VIRGINIA
WTVR
https://wtvr.com/2019/01/10/virginia-marijuana-legalization-bills/
Cannabis Business Times
A bill introduced to the General Assembly would legalize marijuana use for anyone 21 years old and up.
Del. Steve Heretick from Hampton Roads introduced HB2371 and posted a video to his YouTube account explaining why he supports the measure.
In the video, Heretick recalls some of the founding fathers of the United States who were from Virginia and compares the current law to Prohibition.
“I stand in the shadow of Patrick Henry and George Wythe and George Washington and James Madison,” Heretick said. “The architects of our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution and more importantly our Bill of Rights which establishes our rights as citizens to stand against government overreach.”
https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/bill-would-legalize-marijuana-virginia/
legp604
Virginia 2019 Cannabis Conference & Lobby Day
Cannabis Comes to the Commonwealth
The Virginia 2019 Cannabis Conference & Lobby Day presented by Virginia NORML at Delta Hotels Richmond Downtown, January 12-14, is the Commonwealth’s premier cannabis policy event.
By day, attendees will hear from national experts, state legislators, and local industry leaders. At night, mix and mingle with attendees at exclusive after-hours events. Network with speakers, business leaders, and advocates from across the nation. Together, we are building a viable and strategic roadmap to successfully regulate marijuana and end prohibition in Virginia.
Whether you’re interested in the industry, curious about medical cannabis, looking to become a more effective advocate, or you’ve been fighting to end prohibition ever since Nixon launched the War on Drugs, this conference is for you. It’s convenient, casual, and crucial for those wanting to be a part of the cannabis conversation in the Commonwealth.
TENNESSEE
Medical marijuana bill will be introduced by Tennessee lawmakers
Two Republican state lawmakers announced Thursday they are in the final stages of drafting medical marijuana legislation, renewing the state’s debate over a drug that has become increasingly legal and accepted after decades of taboo.
As proposed, the legislation would create a new government commission to regulate the marijuana industry and allow patients who have been diagnosed with certain illnesses to obtain a medical card permitting them to legally purchase marijuana products from dispensaries that the state would license.
State Sen. Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma, and Rep. Ron Travis, R-Dayton, said they will introduce the bill in the coming weeks, and their effort is already endorsed by the Tennessee Medical Cannabis Trade Association, according to a news release.
The lawmakers and the trade organization described the proposal as a carefully crafted mix of medical marijuana strategies that have worked in other states and stressed that the proposal will be “substantially different” from bills introduced in prior years.
WASHINGTON DC
Proposed Law Would Legalize Selling Recreational Marijuana in D.C.
Council members have tried to get measures like this passed before but kept hitting a brick wall: the federal government.
KENTUCKY
Kentucky lawmakers announce details on medical marijuana bill
FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) – Kentucky lawmakers have released new details on a medical marijuana legalization bill which will be filed in the 2019 Regular Session.
Rep. Diane St. Onge, R – Ft. Wright, and Rep. Jason Nemes, R- Louisville, are backing the plan which looks to help Kentuckians who have “debilitating illnesses and excruciating pain.”
House Bill 136 will look to make medical marijuana available for up to 60,000 Kentuckians. Lawmakers will file the bill Wednesday.
“This bill is designed to help Kentuckians in pain when their doctors say medical marijuana will help them,” Rep. Nemes said. “It is time to allow doctors to have this option for patients.”
Medial marijuana would be regulated by the Department of Public Protection’s Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The state-run system will issue licenses for cultivators, dispensaries, safety facilities, processors along with practitioners and patients.
Requirements include a yearly licensing fee and limits on possession.
The bill sponsors say the intention is strictly to give patients additional treatment options.
Kentucky-2019-HB136-Introduced
ARKANSAS
Arkansas Moves Closer Toward Launching Medical Cannabis Program
Arkansas Moves Closer Toward Launching Medical Cannabis Program
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas panel on Wednesday named 32 companies it intends to license to sell medical marijuana, two years after voters approved its legalization and following a series of delays that have frustrated patients and advocates.
The state Medical Marijuana Commission approved the scores from an outside consultant it had hired to evaluate about 200 applications for dispensaries. The companies must pay a $15,000 licensing fee and post a $100,000 performance bond before the licenses to sell the drug are formally issued. The commission last year awarded five cultivation licenses to grow medical marijuana.
Arkansas voters in 2016 approved a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana, but the program’s rollout has faced legal and bureaucratic delays. Adding to the frustration is neighboring Oklahoma , where medical marijuana is already available to patients months after voters approved its legalization.
