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Three men arrested in Clay County Texas this past week have sparked major discussion among Texas cannabis groups about legal disparities across the state. The men arrested are being accused of possession of THC edibles which is being charged as a state felony. The men were placed on $50,000 dollar bond each with two of the men being brothers with their mother resourcing the lower their bail and get them released from jail.
Advocates in the cannabis space have noted that 50,000 dollar bail is usually the amount set for being accused of violent offenses and have prior convictions or issues with law enforcement. The two men made bail Saturday afternoon. Raquel Burroughs noted with an update on the family’s Gofundme page “The bond was reduced, but only after already paying a higher amount for acceptance of legal representation.” The family is still raising money as the legal battles have only begun for her two sons. On top of a state comparison of cannabis laws with states surrounding Texas are the city disparities. The disparity being noted is that in towns like Austin and possibly soon San Marcos and Denton, arrests for simple marijuana possession for personal amounts may be put to an end by citizen vote.
Learn how to become a medical cannabis patient in Texas
Learn how to become a medical cannabis patient in Texas
Several Major Brands have signed on to a letter asking Congress To Stop Marijuana-Infused Copycat Foods. Among the major brands asking congress to take actions are Kellogg and Pepsi. The companies are asking that something be done to stop the spread of products that use what they consider copycat branding to market products that are infused with cannabis. As well, the companies have made the claim that the products in question may lead to children confusing those products with the major name brands in question and ingesting the cannabis products accidentally.
The letter states, “While cannabis (and incidental amounts of THC) may be legal in some states, the use of these famous marks — clearly without approval of the brand owners — on food products has created serious health and safety risks for consumers, particularly children, who cannot tell the difference between these brands’ true products and copycat THC products that leverage the brand’s fame for profit,” Advocates and legal analysts have noted in the past that some products may fall easily within this claim as the brand names are copied exactly while others appear to make a joke about the original product name in a parody style.
The letter has been backed by examples of companies using the exact spelling and style of the brands Cheetos and Trix, while another product makes fun of the product Oreo and Nabisco using the terms Stoneo and Dabisco. As the industry clamps down, product teams may turn to making the products have social commentary about the original brands and products in attempts to stay within parody legal guidelines.
Articles on Texas decriminalization and penalty reduction
A new study has shown that states that have legalized marijuana are seeing less of the potentially dangerous behavior of driving under the influence than states that have not legalized. Researchers believe that the reason for this may be that in states where legalization efforts have taken place either by medical or recreational means, better educational efforts are available. People in states with more open approaches to cannabis are far more likely to have warnings given to them by the doctors and dispensaries than in states without these avenues.
The study is showing that the notion of an increase of intoxicated drivers under the influence of cannabis would increase, is just not true. A problem that arises out of this is the lack of understanding by the general public when they see that accidents with cannabis in the driver’s system have increased over the last few years. Driving under the influence/intoxication of cannabis and cannabis in a typical drug test do not equate to each other. Typical drug tests of cannabis are not an indicator of intoxication levels. A person that has consumed a hemp extract within the legal thc limits in the last 30 days is still likely to show cannabis use up to 30 days after usage, but it does not mean the driver was intoxicated at the time of the accident.
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Banking associations for all 50 states and a territory are calling on the US Senate to include a banking provision in the wide legalization effort. American Bankers Association (ABA) and the state associations noted that the SAFE act which was included in the America COMPETES act passed in the house, is much needed to allow businesses access to the systems that businesses typically rely on to manage the proceeds of their businesses.
The ABA noted about the lack of action, “As a result, this industry is operating primarily in cash, which causes significant public safety concerns and undermines the ability of cannabis regulators, tax collectors, law enforcement and national security organizations to monitor the industry effectively.” The ABA also noted that for the 37 states that have moved to legalize in some form, the inability of the state-licensed cannabis industry to access safe and regulated financial services is a pressing concern for so many of our nation’s communities and the banks that serve them.
I am Jesse Williams and that will do it for this week of review at the Lonestar Collective and Texas Cannabis Collective. Catch it and our regular podcast every week. Our latest episode is #35 and our guest was District Attorney Mark Gonzalez. Visit TXCANNACO.com to subscribe to the articles as they appear.