Cannabis Rules & Regs: Hemp Hearing Slated For Next Week, South Dakota's Medical Cannabis Market, And More

House Committee To Hold Hearing On Hemp Next Week

As the 2023 farming bill is taking shape the question arises: Will the hemp industry face any major changes?

The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research's hearing on hemp issues is scheduled for next week. It seems that an upgrade on the existing hemp regulations through future large-scale agriculture legislation would be considered, reported Marijuana Moment.

The hearing, titled “An Examination of the USDA Hemp Production Program,” will take place on Thursday.

House Agriculture Chairman David Scott said in February that the 2023 farm bill should address the barriers facing small businesses and Black entrepreneurs when trying to start legal cannabis companies under state law.

“Here we are, the fastest growing agricultural product, between hemp and cannabis,” Scott said. “We're also going into our farm bill. We've got to address this issue. We can no longer hide it.”

Medical Cannabis Market In South Dakota To Launch Next Week

South Dakota was the first state in the country to simultaneously legalize medical and recreational marijuana during the 2020 elections.

Some 20 months after, the state’s medical marijuana market will officially launch.

Unity Rd. dispensary in Hartford will be the first to kick off cannabis sales on Wednesday, July 27.

Unity Rd. co-owner Adam Jorgensen told KELO-TV in Sioux Falls that the cannabis to be sold was harvested from Dakota Natural Solutions.

“We are very excited to announce we have secured the first initial inventory available to state-ran dispensaries,” Jorgensen said. “Our plan is to have the product delivered and available to the certified public on the 27th of this month for our soft opening,”

The state is poised to have 69 certified dispensaries, 29 cultivators, and 11 processors as well as two testing laboratories. It is not yet known when the operations will launch.

Meanwhile, the state Supreme Court struck down the recreational marijuana initiative last year. According to Circuit Judge Christina Klinger’s ruling from last February, which the Supreme Court backed, the initiative violated the requirement that constitutional amendments can deal with just one subject.

The new proposal to legalize recreational use, from Sen. Michael Rohl (R) was approved by the Senate in February. However, Noem remained skeptical regarding the voters' support for the reform.

Nevertheless, cannabis activists remain tireless in their effort to qualify the initiative to legalize marijuana for the ballot this fall.

Philippines’ Senator Files Bill To Legalize Medical Marijuana

The Philippines is pawing its way toward cannabis legalization, with Senator Robin Padilla filing a bill on Friday, under which cannabis is permitted “to treat or alleviate a qualified patient’s debilitating medical condition or symptoms.”

“Medical Cannabis Compassionate Access Act of the Philippines” or Senate Bill No. 230 is addressing everything from acquisition and possession to transportation, delivery, dispensation, administration, cultivation, and manufacturing of marijuana for medical purposes, reported INQUIRER.net.

“The State should, by way of exception, allow the use of cannabis for compassionate purposes to promote the health and well-being of citizens proven to be in dire need of such while at the same time providing the strictest regulations to ensure that abuses for casual use or profiteering be avoided,” said Padilla.

Under “debilitating medical conditions,” the new legislation lists cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy as well as positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and rheumatoid arthritis, to name a few.

Moreover, the Department of Health (DOH) will be directed with establishing Medical Cannabis Compassionate Centers (MCCC) in tertiary hospitals as well as establishing Prescription Monitoring System and maintaining an electronic database of registered medical cannabis patients and their physicians.

Benzinga photo. Source: Image from Shutterstock