Cannabis Group Weekly Alert - Week Of January 22, 2020

In this week's edition:

Vice President Biden reaffirms opposition to federal cannabis legalization States take on cannabis legalization efforts in 2020 Federal legislation introduced to allow CBD to be marketed as a dietary supplement Denton's Ausra Deluard discusses trends in antitrust enforcement And more… Federal

Congressional hearing exposes marijuana research limitations imposed by federal law - The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on six cannabis bills, including two that would federally legalize cannabis. In addition to revelations surrounding new research regulations in process, the hearing, titled “Cannabis Policy For the New Decade,” included a brief statement from Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) on his personal evolution on this issue, including his opinion that “Prohibition has clearly failed and America isn't waiting for its government anymore.” Watch the full hearing, linked in the article above.

Joe Biden again says no to marijuana legalization without more studies - Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) reiterated his opposition to federal legalization, without more studies. Instead, Biden's cannabis reform plan involves rescheduling the plant to make it easier for researchers to access, decriminalizing simple possession and expunging prior cannabis records. Read the full interview here.

Congress should make cannabis research less cumbersome, APA says in written testimony - The American Psychological Association issued a statement asking Congress to remove roadblocks to cannabis studies, including calling for the Drug Enforcement Administration to be relieved of its role in reviewing requests to conduct such research. Instead, institutional review boards and the FDA are more appropriate bodies to manage this task, said APA Chief Scientific Officer Russell D. Shilling, PhD, in prepared remarks.

States

FL - Make it Legal Florida will not put a constitutional amendment on the 2020 ballot, the group announced Monday. Instead, it is shifting its focus to a 2022 ballot initiative. Meanwhile, a ballot initiative by Sensible Florida has also stalled. According to the Florida Division of Elections, the group so far has only 92,805 verified petition signatures. The signature requirement for 2020 measures is 766,200.

IL - Illinois regulators are investigating some dispensaries for violations of the state law requirement that no more than 40 percent of product inventory come from one cultivator. The law is aimed at preventing cultivators from entering into exclusive agreements with specific dispensaries and making sure all stores have a diversity of products from different sources.

KY - David W. Osborne (R), Kentucky's House speaker, said at a hearing on the issue that if medical cannabis is legalized in...