This State Could Legalize Cannabis In 2023. Plus: APhA Backs Decriminalization & More Regulatory Updates

Minnesota House And Senate To Vote On Legalization This Week

• Minnesota House members debated a bill to legalize recreational cannabis on Monday and planned to hold a vote on Tuesday.
• The Senate is expected to vote on Friday, April 28.
• Tuesday's 300-page bill from Zack Stephenson (D) seeks to create a new state Office of Cannabis Management that would oversee the new market, while a companion measure from Sen. Lindsey Port (D) is scheduled for the Friday vote.

University Of Kentucky Takes Closer Look At Cannabis

• The University of Kentucky launched its fifth annual Substance Use Research Event on April 24. Dr. Alan Budney of Dartmouth College attended the event and scrutinized the medical cannabis bill that Governor Andy Beshear (D) signed into law last month.
• "I just wish that they would stop with the medical marijuana bills and go to adult-use bills and just regulate it really well," Budney said.

North Carolina Lawmaker Expects Medical Marijuana Bill To Pass

• North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R) says the medical cannabis bill has "a better chance of passing this year than in any time in the past."
• There's mounting support for cannabis among Moore's Republican caucus. A bill passed by the Senate will be taken up by the state's House members in May.

No Progress on WA Drug Law: Special Session Looms

• Washington state Lawmakers reportedly have until July to pass a new statute on drug possession in light of the Supreme Court's 2021 ruling that invalidated the previous law.
• A special assembly will finish the task since the Legislature could not agree upon a compromise bill before the 2023 regular session ended on Sunday, April 23. Senate Bill 5536 failed 43-55 in the Democratic-controlled House.

St. Louis County Weighs Restrictions on Marijuana Smoking In Public

• A Missouri council is considering a measure to prohibit smoking marijuana indoors in St. Louis County. This could potentially put an end to the possibility of pot-smoking lounges.
• The County Council is debating a bill that would add marijuana to the definition of "smoking" and explicitly forbid it anywhere tobacco smoking is barred. The ban would also apply to electronic smoking devices used for vaping.

Major Pharmacists Group Endorses Drug Decriminalization

• The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) has declared its support for decriminalizing all drugs and paraphernalia after the House of Delegates of APhA adopted a revised policy last month.
• "APhA supports decriminalization of the personal possession or personal use of illicit drug substances or paraphernalia," the organization said, adding that "legalization of the possession, sale, distribution, or use of illicit drug substances for non-medical uses."

New York Working To Resolve Marijuana Banking Issues

• Next month, New York lawmakers will convene for a joint hearing to evaluate the possibility of creating a legal framework for providing banking services to the state's cannabis sector.
• The Assembly Banks Committee and Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce, and Industry Committee have invited people to submit forms to testify on May 11.

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