MJBizMag November-December 2022 - 30

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS National & International
Cannabis News
Biden Calls for Review
of Marijuana Scheduling,
Pardons Federal MJ Offenses
President Joe Biden called on
the U.S. attorney general and the
Department of Health and Human
Services to begin reviewing federal
marijuana scheduling-a move that
could dramatically reshape how the
U.S. government treats MJ and the
flourishing state-regulated industry
that has commercialized the plant.
Emphasizing the disproportionate
impact on communities of color,
Biden also pardoned individuals
convicted of simple marijuana
possession under federal law-a
group estimated to include around
6,500 people.
Biden's decree on Oct. 6 comes
at a time when marijuana reform
measures in Congress continue to
stall in the Senate.
Aaron Smith, the co-founder
and CEO of the National Cannabis
Industry Association, called Biden's
announcement " unprecedented. "
" It's imperative that we
finally harmonize state and
federal laws so that Main Street
cannabis businesses can supplant
underground markets and nobody
is ever again put behind bars for a
nonviolent marijuana crime, " Smith
said in a statement.
Kassandra Frederique, executive
director of the Drug Policy Alliance,
called for the president not to stop
at rescheduling.
" We ... hope that the Biden
Administration will go further and
fully deschedule marijuana from the
Controlled Substances Act (CSA), "
Frederique said in a statement.
The announcement's effects were
evident on Wall Street, creating a
brief surge in cannabis stock prices.
" This is a path to federal
rescheduling without Congressional
action, " analysts at the Jefferies
Group, a New York-based investment
bank, wrote in a research note.
Matt Hawkins, founder and
managing principal of Dallas-based
Entourage Effect Capital, called the
announcement " undoubtedly one
of the most influential moves we
have seen in years. "
Costa Rican President
Introduces Draft MJ Law
Costa Rica's
president
followed through
with a promise
he made in
August to bring
recreational
cannabis
legislation to
the Central American country's
Legislative Assembly.
President Rodrigo Chaves on
Oct. 5 unveiled a draft law that,
if enacted, would lay the legal
foundation for production and sale
of adult-use cannabis.
Chaves said one consequence of
marijuana prohibition is that " criminal
groups, gangs, and drug traffickers "
make money at the expense of the
integrity of consumers.
So far, only Canada and Uruguay
Rodrigo Chaves
have recreational cannabis laws and
regulations on the books, although
a number of other countries are in
the process of legalizing marijuana,
including Mexico and Germany.
Earlier this year, Costa Rica
approved a law to allow medical
marijuana sales and cultivation.
Ontario Cannabis Store
Reviewing Markup
The Ontario Cannabis Store is
conducting " a holistic review " of
its approach to pricing-including
the markup on private marijuana
28 November-December 2022 | MJBizMagazine
companies-after MJBizDaily
estimated the government-owned
wholesaler is the most profitable
MJ business in Canada.
The move comes as some
industry sources have complained
governments are skimming too
much from cannabis producers
and retailers in margins and levies,
effectively leaving little on the table
for anyone else in the supply chain.
In announcing a review of its
pricing practices, the OCS cited the
need to win over consumers from
the illicit cannabis market while
providing greater price transparency
and a " meaningful return " for the
provincial government.
The OCS' own profits over the
past three fiscal years amounted to
$199.6 million (CA$273.2 million).
Ontario accounted for 40% of
Canadian cannabis sales in July,
according to the most recent data
from Statistics Canada.
U.K. Rejects Cannabis Bill
Approved in Bermuda
The United Kingdom instructed the
governor of Bermuda to reject the
island nation's pending cannabis
law on the basis that it breaches
international obligations set out in
United Nations drug-control treaties.
Bermuda is a U.K. territory, so any
new law requires approval (known
as Royal Assent) by the U.K.appointed
governor. Royal Assent
typically is a formality.
This is at least the second time in
recent years the U.K. has taken the
rare move of intervening in pending
cannabis legislation in one of its
territories.
Last year, Bermuda Premier David
Burt warned that any U.K. rejection
of approved legislation would
" destroy " relations between the
two countries.
MJBizMag November-December 2022

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