clearing the way for individuals aged 18 and over to possess and grow cannabis beginning on Jan. 31, 2020. ACT was the first state or territory in the country to legalize cannabis for adult use. Others followed.

Legalise Cannabis Australia was formerly the Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party. Its policies focus around the re-legalization of cannabis for personal, medicinal, and industrial uses in Australia.

Legalise Cannabis MPs React

Several Legalise Cannabis MPs applauded the announcement of the bill and said they are simply doing what their constituents want.

Victorian Legalise Cannabis MP David Ettershank told ABC Radio Melbourne the people in Australia agree the time is now to reform cannabis laws. “The majority of Victorians support the regulation of cannabis, and a huge number of Victorians … regularly consume cannabis,” he said.

Legalise Cannabis Party NSW MP Jeremy Buckingham, who is a former Greens MP, said it was the nation’s first coordinated attempt to legalize cannabis.

“The Bill … will allow households to grow up to six plants, for that cannabis to be (gifted and) shared, and for the trade in seeds,” Buckingham said. 

“We already have the Greens and Liberal Democrats supporting our move … and now it’s time for Labor to move in WA, Victoria, NSW and nationally,” he said.

The Guardian reports that it’s the first united push between the three state governments.

Rachel Payne, a Legalise Cannabis Victoria MP, said the bill would put the state governments on the “the right side of history when it comes to cannabis law reform.”

What Adult Use Cannabis Could Bring to Australia

Legalizing marijuana could be a major economic boon in Australia.

Western Australia in particular could be reaping the benefits of legal cannabis sales, according to a new study.

ABC Radio Perth reports that the study, from researchers associated with the University of Western Australia, found that cannabis legalization could bring $243.5 million per year in the first five years to Western Australia. 

For the time being, cannabis remains illegal in Australia, with penalties varying from state to state. In Western Australia, according to the Guardian, “[f]ines range from $2,000 to $20,000 and up to two years in prison,” but for “possession up to 10g police [law enforcement] can use discretion to order the person to a counselling session (one for adults, two for children).”

The new law being presented in three additional states could help to change that.

The post Three States in Australia Push for Adult-Use Cannabis appeared first on High Times.

Source: Hightimes

Colombia Senate Rejects Cannabis Legalization Bill

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On June 20, the Senate in Colombia officially rejected a measure that would have allowed recreational cannabis sales. With a 43 to 47 vote, the bill failed to pass with the necessary 54 votes that would have enabled it to pass through its eighth and final debate.

According to Sen. Juan Carlos Losada, the progress seen with this bill is not the end of discussions for adult-use legalization. “I don’t consider this a defeat; we have taken a giant step, four years of putting such a controversial issue at the top of the public agenda, of the public debate,” Losada said. “Continuing to leave a substance that is legal in the hands of the drug traffickers and drug dealers is detrimental to the children of Colombia and detrimental to the country’s democracy.”

A report from La Prensa Latina explained that the eighth debate initially began on June 15, but Senate President Alexander Lopez adjourned the session due to a “verbal confrontation” between Sen. Inti Asprilla (a supporter of the bill) and Sen. Jota Pe Hernandez (who opposed it). Debates resumed again on June 19 but the vote was delayed again due to lack of senators present. The vote was then held on June 20, just before the end of the legislative session.

Former President Álvaro Uribe passed Legislative Act (no. 2) in 2009, which altered Article 49 of the constitution. Under “Drugs, alcohol, and illegal substances,” it states that “The possession and the consumption of narcotic and psychoactive drugs is prohibited, except for medical prescription.” 

Since the passage of that constitutional amendment, multiple attempts have been made to expand cannabis access and pass legalization. In order to modify the Colombia constitution, a bill must pass in four debates in the Senate and four debates in the House of Representatives. After that, the bill would proceed to the president’s desk.

However, since the cannabis legalization bill did not pass in this debate, legislators will have to start over in the next attempt. This is the first time that a cannabis legalization initiative has reached the eighth session of debate.

Supporters of legalization expressed their excitement as the possibility of legalization grew. In May, the Chamber of Representatives passed the bill for its sixth debate. Rep. Losada Tweeted about the event. “#HISTÓRICO Approved with 98 votes our project of #CannabisDeUsoAdulto in 6th debate. Today @CamaraColombia It shows that we are a country that wants to change the failed prohibitionist drug policy to one based on prevention and public health,” Lasada wrote.

Earlier this month on June 6, the Senate passed the bill for its seventh debate. 

Following the bill rejection during the eighth debate, Losada wrote on Twitter that the effort is far from over. “We are sad, but convinced that we gave it our all to the end. We never thought to go that far,” he said. “Today we have majorities, 7 votes were missing. We have been in this fight for 4 years and we will not give up to write a new history in the fight against drugs. Thank you!”

Other supporters such as Sen. María José Pizarro also remain optimistic. “We will remain firm in defending the regulation of #CannabisDeUsoAdulto due to convictions; because the communities of our country have a different opportunity to violence and a job in legality. So that children and youth are not at the mercy of the mafias and jíbaros Colombia, we are going to put ourselves at the forefront #EsHoraDeRegular . @JuanKarloslos gracias!” Pizzaro wrote on Twitter.

In 2016, Colombia legalized medical cannabis production, sale, and export. In July 2021, former Colombia President Ivan Duque approved efforts for legal sales and global export of dried cannabis flower.

The post Colombia Senate Rejects Cannabis Legalization Bill appeared first on High Times.

Source: Hightimes

New Jersey Gets More Than 170 Cannabis Dispensary Applications On First Day

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New Jersey began accepting applications on Tuesday from individuals hoping to get in on the ground floor of the state’s coming recreational cannabis industry. By day’s end, state regulators had attracted plenty of interest.

NJ.com reported that the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission said that by 4 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, it had received 172 applications from individuals interested in opening a cannabis retail store.

“Today is the day where the CRC (Cannabis Regulatory Commission) portal opens and applicants who wish to apply for a retail license to sell cannabis … are allowed to do so,” said Michael DeLoreto, a director at Gibbons’ Government and Regulatory Affairs Department, as quoted by NJ.com. “This is a day that a lot of businesses have been waiting for.”

New Jersey voters legalized recreational adult-use cannabis in 2020 when they approved a ballot measure (three other states –– Montana, Arizona and South Dakota –– likewise passed legalization proposals at the ballot that year).

In December, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission began accepting applications for recreational cannabis cultivators, manufacturers and testing labs. The commission said that by early afternoon on the first day of the application period, “the application platform was averaging 155 new users per hour.”

Within the first four hours, the commission said that it had received applications from nearly 500 individuals.

“We are happy to reach this milestone,” Jeff Brown, executive director of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, said at the time. “Applications are coming in, the platform is performing well, and we can officially mark the launch of the state’s recreational cannabis industry. Getting cultivators, manufacturers, and testing labs licensed and operating will set the framework and establish supply for retailers who will start licensing in March 2022.”

Late last month, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said that he believed adult-use sales would begin “within weeks.”

“If I had to predict, we are within weeks—I would hope in March—you would see implicit movement on the medical dispensaries, some of them being able to sell recreational,” Murphy said at the time. “They’ve got to prove they’ve got the supply for their medical customers. I hope shortly thereafter, the standalone recreational marijuana operators.”

Along those lines, NJ.com reported that Tuesday “also marked the day when the state panel expected to finish reviewing applications from eight of about [a] dozen alternative treatment centers that sell medical marijuana and are looking to the expand to the recreational market.”

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission has said that it is prioritizing applications from “designated target communities, for people with cannabis convictions (expunged or not), and for minorities, women, and disabled veterans.”

The three groups that will receive priority consideration from the commission are “minority-owned, woman-owned, or disabled veteran-owned,” businesses “owned by people who have lived in an Economically Disadvantaged Area of the state, or who have convictions for cannabis-related offenses (expunged or not),” and businesses “located in an Impact Zone, owned by people from an Impact Zone, or employing residents of Impact Zones.”

Expanding access to the cannabis industry for disadvantaged groups has become a common feature of recreational laws across the country. New York announced last week that at least 100 of the first licenses for adult-use cannabis retailers in the state will be designated for individuals convicted of a previous cannabis-related offense, or a family member of someone with a cannabis-related offense.

Tremaine Wright, chair of the Cannabis Control Board in New York, said last month that the state is trying to “build a supportive ecosystem that allows people to participate no matter their economic background and we want everyone to know they have a real opportunity at a license as well as support so that their businesses will be ongoing enterprises that are successful and have the opportunity for growth.”

The post New Jersey Gets More Than 170 Cannabis Dispensary Applications On First Day appeared first on High Times.

Source: Hightimes