“People with cancer or chronic pain disability could be arrested simply for accessing a plant that helps them survive. Recriminalization is not regulation. It’s retaliation.” 

By Sophie Nieto-Muñoz, New Jersey Monitor

Lawmakers mulled Thursday whether New Jersey should ramp up enforcement against unlicensed cannabis sellers by passing a bill that would criminalize the purchase of unlicensed marijuana.

The bill riled cannabis activists, who say it would bring back the criminalization of weed that New Jersey’s marijuana legalization law was supposed to end. 

Under the bill, sponsored by Senate President Nick Scutari (D-Union), it would be a third-degree crime to operate an unlicensed marijuana business and a disorderly persons offense to knowingly purchase from one. A person who leads an “illegal marijuana business network” would be charged with a second-degree crime. 

“We have a problem where people are opening up brick-and-mortar stores, small stores, unlicensed to sell these products, and quite frankly, they’re just selling them and this state is doing nothing about it,” Scutari told the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday. “We need to do something more about those brick-and-mortar stores, but we also need to continue to fight back against drug dealers because those are alive and well.” 

Scutari spearheaded legalizing recreational cannabis, first introducing legislation to regulate it for adult use in 2014. After bills languished in the Legislature, recreational cannabis was legalized in 2020 by voters, and Scutari was the primary sponsor of the bill to launch the legal marijuana industry.

Scutari said the new legislation would be a corrective measure in response to the “black and gray market” that has flourished even though hundreds of cannabis dispensaries have opened statewide.

New Jersey has some of the most expensive cannabis in the nation for both medical and recreational users. The industry has raked in over $1 billion since sales launched in April 2022. 

The committee did not vote on the bill, which does not yet have a companion in the Assembly.

Lawmakers generally voiced support for Scutari’s proposal to address the unlicensed THC products that they say undermine the regulated industry. Sen. Joe Lagana (D-Bergen) said he’s seen questionable cannabis products in “every single gas station I walk into, every convenience store, every corner store.”

But senators also repeatedly placed blame on the Attorney General’s Office, accusing it of not enforcing the state’s cannabis laws.

Sen. Mike Testa (R) blasted Attorney General Matt Platkin (D) for what he called “absentee” leadership. And Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Union) said that once certain laws aren’t enforced, the community “loses respect for government.” Bramnick suggested the committee should call on Platkin to appear before them on the issue and said ignoring the law is “disrespectful to this body.”

A spokesperson for Platkin did not respond to requests for comment. 

Cannabis advocates who helped usher in the recreational market criticized Scutari’s bill as a dangerous reversal. One of them, attorney Bill Caruso, told committee members they need to speak to local mayors and law enforcement about the tools they need to fight against unlicensed cannabis sales.

“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel here, and I don’t think we need to go backwards in recriminalizing particularly consumers,” he said. 

He also agreed that the attorney general “needs to explain to the elected officials of this body” why laws aren’t being enforced. 

Larry Grant is a cancer survivor who takes cannabis for chronic pain and is a board member of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana. Grant called the bill “deeply unethical” and “the opposite” of what legalization set out to achieve. 

“People with cancer or chronic pain disability could be arrested simply for accessing a plant that helps them survive,” he said. “Recriminalization is not regulation. It’s retaliation.” 

Scutari said he’s open to changes to the bill, but establishing the crimes of selling and, in some cases, purchasing unlicensed marijuana “is necessary in order to drive people to a place where they can buy it legally.” 

“We would not accept the corner store that didn’t have a liquor license to sell liquor. We should not accept the corner store selling cannabis product without a license, nor should we accept people selling it out of their garage,” he said. “We have a legal marketplace now, and there are good reasons for it because it is safe for people to ingest that product.”

This story was first published by New Jersey Monitor.

Trump Administration Still Hasn’t Decided On Challenging Marijuana And Gun Rights Case, Getting More Time From Supreme Court

“The patients of this state may be weary, may be tired, but they stand strong and will hold lawmakers accountable for their votes. They have the blood of Nebraskans on their hands.”

By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner

Lawmakers approved the governor’s two appointees to the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission on Friday over opposition from long-term advocates that the new members could delay or derail the rollout of the voter-approved medicine.

In separate votes, the Legislature approved the six-year commission appointments of Dr. Monica Oldenburg of Lincoln, an anesthesiologist, and Lorelle Mueting of Gretna, prevention director for Heartland Family Service.

Oldenburg’s confirmation vote was 34-11. Mueting’s was 27-16.

The two appointees needed at least 25 votes to be confirmed. Had one or both been rejected, Gov. Jim Pillen (R) could still appoint someone else in the interim, without a legislative vote until 2026, or the same person if he chose.

Much of Friday’s debate on the confirmations, about 30 minutes for each nominee, revolved around whether the personal views of each woman could be separated from their new professional roles. For multiple years, Mueting and Oldenburg have opposed medical cannabis legislation at the State Capitol, including Mueting earlier this year.

Those legislative efforts were often supported by Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana and other long-time advocates who, in November, succeeded after a decade of pushing to legalize and regulate the medicine, often facing pushback from top state officials.

Appointee support and positions

The 71 percent voter approval for legalization and 67 percent for regulations also created the new state regulatory commission that Mueting and Oldenburg will now join. They will serve with the three commissioners on the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, per the ballot measure.

Those commissioners are Bruce Bailey of Lincoln and Kim Lowe of Kearney, with one vacancy still to be filled by Pillen to represent Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District.

State Sen. Rick Holdcroft of Bellevue, the chair of the Legislature’s General Affairs Committee that advanced Oldenburg 5-2 and Mueting 5-3, called the two candidates highly qualified.

He said Oldenburg’s extensive experience, combined with deep concern for the health, safety and overall well-being of Nebraskans through her 18 years of medical service, would shine. Holdcroft added that Mueting had a strong record of promoting public health issues while thoughtfully balancing public health goals with public safety considerations.

Multiple senators, including State Sen. Jared Storm of David City, said the two would make a great team and keep Nebraska focused on medicine, not recreational marijuana.

“I honestly don’t know of two better people to be on this board,” Storm said Friday.

Mueting had said last week that her goal as a prevention specialist for 24 years has been to prevent people from having substance use problems and that she’s looked at medical cannabis from a “360-degree view.”

“Helping to guide the rulemaking process around the needs of the people it’s intended to serve is my goal,” Mueting said. “There’s nothing about that goal that says we need to sacrifice public health and safety to attain it.”

Oldenburg said last week that she is “not a prohibitionist” of cannabis but is “pro-research.” She said cannabis has “a place in pain management” for certain ailments that cause suffering.

“Nebraska needs to seize the opportunity to be slow and deliberate in the manner in which we determine how best to designate appropriate conditions for medical cannabis and regulate those entities that will dispense medical cannabis in our state,” Oldenburg said. “I look forward to working with various parties to ensure that we in the State of Nebraska get this right.”

‘It’s about trust’

State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, who like Storm is a Republican, opposed Mueting but supported Oldenburg. Hansen brought Legislative Bill 677 earlier this year to set clearer medical cannabis regulations and guardrails with the backing of volunteers from the 2024 campaign.

LB 677 fell 10 votes short of advancing on May 20, the opposition of which Storm led. Mueting testified against the bill in March.

Hansen said he was concerned about Mueting’s impartiality and that lawmakers shouldn’t appoint someone who believes in prohibition to the Liquor Control Commission or someone who works for PETA to the Nebraska Brand Committee.

He said the same goes for someone to the Medical Cannabis Commission who “denies the legitimacy of medical cannabis to the very body tasked with implementing this regulation.”

“This isn’t just about professional qualifications,” Hansen said. “It’s about trust. Trust in the will of the voters. Trust in the integrity of this new commission and trust that we are putting the right people in place to carry out a law passed and overwhelmingly supported.”

State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, vice chair of the Legislature’s General Affairs Committee, said that while both Mueting and Oldenburg might be nice people, he was worried about “artificial hurdles.” He supported LB 677 partly because it would have set a path toward “access.”

The Medical Cannabis Commission is charged “exclusively” with the power to regulate the control of the possession, manufacture, distribution, delivery and dispensing of cannabis for medical purposes in the state. Rules and regulations for medical cannabis dispensaries are due July 1 under the voter-approved laws. Licensing is supposed to begin by Oct. 1.

LB 677 supporters and other advocates had voiced concerns that the Medical Cannabis Commission could craft regulations that prevent meaningful “access.”

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) has already vowed to sue the commission if it issues any medical cannabis licenses. He argues it is against federal law.

‘Slow-roll access for patients’

Hansen said the public is paying attention, noting that the remaining dozens of gubernatorial appointments that lawmakers considered over the past five months, lawmakers had received 21 online comments.

But for Mueting and Oldenburg combined, lawmakers had 208 online comments, Hansen said.

Crista Eggers, executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, said the Legislature again threw a “wrench” in the will of Nebraska voters. She criticized senators who used the ballot measures as a reason to oppose Hansen’s LB 677 but then voted to confirm appointees who “will slow-roll access for patients in this state.”

Eggers said the mission continues to be on patients, as it has been “from day one,” despite what some legislative opponents say.

“The representatives in the state that have misrepresented our mission will see their day where the people hold them accountable. Mark our words,” Eggers said in a statement. “The patients of this state may be weary, may be tired, but they stand strong and will hold lawmakers accountable for their votes. They have the blood of Nebraskans on their hands.”

This story was first published by Nebraska Examiner.

Texas House Rejects Senate’s Changes To Medical Marijuana Program Expansion Bill

“Throw the lowlifes in jail if you want to stop the bad actors… Don’t take out the ag producers.”

By Jayme Lozano Carver, The Texas Tribune

Six years ago, Texas lawmakers opened a door to a new lifeline for farmers: growing hemp. Farmers invested time, money and land into growing the drought-resistant crop and developing the state’s budding hemp industry.

The same lawmakers are now slamming the door shut. All products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, could soon be banned in Texas. As a result, farmers are bracing for impact as they wait to go out of business.

“We wouldn’t be in the hemp business in a million years if they hadn’t passed that bill,” said Ann Gauger, co-owner of Caprock Family Farms in Lubbock. “Now we’re one of the largest hemp producers in the U.S., and their ban is going to shut that down.”

The Texas hemp industry, in its current form, has effectively been handed a death sentence with the upcoming passage of Senate Bill 3, authored by Lubbock Republican Sen. Charles Perry. On Sunday, the Legislature sent the bill, which bans consumable hemp products that contain even trace amounts of THC, to Gov. Greg Abbott‘s (R) desk. However, hemp can’t be produced without traces of THC, farmers say, regardless of the product.

The plant has been a target for lawmakers since the start of the legislative session, with the charge led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R). Patrick pulled out all the stops to make the ban pass, including with surprise visits to dispensaries in Austin and vows for a special session if it failed. Patrick and Perry say the hemp industry exploited a loophole in the bill that did not establish a threshold for hemp derivatives, other than delta-9 THC.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has also walked back his opposition to an outright ban on THC, now aligning with Patrick’s position. He deleted a post on X where he called the THC ban a “sledgehammer” to farmers, and now Miller said the bill will not be detrimental to farmers. Miller said the hemp industry will thrive as it’s moving toward producing industrial hemp, a fiber type of hemp that does not contain THC. It could be used in construction materials, rope and more. He said they never intended to have THC available across Texas, and called it a dangerous situation.

“This just puts us back to where we started,” Miller told The Texas Tribune. “It’s going to be detrimental to a lot of businesses that have opened their business model on selling THC products. Those businesses will have to shut.”

In lawmakers’ pursuit of a ban, growers like Gauger were caught in the crosshairs. Gauger, who runs the business with her husband and two sons, felt ignored by most of the Legislature. Gauger says they did everything they could to get lawmakers to hear them over the last few months and testified to the House committee overseeing the bill. It did not work.

“Charles Perry says he has an open door policy. That is an absolute lie,” Gauger said. “We live in his district, and he will not see us. We’ve gone to his office in Austin, but he refuses to see us.”

Gauger said House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock), and his team were the only ones to speak with the family. Kyle Bingham is another frustrated hemp grower in the South Plains that took a chance on growing the crop. Bingham, who is also president of the Texas Hemp Growers Association, called the bill overreaching and unenforceable. He also said lawmakers involved in writing the bill ignored farmers during the process. Bingham is one of Perry’s constituents.

“We were left out of this conversation,” Bingham said. “Yes, you can go to public hearings, but not having a lot of say and being stonewalled out of the initial bills was frustrating.”

Throughout the session, Patrick has rallied against THC products, saying the products put children in danger. Gauger acknowledges there are bad actors in the industry, but says the bill will have a ripple effect. The industry also includes manufacturers, hemp processors and people to run extractors.

“Throw the lowlifes in jail if you want to stop the bad actors,” Gauger said. “But don’t take out the American farmers. Don’t take out the ag producers.”

Under the legislation, adults would face up to a year in jail for possessing hemp products with any amount of THC in it. This has put a stop to all of Gauger’s plans—the family farm was set to plant a large project that would produce 20 million pounds of CBD biomass. Since CBD is produced from hemp seeds, Gauger is worried she would be breaking the law. It wouldn’t be ready for harvest until October, a month after the law goes into effect.

“We would be felons if we planted that,” Gauger said. “The land’s already been prepped, herbicides already put out. Once you do that, you can’t plant anything else on that land for the season.”

Bingham is in a similar position. He uses about 5 percent of his 2,000-acre farm for hemp, but he saw it as a good alternative in the drought-ridden region. Now, he says he has to walk away from his investment if it’s illegal to possess any detectable amounts of THC in the field.

“At this point, they’re threatening a felony so I’m out,” Bingham said. “I’m not risking a felony over this, and I think most farmers in Texas will stop growing too.”

Bingham said he’s now considering what to do in September when the bill is slated to go into effect. Any products he still has with THC will either have to be sold by then or he will be burning it. He’s going to focus more on cotton and wheat, even though he wanted hemp to be in their rotation of crops.

Gauger is expecting a downfall for the hemp industry across Texas. Just like growers have to consider the legal consequences, the same applies for retailers and grocery stores that sell consumable hemp products. This includes hemp hearts, hemp seed oil and even some big brands—KIND bars have a line of granola bars that contain hemp seeds.

Perry’s team did not respond to a request to comment.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/26/texas-hemp-thc-ban-farmer/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Trump Administration Still Hasn’t Decided On Challenging Marijuana And Gun Rights Case, Getting More Time From Supreme Court

Photo courtesy of Brendan Cleak.