News

Colorado Legislature Gives Final Approval to Bill Aimed at Streamlining Marijuana Regulations

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The Colorado General Assembly gave final approval Wednesday to a bipartisan bill aimed at streamlining the state’s marijuana regulations. It is now headed to Gov. Jared Polis for his signature.

SB24-76 was sponsored by Sens. Kevin Van Winkle (R) and Julie Gonzales (D) in the Senate and Rep. William Lindstedt (D) in the House.

In summary, the legislation:

  • Allows licensed cannabis operators to export and import genetic material to and from authorized individuals or entities in other states or countries.
  • Beginning in 2026, a unified application process will be allowed so that cannabis operators with multiple licenses do not need to complete multiple applications.
  • Allows cannabis business licensees to renew their licenses every two years rather than every year. Local governments can continue to require annual renewals.
  • Allows cannabis retail stores to sell non-marijuana consumable products, such as food and beverages, if those sales account for no more of 20% of their revenue.
  • Removes the requirement that all controlling beneficial owners be MED badged. Only those owners with direct access to cannabis must be badged.
  • Beginning in 2027, the MED can create rules that do not require the use of radio frequency identification technology (RFID tags) to track regulated marijuana.
  • Allows licensed operators to transfer cannabis for the purpose of decontamination without triggering the excise tax on wholesale transfers.
  • Includes provisions regarding cannabis testing, remediation, and labeling of remediated products.
  • Allows marijuana businesses located in state-designated enterprise zones to apply for the same tax credit afforded to other legal businesses.

The bill also includes a couple provisions related to the distribution and display of educational resources.

Statement from Chuck Smith, president of the board of directors for Colorado Leads, which supported SB24-76:

“We applaud state lawmakers for taking action to streamline marijuana regulations. As the first state to legalize and regulate cannabis, Colorado established a number of rules that were perceived as necessary then, but which we now know are unnecessary and overly burdensome. This legislation is an important step toward a more sensible and evidence-based system that not only protects public safety, but also allows for economic growth and opportunities.

The regulated cannabis industry has created tens of thousands of jobs and generated billions of dollars in tax revenue for Colorado. The economic benefits associated with legal marijuana have recently slowed due to several challenges, many of which are rooted in the laws and regulations that govern it. We appreciate Colorado lawmakers and regulators making it a priority to start chipping away at some of our state’s more arbitrary and problematic policies. There is still more work to be done, and we look forward to continuing this conversation with policymakers, the MED, and other stakeholders.”

About Colorado Leads

Colorado Leads is an alliance of cannabis business leaders created to educate the public and policymakers about the importance of a vibrant safe and sensibly regulated cannabis industry and its economic contributions. It comprises licensed operators and ancillary businesses that recognize a sustainable cannabis business climate and responsible cannabis industry are critical to the state’s economy and the wellbeing of local communities. For more information, visit https://coleads.org.

 

Take Action: Urge JBC to Fund MED with Marijuana Tax Revenue to Prevent Fee Increases on Businesses

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Colorado Leads is urging members of the Colorado cannabis industry to take action this week to help prevent additional marijuana licensing fee increases in Colorado.

Please take a minute to contact the members of the state Joint Budget Committee (JBC) and urge them to approve the Department of Revenue’s request for marijuana tax revenue to cover the current deficit in the MED’s budget. Without these funds, the MED may need to raise fees on marijuana businesses.

See below for more information and instructions on how you can help.

Read more

Ahead…

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The Democrats won the presidency and narrowly retained the U.S. House. Control of the U.S. Senate will be determined in a January runoff. The President still won’t concede or start a transition process.

So what does this mean in the short term for the industry?

There are some potentially positive developments, but we will have to wait and see (again) what happens in the next few weeks.

Here’s the current federal landscape:

  • House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told lawmakers last week that he would hold a vote in December on a bill that would decriminalize cannabis, create a process to expunge nonviolent pot convictions and remove the drug from the Controlled Substances Act.  It is expected to pass the House, but the Senate? The House vote may end up being largely symbolic, experts say.
  • NORML released a public letter recommending that Biden install an attorney general who favors cannabis legalization. “We cannot allow this sort of Reefer Madness to continue to flourish at the Department of Justice,” the letter stated.
  • 420 IMPAC, or 420 Interstate Marijuana PAC, has been formed to advance the industry’s influence in Congress.In addition to supporting pro-cannabis legislation, the PAC is aimed at removing “prohibitionist” lawmakers and is focused on fundraising for the 2022 midterms. Read more here.
  • Senate appropriators have released several 2021 spending bills that include cannabis-related provisions.  They include measures banning Washington, D.C. from using its own local tax dollars to implement a regulated marijuana market, protecting state medical cannabis programs from federal intervention, and removing barriers to marijuana research caused by federal prohibition. The House released their cannabis-related spending bills over the summer.

Meanwhile, as the feds fiddle, Colorado continues to thrive . . .

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In September, dispensaries brought in nearly $206.5 million in sales.  This was a slight drop from August, and roughly a 9% decline from the record set in July ($237 million). However, sales were still 25% higher than in September 2019. To date, taxes and fees for the state total $318 million.The cannabis industry is helping the Colorado economy even as tourism revenue tumbled more than 50% because of the coronavirus pandemic. Great graphics on this can be found here.

On Election Day, 12 towns voted on cannabis tax issues, allowing cannabis sales, or both.

Read more

Counting Down…

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There are only 13 days left until the election.  We’re hard pressed to find anyone who says 2020 has been a good year, but perhaps the last couple of months are shaping up to deliver good news to the cannabis industry.

AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, there is hope that the 83-year prohibition on cannabis is nearing its end – if the Democrats win the White House, retain the House of Representatives and take control of the Senate.

 

“If the Democrats do a clean sweep, then de-scheduling with interstate trade is definitely within the realm of possibility,” Randal Meyer, the executive director of the Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce (GACC), told Marijuana Business Daily.  

DE-SCHEDULING would not only legalize marijuana at the federal level, it would end 280E tax restrictions, open banking to cannabis companies and permit interstation and international cannabis trade. Because the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act is already sitting in the House, it would likely be the “vehicle” used to de-schedule.

ASSUMING ALL THAT HAPPENS, it is unclear how to construct a regulatory framework.  Cannabis does not fit neatly into one category that can be regulated by the FDA, as it is food, a drug and a cosmetic.  Some industry recommendations include a hybrid approach, allowing states to continue enforcement and the FDA and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau oversee interstate cannabis trade.

More than $3 million on lobbying for cannabis reform in Congress has been spent this year in Congress. Click here to see a chart showing the money spent.

Click to see the Marijuana Policy Project’s breakdown of states’ positions on legalization. 

AT THE STATE LEVEL, it’s all about ballot measures.  Voters in five states will decide on legalization of cannabis for recreational or medicinal purposes.  If all five measures pass, medicinal marijuana will be legal in 38 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and adult-use will be legal in 14 of those, and in D.C.

Arizona, Montana, and New Jersey will vote on whether to legalize marijuana for adult use.  

Mississippi will vote on whether to legalize medical marijuana. Currently, it is legal in 33 states.

South Dakota would become the first state to approve both medical and recreational cannabis markets simultaneously. The state’s current marijuana possession laws are considered the harshest in the country.  

Hope on the Hill? 

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The U.S. House of Representatives voted last week in favor of an amendment to protect all state, territory and tribal marijuana programs from federal interference. The measure prevents the Department of Justice from using its money to impede the implementation of cannabis legalization laws. It passed in a 254-163 vote on the floor.

“This is the most significant vote on marijuana policy reform that the House of Representatives has taken this year,” NORML Political Director Justin Strekal said. “The importance of this bipartisan vote cannot be overstated as today; nearly one in four Americans reside in a jurisdiction where the adult use of cannabis is legal under state statute. It is time for Congress to acknowledge this reality and retain these protections in the final spending bill.”

Also last week…
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced the “Substance Regulation and Safety Act,” which would deschedule cannabis, require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop rules that treat marijuana the same as tobacco, create a national research institute to evaluate the risks and benefits of cannabis, require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to impose quality control standards and mandate that the Department of Transportation study methods for detecting THC-impaired driving.

Also in the House…
there are reports that leadership intends to hold a floor vote on a comprehensive cannabis legalization bill in September. Specifically, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, which was approved by the Judiciary Committee last year, would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, expunge the records of those with prior marijuana convictions and impose a federal five percent tax on sales. The resulting revenue would be reinvested in communities most impacted by the war on drugs. The Marijuana Justice Coalition (MJC), a coalition of civil rights and drug policy reform groups, including the ACLU, Human Rights Watch, Drug Policy Alliance and NORM, has circulated a letter to members of Congress, imploring them to sign onto the MORE Act.

And finally…
as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) grumbles about provisions in the Democrats $3.4 trillion coronavirus relief package that allows cannabis businesses to work with federally-backed banks and insurers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) shot back, calling cannabis a necessary “therapy” related to the public health.

Presidential Politics 

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Yes, the Democratic National Committee delegates voted against including marijuana legalization in the party platform. Not surprising considering presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden doesn’t support federal legalization of recreational marijuana. Biden does back decriminalizing marijuana on the federal level and legalization of medical marijuana.

In the grand scheme of things, does it matter when it comes to the future legalization of cannabis? Probably not. For better or worse, the DNC vote appears to be more of a strategic decision to avoid controversy before the election.

The fact is that a November of 2019, a Pew Research study revealed that 9 out of 10 Americans favor legalization of either medical or recreational/adult-use marijuana. If the Democrats were to win both the White House and Senate, most observers believe there is the will for decriminalization and leaving the question of legalization up to states.

“It’s not a partisan issue — for sure we have support on both sides of the aisle — but I do think the Democratic leadership has shown a desire to pass cannabis legislation where the Republican leadership has not,” Curaleaf CEO Joe Lusardi said to Yahoo! Finance.

Even during a pandemic, the work continues. 

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Spending bills unveiled in the U.S. House of Representatives include provisions to protect medical legalization laws from federal interference, ease marijuana businesses’ access to basic banking services, expand cannabis research, oversee the country’s hemp and CBD industries and finally grant Washington, D.C. the ability to legalize recreational sales.

“More and more, cannabis provisions are becoming a normal staple of federal appropriations packages,” Justin Strekal, political director for NORML, told Marijuana Moment. “This bodes well for our opportunity to receive a vote on standalone marijuana legislation in the near future.”

It’s still early in the process, and much can change over the next few week.  But below are details on the spending bills.

Banking. The bill includes a provision removing some roadblocks to banking and financial services for legal cannabis businesses at the state level.  But it is a watered-down version of the stand-alone bill (SAFE Act) passed in the House and stalled in the Senate.  While the Treasury Department would be barred from punishing banks, the Justice Department could still prosecute both banks and businesses.

Research. The spending bill covering the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education would prevent colleges and universities from losing funding simply for researching cannabis or its applications.

Advocacy. Schools receiving federal funds would be prevented from actually advocating for legalization.

D.C. Legalization. The Financial Services and General Government spending bill, which also covers matters relating to the District of Columbia, would remove a budget rider that has prevented Washington, D.C. from legalizing recreational marijuana sales.

Hemp and CBD Regulation. The bill funding the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) contains “funding to develop a framework for regulating CBD products.” And the DOJ spending bill includes a rider meant to protect state hemp research programs established under the 2014 Farm Bill, which launched research and commercial ventures in a number of states.

State medical marijuana laws.  A DOJ spending bill extends legal protections to states with medical marijuana programs by prohibiting the DOJ from using federal funds to interfere with legal medical cannabis laws.

BLM

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The cannabis community has come together nationally as an ally to Black Lives Matter, the political and social movement emphasizing basic human rights and racial equality for Black people. Some key resources are below.

  How the movement may impact the industry  

Black owned businesses to support in
and around Denver  

 Organizations working for social justice, diversity
and community empowerment   

Organizations fighting for BIPOC justice
and equality   

Yeah, let’s legalize … something? 

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Tim Childers, one of 12 Frankfort City Commission candidates, lit a marijuana pipe while answering a question during a live video debate.

“Let’s go against the state and legalize something,” Childers said as he held a lighter to his marijuana pipe. “Big money in that. Bunch of states doing it. I have the answers — candidate with solutions, people.”