Name: Marijuana Legalization Measure Officially Qualifies For South Dakota 2020 Ballot
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Marijuana Legalization Measure Officially Qualifies For South Dakota 2020 Ballot

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A measure to legalize marijuana for adult use has officially qualified for South Dakota’s November ballot, the secretary of state’s office announced on Monday.The proposed constitutional amendment, which was , would allow adults 21 and older to possess and distribute up to one ounce of marijuana. Individuals would also be allowed to cultivate up to three cannabis plants.The development comes one month after the secretary of state said that a separate campaign to legalize medical cannabis in South Dakota had also —meaning that voters in the state will see two separate marijuana measures when they go to the polls in November.Under the broader recreational legalization proposal, the South Dakota Department of Revenue would be responsible for issuing licenses for manufacturers, testing facilities and retailers. And sales on cannabis products would be taxed at 15 percent, with revenue earmarked to cover the program’s implementation, public education and the state general fund.Additionally, the measure requires the legislature to pass bills providing access to medical cannabis for patients and allowing for the sale of hemp by April 1, 2022. If the separate medical marijuana legalization initiative is approved, however, that specific provision wouldn’t be necessary.The signature threshold for the medical cannabis initiative as a statutory measure (16,961 signatures) was lower than that for the broader legalization measure, which is a proposed constitutional amendment (33,921 signatures).“As outlined in South Dakota Codified Law § 2-1-16, our office conducted a random sample of the petition signatures and found 68.74 percent to be valid,” Secretary of State Steven Barnett (R) said in a . Based on the results of the random sample, 36,707 signatures were deemed valid, his office projected.including laws to ensure access to marijuana for medical use.— South Dakota Secretary of State (@sodaksos)National advocacy groups Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and New Approach PAC have backed both proposals.“South Dakota will become the first state in American history to vote on both medical marijuana and adult-use legalization initiatives on the same ballot,” Matthew Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project, told Marijuana Moment. “The adult-use legalization initiative will greatly benefit the people of South Dakota by ending the injustice of arresting otherwise law-abiding adults for marijuana offenses. It will focus law enforcement resources on fighting serious crime, generate new tax revenue for the state, and create jobs.”“At this point, it appears increasingly unlikely that Congress will pass legislation this year to fix our nation’s broken federal marijuana laws,” Schweich, who played a central role in overseeing the signature gathering drives for both South Dakota initiatives, said. “Therefore it is crucial that our movement win as many ballot initiative campaigns as possible this November and increase the pressure on Congress to take action. That is how we will ensure success at the federal level in 2021.”Advocates are hopeful that both measures will be approved by voters, but they also anticipate some pushback from Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who vetoed a hemp legalization bill last year and the state’s Republican party, which  when they were circulating in September.The reform movement could see this year. Already, New Jersey’s legislature in November’s election. Mississippi activists also and are awaiting verification from the secretary of state.This story has been updated to include comments from Schweich.Photo courtesy of Nicholas C. Morton.Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon pledge.The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Thursday that it has approved two additional state hemp regulatory plans, as well as three more tribal proposals.Florida and Kansas are the latest states to have their plans federally accepted, raising the number of state approvals so far to 16. The Blackfeet Nation, the Cayuga Nation and the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa also had their plans signed off on.USDA has been since hemp and its derivatives were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. Last month, South Carolina and West Virginia for the crop were approved.“After months of incorporating feedback from the public, growers, and industry stakeholders, we are thrilled that Florida’s hemp industry officially begins now,” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a press release. ” I thank the USDA for their swift review and approval of our state hemp program.”“By working closely with our farmers, processors, retailers, and consumers, Florida’s state hemp program will become a model for the nation, will set a gold standard for this emerging industry, and will create billions in economic opportunity for Florida,” she . “As our economy deals with the impacts of COVID-19, this approval will give our agriculture industry a new alternative crop for many years to come.”We are excited that today formally approved Florida’s state program.On April 27, will begin accepting applications to grow hemp. By working closely with growers, processors, retailers, and consumers, Florida will be the hemp gold standard.Get the details ❇️— Commissioner Nikki Fried (@NikkiFriedFL)Jeff Ochampaugh of the Kansas Department of Agriculture in a release that the development is “great news for Kansas, as it moves us one step closer to establishing a commercial program for industrial hemp.” He added that it’s “important for Kansans to understand, though, that our program won’t be active until the regulations are adopted.”USDA in a notice that it “continues to receive and review hemp production plans from states and Indian tribes.”While the agency released an interim final rule for a domestic hemp production program last year, industry stakeholders and lawmakers have expressed concerns about certain policies it views as excessively restrictive.The department announced in February that it will . Those policies primarily concern testing and disposal requirements. The department declined to revise the THC limit, however, arguing that it’s a statutory matter that can’t be dealt with administratively.Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has said on several occasions that , adding that the narcotics agency .Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is still in the process of developing regulations for CBD. It , explaining that the agency is actively exploring pathways to allow for the marketing of the cannabis compound as a dietary supplement and is developing enforcement discretion guidance.An FDA public comment period was reopened indefinitely for individuals to .Amid the coronavirus pandemic, hemp industry associations sent a letter to the head of the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) on Monday, urging the agency to who cultivate the crop.Photo courtesy of Brendan Cleak.Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon pledge.A bill that would require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct clinical trials into the therapeutic benefits of marijuana for veterans would have minimal fiscal impact, according to a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). However, the report seems to contain erroneous interpretations of the legislation’s provisions.CBO said in its report, which was released on Wednesday, that a VA study into the potential impact of CBD that launched in February 2019 “would satisfy the bill’s requirement for research.” Thus, the bill wouldn’t create significant additional costs.But text of the legislation itself indicates that the ongoing study would not satisfy its research requirements, for several reasons.First, the cited only covers post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The , as last month by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, mandates that VA shall conduct clinical trials not just into PTSD, but also specifically on chronic pain as well as “other conditions.”Second, the bill calls for studies that look into “varying forms of cannabis,” including full plant and extracts. Further, it requires an investigation into at least three marijuana varieties “with significant variants in phenotypic traits and various ratios of tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol in chemical composition.” Again, the study CBO pointed to looks exclusively at synthetic CBD.Another issue: the bill, sponsored by Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA), says the studies should involve different modes of consumption, including “topical application, combustible and non-combustible inhalation, and ingestion.” The CBD-only study does not appear to satisfy that requirement either.Finally, while it stands to reason that a study like the one VA is currently carrying out could be a part of the broader research initiative described in the bill, it’s also the case that the VA secretary is supposed to develop an implementation plan for complying with the legislation and submit it to the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees before conducting the research.H.R. 712, a bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a clinical trial of the effects of cannabis on certain health outcomes of adults with chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, and for other purposes— CBO Cost Estimates (@USCBOcostest)All of that is to say, it’s not clear that CBO’s aligns with the intent of the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act, which was in March. And that could mean that its report on the fiscal impact is flawed.Marijuana Moment reached out to CBO for comment, but a representative was not immediately available.CBO also seemed to misinterpret another section of the bill concerning the ability of VA doctors to discuss medical cannabis with their veteran patients. The research office wrote that it “would require VA to authorize physicians and other health care providers employed by the department to provide recommendations and opinions on the use of medical marijuana to veterans who live where its use is legal under state law.”This appears to be in reference to an approved by voice vote during last month’s committee markup. But that measure, from Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), simply protects veterans from losing federal benefits for participating in a state-legal marijuana program and stipulates that VA doctors can “discuss cannabis use” and “record such use in the medical records of the veteran,” rather than issue recommendations.A separate bill sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), which was also approved by the committee last month, would actually allow VA doctors to issue written recommendations for medical cannabis. CBO scored that legislation and .VA officials said during a hearing last year that they oppose both proposals.On a related note, seven members of Massachusetts’s congressional delegation, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), sent a letter to the VA secretary on Wednesday, urging him to issue a directive during the coronavirus pandemic—and then, ideally, extend that policy permanently.The reason for the urgency, they said, is because but left medical cannabis dispensaries open as essential services. Some veterans may be wary of registering as medical patients, however, out of concern that they’d lose federal benefits—so the verbal recommendations would help assuage that concern.Photo by .Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon pledge.“There will be many policy lessons that emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. One should be that we can achieve better health, safety, and economic outcomes if we replace cannabis prohibition with a thoughtfully regulated system of sales to adults and take other steps to reduce the number of low-risk offenders who become entrapped in our criminal justice system.”By Steve Hawkins, Marijuana Policy Project executive directorThe coronavirus crisis has abruptly forced all Americans to reexamine our priorities. Entire sectors of the economy have been shuttered as we reduce contact between people to flatten the curve and reduce the death toll. Elected officials and regulators, in particular, must reevaluate a wide range of government policies to ensure a swift, coordinated and appropriate response to the pandemic.One public policy that offers no benefit whatsoever during this time of crisis is our nation’s failed prohibition of cannabis. As governments work to minimize the negative impacts of COVID-19, it’s clear that punitive cannabis laws and unnecessarily strict regulations serve as far more of a hindrance than a help.Some police departments and prosecutors have already determined that prosecuting low-level offenses such as cannabis possession is counterproductive and puts police, prosecutors and the public at risk. For example, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby ordered her staff to and several other nonviolent offenses.Meanwhile, news reports from other jurisdictions indicate that arrests for cannabis possession have continued, increasing the risk of exposure to coronavirus both for cannabis consumers and enforcement personnel and undermining health experts’ advice regarding the need for social distancing.It would be a disaster if the coronavirus becomes prevalent in America’s overcrowded jails and prisons. Criminal justice reform organizations have called for the release of low-risk inmates such as those convicted of cannabis offenses. This step should be taken as swiftly as possible to protect all staff and inmates at correctional facilities.In the 11 states where cannabis is already legal for adults, interaction among law enforcement and consumers has already dropped considerably, so fewer steps are likely to be needed. The other 39 states should immediately suspend enforcement and prosecution of cannabis laws for the duration of the national emergency. Not only does it protect public health, it also avoids wasting limited law enforcement and court resources during a crisis.We must also consider the challenge faced by roughly three million medical cannabis patients across the U.S. Many have vulnerable immune systems due to age or a serious medical condition, putting them in the high-risk category with regard to COVID-19.Although medical cannabis is legal in 33 states, many states have restrictive policies that frustrate patients who are seeking to avoid exposure to the coronavirus. For example, some states forbid deliveries of medical cannabis and others maintain criminal penalties against home cultivation.Fortunately, several states have already . New York, Iowa and other states have designated medical cannabis dispensaries as essential services to ensure their continued operation during the crisis. Louisiana took swift action to allow deliveries, and Michigan is allowing curbside pickup at dispensaries so patients do not have to enter the building. A few states have begun allowing patients to renew their certifications via telemedicine rather than continuing to require a visit to a doctor. These are all worthy reforms that should be enacted in all states that have legalized medical cannabis.Finally, as we dare to look beyond the crisis, it seems clear that states with legal cannabis markets will have a significant advantage over other states as the economy recovers from this pandemic. More than 200,000 Americans already , demonstrating that cannabis can be an important job creator and driver of economic development in addition to being sensible public policy and a source of substantial tax revenue.As we all take time to re-evaluate our nation’s public policy priorities, cannabis and criminal justice should be important parts of the conversation. Policymakers, including state legislators, governors and members of Congress, should take advantage of this opportunity to acknowledge that cannabis prohibition does not protect public health and safety, and they should support enacting reasonable policy alternatives on both a temporary and permanent basis.There will be many policy lessons that emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. One should be that we can achieve better health, safety, and economic outcomes if we replace cannabis prohibition with a thoughtfully regulated system of sales to adults and take other steps to reduce the number of low-risk offenders who become entrapped in our criminal justice system.Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon pledge.

A measure to legalize marijuana for adult use has officially qualified for South Dakota’s November ballot, the secretary of state’s office announced on Monday.The proposed constitutional amendment, which was , would allow adults 21 and older to possess and distribute up to one ounce of marijuana. Individuals would also be allowed to cultivate up to three cannabis plants.The development comes one month after the secretary of state said that a separate campaign to legalize medical cannabis in South Dakota had also —meaning that voters in the state will see two separate marijuana measures when...

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Kyle Jaeger

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Marijuana Legalization Measure Officially Qualifies For South Dakota 2020 Ballot

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