INDUSTRIAL HEMP ACT
Bipartisan senators file bill to ease restrictions on industrial hemp farmers
A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators have filed a bill to reduce regulations on farmers that grow industrial hemp for non-extraction purposes, reports Marijuana Moment.
The Industrial Hemp Act was introduced on Thursday, which aims to create a distinction between “industrial” hemp that’s grown for products like fiber and “hemp for any purpose” which would cover crops cultivated to extract cannabinoids like CBD.
Under the bill, farmers would no longer be subject to background checks in order to participate in the market, and they wouldn’t have to fulfill rigorous sampling and testing requirements.
“This legislation will expand opportunities for industrial hemp producers in Indiana and across the country and allow them to tap into one of the fastest growing agricultural markets,” said senator Mike Braun (R-IN).
FEDERAL LEGALISATION
Major alcohol industry association calls for federal marijuana legalization, recommending regulatory framework
Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) is officially backing federal cannabis legalization, reports Marijuana Moment, having sent a letter to congressional leadership on Wednesday that implores lawmakers to “regulate adult-use cannabis at the federal level.”
The association made two main points in its letter:
1) The current system for the regulation of alcohol “serves as a strong model” for cannabis.
2) A “piecemeal” approach to cannabis reform is untenable, so lawmakers should “comprehensively” address the issue.
The letter stated: “Addressing cannabis federally in a piecemeal manner amounts to de facto federal legalization without protecting consumers and non-consumers alike. The current fragmentary approach widens the door for the negative impacts of cannabis legalization without additional safeguards for public health and public safety. By not taking action, the federal government is also losing out on tax revenue.”
According to the publication, the organization also backed interstate cannabis commerce in the letter.
CHINESE INVESTMENT
The growing Chinese investment in illegal American weed
Multiple states in the West are seeing an increase in Chinese workers and funding at unlicensed cultivation operations, reports Politico.
Mark Woodward, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, has told the publication that, in Oklahoma, close to 3,000 of the state’s licensed cannabis farms are being investigated for obtaining licenses fraudulently and/or for selling into the illicit market.
The agency believes that 2,000 of those farms have a Chinese connection — supplying workers, funding or both.
Politico highlights that, in California, the Department of Cannabis Control says Chinese triads have been nominally involved in illegal cannabis production for decades, but that there’s been a recent increase in the number of actors and money that may have originated in China.
It notes that Congress wants to put more scrutiny on Chinese ownership of farms, something that multiple senators of both parties suggested could help thwart the illicit cannabis problem.
