Cannabis Reg Update: Australia & France Pursue Legalization, New Jersey Pre-Roll Manufacturing

Australia: Parliament Could Legalize Cannabis This Year

According to David Shoebridge, a Green Party senator and justice spokesperson, recreational cannabis could be legalized. "Legal advice obtained by my office shows that the Greens can pass a bill to legalize cannabis nationally and all state legislation criminalizing its legal use, possession and sale can be overridden," Shoebridge recently tweeted, adding that "the party has the power to pass the bill nationally."

The Greens argued that empowering the community to regulate the cultivation, licensing, and sale of cannabis would override state and territory laws that criminalize marijuana.

Shoebridge said the move "would be the first attempt to legalize cannabis through the federal parliament and would see Australia join countries such as Germany, Canada, Uruguay, South Africa, Jamaica, Mexico, Malta, and at least 19 states in the United States in the decriminalization of cannabis.

France: One More Year Of Waiting To Legalized Medical Cannabis 

Recently, Santé France Cannabis, an association that brings together several representative players in the future sector of medical cannabis in France, recommended ‘planning the postponement’ of the legalization of medical cannabis by one year.

In 2019, France announced plans to commence a medicinal cannabis pilot, which is due to end in March 2023.

The association sent a letter to lawmakers noting that “the national actors gathered in ‘Santé France Cannabis’ propose – as some public decision-makers envisage – to provide for the postponement of one year of the generalization, planned for March 2023, in order to allow the time necessary for the sector to organize.”

"Three options are then available: the legalization of medical cannabis, a second pilot project, or an abandonment of the project altogether," reported NewsWeed.fr.

In France, weed cultivation for therapeutic use is technically legal, however the Government has not yet defined the methods of MMJ cultivation and production to allow companies to work outside the context of R&D, reported Business CANN.

New Jersey, Manufacturing Of Marijuana Cigarettes On Hold

Zoning Board members in Vineland, New Jersey recently rejected a proposal to manufacture cannabis cigarettes on a property on North Delsea Drive.

In that the property in question has a house on it, regulations prohibit a home from sharing a lot with any marijuana operation. Since the proposal was based on obtaining a use variance from the local cannabis zoning ordinance, members of the Zoning Board unanimously rejected the idea in a hearing.

“I don’t believe that a residential use on this type of property based on the city’s creation of regulations is appropriate,” Chairman George LoBiondo said. “I don’t think the application would have been approved without a site plan, even if there wasn’t a residential use.”

Anthony Copernico, an applicant said he and a partner, Allen Lemmerman, had an option to lease the property. "The site could turn out 7,000 rolled cigarettes in an eight-hour shift. Only one person is needed the run the machine," Copernico said.

According to Daily Journal, City Supervising Planner Kathie Hicks, said “one of the problems with the proposal was the property’s small size, relative to city zoning requirements.”

Photo: Courtesy Of Esteban Lopez On Unsplash