Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what's happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we have an update on the North Dakota ballot initiative. We see Delaware making progress on licensing. Several Senators have been opining on de/rescheduling. A Maine utility company offers to report excessive usage to the police. And finally, an old church may become a new dispensary in New Jersey.
NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota voters will have an opportunity to vote on cannabis legalization this November. Advocates turned in over 22,000 signatures, which was more than enough to meet the 15,582 signature requirement to appear on the ballot. Efforts to legalize have stalled in the legislature, and a similar initiative failed two years earlier. Polls indicate the measure has an uphill climb, with a majority of voters currently opposed. Further bulletins as events warrant.
DELAWARE
Delaware may have been a bit reluctant to embrace legal cannabis, but now that it's happened, they are not dragging their feet. The state will open the licensing application window two weeks ahead of schedule, on Monday August 19. Several types of licenses are available and applications will be accepted until the end of September. Licenses will be issued beginning in November.
SENATE LETTER
Attorney General Merrick Garland and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief Anne Milgram should check their mailboxes for a letter from leading Democratic Senators. The group, composed of long-time cannabis supporters from states where marijuana is legal, wants cannabis de-scheduled entirely. Realizing that may be an unrealistic goal at present, they also urge the DEA to move cannabis to Schedule III now.
MAINE
A Maine utility company's proposal to notify law enforcement to unusually high electric bills was rejected by the state's Public Utilities Commission this week. Growing cannabis on a commercial scale takes a lot of electricity, and the utility thought that it would be more efficient for them to report spikes in usage to the police proactively, rather than waiting for the police to send them a subpoena. After a discussion in which one must assume the word "Orwellian" was used, the Commission said thanks, but no thanks to the company's offer.
AND FINALLY
The southwest corner of West Main Street and Clinton Avenue in Plainfield, New Jersey has been the home of a couple of different entities. It started as a bank and then became the home of Kingdom Praise Ministries. Now, it may become a cannabis dispensary. Located across the street from a Dunkin' Donuts, it seems the perfect location.
Be well everyone; we're off next week, but we'll be back on August 30.
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