Cannabis – recreational
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Alerts
Daily regulatory updates of legal changes in the cannabis sector, including monthly compilations
23rd April 2024
- US - Federal: The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has published a new legislative agenda that includes federal cannabis legalisation and expungements among a list of priorities that members say Democrats “can pass with congressional majorities” if they keep the Senate and retake the House in the November elections. The progressive agenda specifically encourages legislative and administrative action to “reduce criminalization and incarceration through sentencing reform, legalizing cannabis, expunging records, providing restorative justice, and an accelerated and reformed clemency process for people with marijuana-related convictions”.
22nd April 2024
- Germany: According to a bill leaked to the press, the federal government wants to amend the Cannabis Act to prevent growers’ associations from operating grow sites on the same property, in order to avoid large-scale structures. The federal authorities would be given discretionary powers to ban grow sites and control growers’ associations. The bill would also prohibit growers’ associations from contracting with the same commercial provider for multiple services not related to cultivation.
18th April 2024
- France: Senator Thomas Dossus from the Ecologist group introduced a bill that aims to allow two-year territorial experiments to legalise the recreational use of cannabis based on the German model. The proposal would permit adults to possess up to 25 g of cannabis in public spaces and 50 g in private spaces. Additionally, the bill would allow for home cultivation of up to three plants per person and establish cannabis cultivation associations.
18th April 2024
- US - North Dakota: Activists have filed an initiative to put adult-use cannabis legalisation on the state’s 2024 ballot. To qualify for the November ballot, 15,582 signatures must be gathered from eligible North Dakota voters by 8th July. Under the new measure, adults 21 and older would be able to possess up to 1 oz of cannabis flower, 4 g of concentrate and 300 mg of edibles that they could buy from a limited number of licensed dispensaries. State voters rejected adult-use legalisation in 2022.
18th April 2024
- Slovenia: Yesterday, 17th April, the parliament approved the governmental proposal to launch a public referendum on 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 date of the referendum was not agreed upon; the ruling Freedom Movement party wants it on the day of the European Parliament elections (9th June), but some other parties in the coalition disagree.
17th April 2024
- Brazil: The Senate’s plenary has approved an amendment to the Constitution that would declare possession of cannabis and other drugs a crime, regardless of the amount. In the first round of voting, the score was 53 votes in favour and 9 against, and in the second, 52 votes in favour and 9 against. The amendment will now go to the Chamber of Deputies for discussion.
16th April 2024
- Slovenia: Today, the Parliamentary Committee on Health approved the proposal from the ruling party Freedom Movement to launch a referendum asking Slovenian citizens 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 proposal is now awaiting the debate in plenary.
16th April 2024
- US - Federal: During a press briefing on Monday (15th April), White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked whether the Biden administration plans to improve safety regulations around cannabis products by supporting legalisation of cannabis at the federal level. She said the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has completed its part of the review and recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Jean-Pierre further stated that “the scheduling review is now with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), and any input should be certainly directed to them at a time and in a manner they say is appropriate”.
12th April 2024
- US - Ohio: Republican governor Mike DeWine has called on lawmakers to pass legislation banning public cannabis consumption and also to prohibit the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids, like delta-8 THC. He said another urgent issue the General Assembly should address is restricting intoxicating cannabinoids, since he believes substances such as delta-8 THC are “widely unregulated” and “easily accessible to kids in gas stations and convenience stores in Ohio and disguised as candies and gummies”.
12th April 2024
- US - Federal: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Robert Califf said there’s “no reason” for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to delay making a cannabis scheduling decision. At a hearing before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Thursday (11th April), Califf was asked if he expects the FDA would assume additional regulatory responsibilities if cannabis is rescheduled. The commissioner said it’s a “very complicated topic”, especially given that it “falls in this area where state regulation has been dominant”. He added: “This is an area where I believe we would be better off if we had guidance from Congress about how to proceed,” as, while the purpose of medical cannabis can be proven through traditional medical pathways, “when it’s used for recreational purposes, there is no medical benefit in that case, it doesn’t fall under our typical regulation”.
10th April 2024
- UK: An animal tranquilliser, xylazine, has been found in cannabis vapes in the UK, according to a study widely reported in the British press. In reaction, a government spokesperson said: “We are aware of the threat from xylazine and are determined to protect people from the threat posed by this drug and other illicit synthetic drugs.”
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