BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A bill to decriminalize marijuana in Louisiana was short-lived, swiftly dying in committee Tuesday before ever reaching the House floor for debate this legislative session.

Democratic state Rep. Candace Newell briefly argued that her bill to decriminalize the possession and distribution of marijuana would provide opportunity for economic gains in the Deep South state. The legislation would have been contingent upon the Legislature “providing for a statutory regulatory system for the legal sale and distribution of marijuana” and establishing a sales tax.

“We should not still be criminalizing people when in other states their economy is flourishing,” Newell said. To date, 22 states have passed laws legalizing recreational use of marijuana by adults.

However, the House Criminal Justice Committee voted 9-4 along party lines to involuntarily defer the bill — effectively killing the legislation. None of the nine GOP lawmakers provided an

Read full article on The Growth Op

WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s plan to expand private sales of liquor is on hold, and its private retail system for cannabis may come under review after an upcoming election.

The Opposition New Democrats said Monday they will use procedural rules in the legislature to delay passage of two liquor bills beyond the summer break. And with an election scheduled for Oct. 3, the bills are almost certain not to pass before Manitobans go to the polls.

“What we don’t want is people being able to pick up a bottle of vodka at the 7-Eleven at two in the morning, or having to deal with that when they take their kids there for a Slurpee after school,” said Lisa Naylor, NDP critic for liquor and lotteries.

One of the bills would pave the way for a pilot project in which liquor would be available in more retail environments such

Read full article on The Growth Op

Alberta cannabis retailers can now try before they buy.

Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) recently announced that cannabis representatives can now provide up to 3.5 grams of dried cannabis, or equivalent, as sample product. Samples provided must be for marketing purposes and are for licensee use only.

AGLC notes it has “streamlined policies contained in the Cannabis Representative Handbook (CRH) to provide cannabis representatives with more autonomy in their management and operations.”

The updated CRH clarifies that cannabis reps can provide a “one-time” maximum sample size of 3.5 grams per product and records of all samples must be retained for six years and are subject to AGLC review upon request.

In a tweet, the Alberta Cannabis Micro License Association applauded the move and said the “change will result in more diverse cannabis product offerings for consumers.”

With around 1,000 cannabis stores, Alberta has the

Read full article on The Growth Op