adult use legalization – Cannabis Industry

February 6, 2024 by Seth A. Goldberg

PA Gov. Shapiro Calls for Adult-Use Legislation Now!

Citing the facts that Pennsylvania (i) is bordered almost entirely by states that have legalized cannabis for adult use; (ii) loses millions to the black market for cannabis annually; and (iii) projects hundreds of millions in annual revenue gains, in his budget address for 2024 Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro called on Pennsylvania’s legislature to deliver by July 1, 2024, legislation that would legalize cannabis for adult-use in Pennsylvania:

“Well, last year, 57 percent of voters in Ohio supported an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana. And now, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland – practically all of our neighbors – have legalized marijuana. We’re losing out on an industry that, once fully implemented, would bring in more than 250 million dollars in annual revenue. And our failure to legalize and regulate this only fuels the black market and drains much needed resources for law enforcement. It’s time to catch up. I ask you to come together and send to my desk a bill that legalizes marijuana. But that bill should ensure the industry is regulated and taxed responsibly. That we create jobs and build wealth here in Pennsylvania, especially in the communities that have been disproportionately harmed by criminalization. And that those who have been convicted for nonviolent possession of small amounts of marijuana have their records expunged. Let’s stop hamstringing ourselves and start competing.”

Governor Shapiro’s urgency is not surprising. Pennsylvania should have been leading the way in legalizing cannabis for adult-use, given its successful medical marijuana program, but instead other states have spring-boarded ahead of Pennsylvania. Those states are now enjoying the revenues, job growth and overall economic benefits of legal cannabis, including even profiting from Pennsylvania residents crossing the border to buy their cannabis. It truly is time for Pennsylvania “to catch up” and “start competing” in the legal cannabis market for the good of all Pennsylvanians.

December 4, 2023 by Duane Morris

Prepare Workplace Policies for Legalized Cannabis

Kathryn Brown authored the article “Prepare Workplace Policies for Legalized Cannabis,” which was published in the Legal Connections section of Columbus Business First.

On November 7, 2023, Ohio made history when a majority of voters approved Issue 2, a proposed law to control and regulate cannabis for Ohioans 21 and older. In so doing, Ohio became the 24th state to legalize cannabis for adult use without a medical card. Read the full article.

June 1, 2023 by Deanna J. Lucci

Minnesota Becomes 23rd State to Legalize Recreational Cannabis

This week, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed into law a bill that legalizes recreational cannabis for adults 21 and older. The law goes into effect on August 1, 2023, and will permit adults to have up to two pounds of marijuana at home and two ounces while in public. The law also creates a new regulatory framework for licenses to cultivate, manufacture and sell cannabis at retail dispensaries. Until the regulations are drafted and licenses are issued, the sale of cannabis in Minnesota remains illegal without a license. Licensed retail dispensaries are expected to open within 12-18 months.

Under the law, non-felony cannabis offenses will be automatically expunged and a board will be established to review more serious crimes involving cannabis.

In the wake of the new law, the St. Paul, MN office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) issued an advisory warning that Minnesotans who use cannabis cannot legally own firearms. This is because cannabis remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law.

The ATF warning said, “Until marijuana is legalized federally, firearms owners and possessors should be mindful that it remains federally illegal to mix marijuana with firearms and ammunition.”

November 9, 2022November 9, 2022 by Seth A. Goldberg

Pennsylvania Almost Surrounded With Adult-Use Cannabis

Cannabis had a decent day at the polls yesterday, with voters in Maryland and Missouri legalizing adult-use, bringing the number of adult-use states to 21, but voters in Arkansas and the Dakotas voted against adult-use. With Maryland legalizing adult-use, Pennsylvania, which has a medical marijuana program, is getting closer to being surrounded by states where adult-use is legal. Across it’s northern, eastern, and southern borders Pennsylvania is now adjacent to adult-use states – New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. All three states are predicted to generate billions each in cannabis sales.

The election of Josh Shapiro as Pennsylvania Governor would guarantee the passage of adult-use legislation should it pass in the Pennsylvania senate. However, notwithstanding the tax revenues, job growth, and overall economic boost expanding from medical marijuana to adult-use would create in Pennsylvania, most believe state legislators are not there. Perhaps revenues lost from Pennsylvanians crossing the border to buy cannabis in New York, New Jersey, and Maryland will make the difference.

July 21, 2022 by Deanna J. Lucci

Long-Awaited Marijuana Legalization Bill Introduced in the U.S. Senate

More than a year after introducing a first draft, U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) finally introduced their proposed marijuana legislation, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) on Thursday, July 21.

The CAOA is a comprehensive bill that would not only permit cannabis companies to access the banking system but would legalize and decriminalize recreational cannabis with an eye toward supporting communities that have been most impacted by the war on drugs. The CAOA also provides for cannabis industry workers’ rights, a federal responsibility to set an impaired driving standard, expungements of criminal records and penalties for possessing or distributing large quantities of marijuana without a federal permit. It would also create a new federal definition for hemp that would increase the permissible THC by dry weight to 0.7 percent from the current 0.3 percent, and the definition would include all THC isomers, not just delta-9 THC. Other features of the bill include grant programs for small business owners hoping to enter the industry who come from communities that were disproportionately affected by the war on drugs, increased funding for law enforcement for illegal cultivation, and cannabis marketing restrictions.

Under the proposal, the Drug Enforcement Administration would no longer have jurisdiction over cannabis and would be regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) within the Treasury Department. The bill proposes a 5% to 12.5% excise tax for small and mid-sized cannabis producers. It would charge an initial tax of 10% on larger cannabis businesses and gradually increase it to 25%.

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism chaired by Booker scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, July 26 titled, “Decriminalizing Cannabis at the Federal Level: Necessary Steps to Address Past Harms.”

While the bill is unlikely to garner the required 60 votes to pass in the Senate, many see it as a first step toward opening the cannabis debate on Capitol Hill and passing incremental reform that could finally end the federal prohibition on cannabis.

As we have previously reported, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation multiple times in the past few years that would decriminalize cannabis and allow cannabis businesses to access the federal banking system. However, none of those measures have yet made it to the Senate floor.

February 23, 2021 by Matthew Caminiti

New Jersey’s Legal Cannabis Framework Creates Economic Opportunity with an Eye to Social Justice

On February 22, 2021, Governor Murphy signed into law The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act, regulating cannabis use and possession for adults 21 years and older. The ratification of the bill follows a protracted legislative logjam since Election Day, when New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved a mandate to provide the infrastructure for the legalization of cannabis in the state. The legalization immediately decriminalizes certain amounts of marijuana and hashish statewide. Meanwhile, the recreational production and sale remains subject to regulatory schemes not yet enacted.

Continue reading “New Jersey’s Legal Cannabis Framework Creates Economic Opportunity with an Eye to Social Justice”

December 17, 2020 by Brad A. Molotsky

Cannabis – NJ Legislature Passes Historic Adult Use Cannabis Legalization Bill, Off to the Governor’s Desk

Earlier today, Thursday, December 17, 2020, the NJ Legislature passed an historic bill legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana for adults use.

The 240-page Assembly Bill 21 passed by a 49-24 vote with 6 abstentions in the Assembly and a 23-17 vote in the state Senate.

The final bill creates a 5-member Cannabis Regulatory Commission to oversee the new market, as well as the existing medical marijuana market.

Licenses for cultivators are capped at 37 for the first 24 months following the bill’s enactment.

Cannabis sales will be taxed at 7% – which includes the 6.625% sales tax on retail sales, and a tax on cultivators, which adds up to a 7% rate in total.

70% of sales tax revenue and all the money from a tax on cultivators are dedicated toward legal aid, health care education and other social services for lower-income, minority communities.

The remaining 30% in sales tax revenue will go to fund the Cannabis Regulatory Committee and to help fund local police departments for the training of “Drug Recognition Experts”.

Per NJBIZ, employers must have a “reasonable suspicion” that their workers are high on the job in order to conduct a drug test. And the test must be accompanied by an assessment from a Drug Recognition Expert to ensure the person’s behaviors match someone who’s high.

That would allow workers to use marijuana while off the clock, just as with alcohol.

Separately, another measure, Senate Bill 2535, was passed which ends arrests for possession of up to 6 ounces of cannabis, while Senate Bill 3256 will also lower penalties for possession of psilocybin (i.e., mushrooms).

Duane Morris attorneys in offices throughout the U.S. have extensive experience with the wide array of issues attendant to legal cannabis business activities, including real estate development and leasing; licensing for cultivation, processing and dispensing; litigation; banking and finance; raising and deploying capital; protecting intellectual property; public company representation and SEC filings; land use and zoning; healthcare and research; and taxation.

For more information on this blog post, do not hesitate to contact Brad A. Molotsky or Paul Josephson or any of the other Duane Morris attorneys you regularly engage with.