On October 12, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed the “Clean Slate” legislation to expand expungement for marijuana convictions in the state. The legislation is a series of seven bills to broaden the criteria for expungements related to not only marijuana but also traffic offenses and other minor crimes.

“This is bigger than criminal justice reform,” Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist said. “This is about economic opportunity and full participation in our economy and our society.”

Michiganders convicted of misdemeanor marijuana offenses that would have been legal after cannabis was legalized in the state in 2018 can apply to have their convictions erased. Prosecutors will have 60 days to dispute the claim. If prosecutors don’t make a rebuttal, the marijuana conviction will be expunged.

Misdemeanors and felonies not related to marijuana will be cleared with an automatic expungement process.

“During my 2018 campaign for governor, I made expungement of marijuana charges one of my key priorities, and I’m so proud today that we can follow through on that goal,” Whitmer said at a press conference. “For too long, criminal charges have created barriers to employment, barriers to housing, and others for hundreds of thousands of Michiganders. These bipartisan bills are going to be a game-changer.”

Michigan will automatically clear misdemeanors seven years after sentencing. Felonies will be removed ten years after sentencing or the person’s release from incarceration, whichever was last. Up to two felonies and four misdemeanors can be automatically cleared.

“You’re in your community, you’re invested in your community, you’re spending time with your family, you’re working, you’re accessing housing,” said State Rep. Graham Filler (Dewitt-R). “We have less recidivism, less victims. This is what happens when you access expungement.”

The laws are set to take effect in April 2021.

When it comes to cannabis in Colorado, it turns out that residents know their stuff. With more dispensaries than Starbucks (in Denver, at least), Colorado’s passion for weed probably comes as no surprise. But far from the stoner stereotype, Coloradoans are knowledgeable about marijuana laws, health effects, and risks.

A new report released by the state Health Department shows that locals are better educated about marijuana than they were when it was legalized. Coloradoans weed education is partly thanks to a campaign launched by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE). “Good to Know,” a public education and awareness campaign, was launched in 2015 with the aim of promoting the safe, legal, and responsible use of marijuana.

Dr. Larry Wolk, the executive director of the CDPHE, said the department’s public education approach differs from previous drug education programs like DARE. Rather than scare tactics or promoting abstinence, the “Good to Know” approach is decidedly more friendly and upbeat.

Wolk explained that “Good to Know” is “not an aversion campaign. This is really a way to educate folks without alienating folks.”

The report shows the shifts in attitudes, knowledge, and perceptions of marijuana since the beginning of retail sales. Here are some of the highlights from the report:

Excited for recreational marijuana in Nevada on July 1? Hold that thought.

On Tuesday, a Carson City judge, James Wilson, issued an injunction that reverses the Tax Department’s decision to allow more than just alcohol wholesalers to transport recreational marijuana from growers to dispensaries. The move could delay a planned July start date for recreational cannabis sales.

When voters approved Question 2 to legalize recreational marijuana in November, the initiative included a requirement that distribution licenses would be issued only to alcohol wholesalers for the first 18 months of sales.

Representatives from the Independent Alcohol Distributors of Nevada (IADON) and the state Department of Taxation gave testimony on Monday in an 8-hour hearing. In his 11-page ruling, Wilson said that a “brief filed on behalf of the liquor distributors corroborated evidence that the businesses would be shut out of the marijuana distribution business entirely if the tax department issues licenses to non-alcohol distributors…Once licenses are issued to others, it will be difficult if not impossible to revoke those licenses.

However, the Department of Taxation said in March that there was limited interest among alcohol wholesalers and that the requirement would result in an in insufficient number of distributors.

According to the spokesperson for the tax department, Stephanie Klapstein, at the end of the application deadline in May, only five of 93 applications for recreational cannabis distribution licenses were issued to alcohol wholesalers. And of those five, none have actually completed the application. The other 85 applications were from existing medical marijuana dispensaries.

The Nevada Department of Taxation is reviewing the court’s decision with the attorney general’s office and “will explore all legal avenues to proceed with the program as provided in the regulations,” Klapstein said in a statement.

The approval of Question 2 tasked the state with creating a regulated marijuana sales structure by the start of 2018. But after visiting and studying other states that legalized marijuana, Nevada officials determined that waiting a full year after the drug became legal would risk growing the black market. Instead, they planned for an “early start” to get the program up and running by July.

 

Remember that scene in Half Baked when Thurgood, played by Dave Chappelle, discovers that the government lab he works at has a serious stash of marijuana?

Well, it turns out that cannabis used in government research isn’t all that great. Unlike commercial marijuana, the government product is stringy, light in color, and full of stems. If you’re used to the cannabis sold at dispensaries, chances are you wouldn’t even recognize the government product as weed.

Jake Browne, a marijuana critic for the Cannabist, called government cannabis unusable. “In two decades of smoking weed, I’ve never seen anything that looks like that,” Browne said. “People typically smoke the flower of the plant, but here you can clearly see stems and leaves in there as well, parts that should be discarded. Inhaling that would be like eating an apple, including the seeds inside it and the branch it grew on.”

Dr. Sue Sisley, a researcher studying medical marijuana for treating PTSD, told PBS NewsHour, “It doesn’t resemble cannabis. It doesn’t smell like cannabis.”

That’s a problem for researchers studying the effects and medical efficacy of cannabis. Since the marijuana researchers are using is so unlike commercially-available cannabis, it’s difficult to reach conclusions that are applicable to real-world use.

Since the late 1960s, all marijuana used in clinical research is required to come from a single government-run marijuana farm at the University of Mississippi.

Researchers have complained that government-grown marijuana isn’t subject to any federal testing standards and discrepancies in potency have created problems in some cannabis studies. Some samples even contained mold and lead.

The uneasy relationship between cannabis and the banking industry could improve if Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs has anything to do with it.

Frerichs issued a press release Monday, urging the Trump administration to give clear guidance to financial institutions regarding medical marijuana. In his letter, he urged President Trump to reassure banks that they will not face penalties or prosecution for doing business with state-licensed marijuana growers and dispensaries.

“Medical marijuana is not right for everyone. However, its positive results for those with debilitating conditions, including Veterans and children threatened by seizures, are undeniable,” Frerichs said. “Updating our banking laws to embrace commonsense change will allow Illinois to properly manage this reasonable program, guarantee uninterrupted access to medical users, and protect financial institutions that serve the industry.”

The nomination of Jeff Sessions as attorney general has marijuana advocates unsure if he’ll reverse President Obama’s directive not to enforce federal marijuana laws. Federal law prohibits banks from processing money from the legal marijuana industry, making day-to-day transactions difficult. Most dispensaries work on a cash-only basis, and business owners have difficulty opening checking accounts and securing loans. The current system also makes it difficult for states to audit sales, verify taxes are collected, and encourages a gray market and criminal activity.

Lack of access to banking has been a thorn in the side of the legal marijuana industry since its inception. Even ancillary cannabis businesses have difficulty accessing banking services to send or receive payment. Frerichs press release notes that “most refuse to provide banking services to those in the medical marijuana industry while smaller community banks do so with great trepidation. The lack of full engagement hobbles the industry despite the availability of marijuana in 27 states.” Currently, marijuana is still considered a Schedule I drug under federal law.

A new survey released by the Pew Research Center indicates that the number of Americans who support marijuana legalization are higher than ever. 57% approve legalization, while only 37% think cannabis should be outlawed. To put the huge shift in opinion in perspective, ten years ago approval was at just 32%, with 60% of adults opposed to cannabis legalization.

The survey found some interesting correlations between people who support cannabis legalization and factors like age, race, education level and political affiliation.

Political affiliation showed the biggest divide in approval, with more Democrats on board with cannabis than Republicans. Pew reports, “By more than two-to-one, Democrats favor legalizing marijuana over having it be illegal (66% vs. 30%). Most Republicans (55%) oppose marijuana legalization, while 41% favor it.”

Within the Republican party, support can be narrowed down even further. “By a wide margin (63% to 35%), moderate and liberal Republicans favor legalizing the use of marijuana. By contrast, 62% of conservative Republicans oppose legalizing marijuana use, while just 33% favor it.”

Among Democrats the difference in approval was less drastic. 78% of liberal-leaning Democrats favor legalization while moderate and conservative Democrats approval is at 55%.

Among generations, Millennials (ages 18-35) are the most likely to support cannabis legalization at 71%, but the approval rating among Gen X (ages 36-51) and Baby Boomers (ages 52-70) is gaining traction. 57% of Gen X supports legalization and approval among Boomers is up from 17% in 1990 to 56% in 2016.

Support for marijuana legalization is equal among blacks and whites at 59%. 49% of Hispanics do not approve of marijuana use, while 46% favor legalization.

The Pew Research Center gathered responses from 1,201 adults between August 23-September 2.