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FBI data show cannabis arrests plummet as more states legalize.
Cannabis arrests in 2020 fell roughly 36% over 2019, according to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Uniform Crime Report, released Monday.
Police made just over 350,000 cannabis-related arrests in 2020, down from just over 545,000 arrests in 2019, the lowest number in decades.
USDA releases report on China and hemp.
The United States Department of Agriculture released a report last week, titled “China’s Hemp and Hemp Products Import Policies.” The report focused on China’s hemp policies to-date, and noted that China has a patchwork of rules, from province to province.
“While hemp has been grown in China for centuries, liberalization of production, processing, and use regulations have only come in recent years. China’s hemp regulations are opaque, incomplete, ever changing, and vary by province. These regulations continue to change as hemp and hemp products gain more consumer awareness and popularity. However, only a few provinces regulate hemp and streamlined national guidelines do not exist,” the report highlighted.
“Interested exporters are strongly encouraged to work with their importers for the most accurate and current requirements.”
While consumer demand for hemp products containing CBD, often cosmetics, is rising in China, regulation has definitely not kept pace, as Cannabis Wire has reported.
New York’s Cannabis Control Board is complete.
As Cannabis Wire recently reported, three of the five members of New York’s newly-formed Cannabis Control Board were nominated and approved. Two selections remained, and they were up to Gov. Kathy Hochul.
On Wednesday, Hochul named her picks: Reuben R. McDaniel, III, the president and CEO of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, and Jessica García, the assistant to the president of the Retail, Wholesale Department Store Union, UFCW.
“New York’s cannabis industry has stalled for far too long – I am making important appointments to set the Office of Cannabis Management up for success so they can hit the ground running,” Hochul said in the announcement.
+ More: Hochul delivered remarks to the Business Council of New York State on Friday, and she touched upon New York’s soon-to-be-launched adult use cannabis industry.
“Count me in as an ally, someone who’s going to be there for you, who will fight for you to make sure that we do not lose out to any competition, whether it’s in the space of cannabis, where I believe there’s thousands and thousands of jobs, and new industries, to be created that were not even focused on,” Hochul said.
