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Amazon lobbies on States Reform Act.
The company published a blog post on Tuesday, in which it added Rep. Nancy Mace’s bill to the list of cannabis reform bills in Congress that it supports.
“Amazon is pleased to endorse Rep. Nancy Mace’s States Reform Act. Like so many in this country, we believe it’s time to reform the nation’s cannabis policy and Amazon is committed to helping lead the effort. We’ve made changes to our business, and we support the MORE Act, as well as the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act,” Brian Huseman, Amazon’s vice president of public policy, said in a statement to Cannabis Wire.
“We are encouraged by the introduction of the States Reform Act, championed by Representative Mace. This bill offers comprehensive reform that speaks to the emergence of a bipartisan consensus to end the federal prohibition of cannabis.”
Further, while it hasn’t yet shown up in disclosures, the company confirmed to Cannabis Wire that it is formally lobbying on the States Reform Act.
In case you missed it, we were the first news organization to report on Amazon’s cannabis lobbying, which we dug up in 2021.
National insurance group puts cannabis in “focus.”
The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents announced its Issues of Focus for 2022, and cannabis is on the list.
It reads: “PIA strongly supports the Secure And Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act (H.R. 1996/S. 910), which would protect insurance agents and carriers from federal criminal liability for engaging in the business of insurance with cannabis-related entities in states where cannabis is legal. Initially conceived as a banking-specific bill, the SAFE Banking Act has been reintroduced in this Congress with several essential new insurance provisions meant to protect agents, brokers, and insurers. PIA will advocate for Congress to include insurance agent protections in any cannabis safe harbor legislation it considers.”
New York regulators expand medical cannabis program, again.
The state’s Office of Cannabis Management is gearing up for a busy year.
Already, for example, they have eleven scheduled “Cannabis Conversations” events across the state. They are hiring like crazy (as we reported, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget allocated nearly $50 million to them). And with much of their hemp and medical cannabis rule making behind them, the focus is shifting to adult use.
But first, one more medical cannabis focused announcement dropped on Monday: going forward, any patient, with any condition, can access medical cannabis with a doctor’s recommendation. (It’s worth noting that this is a provision in the new adult use law, but OCM has made it a reality.)
Among the OCM’s myriad changes to the program, many of them technical, this latest one stands alongside the allowance of flower and of home cultivation when it comes to expanding the medical program ahead of the launch of adult use.
“It is terrific to see the Medical Cannabis Program expand so vastly with the launch of the new certification and registration program and the ability of practitioners to determine qualifying conditions as included in the MRTA,” said Cannabis Control Board Chair Tremaine Wright in the announcement.
“The new cannabis industry is taking shape as we continue to implement the MRTA and provide greater access for New Yorkers to a medicine that we’re learning more about every day.”
