Congresswoman Pushes For Marijuana Legalization, Thousands Of Records Cleared In RI & More Pot Reg Updates

Congresswoman Calls For Action: Biden Administration Should Legalize Cannabis ‘Now’

On Thursday, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, urged the Biden administration to consider marijuana scheduling “now” as another election nears, reported Marijuana Moment.

She shared her take on cannabis policy reform, including banking reform a fireside chat hosted by the International Cannabis Bar Association (INCBA) earlier this week.

Lee stressed that lawmakers have to “find a pathway” for reform. Considering the current composition of Congress, she said she's not sure “we can get anything passed that would make sense.”

“We probably should have done it last year when [Democrats] were in control, but we didn’t,” she added.

On-Premise Cannabis Consumption Banned In Maryland City Ahead Of Rec Market Launch

The prospects of cannabis being sold and consumed in Ocean City establishments are well on their way to being squashed, as approval for a measure to forbid such activity is all but sure to come before July 1 when statewide recreational marijuana will be launched, reported Ocean City Today.

On Monday, City Council members unanimously passed the first reading of an ordinance that will effectively prohibit the issuance of on-premises cannabis consumption licenses. They also decided to impose penalties for violations of the ordinance, with fines ranging from $25 to $1000.

The ordinance will proceed to its second reading and, most likely, final approval.

Marylanders voted to legalize adult-use cannabis in November. Beginning on July 1, adults 21 and over will be allowed to possess up to 1.5 oz of cannabis and 10 grams of cannabis concentrate. Question 4, the Marijuana Legalization Amendment, was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.

Michigan Rec Marijuana Sales Flourish As MMJ Sales Plunge

Meanwhile, Michigan's cannabis sales dropped 0.1% month-over-month to $245.9 million in May, reported New Cannabis Ventures, citing data from the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency.

Year-over-year, total cannabis sales decreased by 31.9%. Medical cannabis sales fell 69.7% year-over-year and 10.1% quarter-over-quarter to $7.1 million. Recreational sales totaled $238.9 million, up 46.4% year-over-year and 0.3% sequentially.

Rhode Island Erases Tens of Thousands of Marijuana Possession Records

Over 23,000 marijuana possession records were expunged as part of the first phase of cannabis relief under the state law that legalized the plant and the state Supreme Court’s executive order, reported Marijuana Moment.

A total of “3,015 individual cases were expunged in the Superior Court, 10,650 in the District Court, and 9,952 cases in the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal,” according to a press release issued Thursday.

Courts and law enforcement partnered to enable the automated relief enacted after the state legalized cannabis use last year. In January, State Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Suttell issued an executive order outlining the procedure for mass expungements.

Phase two of the expungement process, which is expected to be complete by July 1, 2024, will involve clearing cannabis possession records for cases involving multiple criminal violations.

Photo: Courtesy of Ramdlon, ganjaspliffstoreuk by Pixabay