Urge the Department of Consumer Protection to create plenty of small business opportunities

Important news! Tomorrow, January 4, the Connecticut Social Equity Council will meet to move forward with their plan to begin accepting applications for adult-use licenses within the next several weeks. Under the Connecticut legalization law, the Department of Consumer of Protection (DCP) is allowed to set limits on the number of licenses that will be issued for each of the nine categories. We are calling on DCP to not set license caps, and if they must set license caps, that they be high.

Low license caps would not only limit competition and privilege larger corporations at the expense of other applicants, but they would also create a situation where Connecticut’s recreational and medical cannabis markets are unable to provide adequate supply and meet the level of demand that exists, thus inflating prices and allowing the illicit market to proliferate. 

Please join us in contacting the Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Protection and urging Connecticut not to set arbitrary low license caps.

After signatures are verified, the Ohio Legislature will have an opportunity to act 

Yesterday, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol announced that they have submitted 206,943 signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State — over 70,000 more than needed to meet the requirement for the first phase of the ballot initiative qualification process.

After state officials verify that the signature requirements have been met, the Ohio Legislature will have four months to approve the measure as it is currently written. If they do not, the campaign will have an opportunity to collect an additional 132,887 signatures from voters to place the measure on the November 2022 ballot. 

If enacted, the 2022 legalization initiative will:

• Permit adults 21 and older to purchase, possess, and consume up to two and a half ounces of cannabis, including up to 15 grams of cannabis concentrate;
• Allow home cultivation (up to six plants per adult and up to 12 plants per residence);
• Establish a system of responsibly regulated cannabis businesses; and
• Impose a 10% tax on cannabis sales and direct revenue to local communities, substance abuse treatment services, and a social equity and jobs program.

Ohio could become one of the next states to end the failed policy of cannabis prohibition. If you live in the state, please get involved and support the campaign by visiting the campaign's website!

Exciting news! On December 7, the Connecticut Social Equity Council approved income and residency documentation requirements for social equity applicants and cannabis businesses seeking to operate as Equity Joint Ventures. The approval is contingent upon the Council’s acceptance of an implementation plan for the accelerator and technical assistance programs, which will provide important business support to potential applicants.

DCP plans to make applications available 30 days after the Social Equity Council issues its final approval. The Council’s next meeting is scheduled for January 4, 2022. This means applications could be open as soon as February 3.

As Connecticut continues to take its next steps in the setting up an adult-use market, we’ll be sure to keep you updated as the process progresses.

Exciting news! On December 8, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) approved 30 additional medical cannabis business licenses. Since 2019, the 30 licenses had been frozen by a court order that lifted earlier this year. The CRC said the approval would double the number of medical dispensaries in the Garden State.

Also, on November 9, the CRC issued the Notice of Application for adult-use cannabis business licenses. The notice specifies eligibility­ requirements, the prioritization process, application requirements, scoring measures, the approval process, and denial determinations for adult-use applicants. The applications will be reviewed as they are received on a continuous rolling basis, with Social Equity, Impact Zone, and Diversely Owned Businesses receiving priority.

License applications will be accepted for cultivation, manufacturers, and testing laboratories starting December 15, and retailers starting on March 15, 2022.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated as the cannabis market in New Jersey progresses.

Urge Council members to remove cannabis from the proposed at-home smoking ban.

Five years after California voters legalized cannabis for adults, the San Jose City Council is considering taking a giant step backwards. It is considering including cannabis in a proposed ban on smoking and vaping in apartments and condos. Smoking cannabis in public is illegal, so this would essentially re-criminalize cannabis for anyone who doesn’t live in a single-family home or duplex.

The Council is also considering how such a ban would be enforced, which might include eviction.

Tomorrow afternoon, a Council committee will hear from the public on the proposal, including about whether cannabis smoking and/or cannabis vaping should be included in the ban, and what the penalties should be for violations. 

Here’s what you can do to defend your hard-won rights:

1) Send the committee members a message using our automated system. Consider personalizing the letter, especially if this impacts you directly.

2) Speak out at tomorrow’s hearing:

TOMORROW,  Thursday, December 9, meeting starts at 1:30 p.m.
The smoking ban is item d.3 on the agenda.
You can comment by Zoom OR call in by phone: 888 475 4499. Webinar ID: 935 2441 5809
Click *9 to raise a hand to speak. Press *6 to unmute.
Details are available here.

3) Spread the word. Share this on social media and mobilize your friends.

Let the City Council know it’s wrong to ban cannabis vaping and smoking at home.

Unlike cigarettes, cannabis is not linked to lung cancer. Rather than being a hazard, cannabis is an essential part of treatment for millions of Americans. And for many, edibles are no substitute: Lots of cannabis consumers rely on the rapid effect and precise dosage of inhaled cannabis.

Advocates have defeated similar, misguided proposals in San Francisco and my city — West Hollywood — where cannabis was exempted.

Together, we can stop this ill-conceived proposal, which would strip San Jose City residents of their rights and set a devastating precedent. 

Call on Congress to pass SAFE Banking!

Congress is now negotiating the fate of a bill that would make it easier for cannabis businesses to get basic banking services. The SAFE Banking Act, which would allow banks to legally work with state-licensed cannabis businesses, was recently added to a must-pass piece of legislation currently under consideration — the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). We are asking for your help to ensure it passes. 

Click here to send a message to your members of Congress in support of including basic banking protections for state-licensed cannabis businesses in the NDAA.

Leaving cannabis businesses unbanked is dangerous for both workers and communities. It is absurd that state-licensed businesses are required to operate entirely in cash simply because the federal government refuses to budge. Burglaries, armed robberies, and theft occur at disturbing rates. You can take action right now to help.

Small and minority-owned businesses in medical and adult-use states across the U.S. struggle to get started without banks, unable to take advantage of the same workarounds available for well-funded cannabis businesses. Simply put, the Senate’s failure to pass meaningful reform has disproportionately hurt small business entrepreneurs, many of whom are social equity- and minority-owned companies.

You can speak up right now to help.

The SAFE Banking Act is a key step toward ending federal cannabis prohibition. It would not only make businesses safer and give new startups a better chance, but it would also be an important victory in Congressional cannabis reform. Few elected officials anywhere are as popular as cannabis, and few issues in Washington are as bipartisan as SAFE Banking. Help pass this measure right now.  

Please take action today by calling on Congress to pass SAFE Banking.

Thank you for your support.

Tell your state lawmakers you support patient grow rights!

Exciting news! Just last week, a bipartisan pair of senators introduced a bill that would permit home cultivation of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania. Sens. Dan Laughlin (R) and Sharif Street (D), who also jointly proposed a separate legalization bill earlier this year, introduced the concept in a letter to senators calling on them to sign on as cosponsors.

Under the proposal, which hasn’t yet been formally introduced, Pennsylvania medical marijuana patients would be allowed to grow a limited number of plants for personal use. The senators cite Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Board meetings as revealing significant disparities in accessibility, with some patients traveling more than two hours to access their medicine.

Offering patients the alternative to grow their own medicine would “help ease the cost and accessibility burdens,” both senators said. Please take a few minutes to email your state lawmakers to add your voice to the growing number of Pennsylvanians who support grow rights for medical patients.

Exciting news! On November 12, West Virginia’s first medical cannabis dispensary — Trulieve — opened its doors in Morgantown. A second location opened today in Weston.

Store hours in Morgantown are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursdays through Saturdays. The Weston location is open Mondays and Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can check out more details on the first two dispensary locations here.

It has been a long-awaited moment, as West Virginia has had the slowest medical cannabis rollout in the country. The state legalized medical cannabis in 2017.

More information on West Virginia’s medical cannabis law, including qualifying conditions and how to obtain a medical cannabis card, can be found here.

Stay tuned for more cannabis policy reform updates in the Mountain State!

Email your D.C. lawmakers today and ask them to support The Comprehensive Legalization and Regulation Act of 2021!

Earlier this year, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson introduced “The Comprehensive Legalization and Regulation Act of 2021," a bill to regulate and tax cannabis sales in the District.

A public hearing, which will be conducted via Zoom, has been scheduled for this Friday, November 19 at 9:00 a.m. Friday’s hearing will be the D.C. Council’s first official hearing on a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis sales.

If you are interested  in providing testimony on Friday, please sign up here. Testimony is limited to three minutes, and you must register to testify by the close of business on Wednesday, November 17. You may also submit written testimony for the record to cow@dccouncil.us. The record will close on Friday, December 3, 2021.

If you live in D.C, urge your councilmembers to support taxing and regulating cannabis sales for adults 21 and older in the District.

The Comprehensive Legalization and Regulation Act of 2021 would establish a regulatory scheme for the licensing, production, and retail sale of adult-use cannabis in the District, allow for automatic expungement of D.C. Code cannabis-related arrests and convictions, and establish a social equity program to provide opportunities in the legal industry for communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition. You can check out our summary of the bill here.

In other news, please consider signing and sharing this petition to have the Council remove the $100 fee that the regulating agency (ABRA) charges to process cards for medical cannabis patients. This is a huge barrier to patients obtaining the medicine they need.

Washingtonians deserve access to safe, regulated cannabis. Don’t miss the opportunity to have your voice heard at Friday’s historic hearing. Please share this message with your friends and family in the District!

Check out the voter guide from our friends at VA NORML!

The last day to vote in the 2021 Virginia General Election is Tuesday, November 2. Virginia has accomplished sweeping cannabis policy reform over the last few years—including legalizing cannabis for adults 21 and older.

While some provisions of the new legalization law, including possession and home cultivation of cannabis, went into effect July 1 of this year, other aspects—such as details of establishing a regulated cannabis market—don’t kick in until 2024.

This year’s election is critical in determining the fate of legalization. Nearly all of the cannabis sales provisions are subject to further approval by the legislature and governor.

Our allies at Virginia NORML have published a voter guide that details where candidates stand on cannabis policy reform. Be sure to check out the voter guide and make a plan to vote!

State legislative races are often close contests that can be decided by just a few votes. Don’t miss out on a chance to decide who will represent you in Richmond and vote on Virginia’s cannabis policy.

Polls are open on Election Day, Tuesday, November 2, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Here you can check your voter registration and find your polling location. The last day to vote early in person is Saturday, October 30. You can find more information on voting in Virginia here.

Be sure to share this information with your friends and family in Virginia!