Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what's happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we see there's a controversy over cannabis use and gun ownership by police officers in Jersey City, New Jersey. We provide an update on the Alabama medical marijuana licensing situation. We note that New Hampshire's proposal for cannabis sales may run afoul of federal law. And finally, it's Snoop Dogg's birthday.
NEW JERSEY
The city of Jersey City, New Jersey is suing the state over whether off-duty police officers should be allowed to use cannabis. The city's argument is that persons using drugs that are illegal under federal law are prohibited from owning firearms, and that this prohibition should extend to police officers. The New Jersey's attorney general disagrees, saying that state law prohibits employers from penalizing employees from using cannabis while not on the clock. And as police officers are employees, these protections apply to them as well. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in court.
ALABAMA
As we reported last month, Alabama is having some difficulties with its medical cannabis licensing program. Licenses were awarded, rescinded, re-awarded and are now the subject of litigation. Now, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission may decide to rescind (re-rescind?) the awarded licenses, or go ahead with licenses awarded in certain categories. Here's hoping the Commission's meeting this week will bring some much-needed clarity to the situation.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
As regular readers know, New Hampshire is the only New England state that does not have legal adult-use cannabis. In an effort to change that, the state set up the Commission to Study With the Purpose of Proposing Legalization, State Controlled Sales of Cannabis and Cannabis Products. The Commission has released a draft proposal that's due to the state's legislature on December 1. Originally, the assumption was that the Commission would suggest a state-run store model, but the group is now examining a franchise model, which they've compared to McDonald's or Dunkin' Donuts. Since franchising is regulated by federal law, there is some concern that the model may draw the attention of the federal government. Keep in mind, this is only a draft, and will doubtless change more than once before legislators see it.
AND FINALLY
Fun fact: Snoop Dogg's birthday is October 20, exactly halfway to 4/20. Jimmy Kimmel has decided to declare this a new cannabis holiday, DoggFather's Day.
Be well and we'll see you next week.
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