In the spirit of collaboration, Governors and representatives from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island recently gathered for a regional summit to begin grappling with the vexing issues surrounding regulation of cannabis and vaping.
Following is a synopsis of the Core Principles framework that was agreed upon by the northeastern leaders.
MARKET
REGULATION AND EMPOWERMENT
Financial institutions are faced with the risk of federal enforcement if they
provide financial services to state-licensed medical marijuana businesses
because of the Federal Controlled Substance Act. So long as it remains
difficult to open and maintain bank accounts, the state-legal marijuana
industry will largely rely on cash to conduct business and operate, which
results in public safety issues and creates unique burdens for legal marijuana
businesses.
All states have agreed to a series of principles to setting a cannabis tax
structure, as well as best practices to ensure that disproportionally impacted
communities from the war on drugs have access to the new industry. The states
will use the following guidelines:
* Identifying best practices with regard to the
basis for taxation, implementation stages and dynamic market-based controls for
cannabis production and cultivation;
* Supporting the market architecture of cannabis
regulation, including a keen awareness of the need to ensure a fair and
competitive market, deploying strategies such as a limitation on the number of
licenses or licenses types, to protect against manipulation of markets;
* Encouraging in conjunction with their
legislature a stable regional market by identifying and implementing a similar
overall effective tax rate for cannabis products;
* Incorporating tax mechanisms, such as weight
based, potency based, and / or mg / THC-based, to ensure price stability for
licensees and that the price of cannabis does not fall to a point that
increases access and use beyond current usage rates;
* Implementing social equity initiatives to
ensure industry access to those who have been disproportionately impacted by
the prohibition of cannabis;
* Prioritizing small and diverse businesses’
participation in the cannabis industry;
* Implementing meaningful social justice reform
with regard to cannabis policy, including expediting expungements or pardons,
waiving fees associated with expungements or pardons and securing legislation
to support these reforms;
* Supporting and advocating for the passage of
the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would provide clarity
and remove disincentives for existing financial institutions to service
cannabis-related businesses;
* Supporting research focusing on immediate
solutions that will improve the ability of the state to manage cannabis-related
cash payments, as well as long-term solutions that allow the industry to
thrive; and
* Providing positive guidance to their state
chartered financial institutions with respect to cannabis-related banking services.
Such guidance may make reference to education, promotion, data sharing,
legislation and advocacy with federal and state regulators
PUBLIC HEALTH
The potency of cannabis products is up from below 10% THC to greater than 20%
THC. Decreasing production costs and innovative techniques may lead to lower
prices for high-potency products, and novel and under-studied product forms,
such as injections or dabs, may reach the market unless states properly
regulate them. There is also a potential for bundling THC products with
nicotine and alcohol, which may require even more scrutiny.
All states have agreed to a series of principles regarding product safety and
testing; best practices for safety and contamination; and availability and
advertising of products, focused on restricting access to and advertising aimed
at youth users and vulnerable populations. The states will use the following
guidelines:
* Enacting restrictions for cannabis and vaping
product forms, packing, advertising and characteristics that target minors;
* Prohibiting advertising that promotes
overconsumption and targets youth, restrict advertising to audiences that are
likely majority over 21
* Ban advertising and products that appeal to
youth, including flavors and product packaging
* Restricting sale of products to adults 21 and
over and imposing strict penalties on licensees that sell to youth
* Creating programming and conducting robust
public health education campaigns targeting youth
* Enacting requirements that all cannabis
products must be contained in child-resistant packaging;
* Regulating cannabis products and enacting
restrictions in a manner that safeguards public health, limits over consumption
and discourages the spread of cannabis use disorder;
* Collecting and sharing data on cannabis use to
better understand the public health outcomes associated with legalizing adult
use;
* Enacting restrictions to discourage over
consumption and accidental overdose, such as limiting the amount of cannabis
that can be legally possessed, requiring standardized dosages and serving sizes
in products and limiting the overall THC content of products;
* Creating youth prevention and public education
campaigns to inform youth and the general public about the health and safety
consequences of cannabis use;
* Developing warning labels and icons that
accurately inform consumers about the dangers of cannabis use; and
* Limiting flavors for inhalable products to the
taste of tobacco or cannabis or a taste derived from compounds derived directly
and solely from the cannabis or hemp plant.
PUBLIC SAFETY AND ENFORCEMENT
In regulating and enforcing an effective cannabis program, law enforcement will
encounter many challenges, including ensuring highway safety, improving field
test options, targeting the illicit market and workplace drug testing.
Currently, there are reliable field tests and generally acceptable evidentiary
standards for alcohol impairment, but similar technologies aren’t available for
marijuana. Drug Recognition Experts, or DREs, are currently the best tools for
determining marijuana impairment. However, there are many challenges and
constraints associated with DREs. While other methods to determine marijuana
impairment, such as lab tests of blood, do exist, there is generally no
accepted standard to demonstrate marijuana impairment.
All states have agreed to a series of principles regarding traffic safety and
law enforcement measures. The states will use the following guidelines:
* Uniform treatment of DRE evidence;
* Uniform standard for blood or saliva tests,
both for lab tests and for roadside tests when available;
* Efforts surrounding DRE training;
* Methods for sharing information on suspected
“bad actors” in legal market; and
* Law enforcement strategies for illicit market.
VAPING
E-cigarette use among young people is staggeringly high. In 2018, 1.5 million
more students used e-cigarettes than in 2017, and high school electronic
cigarette use in 2018 was 78% higher than it was in 2017. E-cigarette
manufacturers shamefully target young people with a growing range of
non-tobacco or menthol flavors. Some of the over 15,000 flavors available
include fruit, dessert or candy flavors.
All states have agreed to a set of principles to regulate the vaping industry
as a method of administration of nicotine and CBD and implementing best
practice solutions regarding how to investigate and enforce against illicit THC
Vape Pens and regulate filler oils and carrier fluids. The states will use the
following guidelines:
* Banning or regulating the sale of flavored vape
products to reduce the product’s attractiveness to youth;
* Implementing vape product safety standards for
nicotine, CBD and other cannabinoids, and other vaping products including
diluents, excipients, cutting agents, and other additives;
* Regulating temperature control, including the
heating mechanisms of vaporizers;
* Ensuring all vaping cartridges are properly
marked or labeled to inform the user of the manufacturer;
* Increasing enforcement actions for unauthorized
sales to individuals under 21 years of age; and
* Restricting advertisements to ensure products
are not targeted to minors.
