Colorado and Washington Regulators Propose Vape Rules, Pennsylvania Lawmakers Introduce New Cannabis Legalization Bill: Week in Review

Colorado proposed regulations to ban certain additives in cannabis vape products, while Washington adopted emergency rules requiring licensees to disclose ingredients and post warnings.

This week, regulators in Colorado and Washington proposed and adopted rules surrounding vape additives to address the growing number of vape-related illnesses sweeping the nation. Elsewhere, in Pennsylvania, lawmakers introduced a new adult-use cannabis legalization bill that keeps small business development and social equity at the forefront.

Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.

California: Sacramento’s cannabis industry has been ensnared in an expanding campaign finance investigation after a stakeholder in a Sacramento dispensary was indicted on campaign finance violations. Andrey Kukushkin, one of four businessmen indicted last week in a complex investigation, is an officer at THC in Sacramento and the CFO of a company called Sharp Source, which owns THC.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed eight cannabis-related bills into law last weekend in an effort to improve the state’s 2016 adult-use cannabis law and to help the legal industry better compete with a thriving illicit market. A bill allowing cannabis businesses to claim state tax deductions was chief among the legislation that received Newsom’s approval.

Wisconsin: Hemp farmers in the South Central Wisconsin Hemp cooperative are blaming “hot” crops on delays in state testing. Seven farmers submitted their harvest notices to the state around the same time—30 days prior to anticipated harvest—in order to get their crop tested by the state for cannabinoid content, but the actual test times for each farmer were divergent, and, in some cases, the tests recorded hot crops that exceeded the 0.3-percent threshold.

Alaska: Alaska voters will have the final say in whether Anchorage retail locations can allow customers to use cannabis on-site after the Anchorage Assembly voted 7-4 to send the question to voters on the April 7 city election ballot. Should the issue receive voter approval, on-site consumption would be strictly regulated and would take place in a separate, monitored area of retailers’ shops, away from employees and other customers.

Colorado: Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) is preparing to ban certain additives in cannabis vape products in response to the recent outbreak of vape-related lung illnesses. The MED proposed finalized rules this week that would prohibit polyethylene glycol (PEG), vitamin E acetate and medium-chain triglycerides (MCT oil) in cannabis vaping products.

Pennsylvania: Two Democratic state senators from Pennsylvania have introduced a sprawling adult-use legalization bill that keeps small business development and social equity front and center in its regulatory provisions. S.B. 350 follows Gov. Tom Wolf’s recent cannabis reform press conference, in which he proudly extoled the virtues of legalization and nudged the legislature to get on with something comprehensive that he could sign—and quick.

Washington: The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board adopted emergency rules Oct. 16 regarding flavored vapor products. Under the new regulations, all cannabis licensees must disclose all compounds used to produce or added to inhaled concentrates and extracts, and retailers must post-consumer warnings. Read more
Michigan: Michigan Reps. Isaac Robinson and Jewell Jones have introduced bipartisan legislation that would expunge cannabis convictions for up to 235,000 residents. The bill would allow Michiganders to fill out an application for the expungement of misdemeanors and low-level felonies involving less than 5 kg of cannabis or fewer than 20 plants.

New Mexico: A governor-appointed workgroup of 22 policy leaders from across New Mexico has finished drafting its recommendations on what an adult-use cannabis program should look like in the state and has submitted them to elected officials. The recommendations focus on prioritizing the state’s medical cannabis patients and estimate that the state stands to generate more than $60 million in tax revenue from adult-use cannabis sales.

Oregon: The Oregon Court of Appeals has halted Gov. Kate Brown’s ban on flavored tobacco vape products, although the ruling does not apply to cannabis products. The Oct. 17 ruling placed a temporary stay on the ban of tobacco-based vaping products, which are sold under the oversight of the Oregon Health Authority, but leaves the ban in place on cannabis vaping products, which are regulated by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.