Cannabis – recreational
New trial available: Click on any alert below and access our regulatory alerts and get timely notifications sent to your inbox for 7 days.
Alerts
2nd May 2024
- US - Georgia: Senate Bill (SB) 494 has been signed into law by governor Brian Kemp, press reports. SB 494 amends Georgia’s hemp law in several significant ways. It prohibits the sale of hemp products to anyone under the age of 21 and prohibits the sale of hemp flowers and leaves, regardless of the THC concentration. The new law also requires post-decarboxylation testing to calculate total THC, thus effectively prohibiting THCA products.
2nd May 2024
- US - Connecticut: House Bill (HB) 5150 has been passed by the House and heads to the Senate. HB 5150 would make several amendments to Connecticut’s cannabis law, including prohibiting hemp-derived beverages from containing more than 2.5 mg of total THC (which includes all THC isomers) in a container of 12 oz or more.
2nd May 2024
- US - Federal: The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has agreed with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommendation to move cannabis to a less restrictive schedule in the Controlled Substances Act, press reports. The rule to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III must still be reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and undergo a public comment period before being implemented. Rescheduling would have a significant impact in the areas of taxation, research and banking.
2nd May 2024
- Germany: The amendment to the Cannabis Act, which was previously leaked to the press and which prevents growers’ associations from operating grow sites on the same property in order to avoid large-scale structures and gives more flexibility to the federal states, will be discussed at first reading on 16th May and referred to the Health Committee for further deliberations.
2nd May 2024
- Switzerland: A popular initiative has been submitted to the Swiss Federal Chancellery to amend the constitution by adding a new article legalising the cultivation, possession and personal use of recreational cannabis. The amendment includes the commercialisation and sale with a licence and allows the home cultivation of 50 cannabis plants and storage of up to 3 kg. According to the press, 40 members of the National Council from all parliamentary groups were among the signatories of the initiative. The committee established for the initiative must collect 100,000 signatures by 30th October 2025, to be analysed by the Federal Council.
2nd May 2024
Ukraine: On Tuesday (30th April), the Ministry of Health published for public consultation the draft resolution regarding the approval of the procedure for the transportation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors on the territory of Ukraine and the preparation of the necessary documents. This resolution seeks to implement law 3528-IX (on medical cannabis) that will enter into force on 16th August 2024. Comments and suggestions are accepted within 30 days from the date of publication in written or electronic form: Kyiv, str. Hrushevsky, 7, 01601, moz@moz.gov.ua, a.m.shemet@moz.gov.ua.
30th April 2024
- Germany: Two associations – the German Cannabis Business Association and the German Hemp Association – have allegedly received a request from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) to comment on the Consumer Cannabis Science Competence Ordinance draft bill. The draft establishes the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) as the responsible authority for the possession, cultivation, production, handling, import and export of recreational cannabis for scientific purposes. According to the associations, this could be the first step of the second pillar of the government’s plan to liberalise recreational cannabis, which would introduce regional pilot projects with commercial supply chains.
29th April 2024
- US - North Dakota: North Dakota secretary of state Michael Howe has approved the format of a petition to initiate a statutory measure on the election ballot related to cannabis legalisation and related regulation. The proposal, if passed, would make it legal for those aged 21 and older to produce, process, sell and use cannabis. To qualify for the November ballot, 15,582 signatures must be gathered from eligible North Dakota voters by 8th July.
29th April 2024
- Slovenia: Opposition parties New Slovenia and the Slovenian Democratic Party have submitted a request for constitutional review to the Constitutional Court on the public referendum asking whether the country should allow the cultivation and processing of cannabis for medical purposes and whether it should allow the cultivation and possession of cannabis for limited personal use, press reports. The referendum is scheduled to take place in the country on the same date as the elections for the European Parliament, on 9th June 2024.
29th April 2024
- Austria: The opposition and minority Freedom Party has tabled two motions in Parliament calling on the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Interior to work at European level to ensure that drug policy is not relaxed. The party specifically mentions the dangers of cannabis use and that more attention should be paid to the illegal import of drugs from Germany.
26th April 2024
- US - Maryland: House Bill (HB) 805 has been signed by the governor. HB 805 will allow local governments to increase the 1,000 ft distance between cannabis dispensaries up to 2,000 ft. It also requires the Maryland Cannabis Administration to consider geographic distribution when giving licences, and it would allow the public to protest new dispensary locations.