WEEDNESDAY November 25 2020
Happy Hemp Day
in today's report:
Click here for the link to the video on youtube
North Macedonia May Legalize Marijuana To Boost Tourism, Prime Minister Says
North Macedonia may become the first Balkan country to allow the recreational use of marijuana, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on Friday, adding that his government is mulling Amsterdam as an example.
The government in North Macedonia is considering allowing recreational use of marijuana in cafes and hospitality places in the capital, Skopje, and in other tourist hotspots, like the lakeside town of Ohrid, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said.
“The idea is to allow consumption of marijuana in cafes, both in existing and new ones, and in tourist places, including Skopje, if they respect certain standards on ventilation, proof of origin of the marijuana and so on,” Zaev told Deutsche Welle.
He added that the government envisages strict regulation in this sphere, taking Amsterdam in the Netherlands as an example.
The Prime Minister said this was part of the government’s planned package of measures aimed at stimulating the economy, which has been hit hard by the COVID health crisis.
However, the country has not fully decriminalised the use of cannabis.
On Thursday, Justice Minister Bojan Maricic said it was good that a public debate was now starting on full decriminalisation, in which experts and the NGO sector should share opinions.
“A quality regulation in this area can bring several benefits to the country, such as regulating the marijuana trade, curbing criminality and of course economic benefits, mostly in the the tourism and hospitality sectors,” Maricic said.
original story
https://balkaninsight.com/2020/11/20/north-macedonia-moves-to-make-recreational-marijuana-use-legal/
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Federal Agencies Must Get On The Same Page With Hemp Rules, Lawmakers Say
In a letter to four top government officials, the lawmakers—Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Reps. Angie Craig (D-MN), Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Collin Peterson (D-MN)—wrote that their agencies “need to work together and issue federal guidelines that will benefit farmers rather than punish farmers for factors that are out of their control.”
“Lack of clarity has resulted in under-investments in growing and processing from banks and hemp production companies,” it adds, calling on the agencies to work together “to create a more stable market for hemp farmers and ease the concerns of investors.”
As the letter explains, various rules issued by the agencies since Congress legalized hemp in the 2018 Farm Bill sometimes seem to conflict with one another, creating confusion for companies trying to comply—as well as for peripheral businesses that want to work with them.
“For example, USDA’s rule stated that farmers will be held accountable—facing possible revoking of their licenses—if their crops test above a .5 percent THC level three times in a five year period,” the letter says. “Despite this somewhat onerous and arbitrary rule, [DEA] instituted their own rule saying that exceeding .3 percent THC level deems the crop a controlled substance” and thus criminally illegal.
Each of the agencies the—U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB)—plays some role in regulating hemp and its various derivative products, and the letter says their rules conflict in ways that have chilled the market.
“Currently, contradictory federal guidelines are leading to uncertainty in the market,” Smith’s office said in a statement, “and preventing Minnesota farmers and Tribes from fully reaping the economic benefits of growing hemp.”
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/06/06/hemp-production-minnesota-farmer-sues
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Connecticut Lawmakers Will Put Marijuana Legalization On The Ballot If Legislature Rejects Bill
Efforts to #legalize #adult-use cannabis through #connecticut ’s# legislature over the past five years have repeatedly failed. During that time, however, a number of nearby states—including Maine, Vermont, New Jersey and neighboring Massachusetts—have passed legalization measures of their own. Other neighbors, including
New York
and
Rhode Island
, are currently weighing the issue. The state’s only other border is coastline.
Connecticut in 2011 decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis, Ritter noted. “So not only are they going across the border, but they’re coming back to their homes and using it safely.” (However common, it remains illegal to transport marijuana across state lines.)
“I think it’ll be a very, very close vote in the House,” House Speaker-designate Matt Ritter (D) said at a press conference outside a medical marijuana dispensary. “But if we do not have the votes—and I’m not raising the white flag—I want to be very clear: We will put something on the board to put to the voters of the state of Connecticut to amend the state constitution to legalize marijuana.”
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