South Carolinians will have to wait another year for medical cannabis after the state's legislature declared the Compassionate Care Act "unconstitutional."
The CCA was defeated on a technicality after Republican lawmakers made a motion claiming that the bill should have originated in the House and not the Senate because it imposed a tax, according to a local news report.
The motion passed after the House Speaker agreed with the motion. The bill is now in flux and could be dead until next year.
However, it is not all bad for medical cannabis in the Gamecock state as the just-defeated bill was able to make it farther into the legislative process than any of its predecessors.
The CCA would have created one of the most restrictive medical cannabis markets in the country with consumption of the drug being limited to oil, salves, patches, or vaporizers.
Despite the pessimistic outcome, Democratic state Rep. Todd Rutherford says that the measure "has progressed because people are demanding change."
Austin Makes Cannabis Decriminalization Push
Voters in Austin, Texas approved a local ballot measure to decriminalize marijuana in the capital city of the state.
The measure, which also bans so-called "no-knock" warrants by police, passed by a margin of 85% to 15%. Even Republican Governor Greg Abbott is on-board, saying earlier this year that people should not be jailed over cannabis possession.
The ballot initiative, which was spearheaded by an activist group known as Ground Game Texas, forbids the police from ticketing or arresting people on low-level marijuana offenses.
In Texas, a Class A misdemeanor is possession of 4 ounces or less but more than 2 ounces. A Class B misdemeanor is possession of 2 ounces or less. Police are barred from issuing citations for Class A or B possession offenses.
New York Expands Cultivation Permit Program
The state of New York approved 36 more conditional recreational cannabis cultivation permits to grow the drug as the state prepares for the launch of its recreational market later this year.
The new permits brings the total number of licensed growers in the state to 88.
The New York Office of Cannabis Management told Syracuse.com that it has received about 200 applications and will submit more for board approval.
“There are stringent background, compliance checks going on currently,” Chris Alexander, executive director of the OCM, said. “I think that we have another 100 or so that could be coming along the pipeline quickly.”
The first slate of licenses were approved at a meeting in April where 52 applications were approved.
In April, Cannabis Control Board Chair Tremain Wright said that he expects cannabis products from growers will be available for sale by the fall, an estimate that Chris Alexander agreed with, according to reports.
