Four months after Florida passed Amendment 2, which passed with 71 percent of the vote in November legislators discuss implementation and review marijuana rules and processes. The Florida senate is exploring multiple versions of medical marijuana legislation.

“What began as a decisive instruction from voters that patients who need medical marijuana should have access to it is shaping up to be a complex and contentious fight.

Florida House’s lone medical marijuana bill (HB 1397) outlines a more restrictive approach, banning smoking and edibles, as well as “vaping,” which is allowed under a current law passed in 2014 that lets some patients with severe epilepsy and cancer use cannabis low in the chemical THC, which causes a euphoric high.”

A legislative hearing on marijuana legalization in Connecticut began Wednesday, Marh 22, 2017 with sharp disagreement over the risks of recreational pot. In this hearing, the Connecticut Judiciary Committee heard recreational marijuana opinions.

The hearing comes while Connecticut is facing a $1.7 billion budget gap for the fiscal year that begins July 1. A laundry list of unpopular spending cuts to cities and towns, social services and environmental programs, have been proposed.

Experts estimate that taxes from recreational marijuana sales could bring in $13 million in revenue in the first six months, $64 million in the first full year of legalization, and $100 million a year after that for CT.

The legalization bill would regulate marijuana like alcohol, prohibiting marijuana use by anyone under 21. It would limit legal possession to no more than 1 ounce of marijuana; and allow home cultivation of five plants per adult.

The bill allows for five types of marijuana businesses, all licensed and regulated by the state: pot retailers, lounges, cultivation facilities, product manufacturers, and laboratories.

A member of the Connecticut Association of Prevention Professionals, warned that lawmakers risk “opening a floodgate” to more drug abuse, traffic fatalities and hospital visits.

John Hudak, an expert from the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution, said he wasn’t testifying for or against legalization. He explained, state taxes on pot could make the price of legal marijuana too high, convincing consumers “to stick with the black market” or buy pot in other states, which would reduce the amount of state revenue. Setting taxes too low could make a state’s legal marijuana so inexpensive that it might encourage over use.

Students, in high school testified against legalizing pot, arguing that it would lead to increased teen use of marijuana. (Trends in other states show otherwise).

Rep. Toni Walker, a New Haven Democrat on the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, said making pot use a criminal offense pushes young people into the court and prison systems. Additionally, Walker explained that studies out of legal states, like Washington, found only 3 percent of drivers involved in fatal accidents in that state between 2010 and 2014 had been using marijuana. Studies have found that pot “was not the main factor” in the vast majority of accidents, and that alcohol and texting and other types of distracted driving are all more significant issues with accident than marijuana use.

Sources: Courant.com

Learn More About Connecticut Seed to Sale Solutions Here.

San Diego police have a new way to confirm the presence of marijuana and other drugs in impaired drivers — a mouth-swab device that is already being used by police departments in more than a dozen states and is expected to become more popular with the legalization of marijuana.

Source: San Diego rolls out mouth-swab marijuana testing devices – The Cannifornian

Ohio entrepreneurs want a residency requirement for medical marijuana cultivator licenses.

Source: Ohio medical marijuana entrepreneurs want residency requirement for business licenses | cleveland.com

Hearings on Massachusetts’ recreational marijuana begin in the Statehouse in Boston today, where lawmakers will mull potential changes to the voter-approved legislation legalizing marijuana use among adults and paving the way for commercial sale of the drug.

Source: Recreational marijuana takes center stage in Massachusetts Statehouse hearings Monday | masslive.com

Nevada lawmakers are trying to address everything from marijuana users’ gun rights to the danger that edible marijuana products pose to children.

Source: 6 marijuana bills in Nevada that could change guns rights, edibles, pot research

A state-run survey of 37,000 middle and high school students in Washington state finds that marijuana legalization there has had no effect on youngsters’ propensity to use the drug.

Source: A big thing marijuana opponents warned you about is definitely not happening – The Washington Post

A News Release was issued by the OLCC Sunday Night:

March 18, 2017

Oregon Liquor Control Commission Issues Marijuana Recall:

Portland, Oregon – The Oregon Liquor Control Commission is issuing an immediate health and safety advisory due to the identification of potentially unsafe pesticide residue on retail plant material produced from marijuana cultivated by Emerald Wave Estate, LLC.

The affected marijuana failed a pesticide test for pyrethrins exceeding the Oregon Health Authority action level for this class of pesticide.

Affected products include marijuana flower; the retailer that sold the product has issued a voluntary recall.  The marijuana flower was sold at Buds 4 U LLC located at 10692 Highway 126, Suite 4, Mapleton, Oregon.

A wholesaler transferred the product to the retailer before the pesticide results were recorded in the OLCC Cannabis Tracking System (CTS).  Buds 4 U sold 82.5 grams to 31 customers between March 8 and March 10, 2017.  The retailer noticed the failed pesticide results in the CTS on March 10, 2017 and immediately contacted the OLCC.

The affected marijuana should bear a label that includes one of the following OLCC License numbers:

050-1002850B56E

060-100301304FE

050-1002850B56E

and any of the following package numbers:

1A4010300005B05000000772 – product name: Blue Magoo

1A4010300005B05000000769 – product name: Blue Magoo

1A4010300005911000000005 – product name: Blue Magoo

The remainder of the affected nine pound batch of marijuana flower has been placed on administrative hold, meaning it cannot be lawfully transferred, pending the outcome of an additional pesticide retest.  Consumers who have these recalled products should dispose of the products or return them to the retailer where they were purchased.

There have been no reports of illness. The possible health impact of consuming marijuana products with unapproved pesticide residues is unknown. Short and long-term health impacts may exist depending on the specific product, duration, frequency, level of exposure, and route of exposure. Consumers with concerns about their personal health should contact their physician with related questions.

Consumers with questions or concerns about recalled product or pesticide residues in marijuana products are encouraged to contact the product retailer and/or the Oregon Poison Center at 800-222-1222.

For More Information: www.marijuana.oregon.gov
Email: marijuana@oregon.gov
Phone: 503-872-5000      Toll Free: 800-452-6522

Source: Oregon Issues Another Marijuana Recall for Pesticides – Oregon Cannabis Connection

Learn More About Oregon Seed to Sale Here.

H.R. 975 would provide significant clarity when it comes to providing basic banking services to the cannabis industry.

Source: Here’s the Scoop on a Recently Introduced Marijuana Bill That Would Protect States’ Rights — The Motley Fool