Following important cannabis news articles every day can be a real burn-out, we know. That’s why the Emerald rolls up a chronicle of the headiest news hits, and passes them to you at the end of each week. We Bring You: The Dime.
Campaign to Decriminalize Psilocybin in California Stalls
On Wednesday, March 16th, Decriminalize California — the group leading an initiative to decriminalize magic mushrooms in the state — announced that their efforts to get the initiative on the November ballot failed. More specifically, the campaign was not able to collect enough signatures, Marijuana Moment reported. According to the announcement, this was in part due to the pandemic. “ […] Just about everyone of our core volunteers got Covid and most of the events we were scheduled at either closed, postponed or had an extremely weak turnout.” The group is not giving up; its members plan to continue campaigning and get the initiative on a future statewide ballot.
St. Louis County job Seekers Drop Drug Testing Requirement for Cannabis
Last week, members of the St. Louis County Council voted in favor of a bill that removes pre-employment and random cannabis drug testing requirements for county job seekers and workers, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. According to the report, there are “exceptions for public safety workers and others required to undergo screening by federal law.” As NORML further explains, the move follows several other cities and states who’ve enacted similar policies. “Atlanta, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, have recently enacted similar ordinances,” NORML reported. So have states such as Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Montana. “New York’s policy further limits employers’ ability to sanction current employees for their off-hours marijuana use absent evidence of “articulable symptoms of cannabis impairment.””
New Jersey Begins Accepting Recreational Retail Cannabis Licenses
Nearly one year after Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law legalizing recreational cannabis, New Jersey officials started to accept adult-use retail licenses this week, according to MJ Biz Daily. The application period opened on Tuesday, March 15th. By the end of day on Tuesday, official received nearly 200 applications, the publication reports. Officials will prioritize equity applicants, according to NORML. However, as the organization notes, a majority of municipalities in New Jersey have currently banned such retail storefronts. These bans do more harm than good, explains the organization’s deputy director, Paul Armentano. “Local moratoriums banning the establishment of licensed cannabis retailers do nothing to limit local residents’ access to cannabis; they only limit their access to legal cannabis,” he said.
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