[author: Susan Ryan]

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, the big news is that rescheduling will definitely not happen before the Presidential election. Missouri is having a problem with its cannabis safety rules. The Choctaw may open a dispensary in Mississippi. And finally, humans aren’t the only primates that use plant medicine.

RESCHEDULING

Back in late April, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced a plan to reschedule cannabis. And there was much rejoicing among the cannabis industry. We opined that this was going to take a while.

Re-scheduling, although much closer than it was yesterday, is still a ways off.

The Blunt Truth, April 30, 2024

Not to toot our own horn, but that prediction has held up nicely. This week, the Justice Department announced that an administrative hearing on the rescheduling proposal will be held in December, meaning it will be after the Presidential election. Assuming all goes well, actual rescheduling most likely won’t take place until 2025. The wild excitement of Spring has now turned to equally wild dismay, with cannabis stocks falling on the news.

MISSOURI

Missouri‘s governor, Mike Parsons (R), issued an executive order earlier this month that would ban the sale of intoxicating hemp products in the state, over concerns about child safety. To implement this order, the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) issued emergency rulemaking. This is where things get sticky. Jay Ashcroft (R), Missouri’s Secretary of State, denied the rulemaking on August 21. This means that the proposal would have to go through the formal rulemaking process, which could take six months or more. Parsons then sent a strongly worded letter to Ashcroft (apparently there’s bad blood between them), and directed ATC to resubmit the emergency rules, which Ashcroft is now reviewing. Stay tuned!

CHOCTAW

We have reported several times (most recently here) on the Eastern Band of Cherokee, who are selling cannabis in North Carolina. Could something similar happen in Mississippi? The short answer is: yes. The longer answer is: yes, assuming the tribe (The Mississippi Band of Choctaw) amends their tribal code to allow the sales, and that all activity surrounding the sales takes place on tribal lands. Of course, just because something could happen doesn’t mean it will happen. Again, stay tuned!

AND FINALLY

In discussions of legalizing cannabis, one often hears it referred to as “plant medicine.” Turns out, humans aren’t the only ones using plants to treat medical issues. Rakus, who is a wild orangutan in Indonesia, suffered a nasty facial wound, and used the leaves of a vine to treat himself. One month later, he’s got only a small scar to show he’d been injured.

Be well everyone; we’ll see you next week.