Marijuana Business Magazine May-June 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | May-June 2019 38 Pennsylvania Approved physicians have given certifications to purchase medical marijuana to nearly 102,000 patients in Pennsylvania. The patient count has led to 780,000 transactions at Pennsylvania’s licensed dispensaries, according to Gov. Tom Wolf’s office. And more patients are awaiting certifications, too: According to the Pennsylvania health department, more than 131,000 people have registered to participate. The department also announced it has approved the first license in Phase 2 of the state’s medical marijuana program. Rhode Island State lawmakers held their first joint hearing on a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana. But the measure received considerable pushback, and prospects look dimmer without some reworking or compromises. Lawmakers on the state’s Senate Finance and Judiciary committees had several criticisms about the plan, among them that it provides too little money for drug-abuse prevention. Other lawmakers questioned the cost of new positions for a cannabis regulatory commission and said some proposed penalties were excessive. Gov. Gina Raimondo included potentially legalizing recreational marijuana as part of her budget for the next fiscal year. To help possibly implement recreational marijuana and make changes to the medical cannabis law, the state hired Andrew Freedman, former director of marijuana coordination in Colorado, who oversaw that state’s legal marijuana program rollout from 2014 to 2017. South Carolina The state General Assembly is debating a bill that would legalize the commercial cultivation and sale of medical marijuana. Under the measure, doctors could authorize MMJ for people suffering from a list of debilitating illnesses, ranging from epilepsy to post-traumatic stress disorder. Under the bill, patients could purchase up to 2 ounces of marijuana or an equivalent derivative every two weeks. It would be sold at one of more than 100 dispensaries across the state. The measure would also grant 15 cultivation licenses. Texas Hemp is no longer considered a controlled substance in Texas. John Hellerstedt, commissioner of the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, signed an amendment removing hemp from the state’s schedules of controlled substances. The amendment was sent to the Texas Register for publishing March 15 and became effective 21 days later. However, lawmakers still need to clarify some labeling and testing issues and whether ingestible CBD oil must be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Industry Developments | International & State