Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.
We’ll start with New Jersey, which you will doubtless recall failed to legalize marijuana earlier this year. They are now expanding hemp production. The new law will allow CBD in food (both human and animal) and cosmetics.
Washington, however, is headed in a different direction. The state’s Agriculture Department just clarified that hemp and CBD in food or cosmetics is illegal under both state and federal law.
Speaking of hemp and CBD, how’s the FDA coming along with those regulations, you ask? According to a former U.S. Surgeon General, it’s tricky.
In South Dakota news, the states’s Attorney General has released an explanation of the legalization proposal that proponents hope to see on the 2020 ballot. Meanwhile, a hemp delivery truck driver was arrested for possession with intent to distribute. Moral of the story: obey the speed limits in South Dakota if you’re hauling hemp through the state.
In other hemp news, the National Credit Union Administration released guidance stating that credit unions are permitted to serve hemp businesses. The guidelines advised institutions to ensure that companies are state-legal. (See South Dakota above.)
Social equity as applied to cannabis businesses is a big issue. Each state has a different track record as this chart shows.
One of the arguments in favor of marijuana legalization is that legal sales will bring in tax revenue. Is that actually true? A brief from the Pew Charitable Trusts says it’s hard to tell.
Andrew Yang is the latest entry in our “Where Do The Candidates Stand on Marijuana?” series. He has said that he would issue a mass pardon for all federal prisoners convicted of non-violent marijuana-related offenses.
And finally, we here at The Week in Weed do not claim to be intellectual property experts, but we’re pretty sure this U.K. business is in some hot water.
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