Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what's happening in the world of legalized marijuana.
The SAFE Banking Act passes the House – again. A bill to allow veterans access to medical cannabis gains interest. Marijuana legalization polls favorably. Idaho is (again) in the news. And finally, if you're looking for cannabis-themed license plates, Colorado has what you need.
SAFE BANKING ACT
They say everything old is new again, and the adage certainly holds for cannabis banking. The House passed the SAFE Banking Act this week by a vote of 321-101. If that sounds familiar, it should. The House passed the Act in 2019, as we reported here. It also appeared in various House versions of COVID relief packages. And every time, the measure went nowhere in the Senate. But, you'll recall, the Senate is now under new management. Will the Democrats be able to find ten Republicans to join them in enacting this legislation? Will they be able to keep all of their own members on board? Never say never, but we're not holding our breath. If reluctant lawmakers need any encouragement, they might find comfort in the support of various governors, banking associations and state treasurers.
MEDICAL CANNABIS FOR VETERANS
In other throwback legislation news, the Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act is back. Introduced in the last Congress, it went nowhere, but perhaps this time will be different? As with banking, support from Republicans will be crucial to passage. The House version of the bill has bipartisan support, but the Senate version, as of this blogging, does not.
MARIJUANA – WE REALLY, REALLY LIKE YOU
Over the years, Americans have become less opposed to the legalization of cannabis. A new poll from Quinnipiac University shows that support for adult-use is now more than 50% in all demographics: age, race, level of education, gender, political party. Overall support stands at 69%.
IDAHO
If you clicked on the link above, you'll have noticed the reporting on the poll came from an Idaho group backing the Idaho Medical Marijuana Act. So let's check in on the Gem State (yeah, we thought it would be the Potato State too) and see what's happening. The governor signed a bill legalizing hemp. The legislature voted down a bill that would have made legalizing marijuana almost impossible. Wow – sounds like Idaho is warming up to cannabis, doesn't it? Well, think again. The governor just signed a bill making it harder to put referendums on the ballot. The governor said he signed the bill to prevent "urban voters" from having too much say in the initiative process.
AND FINALLY
Colorado decided to celebrate 4/20 and raise money for a good cause by auctioning off rights to cannabis-themed license plates. The plate that raised the most money was "ISIT420" with a winning bid of $6630. Proceeds will benefit the Colorado Disability Rights Funding Committee.
Stay safe and be well everyone – we'll see you next week!
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