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Baptist Church argues against any federal cannabis law reform.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, published an article arguing that President Joe Biden should not “loosen marijuana restrictions.”
“If accepted, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) believes this change will bring significant harm to our communities. Because all people are made in the image of God, we desire to see public policy that promotes the flourishing of our neighbors,” the Commission wrote.
“Those advocating for the decriminalization or rescheduling of marijuana too often ignore the potential public health and societal effects. The risks associated with marijuana, in terms of addiction, mental health issues, and its role as a gateway to harder substances, outweigh the perceived benefits of its legalization or decriminalization,” the Commission argued in its conclusion.
The Commission also sent a letter to the DEA on Friday that outlined these “concerns and urging them to reject this rescheduling recommendation from the Biden administration.”
California regulators, AG sued over labor peace requirements.
A company called Urban Therapies Manufacturing LLC, a licensed distributor in California, is suing Nicole Elliott, head of the California Department Of Cannabis Control, and Rob Bonta, the state AG, over the state’s labor peace agreement requirements, which it argues are “unconstitutional.”
UTM was one of the entities in the state that signed with Pro-Tech 33, which the Agricultural Labor Relations Board determined this year is non-bona fide labor organization. DCC emailed stakeholders to say that licensees, such as UTM, “who have entered into a labor peace agreement with Pro-Tech 33 will be notified that they are out of compliance with licensure requirements.”
Rather than signing with a bona fide labor organization, UTM decided to sue. You can read the full complaint here.
And, for more backstory on the labor and cannabis conversation in California, check out Cannabis Wire’s recent coverage of the issue.
California’s enforcement task force expands.
Late last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom named Jaydeep Singh Bhatia as the Chief Policy Coordinator for the Department of Cannabis Control’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce.
Bhatia was previously the Homeland Security Policy Coordinator at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, which worked closely with the Taskforce. The Taskforce, which DCC co-leads with California Department of Fish and Wildlife, was created last year to expand enforcement efforts across the state and to improve coordination among local, state, and federal entities.