Last week, a Wyoming House committee passed a legislation to legalize cannabis and discussed another proposal that would require that state agencies research and issue recommendations on allowing medical marijuana.The adult-use legalization bill’s lead sponsor is the chair of the Judiciary Committee. The legislation would allow individuals aged 21 and above to buy and possess up to 3 cannabis ounces and grow up to 12 mature cannabis plants for personal use.
The proposal, which was co-sponsored by other top Republican legislators and the House speaker, got a 6-3 vote after receiving testimonies from the public and state agencies, which included former U.S. senator and Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, who now lives in Wyoming. Chafee revealed that he supported the bill, stating that the legislation would create a profitable revenue stream.
Chairman Jared Olsen observed that this marked an important moment for the state of Wyoming and mentioned recent surveys that showed public support for the change in policy, both nationally as well as in the state, noting that in several of the states, voters had passed legalization measures through the ballot. Olsen said that if the legislature failed to act, he expected Wyoming voters to help end marijuana prohibition.
The chairman also said that if a legalization measure led by voters was approved, the legislative process wouldn’t design the regulation of cannabis, stating that instead, the public via ballot measure would decide what it would look like as well as what it would entail.
Wyoming’s neighbors, South Dakota and Montana, are two of the jurisdictions that passed cannabis legalization ballot initiatives during the 2020 November elections.
Olsen encouraged the committee to approve his legislation, which would impose a 30% tax on cannabis sales. Two-thirds of tax revenue generated from cannabis sales would be directed to public schools while the remainder would be allotted to individual jurisdictions that permit cannabis retail locations in their areas.
Some of the legislators who voted to pass the legislation in the committee revealed that they weren’t sure how they would vote on the floor or that they’d oppose it, with some noting that they were pro-advancing the bill so that the full body would be afforded the chance to discuss this important issue.
If approved, the law would come into effect on July 1 this year. However, the legislation doesn’t contain any measures that reveal when sales would commence or how soon licenses would be issued to prospective retailers.
Smart Approaches to Marijuana’s executive vice president Luke Niforatos was one of the people who gave testimony against the legislation. The organization is a political organization that opposes marijuana legalization and commercialization.
The often polarized debate on cannabis regularly obscures the fact that not all cannabis products have the intoxicating compound THC. In fact, many firms, such as The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (NASDAQ: WTER) (CSE: WTER), manufacture plenty of products such as salves, drinks and tinctures that are infused with CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid.
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