Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.
Let’s start this week with hemp, marijuana’s straight arrow cousin. The United States Department of Agriculture recently announced that it is now eligible for crop insurance. Farmers must be compliant with state and federal law and can insure crops with revenue up to $8.5 million.
But not everyone is “high” on hemp. The governor of South Dakota takes a dim view of hemp, as explained in her recent “Governor’s Column.” She’s not wrong about the difficulty in telling the difference between hemp and marijuana.
One state moving in the opposite direction is South Dakota’s neighbor to the east, Minnesota. State agency staff has been studying how recreational cannabis works in other states. House Democrats have been touring the state to drum up support for legalization. Senate Republicans, however, are still opposed to the idea.
Washington is undoubtedly one of the states Minnesota is studying. The state is considering revamping its cannabis regulations and may allow home delivery for small growers.
In other state news, Oklahoma‘s new rules for medical marijuana are now in effect. New York‘s new expungement law went into effect last week. New Jersey‘s governor vetoed an expungement bill, stating that it didn’t go far enough.
And in California, a “cannabis for pets” bill will have to wait until 2020 for a chance at passage. Veterinarians in the state may discuss marijuana treatments, but they may not recommend them.
The federal government issued a warning about the dangers of using cannabis during adolescence and during pregnancy. The Surgeon General’s advisory is available here.
And finally, let’s end as we began, with hemp. Specifically with cars made out of hemp. Yes, that’s now a thing.
See you next week!
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