Members of the Illinois House of Representatives are considering a bill that would ban police searches of vehicles based solely on the odor of cannabis. The measure, Senate Bill 125, has been assigned to two House legislative committees after gaining the approval of the Illinois Senate in a 33-20 vote late last month.

Democratic Senator Rachel Ventura, the lead sponsor of the legislation, said that SB 125 will help people who use cannabis legally avoid searches by law enforcement simply because police perceive the odor of marijuana.

“People—especially people of color—are unnecessarily pulled over far too often,” Ventura said about the legislation in a statement. “The odor of cannabis alone shouldn’t be one of those reasons (for their car to be searched). Cannabis is legal in Illinois and it’s a pungent scent that can stick to clothes for extended periods of time.”

If passed by the House and signed into law by Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker, Senate Bill 125 would amend the Illinois Vehicle Code to state that “the odor of burnt or raw cannabis in a motor vehicle by itself shall not constitute probable cause for the search of the motor vehicle, vehicle operator, or passengers in the vehicle,” provided that the vehicle is operated by an individual at least 21 years old. 

At a press conference on April 11, Democratic Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth said that Senate Bill 125 is needed to fully implement Illinois’ recreational marijuana legalization bill, which was passed by state lawmakers and signed by Pritzker in 2019. Under the legislation, adults 21 and older are permitted to possess up to 30 grams (just over one ounce) of cannabis and up to five mature cannabis plants. Non-residents of Illinois at least 21 are permitted to possess up to 15 grams.

“It was incredibly important as we were looking to legalize this product that has clearly demonized so many communities,” said Jehan Gordon-Booth.

Weed In Cars Must Be Inaccessible

Senate Bill 125 also requires that cannabis possessed by drivers or passengers in motor vehicles driven on state roadways be kept in a sealed or resealable, child-resistant container in a secure location not accessible.

An amendment to the original bill limits the protection from vehicle searches based on the odor of marijuana to autos operated by adults 21 and over. When the change was made to allow searches of vehicles operated by younger drivers, the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) dropped its support of the bill and instead adopted a neutral stance on the legislation.

“We do have concerns that the amendment to the bill creates a workaround, or a loophole, that could have the effect of incentivizing police to target youth for unnecessary traffic stops or vehicle searches,” Atticus Ballesteros, an attorney with the ACLU of Illinois, told the Rockford Register Star.

Ballesteros added that the ACLU of Illinois originally supported the bill because there are numerous reasons a vehicle may smell of cannabis.

“And to us, that applies irrespective of age,” Ballesteros said.

Bill Opposed By Law Enforcement

Law enforcement officials including Illinois Sheriff’s Association executive director Jim Kaitschuk oppose Senate Bill 215 and are calling on lawmakers in the House to reject the measure barring vehicle searches based solely on the odor of weed.

“You can’t have endless marijuana in a vehicle,” Kaitschuk told The Center Square. “It’s only legal to a certain amount. Are we also going to inhibit the ability to intervene when the smell of burnt cannabis may be coming from the vehicle, when the motorists may actually be impaired?”

Kaitschuk added that he is concerned that if passed, the legislation could make it more difficult for law enforcement officers to address the illicit market for cannabis and other drugs.

“I think this bill will have the ability to impact illicit markets in terms of people being able to carry more of the drug than they should,” he said. “Plus, folks may traffic marijuana cannabis to mask other drugs that may illegally be in the vehicle.”

Kaitschuk added that he thinks the bill is a solution to a problem that does not exist.

“We’re not just stopping people because we smell cannabis,” he added. “That’s not a probable cause to stop a car. There has to be some other action or activity that occurred in terms of violation of the Vehicle Code that got us there.”

Senate Bill 125 was passed by the Illinois Senate on March 30 and is now pending in the state House of Representatives, where it has been assigned to the Rules Committee and the Executive Committee. A hearing on the legislation has been scheduled by the Executive Committee to be held at the state capitol in Springfield on April 19.

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Lawmakers in Maryland passed legislation over the weekend to regulate commercial cannabis production and sales after months of negotiation on issues including social equity and taxation. The bill, which sets the stage for regulated recreational marijuana sales to begin on July 1, now heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Wes Moore.

The Maryland Senate passed the bill with amendments on Friday by a vote of 30-12. The House of Delegates, which originally approved the measure on March 10, passed the amended version of the legislation on Saturday with a 104-35 vote, sending the bill to Moore for consideration. The governor, who supported efforts to legalize cannabis for adults in Maryland, is expected to sign the bill, according to a report from the Washington Post.

After the bill’s passage, lawmakers said that they drew on Maryland’s experience legalizing the medicinal use of cannabis and regulatory efforts in other states to draft the legislation to legalize the production and sale of recreational marijuana.

“We’ve been talking with our counterparts in other states saying, ‘If you had to do it all over again what would you do differently? What did you wish you had known when you set up your program?’” Democratic Senator Melony Griffith, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said at a press conference. “We have great expertise here in Maryland, with our medicinal cannabis program, and have had tremendous success. So all of those ingredients, if you will, have been rolled into our cannabis framework.”

In November, Maryland voters legalized recreational marijuana with the passage of Question 4, a state referendum that was approved with nearly two-thirds of the vote. The bill passed by the legislature on Saturday sets the stage for legalization to take effect, allowing adults 21 and older to possess up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana and grow up to two cannabis plants at home, beginning on July 1. 

Under the legislation, a new regulation and enforcement division would be created within the state’s existing Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, which would be renamed the Alcohol, Tobacco and Cannabis Commission. The legislation includes provisions to guide the regulation of cannabis production and sales and sets a 9% tax on recreational marijuana purchases. 

Lawmakers Block New Amendment To Further Restrict Dispensaries

Before the bill was passed in the House, Republican Delegate Wayne A. Hartman proposed an amendment that would increase the mandatory minimum distance separating cannabis dispensaries from 500 feet to one mile. The proposal also would have required dispensaries to be at least one mile away from schools, parks, playgrounds and libraries.

“So, we couldn’t put a dispensary anywhere in Ocean City because there’s nowhere that spans a mile between any of these things?” asked House Economic Matters chair C.T. Wilson.

“I can’t tell you I’m heartbroken by that,” Hartman replied.

But Wilson said that the residents of Hartman’s district might feel differently, noting that voters approved the referendum to legalize adult-use cannabis in Maryland with more than two-thirds of the vote statewide.

“They asked us to do this,” he said. “They asked us to do this in a fair and equitable way. They asked us to make sure we didn’t stick them all in one place and to make sure that anybody who wanted to buy does have access.”

Social Equity A Priority

To help promote equity in the cannabis industry and ownership by those negatively affected by marijuana prohibition, the first licenses awarded in Maryland will be reserved for social equity applicants. To qualify, an applicant must have at least 65% ownership by an individual who lived in a “disproportionately impacted area” for five of the last 10 years or attended a public school in such an area. The bill also creates a new Office of Social Equity in the cannabis division to promote participation by “people from communities that have previously been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs,” Wilson said at a committee hearing for the bill last month.

Brian Vicente, founding partner at the cannabis and psychedelics law firm Vicente LLP, lauded the approval of the cannabis commerce legalization bill by the Maryland legislature.

“Maryland continues its charge towards legalization with the House and Senate sending a regulatory bill to the governor’s desk to establish a robust, adult-use licensing structure,” Vicente wrote in an email to High Times. “This law will increase the number of cannabis businesses, and the first round of new business owners will be social equity applicants. Since state voters passed legalization by almost 70%, it’s unsurprising that the Maryland legislature is moving quickly to implement the voter’s will. They remain firmly on target to begin adult-use sales by July 1.”

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You are still free to get high in the “Big Sky.” That is because last week, lawmakers in Montana voted to table a bill that would have effectively dismantled the state’s new adult-use cannabis program.

Republican state Sen. Keith Regier introduced Senate Bill 546 in Montana last month that would have eliminated recreational marijuana dispensaries in Montana.

Almost 60 percent of voters in Montana approved a ballot initiative in November 2020 to legalize weed for adults aged 21 and older, which set up a regulatory framework for a state-sanctioned recreational cannabis market.

Recreational cannabis sales launched last year, ultimately bringing in more than $200 million to the state in 2022.

The Montana Department of Revenue reported in January that sales of adult-use marijuana amounted to $202,947,328 in 2022, while medical cannabis sales came to $93,616,551. (Montana voters legalized medical cannabis in 2004.)

But Regier’s bill never made it out of the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee, which held a hearing on the measure on March 29.

“I just think it’s good not to make voters think that their voice doesn’t count. Then they really turn away from this whole process,” Kate Cholewa, who represents the trade group Montana Cannabis Industry Association, said at last week’s hearing for the bill, as quoted by Montana Free Press.

Per the outlet, Regier addressed that objection during his opening remarks at the hearing, saying that there “have been several examples of the will of the voters being reversed.” (“Two of the three examples he cited involved voter initiatives being overturned by courts, not lawmakers,” Montana Free Press noted.)

Regier’s bill would have also raised “the state tax on medical marijuana from 4% to 20% and puts significant limits on medical marijuana potency and allowable amounts for possession,” Montana Free Press reported last month.

The issue of marijuana potency was raised at last week’s committee hearing.

“There is no need to have 90% potent marijuana products unless you’re trying to addict kids,” 

Said Dr. Kevin Sabet, co-founder and president of the national anti-marijuana organization Safe Approaches to Marijuana, as quoted by Montana Free Press. “That’s simply the only reason to do it. Or addict (sic) people in the workplace and cause crashes on the road.”

But on Thursday, members of Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee decided they had heard enough, and voted 6-4 to table the bill.

According to Montana Free Press, “three Republican committee members—Senate President Jason Ellsworth, Committee Chair Jason Small and Sen. Walt Sales—joined with all three Democratic members to oppose the bill,” before the “committee subsequently tabled the bill unanimously.”

It might not be the Montana legislature’s last word on cannabis reform.

Last month, that same committee in the state Senate “heard testimony on two marijuana-related bills,” according to local news station KTVH, including one that “would prohibit marijuana businesses in Montana from promoting their business or brand in print, over TV and radio or using a billboard.”

The other proposal “would revise the required warning labels that marijuana businesses must put on their products, to say that marijuana use during pregnancy could result in ‘congenital anomalies, and inherited cancers developed by a child later in life,’” KTVH reported.

Tax revenue from marijuana sales in Montana are used to support a number of programs in the state, including the HEART Fund, which provides money for substance abuse treatment in Montana.

“Funding a full continuum of substance abuse prevention and treatment programs for communities, the HEART Fund will offer new support to Montanans who want to get clean, sober, and healthy,” the state’s Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, said in 2021.

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The House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill that would broaden access to medical cannabis research, the second time in a week that the chamber approved legislation aimed at federal cannabis policy. 

Known as the Medical Marijuana Research Act, the bill easily passed the House on a bipartisan vote, 343-75. 

Advocates like the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Congressman Ed Blumenauer, said it would avail crucial opportunities to U.S.-based researchers who have often been hamstrung by the federal government’s prohibition on cannabis. 

Ahead of the vote on Monday, Blumenauer said in a tweet that the bill would establish a framework, without which “research is outsourced to other countries-a missed opportunity for the industry, and millions of Americans who consume cannabis products.”

The bill, first introduced in the House in October of last year, “establishes a new, separate registration process to facilitate medical marijuana research,” according to an official summary of the measure. 

More specifically, it would amend the Controlled Substances Act, the federal statute that has kept cannabis illegal in the United States, despite the dozens of state and local governments that have ended their own prohibition on pot in recent years. 

The bill would direct the “Drug Enforcement Administration to register (1) practitioners to conduct medical marijuana research, and (2) manufacturers and distributors to supply marijuana for such research,” and require the Department of Health and Human Services to “produce marijuana through the National Institute on Drug Abuse Drug Supply Program and implement a specialized process for supplying marijuana products available through state-authorized marijuana programs to researchers until manufacturers and distributors can provide a sufficient supply of marijuana for medical research.”

As evidenced by the final vote on the House floor on Monday, the bill enjoyed widespread bipartisan support, racking up nearly a dozen Democratic and Republican co-sponsors. 

One such co-sponsor, Republican Representative Dave Joyce of Ohio, tweeted out his support of the legislation on Monday evening.

“For the sake of patients across the country, as well as USA’s medical superiority across the globe, we can’t allow outdated federal policy to keep obstructing legitimate medical research,” Joyce said.

The legislation now heads to the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate along with another major cannabis bill passed by the U.S. House in the past week. 

On Friday, the House, where Democrats also hold the majority, passed a bill that would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, effectively ending the federal prohibition on pot. 

That bill, known as the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, passed on a largely party-line vote of 220-204.

Its prospects in the Senate appear dim, however, with Democrats in the upper chamber indicating that they would prefer to take up their own legalization bill. 

Advocates urged the Senate to follow the House’s lead and get something down.

“At a time when the majority of states regulate marijuana use and when the majority of voters of all political ideologies support legalization, it makes no sense from a political, fiscal, or cultural perspective for federal lawmakers to continue to support the ‘flat Earth’ failed federal prohibitionist policies of the past,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano told High Times last week. 

“It is time for members of the Senate to follow the House’s lead and take appropriate actions to comport federal law with majority public opinion and with the plant’s rapidly changing legal and cultural status.”

On Monday, following the House’s vote on the medical cannabis research bill, Armentano said that the legislation’s “common-sense regulatory changes are necessary and long overdue.”

“Currently, the limited variety of cannabis cultivars accessible to federally licensed researchers does not represent the type or quality of cannabis products currently available in legal, statewide markets. The reality that nearly one-half of U.S. adults have legal access to this multitude of cannabis products, but our nation’s top scientists do not, is the height of absurdity and it is an indictment of the current system,” Armentano said, as quoted by Forbes.

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The political climate is divisive as ever as the Senate Minority Leader ramped up verbal attacks directed at cannabis banking reform.

On February 7, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) slammed the Democrat majority in the House for voting to include the SAFE Banking Act in a broad spending bill. McConnell called the SAFE Banking Act, the provision that allows for cannabis banking, a “poison pill.”

On February 4, the majority of the members in the House of Representatives voted to approve The America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength Act of 2022 (America COMPETES Act), which includes the provisions of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act.

The COMPETES Act is intended, in part, to help the U.S. compete with China—which in 2021 surpassed the US as the world’s richest nation, thanks to semiconductor manufacturing and education.

This occasion marks the sixth time that the House advanced the SAFE Banking Act to the Senate either as an amendment or as a stand-alone bill. The Act was introduced as an amendment by the bill’s sponsor, Representative Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), to allow banks and other financial institutions to cater to state-legal cannabis businesses.

“China has been steadily building up its military and economic might, and the Democrats’ answer is to help Americans get high,” McConnell said in a condescending tone, while giving remarks today on the Senate floor concerning China.

“Democrats plan to combat [opioid overdoses] is more marijuana on the side,” he said on the Senate floor. “Needless to say, this is not a winning strategy for global competition between great powers.”

“Any Democrats hoping to yank the bill to the far left, or insert poison pills, are badly, badly mistaken,” McConnell said. That statement isn’t correct, because the issue of cannabis isn’t exactly part of an agenda—it’s a bipartisan issue, according to recent polling data compiled by Rasmussen Reports. The majority of both Democrats and Republicans now support legalizing cannabis, let alone banking for cannabis businesses.

Organizations such as the U.S. Cannabis Council are not allowing McConnell to dismiss cannabis reform in that manner—especially not critical legislation like the SAFE Banking Act. That’s because in the meantime, strings of robberies plague dispensaries, simply because they are forced to deal in cash.

“Cannabis isn’t a punchline,” U.S. Cannabis Council CEO Steven Hawkins said in a statement obtained by High Times. “It’s a rapidly growing industry that supports over 300,000 American jobs and is on track to reach $30 billion in revenue this year. Cannabis is agriculture, technology, finance, science, medicine, and yes, recreation.

“What’s more, the SAFE Banking Act isn’t about Americans getting high. It’s about public safety and fairness. It’s about providing basic banking services to small, minority and veteran-owned businesses and not forcing a multi-billion dollar industry to conduct business entirely in cash.

“Thirty-seven states, and growing, have regulated cannabis businesses. Subjecting this rapidly-growing industry to unfair banking restrictions absolutely makes America less competitive, and less safe.

“We are encouraged by the strong bipartisan support for the SAFE Banking Act in both chambers. We look forward to substantively engaging Congressional leaders from both parties on its merits and are optimistic that it will pass this session.”

Senate Minority Leader McConnell isn’t the only top leader stalling cannabis reform, according to Senator Perlmutter. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), he says, insists that federal legalization should address social equity before being considered. The supermajority of Americans now support cannabis reform, and leaders should take note.

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The U.S. House approved the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act on Thursday in a bipartisan 316-113 vote as part of the latest National Defense Authorization Act, a military spending bill. It’s the fifth time the legislation has been approved in the House as a standalone bill or an amendment as part of larger legislation.

Since statewide cannabis reform has been enacted over the past four decades, cannabis businesses still are not fully tolerated, most evidently in federal restrictions, such as the way banking is restricted.

Representative Ed Perlmutter re-introduced the bill, as promised, saying that it would allow cannabis businesses to access the banking system—like any other industry—and would bring more money into the economy and offer the opportunity to create good-paying jobs. 

On September 21, the House Rules Committee approved the SAFE Banking Act as they sifted through over 800 amendments filed for the $778 billion FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to determine which ones will get a floor vote. As Representative Perlmutter sits in the Rules Committee, the move suggests he has influence.

Currently, The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Guidance from the Department of the Treasury provides informal guidance on banking with cannabis businesses, but still nothing to immunize a financial institution from federal prosecution—only an act of Congress can do that.

Bloomberg reported that the SAFE Banking Act would be a boon for cannabis companies—which up until now have been forced to do business in cash thanks to federal banking restrictions. Cannabis-adjacent companies that provide financial services agreed.

“Passage of the SAFE Banking Act is a historic, significant step forward for the cannabis industry, which deserves more legitimacy and access to banking, insurance and other services just like any other mainstream industry. This legislation will open up much-needed access to financial institutions and loans for cannabis industry entrepreneurs,” said Ryan Hale, Chief Sales Officer of Operational Security Solutions (OSS). “Meanwhile, as the sheep dogs for the industry in security, we know that many compliance issues will remain as long as cannabis is still considered a Schedule I drug and passage of the SAFE Banking Act will only mean more regulation for the industry.”

The bill would protect banks that cater to state-licensed cannabis business from facing punishment from federal regulators. As of December 2020, the U.S. Treasury found that 515 banks and 169 credit unions already provide such services.

NORML sent leaders in Congress a letter in support of its inclusion as part of the NDAA. NORML Political Director Justin Strekal applauded the legislation cautiously:

“It is critical to balance the need to accomplish comprehensive reform at the federal level and make every effort possible in the immediate term to support the successful state-level programs to ensure safe and efficient consumer access to quality cannabis that is cost-competitive with the unregulated market,” Strekal said. “For those reasons, we support the inclusion of the SAFE Banking Act in any piece of legislation that is going to be enacted into law.”

Advocates speculated that the SAFE Banking Act might have a better chance of success than a standalone bill, because of its bipartisan support and because Senators don’t want any minor bill holding up the “must-pass” NDAA.

Leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Cory Booker have been somewhat hesitant to support the bill without seeking broader reform. Both see more comprehensive cannabis reform such as the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA).

“As someone who has been working inside the banking industry for most of my career, I’ve seen firsthand the many challenges banks face when trying to serve cannabis businesses,” said Andrew Montgomery, Founder and CEO of HD Compliance. Montgomery is a seasoned banking professional with more than 25 years as a senior executive in the industry. 

He continued, “Though this is not the first time that lawmakers have added a seemingly unrelated bill to a broader bill that is likely to pass without increased scrutiny, we must remember that the SAFE Banking Act has already been passed four times in the House, two of them were associated with COVID-19 economic relief bills. The Senate failed to act on each of those bills. However, burying it in the Defense Authorization Act may give cover to GOP senators that want to support SAFE Banking and allow Senator Cory Booker to oppose the bill. This very well could be a back door way of passing this needed legislation.”

While some leaders argued about the appropriateness of including the SAFE Banking Act in a military spending bill, veteran support for cannabis is high. NORML, for instance, clarified that the spending bill was indeed an “appropriate vehicle” for cannabis reform. According to the American Legion, nearly one in four veterans currently consumes cannabis for medical reasons.

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