CMMNJ July 2021 Monthly Zoom Meeting Agenda

 

CMMNJ Monthly Meeting Agenda for July 13, 2021, 7 pm 

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87364347310?pwd=NTlWVFVXc3FaK1JFejg2QWlhV1hCdz09 

Meeting ID: 873 6434 7310; Passcode: 351638

Agenda: Local elected officials must decide whether they will be among the first to welcome the cannabis industry.

Trenton Planning Board “Special Cannabis Meeting” on June 28; to govern cannabis licensing for businesses in Trenton: draft ordinance

Jersey City Planning Board Unanimously Approves Cannabis Zoning

NJ’s Attorney General has accused four local companies of illegally offering free cannabis “gifts” alongside orders of cookies, chips and other products.

Cognitive Harmony Technologies Accelerator will give $20,000 grants to five minority-run businesses in NJ. To apply for the scholarship, go here by 7/19.

“Make these cannabis jobs actual careers with a living wage, healthcare, dental, vision, vacation days, and of course a safe and secure workplace that has advancement.” Hugh Giordano, UFCW

More N.J. companies no longer test job seekers for weed. Amazon stopped.

Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC)

The CRC will complete the regulations, by August 22, 2021, to license cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, and deliverers. There will also be licenses for “microbusinesses” with 10 or fewer employees, and for minority, women, and disabled-veteran owned businesses. “New Jersey has a potential to be a model state,” CRC Chair Dianna Houenou said. “We want to provide safer products to patients and adult-use consumers, and we want that industry to reflect the diversity in the state.”

The next CRC meeting will be held July 13, 2021 at 6 pm. Register to speak here by July 13 at noon. Comments are limited to 3 minutes per person. Groups should designate one individual to speak on its behalf. You may also submit comments in writing to the CRC here, or email MMPquestions@doh.nj.gov

CRC meetings were held on 4/12, 4/22, 5/4, & 6/1 and can be viewed here. 

NJ MMP: A new bill (S3799) would require the following to cover medical cannabis costs:

• Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund
• Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD) program
• Senior Gold Prescription Discount Program
• Victims of Crime Compensation Office (VCCO)

Senator Declan O’Scanlon’s legislation (S-619) allowing doctors to authorize medical marijuana for eligible patients via telemedicine was signed into law 6/24/21. Dr. Shahid Meer is doing initial certification and recertification for NJ MMP ID cards via telemedicine, with health insurance paying for the visit. See: TeleDocs USA; (609) 890 1050. The complete list of MDs in the MMP is here.

Curaleaf’s Edgewater Park ATC opened 6/25/21. Its cultivation site in Winslow completed its first harvest. “We’ve tripled our footprint in the state,” said Bridgette Fonseca, Curaleaf NJ’s director of dispensary operations. By 2025, Curaleaf aims to do business with 420 organizations from underrepresented communities and contribute $1 million toward the collateral consequences of marijuana-related offenses.

EAZE wants to distribute free cannabis in NJ in their Compassionate Care program. 

A medical marijuana patient is suing his former employer, claiming they terminated his job after he used prescribed cannabis while off the clock.

Home cultivation for patients:

• 5363/S3420 legalizes cultivation of eight medical cannabis plants.
• S3407/A5435 legalizes cultivation of six plants for any NJ adult.
• S3582/A5552 legalizes cultivation of six plants for personal use, and 10 plants for medical use, by adults.

Sign the petition: Let Patients Grow NJ; Website: Let Patients Grow NJ #JeffsLaw.

National: 6/22/21: CT Gov. Ned Lamont signs legalization bill into law! 

Legalization laws in CT and VA took effect July 1, 2021 including possession and use for adults. In VA, adults will be able to grow up to four plants per household. 

California State Bill 311, the Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act or Ryan’s Law, would prohibit health care facilities from interfering with a terminally ill patient’s use of medicinal cannabis within the health care facility.

CATO Institute: The Effect of State Marijuana Legalizations: 2021 Update

The absence of significant adverse consequences is especially striking given the sometimes‐​dire predictions made by legalization opponents.

Cannabis Pioneer Series: Ken Wolski: Wolski lectures on marijuana to community groups and healthcare professionals. He provides expert witness testimony in court cases and volunteers as CMMNJ’s executive director. 

Clarence Thomas, one of the Supreme Court's most conservative justices, said federal laws against marijuana’s use or cultivation may no longer make sense.

Criminal penalties for all drug use should end: N.J. Rep. Watson Coleman.

The effort to legalize marijuana in Delaware is dead for the year due to disagreements among lawmakers over social equity funding.

Rick Steves: “The war on marijuana is racist. It's an expensive and counterproductive mistake.” 

LEAFLY’s “Seeds of Change” ranks states on cannabis social equity; NJ is #5.

U.S. legal cannabis sales in 2020 reached $17.5 billion

Upcoming Events: Get Baked Cannabis Baking Tutorial, Baked by the River, schedule. 

NJ Cannabis Insider is hosting a business networking event 7/29, Asbury Park.

Salvation and Social Justice will facilitate a weekend hybrid (virtual and in person) institute of advocacy for young people to understand policy making, 7/23-25.

Recent Events: Hawai’i Medical Cannabis Day Passcode: E@@8pv$8, 6/14/21.

NJ State House Rally, “50th Anniversary of the War on Drugs” 6/17/21.

NJ State House Rally for Home Grow, 6/24/21.

NJ Cannabis Insider’s event, June 8-9. 

SATIVA CROSS: Sativa Cross Podcast, 7/1/21 

Panel discusses critical role of small business in cannabis industry Passcode: njci

Celebrate Independence Day with The Joint of Miami 

Treasury report: Checking: $9711; PayPal: $2,858. Make a tax-deductible donation via PayPal to info@cmmnj.org, or send a check to: 

CMMNJ, 219 Woodside Ave., Trenton, NJ 08618. 

Hemp wristbands are available, including wholesale prices. Will your store or dispensary display our colorful, all-hemp bracelets, so patrons can make donations to CMMNJ? We are deeply grateful for all support.

More info: 

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA (609) 394-2137 ohamkrw@aol.com
Facebook: Friends of CMMNJ: https://www.facebook.com/groups/62462971150/
Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey: http://www.cmmnj.org
Twitter: @CMM_NJ
CMMNJ blog: https://cmmnj.blogspot.com/

CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, is a non-profit educational organization.