Cannabis Regulatory Update: Vermont Approves THC-Limit Bill, Delaware Gov Blasts Georgia Cops Over Drug Search Of Black Female Athletes

Vermont Lawmakers Green-Light Bill To Keep THC Limits In Place

Vermont lawmakers advanced a bill that maintains limits on high-potency cannabis.

Members of the state Senate pushed back at last-minute changes to a cannabis bill made by House members last Thursday and “speculated as to why the Vermont Department of Health abruptly reversed its recommendation to lawmakers on the measure last week,” reported VTDigger.

House members imposed a 60% cap on the level of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, in solid cannabis concentrates, which are poised to hit shelves this fall when the adult-use market launches.

The amendment to change H.548 – one of the four measures to create a legal recreational market – was proposed by Rep. John Gannon, D-Wilmington, and passed in a voice vote.

“They held the damn thing for over a week and a half and then come up with this,” Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, chair of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, said during a committee hearing Friday. “There isn’t much time to call for a conference committee. I’m really frustrated by the proposal from Rep. Gannon in the House.”

Delaware Gov. Criticizes Drug-Related Search Of Student-Athletes

Last month, on their way home after playing three games, Delaware State University women’s lacrosse team got pulled over by the Georgia Police over an alleged traffic violation.

The officers got on the bus and told the students they'd be searching their luggage for possible narcotics, such as marijuana, heroin, methane and ketamine.

In the end, the police did not find any controlled substances, according to The Hornet student newspaper.

Cannabis advocates have pointed out since then that the incident, which occurred on 4/20, the cannabis holiday 4/20, was racially motivated, a common occurrence in Georgia.

Delaware’s Democratic Governor John Carney (D) and several congressional officials appear to agree and are speaking out, reported WHYY.

“I have watched video of this incident – it is upsetting, concerning, and disappointing,’’ Carney, who still opposes cannabis legalization, said in a statement. “Moments like these should be relegated to part of our country’s complicated history, but they continue to occur with sad regularity in communities across our country. It’s especially hard when it impacts our own community.”

Meanwhile, a measure to create a regulatory framework for a recreational cannabis market in Delaware, HB 372, was approved by a House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday and is now heading to the floor.

A separate House-passed bill - HB 371 - to legalize marijuana possession for adults 21 and older advanced through the full House last week. Sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski (D), the measure requires a simple majority to pass.

Photo: Courtesy of Diyahna Lewis on Unsplash