USVI Governor Urges Passage of Legal Pot Bill, Call for Pandemic Relief for Marijuana Businesses, More… (4/28/20)

The clamor grows for including state-legal marijuana businesses in coronavirus pandemic in federal economic relief packages, Arkansas medical marijuana patients are heading to Oklahoma for cheaper prices and easier access, and more. 

Marijuana Policy

US Virgin Islands Governor Revises Marijuana Legalization Bill, Urges Quick Passage. Territorial Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. (D) is pushing the legislature to move quickly to approve a revised marijuana legalization bill, saying the action could help generate needed tax revenues from marijuana sales during the coronavirus pandemic. "We have taken the time to gather further public input as well as address the concerns of the individual legislators," the governor said during a COVID-19 update on Monday. As the economic disaster, the last few weeks has affected the [Government Employees Retirement System] greatly, it is our hope that we can have a greater sense of exigency in implementing all the things that can help us regain solvency."

Marijuana Associations and Credit Unions Call for Federal Coronavirus Relief for Marijuana Businesses. Some 30 marijuana trade organizations and credit unions sent a letter to congressional leaders Tuesday urging them to work to provide marijuana businesses with access to federal relief funds related to the coronavirus pandemic. Because marijuana remains federally illegal, such businesses are specifically excluded from relief program under already approved relief packages. The coalition argues that Congress should either issue pandemic relief block grants for the states to decide on their own how to allocate funds or change current relief aid eligibility requirements to allow marijuana businesses access to those funds,

Medical Marijuana

Arkansas Medical Marijuana Patients Cross into Oklahoma for Cheaper, More Accessible Medicine. Medical marijuana patients in the state are heading across the state line to Oklahoma to get their medicine, according to local media reports. They can buy equivalent products for half the cost in Oklahoma, and that state does not have a limited list of qualifying conditions. Instead, it only requires a doctor's recommendation.

Michigan Supreme Court Says Medical Marijuana Law Does Not Overrule Local Zoning Ordinances. Breaking with previous Court of Appeals ruling, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday that the state's medical marijuana law doesn't override local zoning ordinances. The township of Byron had barred registered caregivers from growing on a commercial property, and the high court upheld its ability to do so.