Cannabis Regulatory Update: NJ Lawmakers Don't Want Off-Duty Cops To Use Weed, Legalization Efforts In WA, MO & DE

New Jersey Lawmakers Eager To Restrict Marijuana Use By Police & Other Workers, Three New Bills In Making

Lawmakers introduced a series of bills that would encourage employers to punish workers who use cannabis while off duty.

The three new measures seek to set up restrictions on cannabis use for select employees, including the police, reported Marijuana Moment.

The bill from Rep. Louis Greenwald (D), specifically targeting the police force, would amend state statutes in a way to allow law enforcement agencies to punish cops for cannabis use as well as to conduct random drug tests to avoid hiring lawful cannabis users.

The full texts of the other two proposals are not yet available.

The move comes on the heels of New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin's memo from last month to police chiefs telling them that they "may not take any adverse action against any officers because they do or do not use cannabis off duty."

While Platkin did emphasize that "there should be zero tolerance for cannabis use, possession or intoxication while performing the duties of a law enforcement officer," some top officials in the Garden State, including Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis, were not happy with his decision. Indeed, they were adamantly against it.

A group of Republican senators was also eager to let Platkin know their concerns. In the letter to Platkin, the senators stressed that "marijuana users are federally prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms, an omission that may put officers unknowingly at risk of criminal prosecution, or that the legitimacy of DRE evidence is currently being questioned by the New Jersey Supreme Court."

Washington Governor & Top Officials Join The Pledge For Marijuana Banking Reform Approval

The governor, attorney general and other top officials in Washington State joined those urging the congressional leaders to pass marijuana banking reform, reported Marijuana Moment.

Gov. Jay Inslee (D), Lt. Gov. Denny Heck (D), Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) and Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti (D) sent the letter on Monday stressing that the cannabis industry continues to struggle with access to critical financial services due to federal prohibition of the plant.

The letter proposes finding a vehicle to advance the bipartisan Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act from U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO). That bill advanced through the House, in some form, six times already. However, it continues to stall in the Senate.

"This has resulted in a limited number of financial service companies available to cannabis businesses," the officials wrote. "While we are making every effort to ensure our cannabis businesses are aware of these services, this restriction has become a catalyst for a very real public safety crisis in the state of Washington."

The letter continues: "Many of our cannabis businesses still rely largely on cash transactions and have increasingly become targets for armed robbers. In the first two months of 2022, reports indicate that there have been more than 50 armed robberies of state-licensed cannabis retail stores. This surpasses the number of robberies in all of 2020 or 2021."

Missouri House Committee Green Lights GOP-Led Resolution To Put Marijuana Legalization On The Ballot

On Tuesday, a Missouri House committee gave the green light to a GOP-led joint resolution that would put the marijuana legalization question before voters on the November ballot, Marijuana Moment writes.

Sponsored by the panel's chairman Rep. Shamed Dogan (R), an amended version of the bill was approved in a 7-2 vote by the Special Committee on Criminal Justice.

The news follows a push for separate legislation to legalize cannabis that recently paved its way through a Legislative Oversight Committee committee, ending up on the House floor. However, the lawmakers decided to postpone the consideration of that measure.

Sponsored by Rep. Ron Hicks (R), the bill lacks licensing caps for cannabis businesses in the state, the House floor leader noted.

Lawsuit Over Medical Marijuana Licensing Caps

Meanwhile, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District ruled Tuesday that the state's constitution gives state regulators the authority to limit the number of licenses issued to grow and sell medical marijuana.

A family from Sarcoxie sued the state earlier this year because their license to open a cultivation facility was denied. Callicoats claimed that the limit on the number of medical marijuana licenses and a "geographic bonus" that favored applicants in high-unemployment ZIP codes were unconstitutional.

Cole County judge rejected Callicoats' arguments, the same as the appeals court, which determined that the constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2018 that legalized medical marijuana specifically authorized license caps.

"Appellants have failed to demonstrate that those regulations are arbitrary or capricious or that they lack a rational relationship to the important governmental interests of ensuring reasonable patient access to medical marijuana, preventing criminal trafficking in marijuana for non-medical uses, and ensuring the health and safety of Missourians," according to the court's opinion.

Delaware House Committee Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill, For The Second Time

A bill to legalize marijuana advanced through a Delaware House committee on Tuesday for the second time reported Marijuana Moment.

The move follows a procedural mishap that prevented public testimony on the proposal at the meeting last month.

The panel gathered this week to hear from numerous witnesses before voting once more to advance the measure.

The bill to legalize cannabis possession and gifting as well as a companion bill that would create a regulatory framework for the market are sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski (D).

“This bill ends over 50 years of prohibition and criminalization in Delaware,” Osienski told fellow lawmakers at Tuesday’s hearing.

Photo: Courtesy of Roberto Valdivia on Unsplash