MORE Vote Postponed, But Support Remains High Among Democratic, Republican Voters
Washington, DC: Majorities of Republican and Democratic voters support Congressional passage of the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act (a/k/a The MORE Act), according to survey data compiled by the Justice Collaborative Institute and Data for Progress.
Seventy percent of Democrats and 53 percent of Republicans say that they support the measure's passage, which is consistent with polling data compiled earlier this year. House leadership had pledged to hold a floor vote on the Act this week, but then abruptly postponed the vote until after the election.
"The decision to push back a vote on the MORE Act not only calls Democrats' prioritization of racial and criminal justice issues into question, but it also shows a complete disregard for the will of the majority of the American people who are ready for reform," the Justice Collaborative stated in a press release. "Failing to pass legislation decriminalizing marijuana use could be an electoral risk come November."
Sixty-seven percent of the poll's respondents - including 73 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of Republicans - agreed that the "federal government should respect the rights of individual states that have already legalized marijuana sales and not pursue actions against them." By removing cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act in a manner similar to alcohol, as is proposed by The MORE Act, individual states - not the federal government - would become the primary regulators of marijuana policy.
"While it is disappointing that House Democrats chose to punt on a bill that reflects the will of the American people, it is crucial that concerned citizens hold Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and the Democratic Majority to his public commitment to have a vote before the end of the year," said NORML Political Director Justin Strekal. "In the meantime, NORML will still be calling on every incumbent to declare their position on the MORE Act and every challenger running for office to make public their position on marijuana policy reform and whether they support freedom and legalization or oppression and prohibition."
Specific to the question of legalizing marijuana for adults, 59 percent of respondents said that "police should stop arresting" people for possessing cannabis, and 55 percent said that engaging in marijuana sales should no longer be a criminal offense.
The full text of the survey appears online.
Vermont: Lawmakers Advance Marijuana Sales Measure to Governor's Desk
Montpelier, VT: House and Senate lawmakers have approved legislation, Senate Bill 54, to regulate the commercial production and retail sales of marijuana to adults. The measure now awaits action from Republican Gov. Phil Scott.
Senate members passed an initial version of the bill in 2019, while House members passed their own version of the legislation in February. Members of a six-member bicameral conference committee reconciled the language of the two bills this summer - sending it back to both chambers for reconsideration.
House members signed off on the amended language last week while the Senate overwhelmingly approved the measure on Tuesday.
It is not known whether Gov. Scott supports the bill's passage. Although he signed legislation into law in 2018 depenalizing the possession and personal cultivation of small quantities of cannabis, that legislation did not permit for commercial activities, such as retail sales. Last week, he indicated that he approved of some of the new amendments to the bill, but he stopped short of endorsing the legislation. When asked about the Governor's position on the bill, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Sears responded, "I don't know if he will sign it, but I would be surprised if he didn't." According to a just-released statewide poll by Castleton University, nearly seven in ten Vermonters say they support the measure.
Senate Bill 54 establishes rules and taxation rates governing the licensed commercial production and sale of cannabis and cannabis products to adults. Under the plan, retail products would be subject to a 14 percent excise tax, in addition to the state's six percent general sales tax. The potency of herbal cannabis products will be capped at 30 percent THC while concentrates will be limited to no more than 60 percent THC. Products cannot be packaged in a manner that appears appealing to children. Prior to the operation of any licensed cannabis facility, a municipality will need to hold a vote to in favor of permitting commercial activities within their locality.
If signed into law, S. 54 would take effect on October 1, 2020. However, regulators will not begin licensing cannabis-related businesses and activities until the spring of 2022.
Review Paper Suggests that Cannabis Use Is Negatively Associated with Cancer Risk
South Bend, IN: A history of cannabis use is associated with an estimated ten percent reduction in one's risk of developing cancer, including the risk of lung cancer, according to a meta-analysis published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.
An Indiana University professor reviewed 34 studies assessing whether the use of cannabis was associated with either an elevated or a reduced risk of developing certain types of cancers.
His review determined that cannabis use was negatively associated with the occurrence of various types of cancers, excluding testicular cancer. Use was most strongly correlated with a reduced risk of developing cancers of the head and neck.
The study concluded: "The current analysis suggests an association of cannabis use with a substantial decrease in risk of non-testicular cancers, with moderate effect size, and a non-significant increase in risk of testicular cancer, with negligible effect size. This suggests that cannabis use may substantially decrease the death rate from cancer in the United States."
Full text of the study, "Scoping review and meta-analysis suggests that cannabis use may reduce cancer risk in the United States," appears in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.
South Dakota: Opposition Group's Polling Shows Voter Support for Marijuana Legalization Initiatives
Pierre, South Dakota: Statewide polling data commissioned by a marijuana opposition group shows voter support for a pair of 2020 cannabis legalization ballot measures.
According to the survey results, some 70 percent of respondents back Initiative Measure 26 - which establishes a medical cannabis access program in South Dakota - and some 60 percent of voters support Constitutional Amendment A, which legalizes the adult-use marijuana market.
The polling data was compiled by the right-leaning Public Opinion Strategies group, and was paid for by the campaign committee No Way on A. According to the Argus Leader newspaper, No Way on A is organized by the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Under state law, the possession of any amount of marijuana is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail, a $2,000 fine, and a criminal record. In 2018, an estimated one out of every ten arrests made in the state was marijuana-related, according to data compiled by the group South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws. Ninety-five percent of all cannabis arrests in South Dakota were for possession. According to an analysis of marijuana arrest data compiled by the ACLU, Black Americans in South Dakota are five times more likely than whites to be arrested for possessing cannabis.
Both statewide measures are opposed by South Dakota's Republican Gov. Kristi Noem.
Voters in Arizona, Montana, and New Jersey, will also decide on adult-use legalization ballot initiatives on Election Day, while voters in Mississippi will decide between two dueling measures specific to regulating medical cannabis use.
Montpelier, VT: House and Senate lawmakers have advanced legislation to the Governor facilitating the automatic review and expungement of low-level marijuana convictions.
Senate Bill 234 establishes a process whereby those with certain marijuana-related convictions (possession of up to two ounces of cannabis and/or the cultivation of up to four mature plants) would have their convictions reviewed and automatically expunged. Under the measure, courts would have until the end of next year to clear all eligible criminal records. Proponents of the bill estimate that as many as 10,000 Vermonters will be eligible to have their records expunged.
The bill also decriminalizes certain marijuana offenses. Under current law, the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis and/or the cultivation of up to two plants for non-commercial purposes is not subject to penalty, but activities involving greater quantities are subject to criminal sanction. Senate Bill 234 reduces the penalty for offenses involving the possession of more than one ounce but less than two ounces of marijuana and/or the cultivation of three plants to a civil fine.
NORML's State Policies Coordinator Carly Wolf urged Republican Gov. Phil Scott to sign S. 234 into law "to ensure that minor offenders are no longer stigmatized and disenfranchised by the collateral consequences of a criminal record for having engaged in activities that are no longer a crime."
Report: Total Marijuana Arrests Fall in District of Columbia, But Racial Disparities Persist
Washington, DC: Blacks comprise nearly 90 percent of all people arrested in the District of Columbia on marijuana-related charges, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.
The Post investigation reviewed over 11,500 marijuana-related arrests during the years 2012 to 2019. They reported that prior to 2015 - when the District enacted a municipal initiative depenalizing the private possession and not-for-profit cultivation of small quantities of cannabis - 89 percent of those arrested were Black. Following 2015, the total number of marijuana-related arrests fell significantly. However, among those arrested for cannabis-related violations, racial disparities continued to persist. In 2018, the most recent year for which data was available, 89 percent of those arrested for marijuana violations were Black. Most of those arrested were between the ages of 18 and 30.
Black Americans comprise 45 percent of the city's population.
The Post analysis found that almost half of all marijuana-related arrests occurred in Wards 7 and 8, which are among the city's most predominantly Black neighborhoods. By contrast, fewer than one percent of all arrests occurred in Ward 3, which is predominantly white.
Many of the arrests were specific to charges of public consumption, the report found, and in over half of the cases, prosecutors either refused to file charges or dropped the case.
Analyses of municipal arrest records in other cities, like Albany, New York, have reported similar racial disparities. Nationwide, Black Americans are nearly four times as likely as whites to be arrested for marijuana violations, according to data compiled in May by the American Civil Liberties Union.
For more information, see NORML's Fact Sheet, "Racial Disparities in Marijuana Arrests."
Connecticut: Legalizing Adult-Use Marijuana Sales Would Yield Nearly $1 Billion in Tax Revenue Over Five Years
Hartford, CT: Legalizing the commercial cannabis market in Connecticut could yield nearly $1 billion in new tax revenue over five years and create nearly 17,500 new jobs, according to an economic analysis authored by an economist at the University of Connecticut.
The analysis estimates that tax revenue would grow from as much as $48 million in year one to as much as $223 million in year five. It further estimates that legalization could lead to as many as 17,462 new jobs within five years.
"Legalization will generate significant job creation, strong growth in GDP, and hundreds of millions in new tax revenues," the study says. "In the face of the challenge of recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, legalization offers a path to a stronger recovery."
Funding for the analyses was provided by the Marijuana Policy Project.
The state's Democratic Governor, Ned Lamont, has publicly endorsed adult-use legalization, but legislative efforts in 2020 were abruptly cut short following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Full text of the report, "Projecting Economic Impacts of Legalizing Marijuana in Connecticut," appears online.
