Tag: Main Blog
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D.C. Temporarily Reverses Ban On Former Felons In Cannabis Industry
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser signed emergency legislation last week that allows people with non-violent felony records to own—or work at—a licensed medical cannabis dispensary, cultivation center, or testing lab. The new law, enacted on May 3, nixes a previous statute that prohibited anyone with a felony record from participating in D.C.’s medical cannabis industry. However,…
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Maryland Appeals Court Rules Police Cannot Search Someone Just Because They Smell Cannabis
Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals released a decision last month ruling that the smell of cannabis by itself does not provide reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, making it illegal for police officers to use the smell of cannabis as a legal cause to stop and search an individual. This ruling ties six-year-old loose ends in…
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Will the U.S. Botanic Garden Display Hemp?
From the notoriously pungent corpse flower to the bright-red torch lily, the U.S. Botanic Garden has long dazzled visitors with an expansive display of exotic flora and rare plants. But the hemp plant—a more common species—has always been conspicuously absent from the garden, which sits just steps away from the Capitol Building in Washington. Now,…
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Maryland NORML Files Complaint Against Culta; Calls For License Removal
The director of Maryland NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) submitted a complaint last week to the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC), petitioning to have Culta’s cannabis licenses revoked for violating advertising guidelines. Maryland law prohibits medical cannabis businesses from advertising products in a way that: Displays the use of cannabis, including…
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D.C. Councilmember Withdraws Bill Prioritizing Formerly Incarcerated Entrepreneurs In Cannabis Industry
During a marathon legislative session of the D.C. Council on Tuesday, May 4, Councilmember-At-Large Robert White withdrew a bill that gave people formerly incarcerated for drug offenses a leg-up to participate in the District’s growing medical cannabis industry. The emergency legislation required the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration(ABRA), which regulates D.C.’s medical cannabis program, to reserve…
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District Hemp Owner Talks CBD in D.C. Amid COVID and People and Pets’ Needs
Last week’s episode of The Outlaw Report podcast was a conversation with Barbara Biddle, the owner of District Hemp Botanicals, located in the DuPont Circle neighborhood of Washington D.C. Biddle also owns two other hemp CBD boutiques in Virginia. We discussed the hemp industry in D.C., and how her business has been affected by the…
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Virginians Jailed for Weed Will Stay Locked Up Even After Legalization
While there is much to celebrate in the July 1 legalization of adult cannabis use in Virginia, many argue the new law’s failure to address resentencing is a significant flaw: It does not address those currently incarcerated for cannabis charges. The long, complex bill was approved by the legislature late in the 2021 session, amended…
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Maryland Cannabis Industry Grew By 40 Percent in 2020
2020 was a catastrophic year for many (if not most) businesses in the U.S. but not for cannabis. The national cannabis industry was able to not only sustain—but significantly increase—sales nationwide amid a global pandemic, Maryland included. Between April 2020 and April 2021, Maryland’s medical cannabis dispensaries sold $500 million worth of cannabis. Monthly sales…
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After Daughter Suffers Major Seizure, Advocate Urges D.C. To Ramp Up Medical Cannabis Testing
D.C. residents testified on Wednesday Apr. 28 at a hearing by the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) on new rules that ease restrictions on the medical cannabis industry amid the coronavirus pandemic. The new regulations, unanimously approved by ABRA’s board in March, lift a cap on the number of plants cultivators can grow. They also…
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Virginia Cop Involved in Violent Arrest on 4/20 No Longer a Cop
Virginia State Trooper Charles Hewitt, who was involved in the violent arrest of a Black man named Derrick Thompson on Apr. 20, 2019 is no longer with the Virginia State Police. This incident first went public in July of last year when Thompson’s lawyer, Joshua Erlich released video of the arrest recorded on Thompson’s cell…
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Cannabis in the South: Advocates Talk Racial Justice and Reform Strategies
On 4/20, a Zoom panel about cannabis intersected with the imminent reading of the Derek Chauvin verdict, which highlighted the importance of racial justice in legalizing weed in the South. Five cannabis experts participated in the conversation that ran through the 4:20 hour and purposefully closed just before Judge Peter Cahill read the verdict, announcing…
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House Democrats Passing The SAFE Banking Act Is Not Enough
Earlier this month, when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hinted that he would be introducing federal cannabis reform legislation, many expected it to be a federal decriminalization bill and most thought it would arrive on or around Apr. 20. Instead, on Apr. 19, the House Of Representatives voted in favor of The Secure and Fair…