DEA’s marijuana rescheduling opposition; Psychedelic church gets approval; Fed judge blocks OR cannabis labor law; MN gov signs tribal marijuana plan

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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW

Former White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Rahul Gupta suggested marijuana rescheduling may have been impeded by Drug Enforcement Administration officials “opposing it from within.”

• Meanwhile, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said although President Donald Trump endorsed the reform during the election to appeal to younger voters, he is actually “totally intolerant” of any policy shift that “he believes will increase drug use.”

Prohibitionist organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action is sounding the alarm that a cannabis banking amendment could be added to a cryptocurrency bill that’s advancing on the Senate floor this week.

The Drug Enforcement Administration granted permission for a church to use ayahuasca in its ceremonies—the first time the agency has ever granted a religious exemption from federal drug laws for psychedelics without a legal challenge.

A federal judge struck down a voter-approved Oregon law that required licensed marijuana businesses to enter into labor peace agreements with workers.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed an agreement with the White Earth Band of Chippewa that allows the tribe to operate marijuana businesses outside of its reservation—a first anywhere in the U.S.

More than a fourth of Native American tribes in the continental U.S. are now involved with marijuana or hemp programs, according to a new map from the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association and the law firm Vicente.

Jonathan Miller of U.S. Hemp Roundtable argues in a new Marijuana Moment op-ed that marijuana and alcohol businesses should join in the fight to regulate—not ban—hemp products, calling out large cannabis companies that have pushed to prohibit them or sought monopoly control over distribution.

The Nebraska legislature rejected a bill to amend and implement the voter-approved legalization of medical marijuana—leaving decisions up to the Medical Cannabis Commission, whose gubernatorial appointees oppose reform.

/ FEDERAL

The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to take up a case challenging Humboldt County, California’s cannabis abatement program.

/ STATES

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed legislation to clarify rules on cannabis taxes for business-to-business transactions and to loosen background check requirements for security guards at marijuana businesses.

Washington State Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) signed a bill on marijuana business advertising restrictions.

An Ohio senator spoke about his bill to restrict intoxicating hemp products.

Florida regulators filed rules concerning medical cannabis business license renewals.

Colorado regulators sent a bulletin about a recent court ruling dismissing a lawsuit challenging cannabis testing rules.

A former Nevada Gaming Control Board member said it might be time to rescind a memo he issued over a decade ago that warns casinos to stay away from the marijuana industry.

Minnesota regulators received 29 applications for marijuana manufacturing business licenses.

Oregon regulators published fact sheets about the psilocybin services program.

Kentucky regulators posted a video about medical cannabis transportation and supply limits.

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/ LOCAL

The Denton, Texas City Council voted to repeal the city’s voter-approved marijuana decriminalization law.

New York City’s mayor touted efforts to shutter unlicensed marijuana businesses.

/ SCIENCE & HEALTH

A study “strengthens the hypothesis that cannabinoids are important anti-cancer agents with attractive co-adjuvant properties.”

A study highlighted “the potential of psilocybin to treat [treatment-resistant depression] through the targeting of previously unexplored biological pathways.”

/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS

Fox News host Jesse Watters said that cannabis is “contributing to the decline of civilization” and is “making it impossible to have children and raise children.”

/ BUSINESS

LeafLink is reportedly facing a backlash among clients in response to a recently announced price increase.

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The bill to set up Nebraska’s voter-approved medical cannabis program failed to advance in the legislature on Tuesday, failing a cloture vote 23-22, WOWT reports. It’s the latest setback for the program – approved by nearly three out of four Nebraska voters last November – although Gov. Jim Pillen (R) announced last week that his administration would provide support and resources for the Medical Cannabis Commission.   

Pillen also announced his picks for the commission: Dr. Monica Oldenburg, an anesthesiologist, and Lorelle Mueting, the prevention program director at Heartland Family Service. Those choices were denounced by Crista Eggers, executive director of Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, which backed the referendum, as “fundamentally opposed” to medical cannabis.   

“While we appreciate Governor Pillen‘s effort to take action in response to the will of the people, we find it disingenuous to characterize these appointments as ‘experienced and well-qualified.’ Both individuals have consistently express strong opposition to medical cannabis, both personally and professionally. Appointing regulators who are fundamentally opposed to the very issue they are charged with overseeing suggest that other motives maybe at play – motives that appear misaligned with the public intent, and not to mention the will of 71% of the state.” — Eggers, in a statement, via WOWT 

State Attorney General Mike Hilgers has called on lawmakers to reject the medical cannabis implementation bill, which he contends will “make Nebraska less safe, more dangerous.” 

The voter-approved law would give patients with any medical condition access to the program so long as they have a recommendation from a doctor or qualified medical practitioner.   

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A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that the voter-approved measure requiring Oregon cannabis businesses to set up labor agreements with their workers as a licensing condition violates the First Amendment right of business owners and is preempted by federal law. Measure 119 required cannabis retailers and processors “to agree to remain neutral when labor organizations communicate with employees about collective bargaining rights,” according to the measure text. 

The lawsuit was filed by Ascend, a Portland-based retailer, and Bubble’s Hash, an edibles and concentrates manufacturer. In the decision, U.S. District Judge Michael Simon said the measure “does not distinguish between permissible employer speech and threatening or coercive speech.” 

“Measure 119 seeks to regulate – and, indeed, forbid – certain truthful, non-deceptive, non-coercive speech about unionization, which conflicts with Congress’s intent to allow ‘uninhibited, robust, and wide-open debate in labor disputes.’” — Simon in the decision 

Simon added that state lawyers defending the measure “do not explain how an employer can remain ‘neutral’ with respect to union representatives communicating with its employees while still being free to express its opinions about unionization.”   

“Measure 119 is not limited to restricting only threatening, coercive, false, or misleading speech,” Simon wrote, “but instead prohibits all speech by employers that is not ‘neutral’ toward unionization.”   

Simon entered a permanent injunction, barring the enforcement of the measure. 

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