Brad A. Molotsky – Page 2 – Cannabis Industry

November 19, 2019 by Brad A. Molotsky

NJ Legislators Opt to allow Voters to Decide on Cannabis Legalization in NJ instead of Legislating such a Change – Brad A. Molotsky, Esq. – Duane Morris LLP

New Jersey’s top lawmakers have decided to let voters decide on legalization of cannabis during the 2020 presidential elections.

The constitutional amendment introduced today, November 18, 2019, by Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Senator Nicholas Scutari would legalize the use of recreational marijuana for anyone at least 21 years of age, and establish a Cannabis Regulatory Commission to oversee the new market.

The amendment does NOT detail the taxation rate, which was $42 an ounce in the original bill. It is also not clear if the commission will have 5 members, like the original bill.

According to NJBiz., Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leadership long-resisted pursuing legalization via a ballot question because any, inevitable, changes to the program would have to go before voters in yet another ballot referendum.

“We made further attempts to generate additional support in the Senate to get this done legislatively, but we recognize that the votes just aren’t there,” reads the joint statement from Sweeney, D-3rd District, and Scutari, D-21st District.

To appear on the 2020 ballot as a constitutional amendment, both houses would need to pass the measure by a super-majority by the summer, or they would need to pass it 2x in both houses by a simple majority for 2 years in a row.

Just hours earlier, several progressive and social justice groups made a plea to legislative leadership to push through a legalization bill, pointing to a growing increase in low-level cannabis offenses which have disproportionately affected people of color.

June 10, 2019 by Brad A. Molotsky

NJ Assembly Delay Vote on Medical Cannabis Expansion – likely due to concern over potential Governor’s veto

NJ Assembly leaders announced they would not be voting on the proposed expansion of medical cannabis licenses earlier today – 6-10-19.

Instead, per NJ.com, legislators are going to attempt to work with Gov. Phil Murphy’s office on a plan that’s more amenable to him and the state Legislature, said Kevin McCardle, a spokesman for Assembly Democrats.

The Governor’s team has previously raised objections to a few provisions in the medical expansion bill, including the creation of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, which would assume oversight of the industry. Currently, the state Department of Health regulates the medical marijuana program.

We will keep an eye out for any collaborative resolution of the medical licensure issue and report back.

#Duane Morris – Brad A. Molotsky, Esq.

May 31, 2019 by Brad A. Molotsky

NJ Senate and Assembly close in on expansion of medical use Cannabis – Brad A. Molotsky, Esq. – Duane Morris

The New Jersey Senate voted 33-4 yesterday (Thursday) to advance a bill that is intended to increase medical marijuana sales and likely create new business opportunities in the state.

Per Marijuana Business Daily, before the vote, the Senate amended Assembly Bill 10 to allow marijuana workers to become union members.

The Bill will now return to the NJ Assembly for a vote to approve the Senate’s modification.

If the Bill is ultimately signed, the measure will:

– Create a new regulatory commission for medical marijuana.
– Pave the way for the state to issue additional business licenses.
– Allow cannabis home delivery.
– Ease restrictions on the process for recommending medical marijuana.

Currently there are 12 vertically integrated medical cannabis licenses that have been granted in NJ.

We will continue to track this development and report back as it get’s closer to passage in the Assembly. -Brad

May 22, 2019 by Brad A. Molotsky

California Cannabis Banking Bill – Moving Along with 35-1 Senate Vote in Favor – Brad A. Molotsky, Esq.

The CA Senate voted 35-1 to allow banks and credit unions to accept cash deposits from marijuana retailers.

Per reporting from the Star Tribune, those banks would be permitted to issue special checks to the retailers that could only be used for certain purposes, including paying taxes and California-based vendors.

State lawmakers are of the view that such banks would make it easier for licensed cannabis retailers to pay their taxes, which fell far short of expectations in the first year after legalization.

“This is as close as we can get until the federal government changes its policy,” said Sen. Bob Hertzberg, a Van Nuys Democrat and the author of the bill that now goes to the Assembly.

Per the Marijuana Law Reporter, Marijuana has been legal in California since January 2018, but it’s still illegal under federal law under the Controlled Substances Act.

-Brad A. Molotsky, Esquire

March 27, 2019 by Brad A. Molotsky

Cannabis Banking – Can Do in West Virginia – Brad A. Molotsky, Esq.

Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia signed into law, HB 2358, a medical cannabis banking bill, allowing bidding for financial institutions to provide banking services related to the state’s medical marijuana program.

Per reporting from MJ Biz, House Bill 2538 also establishes the Medical Cannabis Program Fund for collecting fees related to the program and the Treasurer’s Medical Cannabis Fund allowing the state treasurer to collect $ for banking services.

Justice said Tuesday he fully supports opening access to medical marijuana. Delegate Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, who co-sponsored the bill, said he was happy to see Justice sign the bill.

“I think that if we allow different types of entities to act as a depository, then we are more likely to find somebody to step up and do that business,” he said.

Justice has yet to act on a separate bill, House Bill 2079, which addresses issues with the original medical marijuana bill, including the permitting process and regional distribution requirements.

Justice has until midnight Wednesday to act on bills from this year’s 60-day legislative session. -Brad A. Molotsky

March 22, 2019 by Brad A. Molotsky

Gotham Green makes $250M investment in Medmen – Brad A. Molotsky, Esquire

Per MJBiz, MedMen, a California-based multistate marijuana operator, will receive an investment of up to $250 million from private equity fund Gotham Green Partners (GGP).

The investment – a convertible credit facility – is believed to be the largest to date by a single investor in a publicly traded cannabis company with U.S. operations.

The money will go toward a number of corporate activities, including potential acquisitions, investment in technology and increased cultivation and production, MedMen said.

“More than having adequate growth capital to fund all of their current operational needs (and eliminating the lingering overhang of future tag on offerings), we believe the GGP investment comes with many lateral strategic benefits, as they are the preeminent investor across the cannabis supply chain,” Paul Penney, managing director at Northland Securities, wrote in an email to Marijuana Business Daily.

After the news, MedMen, which trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange as MMEN, saw its stock rise more than 6% over its price at close the previous day.

-Brad A. Molotsky, Esquire, Duane Morris

March 18, 2019 by Brad A. Molotsky

NJ Adult Use Bill – Two Steps Closer to a March 25th Vote – Brad A. Molotsky, Esq.

According to late night reporting from NJ Biz – Dan Munoz, who has been all over this topic, committees in both the NJ Assembly & Senate approved a measure that would legalize adult-use recreational marijuana, setting the proposals for a showdown full-floor vote in 7 days from now on March 25.

Senate Bill 2703 passed by a 6-4 vote with one abstention in the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday evening while its counterpart, Assembly Bill 4497, passed by a 6-1 vote with two abstentions at the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Both measures would allow for anyone over 21 years of age to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

The product would be taxed at $42 an ounce and the industry would be regulated by a five-person Cannabis Regulatory Commission, which will function similarly to how the Casino Control Commission operated following the legalization of gambling in the 1970s.

The approval of both measures followed hours of closed-door meetings as lawmakers hammered out last-minute changes to the legislation, including a dramatically increased expungement process for people with marijuana-related convictions.

Stay tuned for a detailed analysis as the final bill is published. – Brad

March 13, 2019 by Brad A. Molotsky

NJ Adult Use Cannabis Bill Fast Tracked for March 25th Vote

Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders reached agreement on key provisions to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, including how to tax and regulate it, and expunging past low-level marijuana offenses for certain users as a step toward social reform per reporting from Dan Munoz.

Per a press release issued by key Assembly Senate and the Governor’s office, we should expect to see the introduction of a cannabis bill within days.
Under the terms of the agreement:

• Adult-use marijuana would be subject to an excise tax of $42 per ounce, which will be imposed when marijuana is cultivated.

• Municipalities that are home to a cultivator or manufacturer would receive the revenue from a 2 percent tax on the product within their jurisdiction.

• Municipalities that are home to a wholesaler would receive the revenue from a 1 percent tax on the product within their jurisdiction.

• Municipalities that are home to a retailer would receive the revenue from a 3 percent tax on the product within their jurisdiction.

To start to address social equity concerns, the revised legislation will likely provide an expedited expungement process for individuals convicted of low-level marijuana offenses, and a separate expungement process that would automatically prevent certain marijuana offenses from being taken into account in particular areas such as education, housing and occupational licensing.

Additionally, there are a number of provisions that aim to ensure broad-based participation for women owned and minority owned businesses, low and middle-income individuals, and disadvantaged communities.

Under the proposed legislation, adult-use marijuana would be governed by a Cannabis Regulatory Commission, composed of 5 members—three appointed directly by the Governor to serve terms of at least 4 years, and 2 appointed by the Governor upon the recommendations of the speaker and Senate president.

The commission would be tasked with promulgating all regulations to govern the industry and overseeing applications for licensing of adult-use marijuana dispensaries.

-Brad A. Molotsky, Esq.

March 8, 2019 by Brad A. Molotsky

Is March the 4:20 for Adult Use Marijuana in NJ?

Is March the 4:20 for NJ recreational, adult use marijuana? Brad A. Molotsky

According to Senate President Stephen Sweeney, with budget hearings and discussions beginning to ramp up in Trenton, March 2019 is likely the last best time to act on a New Jersey marijuana-legalization bill.
In order for the Bill to move forward, Senator Sweeney confirmed his view that a vote needs to be held this month (i.e., March) in order to hold an election on a measure legalizing, regulating and taxing marijuana for adult-use.

Why March – According to the Senator, April would be a difficult month because of budget hearings and religious holidays. Then May is the actual budget discussion and focus on passage of the budget.

That in and of itself is problematic, according to Dan Munoz at NJBiz, given that lawmakers might view negotiations on the budget and marijuana-legalization through a tit-for-tat, transactional lens.

As for whether we could see a vote this summer or during a lame duck session of the Legislature, Senator Sweeney said he “doesn’t want to wait that long.” And whether lawmakers might put the questions before voters as a ballot referendum has essentially been a non-starter according to Munoz.

A tentative agreement between the Governor and the legislative leaders calls for a $42 an ounce tax on marijuana and for a 5-member Cannabis Regulatory Commission to oversee the new industry. Per the momentary agreement, Governor Murphy would be able to select 3 of the 5 Commission members.

Per Munoz, Governor Murphy was initially pushing for legalization within his first 100 days of office. The proposed 2020 budget, unveiled Tuesday by Governor Murphy, includes $60 million of tax revenue under the assumption that marijuana is made legal by January 2020.

The 2020 budget also anticipates spending $21 Million to create the necessary regulatory apparatus for legalized cannabis and thereafter has a placeholder for a $12 Million a year spend for cannabis operations and enforcement.

Could be an interesting March in Trenton – stay tuned!

February 20, 2019 by Brad A. Molotsky

New Jersey – One step closer to Adult Use, Recreational Marijuana Legalization

Earlier this week, Governor Murphy, Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-3rd District, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-19th District, reached a tentative agreement on key pieces of adult use marijuana legislation, overcoming one of the key sticking points of how to tax the product sales, reaching a collective consensus of a $42 an ounce tax.

According to a recent Monmouth University Poll, 6 in 10 New Jersey adults support legalizing recreational marijuana. The February poll interviewed 604 New Jersey adults between Feb. 8 and 10, found that 62% of respondents favored legalizing small amounts of marijuana for personal use, compared to 32% of adults who said no to the prospect of legal marijuana in New Jersey.

68% of respondents said it would support the state economy, while 40% of respondents who support legal cannabis said it would boost tax revenue for New Jersey.
From an age perspective, 81% of millennials (i.e., ages 18 to 34), support legalizing marijuana, compared to 74% of adults ages 35 to 54, and 67% of adults 55 and older.

One of the other bones of contention that was overcome involved who will control the oversight commission. The current agreement would create a 5-member Cannabis Regulatory Commission to oversee the state’s marijuana industry, and Governor Murphy would be able to appoint 3 of the members without requiring Senate approval.

A earlier New Jersey marijuana legalization bill that was advanced by Assembly and Senate commitees in the fall of 2018 included a 12% sales tax. Under the Monday compromise, adult use marijuana purchasers will pay the same tax rate no matter what amount they purchased – meaning, $42 for an ounce, $21 for a half-ounce, $10.50 for a quarter-ounce or $5.25 for an eighth-ounce.

The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee vote was 7-4 in favor, while the Assembly Appropriations Committee voted 7-3 to advance the bill. If legislation is moved, the “Marijuana Legalization Act” would allow users 21 years old and up to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.