Governors across the U.S. have been taking the opportunity to tout marijuana reform accomplishments as part of their annual State of the State speeches and budget requests this month.<\/p>\n
From New York to South Dakota, the comments and proposals from state executives demonstrate how cannabis has become more mainstream and is being talked about in high profile venues alongside more traditional fare such as taxes, education and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also part of a growing theme, as governors have increasingly brought up marijuana policy<\/a> in State of the State addresses each year to kick off the new year as the legalization movement spreads.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at what governors are saying about marijuana policy in 2022:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n While adult-use marijuana retail sales have yet to launch in New Jersey after voters approved a 2020 legalization referendum<\/a>, the state\u2019s top executive said in his State of the State address that he\u2019s expecting an economic boon.<\/p>\n \u201cMany jobs await in the cannabis industry ready to take off,\u201d Gov. Phil Murphy (R) said<\/a>.<\/p>\n The governor also said<\/a> separately\u00a0in his second inaugural address this month that \u201cbusinesses in the new cannabis industry that we are setting up in the name of social justice\u201d are part of efforts to \u201ccontinue growing the innovation economy that will power our future and make us a model for the nation and the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Businesses on the cutting edge of new technologies that will revolutionize our grasp of the possible.<\/p>\n Businesses in the new cannabis industry that we are setting up in the name of social justice.<\/p>\n In online gaming and sports betting, which we now dominate.<\/p>\n \u2014 Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) January 18, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n As the state prepares to implement legal cannabis sales, Murphy said late last year that he\u2019s open to giving adults the right to cultivate marijuana for personal use<\/a> even though it\u2019s not currently written into the law.<\/p>\n New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) talked in here State of the State speech about the economic potential of the marijuana industry under the legalization law she signed last year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re expanding our economic footprint into every single community,\u201d the governor said in her State of the State address. \u201cLegal cannabis is going to create thousands of jobs and serious tax revenue for local governments to support local services in every corner of our state.\u201d<\/p>\n Legal cannabis is going to create thousands of jobs & serious tax revenue to support local services.<\/p>\n Clean hydrogen will support thousands of jobs, especially in rural New Mexico, while helping us sprint toward our net-zero carbon deadlines and decarbonize transportation.<\/p>\n \u2014 Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) January 18, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) released a State of the State book earlier this month that called for the creation of a $200 million public-private fund<\/a> to specifically help promote social equity in the state\u2019s burgeoning marijuana market.<\/p>\n The governor said that while cannabis business licenses have yet to be approved since legalization was signed into law last year, the market stands to generate billions of dollars, and it\u2019s important to \u201ccreate opportunities for all New Yorkers, particularly those from historically marginalized communities.\u201d<\/p>\n That proposal was also cited in Hochul\u2019s executive budget<\/a>, which was released last week. The budget also estimated that New York stands to generate more than $1.25 billion in marijuana tax revenue over the next six years.<\/p>\n The briefing book for the executive budget touts how Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has \u201cprioritized getting New York\u2019s cannabis industry up and running\u201d since marijuana was legalized under her predecessor last year. That\u00a0includes appointing key regulators<\/a>\u00a0who\u2019ve been \u201ccreating and implementing a comprehensive regulatory framework.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor of Rhode Island included a proposal to legalize marijuana<\/a> as part of his annual budget plan\u2014the second time he\u2019s done so. And time around, he also added new language to provide for automatic cannabis expungements in the state.<\/p>\n Gov. Dan McKee (D) released his request for the 2023 fiscal year on Thursday, calling for adult-use legalization as lawmakers say\u00a0they\u2019re separately nearing a deal on enacting the reform<\/a>. It appears that an outstanding disagreement between the governor and legislators concerning what body should regulate the program remains unresolved based on the new budget proposal, however.<\/p>\n In general, McKee\u2019s plan would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis, though it would not provide a home grow option. Adults could also store up to five ounces of marijuana in secured storage in their primary residence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe governor recommends creating a strictly regulated legal market for adult-use cannabis in the state,\u201d an executive summary states. \u201cThis proposal would create a weight-based excise tax on marijuana cultivation, an additional retail excise tax of 10 percent, and also apply sales tax to cannabis transactions.\u201d<\/p>\n South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) isn\u2019t a fan of adult-use legalization, going so far as to fund a lawsuit against a voter-approved 2020 reform initiative that ultimately led to a court ruling voiding the law<\/a>. Her office has even suggested that activists behind the successful legalization campaign should front the legal bills for the case<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, she seems to recognize the popularity of the issue and has recently attempted to associate herself with the implementation of the separate medical cannabis legalization law that voters also approved, as she did in her State of the State address<\/a> this month.<\/p>\n \u201cI take our citizens\u2019 health seriously. I don\u2019t make these decisions lightly. And when we create new policy, we\u2019re going to do everything we can to get it right from day one,\u201d Noem said. \u201cOur state\u2019s medical cannabis program is one example.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was launched on schedule according to the timeline passed by South Dakota voters,\u201d she said. \u201cI know there will be some debate about that program this session. My focus is on making sure South Dakota has the safest, most responsible, and well-run medical cannabis program in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Noem tried to get the legislature to\u00a0approve a bill to delay implementation<\/a>\u00a0of the medical cannabis program for an additional year, but while it cleared the House, negotiators were unable to reach an agreement with the Senate in conference, delivering a defeat to the governor.<\/p>\n In response,\u00a0her office started exploring a compromise last year<\/a>, with one proposal that came out of her administration to decriminalize possession of up to one ounce of cannabis, limit the number of plants that patients could cultivate to three and prohibit people under 21 from qualifying for medical marijuana.<\/p>\n Advocates weren\u2019t enthused with the proposal, and now they\u2019re taking a two-track approach to enacting broader legalization legislatively and through the ballot.<\/p>\n In his final State of the Commonwealth address this month, now former-Gov. Ralph Northam (D) talked about the criminal justice implications of his state\u2019s move to legalize marijuana last year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also worked closely with you to make sure our criminal justice system reflects the Virginia that we are today. Too often, our modern-day punishments and practices have their roots in a more discriminatory and unfair past,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019ve made marijuana use legal.\u201d<\/p>\n Too often, our modern-day punishments and practices have their roots in a more discriminatory and unfair past.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why we\u2019ve made marijuana use legal. That\u2019s also why we have ended use of the death penalty in Virginia\u2014the first southern state to do so. #VASOTC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Governor Ralph Northam (@VAGovernor73) January 13, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n He also thanked<\/a> the legislators who championed the reform \u201cfor their work on this policy, which is complicated, but important.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the new governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, said recently that while he\u2019s not interested in re-criminalizing marijuana possession, which became legal in the state last summer, but he feels there\u2019s \u201cstill work to be done\u201d<\/a> before he gets behind creating a market for commercial sales and production.<\/p>\n Bipartisan Pennsylvania Senators File Bill To Let Medical Marijuana Patients Grow Their Own Plants<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Governors Across The U.S. Tout Marijuana Reform Progress In State Of The State Speeches And Budgets<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Governors across the U.S. have been taking the opportunity to tout marijuana reform accomplishments as part of their annual State of the State speeches and budget requests this month. From New York to South Dakota, the comments and proposals from state executives demonstrate how cannabis has become more mainstream andContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52490"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52490"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52491,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52490\/revisions\/52491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}New Jersey<\/h2>\n
\n
New Mexico<\/h2>\n
\n
New York<\/h2>\n
Rhode Island<\/h2>\n
South Dakota<\/h2>\n
Virginia<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
\nRead More: Governors Across The U.S. Tout Marijuana Reform Progress In State Of The State Speeches And Budgets<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"