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Mark Cuban’s prescription drug company in talks with hospitals to fill drug shortages

The Dallas Morning News: November 30, 2022

Mark Cuban’s prescription drug company, known for “cutting out the middle man,” is in conversations with hospitals around the nation to identify the most common drug shortages.

NBC News: November 17, 2022

On Wednesday, Oklahoma regulators proposed the nation’s first detailed rule to control temperatures during shipping, according to pharmacy experts.

The Hill: November 16, 2022

The FDA criticized the five relatively unknown companies — Wizman Limited, Shenzhen Fumot Technology, Shenzhen Quawins Technology, Ruthless Vapor and Moti Global for products that look like toys or food.

Yahoo: November 8, 2022

The global anti-counterfeit pharmaceuticals and cosmetics packaging market was valued at $81.1 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $182.3 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 8.4% from 2021 to 2030.

The Wall Street Journal: October 21, 2022

"The backup of container ships off Southern California’s coast that was at the heart of U.S. supply chain congestion during the Covid-19 pandemic has effectively disappeared."

STAT: October 7, 2022

Pro-access states, including Massachusetts last month, have enacted measures to protect providers of abortion care from legal penalties.

Alarabiya News: October 4, 2022

Chain says automated drug-filling centers cut pharmacist workloads by 25% and ease pressure on understaffed stores

The Wall Street Journal: October 2, 2022

Chain says automated drug-filling centers cut pharmacist workloads by 25% and ease pressure on understaffed stores

Businesswire: September 28, 2022

“Unveiling the Kenvue brand is a defining moment for our stakeholders and an important part of the planned separation,” said Thibaut Mongon, CEO Designate, Kenvue, the planned New Consumer Health Company.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration: September 27, 2022

"DEA Warns that International and Domestic Criminal Drug Networks are Flooding the United States with Lethal Counterfeit Pills"

Travel Radar: September 20, 2022

"Technological aviation trends have changed the aviation sector over the past few years. In addition, this is to make operations more seamless. Moreover, when the pandemic hit, there was an urge for new technology to make air travel easier due to the restrictions."

MJBizDaily: September 15, 2022

"Vermont issued its first retail adult-use cannabis business licenses, with at least one store aiming to open Oct. 1."

marijuana moment: September 14, 2022

Two months later, the district attorney in Aguilar’s mostly rural county near the Kansas border charged her with child neglect, a felony. She has decided to fight the charge, and recently declined to comment on the advice of her public defender

Healthcare Distribution Alliance: September 6, 2022

"A new blog details key topics and advice shared during the online forum, which kicked off on August 11, as speakers from HDA member companies and GS1 US discussed DSCSA compliance."

Yahoo Finance: August 27, 2022

"Small business owners spend a lot of time and money building their businesses and growing their brands. But sometimes, what they don’t know or understand can jeopardize everything they create."

MSN: August 22, 2022

Currently, there have been four reported cases of fake money being used at businesses in the region. However, Crime Stoppers said they are sure there are private sale cases that go unknown.

Toronto Star: August 22, 2022

"Airports deploy a vast array of facial scanners, biometric readers and security devices to process passengers faster."

MSN: August 20, 2022

The officers intercepted the shipments from Hong Kong in Cincinnati, CBP said in a news release earlier this month. They contained more than 800 knock-off Cartier bracelets and 13 Rolex watches. The bracelets were addressed to a private residence in Virginia and the watches to a business in Texas.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration: August 15, 2022

"Operation Lascar, with the United Kingdom (U.K.), is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) first bilateral initiative focused on the movement of illicit FDA-regulated products."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection: August 11, 2022

"U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are joining forces to educate students, parents, and teachers about the dangers of counterfeit goods and how to spot them, just in time as kids prepare to go back to school. "

FreightWaves: August 7, 2022

"U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) believes fully digitizing and automating export-related filings prior to outbound departure from the United States can save the trade community critical time and money."

Healthcare Distribution Alliance: August 7, 2022

"Implementation of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) continues to transform the pharmaceutical supply chain. HDA’s annual Traceability Seminar brings together healthcare supply chain leaders to learn more about upcoming DSCSA implementation milestones."

The New York Times: August 6, 2022

"The only drug available to treat monkeypox is so difficult to access that just a fraction of the nearly 7,000 patients in the United States has been given it. Health officials have designated tecovirimat, also called Tpoxx, an ""investigational drug,"" which they say means it cannot be released from the strategic national stockpile without a series of convoluted bureaucratic steps."

Marijuana Moment: August 5, 2022

The federal government will spend more than $1.4 million to study how the concentration of marijuana compounds in people’s breath changes over time after consuming it, part of an ongoing effort to create a reliable roadside test to screen drivers for recent cannabis use.

High Times: August 1, 2022

Oklahoma cannabis regulators have placed a two-year moratorium on issuing licenses for new medical pot businesses in the state.

BreitBart: July 24, 2022

Despite that he didn’t create it, a media company co-founded by LeBron James is looking to get trademark protection for the phrase “Shut Up and Dribble.”

Find Biometrics: July 15, 2022

Amazon Confirms It ShAmazon has acknowledged that it does not always ask for the consent of the owner when sharing Ring smart doorbell videos with law enforcement agencies. The tech giant made the confession in a letter to Senator Edward Markey, a prominent privacy advocate who asked the company for more clarification about its data collection and sharing policies.

MjBizDaily: July 11, 2022

"New York regulators publicly identified the 52 allegedly illicit marijuana stores that were sent cease-and-desist letters earlier this year and reiterated how such shops undercut the state’s equity goals."

Express Journal: July 10, 2022

"The up-to-date research report on Supply Chain Security market analyzes the previous and current business scenario, and offers credible forecasts for the upcoming years to assist stakeholders drafting robust action plans."

TechSpot: July 10, 2022

This week, a federal grand jury indicted a Florida man for allegedly selling more than $1 billion of counterfeit Cisco networking equipment to several individuals, hospitals, schools, government agencies, and even the military.

Sourcing Journal: July 6, 2022

"Port infrastructure, goods movement training, clean trucks and other supply chain-related spending are set to see capital injections with California Gov. Gavin Newsom signing off on the state’s budget."

STAT Times: July 6, 2022

"Air cargo shipment of medical products necessitates meticulous logistical planning and execution. If these shipments are mishandled or the temperature of the product changes while being shipped, the company's integrity may be jeopardised."

JD Supra: June 27, 2022

It was not uncommon for businesses to furlough and lay off their anti-counterfeiting and brand protection personnel as non-essential staff, and government interest in policing counterfeiting seems to have decreased over the last two years.

Oklahoma's News 4: May 24, 2022

"The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority has recalled some products because of testing violations. The department completed several inspections at Scale Laboratories in Oklahoma City and realized that the testing lab did not accurately report results."

Info Migrants: April 18, 2022

Financial police from the Rome Provincial Command carried out a raid on an alleged counterfeit cigarette plant in the industrial zone of Pomezia, a town just south of the Italian capital Rome, on Thursday.

Bloomberg: March 28, 2022

President Joe Biden unveiled a $5.8 trillion budget request designed to appease moderate Democrats on Monday, with a proposal that emphasized deficit reduction, additional funding for police and veterans, and flexibility to negotiate new social spending programs.

The Washington Post: March 26, 2022

The White House will unveil a new minimum tax targeting billionaires as part of its 2023 budget Monday, proposing a tax on the richest 700 Americans for the first time.

The National Law Review: March 25, 2022

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced federal charges against a Pennsylvania man for his involvement in a scheme to defraud the U.S. government by submitting materially false U Visa applications for noncitizens.

Border Security Report: March 15, 2022

On 1 March 2022, Europol supported the Spanish National Police and the Spanish regional Catalan Police to dismantle an organised crime group involved in the production and distribution of counterfeit euro banknotes and drug trafficking.

Border Security Report: March 14, 2022

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at ports of entry in El Paso, west Texas and New Mexico seized a wide variety of items during the last seven days to include drugs, unreported currency, prohibited food products and more.

KTNV: October 19, 2021

Clark County commissioners approved a measure to give up to $2 million in cannabis industry sales tax revenue annually to help the homeless population.

Tax Foundation: October 18, 2021

In an effort to raise revenue, House Democrats have proposed increasing federal tobacco taxes and creating a new tax on other nicotine products in the Build Back Better Act. While the proposed increase on cigarettes is dramatic, it is relatively simple: an additional dollar per pack of 20 cigarettes.

Tax Foundation: October 8, 2021

Following the release of the House Democrats’ proposed Build Back Better Act, federal tobacco and nicotine taxation has been a hot topic in the United States. In an effort to raise roughly $100 billion, the House proposal would double cigarette taxes and increase all other tobacco and nicotine taxes to comparable rates—a strategy with severe unintended consequences.

The Free Lance-Star: October 8, 2021

For years, King George County officials have wondered how many packs of cigarettes have been sold within their borders, particularly from the many tobacco outlets that dot the landscape on U.S. 301 north of Dahlgren.

Filter Mag: October 6, 2021

On October 4, Governor Gavin Newsom approved a 12.5 percent excise tax on vaping products in California.

Los Angeles Times: October 4, 2021

Amid concern over widespread teen vaping, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday approved a new 12.5% excise tax on electronic cigarettes to be paid by California consumers to boost public health and education programs.

Sante Fe New Mexican: September 2, 2021

As part of an effort to curb tobacco use in New Mexico, especially among high school students who are increasingly using e-cigarettes, several lawmakers expressed support Thursday for increasing taxes on all tobacco products.

USA Today: September 1, 2021

A woman attempting to use a fake COVID-19 vaccine card with the shot maker listed as "Maderna," instead of Moderna, was arrested in Hawaii and is facing up to $5,000 in fines and potential jail time.

Georgia State News Hub: August 30, 2021

ATLANTA—A National Institutes of Health-funded study by nine health economists, including Georgia State University’s Michael Pesko, suggests the Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2021 before Congress may not benefit public health – particularly among youth – because it is likely to induce substitution towards more lethal combustible tobacco products.

MjBiz Daily: August 27, 2021

A ballot question is going before Colorado voters in November that, if successful, would raise the state taxes on recreational marijuana products and potentially create a new barrier for adult-use sales.

Marijuana Moment: August 25, 2021

Arizona brought in about $21 million in medical and adult-use marijuana tax revenue in July, state officials reported on a new webpage that enables people to more easily track how the industry is evolving.

Newswise: August 23, 2021

When an excise tax hike was levied on cigarettes, New York City taxi drivers who smoked were one and a half times more likely to cheat their customers by overcharging the fare than those who didn’t smoke. That finding comes from forthcoming research in Accounting, Organizations, and Society.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: August 18, 2021

Prohibitions against commonplace substances almost always hurt the group they seek to aid.

Department of Justice: August 18, 2021

The owner of a suburban Chicago prescription drug wholesale distribution company purchased more than $57 million worth of diverted, unregulated prescription drugs and re-sold them to unsuspecting pharmacies and other wholesalers, according to a federal indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

Si Live: August 4, 2021

The use of fake license plates to evade tolls has prompted the agency in charge of New York and New Jersey’s interstate crossings to take action.

MJ Biz Daily: August 3, 2021

Compared to other continents, Africa has recorded fewer infections per million and lower mortality rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite having a skeletal health system and a heavier health burden from malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, which currently take priority in budgets.

Charleston Gazette-Mail: August 2, 2021

State revenue collections cleared a low bar for July, coming in $28.1 million above estimated tax collections of just $277.68 million — the lowest revenue estimate for any month since February 2018.

4 New York: July 30, 2021

Thousands of fake temporary license plates are being used by criminals to literally try to get away with murder and other crimes, according to NYPD officials.

MJ Biz Daily: July 20, 2021

The explosive growth of e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic has propelled new interest in acquisitions involving direct-to-consumer cannabis delivery.

The Hill: July 20, 2021

Arizona is on track to outpace Colorado in marijuana sales just months after it became legal for recreational use in the Copper State, with total annual sales expected to surpass $1 billion by the end of this year, according to state data.

World Economic Forum: July 15, 2021

In the past, forgers have targeted currency, artworks, even wine. Now, COVID-19 vaccines are in their sights. In July, CNN reported thousands of people had fallen prey to a scam selling fake coronavirus vaccines in India, with doctors and medical workers among those arrested for their involvement. At least 12 fake vaccination drives were held in or near the financial hub of Mumbai. Around 2,500 people who thought they were being administered a legitimate AstraZeneca dose were in effect receiving saline – and paid for the privilege. Another fake vaccination camp had been exposed a few days earlier in June by the Times of India, this time involving the Russian Gamaleya vaccine.

MJ Biz Daily: July 7, 2021

Nevada reappointed three members to the compliance board that oversees the state's cannabis industry.

The Journal Gazette: June 26, 2021

Fort Wayne police are calling it the largest haul of fentanyl pills the department can remember. This week, an 18-year-old woman was charged with narcotic drug dealing and misdemeanor marijuana possession after police pulled her over in a traffic stop and found nearly five pounds of pills containing fentanyl in two bundles wrapped in a hoodie sweatshirt under the driver's seat floorboard.

Vancouver is Awesome: June 25, 2021

Wondering how vaccine passports will be used for global travel in the future? A recent survey found that more than seven in 10 British Columbians (73%) endorse the idea of a vaccine passport for international travel. However, some Canadians refuse to roll up their sleeves.

Cision: June 24, 2021

Holy Name Medical Center, based in Northern New Jersey, announced today its partnership with global security firm SICPA, with U.S. headquarters in Springfield, Virginia, to provide the CERTUS® myHealth Pass digital solution to its patients, including those receiving the COVID-19 vaccine at its Teaneck and West New York Vaccination Centers. Holy Name is the first healthcare center in the United States to offer this secure digital platform to its patients, specifically designed to provide forgery-proof medical records that meet the highest levels of data security and personal privacy protection.

Raven Radio: June 24, 2021

Two proposed ballot questions got a tentative thumbs up from the Sitka Assembly last night: — an excise tax on motor fuels and sales tax on retail marijuana.

Idaho Statesman: June 24, 2021

After three days of jury selection, opening arguments began Thursday in the jury trial of nine Idahoans accused of a years-long scheme to sell counterfeit cellphones and accessories online.

CBS 46: June 24, 2021

Nearly half a million dollars of unapproved vaping products were confiscated by customs officers before they could get into Metro Atlanta stores and into your hands.

Patch: June 23, 2021

In a historic move, the Rhode Island Senate passed a bill Tuesday night that would legalize recreational marijuana use in the state. The vote marked the first time such a bill reached the floor of either legislative chamber in the state.

Thrillist: June 23, 2021

The COVID-19 vaccine is now available to all American adults, and the proof can be found in the numbers. Currently, nearly 45 percent of U.S. citizens have gotten arm pricks.

NBC News: June 18, 2021

Don't call it a vaccine passport, but California now offers something that's awfully close. The state's Departments of Public Health and Technology unveiled a website Friday that lets users who verify their identities get digital copies of their Covid-19 vaccination record.

Birmingham Live: June 18, 2021

A Kings Heath off-licence showed 'total disregard' for the health of its customers by supplying counterfeit bottles of wine, it has been revealed. And Tim's Wine Cellar on Haunch Lane should lose its licence, police have argued, after 409 bottles of the counterfeit wine were seized from the premises.

The New York Times: June 17, 2021

In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, Republicans have pushed sweeping changes to voting laws across the country, using false claims of voter fraud as their justification. Even in Florida, a state Donald J. Trump won easily, Republicans enacted a more targeted overhaul of elections law in lock step with Mr. Trump’s allegations. Several voting rights groups have sued the state, claiming that the new measures disenfranchise voters in the name of appeasing the former president. Representative Byron Donalds, a newly elected Florida Republican, believes the reaction to the new law is misguided and overblown. In an interview with The New York Times, he sought to explain Republican actions as distinct from Mr. Trump’s false claims, and in line with voter concerns. He argued that his state’s new law, and similar ones across the country, would inspire renewed confidence in the election process. Mr. Donalds won his House seat after serving in the Florida Legislature. He grew up in Brooklyn and worked in finance and banking before entering politics. The interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. What did you think of how the 2020 election went in Florida? Did you think it was administered properly, with no evidence of fraud?

Traceable Cashmere: Discover Which Mongolian Goat Your Sweater Came From (forbes.com): June 17, 2021

Many fashion companies that produce knitwear, or more specifically cashmere, make impressive claims about sustainability but there’s one brand that is planning to show exactly which goat herd a garment came from.

Complete Colorado: June 11, 2021

The Lakewood City Council passed the tobacco tax measure discussed in this article on first reading, as part of a broader consent agenda package, at the Monday, June 14 council meeting. It now moves on to public notice, and public comment at the Monday, June 28th regular council meeting.

Portland Press Herald: June 10, 2021

Now is not the time to put an additional financial burden on Maine residents, Maine retailers, Maine small business owners. Our state legislature is continuing to examine the benefits of doubling the tax rate on all tobacco products in this year’s legislative session. Instead of a $2 per pack tax on a pack of cigarettes, it would double to $4.

The Hill: May 25, 2021

Ten states that have legalized the use of marijuana for recreational purposes collected almost $2.7 billion in taxes on pot products last year as sales surged and more regulatory structures came online.

Ties Union: May 25, 2021

Bold white vinyl lettering covers the window of a smoke shop on Albany’s Central Avenue. In all-caps, 51Vape advertises a suite of smoking-related accessories, including “hookah” and “vaping devices.” It also lists both “hemp” and “CBD”. Non-smokers might be surprised at hemp references in head shop windows, as the plant is also gaining prominence in the U.S. as a source of fiber for products like textiles and rope, while its seeds are a protein-rich grain that can be made into cooking oil or eaten in health food snacks. But hemp flower is also a prime source of CBD, or cannabidoil, one of the chemical compounds in cannabis plants and an active ingredient in both drugs and wellness products. Lynn West, a 55-year-old from the Buffalo region, who recently retired from her 32-year career selling office furniture, learned about CBD a few years ago from an older friend who used it to ease his “aches and pains." West appreciates its pain-relief potential, but finds it is most useful to tackle anxiety-related issues – “for stressful situations, I found it knocked me down a notch,” she said.

The Star Tribune: May 24, 2021

Kian Glenn, Minneapolis MARIJUANA Solvable without legalization. Let me see if I've got this right ("Legal pot bill focuses on second chances," front page, May 12): 1.?Black people are five times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession in Minnesota — so, we change the law instead of changing the police? 2.?Decriminalizing marijuana will address the disproportionate impact of drug offenses on people of color — but could we just reduce sentences? Issue small fines instead of incarcerating people; make it retroactive. 3.?Some of the revenue generated by the cannabis industry would be used to train law enforcement to recognize drug impairment during traffic stops — so we create a problem, then use the proceeds to try fix the problem we've created. Hmm. Drug impairment? Do we know what we're getting into? 4.?Legalization would address racial economic disparities — and revenue could assist those with marijuana-related criminal records, and minorities, to get into the cannabis industry. Hmm. Solve one problem and create another? Are there other mechanisms for job creation? Do we encourage recovering alcoholics to work in breweries or liquor stores for rehabilitation? Some marijuana users become addicted.

CBS Minnesota: May 23, 2021

For the first time ever, a bill to legalize recreational marijuana will get a vote on the floor of the Minnesota House later this week. That bill is expected to pass with bipartisan support. In the Republican-controlled Senate, it’s not likely to get a chance at a vote. However, as Esme Murphy reports, even in conservative circles, the times are changing. Guthrie Theater To Reopen In July, With Shows Starting In October. The driving force towards legalization is rapidly shifting public opinion. A 2014 Star Tribune/MPR News poll found 30% of Minnesotans were for legalization, 63% were against. Six years later, just before the pandemic in February 2020, the same poll found the numbers flipped with 51% in favor and 37% against. Republican Rep. Nolan West represents Blaine. Asked how his constituents feel about the issue, he said, “overall, I would say they are definitely supportive. The majority of most people realize alcohol and tobacco are already legal and far more dangerous.” Democrats have extra incentive to pass legalization. Since 2019, two marijuana parties have had major party status. Those parties are widely believed to siphon more votes from Democrats than Republicans.

CBS News: May 13, 2021

The Senate Rules Committee will hold a markup Tuesday of the For the People Act, a massive voting and elections bill. Democrats claim the bill is necessary to counter new voting restrictions being considered by multiple states, while Republicans decry it as federal overreach. Committee Chair Amy Klobuchar announced last month that the committee would hold a markup on the bill on May 11, after a hearing on the bill in late March. During a markup, members of the committee may propose changes or amendments to the bill, followed by a final vote on whether to advance the bill to the Senate floor. The House approved the For the People Act by a vote of 220 to 210 in March, with one Democrat joining all Republicans in voting against it. The bill would overhaul government ethics and campaign finance laws, and seek to strengthen voting rights by creating automatic voter registration and expanding access to early and absentee voting. It also includes some measures that would require states to overhaul their registration systems, limit states' ability to remove people from voter rolls, increase federal funds for election security, and reform the redistricting process. Klobuchar has proposed a manager's amendment. The large amendment contains multiple individual amendments offered by the senator managing debate on the bill and proposes changes in response to some criticisms about the bill's scope. Republicans unanimously oppose the bill, arguing that it amounts to a federal takeover of state-run elections. Some critics have called for breaking up the bill into smaller parts, and discarding some provisions. County election clerks and local election officials from both parties have also warned that some of the bill's provisions relating to election administration would be too difficult and expensive to implement.

NPR: May 13, 2021

A California bar owner has been arrested for allegedly selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards in what's believed to be the first thwarted scheme of its kind. Undercover agents with the state's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control bought the bogus cards for $20 each during multiple visits to the Old Corner Saloon in Clements, a small town in San Joaquin County. The agents were told to write their names and birth dates on sticky notes and watched as employees cut the cards, added phony vaccination dates and laminated them, the Associated Press reported. "On the back where they put the two dates when you were vaccinated, they used two different color pens to make it look like it was two different times," supervising agent Luke Blehm told the AP. "So they went to some effort to make it look authentic." The owner, Todd Anderson, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with identity theft, forging government documents, falsifying medical records and having a loaded unregistered handgun, San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar said in a statement this week.

The Hill: May 1, 2021

The lesson we have learned all too well from the COVID-19 pandemic is to “follow the science” when formulating health policy. Yet, science is unfortunately taking a back seat as state houses across the country hastily approve marijuana legalization laws. Last month, for example, legalization in New York State coincided with the publication of a new study by the National Institute on Drug Addiction (NIDA) showing that, among teenagers, cannabis can be nearly as addictive as prescription opioids — a finding that failed to compel Albany lawmakers to strengthen safeguards. As more and more states line up to legalize, a closer look at the New York law reveals how legalization is weighted in favor of the increasingly powerful cannabis industry — rather than protecting vulnerable populations, including young people. While the law does focus on such worthy goals as marijuana decriminalization and achieving social equity and criminal-justice reform — in addition to helping communities disproportionately harmed by the failed War on Drugs — it is weak on regulating the soon-to-boom marijuana market.

The Washington Post: May 1, 2021

Just hours before he was set to board a flight home to Argentina on Saturday, Santiago Solans Portillo received some news that appeared to throw a wrench in his travel plans: His coronavirus test had come back positive, authorities say. But when the 29-year-old arrived at the airport in Miami, he made no such disclosure to the American Airlines agents checking him in, instead presenting a medical certificate that said he was fit to fly. It was only the following day, when he landed in Buenos Aires and health officials took his temperature, finding he had a fever of 101.3 degrees, that he made his confession: He probably had covid-19 — and should not have boarded the plane. “Due to this irresponsible, selfish behavior, 200 people are at risk despite having done the right thing while traveling,” Florencia Carignano, Argentina’s top immigration official, told reporters this week.

CBS News: May 1, 2021

Corporations including HP, Levi Strauss, Microsoft and Patagonia are expressing concern about proposed changes to voting rules in Texas, where the Republican-controlled legislature is backing bills that would make it harder for some residents to cast ballots. "We stand together, as a nonpartisan coalition, calling on elected leaders in Texas to support reforms that make democracy more accessible and oppose any changes that would restrict eligible voters' access to the ballot," the companies and other groups stated in a letter released Tuesday by Fair Elections Texas, a recently formed group that includes former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk. Signed by more than 50 entities, including a number of Texas chambers of commerce, the missive urged business and civic leaders to "call upon lawmakers to uphold our ever elusive core democratic principle: equality."

CNBC: May 1, 2021

Needing documents to travel is nothing new — after all, checking in for a flight requires some form of ID, and if you’re bound for somewhere foreign, it’ll have to be a passport. The same goes for car or train trips that cross the U.S. border, where from 2023 you’ll need that blue booklet or a state-issued Real ID. But a passport to simply check into a hotel or board a cruise ship? It’s a distinct possibility in this age of pandemic-related restrictions. The idea of so-called vaccine passports proving inoculation against Covid-19 is gaining momentum in some quarters, as consumer interest in travel and tourism picks up along with the pace of vaccination. Nearly half, or 46%, of vaccinated Americans plan to travel this summer, according to marketing software company Redpoint Global. And once more travel restrictions are lifted, 79% of them plan to travel as often or more as they did pre-pandemic. With more than 105 million Americans fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that means that more than 48 million could be traveling soon.

The Business Journals: May 1, 2021

Texas' medical cannabis program, one of the most tightly regulated in the nation, may be expanded this year by the Texas Legislature — but time is running out. One of the proposals with the most momentum took a step forward May 20 when it was referred to the Senate State Affairs committee. House Bill 1535 would allow thousands, if not millions, more patients access to low-THC medical cannabis — and boost a nascent sector of the state economy. The bill would expand the ailments treatable by cannabis from seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, autism, terminal cancer and a few other diseases to include chronic pain, post traumatic stress disorder and all forms of cancer. The state's medical cannabis program, called the Compassionate Use Program, had just 5,413 patients as of April. That's up from 1,863 patients in April 2020. “We thank the [lieutenant governor] for giving the Senate an opportunity to weigh in on this important legislation that could help millions of Texans," said Morris Denton, CEO of medical cannabis dispensary Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation. HB 1535 also proposes increasing the amount of THC allowed in the medicine from 0.5% to 5%. That is still far below the level of tetrahydrocannabinol found in recreational pot, which can be greater than 15%. The bill was initially received from the House on May 3 but didn't see any movement for more than a week. On May 17, the Texas Legislature's website showed that the bill had been co-sponsored in the Senate by Brownsville Democrat Eddie Lucio Jr., Georgetown Republican Charles Schwertner, Houston Republican Paul Bettencourt and San Angelo Republican Charles Perry. But by May 18 the co-sponsors had disappeared. Cristie Strake, a staffer in Sen. Bettencourt's office, said May 18 that the removal of the Senate co-sponsors was due to a clerical error; a bill is not permitted to have Senate sponsors and co-sponsors before being referred to committee. Strake added that Bettencourt did intend to sponsor the legislation and that "all the sponsors that were there are still accurate." Representatives for Sen. Perry and Sen. Lucio, Jr. confirmed May 18 that both intended to remain as co-sponsors of the bill. Efforts to reach Sen. Schwertner were unsuccessful. Both Lucio and Schwertner sit on the state affairs committee, which has already considered other cannabis-related legislation this session. House Bill 2593 — which would reduce penalties for possession of cannabis-infused products, such as edibles, and treat them more like traditional marijuana — was reported favorably out of committee on May 20 and is awaiting a Senate vote.

Ganjapreneur: May 1, 2021

A bill to ban the sale of psychoactive cannabinoids synthesized from hemp – such as Delta-8 THC – at shops not licensed as cannabis retailers in Michigan is headed to the House after passing the Committee on Regulatory Reform, MLive reports. The bill expands the definition of cannabis to include THC “regardless of whether it is artificially or naturally derived” and put regulation of the cannabinoids under the state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency. Currently, the products can be found at some traditional retailers in the state, such as convenience stores. Republican state Rep. Pat Outman said the unregulated cannabinoids remind him of other “sketchy substances that are working their way into gas stations and other retail places” and that there are “no consumer protections or any sort of regulatory structure” for the products. Dave Crabill, a spokesman for trade group iHemp Michigan, said hemp that can be used for Delta-8 has “the highest value right now” for producers.

Cleveland.com: May 1, 2021

I have seen many letters to the editor and references to the election process recently, and while I know it is impolite to brag – Ohio gets it right. We are lucky to live in a state that has consistently executed successful elections. It starts with strong leadership at the top, but more importantly, the process has been successful because of our hardworking, bipartisan election officials. Our friends and neighbors – both Democrat and Republican – work together tirelessly to protect the integrity of our elections. During my six years on the Medina County Board of Elections, I saw the amazing work our “team” does! It has been my pleasure to work on the Ohio Election Security and Modernization Act with my fellow state representative Bill Seitz. Our mission: to codify our current procedures with the goal of making it easy to vote – but hard to cheat. In addition, we looked at the recommendations of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and our Ohio Association of Election Officials. After all, just like a successful business, we can’t rest on our laurels. We have to innovate and improve. Those improvements include: · Securely requesting an absentee ballot online.·Making it easier to register or update your voter registration when you visit the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). · Expanding the definition of voter activity to include petition signatures or BMV activity to reduce the probability of active voters from being removed from the voter rolls.

Insurance Journal: May 1, 2021

A study published in the scientific journal Addiction provides evidence of the association between recreational cannabis laws in U.S. states and responses in the illegal markets for cannabis, heroin and other drugs. The study found that the implementation of recreational cannabis laws was associated with a decrease illicit cannabis prices, and an increase in the prices of heroin and oxycodone, the news and information source Newswise reported. Following were some of the reported responses in the illegal drug market in those states studied: 2% decrease in street/illegal cannabis prices. 5% decrease in low-quality street/illegal cannabis prices. 64% increase in heroin prices. 54% increase in heroin potency. 3% increase in street/illegal oxycodone prices. 1% increase in street/illegal hydrocodone prices. 93% decrease in law enforcement seizures of street/illegal cannabis >50% decrease in law enforcement seizures of heroin, oxycodone, and hydrocodone. Angélica Meinhofer, assistant professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine, told Newswise that the findings suggest that markets for illegal drugs may not be independent of legal cannabis market regulation. “As more states move towards legalization and additional post-(recreational cannabis law) implementation data become available, we’ll need to do more research to determine whether recreational cannabis laws cause those changes in the illegal market and what happens in the long-term,” Meinhofer said. The study used crowdsourced data from Price of Weed and StreetRx on the price and quality of illegal drugs, which may be subject to error and sampling bias.

Arizona Central: May 1, 2021

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs told Maricopa County officials in a letter Thursday that her office may not allow the county to reuse hundreds of vote-counting machines that the county gave the state Senate for its general election audit. The county broke the chain of custody, or the procedures for properly securing and tracking the machines, when it was required to give the machines to the state Senate under subpoenas, Hobbs wrote in a May 20 letter to the county's Board of Supervisors, Recorder and Elections Department director. Because the machines could have been tampered with while out of the county's custody, she wrote, they should not be used again. Hobbs wrote that if the county tries to use the machines again, even if it performs a full analysis in an attempt to determine whether the machines were still safe to use, her office would "consider decertification proceedings." In Arizona, voting systems must be certified to be used in elections. Replacing the machines would cost the county millions. The county leases its voting machines from Dominion Voting Systems under a 3-year, $6.1 million agreement that runs through December 2022. The county pays Dominion monthly under the agreement, so it may still owe about a third of that cost. Add that to the millions that the county would need to spend to lease or buy new machines.

The Growth Op: May 1, 2021

The Colorado health department recently issued a notice stating “chemically modifying or converting any naturally occurring cannabinoids from industrial hemp is non-compliant with the statutory definition of ‘industrial hemp product’.” The regulator was propelled to make an announcement due to the rising popularity of psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) isomers, specifically delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC, Westword reports. The novel THC isomers are typically converted from federally legal hemp-derived CBD, permitted through the 2018 Farm Bill. Exploiting a loophole to sidestep the ban on delta-9 THC, the cannabinoids are particularly popular in jurisdictions where cannabis is still tightly regulated or illegal. However, as the bill was passed on the basis that hemp is not intoxicating, artificially creating mind-altering compounds from CBD is against the spirit of the law and throws the industry’s reputation into disrepute.

CNBC: May 1, 2021

As more people get vaccinated and concerts, sporting events, and large gatherings re-open, it’s becoming likely patrons will have to digitally convey their Covid vaccination or testing status. Biometric security company CLEAR, which ranked No. 19 on this year’s CNBC Disruptor 50 list, recently released a product called Health Pass that links Covid-19 health information to biometric identifiers such as your face, eyes and fingerprints. It has been used by the NBA and Walmart, and received investment from a venture arm of the NFL and Danny Meyer. CLEAR, a New York City-based company that specializes in biometric security and originally got its start speeding travelers through growing airport lines in the post-9/11 era, now sees a major opportunity as the country exits lockdown from the Covid-19 pandemic. CLEAR recently released a product called Health Pass that links Covid-19 health information to biometric identifiers such as your face, eyes and fingerprints. Since Health Pass launched, it has made significant inroads, particularly with stadiums that hold sporting events and need to check the status of many people quickly. In February, 100 vaccinated health-care workers were able to attend the Super Bowl by verifying their status through Health Pass. A third of NBA teams are using the app to enforce their Covid protocols for fans. People attending NHL hockey games in Arizona use Health Pass too. The post-pandemic innovation helped CLEAR rank No. 19 on this year’s CNBC Disruptor 50 list. “What we realized in March of 2020 was that there was going to be a new card in your wallet that was a vaccine card or test results,” CLEAR co-founder and CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker said on CNBC’s “TechCheck” on Wednesday. “So connecting you to your health insights that are Covid-related was just always part of our mission in what we were doing, right aligned with it.”

News Channel: May 1, 2021

Illinois decriminalized marijuana in 2016. Then, in 2019, the state legalized it for recreational use. As of Jan. 1, 2020, that legalization kicked in. Some thought legalizing it would reduce the black market and, in turn, stop illegal drug deals. "We anticipated to see this drop," Springfield Police Chief Kenny Winslow said. "So, it's not shocking or surprising to us." Winslow said the drop was expected, but legalizing cannabis has not lowered illegal sales. "No, we have not seen any reduction in the black market," Winslow said. Ward 2 Alderman Shawn Gregory said it's on him and other community leaders to help dealers figure out ways to sell inside the framework of the law. "We want people to be successful and not have to result to things that are illegal, especially when there is a legal way to do it," Gregory said. Winslow was asked if he thinks the streets of Springfield are safer since the legalization.

Bloomberg Law: May 1, 2021

Federal leadership on Covid-19 vaccine credentials, through guidance, would minimize risks and advance their development, say Crowell & Moring LLP attorneys and a director with C&M International. That guidance must address accuracy, privacy, and security, and ethical uses of credentials, or we risk unintended consequences that will slow down a safe return to “normal,” they say. As of May 25, over 164 million Americans had received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and over 131 million are fully vaccinated. With an increased focus on re-opening the economy, governments and industry are moving quickly to develop and use Covid-19 vaccine credentials—sometimes called “vaccine passports.” But the risks of moving too quickly are significant. The Biden administration has said the federal government will neither issue vaccine credentials nor implement a requirement for proof of vaccination. It also will not create a federal vaccination database. However, given the varied state and private sector responses to Covid-19 policies and practices, federal leadership on vaccine credentials, through guidance, would minimize risks and advance the development of Covid-19 vaccine credentials to drive the successful re-opening of the economy. That guidance must address accuracy, privacy, and security, and ethical uses of credentials. Otherwise, we risk unintended consequences that will slow down a safe return to “normal.”

FOX News: May 1, 2021

The White House maintained that the federal government will not support a system requiring Americans to carry a so-called "vaccine passport," while suggesting the matter will be left to the private sector amid the new guidance on masks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new mask guidance last week, which says fully vaccinated individuals are not required to wear masks indoors or outdoors, or physically distance. The CDC, though, still advises that fully vaccinated individuals wear masks while in crowded indoor settings, such as while riding public transportation and in hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters.

WestWord: May 1, 2021

The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division doesn't want Delta-8 THC to gain a foothold in dispensaries, and on May 14 notified marijuana business owners that modified or synthetic versions of THC derived from industrial hemp aren't allowed in this state's stores. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) comes in several different isomers: molecular compounds with the same number of atoms of certain elements but distinct arrangements of those atoms. The isomer that marijuana plants naturally produce in large amounts is Delta-9 THC, which is banned by the federal government. However, chemists have discovered other forms of THC that are chemically different yet carry similar intoxicating effects, like Delta-8 and Delta-10 THC. Delta-8 and Delta-10 THC aren't explicitly outlawed by the Controlled Substances Act, and can be produced with industrial hemp, a plant now legally grown at the federal level. This is done by extracting cannabidiol from industrial hemp and then converting the CBD into the "new" forms of THC with acetic acid. Although these products still flag drug tests, the legal loophole enabled a new, growing gray market online and at certain independent retail outlets, such as smoke shops and gas stations, which aren't regulated by the MED.

USA Today: May 1, 2021

Communities along the East Coast continue to face gas shortages after the Colonial Pipeline Co. fell victim to a cybersecurity attack. Social media users are using the breach to resurrect unfounded claims about election fraud. “If you can hack a pipeline, you can hack a voting machine,” claims a May 10 post. Other accounts posted memes with the same claim. Examples of those posts are visible here and here. These posts draw a misleading comparison between the Colonial Pipeline hack and unfounded allegations about hacked voting systems in the November 2020 election. Investigations around election infrastructure have repeatedly found no evidence of such interference in November. USA TODAY reached out to the posters for comment. When Colonial Pipeline announced it had been hacked on May 7, the company said a ransomware attack affected its information technology systems. Ransomware attacks are cybercrimes that typically involve hackers encrypting important data, making it inaccessible until the target pays a high ransom in digital currency. These cyberattacks usually target corporations, but several hospitals have been victimized by ransomware attacks over the past year as well. “In response to the cybersecurity attack on our system, we proactively took certain systems offline to contain the threat, which temporarily halted all pipeline operations, and affected some of our IT systems," the company wrote in a May 10 statement. "To restore service, we must work to ensure that each of these systems can be brought back online safely."

Newsweek: May 1, 2021

Republican lawmakers introduced legislation this week that would federally legalize and regulate marijuana, saying the proposal was necessary to ensure "individual liberty" and protect states' rights. Representative Dave Joyce, a Ohio Republican, introduced the proposed legislation to end the longstanding federal prohibition of marijuana along with Representative Don Young, an Alaska Republican. The bill would remove cannabis from the Federal Controlled Substances list; instruct the government to create a regulatory framework for marijuana similar to the alcohol industry; allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to prescribe medical cannabis; and protect financial institutions dealing with marijuana distributors and growers.

Threat Post: May 1, 2021

A group of election security experts said after a deep dive into Australia’s electronic voting systems that they have “serious problems” with the accuracy, integrity and privacy with elections run by the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Electoral Commission. The team of four cybersecurity professionals concluded that the ACT e-voting system errors did not impact any election outcomes, but could potentially sway future vote counts if left uncorrected. Dr. Andrew Conway, Dr. Thomas Haines, Prof. Vanessa Teague and T. Wilson-Brown aren’t accusing anyone of intentionally sabotaging the Australian electronic voting and counting system (EVACS), but are asking for more transparency from the government into the system’s current source code. “We believe that the internet voting system is new, and that the voting, paper-ballot scanning and counting modules have been completely rewritten since 2016,” they said. “But we cannot be certain, because we have not seen any of the 2020 source code.” The researchers also recommended the use of paper ballots and the suspension of internet voting. “Secretive, unverifiable systems like the ones used in the ACT 2020 election make it relatively easy to change the recorded list of votes cast, in a way that observers cannot notice,” they said. “It also makes accidental errors more likely to remain undetected.”

Hawaii News Now: May 1, 2021

The state launched its inter-island “vaccine passport” program Tuesday with few problems ? and rave reviews from travelers. But behind the scenes, the program is running into some hiccups. Specifically, Gov. David Ige said Wednesday that vaccine cards are being manually checked to ensure they’re authenticate and that the traveler is actually fully vaccinated. The state still hopes to automate the process ? potentially by June 1. “Right now the verification of vaccine status is being done manually,” Ige said. “We are working with the Safe Travels program to provide access to the state vaccination record and vaccination information. In some of our early testing, we did notice that there was some lag for some of the providers so that’s what we are working on.” Under the program, inter-island travelers can bypass quarantine by uploading their vaccine cards instead of getting tested. Currently, only residents are allowed to participate. Officials said that’s because the state only has access right now to Hawaii vaccination records. The manual nature of checking vaccination cards is in contrast to the state’s system for verifying that travelers have uploaded negative COVID-19 test results in order to skip quarantine. That process is all automated, with travelers getting a QR code that speeds their exit from the airport. The state hasn’t said when a vaccine passport could be expanded to include trans-Pacific travelers ? residents or otherwise. “Our biggest concern is for states that have very low vaccination rates,” he said. “Being able to verify that someone who says they’ve been vaccinated has in fact been vaccinated is an important consideration.”

Yahoo Finance: April 26, 2021

The national market is set to reach $30.6 billion by 2025.

Florida Politics: April 26, 2021

The Senate Supplemental Funding initiatives include nearly $2 million for an upgrade to Florida’s election hardware.

Axios: April 25, 2021

The E.U. is planning to allow fully vaccinated Americans to visit and travel within its borders this summer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the New York Times Sunday.

Ganjapreneur: April 21, 2021

A recent poll found that approximately one-quarter of U.S. adults said they had used cannabis within the last year.

Cannabis Business Times: April 20, 2021

The Federal Cannabis Regulations Working Group released its Principles for FederalCannabis Regulations and Reform, outlining what a federal regulatory framework—grounded in justice and social equity—should look like. The working group was convened by the Drug PolicyAlliance at the beginning of this year.

Boston Globe: April 17, 2021

As the number of people vaccinated rapidly climbs and we plan for a return to “normal,” a thorny issue is emerging: whether employers and managers of other public places can or should require COVID shots for entry and, if so, how best to verify someone has been vaccinated.

Brookings: April 16, 2021

The structure of the new laws in states likes Virginia, New Jersey, and New York—to name a few—have put centerstage a recognition that the war on drugs was and is a racist institution that purposefully harmed communities of color for decades.

NM Political Report: April 12, 2021

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday signed two bills that, together, legalize the use and possession of cannabis and expunge previous cannabis related criminal records.

Washington Post: April 8, 2021

Regardless of where you live, vaccine passports on the horizon promise to fast-track our safe return to public spaces. But only if people are able to access and trust them. And that’s a big if.

Tax Foundation: April 7, 2021

The Street: April 7, 2021

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, a unit of the Treasury Department, has been meeting with groups including the Drug Policy Alliance and the National Cannabis Roundtable to talk about cannabis regulations.

OC Register: April 7, 2021

But the study’s authors said the California’s still vibrant world of unlicensed retailers is the biggest problem when it comes to selling cannabis to underage consumers. Statewide, the illicit market remains three times larger than the legal market, since the lack of taxes and regulations allows unlicensed shops to sell cheaper products to anyone who comes shopping — including minors.

NBC Boston: April 7, 2021

A bill that would legalize recreational marijuana cleared its first hurdle Tuesday when the judiciary committee approved it by a narrow margin.

CNET: April 6, 2021

In the process, a new question is emerging: Should governments and the private sector embrace the idea of a digital vaccine passport for travel and even for everyday life?

The Hill: April 6, 2021

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday ruled out the Biden administration playing any role in a "vaccine passport" system as Republican governors in particular balk at the concept.

NBC News: April 6, 2021

Growing conservative backlash to the idea of "vaccine passports" — proposed by some private-sector industries to promote a safer environment as states begin to ease coronavirus restrictions — could make Republicans even less likely to get their shots, experts warned.

The Hill: April 6, 2021

The World Health Organization (WHO) does not currently support the use of "vaccine passports" for travel because of concerns of equity, an agency official said Tuesday.

The Hill: April 5, 2021

The messaging war over new voting laws has led to a rise in exaggerated or misleading claims at a time when trust in elections is already fragile after a contentious 2020 campaign.

Government Technology: April 2, 2021

New York’s Excelsior Pass, developed by IBM, is essentially a simple digital wallet that can be accessed on mobile devices, which holds three items: your name, a QR code and a green check mark.

New York Times: March 31, 2021

After years of stalled attempts, New York State has legalized the use of recreational marijuana, enacting a robust program that will reinvest millions of dollars of tax revenues from cannabis in minority communities ravaged by the decades-long war on drugs.

Cannabis Business Times: March 31, 2021

Oklahoma’s House Bill 2646 would make minor changes to the state’s already established medical cannabis guidelines and regulations. It would clear up any uncertainty and provide more regulation for the growing industry.

Bloomberg: March 31, 2021

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is undertaking a series of “sprints” to enhance American cybersecurity in the wake of major attacks.

NBC News: March 31, 2021

The Biden administration said this week that it won’t build a national vaccination app, leaving it to the private sector to create mobile digital passports that can prove people have been vaccinated for Covid-19.

New York Times: March 31, 2021

Marijuana Moment: March 31, 2021

New Mexico House lawmakers approved a revised marijuana legalization bill on Wednesday, sending the proposal to the Senate, where lawmakers are scheduled to consider it later in the day.

Bloomberg: March 31, 2021

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is undertaking a series of “sprints” to enhance American cybersecurity in the wake of major attacks.

Vox: March 31, 2021

Instead, the Biden administration has decided to leave it to the states and the private sector to figure this out, with the federal government setting some baseline guidance.

TravelPulse: March 29, 2021

Government officials in Hawaii aren’t speaking – not on the record, anyway – but a vaccine passport to visit the state could be ready by May and announced as soon as this week, according to the Honolulu Civil Beat.

US News and World Report: March 29, 2021

The Biden administration and private companies are working to develop a standard for a "vaccine passport" that could be used as the country tries to reopen in the coming months.

StateScoop: March 26, 2021

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that the state will expand its vaccine passport program beyond a pilot phase, enabling all state residents to display proof that they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 on their phone.

Marijuana Business Daily: March 24, 2021

US marijuana reform a ‘tall order’ for Congress, new MJ coalition chief says

Bloomberg: March 24, 2021

Building a Covid Travel Passport Is a Serious Tech Challenge

Daily Montanan: March 19, 2021

While the bill avoids some of the worst fears of marijuana legalization advocates — such as tracking how much pot recreational users purchase — it makes sweeping adjustments to how revenue generated by a 20% tax on cannabis would be allocated

Cape Gazette: March 18, 2021

Legislators said March 18 they crafted the bill based on what has been done in the 14 states that have already legalized marijuana – many plagued by out-of-state corporate interests and heavy regulation that cut into local profits.

LOHUD: March 17, 2021

After several stalled attempts, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and top lawmakers say a deal to legalize marijuana for adult use is closer than ever before. The Democratic governor and legislative leaders have all told reporters in recent days that negotiations over a marijuana-legalization bill have resulted in major progress. On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, said a deal is "extremely close." “We have continued to ... have negotiations and really have ironed out a lot of what we think would be important in terms of making sure we do this right," she said. The impasse right now is over marijuana use as it relates to impaired driving, said Stewart-Cousins. But she added: “I’m optimistic that it will be resolved sooner rather than later.” Word of an impending deal comes amid recent polling showing broad support of marijuana legalization in New York. In March, a Siena College poll found that nearly 60% of New York voters who responded supported legalizing recreational marijuana. About 30% opposed it and 8% said they either had no opinion or did not know. In New York, some earlier proposals for marijuana legalization were stymied as pro-cannabis activists and Democratic lawmakers said that Cuomo had rejected measures to ensure enough money went to communities of color disproportionately harmed by enforcement of marijuana prohibition. Sweeping legalization has also seen opposition from law enforcement, physicians and educational groups. But New York still approved a law decriminalizing small amounts of possession of marijuana in 2019.

WBNG: March 17, 2021

The legalization of adult use recreational cannabis may soon receive funding. Included in the New York State Budget is funding to create the Office of Cannabis Management, which is a needed first step in legalization. Local experts say a standalone bill to legalize cannabis could be voted on as early as next week, which has potential growers excited for the future. "It gives opportunities to micro businesses, on terms consumption, at-home delivery, its really a great bill for industry," Castetter Cannabis Group CEO Kaelan Castetter told 12 News Tuesday. "It also takes into account equity applicants, economic equity, social equity or disadvantaged farmers," he said. Castetter says he'd expect commercial purchases to be available by the end of 2021 or next year if the legalization bill is passed.

WDRB: March 17, 2021

In sharp contrast to bitter partisan battles being waged elsewhere over election laws, Republicans and Democrats in Kentucky moved closer Tuesday toward loosening the state's voting access laws to make limited early voting a fixture. A measure overwhelmingly approved Tuesday in the state Senate would give Kentucky voters three days of no-excuse, early in-person voting — including a Saturday — before Election Day. But it backed off from the temporary, pandemic-related accommodations made last year that allowed widespread mail-in absentee balloting. The bill also seeks to strengthen election security protections. The legislation passed the Senate by a 33-3 margin, sending it back to the House to consider changes made to it. Republicans dominate both chambers, but Senate Democrats joined in voting for the bill. However, the measure didn't come up for a potential final vote before the House adjourned shortly before midnight. That means supporters will have to wait until lawmakers reconvene for a two-day wrap-up session in late March to take up the measure. If it clears the legislature, it would be sent to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. “If it passes and becomes law, not only will it transform the way in which Kentucky elects its public officials, but also ensure that we have one of the best voter integrity laws in the country,” Republican Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer said. Kentucky is accustomed to bare-knuckled partisan fights, but its top elections official noted the mild tone in the state, especially compared to the bitter debates on election law changes in other states. It echoed the tone set before last year's primaries, when Beshear and Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams hashed out emergency voting measures during the pandemic that helped Kentucky largely avoid the long lines and other problems encountered elsewhere. Adams noted this week that while other states are “trying to make it harder to vote,” Kentucky lawmakers are “improving both voter access and election integrity.” He has called it Kentucky’s “most significant election-reform legislation” in nearly three decades. Across the country, Republicans have introduced a flood of legislation to restrict voting access after President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump in November. Many of the proposals target absentee voting after Trump repeatedly made false claims about fraud in mail voting.

The Hill: March 17, 2021

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) urged his congressional colleagues to pass legislation aimed at expanding voting access in his first speech from the Senate floor on Wednesday as a number of Republican-led state legislatures across the country, particularly in Georgia, have advanced bills that advocates say would make it more difficult to vote. Warnock said hundreds of what he referred to as “voter suppression bills” have been filed in his state and others “using the big lie of voter fraud as a pretext for voter suppression” since January, when he and Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff (Ga.) unseated two incumbent Republicans in a pair of races that shifted control of the upper chamber to their party. Warnock, who is co-sponsoring the “For The People Act,” a sweeping elections reform bill that passed the House earlier this month, urged Congress to pass the voting bill as well as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in order to protect voting rights.

The New York Times: March 17, 2021

People who get Covid-19 shots at thousands of Walmart and Sam’s Club stores may soon be able to verify their vaccination status at airports, schools and other locations using a health passport app on their smartphones. The retail giant said on Wednesday that it had signed on to an international effort to provide standardized digital vaccination credentials to people. The company joins a push already backed by major health centers and tech companies including Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, Cerner, Epic Systems, the Mitre Corporation and the Mayo Clinic. “Walmart is the first huge-scale administrator of vaccines that is committing to giving people a secure, verifiable record of their vaccinations,” said Paul Meyer, the chief executive of the Commons Project Foundation, a nonprofit in Geneva that has developed health passport apps. “We think many others will follow.”

USA Today: March 16, 2021

The federal government shouldn't be involved in verifying that people have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the White House says, but whatever process is developed should be free, private and secure. "It's not the role of the government to hold that data and to do that," Andy Slavitt, White House senior adviser for COVID-19 response, said in a briefing Monday. While Americans need a way to reliably demonstrate that they’ve been vaccinated, the government shouldn’t be the one issuing such a certification, Slavitt said. “It should be private. The data should be secure. Access to it should be free. It should be available both digitally and in paper and in multiple languages. And it should be open source,” he said. As more people are vaccinated, both here and around the world, it will likely become more important to provide proof of vaccination – to get on a plane or a cruise ship, hold certain jobs or even enjoy a night out.

NBC News: March 16, 2021

After getting both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, I stored my appointment card in a safe. As a lead instructor for NATO special forces training, I'll need to prove my vaccination status before traveling to NATO headquarters in Belgium when in-person learning resumes, most likely this summer. But my vaccine card, issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will actually not be enough to prove that I am fully vaccinated, especially for international travel. The cards are too easy to forge. With more than 335 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine administered around the world so far, according to the World Health Organization, the race is on to develop a Covid-19 “vaccine passport.” While planning for my NATO trip, I soon learned an official form wasn’t readily available in the U.S. yet — and may not be soon. Vaccine passports that could determine what people can and can’t do come loaded with ethical considerations. Vaccines are still not easily available around the world and people would be divided into “haves” and “have nots.” Earlier this week, Dr. Mike Ryan, director of WHO's emergencies program, said using vaccine certification as a requirement for travel “is not advised.” Proof-of-immunization cards already exist for yellow fever, and I’ve used one for years to travel to Colombia, Ecuador or anywhere around the globe as needed. Countries such as Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Cyprus have already announced plans for proof-of-vaccination certificates. The European Union expects to present a “digital green pass,” which will combine information on vaccination, recovery from the illness and results from a test for people who aren’t yet fully vaccinated, possibly as soon as this week. And Qantas airline has started its first customer trial of a CommonPass digital health app, which allows people to upload their negative coronavirus test results or proof of vaccination for international flights.

Associated Press: March 15, 2021

State legislators are at a stalemate regarding popular efforts to legalize marijuana in New Mexico with less than a week remaining to send a bill the governor. A state Senate panel pulled cannabis discussions off its agenda minutes before a Sunday hearing. Legislators are searching for common ground among advocates for legalization who say the industry would help New Mexico’s economic recovery from the pandemic. Divergent views on marijuana taxation, licensing and pardon procedures for past convictions are complicating efforts to bring a final bill to a crucial Senate vote. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has set cannabis legalization as a high priority this year as her administration looks for new sources of employment as an antidote to high rates of poverty. In one camp, Republican state Sen. Cliff Pirtle of Roswell is advocating for a streamlined approach to taxation and regulation aimed at stamping out the illicit market for marijuana and providing easy entry for entrepreneurs. Successful legislation also is likely to include social justice provisions within a House-approved bill from Democratic state Rep. Javier Martínez of Albuquerque that emphasizes aid to communities adversely affected by marijuana criminalization. The House-backed bill provides automated pardon and expungement procedures for past marijuana possession charges and convictions. It also would set aside public funds in the future to to underwrite vocation training for cannabis workers, education to prevent substance abuse, and an array of social services in communities battered by policing against illicit drugs. Legislators have until the close of the regular annual legislative session at noon on March 20 to send bills to the governor. Several diehard opponents to legalization were ousted from the state Senate in 2020 elections.

Southern Maryland Chronicle: March 15, 2021

A House-passed package overhauling voting, improving election security and reforming campaign finance laws is now in the Senate, where deep partisan divisions spell an uncertain fate for the landmark bill. H.R. 1, also known as the For the People Act of 2021, is sponsored by Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Towson, and co-sponsored by every House Democrat. The measure passed the House March 3 on a 220-210 party-line vote. Sarbanes wrote in a letter on his website that H.R. 1 was “a once-in-a-generation reform effort to protect and expand the right to vote, clean up corruption in Washington and restore trust, transparency and integrity in government.”

Virginia Pliot: March 15, 2021

Virginia Beach health officials are looking for medical professionals who can help ease the burden of volunteers who have been doling out COVID-19 vaccine shots for months. Licensed doctors, physician’s assistants, nurses and paramedics are “urgently needed,” the city said in a news release Monday. Public health officials are working to vaccinate Virginia Beach residents four to six days a week, they said. “This more intensive schedule is taking a toll on volunteers who comprise about half of the vaccination clinic’s operational staff,” the city wrote in the statement. “Additionally, as vaccine supply increases, more vaccinators will be required to continue to quickly and efficiently inoculate Virginia Beach residents.”

Politico: March 12, 2021

Mexico is on the verge of creating the world’s largest legal marijuana market, a move that could pressure President Joe Biden to embrace weed, too. Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies passed landmark legislation Thursday morning, ahead of a April 30 deadline set by the country's Supreme Court to legalize recreational sales. The Senate is expected to back the bill in the coming days. “It’s historic,” said Luis Armendáriz, a cannabis attorney with the Hoban Law Group who works with companies that are looking to enter the Mexican market. “You have the end of prohibition of more than 100 years.” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whose party strongly backs the proposal, is expected to sign the bill, sandwiching the U.S. between the world's two biggest legal marijuana markets. With a population of nearly 130 million people, Mexico would become the largest country in the world to legalize cannabis at the national level. By comparison, the two other countries that already took that step — Canada (37.6 million) and Uruguay (3.4 million) — have a combined population that adds up to less than a third of Mexico's. The specter of legal marijuana markets on the United States' northern and southern borders is expected to put new pressure on the federal government to loosen restrictions on marijuana. "My guess is at some point that drives the push to decriminalize or legalize,“ said Andrew Rudman, director of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center, pointing out that a majority of U.S. House members now represent states with legal markets. "I think Mexico probably gives more impetus to something that might have happened anyways.”

The Washington Post: March 12, 2021

Coming up on the Biden administration's agenda now that the massive coronavirus relief bill has passed: A major infrastucture and jobs package. The House's new $312 billion infrastructure bill, as part of that push, aims to secure the country's most critical infrastructure – and increase the cybersecurity of essential services, including hospitals, broadband and the electric grid. A recent string of high-profile cyberattacks pushed long-neglected cybersecurity issues to the center of national policy discussions. “The infrastructure in the United States is in sore need of updates and the fact that Congress is now recognizing the importance of upgrading not just physical infrastructure but cybersecurity infrastructure is a sign of a new importance and awareness of cybersecurity,” says John Gilligan, president and CEO of the Center for Internet Security, a cybersecurity nonprofit. Key cybersecurity-related investments in the bill include $10 billion to help hospitals guard against cyber criminals and roughly $3.5 billion for electric grid security. Mounting high-profile cybersecurity incidents have made the problem hard to ignore. “Over the last year, we’ve seen the devastating results of inaction: major power outages, water shortages, health care facilities stretched to the limit, and communities left behind due to the digital divide,” Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) said in a statement introducing the bill. In February, Florida police revealed that a hacker tried to poison the water supply of the town of Oldsmar. And although not the result of a cyberattack, the fallout of a mass grid failure in Texas raised alarms from researchers and lawmakers about cybersecurity weaknesses in America's power systems that could lead to a much worse outage.

Reuters: March 12, 2021

The leaders of the United States, Australia, Japan and India pledged to work closely on COVID-19 vaccine distribution, climate issues and security after a meeting on Friday that is seen as part of an effort to counter China’s growing influence. “We strive for a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic? values, and unconstrained by coercion,” the so-called “Quad” countries said in a joint statement. The group will form a vaccine partnership aimed at accelerating the end of the coronavirus pandemic by expanding vaccine manufacturing and help Indo-Pacific countries with vaccination, according to a fact sheet from the group. The United States will finance increased capacity to support Indian drugmaker Biological E Ltd’s effort to produce at least 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2022, it said. Japan is in discussions to provide concessional yen loans to India to expand manufacturing for COVID-19 vaccines for export. The Quad countries also formed a working group to tackle climate issues, including to strengthen implementation of the Paris climate accord, as well as a working group for critical and emerging technology, the statement said. The latter will develop a statement of principles on technology development and use and encourage cooperation on telecommunications deployment and diversification of equipment suppliers.

The Washington Post: March 11, 2021

Government officials and cybersecurity experts are scrambling to stem the damage from a security flaw in Microsoft Exchange that has allowed hackers to infiltrate the servers of at least 30,000 U.S. organizations. The growing number of hackers taking advantage has just made that task much more difficult. Since Microsoft and cybersecurity firm Volexity first attributed the breach to Halfnium, a group of hackers they tied to China, cybersecurity researchers say there are more groups getting in on the action. “It’s a frenzy,” says Steven Adair, president of Volexity, which first discovered the problem. Adair described the race to take advantage of the tens of thousands of servers that have not yet been secured as “a golden opportunity.”

Hawaii Civil Beat: March 10, 2021

Hawaii state senators on Tuesday advanced a slight increase to the minimum wage and another measure that would legalize recreational pakalolo for anyone 21 years and older. While this is the first year a recreational pot measure has cleared a full floor vote, it appears dead on arrival in the House of Representatives. A key House chairman said he may not hear the measure. The House meanwhile advanced measures allowing certain nurses to perform abortions after significant debate on the floor. Those bills are among hundreds that crossed over between the House and the Senate on Tuesday. More stringent gun control laws also drew some attention during floor debates. And the new federal stimulus bill may spell death for certain tax credit proposals.

CBS News: March 10, 2021

Leading airline and business groups are asking the Biden administration to develop temporary credentials that would let travelers show they have been tested and vaccinated for COVID-19, a step that the airline industry believes will help revive travel and hospitality spending decimated by the pandemic. Various groups and countries are working on developing so-called vaccine passports aimed at allowing more travel. But airlines fear that a smattering of regional credentials will cause confusion and none will be widely accepted. "It is crucial to establish uniform guidance" and "the U.S. must be a leader in this development," more than two dozen groups said in a letter Monday to White House coronavirus-response coordinator Jeff Zients. However, the groups said that vaccination should not be a requirement for domestic or international travel.

The Washington Post: March 9, 2021

Cybercriminals are flooding potential victims with scams using the pending coronavirus relief plan as bait. That's according to a new report by researchers at cybersecurity firm Proofpoint. Stimulus checks outlined in the bill, which is expected to be passed by the House as early as today, have not been sent out yet. But already last week researchers discovered a campaign of thousands of emails that sought to trick Americans into filling out a phony form to “apply” for American Rescue Plan checks from the Internal Revenue Service. The emails encouraged recipients to download an Excel sheet which, once downloaded, launched a malicious software known as a Dridex that steals personal banking information and other login credentials. In reality, the payments are calculated and sent by the government automatically based on your taxes. This is just the latest example of how the global coronavirus crisis has spawned more scams than any other event in the past decade. “Pandemic-themed attacks remain ever-present, and we’ve never observed such a convergence around a single social engineering lure for such an extended time,” Sherrod DeGrippo, senior director for threat research and detection at Proofpoint, writes in the report. “These campaigns transcend borders, languages, and industries.” The Proofpoint report also notes that hackers are playing on uncertainties around the pandemic and vaccine distribution to try to steal tax forms including W2, W9 and 1099 from businesses. Other emails that researchers found contained malicious software purported to be from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the World Health Organization (WHO), and delivery company DHL.

Idaho Press Tribune: March 8, 2021

The Idaho House has voted 44-26 in favor of HB 126, to legalize the production of industrial hemp in Idaho. "Idaho is the only state that has not legalized the production of industrial hemp in any form," Rep. Clark Kauffman, R-Filer, told the House. "We've been considering this for the last several years. ... Though it may be seen as a bit constricting, it's a lot less constriction than what we have now, which is no production." Rep. Dorothy Moon, R-Stanley, spoke against the bill, saying it didn't go far enough because it didn't also legalize CBD oil with less than 0.3% of THC. "We need to remove hemp from Schedule I as all the other states have," Moon said. Rep. Laurie Lickley, R-Jerome, said, "We're really ready to give our farmers and our processors the ability to have an option. We have a company in the Magic Valley that is ready. ... Their production lines are ready to roll the minute this bill is signed by the governor." She said, "Let's give our farmers an alternate crop." Rep. Caroline Nilsson Troy, R-Genesee, said, "My daughter and her son are going to be able to grow hemp because they lease land from the Nez Perce Tribe. But my ground that's very close to their ground is not going to be able to produce any hemp, a legal commodity in the United States of America that this body is denying our farmers the right to grow. It's time to allow our farmers, all of our farmers, the right to grow this legal crop."

Marijuana Moment: March 8, 2021

The newly confirmed head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has given final approval to a federal rule laying out regulations for the hemp industry, despite outstanding concerns from advocates about certain provisions. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who is widely considered an ally of the hemp industry, signed off on the rule following a departmental review that began during the presidential transition. It will take effect on March 22, as originally planned.

The Star Tribune: March 6, 2021

Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature want to dramatically limit the number of people who can vote by mail and require a photo ID at the polls, as they join conservative lawmakers across the nation in a tidal wave of proposals to tighten access to the democratic process. In Minnesota, and in states like Georgia and Arizona that were key to delivering the White House and Congress to Democrats last year, Republicans argue the new policies would instill confidence in the U.S. voting system following the 2020 election, which saw former President Donald Trump promote baseless allegations of widespread fraud. With a Democratic governor and state House majority, all major election law changes are unlikely in Minnesota this year. But Republicans who lead the state Senate have sprung off concern among conservatives over Trump's claims to renew their own long-standing push for stricter voting rules. "It's been quite visible in terms of some of those concerns. The answer to that is transparency," said Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, a former secretary of state who is planning a public hearing on questions related to the 2020 election. "When folks ask these questions we should try to get them answered." Courts from coast to coast, state and federal election officials and the nation's law enforcement and intelligence communities gave last year's vote the stamp of approval as one of the most secure elections in the nation's history.

Click on Detroit: March 5, 2021

Cannabis website Leafly released its 2021 jobs report this week, noting the United States added about 77,000 full-time jobs in the cannabis industry. Legal cannabis now supports 321,000 full-time jobs in America. Leafly offered this perspective on how many jobs that is: “In the United States there are more legal cannabis workers than electrical engineers. There are more legal cannabis workers than EMTs and paramedics. There are more than twice as many legal cannabis workers as dentists.” Leafly says it creates these reports in partnership with labor economists at Whitney Economics, using publicly available sales data compiled by state cannabis regulatory agencies, as well as cannabis employee license data, median state salary statistics, and cannabis job salary surveys.

CBS News: March 5, 2021

With voting rights legislation that passed the House this week marching toward a likely death in the Senate, activists are readying for a fight to save it: they're taking on the bill-slaying filibuster, the Senate rule requiring 60 votes to end debate on a measure. In an evenly split 50-50 Senate, it will always be a struggle to win over 10 senators from the other side. "Those who won the election, who have the majority are going to be faced with a choice: do they protect voting rights or do they protect the filibuster rule?" said Stephen Spaulding, senior counsel for public policy & senior adviser at Common Cause. "I don't think saying, 'Oh, but the filibuster,' is going to cut it." The "For the People Act," known as HR1, is a broad bill that would create automatic, same-day, and online voter registration nationwide. It includes some measures that would require states to overhaul their registration systems. It would expand absentee voting, limit the states' ability to remove people from voter rolls, increase federal funds for election security and reform the redistricting process.

Chicago Sun Times: March 4, 2021

Illinois pot shops unloaded nearly $2.9 million worth of recreational weed each day in February, outpacing a record set just a month earlier. Average daily sales in February hit a new high of roughly $2.88 million, up from the $2.86 million a month earlier, according to figures released this week by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. All told, dispensaries sold more than $80 million in recreational pot products last month. That marked a drop from the record $88 million in sales recorded in January, when there were three more days of sales. In the first full year of legalization, recreational pot sales reached nearly $670 million. Based on this year’s first two months, total sales in 2021 are on pace to eclipse $1 billion. The sales figures are reported separately from medical marijuana tallies, which are reported later in the month. Despite the eye-popping numbers, cannabis consultant Andy Seeger said sales might start to level off. Without more cultivation space, more stores or new, pricier products, there’s only so much the industry will be able to grow. Meanwhile, the state’s outstanding cannabis licenses — including 40 craft cultivation permits and 75 new dispensary licenses — have all been delayed indefinitely amid an ongoing controversy. Still, Seeger acknowledged that shops have been able to streamline operations over the past 14 months and adapt their processes in the wake of the pandemic. “The average dispensary can only handle so many customers each day, especially with current health conditions. There aren’t exactly lines but sales are going to be relatively steady with seasonal and weekly trends,” said Seeger, noting that shops in Colorado typically do better business in the summer months and most places have lower sales numbers on Mondays.

The Washington Post: March 4, 2021

The head of the FBI renewed calls for special law enforcement access to encrypted technologies in response to recent acts of domestic extremism. FBI director Christopher A. Wray and other FBI officials made the argument to senators over two days of hearings about law enforcement efforts leading up the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. They highlighted the use of the technology by the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitola as some of the perpetrators used encrypted technology to plan and execute the assault. “We … are moving more and more in a direction where if we don't come up collectively with some kind of solution it's not going to matter how bulletproof the legal process is or how horrific the crime is or how heartbreaking the victims are we will not be able to get access to the content and the evidence that we need to protect the American people,” Wray told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. “I think, we will all rue the day.” The warnings come as Capitol Police warn of a possible plot by a militant group to today breach the Capitol, Tom Jackman, Matt Zapotosky, Michael Brice-Saddler and Craig Timberg report. Some followers of the extremist ideology QAnon falsely claim that former president Donald Trump will return to the White House on March 4. While online chatter around the event is less than that around the Jan. 6 attack, researchers aren't ruling out smaller attacks being planned on encrypted channels, my colleagues report. Wray's first major jab at encryption under the Biden administration is just the latest marker in a years-long struggle between tech companies and the government over whether law enforcement should have special access to secure data. Wray and other law enforcement leaders charged that “end-to-end” encryption limits their ability to access critical evidence and detect crimes. That risk has gotten worse as more and more tech companies adopt the technology, which protects data so only the sender can access it. No third party, including the tech company offering the service that sent the data, has access to the material.

WJOL: March 4, 2021

An Illinois Senate bill introduced by Senator Darren Bailey would require the use of hand-marked paper ballots for elections. The bill also requires software to be implemented that detects security vulnerabilities in the state’s voter registration rolls. Bailey says the two requirements would help ensure the security of elections.

KMBC: March 4, 2021

Now that vaccination clinics are happening around the world, proving you're vaccinated status may become a new requirement for travel or work. A new card is being developed called a vaccination passport. Now that shots are going into arms across the globe, day-to-day activities once considered a risk are beginning to slowly resume once again. "We want to get back to work. We want to get back to traveling, seeing our friends and family, eating in restaurants, all of that fun stuff. And we think this is kind of the last piece of returning to some level of normalcy." said Dick Flanigan, senior vice president at Cerner. A coalition of companies including Cerner are now working on an initiative to verify a person's vaccinated status. They're doing it with a card that can share the information with a simple scan. "It points to some other uses of this digital technology that might make all of our record-keeping simpler," Flanigan said. Mark Ebbitts, the owner of Shelton Travel of Kansas City, said that while these vaccination cards are not yet a requirement to travel, he anticipates that may change mid-year. "The negative, if there is a negative, might be privacy issues, that said Cerner is very conscious about those issues, maybe more so than the travel agencies in New York that are contemplating this passport health card," Ebbitts said. Cerner said the plan for the cards is to make them available free of charge to anyone who has received the COVID-19 vaccine. It estimates the card rollout will happen sometime this summer.

Atlanta Journal Constitution: March 1, 2021

A bill to restrict ballot drop boxes, require more ID for absentee voting and limit weekend early voting days passed the Georgia House on Monday amid protests that the proposals would make it harder for voters to participate in democracy. The House voted along party lines, 97-72, on the sweeping elections bill supported by Republicans who want to impose new voting requirements after losing presidential and U.S. Senate races in Georgia. Democrats opposing the legislation said it creates obstacles for voting that will do more to reduce turnout than increase election security. The bill now heads to the state Senate, where a committee voted Monday to end no-excuse absentee voting, which would require most voters to cast ballots in person. That legislation could receive a vote in the full Senate within days. Georgia is at the center of a nationwide debate over election access and security, brought on by Republican Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud. Election officials, including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, have said there’s no evidence of widespread fraud that could have changed the election, and the results were verified by recounts and audits.

Politico: February 28, 2021

The Virginia Legislature approved adult-use marijuana legalization Saturday in a historic vote marking the first state in the Old South to embrace full legalization. The House passed the measure in a 48-43 vote, and the Senate approved it in a 20-19 vote. Not a single Republican voted for the bill in either chamber. "This, to me, is a justice bill," Del. Charniele Herring, a sponsor of the legalization bill and the Democratic majority leader, said on the floor. "While it has flaws and it is not the perfect bill ... I think this moves us a step in the right direction." The vote came after a conference committee struck a deal on Saturday to reconcile different versions of the bill that passed in both chambers earlier this month. The impact: Virginia is the 16th U.S. state to pass an adult-use marijuana legalization law, though sales would not start until 2024. Only two other states — Illinois and Vermont — have passed legislation to legalize, tax and regulate recreational marijuana through the legislature. The move puts pressure on neighboring states such as Maryland, where an adult-use legalization bill got its first hearing this month. New Jersey also recently enacted legalization, after voters overwhelmingly backed a referendum in November. Under the compromise legislation, marijuana possession would not become legal until January 2024, when regulated sales are scheduled to start. The state would start setting up a marijuana regulatory agency this July.

The Wall Street Journal: February 28, 2021

Proponents of legalizing recreational marijuana in New York are putting their weight behind a bill in the state legislature, saying they prefer it to the competing framework that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has included as part of his proposed $193 billion budget. Associations representing growers and medical marijuana companies that operate in the state as well as the Drug Policy Alliance, which supports legalizing the drug for social-justice reasons, issued a rare joint statement in support of the pending Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, or MRTA. Their focus comes as the Democratic governor grapples with federal inquiries into the state’s handling of Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes and accusations that he sexually harassed two former female aides. Mr. Cuomo’s spokeswoman has denied a claim detailed Wednesday by Lindsey Boylan, who worked for the state from 2015 to 2018. The governor said in a Saturday night statement that he never acted inappropriately toward Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old former aide who said Mr. Cuomo asked questions about her sex life that made her uncomfortable. On Sunday, Mr. Cuomo said he was sorry his actions had been interpreted as unwanted flirtation. State lawmakers have spent the past two weeks considering ways to be more assertive over matters of policy, which Mr. Cuomo has dominated since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic a year ago. The course they choose could have consequences on the contours of marijuana legalization in the state.

NPR: February 28, 2021

Republican-led legislatures in dozens of states are moving to change election laws in ways that could make it harder to vote. Many proposals explicitly respond to the 2020 election: Lawmakers cite public concerns about election security — concerns generated by disinformation that then-President Donald Trump spread while trying to overturn the election. The Brennan Center, a nonprofit that tracks voting laws, says that 43 states — including key swing states — are considering 253 bills that would raise barriers to voting, for example by reducing early voting days or limiting access to voting by mail. Lawmakers in a different set of 43 states have proposed expanding voter access, but Republicans have prioritized new security requirements and shorter voting periods. In Georgia, which President Biden won by nearly 12,000 votes, legislators are considering multiple bills to restrict voting. The most significant, House Bill 531, is before a committee chaired by Republican Rep. Barry Fleming. He said Democrat Stacey Abrams campaigned to expand voter access after losing a governor's race in 2018, and now Republicans want their own changes. The bill is "an attempt to restore the confidence of our public," he said, because "there has been controversy regarding our election system."

27East: February 26, 2021

The New York State Department of Health is now accepting applications from businesses seeking to operate as cannabinoid hemp processors, retailers or distributors — a move that could effectively level.

THe Washington Post: February 26, 2021

The Department of Homeland Security is making cybersecurity one of its top priorities for funding this year, underscoring the Biden administration's growing focus on it as part of national security. A new plan released yesterday outlines several areas of investment.

The Gazette: February 25, 2021

States should take a closer look at their election laws to protect against fraud in mail-in voting, Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said Wednesday.

The Washington Post: February 25, 2021

President Biden's new executive order to boost U.S. chip production has been met with praise from an unexpected source: Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei.

The Washington Post: February 24, 2021

A bill essentially legalizing recreational use of cannabis in Maryland would be an important step toward addressing social equity and racial injustices, advocates said.

New York Post: February 24, 2021

Recreational weed is finally legal in New Jersey after years of failed legislative attempts. While the historic law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy Monday allows for the possession of up to six ounces of marijuana, it will take time for Garden State residents 21 and older to be able to legally purchase weed.

WKRN.com: February 24, 2021

A bill to eliminate early voting and abolish voting machines is being withdrawn. Tullahoma Republican Senator Janice Bowling pulled the bill Tuesday after expressing her concerns for election security. Tennessee isn’t the only place where a slew of election reform bills are popping up across Republican controlled legislatures.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: February 22, 2021

The Republican leaders of the Legislature's budget committee said Thursday they would throw out central parts of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' budget, including his plan to legalize marijuana, raise the minimum wage and overhaul the state's juvenile correctional system. .

Cheddar: February 22, 2021

New York State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes believes 2021 is the year that the Empire State will get marijuana legalization done. "It is my hope and desire that New York will legalize adult-use of cannabis this current session in 2021," the assemblywoman told Cheddar.

Cnet: February 22, 2021

Unraveling marijuana laws could be a long, tedious process, but some lawmakers have said they're ready to try.

Minneapolis Star Tribune: February 19, 2021

The battle to legalize recreational marijuana gained new life at the Minnesota Capitol on Wednesday after a measure to permit adult cannabis use survived its first committee test.

The Detroit News: February 19, 2021

Defeating individuals who reject truth and democracy is "the struggle for our time," University of Michigan regent Jordan Acker declared during a speech at a Thursday board meeting.

The Washington Post: February 19, 2021

The Biden administration is plunging ahead in a pair of high-profile cybersecurity investigations into North Korean and Russian hackers, shedding light on how it plans to crack down on foreign hackers after the Trump administration downplayed the issue in the 2016 election and its aftermath.

The Hill: February 15, 2021

Cornbread Hemp co-founder Jim Higdon said Thursday that while there are steps President Biden can take to advance cannabis legalization unilaterally, there appears to be substantial support in Congress, as well.

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: February 15, 2021

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said Thursday she would likely veto any bills that allow recreational marijuana use this year, despite some GOP lawmakers weighing whether to move forward with legalization.

WKRC: February 15, 2021

A state representative from Northern Kentucky has filed legislation that would legalize adult recreational use of marijuana.

KOTA TV: February 11, 2021

After Hughes County judge Christina Klinger ruled against the legality of Amendment A, lawmakers are now left to wonder how they should approach the issue of marijuana moving forward.

The Washington Post: February 2, 2021

Republicans, of all people, should understand the laws of supply and demand. The Hill reported last week: “More than 30,000 voters who had been registered members of the Republican Party have changed their voter registration in the weeks after a mob of pro-Trump supporters attacked the Capitol — an issue that led the House to impeach [President Donald Trump] for inciting the violence.”

USA Today: January 31, 2021

On Dec. 14, President-elect Joe Biden secured his victory after he received 306 votes from the Electoral College, per USA TODAY. Recently, though, social media users have shared a meme with statistics that they claim discredits his victory.

The Washington Post: January 22, 2021

President Biden's decision to begin his term with an order to investigate Russian hacking and election interference is a dramatic elevation of cybersecurity issues in U.S. national security policy. As Biden seeks to extend a treaty limiting the world's largest nuclear arsenals – with just days before it expires – he is also preparing to punish Russia for its behavior in cyberspace. He's asking the newly-installed director of national intelligence to investigate the extensive Russian hack of at least eight government agencies tied to the SolarWinds breach and Russia's interference in the 2020 election to inform this decision.

WLWT: January 15, 2021

An Indiana senator introduced two new bills last week, which would legalize and regulate marijuana in the state. Sen. Karen Tallian introduced SB 87 and 223 which would allow for the regulation and legalization of marijuana.

Politico: January 11, 2021

Democrats taking control of the Senate — decided Wednesday by Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff's win over GOP Sen. David Perdue in the Georgia Senate runoff election — significantly changes the prospects for passing cannabis legislation in the new Congress.

The Colorado Sun : January 11, 2021

The emails obtained by The Sun were included in lawsuits filed in Denver District Court and federal court against Gov. Jared Polis and backed by the discount cigarette company Liggett Vector Brands Inc. seeking to invalidate a minimum-price clause in Proposition EE

Indiana Public Media: January 11, 2021

Debates Indiana lawmakers have been having for years will once again surface in the 2021 session, including whether to raise the state’s cigarette tax. But that issue may find new life thanks to viewing it through a new lens: the COVID-19 pandemic.

NBC News: January 11, 2021

Dominion Voting Systems, one of the biggest election equipment manufacturers in the U.S. and the subject of numerous incoherent conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, has sued lawyer Sidney Powell, who pushed President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn election results, for defamation.

Associated Press: January 11, 2021

The violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is intensifying scrutiny over security at the upcoming inauguration ceremony for President-elect Joe Biden, which already has been reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic and President Donald Trump’s decision not to attend. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take the oath of office from the Capitol’s West Front, one of the locations where a mob overpowered police and stormed the building on Wednesday.

The Washington Post: January 8, 2021

Lawmakers and congressional staff were ushered into secure locations as a mob backing President Trump violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in hopes of overturning the election he lost. The assault – which only temporarily delayed the certification of president-elect Joe Biden's win – left many unanswered questions about security at the Capitol, including its cybersecurity

USA Today: January 8, 2021

Here’s what you need to know about the future of marijuana legalization in the United States, from its racist beginnings to today.

WXYZ: January 6, 2021

The Michigan Department of State has created a fact-checking website section to provide facts and information regarding the 2020 election. From details about absentee ballots to how the list of Michigan's registered voters are maintained to election security, the section goes into detail on a variety of election topics. One part of the site also explains false claims of election fraud: Claims of "wrongdoing" in Detroit and elsewhere in Michigan have been explained, typically as standard election procedureNumerous claims of wrongdoing or “irregularities” have been made about Detroit’s election and absentee counting board. However, these have all been answered by election officials, including Chris Thomas, the former Michigan Bureau of Elections director, who oversaw state elections for decades under both Republican and Democratic secretaries of state, and served as a senior advisor to the Detroit clerk’s office ahead of and during the 2020 general election. Additionally, the claims have been rejected by multiple judges in the state.

NPR: January 5, 2021

More than a month ago, Eric Coomer went into hiding. The voting conspiracy theories that have led millions of Republicans to feel as though the election was stolen from them, which are still spreading, have also led to calls for Coomer's head. Coomer oversees product strategy and security for Dominion Voting Systems, the Denver-based company that has suddenly found itself at the center of many of President Trump's false claims about November's election, spread by allies and pro-Trump media. Some of Trump's supporters have focused on Coomer as the supposed evil mastermind. "I actually am in fear for my safety," Coomer said recently, speaking by video call from an undisclosed location to Colorado Public Radio. "I'm in fear for my family's safety. These are real, tangible things coming out of these baseless accusations." On Tuesday, Coomer sued the Trump campaign and a number of allies, alleging defamation. It's just the latest example of how people's lives are being upended and potentially ruined by the unprecedented flurry of disinformation this year. The problem grows. As people experience their own individual Internet bubbles, it can be hard to recognize just how much misinformation exists and how the current information ecosystem compares with previous years. But companies that specialize in the subject said it is getting exponentially worse. NewsGuard, which vets news sources based on transparency and reliability standards, found recently that among the top 100 sources of news in the U.S., sources it deemed unreliable had four times as many interactions this year compared with 2019.

New Atlas: January 5, 2021

Scientists at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a new anti-counterfeiting technology they say can better ensure the authenticity of high-value products such as jewelry, electronics and pharmaceuticals.

AGMA: January 5, 2021

The challenges posed to brand protection programs by counterfeit and illicit trade are pervasive, numerous and ever-evolving. Unraveling these challenges is a complicated task that the Alliance for Gray Market and Counterfeit Abatement (AGMA).

The Columbus Dispatch: January 5, 2021

Gov. Mike DeWine avoided a critique of President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress who plan to challenge election results while calling for a bipartisan look at "voter security" during an appearance Sunday morning on CNN.

MassLive: January 5, 2021

Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah accused Republican colleagues planning to object to President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory of a playing dangerous game of political ambition in defiance of common sense and the Constitution.

News10ABC: January 1, 2021

The Cuomo Administration has provided details for its plan to regulate and tax adult-use recreational cannabis in its budget plan. The Governor says it could generate $350 million in revenue a year once matured.

Politico: January 1, 2021

U.S. counterintelligence chief William Evanina stepped down from his position Wednesday, ending a decades-long career in the intelligence community combating leaks and raising the alarm about foreign election interference.

The Washington Post: January 1, 2021

European, U.S., British and Canadian law enforcement teamed up to yesterday take down one of the biggest international cybercrime groups, Europol announced. The Emotet takedown shows that law enforcement is getting more aggressive against international hackers. But keeping them offline comes with enormous challenges, cybersecurity experts say.

The Washington Post: December 29, 2020

Some have suggested that the best way to defend our elections is to strengthen cybersecurity. While doing so is important, the recent presidential election was the most secure in U.S. history. In practice, many of the most serious dangers to democracy stem from, or are worsened by, social media and online political advertising — no breaches or hacks necessary.

USA Today: December 18, 2020

Former election security chief Christopher Krebs said he has not seen anything that would change his opinion that the 2020 election was secure and urged Republicans to call out baseless claims of widespread voter fraud. "This is not the America I recognize. It's got to stop. We need everyone across the leadership ranks to stand up," Krebs said during a testimony Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. "I would appreciate more support from my own party, the Republican Party, to call this stuff out and move on … We have to move on." Krebs also defended local and state election officials who have been the subject of threats and harassment for refusing to back claims of massive fraud. He singled out Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Gabriel Sterling, the state's voting implementation manager. "These are Republicans that are putting country over party," Krebs said. "They are being subjected to just horrific threats as a result." Krebs, who presided over an elaborate election security effort by the Department of Homeland Security, was fired by President Donald Trump last month as part of a post-election purge of top national security officials. Krebs' ouster follows the agency's declaration that the general election was the most secure in U.S. history.

VICE: December 14, 2020

In a disappointing twist for advocates of drug policy reform, Mexico will not legalize cannabis in 2020. The country’s Supreme Court accepted a formal petition from the Lower House of Congress on December 10, requesting an extension until April 30, 2021, on a looming deadline for a vote on a proposed legalization bill. The court had previously ruled that the legalization bill must be voted on by December 15. The petition from the Lower House of Congress claimed that the “complexity of the issues at hand” and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic "has made it difficult for the legislative process to consider with the depth and care that any process of formation and reform of the laws implies." The Supreme Court obliged, also citing COVID as the reason they accepted the petition for postponement. Cannabis enthusiasts had been optimistic that the bill — while flawed — would pass the various levels of government by the December deadline. In November, Mexico's Senate voted to pass the bill, leaving the Lower House of Congress as the only roadblock to legalization. “It’s disappointing that the two legislative bodies couldn’t have coordinated better the drafting of this bill in order to ensure that they would have complied with the dates set by the Supreme Court,” said Zara Snapp, a legalization activist and co-founder of the Mexican research and advocacy organization Instituto RIA. The recent Supreme Court decision is the fourth time that the governing body has allowed the deadline to be extended since ruling in 2018 that the prohibition of the personal use and cultivation of cannabis was unconstitutional. However, Snapp expressed hope that lawmakers will use the additional time to alter the bill to remove remaining criminal penalties and sanctions, and expand opportunities for communities who have been affected by prohibition.

Detroit Free Press: December 14, 2020

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson will be allowed to take part in an Antrim County election lawsuit that allies of President Donald Trump hope can upend the state's election results. Judge Kevin Elsenheimer of the 13th Circuit Court ruled Thursday afternoon that Benson could intervene in a lawsuit filed by local resident William Bailey. While Bailey purportedly filed the lawsuit to settle the outcome of a local marijuana proposal, his attorney Matthew DePerno made much broader electoral claims. During a procedural hearing that was supposed to focus on whether Benson had a stake in the election lawsuit, DePerno alleged a team of Trump-aligned investigators had found "significant errors" during a recent review of 22 voting machines in the county. Last week, Elsenheimer — a Republican who served in the state Legislature in the late 2000s — approved a request from Bailey's team for an injunction. He ordered Antrim County to preserve and protect machines for forensic images and/or other information gleaned from the forensic investigation. DePerno did not provide any of this evidence during the hearing, saying the results of the review are preliminary. The only specific allegations he mentioned involved voting machines having unsecured data ports or not having magnetic security tape. He didn't provide proof for the statements, and even if they were true, they would not be evidence of fraud. But DePerno said the preliminary results are enough to justify overturning Michigan election results. "We believe the results in Antrim County are uncertifiable, the canvassing board was incorrect. The only option would be to decertify the election in Antrim County," DePerno said. "And if that happens, under (the U.S. Constitution), the Michigan results must go to the state Legislature.” DePerno did not immediately respond to questions emailed Thursday. On Monday, DePerno he told "The Steve Gruber Show" he is not working for the Trump campaign, but he is "happy to cooperate" with them.

Kansas City Star: December 11, 2020

Missouri and Kansas have joined a Texas-led lawsuit seeking to overturn the presidential election results in four swing states that went for President-elect Joe Biden. The lawsuit, which recycles baseless claims of illegal voting, asks the U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments for overturning results in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan in an effort to swing the election to President Donald Trump, who refuses to concede. The lawsuit stands virtually no chance of success. Earlier this week, the court refused to hear a similar case focused on Pennsylvania. But the Texas action has won vocal support from Trump and numerous GOP officials in the Kansas City region. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced plans to join the case Tuesday evening. He organized an amicus brief of 17 red states in support of Texas’ lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday. “The stakes of protecting our Constitution, defending our liberty and ensuring that all votes are counted fairly couldn’t be higher. With this brief, we are joining the fight,” Schmitt said Wednesday. Schmitt’s Tuesday announcement came on “safe harbor day,” the date established by federal law as the deadline for all state-level election challenges to be completed. Among the Republican attorneys general signing on to the brief was Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a potential contender for the state’s governorship in two years. “Kansas ran its elections honestly and by the rules that are supposed to apply evenly to all of us. Texas asserts it can prove four states violated the U.S. Constitution in an election that affects all Americans, so Texas should be heard,” Schmidt said in a statement. The decision to join the Texas case comes after both Schmidt and Schmitt signed onto another lawsuit focused on Pennsylvania’s mail ballots. Both Kansas and Pennsylvania accepted mail ballots for three days following the Nov. 3 election. But Kansas’ deadline for late-arriving ballots was set by the Legislature, while Pennsylvania’s was set by a state court. However, Biden would still easily win Pennsylvania by a bigger margin than Trump won it in 2016 even if the late-arriving ballots were disqualified. The lawsuit has been roundly criticized by election law experts as a political effort rather than a serious legal challenge. “It is signaling fidelity and allegiance to Trump to a Republican electorate that will be looking at whether or not to vote for these AGs to some office soon,” said Rick Hasen, an election law expert at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. That seems to be the case in Kansas. Schmidt is weighing a run for Kansas governor in 2022, according to two sources close to the attorney general. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly will be the only Democratic incumbent up for re-election that year in a state Biden lost. Trump’s support could heavily influence the GOP primary.

WPXI: December 9, 2020

The U.S. election and cybersecurity official who was fired last month by President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Tuesday over threatening remarks by a lawyer for the president that prompted a wave of death threats against him. Christopher Krebs says in the suit that he has been “bombarded” with threats since attorney Joseph diGenova appeared on the pro-Trump TV network Newsmax and called for Krebs to be killed. “The defendants’ threats have upended plaintiff’s life, as well as his family’s security, and caused serious fear, distress, suffering, and even physical damage,” he said in the lawsuit, filed in diGenova's home state of Maryland.

Reuters: December 9, 2020

Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s top election official, had just finished hanging Christmas decorations with her young son on Saturday night when a crowd demanding November’s presidential election result be reversed gathered outside her home to denounce her as a “traitor” and a “criminal.” The demonstrators, some armed and holding up placards saying “Stop the Steal”, clustered on the sidewalk outside Benson’s Detroit home as security and police officers looked on, video broadcast live on Facebook by one of the participants showed. “Through threats of violence, intimidation, and bullying, the armed people outside my home and their political allies seek to undermine and silence the will and voices of every voter in this state,” Benson, Michigan’s Democratic Secretary of State, said in a statement on Sunday. The demonstration was the latest of what election authorities across the United States describe as a tide of intimidation, harassment and outright threats in the charged aftermath of the Nov. 3 election, which Republican President Donald Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump has made unsubstantiated claims of widespread electoral fraud and is trying but failing to overturn Biden’s victory, challenging the outcome in court in multiple states while also pressing state officials, lawmakers and governors to throw the results out and simply declare Trump the winner. Courts have so far rejected those requests. Supporters of Trump in recent weeks have staked out election officials’ offices in Georgia, mounted armed protests in Arizona and left menacing telephone messages for election officials across the country, producing political turmoil unlike any other in modern U.S. history.

The New York Tmes: December 7, 2020

The House on Friday passed sweeping legislation that would decriminalize marijuana and expunge nonviolent marijuana-related convictions, as Democrats sought to roll back and compensate for decades of drug policies that have disproportionately affected low-income communities of color. The 228-164 vote to approve the measure was bipartisan, and it was the first time either a chamber of Congress had ever endorsed the legalization of cannabis. The bill would remove the drug from the Controlled Substances Act and authorize a 5 percent tax on marijuana that would fund community and small business grant programs to help those most impacted by the criminalization of marijuana. The legislation is, for now, almost certainly doomed in the Republican-led Senate, where that party’s leaders have derided it as a superficial distraction from the work of passing coronavirus relief, as lawmakers inched toward bipartisan compromise after spending months locked in an impasse. But the bill’s passage in the House amounted to a watershed moment decades in the making for advocates of marijuana legislation, and it laid out an expansive federal framework for redressing the racial disparities in the criminal justice system exacerbated by the war on drugs. “The effects of marijuana prohibition have been particularly felt by communities of color because it has meant that people from the communities couldn’t get jobs,” Representative Jerry Nadler, Democrat of New York and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said in an interview. Mr. Nadler, who spearheaded the legislation with Senator Kamala Harris, Democrat of California and the vice president-elect, described the collateral consequences of a conviction for marijuana possession as creating “an often-permanent second-class status for millions of Americans.” The idea behind the legislation is “you want to make whole these communities, and you want to compensate,” he said. “You want to shed light on what was done.” The legislation intends to give states power and incentives to enact their own reforms, and its passage came as states around the county, including some conservative-leaning ones, have become increasingly open to decriminalizing marijuana amid a growing consensus that the war on drugs has been destructive. Fifteen states have legalized recreational cannabis, and voters in five states last month voted on legalization issues, bringing the number of states where medical marijuana is legal to 35. The law would require federal courts to release those serving sentences for nonviolent, marijuana-related offenses, and set up grant programs focused on providing job training, legal aid and substance use treatment, as well as grants for small businesses in the marijuana industry led by low-income and minority business owners. Physicians with the Department of Veterans Affairs would also be allowed for the first time to recommend medical marijuana to their patients.

Forbes: December 7, 2020

Mexico is potentially on track to become the third country in the world to legalize recreational-use cannabis. New laws currently under discussion might make Mexico the world’s largest legal market for marijuana. Following the examples set by Uruguay and Canada, Mexico’s Senate has already voted to approve a bill that would start the process for creating a legal framework for a licit market for marijuana. Up until now, the driving force behind the push to legalize marijuana in Mexico has been the Supreme Court, which ruled that marijuana use falls under protected modes of individual self epression. Support from the MORENA party of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was essential for passing a legalization bill in Mexico’s Senate. President Lopez Obrador, a perplexing politician who promotes the values of individual liberty, rails against “conservatives” and yet also promotes traditional, family values and has strong ties to Mexico’s conservative religious groups, has not talked much about the issue of legalization. Up until now he has mostly stayed on the sidelines, letting Mexico’s courts interact with the legislative branch. Overall, the potential opportunity to create a legal market for recreational-use marijuana is an important development in Mexico. Marijuana was once at the center of the business model for many organized crime groups in Mexico. But, with U.S. states such as California and Colorado now operating legal markets for locally-produced marijuana, Mexico’s cartels have already diversified into producing crystal meth and fentanyl and into other rackets such as extortion. It’s still not totally clear what effect marijuana legalization would have on organized crime and violence in Mexico. The U.S. has long backed marijuana eradication efforts in Mexico, but it’s unclear how the incoming Biden administration would react to Mexico creating a legal, nation-wide marketplace for marijuana. The legislation is still be written and debated in Mexico, and lawmakers still have a lot of work to do to create a clear set of rules that will allow companies to invest and start operating cannabis producing operations in Mexico. Provisions requiring market participants to implement rigorous seed-to-sale tracing protocols might create hurdles for small companies and rural growers. But, in the near future it could be possible for cannabis companies operating in Mexico to send legal exports to the U.S. and Canada. While Mexico does appear to be moving towards legalizing marijuana, potential investors in the sector still need to wait to see the details of pending legislation and look at the structure and design of the institutions that will regulate the sector. Investors need a clear regulatory framework in place and will need to do serious due diligence and political risk analysis before financing projects in Mexico’s nascent legal cannabis sector. The details of the pending legislation are very important. Investors need to understand potential risks from any ambiguities in the regulatory code and also need to analyze security issues and political dynamics in the specific areas where they are considering operating. To get a sense of what’s ahead, I reached out to Elias Lisbona Jassan, a lawyer at Perez Ferrer Abogados, who works advising companies and investors interested in Mexico’s fledgling legal cannabis market. Nathaniel Parish Flannery: What's the current status of the push to legalize marijuana in Mexico? Elias Lisbona Jassan: Right now, Mexico’s Senate has approved a bill that permits industrial, own- use and cultivation, investigation and adult use sales of cannabis. Support from President Lopez Obrador’s MORENA party was key to passing the bill in the Senate. Now we’ll see if they can replicate the outcome in the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies. There’s still a long process to approve the bill and legislators are under pressure because of a Supreme Court deadline, which is on December 15. Overall, there's still a lot to be discussed and codified into clear policy proposals in order for Mexico to have a truly functional marijuana legalization bill. But, we are making progress towards building a legal marketplace for cannabis, and that’s an important achievement for Mexico. Parish Flannery: How likely is it that Mexico will introduce a functioning legal market for cannabis by the end of 2021? Lisbona Jassan: It’s quite possible that we will have some kind of basic medical marijuana market in the near future. We have pending regulations that will not take long to be implemented. Medical regulations are set to be published by the end of 2020 after being put on hold since 2017. But, lawmakers in Mexico still have a lot of work to do. They need to develop the Mexican Institute for Cannabis Regulation and Control, which is expected to start operating just six months after the law is enacted. We need to train public servants on how to regulate the sector. It's a huge task. I think that in a best-case scenario for harvesting and processing non psychoactive marijuana will be legal in Mexico by August or September of 2021. For adult use, the current draft of the legalization bill foresees an 18-month period to approve the licenses after the institute is created and the Law has full effect, so I wouldn’t bet on having an adult use legal market before 2022. I don’t think it’s likely that a legal market for recreational-use marijuana will exist in Mexico before the end of 2021. People can consume the day after the legalization law is passed, but we won’t have clear guidelines for the market for several more months. Right now, Mexico’s legislature has to work to develop a clear regulatory pathway for marijuana to be produced, sold, and consumed legally.

CBS 46: December 7, 2020

Thursday, a Georgia Senate Judiciary subcommittee heard new jaw-dropping allegations of alleged election fraud in the state from several people including President Donald Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani. The supposed video tape evidence alleges proof of ballots being counted without oversight. A subcommittee comprised of both Republicans and Democrats held a hearing at the State Capitol for perhaps the biggest bombshell presented to lawmakers from inside State Farm Arena. For the first time, the president's legal team, led by Giuliani, presented surveillance video from the state's larges voting center. The video allegedly shows people taking out at least four boxes of ballots from underneath a table, and then counting them after hours with no election supervisors present. "The same person that stayed behind, the person that cleared the place out under the pretense that we are going to stop counting is the person who put the table there at 8:22 in the morning. I saw four suitcases come out from underneath the table," Attorney Jacki Pick said.

WABE: December 7, 2020

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was in Georgia on Thursday to make claims of widespread voter fraud at one of two Senate committee hearings held on election security. Giuliani and his team presented experts and witnesses who testified about vulnerabilities in the voting system and cases where someone reported having seen voting impropriety, much of the testimony based on debunked conspiracy theories or unverifiable hearsay. Giuliani urged legislators in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee not to certify the election results and said that Georgia’s senators could use their constitutional power to appoint Georgia’s electors. “You are the final arbiter of who the electors should be and whether the process is fair or not,” Giuliani said. “The other way to look at it is, it’s your responsibility if a false and fraudulent count is submitted to the United States government. And it’s clear the count you have right now is false.” Many of the claims made Thursday have been disproven or shot down in the courts of other battleground states, and some of the testimony was not even specific to Georgia. In an earlier hearing before the Government Oversight Committee, representatives for the secretary of state’s office defended the state’s election system and fielded questions from mostly Republican lawmakers on the process. “If your constituent says something, please pass it on. Because a rumor doesn’t help,” said Ryan Germany, general counsel for the secretary of state. Giuliani renewed a call from President Donald Trump and his supporters for a signature audit of all absentee ballots, claiming without proof that tens of thousands of ballots were mailed in illegally. He also cast further doubt on the security of the Dominion voting system used for the first time in Georgia this election cycle. “The problems with the Dominion machines – and also just a piece of advice – you have a big election coming up. I think you would be very ill-advised to use this company or their machines,” Giuliani said. “When you test their record of the last 10 to 12 years, you will find they’re one of the more insecure companies in this business.” Similar claims were made at a pro-Trump rally Wednesday. This sort of rhetoric from high-profile Republicans has led some GOP voters to say they have been discouraged from voting in January’s U.S. Senate runoffs.

WIBC: December 7, 2020

House and Senate leaders are noncommittal about whether you might pay more for cigarettes next year. Business and health groups have argued for years the state could cut smoking rates by raising the tax. The tax of just under a dollar a pack is the 12th-lowest in the country, and hasn’t gone up in 13 years.

Security Document World: December 4, 2020

NJ.com: November 24, 2020

A new medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors in New Jersey Tuesday morning, becoming the 13th in the state. The state Department of Health announced it had awarded TerrAscend, a Canadian cannabis company, its permit to dispense marijuana from its Phillipsburg storefront, The Apothecarium. The dispensary planned to begin serving patients by appointment Tuesday, and to hold a grand opening on Nov. 30. It’s the first of three dispensaries TerrAscend plans to open in North Jersey in 2021, in addition to their growing facility in Boonton Township, according to the company. “With production at our Boonton cultivation and manufacturing facility scaling up, we have assembled a comprehensive portfolio of high-quality cannabis products and brands to serve this rapidly growing market,” Greg Rochlin, CEO of TerrAscend Northeast, said in a statement. “As with all of our Apothecarium dispensaries, we are committed to providing patients with quality medical cannabis in a welcoming environment with empathy, education, and ongoing personal support.” The dispensary will offer flower, oils, pre-rolls, capsules, tinctures and topicals, according to TerrAscend. TerrAscend received one of six highly competitive licenses to open a medical facility in 2018. But now that New Jersey voters have approved a ballot question to legalize marijuana, the dispensaries also have a shot at selling to a legal marijuana market, which many estimate could include more than 1 million customers.

The Washington Post: November 24, 2020

Pennsylvania and Nevada, two key battleground states, certified President-elect Joe Biden’s wins Tuesday, even as President Trump continued to fight results in court and insisted that he will “never concede.” Meanwhile, Biden introduced several foreign policy and national security picks at an event in Wilmington, Del., calling them a team that will “make us proud to be Americans.” Trump made a brief appearance at the White House to tout that the Dow Jones industrial average reached 30,000 points for the first time in history. He took no questions. Biden’s vote total crossed 80 million Tuesday, by far the most votes received by a presidential nominee, crushing the record set the last time he was at the top of the ticket as Barack Obama’s running mate. Obama won in 2008 with nearly 70 million votes, a record that he didn’t beat in 2012, when he won by just under 66 million votes. Four years later, Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton also didn’t surpass Obama’s 2008 total, winning 63 million and 66 million votes respectively. Trump, despite losing this year, also eclipsed Obama, winning almost 74 million votes. That the losing candidate would also break the record is a testament to how many more Americans participated in the 2020 election. Part of that was because of enthusiasm on the Democrats’ side to vote Trump out of office. But, as The Washington Post’s Philip Bump writes, there’s also the fact that America’s population has grown, adding about 25 million citizens of voting age.

Chicago Tribune: November 23, 2020

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey lawmakers advanced legislation setting up a new recreational marijuana marketplace, which voters overwhelmingly approved on the ballot this month, but differed on key details. The Assembly Appropriations Committee and the Senate Budget Committee passed legislation on Thursday, but the changes mean the two Democrat-led chambers will have to iron out their differences before going to a floor vote. Lawmakers were hopeful the bill could get a floor vote next week, but the Senate session was canceled Thursday evening. It’s unclear how soon it will be rescheduled. Lawmakers have have been negotiating over amending the measure since it stalled last week. A key difference between the Senate and Assembly bills involves caps on the number of licenses: The Senate version eliminates caps, while the Assembly bill increased the number to 37 from 28. A commonality, but an addition since last week is an excise tax, which applies to specific goods or services and which consumers ultimately pay. The bill calls for a tax of one-third of 1% on marijuana sales. The state's 6.625% sales tax will also apply. The bills also allow the Cannabis Regulatory Commission to levy an optional additional excise tax. The proceeds would go toward “social equity” programs aimed at alleviating racial disparities, stemming from decades of Black residents being likelier to face marijuana-related charges than white people. Such funding was explicitly sought by the state's Legislative Black Caucus and other advocates. Assemblymember Jamel Holley, a member of the caucus, said the measure gives some in New Jersey the chance for a clean slate. “A key component of cannabis legalization is addressing social justice concerns,” he said in as statement. “The fact that Black New Jerseyans are 3 or 4 times more likely to be arrested on cannabis charges has contributed to the disenfranchisement of (Black) communities.” But some advocates like the Rev. Charles Boyer, the pastor of Bethel AME Church in Woodbury, called on lawmakers to require the additional excise tax, instead of making it optional. “Basically, it gives us a tremendous amount of beautiful window dressing,” he said during Thursday's hearing, adding that the tax was not yet a guarantee. It's not clear exactly when the marketplace will be up and running. The Assembly legislation calls for lengthening the transitional period until a full, recreational marketplace is in place from 18 months to two years. Under the Assembly bill, the main significance of the period is that it caps the number of cultivator licenses at 37, up from 28 in an earlier version. If the optional excise tax were applied, it will be tethered to the price per ounce of marijuana. If the price is $350 or more, the tax would be $10 per ounce, climbing in intervals to $60 an ounce if the price is under $200 an ounce. The measure also calls for the regulatory commission to give priority to businesses owned by minorities, women and disabled vets who seek licenses.

USA Today: November 23, 2020

House and Senate Democrats wrote a letter to General Service Administration (GSA) Administrator Emily Murphy, demanding she personally brief leadership on why the GSA has not started the transition process. Letters from both Democratic House and Senate members request Murphy brief them by Monday regarding her “ongoing refusal to grant the Biden-Harris Transition Team access” to information, funding, and services. The House letter states they will then determine whether a hearing is necessary. “Your actions in blocking transition activities required under the law are having grave effects, including undermining the orderly transfer of power, impairing the incoming Administration’s ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, hampering its ability to address our nation’s dire economic crisis, and endangering our national security,” the House members wrote. Trump has yet to concede to President-elect Joe Biden, falsely claiming that the election was stolen. The GSA, a government agency key to Biden taking office in January, has not taken initial steps for transition, and has delayed millions of federal funding dollars and use of resources for the new administration. The letter from Senate Democrats called the delay "unprecedented." “We have been extremely patient, but we can wait no longer,” the House members added. “As GSA Administrator, it is your responsibility to follow the law and assure the safety and well-being of the United States and its people—not to submit to political pressure to violate the law and risk the consequences.” After a week-long hand recount of Georgia’s presidential election results, the Georgia secretary of state's office reaffirmed Thursday night President-elect Joe Biden won the state and its 16 electoral votes. A "risk-limiting audit" found Biden won Georgia by 12,284 votes, a narrower margin than the 14,196-vote lead he held immediately following the election. Local election administrators identified uncounted ballots in four counties. Each was the result of human error.

The New York Times: November 20, 2020

Sidney Powell, a lawyer on President Trump’s election legal team who represented the former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn, has been a major source and promoter of viral conspiracy theories about vote switching. Since the election, Ms. Powell has advanced claims of voluminous voter fraud and a rigged election. She falsely claimed that a supercomputer called Hammer hacked votes, that Mr. Trump won the election by “millions of votes” and that voting software company Dominion Voting Systems altered the tallies. Last week, she promised that coming evidence would overturn the election’s results and said she would “release the Kraken,” a reference to the 1981 movie “The Clash of the Titans,” reprising a catchphrase that began trending on Twitter. On Monday, Ms. Powell posted some of her so-called evidence on Twitter. It consisted of three screenshots of an affidavit that she said was signed by a former military official from Venezuela about elections there. The screenshots were incomplete and did not include a name or signature, and Ms. Powell did not respond to requests to view the full document. But according to her and excerpts from the affidavit, the elections software company Smartmatic helped the Venezuelan government rig its elections by switching votes and leaving no trail. The military official said in the excerpts that the U.S. election was “eerily reminiscent” of what happened in Venezuela’s 2013 presidential election, though no evidence was provided that votes had been switched in the United States. Ms. Powell promoted the affidavit and its claims in interviews on conservative media that have amassed at least four million views on YouTube. Smartmatic does not provide technology to the battleground states that sealed President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory. And electronic voting security experts said they were unimpressed with what Ms. Powell presented. “The essence of the affidavit is that voting machines could have been hacked. This is not news,” said David Dill, a computer scientist at Stanford University and founder of the Verified Voting Foundation. “Every single vote that has been counted by computer in the U.S. in the last 50 years was counted by a computer that ‘could have been hacked.’ So far as I know, none of them actually were.”

Casper Star Tribune: November 18, 2020

State lawmakers on Monday defeated a bill putting greater restrictions on the sale of smokable hemp and other CBD products in Wyoming following outcry by producers across the state who feared new regulations could potentially stall the state’s burgeoning hemp industry. However, lawmakers remain open to pursing a tightened version of the bill this winter to restrict the sale of smokable hemp at the request of law enforcement, who still have difficulty discerning between CBD products – which contain no psychoactive properties – and marijuana, a similar looking and smelling plant that remains highly illegal for recreational and medical consumption in Wyoming. Introduced to a legislative committee by Sen. R.J. Kost, R-Powell, at the request of local law enforcement, the bill as originally written would have outlawed the smoking of hemp as well as a number of other non-FDA approved retail products containing CBD, a therapeutic and non-psychoactive extract of the hemp flower. While Wyoming already closely regulates the processing of hemp and CBD products under the rules of an industrial hemp program implemented earlier this year, Kost said the state’s lack of more robust regulation on hemp and CBD products has essentially handcuffed police officers in the field who can’t tell the difference between the substance and marijuana.

ABC News: November 18, 2020

Bill Stocker could be considered the archetype of a conservative voter: He's a retired Marine and former police officer who voted for President Trump. But he's also among the majority of South Dakota voters who broadly legalized marijuana this month. Stocker, 61, said enforcing marijuana laws gets in the way of pursuing other drug crimes and called warnings about the ills of marijuana "a bunch of baloney" that even people in a Republican stronghold like South Dakota no longer believe. South Dakota's values of "personal responsibility and freedom" won out, said Stocker, who lives in Sioux Falls. The 2020 election helped prove how broadly accepted marijuana has become throughout the United States, with measures to legalize recreational pot also breezing to victory in progressive New Jersey, moderate Arizona and conservative Montana. Fifteen states have now broadly legalized it, while 36 states allow medical marijuana. Voters in Mississippi overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana this month, giving the drug another foothold in the South. A Gallup Poll released Nov. 9 indicated that 68% of Americans favor legalizing marijuana - double the approval rate in 2003. That wide margin was evident in the election, with marijuana measures passing with strong bipartisan support. In South Dakota and Montana - where Republicans swept to victory in the key races - recreational marijuana passed with at least 16 percentage points more support than Democratic President-elect Joe Biden received. South Dakota also approved medical pot, which outpolled Mr. Biden by 34 percentage points. "We've waged a war against this plant for a century and by any reasonable metric, that war has been an abject failure," said Matthew Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project, which favors legalization. "All it's done is incarcerate millions of Americans, it has perpetuated racism in this country, and perhaps the worst injustice of all is that it's deprived us of medical marijuana research." Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, hurting veterans who can't be prescribed medical pot at Veterans Affairs clinics, he said. They "come home with chronic pain and we're pushing them to opioids," Schweich said. "That's crazy. That's unpatriotic and it's a disgrace."

Adirondack Daily Enterprise: November 18, 2020

State officials are weighing legalizing adult-use cannabis, as a growing number of states have, to serve as a potential revenue source to help offset the state’s estimated $50 billion budget deficit over two years related to the COVID-19 pandemic. New York is expected to legalize adult recreational use of marijuana this year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Nov. 5 — two days after Election Day when voters in neighboring New Jersey approved a ballot measure legalizing cannabis. The state’s mounting budget deficit and changing marijuana laws in border states will pressure lawmakers to reach a deal on recreational marijuana usage, Cuomo said. “I think this year it is ripe because the state is going to be desperate for funding — even with Biden, even with the stimulus,” Cuomo said during a Nov. 5 radio interview on WAMC. “Even with everything else, we’re still going to need funding, and it’s also the right policy. … I think we’re going to get there this year.” Benjamin Dobson, founder and chief executive officer of Hudson Hemp — a Hudson-based hemp processor that partners with several hemp farmers in Columbia, Dutchess and Ulster counties — called for intelligent legislation that would ensure an adequate, affordable cannabis supply chain in poor rural areas and underrepresented urban areas. “It’s high time this gets legalized,” Dobson said. He said amnesty must be granted and records must be expunged for people with previous marijuana possession charges or convictions — especially widespread among people of color and poor Black and brown communities. “White suburban kids weren’t getting stopped and frisked and no more or less of them were smoking weed,” Dobson said. “These communities have been unfairly targeted by cannabis. This governor is in the process of leaving out the very people who it most negatively affected. If they’re going to legalize cannabis in a time where Cuomo says he cares about Black lives, he cares about the New York state economy and wants to legalize cannabis, all those things can be connected. “There’s business and revenue potential, which could help revitalize these communities if they don’t just put this in the hands of big business,” Dobson added. State lawmakers have introduced various versions of a bill to enact recreational marijuana regulation and taxation since 2013. The most recent for the 2019-20 session include a Democratic-sponsored bill, which was amended and recommitted to the Senate Finance Committee on March 12, and an Assembly bill which was amended and recommitted to the Codes Committee on March 11.

New York Daily News: November 13, 2020

Though races remain undecided up and down the ballot both here in New York and across the nation, there was one clear winner this past Election Day: cannabis. In what some have dubbed the “green wave,” voters in New Jersey, Montana and Arizona all approved legalization of adult-use cannabis, while South Dakota made history by becoming the first state in the country to simultaneously green light both adult-use and medical cannabis. Fifteen states — both red and blue — now have laws that allow adults to buy cannabis through a regulated, safe program that generates funds for government. New Jersey’s “yes” vote in particular upped the ante for surrounding states — especially New York — that stand to lose out on a significant new revenue stream if the Garden State beats them to the punch in getting its adult-use program up and running. Despite multiple public polls that show widespread support for doing so, New York lawmakers have failed for two years running to reach a deal on an adult-use legalization bill. With the pandemic-induced economic fallout punching a multibillion-dollar hole in the state budget, and no federal stimulus bailout on the horizon, the Empire State can’t afford to wait any longer. Gov. Cuomo has not always been the biggest fan of cannabis legalization, but he clearly recognizes the revenue-generating benefit it holds as the state faces a financial crisis. In a radio interview last week, Cuomo predicted that “this year (2021) it is ripe” for legalization because the state is “going to be desperate for funding." According to the Cuomo administration, a New York adult-use market, once fully built out, would generate $300 million in annual tax revenue. We think that is a very conservative estimate. A 2019 analysis from the Rockefeller Institute of Government found that a $1.7 billion adult-use industry could generate an economic output of $4.1 billion, while generating 30,700 jobs and attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in capital investment.

The Guardian: November 13, 2020

Donald Trump’s attacks on the credibility of Joe Biden’s election win through meritless lawsuits could undermine Americans’ trust in voting and could pose an immediate threat to the security and safety of the country, experts have warned. Trump’s campaign has unleashed a stream of lawsuits in states key to Biden’s electoral college win, none of which are expected to affect the outcome of the election. The US attorney general, William Barr, has authorized the Department of Justice to investigate voting irregularities, in a highly unorthodox move, and Republican state representatives in Pennsylvania are calling for an audit of the election, though they have no evidence of fraud. University of Southern California (USC) law professor Franita Tolson said she was concerned that these actions, which would not change the trajectory of the election, were meant to call into question the legitimacy of the result. “What does that do to our democracy as we play out this process? What does it do to the belief in the system when 70 million people think the election was stolen,” Tolson said, referring to the popular vote total for Trump. “To me that’s the danger of this narrative, that’s the danger of this litigation.” Top election officials in every state, representing both political parties, told the New York Times there was no evidence that fraud or other irregularities played a role in the outcome of the race. A coalition of hundreds of journalists from more than 150 newsrooms also found no major problems, in ProPublica’s collaborative election monitoring project Electionland. “Legal people can say this litigation has no merit, but what do everyday Americans think?” Tolson said. “And they may actually think the president is being treated poorly and he won this election and the system is trying to take it from him.” Only a few Republicans have publicly acknowledged Biden’s win, but behind the scenes, many Republicans have reportedly accepted the results. Some White House aides have told reporters anonymously that the president’s refusal to concede the election is an embarrassment. Peter Feaver, who worked on national security in Republican George W Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton’s administrations, said that while the president is within his rights to ask for recounts and investigate reasonable allegations of misbehavior, leveling false charges of fraud without evidence has serious consequences. “The messaging coming from the campaign, and particularly from the president himself, is far more extreme than that and it’s more reckless messaging and I think it does complicate America’s standing in the world,” said Feaver, a professor of political science and public policy at Duke University.

Chicago Tribune: November 13, 2020

Dominion Voting Systems, which makes software that local governments around the nation use to help run their elections, is now at the center of baseless claims that “software glitches” led to mistakes in vote tallies in Michigan and Georgia last week. The Dominion software was used in only two of the five counties that had problems in Michigan and Georgia, and in every instance there was a detailed explanation for what had happened. In all of the cases, software did not affect the vote counts. In the two Michigan counties that had mistakes, the inaccuracies were because of human errors, not software problems, according to the Michigan Department of State, county officials and election-security experts. Only one of the two Michigan counties used Dominion software. Issues in three Georgia counties had other explanations. In one county, an apparent problem with Dominion software delayed officials' reporting of the vote tallies but did not affect the actual vote count. In two other counties, a separate company’s software slowed poll workers' ability to check-in voters. “Many of the claims being asserted about Dominion and questionable voting technology is misinformation at best and, in many cases, they’re outright disinformation,” said Edward Perez, an election-technology expert at the OSET Institute, a nonprofit that studies voting infrastructure. “I’m not aware of any evidence of specific things or defects in Dominion software that would lead one to believe that votes had been recorded or counted incorrectly.” Right-wing voices across the internet this week have claimed incorrectly that Dominion was responsible for mistakes in vote counts, and President Donald Trump shared a Breitbart article on Twitter that incorrectly tied the Michigan issues to separate problems in Georgia. The president tweeted about Dominion on Thursday morning, which Twitter quickly flagged as “disputed.” Trump tagged far-right-wing One America News Network, an outlet highly sympathetic to Trump, in the tweet. Many of those people have said, contrary to evidence, that Dominion software was used to switch votes. Some people even suggested that the company was doing the bidding of the Clintons, a conspiracy theory that was shared on Twitter by Trump. On Wednesday, Rudy Giuliani, the president’s lawyer, said he was in contact with “whistleblowers” from Dominion, though he did not provide evidence. Dominion, originally a Canadian company that now has its effective headquarters in Denver, makes machines for voters to cast ballots and for poll workers to count them, as well as software that helps government officials organize and keep track of election results.

ABC13 News: November 12, 2020

Support is growing for legal marijuana in Texas, but there are two key differences in what some lawmakers are trying to accomplish. Voters in four states last week approved legalizing recreational marijuana, which has many wondering if Texas could follow suit. State Representative Roland Gutierrez out of San Antonio is proposing a bill to legalize marijuana. He says the industry would create 30,000 new jobs in Texas and bring in more than $3 billion in revenue. Texas State senator Jose Menedez and District 27 Rep. Ron Reynolds have also proposed legislation to expand the use of medical marijuana. Right now, it can be used in Texas to treat a very limited number of conditions, such as epilepsy, and the level of THC, the psychoactive element of marijuana, can't be higher than 0.5% "The legislature didn't really change with this last election, so I'm not optimistic that there will be full-fledged legalization. I'm practical about that. I would favor that. I would vote in favor of that," Reynolds said. "But I think this medical...I think there's enough. Some of my conservative colleagues are compassionate for people's medical health. They may be open to supporting this legislation." "It boggles my mind in so many ways that Texas can be a state that, 'We respect your liberties, your liberty to carry a gun, do all these other things,' but liberty to use medical therapy," Menendez said. "You and your doctor say it's best for you, we say, 'Oh no, time out, only a few people can do that.'" Gov. Greg Abbott has not shown support for recreational marijuana. He would have to sign any new marijuana bills if they pass.

Albuquerque Journal: November 12, 2020

Backers of a push to add New Mexico to the list of states that have legalized recreational cannabis for adult users say 2021 could be the year they break through, after years of hitting dead ends at the Roundhouse. Several influential legislative opponents of marijuana legalization were defeated in this year’s primary election, improving the odds a revised bill might make it to the Senate floor for a vote. In addition, voters in Arizona and three other states approved cannabis legalization measures last week, which could give added urgency to passing similar legislation in New Mexico. “Legalization is coming,” said Rep. Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque, during a Tuesday legislative committee hearing. “Here in New Mexico, I think people are ready for it.” Martinez said he plans to introduce legislation during the 60-day session that starts in January that would be similar to a bill filed last year. While he said the bill would be slimmed down from last year’s version, it would still contain several provisions aimed at protecting New Mexico’s medical cannabis program, which had more than 98,000 enrolled members as of September. Specifically, some of the money generated by recreational cannabis sales would be used to eliminate the gross receipts tax on medical marijuana products and create a new assistance fund for low-income patients, Martinez said. Bills to legalize recreational cannabis have stalled in the Senate in each of the last two years. Last year’s defeat came after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham created a marijuana legalization working group to study the issue and come up with recommendations. Since last year’s session, however, five moderate incumbent Democrats were ousted by more progressive challengers in the June primary election, and three of those progressive Democrats went on to win election to the Senate in last week’s general election. One of the defeated incumbents is Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, who declined to hold a vote on a 2019 legalization bill, saying it did not have the votes necessary to pass his committee. House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, told reporters last week he expects the House will pass a cannabis legalization bill during the upcoming 60-day session and said it appears the bill will get a “much friendlier” reception in the Senate. “I think its chances are much improved,” Egolf said.

The New York Times: November 6, 2020

It can take a while to determine the victor in a presidential election. But one winner was abundantly clear on Election Day. Drugs, once thought to be the scourge of a healthy society, are getting public recognition as a part of American life. Where drugs were on the ballot on Tuesday, they won handily. New Jersey, South Dakota, Montana and Arizona joined 11 other states that had already legalized recreational marijuana. Mississippi and South Dakota made medical marijuana legal, bringing the total to 35. The citizens of Washington, D.C., voted to decriminalize psilocybin, the organic compound active in psychedelic mushrooms. Oregon voters approved two drug-related initiatives. One decriminalized possession of small amounts of illegal drugs including heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines. (It did not make it legal to sell the drugs.) Another measure authorized the creation of a state program to license providers of psilocybin. Election night represented a significant victory for three forces pushing for drug reform for different but interlocking reasons. There is the increasingly powerful cannabis industry. There are state governments struggling with budget shortfalls, hungry to fill coffers in the midst of a pandemic. And then there are the reform advocates, who for decades have been saying that imprisonment, federal mandatory minimum sentences and prohibitive cash bail for drug charges ruin lives and communities, particularly those of Black Americans. Decriminalization is popular, in part, because Americans believe that too many people are in jails and prisons, and also because Americans personally affected by the country’s continuing opioid crisis have been persuaded to see drugs as a public health issue.

The Hill: November 6, 2020

Voters in various states across the country approved a series of statewide ballot proposals on Election Day legalizing the use and distribution of marijuana for either medical or adult-use purposes. Their voices were unmistakable and emphatic. Majorities of Americans decided in favor of every marijuana-related proposition placed before them — a clean sweep. Specifically, voters legalized the possession of marijuana by adults in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota. The measures in Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota each permit adults to possess and cultivate marijuana for personal use and establish a regulated retail market. In New Jersey, voters decided on a public ballot question. Garden State lawmakers must now enact enabling legislation in order to amend state law to comport it with the voters’ decision. Additionally, voters approved the legalization of medical cannabis access in two states, Mississippi and South Dakota. In Mississippi, voters chose between two dueling initiatives — favoring a measure placed on the ballot by patient advocates and rejecting a more restrictive alternative measure placed on the ballot by state lawmakers. Voters’ actions last evening were an unequivocal rebuke to the longstanding policy of federal marijuana prohibition, and is an indication that marijuana legalization is far from a fringe issue, but rather one that is now embraced by mainstream America, As was the case in 2016, when voters in deep red states like Arkansas and North Dakota joined voters in deep blue states like California to reform their cannabis laws, last night’s results once again affirm that marijuana legalization is a uniquely popular issue with voters of all political persuasions — with majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans consistently endorsing legalization in national polls. The results also continue a multi-decade long trend of marijuana legalization advocates achieving success at the ballot box. Prior to this election, voters had decided affirmatively on 28 separate ballot measures legalizing cannabis (18 measures legalizing medical marijuana, 10 measures legalizing adult use).

Great Falls Tribune: November 6, 2020

Montana voters passed two ballot initiatives Tuesday, paving the way for the state to legalize recreational marijuana use. Both ballot measures were required to pass in order for recreational marijuana use to be permitted in the state. Just because the measures passed, though, doesn't mean you can go out and buy it just yet. The state will still need to set up rules, regulations and begin the process for applications for dispensaries. As of the measures passing, here's what we know about recreational marijuana in Montana. The passage of complementary ballot initiatives I-90 and CI-118 has legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults in the state over the age of 21. I-90 creates rules for marijuana use, as well as a 20% tax on sales of recreational marijuana by licensed vendors. It also allows the option for individual counties to prohibit dispensaries through a public vote.

Self.com: November 5, 2020

The presidential election isn't the only big race on the ballots this year—five states are voting on major marijuana (cannabis) legalization initiatives. Cannabis is currently regulated at the federal level as a Schedule I drug, which is the most restrictive classification. Not only does that make the use and possession of cannabis illegal according to federal law, but it also makes it difficult for researchers to study the drug. However, at the state level, cannabis is legal for medical use in 33 states and for adult use in 11 states. The research we have now suggests that cannabis can be useful in managing certain conditions, particularly chronic pain, chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting, and multiple sclerosis–related muscle spasms. So legalizing cannabis use can directly affect people's health and well-being. Additionally, we know that the legal and criminal aspects of cannabis regulation disproportionally affect communities of color, particularly Black and Latinx people. That has lead to mass incarceration and police violence over the past several decades. Legalizing cannabis—and, ideally, expunging criminal records and implementing other equity measures—can help repair some of the harms of the war on drugs for those most affected by it. During the 2016 campaign, it seemed like Donald Trump would be open to the idea of letting states decide how they wanted to handle cannabis legalization. But since then it's clear that President Trump has become a staunch opponent of the concept. In February one of his top spokespeople explicitly stated that cannabis and other illegal drugs “need to stay illegal.” Although former Vice President Joe Biden hasn't spoken publicly too often about his views on cannabis legalization, it appears his opinion on the issue has evolved considerably recently. And with Senator Kamala Harris as his V.P. pick, it's safe to say a Biden administration would be much friendlier to the idea of legalization than Trump's. Harris is a vocal supporter of the MORE Act, which would decriminalize cannabis at the federal level by removing it from the federal scheduling system.

Detroit Today: November 3, 2020

Michigan election officials are working hard to prevent a cyber attack ahead of Tuesday’s election. The concern over potential cyber attacks on our election system has been building for years. Hackers and disinformation campaigns have gotten more and more sophisticated, and technology is more advanced than ever. Then in March, the world was hit with the coronavirus pandemic. In the United States, that has resulted in uncharted waters in terms of the ways people are voting, which creates a lot of uncertainty. As a swing state, Michigan could be a very attractive target for cyber threats during the election. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Michigan has done a lot to prepare for this. That includes working closely with federal agencies to coordinate efforts to combat attacks. Benson noted recently on WDET’s Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson, that in addition to security protocols and training for election workers, Michigan also benefits from having a decentralized election system. “The good thing about Michigan is that we have 1,520 different township and city jurisdictions where elections are managed at the local level,” Benson said. “So there’s also limited impact compared to other states that have a more centralized system." Some security experts point out that a decentralized election system is a double-edged sword, however. It’s also harder to make sure all election workers on the ground level understand the risks of threats and how to avoid them as well. By and large, cybersecurity experts are cautiously optimistic about what the state has done to keep the election secure. They say the state has done a lot to prepare for threats, including an emphasis on paper ballots. Michigan is also going to be one of just eight states expected to do a risk-limiting audit (RLA) after the election to catch any major discrepancy between paper ballots and the machine counted tallies. Cybersecurity experts have been pushing states to do this for years because they say this audit could suggest whether there was widespread tampering with votes or voter fraud. While voter fraud has been proven time and again to be very rare, this kind of audit is one way to make sure that cyber attacks don’t move into that territory. There isn’t a high likelihood of voter infrastructure being attacked, said Andrew Dold, lead security analyst for Wayne State University and member of the Michigan Cyber Civilian Corps (MiC3). But one area the does have cybersecurity experts concerned is voter misinformation. As we saw in the 2016 election, social media is riddled with falsehoods, bots and organizations trying to influence American voters and their votes. “Websites spread misinformation that could incite people,” Dold said. “People kind of believe what they want to believe. All they need is a close reason nowadays, right? So, that’s the kind of thing that worries me more. The erosion of public trust with the government or the results. But I think as far as tabulating votes, I think we’re in really good shape.”

Bloomberg: November 3, 2020

Cannabis legalization is on the ballot in five states this Tuesday, and polling shows it’s likely to pass in most of them by a clear majority. What’s less clear is what happens to all the prisoners already incarcerated for possessing something that’s now legal. It’s an increasingly accepted view that you can’t have people serving time in jail for something that companies are freely profiting from. Especially when the prisoners are mostly Black, and the companies are primarily run by White executives. Black people are arrested for marijuana possession at 3.7 times the rate of White people, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. And it’s even higher in some of the states voting on legalization this coming Tuesday: In Montana, it’s 9.6 times; in South Dakota, it’s 5 times. Voters who back legalization for its tax benefits and the promise of new jobs are increasingly supporting changes to the law around past marijuana crimes. But when the handful of states vote on legalization this Nov. 3, expungement isn’t on the ballot, except partially in Arizona. Rather, any criminal justice reform will have to come via the legislative or rulemaking system, and that’s a lengthy process. More than half of N.J. voters support expunging all marijuana offenses. Note: Data from survey of around 500 New Jersey voters. Even if a state passes an expungement law, there’s the added challenge of actually locating prisoners. Some county-level records are still in paper form, said Sarah Gersten, executive director of the Last Prisoner Project, a non-profit that estimates there are 40,000 U.S. cannabis prisoners and aims to free every one of them. Meanwhile, prisoners still languish in jail in states that have already legalized sales. “There are thousands of people still incarcerated for cannabis offenses in California, Michigan, Colorado and Oregon,” Gersten said, citing around 2,000 alone in Michigan as of this year relates to If States Legalize, Expungement Is Next Still, Gersten said, her group finds that local jurisdictions are often eager to help. Why? Follow the money: The cost of mass incarceration in the U.S. is around $182 billion a year, and even for non-violent marijuana offenders, it can be $40,000 annually just to keep them in jail, Gersten said. The reason some people want to help with something as controversial as prisoner releases, she observed, can be self-serving: “They know it’s an economic benefit.”

NBC10 Boston: November 3, 2020

Election Day is almost here, and many are wondering if we'll know the results Tuesday night. If not, how long will the wait be? Some voters say they're stressed and angry just thinking about possible recounts and a long, drawn-out fight before a winner is announced. A steady stream of voters braved the elements in Massachusetts to drop off their ballots on a rainy Sunday night in New England. "I think everyone should have their voice be heard during this election," one woman said. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is expected to discuss election security Monday, as security remains a big worry, particularly following an incident in which a ballot box outside the Boston Public Library was set on fire. The voter turnout has been high, though, with the Secretary of the Commonwealth saying Saturday that the number of ballots cast already in this election is equal to nearly 68-percent of everyone who voted in 2016. But what does that mean on Election Day? Each vote cast is another vote to be counted on Nov. 3. But when will we know a winner? That remains a big question.

The New York Times: November 3, 2020

Nordstrom, the high-end department store chain, said it planned to board up some of its 350 stores and hire extra security for Election Day on Tuesday. Tiffany & Company, the luxury jeweler, said that “windows of select stores in key cities will be boarded in anticipation of potential election-related activity.” Saks Fifth Avenue said it was “implementing additional security measures at certain locations in the event of civil unrest due to the current election.” In Beverly Hills, the police said they would take a “proactive approach” and close Rodeo Drive, a renowned strip of luxury retailers, on Tuesday and Wednesday, citing the likelihood of increased “protest activity.” The police, working with private security companies, said they would also be on “full alert” throughout Beverly Hills starting on Halloween and continuing into election week. The nation is on edge as the bitter presidential contest finally nears an end, the latest flashpoint in a bruising year that has included the pandemic and widespread protests over social justice. Anxiety has been mounting for months that the election’s outcome could lead to civil unrest, no matter who wins. In the retail industry, many companies are not simply concerned about possible mayhem — they are planning for it. In a show of just how volatile the situation seems to the industry, 120 representatives from 60 retail brands attended a video conference this week hosted by the National Retail Federation, which involved training for store employees on how to de-escalate tensions among customers, including those related to the election. The trade group also hired security consultants who have prepped retailers about which locations around the country are likely to be the most volatile when the polls close. “I am 50-plus years old, and I didn’t think I would live to see this,” said Shane Fernett, who owns a contracting business in Colorado Springs and has been stocking up on plywood to board up his retail customers. “You read about this in third-world countries, not America.”

Forbes: October 27, 2020

Politico recently noted that the hemp industry “hasn’t panned out” and that hemp hype has died down. This assertion is naive at best. The article noted that: (1) the USDA had only approved 29 out of 41 submitted state hemp plans; (2) the numbers of acres planted are down; (3) many states had not submitted plans to the USDA; (4) the lack of FDA movement on permanent CBD guidelines. This analysis is misplaced, misguided, and based on a fundamental failure to understand what it takes to develop a new agricultural market, while ignoring the real progress in the hemp industry. This seems to be a case of “you ain't gonna learn what you don’t want to know.” There is currently tremendous restraint imposed on the industry because relevant federal agencies (i.e., the FDA, the USDA, and to a lesser extent the DEA) have not issued permanent appropriate market-based guidance by way of regulatory enactment — let alone communicated amongst themselves to fully implement the 2018 Farm Bill regarding industrial hemp. Make no mistake about it: the 2018 Farm Bill was the most sweeping and groundbreaking cannabis reform ever enacted in the United States at the federal level. So we cannot expect that these will move swiftly and concertedly on such a landmark policy change. This is all new to the FDA and the DEA, but less so for the USDA, and great tension exists between the federal agencies and the states seeking to move forward with responsible hemp regulatory policy. It has been documented that there are six core elements of an agricultural transformation plan. The brand new agricultural sector of industrial hemp has yet to specifically identify market-driven opportunities for farmers based on crop productivity. Industrial hemp is a versatile crop that can service multiple verticals. The gauntlet that's been thrown in front of us is to move away from a single-purpose, cannabinoid-driven hemp industry. To do so, “change agents” must be “identified and mobilized,” which will occur with the right “enabling policies.” This requires a cogent, stable government regulatory and legislative framework, something lacking to date. As a result, much of the market restraint is because of the absence of government policy advancement. This isn’t a bad thing and doesn’t eliminate the hype surrounding hemp, but bolsters it.

The Washington Post: October 27, 2020

Federal judges have so far declined to halt $400 million in grants to city and county election administrators from Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, despite a conservative law firm's efforts to overturn them. The grants from the Facebook founder and his wife, delivered by the nonprofit Center for Technology and Civic Life, are aimed at helping cash-strapped counties hire more poll workers, provide personal protective equipment and manage a surge in mail voting during the pandemic. Lawyers for the Thomas More Society don’t object to those goals, but they argued the grants were strategically awarded to boost voter turnout in urban centers and Democratic strongholds and to disadvantage Republicans. But federal judges have declined to halt the funding to counties in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, Iowa and South Carolina, saying they see no partisan tilt in the grants, which were also given to many rural and Republican counties. CTCL delivered the grants to more than 2,300 election departments using a formula that links funding to the district’s voting population. “The truth is that plaintiffs — like all residents of the counties — stand to benefit from the additional resources for safe and efficient voting provided by CTCL grants,” Judge Amos L. Mazzant III noted in denying an injunction on grants to counties that include the cities of Houston and Dallas. The suits are drawing attention to a flood of funding from rich donors this year aimed at helping counties fund basic election administration tasks that they can’t afford themselves. In addition to Zuckerberg, actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger (R) is offering grants to nearly 6,000 counties aimed at keeping polling places open in southern states. Many election pros applaud the donations even as they worry that private funding could eventually taint the election process. Florida State University law professor Michael T. Morley called the grants a reasonable but “extraordinary response to the extraordinary circumstances” of running an election during a pandemic. But he warned such fixes should not become the norm. “You don’t want a presidential election brought to you by Pepsi,” he said. “At the end of the day, these are quintessentially public functions, and if the government is funding anything it ought to be elections.” Such grants have played a minimal role in past elections. But they've surged this year because of a combination of inadequate state and federal funding, the outsize challenges of the pandemic and intense partisan interest by supporters of President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. “From a legal perspective, it’s hard to see what law was violated here, but from a public policy perspective, this probably isn’t the way we want to fund election administration,” Duke University law professor Guy-Uriel Charles told me. He compared the grants to other instances in which donors have helped fund police departments and raised thorny questions about who those departments are beholden to.

Bloomberg: October 27, 2020

Barak Govani says he was kicked off the site after being falsely accused of selling fakes. Accounts like his prompted a House panel to accuse Amazon of mistreating its merchants.

Feed Leader: October 26, 2020

In some parts of the world, there is no such thing as a trademark, patent or even intellectual property. This is likely a very foreign concept to you, as company branding aligns very closely to perceived value.

Security Document World: October 26, 2020

The Ontario government released an action plan to make government services simpler, easier to use, and more convenient and accessible during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

ABC News: October 23, 2020

While ruby red South Dakota may not be a swing state in the presidential election -- it may be at the forefront of the green revolution as one of five states where recreational and medical marijuana legalization are up for a vote this election year. And it is the only state where both forms of legalization will be on the ballot. Matthew Schweich, the deputy director of the nonprofit group the Marijuana Policy Project, which has been running campaigns across the country to legalize, told ABC News this is the first time in U.S. history that a state has had two ballot measures to ask voters for approval for recreational and medical marijuana during an election year. While there is some opposition from Republican Gov. Kristi Noem and South Dakota business owners over the recreational ballot, Schweich noted that more than 50,000 residents signed on to that initiative and more than 30,000 signatures for the medical provision. "I think that COVID has absorbed a great deal of the public's attention from marijuana reform, but there is still interest in the issue," he told ABC News. "It's remarkable since South Dakota has always been seen as this strong conservative state." Schweich and other experts say that the ballot initiatives in South Dakota as well as Montana, Arizona, New Jersey and Mississippi, could have major outcomes for the rest of the country since it would put pressure on state and national leaders to address their antiquated drug laws. "If we're successful it will send a message to Congress that they need to address the discrepancy between the state and federal laws on marijuana," Schweich said.

CNBC: October 23, 2020

Iran and Russia have both obtained information about American voter registrations and are trying to influence the public about the upcoming U.S. presidential election, national security officials said Wednesday night. “Iran and Russia have taken specific actions to influence public opinion related to our elections,” said Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe at a hastily scheduled press conference. “First we have confirmed that some voter registration information has been obtained by Iran and separately by Russia,” Ratcliffe said at the briefing, which comes less than two weeks before Election Day. “This data can be used by foreign actors to attempt to communicate false information to registered voters that they hope will cause confusion, sow chaos and undermine your confidence in American democracy.” Specifically, Ratcliffe said, Iran has been sending “spoofed emails designed to intimidate voters, incite social unrest and damage President” Donald Trump, who is facing former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, in the election. “Additionally Iran is distributing other content to include a video that implies that individuals could cast fraudulent ballots even from overseas,” he said. “This video and any claims about such allegedly fraudulent ballots are not true,” Ratcliffe said.

Securing Industry: October 22, 2020

Fact: If a product is popular, it will be counterfeited. Finding those counterfeits is critical to getting them off the market and protecting your customers. What if you could scale a counterfeit discovery program to your entire customer base—at maximum “crowdsourced” impact for minimal cost? And once this type of program is established, the data-enriched benefits you and your consumers will receive are limitless. Let’s explore this concept.

MassLive: October 21, 2020

A handful of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have asked that Massachusetts marijuana regulators scrap the proposed delivery license that would let operators buy marijuana wholesale from cultivators and manufacturers, store it in a warehouse and deliver it to consumers at home. The Cannabis Control Commission is expected Tuesday morning to consider feedback and hold a final discussion about its draft delivery policy, which would create two distinct delivery license types: a “limited delivery license” that would allow an operator to charge a fee to make deliveries from CCC licensed retailers and dispensaries, and a “wholesale delivery license.” But in a letter last week, 19 state lawmakers told the CCC that they “believe that the wholesale delivery license category proposed in the draft regulations was not contemplated, nor supported, by the enabling legislation” and asked the commission to reconsider its plan to take a final vote on the regulations next week. The lawmakers -- including former Marijuana Policy Committee co-chair Rep. Mark Cusack -- said the successful 2016 legalization question and the ballot law as amended by the Legislature in 2017 “deliberatively and intentionally created a license that made clear delivery of marijuana to consumers is directly and only linked to marijuana retail establishments” and that “a wholesale delivery license direct to consumers is clearly not contemplated in the law.” “Instead, the draft regulations create a shadow direct to the consumer marketplace not governed by the licensing requirements and regulations of marijuana retailers. These draft regulations also significantly change the landscape for cities and towns after many had already engaged in intensive community-wide conversations about the number and types of marijuana establishments their communities wished to host,” the lawmakers wrote. “Further, the proposed draft regulations have not had the opportunity to be sufficiently reviewed and may result in unintended consequences to our municipalities.” The concerns about local control mirror those raised in a letter from the Massachusetts Municipal Association, which told the CCC that it “is extremely concerned with the definition of marijuana wholesale delivery license within the draft regulations ... specifically that a marijuana wholesale delivery license is not considered to be a Marijuana Retailer.”

CBS: October 21, 2020

The Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit against Google on Tuesday, alleging that the tech giant has used its dominance in the search business to become a "monopoly gatekeeper" of the internet.

Yahoo Life: October 19, 2020

Almost 50 years ago, the so-called war on drugs nearly destroyed marginalized communities in the United States. When President Nixon declared the “war” in 1971, it not only further stigmatized certain illegal substances, it also created a deeper tension between Black communities and law enforcement through the increased presence of federal drug control agencies and measures such as mandatory sentencing and no-knock warrants. Since the inception of these systemically racist policies, Black and brown people in America have faced disproportionately higher incarceration rates for nonviolent drug offenses. Fast forward to 2020 and we find that there has been some progress in decriminalizing certainsubstances — however, racism and unequal treatment under the law are problems that remain unsolved. Yahoo Life spoke with some power players in the cannabis industry who are working to dismantle oppressive systems meant to incarcerate people of color and prohibit them from finding success in what is now a multibillion-dollar industry. Alex Todd, Saucey Farms & Extracts co-founder; Jim Jones, hip-hop artist and Saucey Farms & Extracts co-founder; Jessica Jackson, chief advocacy officer of the Reform Alliance; and Cedric Haynes, director of public policy and partnerships for Weedmaps sat down with Yahoo Life to discuss how to reform the cannabis industry. Watch the full video above to learn about their efforts.

5NBCDFW: October 19, 2020

Election security is often top of mind, so what is being done to protect your vote, and keep you safe during a pandemic? NBC 5 political reporter Julie Fine spoke with Keith Ingram, the director of the elections division at the Secretary of State’s Office.

CBS3 Philly: October 14, 2020

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is urging legislators to legalize the adult-use of marijuana. Pennsylvania officials say the legalization of adult-use cannabis will provide a new revenue stream to direct toward economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling additional funding for grants for small businesses. Wolf was at The Mountain Center in Tobyhanna Tuesday, discussing the legalization of marijuana’s potential benefits. He is urging the General Assembly to take up legislation regarding marijuana’s legalization which they have not done despite multiple requests from Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman this fall. “This year, I again went to the General Assembly and asked them to make legalizing adult-use cannabis a priority for the fall as we work to find ways to overcome the economic hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Wolf said. “To date, there has been no movement to advance legislation. So, I’m here today to ask again, and to focus on two particular benefits of legalization – potential economic growth and much-needed restorative justice.” Wolf, joined by state Rep. Maureen Madden and hemp farmer Eric Titus White, discussed how “legalizing cannabis offers the same potential for economic growth that the historic farm bill of 2018 did for hemp farmer following decades of government prohibition of the industry.” Hemp, a once widespread crop in Pennsylvania, was cultivated in the state for more than 250 years. It was grown for seeds, fibers and extracts. Hemp and marijuana are two different varieties of the same plant species, but hemp does not contain high levels of THC, which makes marijuana a controlled substance. “Much of our knowledge about how to grow, process and use hemp was lost after industrial hemp was regulated and banned along with marijuana in the 1930s,” Wolf said. “And Pennsylvania lost the benefits of an industry with a long history of providing jobs and resources here in the commonwealth. When hemp and marijuana were banned, we didn’t just lose jobs, we lost decades of research opportunities, innovation and economic growth.”

Los Angeles Times: October 14, 2020

Mexico’s marijuana revolution is on display steps from the nation’s Senate, where for the last nine months activists have maintained a fragrant cannabis garden. Each day, hundreds of people stroll amid a labyrinth of towering green plants, freely lighting joints and getting high. Their wafting smoke is meant to serve as a reminder to senators, who have to walk through the plumes to get to work. Lawmakers have until Dec. 15 to pass pot legislation under orders from the Supreme Court, which two years ago struck down a marijuana ban as unconstitutional. After decades of restrictive drug policies that fueled deadly cartel wars, Mexico is poised to become the biggest legal cannabis market in the world. The looming deadline has intensified debate over exactly what legalization should look like and whom it should benefit. Among the questions dogging lawmakers: How easy or difficult should it be for users to buy and consume pot? And should the estimated 200,000 families growing it now be protected from competition with the large, foreign marijuana firms that have been jockeying for influence? “You have a broad spectrum of people who want to be involved,” said Avis Bulbulyan, a Glendale-based consultant who has advised several U.S. weed companies looking to expand to Mexico. “The question becomes: ‘Who gets to profit off this?’” A bill that would allow private companies to sell marijuana to the public is likely to pass in the Senate within two weeks and then go to the lower house of Congress, said Senate leader Ricardo Monreal.

Snews Network: October 14, 2020

Regardless of the challenge, whether fires, floods or tornadoes, Texas county government rolls up its sleeves and gets to work. Election Day is no different. County election officials have been preparing for months to make sure November’s elections are accurate, safe and secure. Texans can vote with confidence because county election officials will count every vote and take every step to keep every voter safe. There’s a lot to worry about this year, but voters can have faith in the election results. Much is being made of election integrity threats, both real and imagined. Year in and year out, county government makes sure elections are efficient and fair. November 3 will be no different. Whether they’re on social media or coming from politicians, attempts to erode the public’s trust in the election process do a disservice to our democracy. County officials take allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities seriously and will thoroughly investigate them to ensure nothing undermines the election process and voters’ trust. They will follow and enforce all state and federal election laws. County clerks and elections administrators have been planning all year for Nov. 3, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. As soon as the last election ends, work begins on the next. County officials use every election to learn and improve. They’re checking mail ballots, conducting cybersecurity audits, taking public health precautions, testing voting equipment and training poll workers. From ballot marking to tabulation, the accuracy and privacy of a voter’s selections will be protected. To reduce the risks of COVID-19, election officials can, and in most cases will, require poll workers to wear face masks or shields. While voters aren’t required to wear masks at the polling place, election officials request they do so to safeguard the health of poll workers and other voters. Curbside voting is available at every polling place during the early voting period and on Election Day for anyone physically unable to enter the polling place, or who is exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms or has health and safety concerns. All signs point to a record-setting turnout, so voters should expect long lines on Election Day. Being prepared is important. A new state law eliminated the option to vote straight ticket. Voters will have to choose candidates race by race, which will take more time. County election officials encourage voters to take advantage of the expanded early voting period that begins Tuesday and runs through Oct. 30 or apply now for a ballot-by-mail if they’re eligible.

The Washington Post: October 12, 2020

A private security company is recruiting a “large contingent” of former U.S. military Special Operations personnel to guard polling sites in Minnesota on Election Day as part of an effort “to make sure that the Antifas don’t try to destroy the election sites,” according to the chairman of the company. The recruiting effort is being done by Atlas Aegis, a private security company based in Tennessee that was formed last year and is run by U.S. military veterans, including people with Special Operations experience, according to its website. The company posted a message through a defense industry jobs site this week calling for former Special Operations forces to staff “security positions in Minnesota during the November Election and beyond to protect election polls, local businesses and residences from looting and destruction.” The prospect of armed guards outside election sites alarmed election officials in the state. It is illegal in Minnesota for people other than voters and elections staff — or those people meeting the requirements to be a registered election “challenger”— to be within 100 feet of polling sites. There are also laws against voter intimidation that could prevent armed civilians from being in the area even if outside the buffer, according to election officials in Minnesota. During the last presidential debate, President Trump encouraged his supporters to stand watch at polling sites and told the Proud Boys, a far-right group known for street fighting, to “stand back and stand by.” A Trump campaign spokesperson said the campaign had never heard of Atlas Aegis and that it was not involved in the effort.

The Washington Post: October 12, 2020

For D.C. Board of Elections Chair D. Michael Bennett, the presidential voting underway in the nation’s capital is a chance at redemption. He recalls feeling frustrated, even tearful, on June 2 as he watched long lines of voters face unprecedented delays during the primary election. A combination of technical difficulties, poor communication and challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic left some city residents without mailed ballots and unable to vote in person. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and other politicians demanded accountability, and one city lawmaker called on Bennett to resign. Instead, he launched a series of improvements, hoping to avoid similar problems in the much higher-profile general election. The city mailed ballots to every registered voter this time around, and ballot drop boxes and voting supercenters are among the new additions. But it’s not yet clear how these new tools will fare at a time where election security, public health and the board’s capabilities remain prominent concerns for voters. Bennett, 65, knows he’s being watched closely by the District’s executive and legislative branches as the city hurtles toward a general election that will be like no other. “I see this as a mission I’ve got to complete,” he said. “I looked around the country, and everyone struggled to make this work amid a pandemic. I feel good about our plan, and I feel we’ve done everything we can do.”

WSET TV 13: October 12, 2020

The Amherst County Board of Supervisors discussed the possibility of a 27 cent tax to a pack of cigarettes. "Every penny counts," Paul Chona, a local business owner. Chona owns Campbell Food Store in Elon and for him, a tax increase on cigarettes would result in a hit for his entire business.

VOX: October 9, 2020

Vermont is legalizing marijuana sales. Gov. Phil Scott (R) on Wednesday announced he’ll allow a marijuana sales legalization bill passed by the legislature to take effect. Vermont previously legalized marijuana possession and growing. The latest bill allows and builds a commercialized, tax-and-regulate system, similar to other legalization states’. The legislation is set to take effect this month, but state regulators will have until October 2022 to start issuing licenses for retailers — meaning legal sales could still be as much as two years away. Separately, Scott signed another bill into law that seeks to automate the expungement process for past marijuana convictions, freeing people from their criminal records for marijuana. People who get expungements will receive a notification by mail. The governor’s decision makes Vermont the 11th state to legalize marijuana sales for recreational purposes. A decade ago, zero states had done so. Several other states, including New Jersey and Arizona, will vote on marijuana legalization this November.

Rolling Stone: October 9, 2020

In the fertile northeast corner of the Navajo Nation, fields that only months ago were traditional open-air corn farms are now stuffed with hundreds of industrial-size greenhouses, each glowing with artificial lights and brimming with emerald cannabis plants. Security cameras ring the perimeters and hired guards in flak jackets patrol the public roads alongside the farms. Every weekday throughout the summer, a group of local kids woke at sunrise and arrived at the farm by 7:30, ready for a 10-hour shift of hard labor under the high desert sun. Many were teenagers, 13- and 14-year-olds lured by offers of quick cash. A few were as young as 10. Joining them were scores of foreign workers — an estimated 1,000 people, many of them Chinese immigrants brought to New Mexico from Los Angeles, according to Navajo Nation Police Chief Phillip Francisco. Seven-foot-tall black fencing shields the activities inside these greenhouses, but farmworkers, neighbors, and law enforcement officers have provided an inside view. Chinese managers oversee the day-to-day logistics, they say, bringing in diesel generators on freight trucks to power the greenhouses, installing dozens of cheaply built trailers to house the immigrant workers, and drilling unpermitted wells to irrigate thousands of thirsty cannabis plants.

Chicago Tribune: October 7, 2020

Associated Press: October 7, 2020

A federal grand jury has indicted a North Dakota man accused of participating in a scheme to manufacture counterfeit clothing overseas that was then sold to the U.S. military and other buyers, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

Chicago Tribune: October 6, 2020

Investors who won a chance for a license to sell recreational marijuana in Illinois have filed a lawsuit asserting it’s illegal to give other applicants a second chance. The legal action sets up a potential court battle over when to hold a lottery to award 75 new retail licenses. Three finalists filed a petition asking the Illinois Supreme Court to order that the licenses be awarded without recent changes to the application process they say were made because of “political expediency.” Last month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced new procedures that would allow applicants to correct any deficiencies in their applications and get rescored for a second chance at qualifying for the license lottery. The lawsuit was filed Monday, as the Tribune first reported, by SB IL, Vertical Management and GRI Holdings IL, all limited liability corporations that received perfect scores on their applications. They were among 21 businesses that qualified in September for the license lottery. They are suing Pritzker and officials from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which oversees the licensing of cannabis dispensaries. Pritzker changed the application process after applicants complained of inconsistent scoring and handling of applications. The governor allowed applicants to be notified of any deficiencies in their applications and given 10 days to correct any problems. Those applications are to be scored again to see who else might qualify for the lottery. David Scott, owner of People Cab Co. and People Loan Club in Bellwood, said his group Vertical Management earned its score and deserves a shot at the lottery without potentially hundreds of more contestants. In any competition, he said, players must follow the rules. Even if a referee makes a bad call in a basketball game, he said, once the game is over, there are no do-overs. Winning applicants also took exception to the characterization that they are not legitimate social equity applicants because some have politically connected or wealthy white co-owners, or are already involved in the cannabis industry. GRI’s investment group, for instance, includes restaurant owner Phil Stefani, while another firm, EHR Holdings, includes former Chicago police Superintendent Terry Hillard, who is African American and helped enforce the laws that legalization seeks to reverse. The law did not include preferences for any racial group, out of concern that would be discriminatory. But all of the finalists were given a preference as social equity applicants, meaning most lived in designated poorer areas with many marijuana arrests and convictions, or had low-level marijuana convictions themselves or in their family -- which state officials said in effect favored minority applicants. Of the 21 applicants, state officials said, 13 are majority owned and controlled by people of color and 17 have at least one owner who is a person of color. Scott said his group has five African Americans out of eight owners. “If you want minorities involved, you got 'em,” Scott said.

Baltimore Sun: October 6, 2020

Maryland’s budding hemp industry is growing despite concerns from some Baltimore County residents about living near a crop that was outlawed for several decades. Hemp is a strain of cannabis that looks and smells much like the plant that’s smoked recreationally and medicinally. But hemp contains only a very small amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which causes the psychoactive effects associated with cannabis. Instead, hemp mostly contains cannabidiol oil, or CBD, which is used in pills, creams and consumable products. CBD’s popularity is growing because scientists discovered it stimulates a reaction in the body that reduces pain and inflammation, said Darren O’Brien, a hemp farmer in Baltimore County. “People who are growing hemp are not hippies,” O’Brien said. "It’s helping tens of thousands of people.” O’Brien manages the Hemp Hills Farm and Family Care CBD shop, but he stressed hemp isn’t just about CBD. The plant has been “a major crop” in Canada and Europe for decades, he said, because its fibers can be used to produce clothing, shoes or paper, among other things. Maryland has seen the industry blossom since starting a pilot program in 2018. There are nearly 100 farms statewide — a roughly 50% increase this past year. And new state regulations for the industry will take effect Nov. 1. But as more farmers view the crop as a gateway to the lucrative CBD market, some neighbors are fuming. And at least one county government — Baltimore County — is considering restrictions on the crop. “The people that have contacted me have said that they’ve had problems with some of their children who have respiratory issues [that] are made more complicated by hemp. People who have asthma find that their conditions are more agitated from the hemp,” said Baltimore County Councilman Wade Kach, who has sponsored a bill to limit hemp farms. The council held a hearing Tuesday on Kach’s proposed legislation, and Kach also held a virtual meeting Thursday for both sides to discuss the issue. The council is scheduled to vote on the bill Monday night, though Kach has said he may seek to postpone a vote. One of Baltimore County’s five hemp farms is located off Broadway Road, just north of Stevenson, and it’s surrounded by suburban homes. Vince Piccinini, the farmer whose name is listed on the state registration for the Broadway Road hemp farm, could not be reached for comment. While the land has long been used for farming, Kach aide Ryan Fried said a barrage of complaints followed Piccinini’s decision to grow hemp there. Like any other hemp farm, its fields release an odor from late summer until early November when the plant is harvested. Residents have voiced health concerns over the stench. Kach’s bill would prohibit hemp farms within 2,000 feet of a residential property. The Cockeysville Republican’s proposal would also require harvesting facilities to be set back at least 500 feet from the farm’s property line and hemp farms would be prohibited from operating within 2 miles of another hemp farm. The county council is expected to vote on the bill this week and, if approved, it would take effect Oct. 19. Residents from the Sparks and Lutherville-Timonium communities testified in support of the proposal last week. They said approximately 32 homes are within 1,000 feet of the Piccinini farm, which is listed in the state as GPS Nurseries. “This is frightening," Lutherville resident Michele Pearlman said. “Council, you have our health in your hands. Please protect us by passing this bill.” Another resident, Richard Sciacca, reiterated that neither the U.S. Food and Drug Administration nor Maryland allows CBD to be added to edible products, even though it’s happening. Dr. Jefferson Lee of Lutherville said the FDA says on its website that pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers shouldn’t be exposed to cannabis or cannabis-derived products. “It is incredibly disturbing, the idea of my young children becoming guinea pigs for future research on long-term health hazards from cannabis exposure at home," Lee said. But Kevin Atticks of the Maryland Hemp Coalition said there are no studies showing negative health effects from inhaling hemp. "You may not like the smell, but it’s not dangerous,” Atticks said. Right now, the hemp dispute appears to be limited to Baltimore County. But agriculture advocates are worried about the county council bill’s impact on farmers.

WTTW/PBS: October 6, 2020

Setting Chicagoans up for a safe and secure election is a tall order in a year beset by a pandemic, post office woes and concerns about voter intimidation. But Chicago Board of Elections Chairwoman Marisel Hernandez says they’re up to the challenge – and she encourages all those who want to vote to make sure they’re registered, right up until Election Day. “Any resident of Chicago who’s a U.S. citizen and will turn 18 by Nov. 3 can register to vote online, (at) early voting sites, and on Election Day,” she said. “Our early voting site at the Loop is open and running, the other 50 early voting sites will be open as of Oct 14. You’ll also be able to register to vote online until Oct. 18.” On the first day of early voting, voters formed a socially distanced line outside the building to cast their ballots. Masks, hand sanitizer and Plexiglas dividers were used there — as they will be at all polling locations — to keep poll workers and voters safe. Hernandez says that nearly half a million people have requested vote-by-mail ballots, and she urges those who plan to vote by mail to return their ballots as soon as possible to avoid delays in counting. Voters whose primary language is Spanish can visit the Board of Elections site for information in Spanish; information in several other languages is also available. After Gov. J.B. Pritzker expressed concerns that some people might attempt to disrupt the election, Hernandez says the Board of Elections is ready for that, too. “I want voters to know that the board regularly meets with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Chicago Police Department and other governmental entities to prepare for this election period, including Election Day,” Hernandez said. “And on Election Day, we will have all of these agencies assisting us along with community organizations and attorneys who will monitor polling places. So we feel confident that we have the security in place for voters to come out and safely vote.”

Chicago Tribune: October 2, 2020

To secure elections, paper ballots and risk-limiting audits are needed and systems have to be established to contain the spread of misinformation, a recent Indiana University Bloomington study has found.

Arkansas Times: September 29, 2020

Since the state’s first dispensary opened about 16 months ago, Arkansas patients have purchased more than $131 million worth of medical marijuana. These sales have generated more than $13 million in state tax revenue, contributing to the state’s goal of achieving a coveted cancer institute designation for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Biometric Update: September 29, 2020

National digital identity projects involving biometrics made up the theme of the week’s top news on Biometric Update, with Thales and an Augentic-INCM partnership winning major ID document contracts in Sweden and Cameroon respectively, and Idemia, Mühlbauer, HID Global and Aisino Corporation bids needing to be refiled in Nepal.

Marijuana Moment: September 28, 2020

The lieutenant governors of Illinois and Michigan recently gave their counterpart in Pennsylvania some advice on how to approach marijuana legalization in his state.

Roads and Bridges: September 28, 2020

Many state and local agencies are now expecting revenue shortfalls, or, at the very least, battling uncertainty and hesitation. As we respond to these challenges and plan a path forward, it can be helpful to look back at similar situations and the tools used in the past.

AP: September 26, 2020

Firefighters battling the state’s largest wildfire braced for the change in weather by constructing fuel breaks on Friday to keep the flames from reaching a marijuana-growing enclave where authorities said many of the locals have refused to evacuate and abandon their maturing crops.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: September 25, 2020

The state imposes a 17-cent tax on a pack of cigarettes — the lowest in the nation — just a fraction of the $2.98 rate charged across the Mississippi River in Illinois. Missouri’s rate likely won’t change any time soon. Voters in 2016 rejected competing ballot questions that would have raised the tobacco tax.

NJ.com: September 25, 2020

Gov. Phil Murphy and his fellow Democrats who lead the New Jersey Legislature have agreed on a state budget deal that raises taxes on high-income earners and HMOs while extending a 2.5-percentage point surtax on corporations with over $1 million in income.

Marijuana Moment: September 24, 2020

Standing before a field of thigh-high hemp plants last week, a pair of candidates running for seats in the West Virginia House of Delegates previewed a marijuana legalization bill they plan to introduce if elected in November. Rusty Williams and Chris Yeager, Democrats running in West Virginia House Districts 35 and 14, respectively, announced the planned legislation, titled “The Normalization of Cannabis Act,” in a video streamed Friday on Facebook from Yeager’s hemp farm in Mason County. “I think that this bill is a great draft,” said Yeager, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and owner of Appalachian Cannabis Co., which makes products from CBD derived from his farm’s hemp. “It gives us a starting point.” The proposal is being supported by WV Can’t Wait, a political advocacy group that asks candidates to sign a pledge to reject corporate campaign donations and sign on to an array of policy positions, including broadband internet for all, infrastructure investment, small-business support, a workers bill of rights and “full cannabis legalization.” Williams, who became involved in medical marijuana legalization efforts after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, according to his campaign website, helped successfully advocate for the state’s medical cannabis bill, signed into law in 2017. He described his new proposal in Friday’s video as “the first piece of comprehensive cannabis legislation that we intend to introduce should we both be fortunate enough to win in November.” A copy of the draft bill wasn’t immediately provided by WV Can’t Wait organizers, who instead pointed Marijuana Moment to a bulleted list of provisions, included in full at the end of this article. “People hear the term ‘comprehensive cannabis’ and want to know what that means,” Williams said on the live stream. “What that means is this bill will decriminalize the cultivation, production and personal use of cannabis for all West Virginia adults over 21.” Under the proposal, all adults 21 and over could grow up to 12 cannabis plants for personal use. While the bill would establish a “framework for taxation of commercial sales,” the candidates stressed that big business isn’t their goal. Instead, the proposal would allow so-called micro permits, which would license small, vertically integrated marijuana businesses. “One of the major criticisms we’ve had with the Medical Cannabis Act is that the entire industry was going to be run by ten companies,” Williams said. “When we end prohibition, we have got to make sure that we clear a path for small businesses and small farmers to get into the game and participate in this industry, and that’s exactly what micro permitting will do.” Permits would be discounted 50 percent to applicants convicted of past nonviolent cannabis crimes, Williams said, “as a means of restorative justice. I can’t stress it enough, here in West Virginia we have got a lot of wrongs to right when it comes to cannabis.” The prospective bill would also expunge the records of nonviolent cannabis convictions dating back to 1937, when prohibition first began, Williams said. “Not only will we release people from jail who are wrongfully incarcerated for possessing or using a plant, but this bill also provides for transitional services for people released, so we can help them with schooling, education, housing, anything that we can help them with to get them back into society, which is where they should be in the first place,” he said.

The Washington Post: September 24, 2020

The world crossed a red line this month when police directly tied a woman’s death to a cyberattack in Germany. Prosecutors in the German city of Cologne have opened a negligent homicide investigation in the case in which an ailing woman was turned away from a hospital in the grips of a ransomware attack and couldn’t help her. She died on the way to another hospital. It was the most concrete evidence to date of the real-world consequences of digital hacking. And it’s a scenario that’s likely to play out again and again as technology becomes more deeply entwined in people’s daily lives and security protections fail to keep up. “This is something people have been warning about for a long time now and you’re going to see more and more of it,” Peter Singer, a senior fellow at the New America think tank who focuses on cybersecurity, told me. The case is especially noteworthy because after years of fears about potential life threatening cyberattacks from Russia, Iran or North Korea that could resemble a “cyber 9/11” or “cyber Pearl Harbor,” the first attack directly linked to a death came from common criminals who may not even have known they were targeting a hospital. Indeed, the hackers who locked up the hospital’s IT systems seem to have been targeting Heinrich Heine University, which is affiliated with the hospital, rather than the hospital itself, according to a note the hackers sent demanding a ransom payment, the Associated Press reported. That scenario of a criminal hack accidentally cascading into a life-threatening situation is only going to become more common. “Human life is more tied up with cyberspace now than it was before because of this ongoing march of digitization and the interconnection of networks with all human activities,” Jon Bateman, a former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst and now a cybersecurity fellow for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told me. “Hospital are more online than they were before, and that’s true of many industries. So it stands to reason that cyber incidents with life-and-death consequence will be happening more and more.” Just because this death was probably an accidental consequence of a cyberattack doesn’t mean future such deaths won’t be deliberate. That will become especially likely with the proliferation of a slew of things connected to the Internet and vulnerable to hacking such as medical devices, driverless cars and connected home features.

Cities Today: September 24, 2020

The Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago teamed up with Verizon to help deliver secured elections in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared coronavirus a global pandemic. This was just six days away from Chicago’s scheduled presidential primary. Implementing additional health and safety measures to protect voters and poll workers in such a short amount of time was a hurdle in and of itself. Adding to this complexity was the introduction of a brand new voting system for over 2,000 precincts across 230 squares miles. Even without pandemic factors, being able to provide secure electronic elections across multiple voting sites comes with its own challenges, unique to each state, county and city. Three critical factors for secure electronic elections are: Protect the integrity of voter choices on a digital ballot; Guard against hacks and cyberattacks when those choices are electronically transmitted across the network; Ensure that every vote is accurately counted and accounted for Proper planning is essential when preparing for something as critical as an election. As early as 2006, when problems with the then-new voting equipment began to surface, the Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago (“Board”) had already initiated preparations for improving network security and efficiency, which included upgrading its electronic poll books in 2014. When the Board decided to upgrade its voting equipment and network in 2018, it was dealing with an infrastructure that hadn’t been updated since 2006. This meant replacing the old-school voting equipment with more modern equipment featuring robust capabilities and security. Whereas before, the equipment merely performed a tally of votes without preserving the ballot itself, the new system actually scans and saves every single ballot, both electronic and paper. “The added advantage about these new vote scanners is that you can see the logic the scanner used to count or not count the vote so that there can be an immediate adjudication if there’s an issue of how the image appeared that reflects the voter’s intent,” said Jim Allen, former Communications Director, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. But shifting from a purely count-based tally to one that is accompanied by verifiable scans of actual ballots requires not just a massive increase in bandwidth, but also a pipeline that is reliable and scalable.

The New York Times: September 23, 2020

I recently wrote that Mark Zuckerberg is the most powerful unelected man in America. His and Facebook’s efforts to try to combat election-related disinformation on its platform, however comforting, were merely “an admission of a great power that should make Americans uncomfortable,” I said. Some readers argued I had it wrong. First, criticizing the helpful efforts of Silicon Valley are counterproductive at a time when we need all hands on deck, they wrote. Second, I was too narrowly focused on one man. Mr. Zuckerberg and Facebook are far from the only powerful entities who could, with a few executive decisions, meaningfully affect the 2020 election.

The Hill: September 23, 2020

Officers detained a shipment of 43 boxes that appeared to have counterfeit N95 respirator masks on Sept. 2.

The New York Times: September 22, 2020

The 2020 election is underway. Not just the campaign — the actual voting has already begun. States are recruiting and training poll workers, identifying the final list of polling places and early voting locations and mailing out ballots. The pandemic presents a huge challenge, but we can still ensure a safe and accessible vote this November. Here are six ways to make that happen. 1. Every voter must make a plan to vote. Now. Voters should start by checking their registrations by going to canivote.org. They should find out whether they can vote early, but in-person — that option will ease the burden of counting ballots on Election Day, since most states don’t allow for the early counting of absentee ballots. If they plan to go to the polls on Election Day, they should try to go in the middle of the day, when lines are less likely. If they plan to vote by mail and live in a state that is not mailing ballots to every voter, they should apply for absentee ballots as soon as possible. Then they must decide how to return that ballot — by mail, in a drop box, at a county office, or at a polling place — and track their ballots if their state provides a website to do so. In most years, absentee voters wait until the last minute to return their ballots, resulting in a backlog as Election Day approaches. Because 2020 may see three times more mail ballots cast than in any previous election, this backlog threatens to become gridlock. To avoid that, we need to “flatten the absentee ballot curve,” as our colleague Richard Hasen says. Voters should return their ballots as soon as they can. This will help make sure that a rush of ballots does not hit election offices at the last minute — or even worse, too late to be counted. 2. Work the polls. In surveys of battleground states by our organization, healthyelections.org, well over half of respondents indicate they will vote in person this year. We should remove any pandemic-related obstacles from their path. Local election officials need poll workers, because their usual corps of senior citizens are less likely to serve, given their heightened Covid-19 risk. The job requires long hours, but this year, to sweeten the deal, many local jurisdictions are offering hazard pay. Poll workers need training, so the time to sign up is now. Anyone interested should contact their state election office for information or go to the websites of the National Association of Secretaries of State, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and Power the Polls. Ohio has developed a helpful dashboard describing the poll worker shortages in each county — something every state should provide so outside groups can focus their recruitment efforts. 3. Keep watch over the post office, but rebuild confidence in the mail. Voters’ confidence in the postal system must be restored. The long-term financial woes of the U.S. Postal Service, coupled with decisions this year to cut overtime for postal workers, remove certain equipment and eliminate extra trips to deliver the mail have magnified concerns that the Postal Service was not up to the task in the election. The Postal Service has warned that it cannot meet certain state mail ballot deadlines, meaning last-minute voters risk not having their votes counted. A federal court in Washington State has now ordered the Postal Service to undo some of its moves and enjoined them from making more. The postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, also backtracked from these changes in his congressional testimony. However, the damage to public confidence may already have occurred; 43 percent of likely voters in a recent Citizen Data poll are not confident that the post office will properly deliver mail ballots.

Marijuana Moment: September 21, 2020

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Friday that it is expanding its coronavirus relief program for farmers—and this time around, hemp cultivators are eligible for benefits. In May, USDA said it would be making $19 billion available for agriculture producers to assist them amid the pandemic. But it excluded hemp and several other crops, stating that they don’t qualify because they didn’t experience a five percent or greater price decline from January to April.rop’s legalization, highlighted the policy change.

Minneapolis Tribune: September 21, 2020

Europe's largest security organization said Friday that it has drastically scaled back plans to send as many as 500 observers to the U.S. to monitor the Nov. 3 presidential election and now will deploy just 30 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe — which has observed U.S. elections since 2002 but is better known for monitoring voting in countries such as Belarus or Kyrgyzstan — has spent months trying to figure out how to safely keep tabs on an election it worries will be "the most challenging in recent decades" as Americans pick a president in the throes of a global health crisis.

The Daily Journal: September 18, 2020

Retail cannabis businesses are closer to being welcomed within Redwood City limits as planning commissioners approved zoning guidelines permitting storefronts in various areas of the city. After a nearly two-year-process to regulate how walk-in cannabis stores would be allowed to open in Redwood City, the Planning Commission voted to recommend the City Council approve zoning amendments permitting the business to open, by right, in zoning districts where general retail is allowed.

The Washington Post: September 18, 2020

Election officials in Kentucky are already warning voters about misinformation as the state’s mail-in voting process kicks off this week. But minimizing confusion around the mailers and text messages sent with incorrect voter registration information is even more difficult as state officials grapple with uncertainties from the coronavirus pandemic. The state’s second-most populous county closed its election office for two weeks after a positive coronavirus case. Other counties also reported confirmed coronavirus cases among employees in their county election and clerk’s offices. Kentucky’s struggles show how the general-election voting season is off to a bumpy start.

The Washington Post: September 17, 2020

Election officials’ worries about misinformation have escalated since the coronavirus pandemic brought unprecedented change to how elections are run around the country — presenting a choice opportunity for interference by America’s adversaries overseas and new possibilities for voter confusion as rules shift. But in the past few days, election officials in some states have raised the alarm about false guidance for voters they say is coming from within the government bureaucracy — specifically, from the U.S. Postal Service. And at least one federal judge has agreed. The suggestions included requesting mail ballots “at least 15 days before Election Day,” adding postage to return envelopes “if needed” and mailing voted ballots at least a week before the deadline. But this information is not accurate in at least nine states and the District of Columbia, where officials either already conduct their elections fully by mail — or are proactively sending out ballots this year as a public health measure. It’s prompting an outcry that the latest agency communications are confusing and may end up disenfranchising voters who will follow the wrong rules as a result. “Confusing voters about mail ballots in the middle of a pandemic is unacceptable,” tweeted Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat who sued on Friday night to block further delivery of the mailer to state residents. “It can undermine confidence in the election & suppress votes. I will do everything in my power to stop @USPS from sending misinformation to voters.” The flap underscores just how complex the voting landscape is this year as officials prepare for a surge in mail voting. While Colorado has been holding statewide mail elections since 2013, California, New Jersey, Vermont, Nevada and the District of Columbia will proactively send ballots to voters for the first time in November. Another 10 states decided to send request forms for mail ballots. And around the country, states from New York to Alabama are allowing voters who fear contracting or spreading the coronavirus to vote by mail. The Post recently published an interactive guide on how to vote in every state, both by mail and in person. The project — which involved collecting more than 2,000 data points — underscores the diversity of states’ voting policies, from whether they offer same-day voter registration, to whether they allow the use of ballot drop boxes, to whether they allow mail ballots to be counted before Election Day. We are regularly updating the tool to reflect changes to deadlines, rules for obtaining and returning your mail ballot and ballot verification practices like signature-matching. These updates will continue through Nov. 3, as litigation over voting rules continues around the country. Election officials are facing serious challenges as they inform the public about fast-changing rules this year. While polls point to an increased appetite for mail voting this year, only just over 3 in 10 registered voters say they are “very confident” that their vote will be counted accurately if they cast a mail ballot, compared with nearly 7 in 10 who say the same about voting in person on Election Day, according to a recent Washington Post-University of Maryland poll conducted by Ipsos. President Trump has also repeatedly and without evidence attacked mail voting as vulnerable to massive fraud, heightening the challenge for election officials as they try to build confidence in voting systems that will rely more than ever on the mail this year.

Reform Austin: September 16, 2020

Is it marijuana or hemp? Do we prosecute or drop charges? Those are questions prosecutors around Texas have been wrestling with since the legislature legalized hemp in 2019. In Harris County, they now have answers. Well, sort of. A new testing method being used by the Houston Forensic Science Center can measure whether delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the controlled substance in the cannabis plant that causes a “high,” is above or below 1 percent. This will allow the laboratory to differentiate illegal marijuana from legal hemp in specific circumstances.

Business of Fashion: September 16, 2020

According to AAFA president and Chief Executive Steve Lamar, however, the ongoing off-shoring of apparel and footwear manufacturing from China means that the explosion of fake goods since the pandemic broke out is not just a China problem.

Chicago Sun Times: September 15, 2020

Julie Doran stood between two neat rows of chest-high hemp plants on a 5-acre plot in Westerville last week and explained what the crop is used for and how it grows. While the farm tour was intended to educate the public about the intricacies of hemp cultivation, there was another important message aimed squarely at the three members of the Ohio House of Representatives who toured the farm. Ohio’s hemp laws, Doran said, must be loosened to give farmers the leeway they need to grow the crop, which is used in products ranging from nutritional supplements to rope and bags. The crop is planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. The passage of Senate Bill 57 last year legalized hemp in Ohio, giving the state’s farmers access to a potentially lucrative market. Kentucky’s hemp processors made more than $57 million last year. Nearly 200 Ohioans have a license to grow hemp so far, and this year’s crop will serve as a trial run for both farmers and the regulators. The Ohio Hemp Farmers Cooperative, which Doran heads, is lobbying the state to regulate hemp the way it regulates other crops. But hemp, state officials counter, isn’t like other crops because of its close relationship to marijuana (both plants come from cannabis), which is still illegal under federal law. Ohio’s regulations, they say, are necessary to keep the state’s hemp program in line with federal guidelines and ensure that no one is growing marijuana. Marijuana cultivation is licensed through the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program. The visiting lawmakers seemed receptive to Doran’s message Tuesday. “I want to make sure that what we’ve placed into law can really be effective to the (farmers) we want to help,” said Rep. Juanita Brent, D-Cleveland, who is on the House Agriculture Committee. Farmers are required to grow at least 1,000 hemp plants under state law. Brent and Rep. Erica Crawley, D-Columbus, who also toured the farm Tuesday, agreed that the requirement is too big a barrier for many aspiring hemp farmers, particularly urban farmers with few acres. “Having to have 1,000 plants would be difficult for a lot of people,” Crawley said. She added that farmers in her district told her the requirements are too stringent. Senate Bill 57 left it to the Ohio Department of Agriculture to create the rules governing hemp farming. The agency looked to other states and the U.S. Department of Agriculture for guidance. Minimum planting requirements were based on Kentucky’s rules and are meant to ensure that hemp production is commercial, David Miran, director of the agriculture department’s hemp program, said in a statement. A $500 licensing fee is intended to pay for the inspectors, laboratory staff and office staff the agriculture department needs to oversee hemp production, Miran said. “ODA’s licensing fees are on average with other states,” he said. Federal law governs one of the most stringent restrictions. If hemp crops contain more than 0.3% THC the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana those plants must be destroyed. Under state law, which takes its cue from a 2016 farm bill that created national guidelines for hemp production, any cannabis that exceeds that threshold is considered marijuana. Doran would like farmers to have a little more leeway on the THC limit. The Westerville farmer has several growing locations for hemp, each featuring a different variety, and must pay the state $500 to inspect each of them. On top of that, she needs three to five workers to tend to the crops to ensure they’re growing correctly and aren’t exceeding the THC limit.

CNN: September 15, 2020

In 2016, the US election resulted in a green wave as cannabis legalization measures passed in eight out of nine states. Now, the industry and its supporters are hoping for another big win in November. This year, voters in five states will decide whether to adopt either new medical or recreational cannabis laws -- or, perhaps, both in the case of one state. As it stands now, 33 states have legalized medical cannabis, and of those, 11 states have legalized cannabis for adult recreational use. If more states join that list, it could serve as a huge opportunity for industry growth as legalization supporters believe successful ballot initiatives could have a domino effect on other states -- especially those looking to address budgetary and social justice issues. "We've seen public support continue to grow every year," said Karen O'Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, the legalization advocacy group backing several of the measures. Cannabis sales in states that have legalized the plant for medical and recreational purposes totaled about $15 billion in 2019, and are expected to top $30 billion by 2024, according to data from BDS Analytics, which tracks dispensary sales. Below is a look at the five states voting on legal cannabis this November. Four years ago, residents in the Grand Canyon State narrowly defeated an initiative to legalize recreational cannabis. It failed by fewer than 67,100 votes, with 51.3% of voters saying no. The 2016 measure was hotly contested, attracting a combined $13 million from high-profile donors such as soap company Dr. Bronner's, which was in favor of the measure, and opponents such as billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, tire retailer Discount Tire, and pharmaceutical company Insys. This time around, the backers of the recreational cannabis initiative include some of the biggest names in the US cannabis business -- an industry that has matured significantly during the past four years. State election finance records show that contributors supporting Proposition 207 include multi-state cannabis producers and retailers such as the Tempe, Arizona-based Harvest Health & Recreation (HRVSF) and firms such as Curaleaf (CURLF) and Cresco Labs (CRLBF), which have cultivation and retail operations in Arizona's medical cannabis industry. Still in staunch opposition are Governor Doug Ducey, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a national organization that opposes the legalization and commercialization of cannabis.

Michigan Live: September 14, 2020

Products promising to alleviate a beloved pet’s pain with CBD oil or THC have long been available to consumers - but Michigan veterinarians are currently operating in a legal gray area when talking about those products with pet owners. Many Michigan lawmakers are hoping to change that. This week, a bill that would let veterinarians consult with pet owners about the use of marijuana or industrial hemp products for their animals passed the Michigan House unanimously. Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Houghton, sponsored the bill after learning from veterinarians in his district that while clients often have questions about how products containing CBD or THC could affect their pet’s health, state law doesn’t explicitly allow veterinarians to discuss the pros and cons of the products with pet owners.

ABC8 News: September 14, 2020

The Virginia Department of Elections announced the launch of “Defending Democracy” as a part of the Department’s new marketing campaign– focused on it’s commitment to election security. The “Defending Democracy” campaign includes a series of communications featuring members of Virginia’s elections community, including local and state election workers who are key to helping administer elections. The campaign also includes radio, digital video and banners, and social advertising that similarly conveys the Department’s commitment to ensuring election integrity. Examples of the ads from the campaign can be seen here. The Department of Elections has worked to remove unsecured voting systems from service at the local level and promoted the transition to a modern voting systems using voter verified paper-based balloting. The equipment voters use to cast their ballots in Virginia are not connected to the Internet.

Chicago Sun Times: September 11, 2020

As losing applicants for new pot shop licenses continued to raise alarms about the application process and an upcoming lottery to determine the winners, two Democratic lawmakers outlined plans Wednesday to formally review the scoring system and introduce new legislation to “make sure that true social equity is achieved.” During a Zoom call with a group of scorned social equity candidates, state Reps. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) and Kathleen Willis (D-Northlake) said they are formulating a “trailer bill” to introduce during the fall veto session that will reflect the litany of concerns from would-be pot shop operators

NBC News: September 11, 2020

Warren County in North Carolina has only three full-time staff members, and none of them are computer specialists. That could matter in a year in which foreign governments are eyeing ways to disrupt the November election. So the county’s election director, Debbie Formyduval, has welcomed cybersecurity experts from the state’s National Guard to help shore up the systems. “I'm a small county," Formyduval said. "And it allows me — it affords me the opportunity to feel comfortable with my IT and where I am compared to a larger county in the state." The National Guard is often associated with more physical tasks such as helping with disaster relief, or in recent months, responding to protests over police brutality against Black Americans.

Houston Chronicle: September 11, 2020

Local forensic labs in Harris County can now determine whether a leafy green is hemp or marijuana following a state policy that legalized some uses of the cannabis plant. The Houston Forensic Science Center and the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences will use the test on samples that could contain illegal amounts of THC, the results of which could be used to prosecute criminal cases. THC is the main active ingredient in cannabis.

NJ.com: September 10, 2020

A coalition of activists and experts is readying to roll out a campaign to legalize marijuana in New Jersey for those over 21, framed through a racial justice lens seeking to end arrests for weed use and address the damage caused by the war on drugs. NJ CAN 2020 formed in March, just a week before the state began shutting down to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Since, the landscape of an election has changed drastically — no going door-to-door to spread the word, no rallies with motivational speakers to rouse voters. And the get-out-the-vote message has shifted to getting the ballot in the mailbox on time, as New Jersey plans to send mail-in ballots to all of its registered voters.“As people are self-isolating, quarantining, we need to go where people are,” said Axel Owen, NJ CAN 2020?s campaign manager. “Since we can’t go to their door, that means we have to go to their phone.” The coalition includes members of the ACLU of New Jersey, Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, the Latino Action Network, the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, the NAACP New Jersey State Conference and the NJ CannaBusiness Association. It also has the support and funding of The coalition will take a virtual-first approach to reaching voters and educating them about the ballot question seeking to legalize marijuana. They will host online forums, live broadcasts and posts on social media as well as phone banking and text alerts. Despite a years-long battle to legalize marijuana, coalition members say the need to educate voters remains. “There are many people in New Jersey who think that we have already legalized,” said Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey and a coalition member. “I think we need to educate voters that no, it’s not done. And it’s going to be on the ballot.” With a decade-old medical marijuana program and three years worth of calls by Gov. Phil Murphy to legalize, many people wrongly assume the Garden State has already passed legislation. But the state Senate fell short of the number of votes needed to pass a legalization bill several times over the past two years; lawmakers have also let legislation that would decriminalize anywhere from two ounces to one pound of marijuana languish. Meanwhile, police continue to arrest nearly 100 people for possession of marijuana each day, and the illicit market thrives. That’s the main point the coalition wants to drive home to voters. This isn’t just about making it easier to purchase marijuana for recreational use, but about stopping the thousands of annual arrests that disproportionately impact Black communities. Weedmaps, individual donors and New Jersey advocacy group, including the ACLU.

Security Magazine: September 10, 2020

Over the past few years, cannabis has been increasingly accepted into the mainstream as an effective therapy that can produce fewer side effects than other prescription drugs in many patients. This acceptance is reflected in the rapid evolution in legislation surrounding cannabis around the world. However, due to current regulations, pharmacies in Canada are limited to dispensing medical cannabis via online channels. On a larger scale, even other countries where cannabis has been legalized for therapeutic purposes may be limited in their methods of legally distributing the drug. Furthermore, many pharmacists and other healthcare professionals are reluctant to dispense, and sometimes even prescribe, medical cannabis. This isn’t because they doubt its efficacy in treating certain symptoms, which has been long proven, but because of the potential variations and inconsistencies that come with working with plant medicine versus more traditional pharmaceuticals. That reluctance is understandable. Accustomed to rigorous testing, fixed doses, and universally applicable information, healthcare workers may be hesitant about undertaking the responsibility of providing this ground-breaking and unique form of treatment based solely on patient reviews, instinct, and vague descriptions from licensed producers. Unfortunately, that reluctance — along with the foot-dragging of regulators to allow pharmacies to dispense cannabis as they would any other drug — renders medical cannabis less accessible than other medications for vulnerable patients. It also leaves pharmacies on the sidelines of what could potentially represent a massive financial windfall for the industry as a whole. But despite the apparent challenges faced by pharmacies in dispensing cannabinoid-based medicine, there is a solution. Blockchain technology can be implemented to help pharmacies worldwide adopt the sale of cannabis products, be they high in tetrahydrocannabinol (or THC, the intoxicating cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant), the increasingly popular cannabidiol (or CBD, a psychoactive but non-intoxicating compound in cannabis), or other therapeutic elements derived from the plant. As the legalization of cannabis continues its rapid spread across the globe, legislators and healthcare workers are increasingly looking for a means of providing citizens and patients with safe, accountable access to effective, cannabis-based medications.

Politico: September 10, 2020

Senate Republicans dismissed concerns this week about the Trump administration’s decision to effectively cut off the Democratic House of Representatives from in-person briefings on election security — and they expressed confidence that the GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee will continue to hold such sessions in the run-up to Election Day. GOP senators also defended John Ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence, in the wake of his order to end in-person briefings on election-security matters due to a recent spate of classified leaks. “[It] is a chronic problem around here. People go into the SCIF and they get a classified briefing and next thing they come out and start telling everything they heard to the press,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an Intelligence Committee member, referring to the secure facility in the Capitol where lawmakers view and discuss classified information. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of GOP leadership and the Intelligence panel, said it would be “totally inappropriate” to cut off the Senate committee but said he does not believe Ratcliffe has done that, despite Ratcliffe’s letters to congressional leaders last month informing them of his decision. “I think it’s also inappropriate for every member of the Congress who has chosen not to try to serve on that committee to think that they need to know everything that people on the Intel Committee know,” Blunt added. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the acting chairman of the Intelligence Committee, had organized a series of briefings for all members of the Senate earlier this year. Blunt suggested that Ratcliffe’s new posture was justified because “that information didn’t stay in the room.” Despite ODNI’s directive, Rubio said he fully expects that the Senate Intelligence Committee will still have the opportunity to question U.S. intelligence officials in person about their assessments on election security, including on efforts by foreign actors to interfere in the campaign.

GCN: September 4, 2020

Colorado’s Secretary of State Jena Griswold recently announced that her administration would launch a Rapid Response Election Security Cyber Unit, or RESCU for short. The goal of the unit, composed of highly trained election security specialists, is to protect the state’s elections from cyberattacks and interference from nation states as well as respond to any issues that arise during the process. As the RESCU announcement put it, the unit is “charged with securing Colorado’s elections by assisting counties with their cybersecurity in the field and combating cybersecurity incursions and disinformation.”

Chicago Tribune: September 4, 2020

A chamber of Congress will vote to remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substance for the first time in the nation’s history. The U.S. House of Representative confirmed its historic vote will occur during September work period and would effectively decriminalize cannabis nationwide. The legislation in question, known as the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act (MORE Act), would not legalize marijuana at the federal level. Instead it would remove cannabis from its Schedule I drug classification, which the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) defines as “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” Once removed, states could then decide whether to legalize cannabis for medical or recreational use. The bill would also expunge cannabis records for some and create a fund to support individuals impacted by the enforcement of marijuana laws. "Passage of the MORE Act is essential in order to truly right the wrongs of federal marijuana criminalization, and to once and for all allow the majority of states that have legalized cannabis for either medical or adult-use to embrace these policies free from the threat of undue federal prosecution or interference," said NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano. It’s unknown whether the MORE Act will have enough votes to carry the Democrat-controlled House. Even if it does, the Senate is not expected to vote on the bill considering the long-held opposition by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Republicans, who control the Senate, have not show support for ending cannabis prohibition in recent weeks. The head of the Republican National Committee would not answer whether medical marijuana supporters had a place in the GOP in a recent interview. And President Donald Trump told a Republican crowd earlier this month not to allow cannabis legalization ballot if they want to win.

NPR: September 4, 2020

Two secret wars are underway simultaneously over attack and defense of the 2020 presidential election. This week, each one broke into the open again. The first war is an intelligence and national security operation aimed at protecting American election infrastructure, political campaigns and the U.S. information environment from foreign interference. The second one is a political struggle over how much Americans learn about the first. Events this week further underscored how far the U.S. has traveled since the infamous 2016 election, which played out without much appreciation in real time about how events were roiling behind the scenes. That understanding only developed in retrospect through official investigations. This year, Americans are aware as never before about foreign schemes, official countermeasures and the second-order efforts by U.S. politicians to shape the public's impressions about it all. Facebook spikes Russian scheme: On Tuesday, Facebook announced it had disrupted an influence operation linked with Russia's "Internet Research Agency," a professional disruption and trolling mill, that sought to sow agitation in the U.S. election. The Russian specialists were using Facebook accounts to entice U.S. journalists to contribute to a left-wing website, the company said, in a project the social media giant called "largely unsuccessful" in its official report. Facebook's ejection of the Russian users followed a tip from the FBI. That dynamic was the product of years of sometimes awkward relationship-building between Silicon Valley and officialdom following the 2016 experience, in which both sides have since said they were too slow to recognize the magnitude of the influence operations playing out across Americans' social networks. Facebook, Twitter and other platforms have spent the intervening years not only deepening their relationships with law enforcement and intelligence officials, but also routinely scrubbing their own operations in order to prevent foreign interference specialists from building up a critical mass of agitation at any one time. The companies have kicked off scores of fake accounts and also quashed or "down-ranked" other content associated with agitation, they've told Congress, which in some cases has prompted foreign governments to change their tactics and even move their messaging that targets the United States into overt accounts. This week's case from Facebook was another example: With pressure evidently too great to sustain a 2016-level of disinformation and agitation on Facebook itself, the IRA evidently only sought to use it to solicit real Americans to post real content on another website. Pushing the activity away from the platform with the biggest audience reduces the reach of the influence operation. Russian influence specialists also used independently created websites in 2016 including "DCLeaks," which was one avenue through which the military intelligence agency GRU posted emails stolen via cyberattacks from American political targets. Internet users the world over, however, this year are on guard about Russian cyberattacks, as a separate flap showed.

Oregon Live: September 3, 2020

When Oregon voters legalized recreational cannabis in 2014, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission was given the responsibility for the licensing and regulation of cannabis businesses. Unlike other states, Oregon was meant to have a non-competitive licensing system with no limit on the total number of licenses issued. This approach was intended to encourage existing medical cannabis growers and dispensaries to enter into the regulated market and allow women, minorities and other entrepreneurs the opportunity to participate in the new cannabis economy. While the licensing system initially worked well, the system has essentially ground to a halt. According to the OLCC’s website, the agency is just now processing applications to grow recreational cannabis that were filed in February 2018. It’s not much better for those seeking licenses to process, sell or distribute cannabis. The agency is just now getting to applications filed in June 2018. That means the OLCC is more than two years behind in issuing licenses and there is no point in filing a new application for eligible business types. As a lawyer in this space since before legalization, I know that those waiting for licenses include small businesses that have been stretched thin by the delays. They have built out facilities to comply with regulations, paid rent each month, accepted money from investors and now have little hope that they will ever be able to operate. One client, Adam Dunn, filed for a processor’s license two years ago, spent $300,000 on security and construction and has been paying rent since 2018. With the current backlog, he will likely still wait years to receive approval. This is the same story I hear over and over as desperate applicants find themselves in permanent limbo. The OLCC is not even able to provide any timeline to applicants, denying them the ability to make informed decisions about crucial issues such as whether to keep a lease or buy equipment. As the agency communicated to me in a recent email, “We do not have a way of giving any sort of accurate estimate as to when a certain new application may receive an assessment of its readiness to be assigned.” At the same time, the OLCC has prioritized change-of-ownership applications, which favor large businesses that can afford to buy an established operation – and its license. This prioritization has created a secondary market for licenses ensuring that large, and often multi-state operators can grow their companies while others lose months, years, and in some cases, everything they have while they wait. In contrast to the backlog on new licenses, the OLCC is working on change of ownership applications submitted in 2020 with the average wait time being 157 days, according to a public records request. It is time for the OLCC to turn all its attention and resources to addressing this crisis. The agency does not have the statutory authority to unilaterally stop issuing new licenses that were lawfully applied for. If the OLCC cannot or will not turn their attention to this enormous and years long backlog, the governor’s office should immediately intervene. The Legislature also should mandate strict timelines for the issuance of licenses as well as make sure that the commission is sufficiently funded to provide rapid licensing services for all applicants.

KUTV: September 1, 2020

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote this month on legislation that would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and expunge some criminal records. The Hill reports the MORE Act would not legalize the drug, but would still be a “historic step” in reducing legal penalties for the drug. Legalizing the drug for recreational use would be left up to individual states.

LA Weekly: September 1, 2020

KUNC/All Things Considered: September 1, 2020

The Colorado hemp harvest began last week. After 80 years of prohibition, building an industry from the ground up is anything but the “American dream” for hemp farmers, and last year it came to a disastrous crash. It turns out supply and demand rely on a supply chain – which doesn’t exist yet for hemp. And demand? No one knew the demand of a product that had been illegal for decades. Hemp is the less potent cousin of marijuana. Both come from the cannabis plant. And even without THC — the legally restricted compound in marijuana — hemp has a variety of potential.

PBS News Hour: September 1, 2020

With Election Day just over two months away, Americans will begin casting ballots in a few weeks. The U.S. intelligence community has already warned of multiple attempts by foreign powers to intervene in the November election. But now comes word of changes in how top U.S. intelligence officials will brief Congress about the threats. Lisa Desjardins and Nick Schifrin join Judy Woodruff to discuss.Judy Woodruff: Americans will begin casting ballots in this fall's general elections in just a couple of weeks, and Election Day itself is just a little more than two months away.

ABC7 Chicago: August 31, 2020

A landmark bill that would decriminalize marijuana use at the federal level is up for vote soon. The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on the legislation in September, according to an email sent out on Friday by Majority Whip James Clyburn. Politico first reported on the pending vote. The "Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019" -- also called the MORE Act -- would officially remove cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances. It would also expunge federal marijuana convictions and arrests, and approve the allocation of resources for communities affected by the war on drugs, according to the bill's text. "A floor vote on the bill would be the greatest federal cannabis reform accomplishment in over 80 years," the Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce said in a statement Friday. The House Judiciary Committee passed the bill, introduced by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and co-sponsored by more than 50 lawmakers, by a vote of 24-10 in November. "These steps are long overdue. For far too long, we have treated marijuana as a criminal justice problem instead of a matter of personal choice and public health," Nadler, the committee's chairman, said in a statement at the time. "Whatever one's views on the use of marijuana for recreational or medicinal purposes, arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating users at the federal level is unwise and unjust." The MORE Act would remove marijuana as a Schedule I substance, a category that also features other drugs, such as heroin, LSD, ecstasy and peyote, and leave states to regulate it. Eleven states and the District of Columbia have already legalized cannabis for adult recreational use, and 33 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical cannabis. "States have led the way -- and continue to lead the way -- but our federal laws have not kept pace with the obvious need for change," Nadler said. "We need to catch up because of public support and because it is the right thing to do." Pew Research Center and Gallup polls last year both found that about two-thirds of Americans support legalizing marijuana, with Democrats more supportive of the move than Republicans. The issue has gotten "greater urgency," one Democratic lawmaker said, amid calls for social justice reform during the recent Black Lives Matter protests. "As people across the country protest racial injustices, there's even greater urgency for Congress to seize this historic opportunity and finally align our cannabis laws with what the majority of Americans support, while ensuring restorative justice," Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said in a social media post Friday sharing news on the upcoming vote.

KITV4 ABC: August 31, 2020

This week, Hawaii took a step forward in legalizing industrial hemp, something the agricultural committee says would be a big boost to the state's economy. But while 11 other states, including all of the West Coast have legalized recreational marijuana, Hawaii has still been hesitant to take that step, despite our status as a strongly blue state. "Law enforcement has been against it, conservative groups have been against it," explains former State Senator Will Espero. But he says the pandemic has changed the game. With record unemployment and calls to diversity our tourism-heavy economy, Espero says he believes lawmakers will be more willing to take another look next session. In other states like Nevada for example, marijuana tax revenue brought in $70 million the first year alone. Espero says if legalization were to pass, Hawaii would already have the infrastructure in place to support the industry. "We have people already growing, and who know to grow," he says. He says while other states may have been first, Hawaii could easily position itself as the best in the industry. "There's no reason Hawaii couldn't market itself as having the best product in the world," he says.

Marijuana Moment: August 30, 2020

After failing to convince Nebraska’s secretary of state to keep a medical marijuana initiative off the state’s ballot, a local police official is now going to court to try to prevent voters from getting a chance to decide on the measure. Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner filed the case on Friday, just one day after Secretary of State Bob Evnen rejected his arguments that the ballot proposal “cases confusion,” “creates doubt about what will be authorized after the election” and violates the state’s single-subject rule for initiatives. That filing was made by a law firm that refused to disclose the sheriff as its client. Now the top county cop has revealed himself in the new lawsuit filing, and the state Supreme Court will take up the dispute, with arguments expected on Thursday. A decision will need to be made in the case by September 11, which is the deadline to certify items for November ballots. Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana submitted nearly 200,000 signatures last month, well beyond the 121,669 required to qualify for the ballot. Under the proposal, physicians could recommend cannabis to patients suffering from debilitating medical conditions, and those patients would then be allowed to possess, purchase and “discreetly” cultivate marijuana for personal use. Sens. Anna Wishart Adam Morfeld, cochairs of the legalization campaign, and other legislators have tried for years to pass medical cannabis bills in the legislature only to be blocked by opposition from leadership. But with help from the Marijuana Policy Project and other advocacy groups, they decided to put the issue directly to voters. On Saturday, Morfeld recalled pressing Wagner about the relative dangers of marijuana, alcohol and other drugs during a Judiciary Committee hearing. “I asked Sheriff Wagner how many people had died from drug and alcohol overdoses in his career?” the senator tweeted. “He said too many to count. How many from marijuana? Zero.”

Politico: August 28, 2020

The House will vote on legalizing marijuana next month. States would still have to vote to legalize the drug. Marijuana is already legal in 11 states. The MORE Act would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and erase some cannabis criminal records. The vote will come during the September work period, according to an email Majority Whip Jim Clyburn’s (D-S.C.) office that was sent to members Friday. The email also asked members to indicate if they would support the MORE Act by Sept. 3. Why is this important? Neither chamber of Congress has ever voted on removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act.

Tallahassee Democrat: August 28, 2020

After Florida election offices were hacked four years ago, unprecedented millions flowed to the states to shore up electoral systems against future attacks. Florida officials pulled a shroud of secrecy over how that money was spent, forcing election supervisors to sign confidentiality agreements before they could get their money. Six months ago, USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida reported in general terms that the money went to both cyber and physical security improvements.

6ABC: August 26, 2020

As part of a fall legislative proposal, Governor Tom Wolf called on the Republican-controlled legislature to legalize recreational marijuana to help existing small business grants and restorative justice programs. "We've had a little more time to see what's happened in places like Colorado for revenue," Wolf said near Harrisburg Tuesday. "This might be one way to fill a hole."

NPR: August 26, 2020

The FBI says it has no evidence of any coordinated fraud schemes related to voting by mail this year, undercutting repeated claims by President Trump and his camp about what they've called security problems. That disclosure was made in an election security briefing for reporters on Wednesday by high-ranking officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Chicago Tribune: August 24, 2020

With voters expected to turn out in record numbers for the upcoming election, Will County leaders are carefully preparing to ensure votes cast at the mailbox or in person are accurately counted. County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry said her office already has set a record for mail-in ballot requests with 74,000 applications received to date, surpassing the previous record set in the 2016 presidential election when just more than 30,000 people requested to vote by mail.

WPXI: August 24, 2020

With less than three months until the 2020 elections, concerns are growing about election interference from Russia and other foreign intelligence agents. It comes after the Senate Intelligence Committee released a bipartisan report showing there is evidence that Russia meddled in the 2016 races and had regular contact with Trump campaign staffers. The latest and final volume in the three-year investigation was laid out in a nearly 1,000-page report. “Russia is still meddling and now so is China and Iran,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Rubio said while the investigation found ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, it did not find evidence of collusion.

Marijuana Moment: August 24, 2020

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his vice presidential running mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) discussed marijuana decriminalization and other drug policy reforms during their first joint interview as a ticket this weekend. Harris was pressed on her prosecutorial record, specifically as it concerns her previous call for more law enforcement officers in the streets. She talked about policing reform but went on to state that, under a Biden administration, there will be a “policy that is going to be about decriminalizing marijuana.”

Politico: August 24, 2020

MC obtained recommendations from an interagency memo in 2016 on election security, and it demonstrates substantial if not complete progress since. The DHS chief wouldn’t directly say whether he’d discussed Russian election interference with the president. The FBI and CISA put together an advisory on a “vishing” campaign that is likely tied to the shift to remote work.

Texas Standard: August 19, 2020

In Bergheim, Texas, just north of San Antonio, there’s a skunky smell in the air. “You know, that’s a really good description. Skunky is a very typical terpene that is in most of these plants,” Austin Ruple said. He’s the president and co-owner of Pur IsoLabs – a hemp and cannabidiol, or CBD company that grows hemp and manufactures retail CBD products. Ruple stood next to a field of more than 300 hemp plants – a type of cannabis that’s rich in CBD, a legal compound that does not get users high.

Marijuana Moment: August 19, 2020

Six states that submitted hemp regulatory plans to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are being asked to make revisions and resubmit before they’re approved. For reasons that aren’t immediately clear, the federal agency did not accept proposed rules for the newly legal crop from California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Utah. Industry advocates suspect that the states are pushing for additional flexibility in USDA’s interim final rule.

Forbes: August 17, 2020

Apparently, when the U.S. repealed prohibition at the end of 1933, advertising campaigns for the now-legalized adult beverages were slow getting to the party. In fact, the liquor industry placed a self-imposed adverting ban to lower any risk of the return of Prohibition, while some media companies chose not to air alcohol advertisements at all. Here we are now, nearly 90 years later, and we’re seeing something similar. This time, though, it is the marketing agencies that are late to the party.

NBC News: August 17, 2020

The U.S. government's main cybersecurity watchdog has spent much of the last four years trying to stop a repeat of the 2016 election. That's meant reaching out to the country's more than 3,000 counties with an offer: free cybersecurity tools. It's a tough job. Some counties are receptive and engaged. Others barely have enough people to put on their local election work. One of the main services offered — a weekly scan of a county's internet connected networks meant to make sure its voter database is safe — has signed up a little more than 200 counties.

The Guardian: August 16, 2020

The parents of a toddler with severe epilepsy are seeking a landmark judicial review of rigid guidelines that effectively prevent the NHS from prescribing medical cannabis oil, a substance that they say has allowed their son to live a much healthier life, to thousands of sick children. Charlie Hughes, 3, has a rare form of epilepsy called West syndrome, which is resistant to most forms of treatment and can cause him to have up to 120 seizures a day, according to his parents, Alison and Matt Hughes. With regular full extract cannabis oil, however, he experiences no more than 20 less severe seizures a day.

Cincinnati: August 15, 2020

Feds: Nearly $2 million worth of fake watches seized at Cincinnati Port

European Pharmaceutical Review: August 14, 2020

The first results of COVID-19 seroprevalence surveys indicate sufficient levels of herd immunity are a long way off. Given the uncertainty about the duration of such immunity, it is becoming increasingly clear that a vaccine for the novel coronavirus will be key to mitigating the impact of the pandemic on society and the economy. However, the development and manufacture of a prophylactic is just the start of the process. There are further significant challenges in the safe global distribution of this precious commodity.

LA Weekly: August 13, 2020

Though Texas lawmakers legalized production and sale of hemp in their last legislative session, they have now created a framework that essentially bans the sale of “smokable” products. Edible goods, tinctures, and topicals remain okay under the new program. But farmers and cannabis activists alike feel lawmakers violated the scope of the original legislation. This week hemp manufacturers and retailers filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of State Health Services over the new administrative rule, which went into effect August 2.

NPR: August 13, 2020

How far must you go to prove an absentee ballot is real? The question is important in every election. Tens of millions of people, for example, voted absentee or by mail in 2016. But because of the pandemic, more people hope to vote that way in 2020. Rhode Island wants to make it easier. It dropped a rule that required a voter to have two witnesses or a notary affirm an absentee ballot. A federal court allowed this change, but the national Republican Party would like the Supreme Court to intervene and stop it.

The New York Times: August 12, 2020

After nearly a year of next-to-no deal-making, cannabis companies are gearing up for mergers and acquisitions as realistic stock valuations and the prospect of U.S. legalization attract buyers to a sector that has been decimated by oversupply and other issues, executives and investors say. Profitable cannabis companies want to buy their way into niche segments and expand their brands, betting that the November U.S. presidential election will lead to weed becoming legal across the United States. Distribution deals could also help companies reach consumers who have shown an increased appetite for pot products since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Aphria Inc, one of Canada's largest producers, is open to making purchases if it adds a well-known consumer brand to its beverages portfolio or if it helps the company overcome a lack of chocolate production, CEO Irwin Simon told Reuters. Canopy Growth Corp, the largest Canadian pot producer by market value, had about C$2 billion in cash at the end of June. The strong balance sheet allows it to pursue acquisitions and the current market conditions would provide frequent opportunities, a company spokesman said. Canopy is backed by Corona beer maker Constellation Brands Inc.

The Lowell Sun: August 12, 2020

New England Craft Cultivators is one step closer to opening two retail marijuana businesses in two different towns. In a press release issued on Thursday, the company announced it had received provisional licenses from the Cannabis Control Commission to open its first official locations in Pepperell and Dracut. The company wants to open a retail marijuana store at 112-114 Main St., home of the previously-vacant Paugus Plaza in Pepperell and 61 Sylvia Lane in Dracut.

Tallahassee Democrat: August 12, 2020

A public corruption scandal in a rural Florida elections office just an hour west of the state capital reveals how easily federal dollars meant for election security can be diverted to cover up malfeasance, a government watchdog says. The former elections supervisor in the panhandle's Liberty County is charged with using election security funds to hide $42,000 in personal spending sprees — a potential accountability problem in any small office where one person holds the purse strings and nobody else is watching, observers said. The case's first hearing is Monday.

State Scoop: August 12, 2020

State and local election officials manage their voter registration databases using several pieces of software known to be favorite targets of ransomware actors, a leading ransomware analyst said during a webinar Thursday.

Fox News : August 9, 2020

Counterfeit documents are giving criminals a license to commit a host of offenses, including terrorism, U.S. officials say -- and young adults who are lax with their personal information may be their biggest enablers. In the first six months of 2020, Customs and Borden Protection officers seized nearly 20,000 counterfeit U.S. driver’s licenses at Chicago’s O’Hare airport alone, according to a report.

The Wall Street Journal: August 5, 2020

Election Systems & Software LLC, the top U.S. seller of voting-machine technology, is calling a truce in its feud with computer-security researchers over the ways they probe for vulnerabilities of the company’s systems. With the U.S. presidential election less than three months away, ES&S Chief Information Security Officer Chris Wlaschin on Wednesday will unveil the company’s outreach effort to security researchers at the annual Black Hat hacker convention that is taking place virtually this year, according to ES&S.

The Partnership for Safe Medicines: August 5, 2020

This week's video goes “behind the scam” to show you “Uplabeling,” which is a technique that counterfeit criminals have used in the past to make major profits. In uplabeling, counterfeiters took a low-dose medical product and made it look like a more expensive, high-dose version of the same drug simply by changing the label.

Detroit Free Press: August 5, 2020

Millions of residents requested absentee ballots ahead of Tuesday's primary election, and millions more are expected to do the same in November as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. But President Donald Trump and others repeatedly impugn the integrity of the mail-in voting system. Election experts, in addition to Republican and Democratic politicians, agree that absentee voting is a safe and secure way to conduct an election. "Does voter fraud happen? Yes. Does it happen as much as Donald Trump thinks it does? No," said David Dulio, a professor of political science and director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Oakland University. "But that doesn't mean it's not a concern." Sen. Ruth Johnson, a Holly Republican and former Michigan Secretary of State, noted recently that state voter rolls are out of date, at times resulting in people voting in two states or absentee applications being sent to someone who is dead.

DFW/CBS Texas: August 4, 2020

The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Monday it has launched a new program to regulate the manufacturing, processing, distribution and retail sale of consumable hemp products. It’s called the Consumable Hemp Program. DSHS is currently accepting applications online for consumable hemp product licenses and retailer registrations, the agency said in a news release Monday. “The program establishes a consistent regulatory framework for consumable hemp products that are manufactured or sold in Texas,” said Stephen Pahl, DSHS Associate Commissioner for Consumer Protection.

Chicago Tribune: August 4, 2020

Illinois has other cannabis-related laws in the pipeline for 2020, including a law that will allow students who are medical marijuana patients to use cannabis

Detroit Free Press: August 4, 2020

CircleID: July 31, 2020

We're in an interregnum where society has paused, and there's no telling how things may turn. In such times of crisis, we are the explorer; exploring the uncharted waters of change, where dangers and opportunities lie.

CNN: July 31, 2020

The pandemic has dealt a blow to corporate dealmaking, but one company that you've probably never heard of has been on a buying binge. Curaleaf Holdings (CURLF), a Massachusetts company that grows, processes and sells cannabis through dispensaries in 18 states, last week bought the Chicago cannabis cultivator and retailer Grassroots for $830 million. That makes Curaleaf the biggest cannabis company globally by sales, with expected annual revenue of about $1 billion, executive chairman Boris Jordan told CNN Business.

Green Market Report: July 31, 2020

The House voted to approve Part B Amendment #87 Thursday evening, which is a provision to prevent the federal government from using any funds to interfere with state medical or adult-use programs or target individuals and businesses that are in compliance with state cannabis laws. The bipartisan amendment to the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill was introduced by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Tom McClintock (R-CA), and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC).

NJ.com: July 31, 2020

The U.S. House voted Thursday to ban the U.S. Justice Department from enforcing the federal ban on cannabis in any state that has legalized the drug for any purpose. The amendment to the legislation funding several federal agencies for the 12 moths beginning Oct. 1 passed, 254-163, with 31 Republicans voting yes.

Ganjapreneur: July 30, 2020

The Democratic Party’s platform committee on Monday rejected an amendment to support federal cannabis legalization, Boulder Weekly reports. The vote was 50-106 with three abstentions. The committee did approve language supporting federal cannabis decriminalization and rescheduling, along with language calling for reforms on how drug-related crimes are prosecuted.

The Hill: July 29, 2020

Senate Republicans left out funding for mail-in and early voting during the COVID-19 pandemic in their stimulus bill rolled out Monday, prompting backlash from Democrats, election officials and advocacy groups. With less than 100 days to go before Election Day, these officials are concerned that without a new injection of federal funds, state and local officials facing budget shortfalls may struggle to carry out safe and secure elections that ensure every American can vote.

Marijuana Moment: July 28, 2020

TOP THINGS TO KNOW: The Democratic National Committee’s platform committee voted 106 to 50 to reject an amendment to endorse legalizing marijuana. “I’m imploring all of you to approach this with an open mind and heart. Do something big here. Take one small but meaningful step toward changing the course of history. If my black life matters to you, you will consider this amendment. Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite issued a memo banning sailors and marines from using hemp soaps, shampoos and lotions as part of a broader prohibition on legal hemp and CBD products. “Substance misuse by members of the Armed Forces is incompatible with military standards of good order and discipline, performance, and operational readiness. It is the goal of the Department of the Navy (DON) to eliminate substance abuse.” Washington, D.C. psychedelics activists observed officials count enough valid signatures to put their decriminalization initiative on the November ballot. The Board of Elections is expected to formally certify the measure at a meeting next week.

The Hill: July 28, 2020

Election administrators across the country are vulnerable to cyberattacks that originate through malicious phishing emails, a report released Monday found. The report, compiled by cybersecurity group Area 1 Security, found that over 50 percent of election administrators have “only rudimentary or non-standard technologies” to protect against malicious emails from cyber criminals, with less than 30 percent using basic security controls to halt phishing emails. The study also found that around 5 percent of election administrators use personal emails, which are seen as less secure than government emails, and some election administrators use a custom email infrastructure known to have been targeted by Russian military hackers during prior elections. Email phishing is a key way hackers infiltrate networks, with hackers attempting to trick individuals into clicking on malicious links or attachments or providing sensitive information in other ways that allows the hacker to access a network. Area 1 Security noted that 90 percent of cyberattacks begin with a phishing email. The security researchers at Area 1 Security noted that while the diversity of election systems and infrastructure across U.S. election jurisdictions would make it “impossible” for a nationwide hacking incident to occur, the low email security standards could easily lead to localized cyber incidents. “The disparate approaches to cybersecurity by state, local and county officials is such that should a cybersecurity incident occur in one small town, whether in a ‘battleground state’ or not, even if statistically insignificant, could cause troubling ripple effects that erode confidence in results across the entire country,” the researchers wrote in the report.

The Washington Posqt: July 28, 2020

Top Democrats are slamming the Trump administration for not sharing enough information with the public about Russian efforts to interfere in November's election. While intelligence officials have warned that U.S. adversaries are trying to hack into political campaigns and election systems – and cited Russia, China and Iran as the biggest threats -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) say that's not enough to help voters gird themselves against social media disinformation or the sort of hacking and leaking campaign that upended Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016. The top-line announcement that interference exists doesn't “go nearly far enough in arming the American people with the knowledge they need about how foreign powers are seeking to influence our political process,” Schumer and Pelosi warned in a statement. “The Russians are once again trying to influence the election and divide Americans, and these efforts must be deterred, disrupted and exposed,” they continue. The statement was also signed by House Intelligence Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. The push comes as Joe Biden seeks to project strength on election interference and draw a stark contrast with President Trump. The presumptive Democratic nominee promised to punch back hard against Russia if he becomes president and “make full use of my executive authority to impose substantial and lasting costs on state perpetrators [of election interference].” It's also a return to form for Democrats who have consistently savaged President Trump for not taking the threat of Russian election interference seriously enough. Trump has wavered on whether Russia was responsible for the 2016 hacks at the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign. More recently those fights have shifted to voting by mail, which Democrats and election security advocates say is vital to ensure voter safety during the coronavirus pandemic, but Trump has claimed without evidence creates widespread fraud. House Democrats have pushed for up to $3.6 billion in election funding in Congress’s next coronavirus relief package. But a $1 trillion Republican proposal released yesterday included no money for elections.

Marijuana Moment: July 27, 2020

If Oregon voters approve a drug decriminalization measure this November, state officials say it would reduce racial disparities in the criminal justice system and save money that’s currently spent on arrests and incarceration. IP 44, which officially qualified for the ballot last month, would remove criminal penalties for illicit drug possession and expand substance misuse treatment in the state. Three state panels recently released draft analyses of the proposal. The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission published its draft report on the racial and ethnic impact of the measure this month. Members concluded it would reduce convictions for drug possession by about 91 percent statewide and also reduce racial disparities in arrests for illicit substances. “This means that approximately 1,800 fewer Oregonians per year are estimated to be convicted of felony [possession of controlled substances] and nearly 1,900 fewer convicted of misdemeanor [possession of controlled substances],” the report states. “Prior academic research suggests this drop in convictions will result in fewer collateral consequences stemming from criminal justice system involvement.” “Beyond the reductions described above, the changes proposed by IP44 would also lead to a reduction in racial disparities” for possession convictions, the commission said, adding that statistical analysis indicates these disparities would be “narrowed substantially” if voters pass the measure. The body went into detail about the methodology behind their analysis in a separate draft document that also included charts highlighting the estimated impact. During a public hearing on the draft impact statement on Thursday, several people argued that the analysis should go further by looking into racial disparities beyond convictions. They said those factors should also be studied when it comes to arrests, stops, sentencing and probation supervision.

High Country News: July 27, 2020

Jim Irizarry has seen a dramatic increase in the amount of false and misleading information about voting access coursing through social media lately. The assistant county clerk for San Mateo County, California, and his team have been training for this moment for years, since the sophisticated Russian disinformation machine emerged during the last presidential election. “They don’t have to change a vote in the voting machines,” Irizarry said. “But if you can get into the minds of voters to undermine their confidence in casting that ballot, you’ve been successful.” This year, state and local election officials across the country expect they’ll need to defend voters against potentially devastating and widespread disinformation attacks that could suppress turnout and sow doubt in November’s results. Bad actors, from foreign nations to local gadflies, have countless opportunities to spread falsehoods and misleading information. In recent elections, voters have fallen victim to scams claiming people can vote by text message or claiming their polling place closed. Lies on social media can go viral hours before an election, becoming nearly impossible to eliminate. And Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 2019 report found Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential race included fake Facebook groups and false advertising. This year, the pandemic has exposed more potential for disinformation, as states and counties scramble to figure out how to conduct elections through expanded mail-in voting and fewer polling places. “Communities need to know who the right people are with the answers,” said Ian Vandewalker, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School. “If things change at the last minute, we need a communications infrastructure that involves officials, journalists, candidates and parties to make sure voters are getting the correct information.”

Bloomberg Business: July 26, 2020

The U.S. could legalize marijuana at the federal level as soon as 2021 if Joe Biden is able to win the presidential election and Democrats take control of the Senate. It’s a dramatic change in expectations from three months ago when it appeared Donald Trump would most likely win re-election, and CIBC analysts had put the odds of meaningful reform at “near-zero” for 2020 and “unlikely” for 2021. “A fact that has become incredibly obvious from a chaotic 2020 is how quickly things can change,” analysts led by John Zamparo wrote in a note. “We stand by our statement for 2020, but for 2021, well, when the facts change, we change our minds.” With the economic fallout from the coronavirus and social unrest following the murder of George Floyd by police, Biden’s chances of winning the election in a possible Democratic sweep has appeared increasingly likely. The former vice president is less supportive of full-scale legalization than his party. But if the Democrats were to win both the White House and Senate, it could open the door to decriminalization and leave the question of legalization up to states. Legislation could prove popular under the current climate of economic and social unrest. Regulation that includes provisions for criminal justice reform could gain additional support amid calls for greater anti-racism initiatives. States looking to close budget gaps from the coronavirus are also more likely to consider the tax benefits of creating a newly legalized industry. During a recent Cowen industry panel, there was broad agreement that social justice measures need to be a part of any legislation package, analysts led by Vivien Azer wrote in a note. “This likely includes provisions ensuring that minorities get to participate in the legal cannabis business as their communities were hit hardest by the war on drugs,” the analysts said. Legislation could also include expunging criminal cannabis convictions or grants to communities hurt by previous U.S. drug policy. “Biden will be under pressure from the left wing of the Democratic party to move cannabis forward because of the social justice issues,” Curaleaf Holdings Inc. Chairman Boris Jordan recently told Bloomberg News. There had been some disappointment after a Biden Unity task force didn’t embrace the same cannabis policy proposals from Bernie Sanders’s campaign. Most importantly, it left out full deschedulization, opting instead to make marijuana a schedule 2 drug rather than a schedule 1.

News Center Maine: July 25, 2020

The Portland City Clerk has announced that enough valid signatures have been submitted to place a citizen's initiative on the November ballot that would remove the cap on marijuana businesses in Portland, Maine. On July 17th, local advocates turned in over 2,400 signatures to put the petition on the ballot. At the August 3rd city council meeting, there will be a first reading of the order, and the council is expected to set a public hearing for August 31, 2020, according to David Boyer, local resident and advocate, and former campaign manager for Eric Brakey. Boyer said in a statement, "The state has proved that it will not defend Maine from outside, big corporations entering our cannabis industry. A fair and open market will allow for Maine's small businesses to compete and Portland voters were more than happy to sign our petition to keep Maine's cannabis industry local. At a time of such economic uncertainty, it does not make sense to cap legal jobs and legal businesses. We are confident that Portland voters will endorse cannabis regulations rooted in fairness and inclusivity this November."

NPR: July 24, 2020

With about 100 days left before the general election, officials are simultaneously trying to prepare for two very different types of voting, while facing two unprecedented threats to safety and security. It's a juggling act that has voters, political parties and officials anxious about how smoothly November's voting will go. "Doubt is our enemy," U.S. Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, said at a Senate hearing Wednesday on what Congress can do to ensure public confidence in this year's election results. The pandemic has already caused massive disruptions. Most states greatly expanded mail-in voting in the primaries to address voters' health concerns. Those changes are expected — for the most part — to continue this fall. But many states also want to make in-person voting widely available to avoid overloading the mail-in system in what's expected to be a high-turnout election. Maryland is a case in point. The state sent mail-in ballots to every registered voter for its June primary and drastically cut the number of in-person polling sites. But that resulted in long lines at the few sites that were open. At the same time, there were delays and mix-ups with mail-in ballots. Gov. Larry Hogan now wants all polling sites open in November while still encouraging Marylanders to vote early or by mail if they can. He said this "will maximize participation in the November election by offering voters more options while minimizing confusion and risk during the COVID-19 pandemic." But local and state election officials are not on board, saying they don't have enough resources for this dual approach.

NPR: July 23, 2020

Four years after Russian election interference rattled and embarrassed national Democrats, the party has gone on offense over what it fears are more schemes targeting this year's presidential race. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate this week demanded an all-lawmaker briefing from the FBI about what they suspect are active efforts aimed at Congress.

The Washington Post: July 23, 2020

Nearly one in four U.S. voters live in states that will make it difficult or impossible for them to vote by mail in November, despite the health dangers posed by in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic. A total of nine states comprising 54 million voters are maintaining tight restrictions on mail voting even as other states run by Republicans and Democrats alike have rushed to expand the practice.

Marijuana Moment: July 20, 2020

The presidential nominees for the Libertarian and Green Parties both support bolder drug policy proposals, including marijuana legalization, than presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden or President Trump. Libertarian pick Jo Jorgensen and Green nominee Howie Hawkins recently discussed their views on the issue and backed legalizing cannabis for adult use and more broadly ending the criminalization of other currently illicit substances. “The biggest problem we have right now is not the drugs, it’s the drug prohibition,” Jorgensen said during an interview with C-SPAN this month. “Now, do drugs and alcohol cause problems? Of course they do. However, they’d be much more manageable if it were legal.” “What’s the difference between me drinking bourbon in my home and somebody else smoking marijuana in their own home?” she said. “If there is no victim, there is no crime.” The Libertarian candidate later described the drug war as an example of how “racial injustice” is “built into our our laws.” Hawkins also recently talked about drug policy reform as a tool to combat mass incarceration during a remotely delivered speech for the Green Party National Convention. “We’ve got to treat drug abuse as a health problem. You should legalize marijuana and decriminalize the hard drugs like Portugal,” he said. “Instead of just throwing people in prison and building the biggest prison industrial system in the world—which Joe Biden had a lot to do [with], he wrote the legislative architecture for that as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee—we should be treating drug addiction as a health problem, not a criminal problem.”

The Baltimore Sun: July 17, 2020

Maybe it’s the boredom. Maybe it’s the mental health benefits. Maybe it’s the preliminary research that cannabis could prevent COVID-19 infections. But several data agencies and state reports indicate marijuana sales have continued to rise during the global pandemic. Multiple states, including Florida and Arizona, have hit new records for monthly medical marijuana sales in the past few months. Even original cannabis states in adult use markets have seen historic sales amid the pandemic.

KELO/Capital News Bureau: July 16, 2020

Industrial hemp became legal in South Dakota when Governor Kristi Noem signed the emergency measure March 27. More than 100 days later, her administration is getting closer to submitting a program for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to consider for approval. State Department of Agriculture spokeswoman JaCee Aaseth said Thursday that South Dakota sent a preliminary version for USDA to look over. She also said state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s office provided feedback on it this week. Those perspectives will be reflected in the revised version, according to Aaseth.

The Washington Post: July 16, 2020

This time, the massive Twitter hack yesterday was seemingly just a petty scam to raise bitcoin — at least based on what's known so far. But next time, it could be far more serious. The unknown hackers held the Twittersphere in thrall last night as they seized control of high-profile accounts and sent phony tweets from Joe Biden, Barack Obama and a who’s who of top companies and business and entertainment leaders.

KYFR: July 16, 2020

The CDC says one in four high school students use e-cigarettes and that's caught the attention of Bismarck Police and members of the North Dakota Taxation Committee. They met Tuesday to work on solutions to curb the growing problem of teen vaping.

Marijuana Moment: July 15, 2020

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved hemp regulatory plans from Minnesota, Tennessee and Puerto Rico on Tuesday. This latest development brings the total number of approved plans across states, territories and Indian tribes to 53. “We thank USDA for their work on this new federal hemp program, and we are grateful they have approved Minnesota’s plan,” Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen said. “While this is a major step forward, there are still concerns over some the regulations imposed on states and tribal governments, such as testing requirements. We look forward to continuing our dialog with USDA so we can ensure Minnesota’s hemp growers and processors are successful in this fledging industry.” Puerto Rico is the second territory approval since the crop was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. In May, USDA accepted the U.S. Virgin Islands’s proposed regulations. Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón (R), who represents the territory in Congress, discussed her advocacy for other cannabis reform legislation—including preventing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from denying home loan benefits to veterans solely due to employment in a state-legal marijuana market—in a press release. USDA has been signing off on hemp proposals on a rolling basis over the past year. “USDA continues to receive and review hemp production plans from states and Indian tribes,” the department said in a notice. While the agency released an interim final rule for a domestic hemp production program last year, industry stakeholders and lawmakers have expressed concerns about certain policies it views as excessively restrictive. USDA announced in February that it will temporarily lift two provisions that the industry viewed as problematic. Those policies primarily concern testing and disposal requirements. The department declined to revise the THC limit, however, arguing that it’s a statutory matter that can’t be dealt with administratively. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has said on several occasions that the Drug Enforcement Administration influenced certain rules, adding that the narcotics agency wasn’t pleased with the overall legalization of hemp. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is still in the process of developing regulations for CBD. It sent an update on its progress to Congress in March, explaining that the agency is actively exploring pathways to allow for the marketing of the cannabis compound as a dietary supplement and is developing enforcement discretion guidance. An FDA public comment period was reopened indefinitely for individuals to submit feedback on CBD regulations. This month, the White House finalized a review of FDA CBD and cannabis research protocols, but it’s unclear when or if the document will be released to the public.

WBAL News Radio: July 15, 2020

The novel coronavirus pandemic is stalling some efforts to improve election security across the country, delaying efforts to install basic security measures on hundreds of local election websites, interviews with top leaders and an exclusive analysis by the National Investigative Unit has found. Election security is a topic on the agenda for the annual summer conference of the National Association of Secretaries of State which convenes virtually later this week, the last scheduled NASS conference for all of the nation's top election officials before the general election. To assess the resiliency of county election websites in states nationwide, the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit asked McAfee Security to once again analyze more than 2,000 web pages where voters may turn to for information about voting, registration, election administration, precincts, poll hours and other suffrage details. While no American uses those local election websites to cast a ballot, citizens do rely on the information to be accurate so they can exercise their right to vote. A lack of simple security tools, cyber experts and government agencies say, could leave those webpages vulnerable to manipulation, possibly disenfranchising voters who are misled. The new McAfee analysis found little progress overall in securing those websites with encryption - identified by the letters 'https' in the URL - and with a federally-validated domain, like .gov, since the worldwide cyber firm's initial analysis for the NIU conducted in January.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: July 14, 2020

The legalization of marijuana in Illinois brought in $52 million during the first six months of 2020, the governor's office said Tuesday. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said the $52 million makes up the industry’s tax revenue for the first half of the year, and he promised to reinvest that money in local communities. “Illinois has done more to put justice and equity at the forefront of this industry than any other state in the nation, and we're ensuring that communities that have been hurt by the war on drugs have the opportunity to participate,” Pritzker said. The sale and usage of marijuana in Illinois was legalized effective Jan. 1, though both remain heavily regulated. Under Illinois' Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, 25% of tax revenues brought in by recreational cannabis sales will be spent to combat substance abuse, mental health issues and crime prevention, according to a release from the governor’s office. Consumers have purchased more than $239 million in marijuana during the first six months of legalization, according to the release. “A portion of every dollar spent will be reinvested in communities that have suffered from decades of disinvestment,” Pritzker said.

The Hill: July 10, 2020

A coalition of left-leaning advocacy groups called on the Senate Friday to return from its July recess to vote on legislation to increase election funding during the coronavirus pandemic. The more than two dozen groups, led by advocacy organization Stand Up America, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other GOP leaders asking that the Senate immediately be called back to Washington, D.C., to vote on and pass legislation allocating $3.6 billion to states to help with election challenges during the pandemic.

The Washington Post: July 10, 2020

Joe Biden, with four months until Election Day, is hiring a top cybersecurity official to secure his campaign against an array of digital threats. The campaign's decision to delegate security to an industry heavy hitter reflects the intense pressure to avoid a repeat of the Russian hacking and leaking operation that upended Hillary Clinton’s presidential effort four years ago. Those needs are perhaps only more critical as the campaign faces unprecedented security and technology challenges from staff and volunteers working remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. The new CISO, Chris DeRusha, will be running a team focused exclusively on security.

Newsweek: July 9, 2020

Both President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden appear to be out of step with the American public when it comes to their opposition to legalizing marijuana, as two-thirds of Americans support legalization. A Democratic unity task force involving both Biden and former presidential contender Bernie Sanders released on Wednesday its recommendations on how to combat the climate crisis and pursue environmental justice. Although the document called for decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level, it stopped short of endorsing recreational legalization.

The Hill : July 9, 2020

Top state and local election officials on Wednesday begged Congress to appropriate more election funding ahead of November to address COVID-19 challenges. Congress sent $400 million to states to address COVID-19 election concerns as part of the stimulus package signed into law by President Trump in March, called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Election officials testified during an Election Assistance Commission (EAC) summit on Wednesday that those funds were running out.

TMA: July 8, 2020

Colorado Governor signed a ballot measure into law that will increase the excise tax on cigarettes, vapor products, and other tobacco products.

Marijuana Moment: July 8, 2020

Law enforcement and other opponents of marijuana legalization have long warned that ending prohibition would lead to surges in crime, wreaking havoc on neighborhoods that hosted retail stores and spilling into neighboring states that wanted nothing to do with the drug. But as researchers crunch the data since Colorado and Washington State because the first two states to pass adult-use marijuana laws in 2012, they’re finding scant evidence to support the dire warnings. One of the latest studies to examine before-and-after crime data, which looked at how legalization in Washington and Colorado affected crime rates in neighboring states, finds that passage of adult-use cannabis laws may have actually reduced certain major crimes in nearby jurisdictions. “We did not detect any increases in the rates of multiple types of crimes in border counties of the nonlegalized states bordering Colorado and Washington,” wrote the authors of the new study, published in the Journal of Drug Issues. Moreover, “we observed a substantial reduction in certain types of crimes, namely, property crime, larceny, and simple assault, in border counties in the Colorado region.” “This finding,” the authors add, “challenges the argument made by the opponents of legalization that marijuana legalization would increase crime.” The research was conducted by Guangzhen Wu of the University of Utah, Francis D. Boateng of the University of Mississippi and Texas-based economic and statistical consultant Thomas Roney. Existing research on how cannabis affects crime is limited and largely mixed, the authors write. On one hand, there exists what researchers called “substantial evidence” suggesting that legalizing cannabis increases certain criminal activities. Some studies, for example, have found that neighborhoods with a higher rate of retail marijuana outlets experienced higher rates of crime. Another found that both medical and adult-use marijuana retailers were linked to increases in certain crimes.

The Wall Street Journal: July 7, 2020

New Jersey officials sought to tamp down concerns ahead of the state’s primary voting Tuesday, after criminal charges over alleged mail-ballot fraud marred a local election in Paterson, N.J. State officials emphasized that voter fraud is rare and said measures are being taken to protect mail-in ballots. The primary is being conducted mostly by mail and was delayed from its original date of June 2 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

MassLive: July 6, 2020

Mississippi lawmakers recently introduced a new medical marijuana resolution that would’ve represented another threat to an activist-driven reform initiative that will appear on the November ballot. But, to advocates’ relief, the legislation didn’t advance before lawmakers went home for the summer. The resolution, introduced by Sen. Kevin Blackwell (R), called for the suspension of legislative rules so that lawmakers could draft and file a bill to legalize cannabis for therapeutic purposes. It advanced through the Senate Rules Committee last week, but it did not make it onto the floor. The legislature could technically be called back by the lieutenant governor, who presides over the Senate, before October 10—but insiders expect that if that were to happen, the purpose would be to approve emergency legislation related to the coronavirus pandemic. Lawmakers already approved an alternative medical marijuana resolution in March. That one will appear alongside the activist-backed initiative on the ballot, and advocates have argued that the only reason lawmakers passed it was to undermine them by confusing residents and splitting votes. The legislature-approved measure is less specific than the one placed on the ballot with voters’ signatures, leaving room for interpretation and giving lawmakers the opportunity to enact a more restrictive program should it pass. It is also includes a ban on smoking medical cannabis for patients who are not terminally ill. Legislators also introduced another resolution last month that would have suspended legislative rules so that they could craft legislation in accordance with the legislature-approved constitutional amendment on the ballot, presumably so voters would have a better idea of what lawmakers have in mind with their alternative to activists’ measure. It too cleared the Rules Committee but never came to the floor.

The Atlantic: July 6, 2020

Democratic political consultants dream of issues like marijuana legalization. Democrats are overwhelmingly in favor of it, polls show. So are independents. A majority of Republicans favor it now too. It motivates progressives, young people, and Black Americans to vote. Put it on the ballot, and it’s proved a sure way to boost turnout for supportive politicians. It’s popular in key presidential-election states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Florida, Arizona, and Virginia. There’s no clear political downside—although marijuana legalization motivates its supporters, it doesn’t motivate its opponents. For the Democratic presidential nominee, the upsides of supporting it would include energizing a very committed group of single-issue voters and making a major move toward criminal-justice reform and the Bernie Sanders agenda. Joe Biden won’t inhale. Democrats eager for Biden to support legalization have theories about why he won’t. His aides insist they’re all wrong. It’s not, they say, because he’s from a generation scared by Reefer Madness. It’s not, they say, because he spent a career in Washington pushing for mandatory minimum sentencing and other changes to drug laws. It’s definitely not, according to people who have discussed the policy with him, because he’s a teetotaler whose father battled alcoholism and whose son has fought addiction, and who’s had gateway-drug anxieties drilled into him.

91.5 WJZZ: July 6, 2020

Late last week, Gov. Ducey announced an allocation of $9 million to shore up security for the state's election system. The funds are derived from federal coronavirus relief money, and the appropriation subverts a legislative technicality that would have hamstrung the secretary of state's ability to distribute those funds without approval from state lawmakers. Much of these funds will go towards voter outreach in Arizona's rural communities at a time when the COVID pandemic has made going to the polls a potential health risk. And joining us to discuss this effort is Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. Good morning, Secretary Hobbs. KATIE HOBBS: Good morning. GILGER: So let's begin with where this election security money will go. What's it going to be used for in terms of COVID precautions, election security from outside meddlers?

Deleware News Journal: July 6, 2020

Delaware's presidential primary on Tuesday will be the first one in which all registered voters in the state will have a chance to vote from home. And it's also the first time Delaware voters will see Joe Biden's name on a ballot as a viable Democratic nominee for president. New rules for the election were established under the state of emergency order by Gov. John Carney to help voters who don't want to risk contracting or spreading coronavirus at the polls. Voters can still go to a limited number of polling places on Tuesday where they are expected to wear a mask and practice social distancing. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. The only candidates to vote for in this election are for president of the United States. The Republican and Democratic winners will go head-to-head in the November general election. Because it's a closed primary, voters either have to be a registered Democrat or Republican to participate. The deadlines to register and to switch parties for this election have passed.

Politico: June 30, 2020

— GOP members of the House Intelligence panel are citing cybersecurity concerns as one of the reasons they won’t participate in committee proceedings, a worry dismissed by a senior panel official. — Senators are proposing yet more cybersecurity amendments to the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, not all of which are linked to Cyberspace Solarium Commission recommendations. — A number of prominent tech groups urged congressional leaders to make IT and cyber funding a priority in the next coronavirus response package. THE LATEST HOUSE INTEL IMPASSE — Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee haven’t participated in any of the panel’s proceedings — public or private — since March and say they don’t plan to end the boycott, in part out of cybersecurity concerns, Martin reports. “These things get hacked. Why are we putting ourselves at that risk?” asked Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio). “You border on classified information and maybe sometimes even spill into it. It’s just not the way to conduct business. And there is no reason for it.” But a senior committee official said the GOP’s rationale has “either been nonexistent or non-concerns about cybersecurity.” The committee “has consulted our security and the House security” and found “there was actually less risk of that happening during a Microsoft Teams or WebEx session than there was logging into your House email or Gmail account from your home computer.” The GOP’s lack of participation “seems almost counterproductive on their part,” according to Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). “It seems rather childish but I hope that they will reconsider.” The ongoing divide could derail a series of pending projects the committee looks to wrap up in the coming weeks and months, including its annual intelligence authorization bill. The committee is also finishing up its deep dive on China — an effort that started at the beginning of the current congressional session — and performing a review of the Covid-19 pandemic and the intelligence community’s handling of that crisis. Pros can read the full story here. MORE CYBER TRIES TO HITCH AN NDAA RIDE — The roster of cybersecurity amendments to the Senate’s annual defense policy bill is growing. A bipartisan group of senators — Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) — said Monday they would introduce an amendment to require DHS to establish a cybersecurity coordinator in every state, reflecting legislation (S. 3207) they introduced that won Homeland Security Committee approval earlier this year. Cyberspace Solarium Commission Co-chair Angus King (I-Maine) and his frequent amendment partner on commission recommendations, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), aren’t the only ones sponsoring Solarium-oriented amendments. For instance, Peters, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security panel, joined committee Chair Ron Johnson (Wis.), King and Sasse on an amendment that would require the administration to develop a strategy to enable the economy and critical services to carry on in the wake of a crippling cyberattack. Peters also sponsored an amendment allowing for the establishment of pilot programs for the National Guard to remotely assist state and local governments when responding to cybersecurity incidents. And Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) introduced an amendment allowing DoD to develop pilot programs for cybersecurity cooperation in Southeast Asia.

Democrat & Chronicle: June 29, 2020

George Knarich can easily recall the time police officers busted him for growing illegal pot in his backyard. Fast forward four years, and Knarich now has the government’s blessing to grow as much hemp as he can plant on his 20-acre farm in Mount Vision, which is near Oneonta in central New York. The Knarich Family Farm is among more than 400 hemp producers in New York authorized to grow low-THC cannabis crops because of the federal 2018 Farm Bill. The farm played host last October to the 22nd annual New York Harvest Festival and Freedom Fair. Led by festival director and 30-year marijuana activist Rob Robinson, dozens of attendees paraded up the road to Knarich’s hemp field and hand harvested the crop at “high noon” on the festival’s second day. For many among the estimated 1,200 in attendance, gathering on a legal hemp farm for the first time in the festival’s two decades represented progress in the movement to destigmatize cannabis. “We’re getting high in New York,” Robinson told the enthusiastic crowd when announcing a 4:20 p.m. cannabis cup for the next day, during which judges would choose the top cannabis products. Robinson said there was a time he wouldn’t openly advertise the recreational marijuana competition, but now he wasn’t scared. “The government and the media used to call us the counter culture,” he said. “There’s nothing counter of this culture. “This culture is the American culture – as American as apple pie.”

Security Magazine: June 29, 2020

A bipartisan group of six House members introduced a bill to establish a National Cyber Director in the Executive Office of the President to coordinate cyber policy across the Federal government. Three Democrats and three Republicans are sponsoring the National Cyber Director Act, which would create a Senate-confirmed director, and two deputy directors appointed by the president. Sponsors of the bill include Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI), House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure and Innovation John Katko (R-NY), former Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), and Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee’s Subcommittee on Intelligence Modernization and Readiness Will Hurd (R-TX). The creation of a National Cyber Director is a major recommendation of the Solarium Commission, a Congressionally-chartered group that includes members of Congress and the Administration, as well as private sector leaders. Pillar One of the Commission’s report, which was released in March, involves reforming the government, and creating a strong director in the White House is a “key recommendation.” In the George W. Bush Administration, Howard Schmidt and Richard Clarke served as “special” cybersecurity advisers to the President. In December 2009, President Obama created the position of White House Cybersecurity Coordinator and appointed Schmidt to it. Michael Daniel also held the position under Obama, and Rob Joyce served as Cybersecurity Coordinator under President Trump. The position was eliminated in 2018 by then National Security Adviser John Bolton. The National Cyber Director would fulfill a similar policy role to the Cybersecurity Coordinator, but the position would be backed with additional statutory authority to review cybersecurity budgets and coordinate national incident response.

The Hill: June 28, 2020

Democrats, in a commanding position for the November election, are searching for what could go wrong: Trump could ride an economic rebound to outperform his polls; some of the slime Republicans throw at the gaffe-prone Biden could stick; the incumbent could fabricate an October surprise. The economy won't rebound by Nov. 3; the polls accurately reflect Trump's low standing; the public will continue to brush off falsehoods about the former vice president who they've known for three decades — and any Trump-orchestrated October surprise won't be credible. There are, however, other causes for concern. Voting chaos in a pandemic leads the list. Facing defeat, Trump will likely try to further stir the chaos pot. The beleaguered U.S. Postal Service is running out of money. The president and his treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin, are holding up more support, initially to punish Amazon whose CEO Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post. If the Postal Service jacked up rates for Amazon deliveries, the company would just find a cheaper way. But playing games with the Postal Service could severely complicate voting by mail, which may be the prime motive now for Trump and Mnuchin. It's a dicey game that could hurt Republican candidates as well. The charge that mail voting invites widespread fraud — spread by Trump and renewed by his always accommodating Attorney General William Barr — is a canard, as most every study shows. If pressures force Trump to relent, and Congress sufficiently funds the Postal Service, states still need more federal funds to conduct robust vote by mail operations. With the pandemic, many state budgets are squeezed, and assistance is essential in the next stimulus package.

Bangkok Post : June 27, 2020

Canadian cannabis sales soared at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but not enough to bolster a sector in the throes of reorganisation only two years after the drug was legalised. Fearing a shortage of the dried flower, Canadians rushed to cannabis stores and websites to stock up ahead of what would turn out to be a three-month government-ordered lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19. Sales jumped almost 20% in March from the previous month and continued at a brisk pace through April, according to the government statistical agency. Classified as an essential service, pot stores remained open while online sales exploded. Industry expert Bradley Poulos, who teaches at Ryerson University in Toronto, said the pandemic has had a positive effect in that the legal market has actually seen an uptick in business. "We saw a transfer of some of the illegal (black market) business over to the legal market during this time," he told AFP. But, he added, that hasn't been enough of a boost for an industry in trouble and still struggling to reach profitability. Canada was the second nation, after Uruguay in 2013, to legalise the recreational use of cannabis. Canadian firms -- including Canopy Growth, Aurora and Tilray -- quickly established themselves as industry leaders, expanding into foreign markets in anticipation of legalisation spreading, for recreational or medical use. They raised billions of dollars from investors, listing on the Toronto and New York stock markets. But the buzz quickly faded.

KSLA News 12: June 26, 2020

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry says that the first batch of hemp has been tested and that it complies with regulations. The hemp was tested for THC concentration levels and came back below the legal limit of .3% THC total, according to the news release. LDAF’s lab establishes a .104% measurement of uncertainty that will be applied to all official hemp samples of 2020. Hemp used in testing was harvested from a Southwest Louisiana grower who has plans of producing CBD.

San Francisco Chronicle: June 25, 2020

Kurtis Alexander’s article hits the nail on the head and is loaded with the information everyone should see. One of the things I keep wondering about is why, following the legalization of marijuana, haven’t we seen any articles about using cannabis to make plastic?

Politico: June 25, 2020

CISA officials said Covid-19 has prompted the agency to ramp up protections for vaccine makers, seize the chance to enhance workforce diversity and adjust how they approach election security. The Senate Judiciary Committee today will hold its first markup of the polarizing bipartisan bill targeting Section 230, the tech industry’s prized liability shield. Change at the U.S. Agency for Global Media triggered congressional concern about a dearth of cybersecurity expertise.

Hartford Courant : June 24, 2020

State and local elections officials — nervously eyeing the fall for a potential second wave of COVID-19 — are scrambling. With only five months before the presidential election, they are scouting larger polling places to enable social distancing and planning to mail and scan more absentee and mail-in ballots than ever. But in addition to keeping poll workers and voters safe from viral transmission, there is a second major risk: how to keep the election itself secure from cyber threats. During the recent months of the pandemic, U.S. adversaries have stepped up both cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. The United States should expect them to also take advantage of the logistical challenges of voting in a COVID-19 world to redouble their efforts against elections. Cyber threats to U.S. elections came into sharp relief in 2016, when Russia conducted operations to influence the electorate and infiltrate voting systems. In January 2017, the Department of Homeland Security declared elections to be “critical infrastructure” and embarked on an extensive cybersecurity support effort. It established, for example, the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center which provides elections officials with cybersecurity alerts, vulnerability assessments and response aid when experiencing a cyberattack. Congress pitched in too, appropriating $380 million under the Help America Vote Act, or HAVA, in 2018 — about 40% of which states planned to spend on cybersecurity. This year Congress appropriated an additional $425 million to states. But now the pandemic has devastated state budgets. HAVA fund administrators at the federal Elections Assistance Commission felt compelled to issue guidance saying states can use these funds for health-related safety needs. This was necessary and prudent; mitigating the health risks and reassuring anxious voters is paramount to ensuring a smooth running of the election in the fall. States are furiously rolling out new processes, scouting polling places that can accommodate social distancing and preparing for unprecedented volumes of absentee and mail-in ballots. Each of these moves is costly, however, and states must pursue all of them simultaneously. A recent Brennan Center report argues that states will need significantly more funding to prepare for the November election, noting for example that the federal grant would only cover roughly 10% of the estimated $110 to $124 million Georgia alone would need to spend between now and Election Day.

Marjuana Moment: June 22, 2020

In the year and a half since hemp was federally legalized, various military branches have issued guidance, broadly prohibiting active duty members from using products derived from the crop despite the legal status change. But a little-noticed memo is helping to explain the trend. In February, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced a new policy barring all active and reserve service members from using hemp products, including CBD. The memo acknowledges that hemp was legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, but it said the risk of exposure to products potentially containing excess THC is too great. “These legal changes and the resulting introduction of hemp products containing up to 0.3 percent THC in the marketplace create a serious risk to the viability of the military drug testing program for a number of reasons,” Under Secretary of Defense Matthew Donovan said. The memo, which was first noted by the Uniformed Services University in March but largely went under the radar until DOD’s Operation Supplement Safety program tweeted a link to it on Monday, states that regular use of lawful hemp products could result in a positive urinalysis test for THC. Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not certify THC concentrations in CBD products that are widely available in the marketplace, it says. “Consequently, Service members cannot rely on the packaging and labeling of hemp products regarding whether the amount of THC contained in the product could cause a positive urinalysis result,” the memo continues. The department also said that because so many hemp products are being introduced, it isn’t practical for them to develop a list of individual brands that meet their standards. “Since it is not possible to differentiate between THC derived from legal hemp products and illicit marijuana, and these products could cause or contribute to a THC positive urinalysis result, I find that the use of hemp products could effectively undermine the Department’s ability to identify illicit THC use,” Donovan wrote. “Accordingly, I find that protecting the integrity of the drug testing program requires the prohibition of the use of all hemp products, subject to the exclusions set out in this memorandum, even though such a prohibition will, in some instances, extend to products the normal use of which could not cause a positive urinalysis result. I specifically find a military necessity to require a prohibition of this scope to ensure the military drug testing program continues to be able to identify the use of marijuana, which is prohibited, and to spare the U.S. military the risks and adverse effects marijuana use has on the mission readiness of individual Service members and military units.”

The Wall Street Journal: June 22, 2020

Those looking to steal organizations’ data may be proxies of a hostile foreign government, career cybercriminals or enraged activists. But they’re just as likely to be members of an organization’s own staff. Companies are aware of the risk from insiders, but unlike in other areas of cybercrime, they’re struggling for solutions. Despite technological advances, it remains hard to spot an employee who is likely to steal or leak data.

The Washington Post: June 22, 2020

Governments across the world are leaning on an array of coronavirus technologies, such as contact-tracing apps and smart thermometers, to make decisions about reopening. But experts are warning that their security and privacy protections are lacking — which could make it easier for hackers to compromise peoples' personal information. Developers of the apps, researchers say, did not implement strong digital protections that are standard on other technology that deals with sensitive personal or health information And many are siphoning data to third parties — which means peoples' private information could be used for targeted advertising or to track them across other, non-related apps. "One thing that's happening with [coronavirus] is that people are giving even more of their information up as response to the crisis, or downloading an app," says Adam Schwartz, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy advocacy group. "There aren’t the protections we need.” Many of the apps are used to automate some form of contact tracing, a process that allows users to figure out whether they may have been in contact with someone infected with the coronavirus. Users self-report if they're infected and the apps use either location data or anonymized Bluetooth signals to ping other users who may have been in proximity and exposed. The goal is also to provide insights to governments about local infection rates.

Marijuana Moment: June 20, 2020

Several government agencies in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) testified on Friday in favor of a marijuana legalization bill the governor is asking lawmakers to approve—with officials outlining how a regulated cannabis market can help the territory, especially given current economic needs.

Ganjapreneur: June 20, 2020

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Gov. Ralph Torres has signed a bill legalizing hemp in the island U.S. territory, Marianas Variety reports.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: June 20, 2020

Georgia’s expensive new voting machines weren’t working. Poll workers at some precincts couldn’t call up voters’ registrations. Touchscreens that were supposed to display ballots faded to black.

The Hill : June 20, 2020

Multiple lawmakers on Monday warned that without boosting mail-in voting and taking steps to shore up election security, chaos could ensue during the November presidential election.

Marijuana Moment: June 18, 2020

Two members of Congress representing New York recently wrote a letter to the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), asking that the agency extend access to a coronavirus relief program to hemp farmers.

Reuters: June 18, 2020

Leaders from Facebook Inc (FB.O) and Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) told the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee that they had not seen evidence of coordinated foreign interference in conversations about absentee voting or about recent protests on anti-racism and policing.

ABC News: June 17, 2020

More Louisiana residents will have access to medical marijuana under a significant expansion of the state's therapeutic cannabis program that was signed into law by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

WABE/NPR: June 17, 2020

This summer, Georgia farmers are legally planting hemp for the first time in decades after the federal and state governments moved to allow hemp production again. Soon, Georgia-grown CBD oil could be coming to store shelves. Sixty-six farmers in Georgia have gotten permission from the state Department of Agriculture to grow hemp, with another 101 pending, and processors, who will make the hemp into CBD oil, have gotten permits in Georgia, too, according to state Rep. John Corbett, who has pushed to allow hemp growing here. A bill he introduced that passed last year opened the door. Another piece of legislation he’s sponsoring this year further refines how the industry works in Georgia. That bill got some pushback from Democratic state senators in a committee meeting Tuesday over the cost for farmers to get permits. During public testimony, hemp grower Reginald Reese from Metter, Georgia, agreed. “It is a viable crop for farmers to get into and make some profit,” he said. “The problem is the cost involved. How do we offset that? how do we support this new industry and support these farmers?” The bill did advance out of committee, and Corbett says once the state has more information, costs could come down.

The Colorado County Citizen: June 17, 2020

Colorado County prides itself on assisting voters with getting their ballots cast and making sure the voices of Colorado County are heard by providing accurate voting results. We recognize that many changes have been made to elections this year both on the local level, and in overall state legislation. Colorado County takes the accuracy and security of the voting process seriously. Elections is an ever-evolving beast and in the spotlight on both a national and local level. What are the duties of an Election Administrator, and why the change? The duties are to oversee all aspects of elections, to ensure the integrity of the process and the accuracy of operational tasks based on applicable federal and state laws, Secretary of State (SOS) rules and organizational policies. An election administrator takes elections out of the hands of elected officials to preserve high level of professional election standards in order to earn and preserve public confidence in the electoral process. Colorado County Commissioners adopted the change and Colorado County Elections Commission appointed an Administrator in August of 2019. Why new voting equipment? Times change and so does technology. The ExpressVote machines were rolled out in February of 2020. They are touch screen ballot printing devices designed to make voting easier for the voter by offering a variety of capabilities. The machine gives several opportunities to change and verify your vote including the printing of the ballot for the voter’s review BEFORE casting the ballot. This “new” way of voting is still considered and counted as a paper ballot. These machines do NOT store your vote. All electronic voting equipment will be sanitized after each use to ease some of your health and safety concerns. Every polling location on Election Day will have at least one ExpressVote machine and traditional ballots available. The DS200 is a precinct ballot-tabulating device. It is a very similar optical scanning tabulation device that has been used by the county for the last 20 or so years, but on a smaller scale that allows votes to be calculated as you go and puts the tabulation process in the voter’s hands. The accuracy of optical-scan tabulator is 99.99 percent. What is wrong with the good old-fashioned way of doing things? Nothing, however, the ExpressVote Machines offer voters more capabilities of independent voting and puts voting back into the hands of voters that may have otherwise needed assistance. There are printing costs involved with traditional ballots and accuracy of ordering quantities is always a “best guess” situation based from historical data that vary from election to election. There is a higher error rate in hand counting for tabulation. The accuracy of hand counting for tabulation of ballots is 99.91 percent. Doesn’t seem like a lot of difference but accuracy and time count when it comes to your vote. And in the case of COVID-19, some strains of coronavirus live for only a few minutes on paper, while others live for up to five days. It is not a “bad” option to use a traditional ballot to vote – but it is not a “safer” option.

The Hill : June 15, 2020

Multiple lawmakers on Monday warned that without boosting mail-in voting and taking steps to shore up election security, chaos could ensue during the November presidential election. “If Congress and states don’t act immediately, our country could face an electoral Chernobyl this fall,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote in a Medium post on Monday. Wyden, who has been one of the key supporters in the Senate for increasing mail-in voting during the COVID-19 pandemic, pointed to chaos at the polls in Georgia last week as being an example of what could happen if officials fail to address coronavirus-related election challenges. Voters in certain Atlanta precincts faced hours-long lines due to malfunctioning machines, fewer polling places and poll workers due to COVID-19 shutdowns, and confusion over mail-in ballots. These issues came two months after voters in Wisconsin faced similar long lines during their state’s primary election, with dozens of coronavirus cases traced to the elections in the weeks following. Wyden emphasized Monday that states should “prepare aggressively for a huge increase” of mail-in ballots, and to prepare from staffing shortages stemming from older poll workers being unwilling to assist during the pandemic. “A prerequisite to gaining the faith of the people for these solutions is free and fair elections where every eligible American can cast a ballot,” Wyden wrote. “If Americans see a repeat of what happened in Georgia across the country, many will rightfully question whether the results — and by extension, the government itself — are truly legitimate.” Wyden was not the only lawmaker to warn Monday of potential election challenges in the coming months. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said during a virtual event hosted by think tank New America that he was “very worried” about the November elections.

The Washington Post: June 15, 2020

New claims that Georgia’s election technology may have failed to count thousands of legitimate votes sent in by mail is adding fuel to Democrats’ outrage over a disastrous primary they say disenfranchised many African American voters. Officials and activists spotted the issues in four counties and warn others could have been affected. They may have been caused by poorly calibrated software for scanning mail ballots that failed to recognize when voters indicated their choice with an X or a check mark rather than completely blacking out an oval – though some election experts are urging a full review before drawing any conclusions about the systems, which have worked effectively in other states. Republicans are pointing to the Georgia election debacle as evidence states should back off plans to expand mail voting in November. That runs counter to the advice of most election security experts who say voting by mail probably is the safest and most secure way to ensure people can cast ballots during the coronavirus pandemic. Democrats, meanwhile, are calling for more money for states to make sure they're prepared for the surge and to mitigate any technical issues that came up in the primaries. It’s a disturbing preview of how technical problems, bad preparation and partisan rancor could combine to wreak havoc in November — especially in Georgia and other hotly contested states in the presidential contest. The uncounted Georgia votes were discovered during county reviews of ballots that vote-tallying scanners flagged for anomalies. They represent a small number of votes so far, but experts fear they could indicate there are more ballots that went uncounted but were never flagged — and in far more counties, the Associated Press’s Frank Bajak reports. The scanners are part of a statewide voting system Georgia purchased for $120 million last year after a judge ordered the state to replace an outdated paperless system. “The fact that it is in multiple counties tells me that it’s probably systemic,” said Richard DeMillo, a Georgia Tech computer scientist who works extensively on voting security. He’s urging broader audits to identify such votes.

The Boston Globe: June 12, 2020

The Navajo Nation Department of Justice is suing a tribal member over what authorities say is an illegal hemp farming operation in northwestern New Mexico. Navajo Attorney General Doreen McPaul said the lawsuit was filed Thursday in tribal court. The complaint names Dineh Benally, Native American Agriculture Co., and Navajo Gold Co. Benally and his businesses are accused of running an industrial hemp operation within the reservation’s boundaries and unlawfully issuing tribal land use permits to foreign entities to grow and cultivate hemp on the Navajo Nation. David Jordan, an attorney for Benally, said he hasn’t seen a copy of the complaint and declined to comment. As part of the case, tribal prosecutors are seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to stop Benally's operations.

The Times of Israel: June 10, 2020

The two biggest parties making up the new government on Tuesday said they would push for increased legalization of cannabis use, a week after the police minister backed easing enforcement of existing laws. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White said in a joint statement that they would advance legislation “to resolve the issue of decriminalization and legalization,” apparently referring to recreational cannabis use. The matter will be done “via a responsible model that will be suited to the State of Israel and the Israeli population,” the statement said, without elaborating. The statement noted that the sides had also decided to push medical cannabis reforms in order to make it easier for patients to get access to treatment and for growers to get a license. The legislation will be advanced by Blue and White MK Ram Shefa and Likud MK Sharren Haskel, and will be brought to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation “at the earliest convenience and after organized groundwork.” The statement did not give a more specific timetable for the moves, but Channel 12 reported Tuesday evening that it would likely take about four months.

KELO Land: June 10, 2020

Leaders of ballot measures to legalize marijuana for medical and recreational uses in South Dakota rolled out for reporters a list of 50 people endorsing their efforts Wednesday. Brendan Johnson, a past U.S. attorney for South Dakota, is sponsor of Constitutional Amendment A. It would allow people who were at least age 21 to use South Dakota-grown marijuana, or to grow, transport or distribute it in South Dakota to people who are at least 21. A 15 percent excise tax on sales would be levied to pay for regulation by the state Department of Revenue, with any excess revenue to be split between state aid to public schools and state government’s general fund. The Legislature could adjust the rate after November 3, 2024. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Johnson said some states have gone ahead with legalization efforts anyway, under a hands-off guidance, known as the Cole Memorandum, that took effect during President Obama’s administration. William Barr, President Trump’s current U.S. Attorney General, has informally accepted its continuation “for now.” Johnson was the federal Department of Justice’s U.S. attorney for South Dakota during much of the Obama administration, from October 2009 to March 2015. Randy Seiler succeeded Johnson in October 2015. Seiler, who retired in December 2017 and now is chairman of the South Dakota Democratic Party, was one of the people on the marijuana group’s endorsement list Wednesday. Melissa Mentele of Emery is sponsor of Initiated Measure 26 that would legalize medical marijuana in South Dakota. Mentele told reporters Wednesday the constitutional amendment would provide political protection for her proposal. The Legislature can’t change the South Dakota Constitution. Johnson and Mentele are part of the ‘Yes on A / Yes on 26’ campaign seeking a majority of voters to approve both measures in South Dakota’s November 3 general election. She said there would be a heavy focus on absentee ballots this fall. The group’s political director is Drey Samuelson. He was the career-long chief of staff for now-retired U.S. Senator Tim Johnson, who served 28 years in Congress. The former senator, a Democrat, is Brendan Johnson’s father. Samuelson promised “a very active grassroots campaign.” Also participating in the teleconference was Matt Schweich from the Marijuana Policy Project. The Legislature, dominated by Republicans, approved a law permitting low-THC industrial hemp this year that Governor Kristi Noem, a Republican, signed into law. She vetoed somewhat similar legislation last year, describing industrial hemp as a gateway to legalizing marijuana. Asked whether they thought the governor would come out against their proposals, Samuelson replied, “I’d be astonished if she doesn’t oppose it.” Johnson wasn’t willing to go that far: “South Dakota has an awful lot on its plate right now.” Mentele’s medical-marijuana measure’s estimated impact on state government’s budget looks like a wash, but Johnson’s recreational-use amendment could raise more than $10 million in the fiscal year 2022 and in excess of $29 million in the fiscal year 2024. A request has been made to Noem’s office for her position on the two measures. South Dakota voters have refused past attempts to legalize marijuana. The most recent instance was 2010, when medical marijuana failed, with 115,667 yes votes and 199,552 voting no. Johnson said Wednesday there would be another financial benefit of legalization: Fewer people sentenced to South Dakota’s crowded state prisons for ingestion of marijuana. “The concern for me is we’re criminalizing a generation,” he said. Among the 50 endorsers are Scott Heidepriem of Sioux Falls, a former legislator who was the Democratic candidate for governor in 2010; Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe President Tony Reider; Jack Billion of Sioux Falls, a former legislator and the 2006 Democratic candidate for governor; and Paula Hawks of Hartford, a former legislator and the Democrats’ 2016 candidate for U.S. House.

KSN.com: June 9, 2020

According to the Kansas Division of Budget, the state is expecting to face a $653 million shortfall in fiscal year 2021, this includes a projected $1.3 billion loss in tax revenue. Proponents of legalizing marijuana in the state say marijuana sales tax revenue could help.

New Hampshire Union Leader: June 9, 2020

Voters may register to vote by mail for New Hampshire elections if concerns over COVID-19 are why they do not wish to sign the paperwork in person, according to a new legal opinion. Secretary of State Bill Gardner and Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald have said the risk of the novel coronavirus calls for loosening up the requirement in state law that voter registration business has to be done at the city or town clerk's office.

The Hill: June 9, 2020

Researchers with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Michigan found multiple security vulnerabilities in an online voting tool being used by at least three states.

CSP: June 9, 2020

STOUGHTON, Mass. — Tobacco sales in Massachusetts convenience stores are down less than a week after the state’s ban on flavored tobacco took effect. As of June 1, the sale of flavored combustible cigarettes and other tobacco products—including menthol cigarettes and flavored chewing tobacco—is restricted to licensed smoking bars where they can be sold for on-site consumption, according to the state law. The New England Convenience Store & Energy Marketers Association (NECSEMA), Stoughton, Mass., tried to delay the ban in May, given the hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but was unsuccessful. Nik DiMambro, category manager at Worcester, Mass.-based Nouria Energy Corp., and Leo Vercollone, CEO of VERC Enterprises, Duxbury, Mass., each said tobacco sales at c-stores in bordering states, like New Hampshire, have increased since June 1 while tobacco sales in Massachusetts are down. “It’s really early,” Vercollone told CSPDaily News on June 4. “But, with that being said, we’re down double digits in menthol cigarettes.” Cigarette and other tobacco product (OTP) sales were down about 12% at his Massachusetts stores compared to last year, Vercollone said. However, in the first few days of June, tobacco sales at two of his stores on the New Hampshire border were up about 40%, he said.

Blue Book Services: June 8, 2020

LOS GATOS, Calif.- Procurant, BB #:355257 a Silicon Valley technology company transforming the global food supply chain, announced the creation of a new customer innovation center and the release of Procurant Trace, a mobile, cloud-based service that enables accurate product identification, even in the harshest of packing environments. “The industry continues to demand improvements in the areas of traceability and Procurant Trace is the latest in a series of products and features we are rolling out to our supply chain customers.” “With this new innovation center and traceability product line added to our suite of order and task management products, Procurant is bringing together the enormous potential of a fully integrated food supply chain. We are excited to offer these new capabilities to our customers, and to have operations right in the heart of one of the most important growing regions in the country,” said Eric Peters, CEO, Procurant. The new traceability product will be supported from Procurant’s new customer innovation and support center in Watsonville, CA. In addition to providing customer support and maintenance services, the innovation center will serve as a showcase for the latest supply chain technology for the fresh food industry and allow customers to see and interact with a variety Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensors to improve food safety and quality.

BrewPublic: June 7, 2020

When it comes to collecting alcohol excise taxes here within the state of Oregon, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) will partner up with an outside organization for payment implementation. The OLCC has signed a ten-year contract with SICPA, an organization that offers product security, revenue realization, and track and trace solutions. Based in Springfield, Virginia, SICPA will use its proprietary SICPA Excise Tax System (SETS) to provide a secure, online platform for the payment, collection, and tracking of Oregon’s alcohol privilege taxes, also known as excise taxes. “Our ten-year contract with SICPA is $7.5 million,” wrote Debbie Amsberry, Assistant Director Financial Services at the OLCC, in an email. “It runs through June 30, 2030.”

Michigan Live: June 3, 2020

After coronavirus-related delays, Muskegon’s third marijuana dispensary is expected to open this summer. Redbud Roots, a Buchanan-based cannabis producer and distributor, expects its second retail location, at 237 W. Laketon Ave. in Muskegon’s marijuana overlay district, will open to the public on Saturday, June 27. The dispensary will cater to both medicinal and recreational users - and its design has been influenced by both Muskegon’s history and its recent brush with the COVID-19 outbreak, Alex Leonowicz, one of the company’s four co-founders, told MLive in a recent interview. “Curbside (pickup) is here to stay,” he said. Redbud Roots was founded in 2017 by Christopher Fanta, a real estate investor; David Murray, a hedge fund manager; Jim Finley, an entrepreneur; and Leonowicz, a corporate attorney specializing in cannabis law. They were licensed by the state in December 2018, according to Leonowicz. The company began as a cultivator and processor of cannabis, and currently produces 27 different cannabis-derived products in-house, including concentrates, edibles, waxes, tinctures and topical creams. Those products will make up half the stock at the 2,500-square-foot Muskegon store, which is still under construction, Leonowicz said. Last week, the company’s sign was installed outside its gleaming wood, metal and glass storefront. Just as the business’s first shop, in Acme, reflects northern Michigan’s vast woods, the Muskegon design is meant to reflect the city’s “grittier, more industrial feel,” Leonowicz said. Muskegon was a fit for the company because it was an “early adopter” of the cannabis industry, “and it’s also a great town,” said Leonowicz. Some of the company’s 92 employees are Muskegon natives, he added. The 14 people hired to work at the new store - security, managers, and sales associates known colloquially as “budtenders” - are all local, according to Leonowicz.

Politico: June 3, 2020

— Voters in eight states and Washington, D.C., went to the polls on Tuesday under the watchful eye of CISA and others, with no major digital hiccups reported. — CISA hasn’t forgotten about that distributed denial of service attack on Minneapolis, and plans to issue new guidance to providers and state and local governments. — The U.S. intelligence community should build on its coronavirus-inspired telework, according to its outgoing CIO. In one of the last warm-ups before November’s general election, eight states and Washington, D.C., held their primaries on Tuesday. It also marked the biggest voting day since the coronavirus pandemic upended the election calendar in March. And while voters cast their ballots during a time of crisis, Election Day went off without a hitch — not that agencies responsible for election security weren’t watching. "Every state and the District of Columbia has Albert, the intrusion detection system, in place. So we're in a good posture for visibility and every state is receiving some kind of service,” a senior CISA official told reporters Tuesday afternoon. The official noted that Covid-19 and the civil unrest gripping several American cities were new factors to overcome, but election officials felt prepared based on past experiences. A second senior CISA official said the agency hadn’t seen anyone trying to leverage the ongoing social unrest to stoke concerns about voting, nor had it seen a “connection or widespread disinfo involving [Covid-19] and the elections.” “At this time there's no indication of any disinfo campaigns targeting elections today,” the official said. “No reports from the states of widespread issues with disinfo or social media posts." The first official explained that CISA utilizes an unclassified situational awareness room for major voting days and that on Tuesday, 46 state or local agencies cycled through, as did representatives from the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, the Election Assistance Commission, the FBI and others. Tuesday was “good practice” for November, the official said. DENYING DDoS — A senior CISA official also said on Tuesday’s call that “we're in the process of pushing out guidance and recommendations” on distributed denial of service attacks. The idea is to focus on state and local governments, with election officials also receiving the information, the official said. CISA is “keeping an eye” on the DDoS attacks aimed at Minnesota governments amid the protests over the weekend; a DDoS attack hit the city of Minneapolis’ websites and Gov. Tim Walz said Minnesota fended off a “sophisticated denial of service” assault on state computers. “We're getting the right mitigation recommendations out across the country to our state and local partners,” the official said.

Marijuana Moment: June 2, 2020

Louisiana lawmakers sent bills to significantly expand the state’s medical marijuana program and to allow cannabis businesses to access banks to the governor’s desk over the weekend. The expansion legislation—which the House of Representatives initially approved last month and cleared the Senate on last week with one amendment—would allow physicians to recommend medical cannabis to patients for any debilitating condition that they deem fit instead of from the limited list of maladies that’s used under current law.

Pittsburgh-Post Gazette: May 31, 2020

Tuesday will mark the end of a month’s long sprint by Pennsylvania officials to disease-proof the 2020 primary election in the face of COVID-19, and finally reveal the results of counties’ improvisational decision-making as some voters head to physical polling places and others — many others — wait for their mail-in ballots to be tallied. On ballots across Allegheny County, for example, are one contested Congressional primary, two state Senate races, 10 state House contests, a presidential primary — though technically uncontested — and an auditor general race featuring one of their own.

Reason: May 30, 2020

Wither hemp? Earlier this month, the editors of the cannabis investment news site Technical420 lamented that a predicted hemp boom had failed to materialize. "[T]he sector has not lived up to expectations," the site declared. Likewise, Hemp Industry Daily reported this week that hemp farmers found "production costs far outpaced profits" last year. Others outside the industry have also taken note of hemp's struggles. Earlier this week, Politico reported that laws passed in Washington, D.C., that were intended to propagate a domestic hemp industry have instead proven to be "a flop."

The New York Times: May 27, 2020

Long before CBD had become a trendy wellness elixir found in juice and moisturizer and ice cream and dog treats; before corporate chains like Walgreens and Sephora had decided to sell it; and way before Kim Kardashian West had thrown a CBD-themed baby shower, a ragtag crew of activists, doctors, writers and marijuana farmers met up on an early winter evening in 2011. They sat in a circle at a house in the hills a few hours north of San Francisco — where wine country becomes weed country — to discuss the therapeutic potential of CBD, and how to get people to take it seriously.

Marijuana Moment: May 27, 2020

A task force comprised of former lawmakers, federal prosecutors and reform advocates issued a series of recommendations on Wednesday about criminal justice policy changes that should be enacted, and that includes creating a waiver system to allow states to set their own marijuana policies without federal interference. The Council on Criminal Justice task force was established prior to the coronavirus pandemic, but its new report said the health crisis has “underscored the urgency” of the recommendations. While the group is far from the only criminal justice-minded organization to push for cannabis reform, it’s especially notable because of the backgrounds of its membership.

Politico: May 25, 2020

Hemp has friends in high places, namely Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. But the crop he championed in an attempt to boost ailing agriculture is at a low point. Farmers and manufacturers who wanted to capitalize on the frenzy around CBD, which comes from hemp, were lured into the industry after Congress passed the 2018 farm bill. It legalized cultivation of the crop, a low-potency sibling of marijuana. Hemp acreage in the U.S. more than tripled from 2018 to 2019.

CNN: May 25, 2020

The Republican National Committee and other Republican groups have filed a lawsuit against California to stop the state from mailing absentee ballots to all voters ahead of the 2020 general election, a move that was made in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The suit comes after California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced this month that the state would move to encourage all voters to cast their ballots by mail in November -- the most widespread expansion of vote-by-mail that has been announced as a result of the pandemic and in the nation's most populous state.

WXII/NBC12 : May 24, 2020

North Carolina has failed to change its election laws to ensure that voters can safely cast ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic, voting rights advocates claim in a federal lawsuit. The nonprofit Democracy North Carolina and the League of Women Voters of North Carolina sued Friday on behalf of several elderly or disabled residents whose medical conditions make them more vulnerable to coronavirus. The lawsuit alleges that several aspects of North Carolina’s absentee vote-by-mail requirements are unconstitutional because voters will have to risk exposure to COVID-19 to successfully vote.

Global Mining Review: May 22, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased American voter concerns about the security of our domestic supply chain, and about voters’ own household bills, according to polling conducted by Morning Consult for the National Mining Association (NMA).

New York Post: May 22, 2020

They have high hopes for a coronavirus breakthrough. A team of Canadian scientists believes it has found strong strains of cannabis that could help prevent or treat coronavirus infections, according to interviews and a study. Researchers from the University of Lethbridge said a study in April showed at least 13 cannabis plants were high in CBD that appeared to affect the ACE2 pathways that the bug uses to access the body. “We were totally stunned at first, and then we were really happy,” one of the researchers, Olga Kovalchuk, told CTV News. The results, printed in online journal Preprints, indicated hemp extracts high in CBD may help block proteins that provide a “gateway” for COVID-19 to enter host cells.

CNN: May 22, 2020

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed legislation on Thursday that decriminalizes marijuana possession, joining a majority of states that have ceased treating the drug as a criminal offense. The new law, which goes into effect July 1, is the latest progressive action taken by state Democrats since taking full control of Virginia's government in November for the first time in more than two decades. On Thursday, Northam, a Democrat, signed Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 972, creating a civil penalty of no more than $25 for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, with no jail time. Under current Virginia law, possession of marijuana is punishable by a maximum fine of $500 and a maximum 30-day jail sentence for a first offense.

Politico: May 21, 2020

New Jersey won’t rely on internet voting during its presidential primary, but also won’t rule it out for the general election. — President Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence is moving swiftly toward a Senate vote today, with confirmation likely. — Trump sowed confusion in the White House and elsewhere with opaque allegations about absentee ballots. New Jersey has decided not to repeat its recent experiment with internet voting during its July 7 presidential primary, the state told MC on Wednesday. “Given Gov. [Phil] Murphy’s announcement on how the primary will be run, it was determined that we don’t need the technology,” said Alicia D’Alessandro, a spokesperson for Secretary of State Tahesha Way.

Marijuana Moment: May 20, 2020

Louisiana lawmakers advanced three marijuana reform bills on Wednesday, and that includes legislation that would dramatically expand the state’s medical cannabis program and offer protections for banks that service marijuana businesses. House-passed legislation to allow physicians to recommend medical cannabis to patients for any debilitating condition that they deem fit was approved by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee in a 5-1 vote. Under current law there are only 14 conditions that qualify patients for marijuana. The bill now heads to the full Senate. Another bill introduced by Rep. Edmond Jordan (D) to protect banks and credit unions that service cannabis...

The Washington Post: May 20, 2020

Voters got a split-screen view of pandemic-era elections yesterday in Oregon and Kentucky. Both states were scheduled to conduct their presidential primaries, but only Oregon, where voters cast ballots almost entirely by mail, carried it off. The state had tallied results from about 75 percent of 1.2 million ballots it received as of early this morning and declared winners in most major races. Former vice president Joe Biden, the last remaining Democratic presidential candidate, handily won the state’s presidential primary with about 70 percent of votes. Kentucky, where just about 2 percent of voters cast their ballots by mail in 2018, delayed its primary until June 23. Now, the state is scrambling to rebuild its voting operations from the ground up in just a matter of months. The split demonstrates how some states are facing far greater challenges preparing for the primaries and general election during the pandemic — and how some voters are in greater danger of facing a choice between casting their votes and protecting their health. The state created a temporary exception to that rule on April 24 but only after weeks of wrangling between Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Secretary of State Mike Adams, who opposed expanding mail voting before the pandemic struck. The agreement came about a week after Wisconsin pushed through with a mostly in-person primary during the height of the pandemic, resulting in thousands of voters who requested absentee ballots but didn’t get them in time and blocks-long lines of voters standing six feet apart. More than 50 new cases of the novel coronavirus have been tied to the primary.

Forbes: May 19, 2020

The cause of the enormous explosion and fire that destroyed a downtown Los Angeles building on Saturday evening and sent 12 firefighters to the hospital is not yet known. As for the effects, they were immediate, decisive — and entirely predictable. A culprit was identified even before arson investigators’ work could begun. The culprit, as initial media reports suggested, was cannabis, a theory that anti-legalization zealots amplified into a howl by Monday. By extension, that means the ongoing social experiment of marijuana legalization is the accomplice, and scenes like Saturday’s carnage in LA the logical conclusion for any other city or state pondering legal weed. This all sounds familiar, because it is. And though it may be weeks or longer before arson investigators piece together the actual cause, the lesson for drug-policy reform advocates and anyone in the cannabis industry is that baked-in anti-drug biases will take much longer than that to fade away — and you can do everything right and still suffer a setback in the information wars.

Forbes: May 19, 2020

The Washington Post: May 19, 2020

Attorney General William P. Barr just ratcheted up the government's fight against encryption. Barr slammed Apple for its apparent refusal to help unlock unlock the devices of a Saudi air force student who opened fire last year at a U.S. military base in Pensacola, Fla. He said the strong encryption meant it took law enforcement five months to access evidence tying the shooter, Ahmed Mohammed al-Shamrani, to the terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Barr presented the case as proof positive that the longstanding refusal by Apple and other tech firms to build in law enforcement access to encrypted communications is endangering Americans’ safety by allowing terrorists to recruit and plan operations in digital secrecy. Information on the devices helped launch a counterterrorism operation against an associate of Alshamrani in Yemen, Abdullah al-Maliki, Devlin Barrett reports. “The bottom line: Our national security cannot remain in the hands of big corporations who put dollars over lawful access and public safety,” he said in a statement. “The time has come for a legislative solution.” But Apple and other defenders of encryption drew the opposite conclusion about the case. They focused on the fact that the FBI was able to ultimately get the information it needed without Apple's help. This, they say, proves there’s no need for Apple or other companies to give law enforcement a backdoor into its encryption – which, they say, would make everyone using these devices vulnerable to criminal hackers or U.S. adversaries, and make American products less competitive on the world stage. “It is because we take our responsibility to national security so seriously that we do not believe in the creation of a backdoor — one which will make every device vulnerable to bad actors who threaten our national security and the data security of our customers,” the company said. “There is no such thing as a backdoor just for the good guys, and the American people do not have to choose between weakening encryption and effective investigations.”

MassLive: May 18, 2020

After being shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced recreational marijuana stores can reopen on May 25 for curbside delivery only as part of a comprehensive statewide reopening plan unveiled Monday. Massachusetts is the only state with legal marijuana that ordered adult-use stores to close during the pandemic. Shops have been shut down since March 24, when Baker issued an order requiring businesses considered non-essential to cease operations in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Even though they’ll be able to sell marijuana again, the financial losses are significant for the state’s small cannabis companies. Many of the state’s marijuana businesses have laid off or furloughed workers during the pandemic. Baker said in March that he believed recreational stores staying open would attract customers from outside of Massachusetts to drive in and purchase marijuana. Though stores were already implementing social distancing and other health and safety measures, and though some argued that the majority of customers come from within miles of the store, Baker did not budge. While the reopening of stores will bring a sigh of relief, marijuana businesses have struggled during the pandemic like just about every other industry. But, unlike many other industries, cannabis businesses are not eligible for federal relief through the Paycheck Protection Program because marijuana remains illegal on the federal level. Through the pandemic, Cannabis Control Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman has said the recreational market could be operated safely, pointing to the continued operation of the medical market as an example.

Ganjapreneur: May 17, 2020

An Arkansas Department of Agriculture survey found 94 percent of the state’s hemp growers lost money on the crop last year, planting a total of 1,819 acres but harvesting just 883 acres, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. Despite the losses, the agency has already issued more hemp cultivation licenses for the upcoming growing season than all of last year. The Agriculture Department has issued 152 cultivation licenses so far this year, up from 125 last year, the report says. Additionally, the agency has issued 39 hemp processor licenses so far – up from 33 last year. The licenses have been issued in 55 of the state’s 75 counties after hemp was grown in 51 of the state’s counties last year. Arkansas hemp farmers reported capital investments last year of more than $5.8 million, total operating costs of $5.9 million, and sales to processors of nearly $846,000. They reported a total gross income of $702,291, an average of $3,266 per farmer, according to agency figures outlined by the Democrat-Gazette. Some crops were hampered by rains along with flooding along the Arkansas River; however, 21 percent of licensed cultivators indicated their crops had been stolen by thieves who believed the plants were THC-rich cannabis. Caleb Allen, manager of the state’s hemp program, warned though that the theft figures are “self-reported” and that they couldn’t be independently verified. Growers who participated in the survey said they were unable to sell 54.6 percent of last year’s crop – or about 108,000 pounds. Only about half of the licensed processors reported buying hemp from in-state growers, paying them about $330,000. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, Arkansas is still operating under its pilot hemp program enacted in 2014. Lawmakers have not yet passed legislation updating the program for federal approval as required under the 2018 farm bill.

WBUR: May 17, 2020

Speaker after speaker told lawmakers Thursday that more opportunities to vote by mail and more early voting will help the statewide elections in September and November proceed with minimal risks of COVID-19 transmission. But on the specific details of how to do that — whether to mail ballots to every voter or only those who request one, how long in-person early voting periods should last, and how polling places should be spread out to maintain social distancing — there was frequent disagreement. The Legislature's Election Laws Committee did not take immediate action Thursday after hearing testimony from a range of stakeholders. When it does, its members will need to balance competing preferences from the state's top elections official, municipal leaders, and their own colleagues, all with the clock ticking and Secretary of State William Galvin hoping to begin printing ballots as soon as June 2. "The window to pass it in a timely manner is certainly shrinking," John Rosenberry, Galvin's legislative director, said at the committee's virtual hearing Thursday. At least eight different COVID-19 election reform bills are before the committee, plus a proposal Galvin unveiled last week that has not yet been submitted as its own standalone legislation. All target reforms to election processes for the Sept. 1 state primary election and Nov. 3 general election, but they diverge on key details. The biggest gap is over how the state should handle mail-in voting, a practice that will allow voters to exercise their democratic rights while decreasing crowds at polling places as a public health precaution. Several of the bills, including one filed by the committee's co-chair Rep. John Lawn (HD 5075), would require officials to mail ballots to every eligible voter in Massachusetts, which they could fill out at home and send back to clerks to be counted. Supporters of that practice argued Thursday that it is the best way to reduce barriers for voters and that, by cutting out the application process, eases some of the burden on local election officials. "Imagine what might happen when 98% of the people who normally vote in a primary submit a request to their clerks (for mail-in ballots)," said Sen. Becca Rausch, who filed a similar bill (S 2654) that also establishes Election Day as a holiday. "That's a tremendous number of ballot requests to process." Congressman Joe Kennedy III kicked off the hearing by throwing his support behind the idea of universal mail-in voting, warning that the right to vote is vulnerable to being damaged by the pandemic without action from state lawmakers. "No-fault absentee ballots just aren't going to be good enough," Kennedy said. "Seven days of early voting is not good enough. Mailing ballots to some, but not all, is not good enough." That idea rankled some stakeholders, however. Galvin previously flagged concerns that election officials would not know which primary ballot to send unenrolled voters, who make up the largest segment of the electorate. Billerica Republican Rep. Marc Lombardo, a member of the committee, cautioned that proactive mailing could raise concerns about election security. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said at Thursday's hearing that if municipalities had to mail the ballots, they would face "significant financial strain" and workforce resource issues. "A lot of what I'm talking about is staffing and making sure we have appropriate staffing for this, because we've never seen the potential magnitude of mail-in ballots we're going to see in this year's elections," Walsh said. Other bills before the committee still aim to authorize widespread voting by mail without the same mandate to reach the full electorate. A proposal from Sen. Cynthia Creem (S 2653) would make mail-in ballots available to all eligible voters, not just those who qualify for absentee ballots under existing law, so long as they submitted a formal application. She said sending ballots to voters who request them as her bill suggests would be feasible for both upcoming statewide elections, but that universal mail-in voting in the September primary is "impossible."

Cannabis Dispensary: May 16, 2020

This week, the U.S. House included legislative language from the SAFE Banking Act in new legislation aimed at economic relief amid the coronavirus pandemic. Elsewhere, in Montana, a campaign to place an adult-use cannabis legalization initiative on the state’s 2020 ballot kicked off a signature drive despite coronavirus-related setbacks. Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over. Federal: The U.S. House will include legislative language from the SAFE Banking Act in the next relief bill aimed at economic relief amid the coronavirus pandemic. Thus far in the current economic crisis, cannabis businesses have been largely excluded from such relief, as the ongoing Schedule-I status of the plant has barred any federal stimulus aid or small business loans from hitting the industry—even as cannabis business around the U.S. have been deemed “essential” in this difficult moment. The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) has recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) should not be part of the cannabis research application process as part of the NCIA’s comments on the DEA’s proposal to advance cannabis research. Among other reasons, the NCIA highlights the DEA’s sluggish processing of current applications to explain why the law enforcement agency is not the right fit to lead cannabis research initiatives. Montana: After losing a court battle to collect signatures electronically, New Approach Montana kicked off a statewide signature drive last weekend to get two complementary adult-use cannabis legalization measures on the state’s 2020 ballot. “As our state reopens for business, we must also reopen for democracy,” the campaign’s political director, Pepper Petersen, said in a public statement. Massachusetts: The Cannabis Control Commission plans to launch its adult-use cannabis delivery application May 28, as some regulators have said that delivery is a priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. The licenses will be granted to social equity and economic empowerment applicants for at least the first two years in an effort to bolster industry participation from businesses owned by minorities, those with prior cannabis-related convictions and individuals who have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. Missouri: An investigation into the roll out of Missouri’s medical cannabis program has reached Gov. Mike Parson’s office, as a House committee seeks records involving Parson’s chief of staff, chief operating officer and a longtime adviser. The Missouri House Special Committee on Government Oversight sent a letter to the Department of Health and Senior Services May 7, requesting records of the department’s interactions with cannabis industry stakeholders and insight into how key decisions were made in the medical cannabis licensing process. Read more

The Washington Post: May 13, 2020

Democrats yesterday released their most ambitious and detailed plan yet to fundamentally reshape U.S. voting systems in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Their new virus stimulus bill includes $3.6 billion to run elections safely and securely during the pandemic. But it couples that money with a slate of new mandates for state and local election officials that will last long after the pandemic ends. Many of those mandates are sure to irk Republican election officials at the state and county level — even those who broadly agree with Democrats’ goals of ramping up voting by mail and polling-place safety during the pandemic. And they're probably nonstarters with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has fiercely blocked such conditions in the past. The election provisions are part of a $3 trillion plan, dubbed the Heroes Act, assembled by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her top lieutenants, which is unlikely to make any headway in the Republican-controlled Senate. “There’s a lot in this bill that will absolutely look to Republicans like a Democratic wish list,” Edward Perez, global director of technology development at the OSET Institute, a nonprofit election technology organization, told me. “It’s a lost opportunity to achieve pragmatic bipartisanship." The bill, which House lawmakers are expected to vote on Friday, comes as close to a federal takeover of elections as has yet been proposed. It mandates that states offer voting-by-mail options for all voters without excuses for all future elections starting in November. It also mandates 15 days of early voting across the country. And it requires that states draw up detailed plans to hold elections during future emergencies that the federal government can challenge in court if they don’t sufficiently protect voters and poll workers. It even digs into the nitty-gritty of how states must run elections during the pandemic and other emergencies, including mandating they mail ballots directly to every registered voter. That’s sure to anger Republican state officials who are now encouraging residents to vote by mail but sending them ballot request forms rather than actual ballots, which they say reduces the chances of fraud.

Politico: May 13, 2020

Americans want to be able to vote by mail in November — but Democratic proposals to require it appear to be going nowhere fast in Congress. House Democrats have sought to drastically overhaul the American electoral system in light of the pandemic, arguing dramatic change is needed to allow Americans to vote safely. In a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll conducted last weekend, nearly three-in-five voters nationwide said they either strongly or somewhat support a federal law that would mandate that states “provide mail-in ballots to all voters for elections occurring during the coronavirus pandemic.” Just a quarter of voters either somewhat or strongly oppose the idea, with the remainder not having an opinion. However, support for the idea is split along ideological lines. A supermajority of voters who are registered or lean Democratic — 77 percent — back the idea. Republicans are more divided: 48 percent are opposed and 42 percent in favor. House Democrats have proposed mandating that states send all voters a ballot in the case of emergencies — in their most recent coronavirus relief package, dubbed the HEROES Act, along with other sweeping changes to the elections. The bill would also require universal “no-excuse” absentee voting, online and same-day voter registration and expanded early voting, among other changes. In broad strokes, Americans support the expansion of no-excuse absentee voting. A recent Pew Research Center found seven in 10 adults supported allowing any voter to vote by mail if they want to. But congressional Republicans have long opposed Democrats’ efforts to make major changes to the electoral system. They've argued that Democrats are trying to federalize elections, and that there wasn’t enough time to make such widespread changes before the November election. “I’m not opposed to vote-by-mail programs,” said Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), the ranking member on the House Rules Committee. But states, he said, should determine how to conduct their own elections, adapting to specific circumstances. “We as Republicans have a distinct, different philosophy on what the federal government’s role in elections should be. We believe that the states and localities are the best ones to get their voters to the polls and recognize what’s going to give everybody an opportunity to cast a vote,” Davis continued.

Manchester Evening News: May 10, 2020

A huge cannabis farm worth £1 million has been uncovered by police. Police found the cannabis farm of more than 500 plants at a house in Bury on Saturday after receiving reports from residents. Almost 200 plants were being kept in the attic alone, Prestwich neighbourhood officers discovered. Altogether the stash is estimated to be worth up to £1 million, says Greater Manchester Police. A man was detained and arrested by police on suspicion of cultivating cannabis - and was also 'of interest to immigration authorities', according to the police. He was interviewed but has since been released under investigation. Police say the set-up inside the house was 'extremely dangerous' as the electrics had been directly connected to the National Grid. The garden at the property had to be dug up by Electricity North West in order to cut off the supply. The farm and its equipment was destroyed by police after it was uncovered and the cannabis will now be incinerated. Bury police quipped 'cue the cannabis legalisation debate' after they shared pictures showing the industrial-scale farm.

MassLive: May 9, 2020

A group of Massachusetts cannabis industry representatives on Saturday has made its pitch to a reopening advisory board appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker. The Commonwealth Dispensary Association, among those at the meeting, says it has a COVID-19 safety plan that incorporates national best practices and input from all its 38 members. In addition to the CDA, industry representatives that met with the 17-member advisory board on Saturday morning were Joseph Lusardi, the CEO of Curaleaf, Amanda Rositano, the president of NETA, Jay Youmans, a principal at Smith, Costello & Crawford and Kobie Evans, a co-founder of Pure Oasis in Boston, the first economic empowerment applicant to open in the state. “We are greatly appreciative to the Lieutenant Governor [Karyn Polito], Secretary [of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kennealy], and the advisory board for their time and service,” said David Torrisi, the president of the CDA, in a statement on Saturday afternoon. “We look forward to safely reopening the Massachusetts economy in close collaboration with the Administration.” Recreational marijuana shops have been closed since March 24 after being deemed non-essential by Baker. Massachusetts is the only state with legal marijuana that has shut down recreational businesses during the pandemic. Medical marijuana, however, was deemed essential. The CDA represents 80% of the state’s medical and adult-use industry, according to the statement. In the time since recreational marijuana stores have been closed, the CCC has reported a spike in new registrations of medical patients. That increase in medical patients led to concern about the medical supply chain. The commission last month decided to allow the recreational market to support the medical market with wholesale transfers.

The Guardian: May 8, 2020

The Department of Homeland Security has come out strongly against internet voting in new draft guidelines, breaking with its longstanding reluctance to formally weigh in on the controversial issue, even after the 2016 Russian election hacking efforts. The move comes as a number of states push to expand the use of ballots cast online. The eight-page document, obtained by the Guardian, pulls no punches in calling the casting of ballots over the internet a “high-risk” endeavor that would allow attackers to alter votes and results “at scale” and compromise the integrity of elections. The guidelines advise states to avoid it altogether or restrict it to voters who have no other means of casting a ballot. The document primarily addresses a type of internet voting called electronic ballot delivery and return – where digital absentee ballots counties send to voters overseas via email or a web portal are completed and returned via email attachment, fax or direct upload – but it essentially applies to all forms of internet voting. No states currently offer full-on internet voting, but numerous states allow military and civilian voters abroad to receive and return ballots electronically, and some of these voters use an internet-based system that allows them to mark their ballot online before printing it out and mailing it back or returning it via email or fax. The DHS considers electronic ballot delivery a low-risk endeavor compared with electronic ballot return, but both can be compromised. In 2018, a hacker at the Defcon hacking conference in Las Vegas demonstrated that he could alter a ballot transmitted via email without detection. It’s not clear how many voters receive and return ballots electronically. In 2016, states sent more than 930,000 absentee ballots to overseas voters, according to a survey conducted by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), and about 633,000 completed ballots were returned. But not all states reported how many were sent or returned electronically. Government-accountability group Common Cause calculated that at least 100,000 ballots were returned via fax or the internet in 2016 in states that provided this data. But 16 states that allow the return of ballots via fax, email or online portal did not answer the survey question. Meanwhile, some states have expanded the use of electronically delivered and returned ballots to disabled voters. And their use could expand even further this year should states switch to universal vote-by-mail.

ABC News: May 7, 2020

Some states, predicting challenges around expanding paper ballot access in time for the November general election amid the COVID-19 pandemic, are weighing the use of Internet-based voting platforms. The considerations come as election officials across the country brace for what will likely be a record year of mail-in paper ballot usage amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. ABC News has confirmed that Delaware, New Jersey and West Virginia will permit groups of eligible voters across their states to use online voting platforms for upcoming local elections and presidential primaries as several other states consider wider usage for elections this fall. The use of online and mobile based voting platforms introduces significant cybersecurity risks, that many election experts warn have the potential to be used by foreign actors looking to influence election outcomes. Ahead of the 2020 primary season, former senior government officials and private sector executives warned of computerized voting equipment as particularly vulnerable at a House Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation subcommittee hearing in 2019 leading some states to drop plans they may have had in motion. (2020 campaigns 'under-prepared' to combat foreign cyberattacks: Experts) Still, states that previously dismissed the idea of using such voting platforms because of security threats are now giving it a hard second look in light of concerns that COVID-19 will keep large portions of voters home and away from voting booths this fall. “For those people that would not otherwise have the opportunity to vote, an electronic voting option is the way to go, said West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner, in an April interview on Fox News. “Right now under 20 percent of our military overseas are having the opportunity to get their vote counted—that’s just a broken system. It’s the same thing, even worse for citizens overseas.” The state of West Virginia believes their new Internet based voting system is secure, giving eligible voters the option to either print, fax or electronically submit their ballots for the state’s upcoming June primary. Delaware State Election Commissioner Anthony Albence says the state will utilize a new electronic ballot marking and return system for their primary and is confident in the security features. “We knew that this was something that was needed,” said Albence. “Once the voter has accessed the ballot, the ballot itself is locked and is no longer changeable in anyway. Once we’ve received notification that it’s completed, we go in and look at it.” A question on whether Internet based voting was accelerated due to COVID-19 to the New Jersey Secretary of State’s office was not immediately returned. A spokesperson for the National Association of Secretaries of State, which recently issued guidance on administering elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said it doesn't issue best practices regarding mobile voting, but has been facilitating opportunities for states to learn from each other with regard to varying state voting practices.

The Boston Globe: May 7, 2020

Top officials at the independent agency that oversees the Massachusetts marijuana industry say they’re confident they can safely reopen recreational pot stores if Governor Charlie Baker reverses his emergency order forcing the businesses to close amid the coronavirus pandemic. Cannabis Control Commission chairman Steve Hoffman told reporters after the agency’s monthly meeting Thursday that he believes Massachusetts marijuana shops can operate safely by employing curbside pickup, appointment-only shopping, and other similar measures adopted by retailers that have remained open (including medical marijuana dispensaries overseen by the commission). Hoffman said he “wants it known” that the commission is prepared to monitor the facilities and enforce state rules, including around social distancing, should they reopen. And in his strongest comments yet on the controversial cannabis shutdown, he noted that Massachusetts is the only state where marijuana is legal to have completely closed its recreational (or “adult-use”) industry. Marijuana firms are ineligible for federal bailouts, because the drug remains illegal under US law. “It is unfair that Massachusetts adult-use operators are the only ones that are shut down across the country and are not eligible for any kind of federal assistance,” Hoffman told reporters during a virtual press conference. “I have no concerns whatsoever that we can operate this business safely. I think we’ve demonstrated that we can do so on the medical side of the business... [and] I think there’s absolutely no reason we can’t do exactly the same thing on the adult-use side.”

MassLive: May 6, 2020

It took almost two years for Massachusetts marijuana company T. Bear, Inc., to receive approval to commence operations, which finally came down on March 20, recounted owner and CEO Angela Brown. That approval authorized the East Wareham company to start operations on March 24, which happened to end up being the day an order from the governor shut down businesses deemed non-essential, including marijuana companies. “Just one day before we were able to make our first sale, we were shut down,” said Brown on Tuesday, testifying before state lawmakers in support of a bill that would offer a Massachusetts version of the federal Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Brown said her company was forced to furlough its whole team. “All I can do now is wait, with no income and no revenue,” she said. “And while I wait, I still pay my rent, my lenders, my utilities and my health insurance for my furloughed employees.” Gov. Charlie Baker in March issued an order that shut down non-essential businesses starting March 24. While medical marijuana companies are allowed to operate during the pandemic, adult-use marijuana businesses have been shuttered since. The order has been extended multiple times, and now has an end-date of May 18. The Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses met virtually Tuesday to hear testimony on two bills, S. 2564, An Act to support MassMakers, and S. 2643, An Act establishing a Massachusetts Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for businesses ineligible for the comparable federal PPP. While the PPP bill would assist several different industries that have been left out of the federal PPP, the majority of the conversation during Tuesday’s hearing was centered around recreational marijuana. “We can’t keep having cannabis be the odd business out," said Caroline Pineau, the owner and CEO of Haverhill Stem and an economic empowerment applicant. “Governor Baker said liquor stores can stay open yet closes down cannabis. This arbitrary reasoning further disproportionately impacts the entire industry, an industry that has demonstrated we can safely operate with proper social distancing, appointment only and online ordering." Pineau reiterated that cannabis businesses like hers have payrolls, taxes, licensing fees, mortgages and high insurance premiums. But because marijuana is still federally illegal, marijuana businesses have been left of economic relief measures. “What am I supposed to do,” asked Pineau, who told the committee she invested millions into her business while doing everything by-the-book. Business owners repeated many of the same points: Massachusetts is the only state with legal marijuana that has shut down adult-use sales amid the pandemic, and that the state is not benefitting from tax revenue with these businesses shuttered. Without the bill’s passage, the future for small businesses in the state’s marijuana industry could be grim, some predicted

The Hill: May 6, 2020

A group of more than 800 public health experts on Tuesday called on Congress to fund mail-in voting amid rising concerns about in-person voting related to the coronavirus pandemic. The experts — made up of professors, phycologists and doctors led by the Center for American Progress — sent a letter to the House and Senate asking that states be given $4 billion to address moving to mail-in voting. These funds would cover the mailing and printing of ballots, securing ballot request systems and staffing, among other issues. “In order to ensure the integrity of the electoral process and protect the public health at the same time, it is incumbent on our leaders to prepare for a Presidential election by mail, in which ballots are sent to all registered voters, to allow them to vote from home and ensure their health and safety in the event of a new outbreak of SARS-CoV-2,” the public health experts wrote. The experts used the recent Wisconsin primary elections as an example of how COVID-19 can spread if Americans are forced to vote in-person, after dozens of individuals there tested positive for the coronavirus in the weeks since the election. “Many of us in public health looked on with horror as thousands of people in Wisconsin were forced to choose between exercising their right to vote and staying home to protect themselves from exposure to the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2,” the group wrote. “Those choosing the former were imperiling their own lives by voting in person that day.” Congress already appropriated $400 million for states to address election concerns during the pandemic as part of the $2 trillion stimulus package signed into law in March. These funds were on top of millions already sent to the states to boost election security by Congress in December. But the public health experts said Tuesday that these funds were not enough, pointing to a study by New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice that states would need $4 billion to successfully put on elections this year. The group of experts included professors from dozens of academic institutions, including Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia and Brown universities, along with psychologists from across the country and doctors within multiple health care systems or hospitals. The letter was rolled out during a press call on mail-in voting that featured Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.). Klobuchar and Coons, along with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), have led efforts in the Senate over the past two months to fund mail-in voting. “As more than 800 health officials say in their letter, we have to think about public health and safety, no one should be forced to choose between their right to vote and their health,” Coons said during the call. Coons serves as the top Democrat on the Senate subcommittee tasked with election funding. He said past debates around sending states election funding have been “contentious,” and that it had been difficult to secure Republican support.

The Washington Post: May 6, 2020

Cybersecurity pros are warning people to exercise caution before downloading apps aimed at combating the coronavirus pandemic that might be rushed out without adequate security protections. The contact tracing apps, which are launching across the globe now, could provide useful information for governments and researchers trying to stop the virus’s spread and give people an early warning that they might be infected. But they could also provide a trove of information for hackers if they’re breached – which risks exposing the personal details of people who tested positive for the virus and scaring people away from potentially critical tools to flatten the curve. With U.S. cases surging towards 1.2 million and resulting in more than 68,000 deaths, the pressure is on to follow more than two dozen countries such as Australia and South Korea that have developed smartphone apps for the public to download. While the federal government has been slow to specify how it would use technology in its efforts to alert people whether they may have been in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus, commercial apps are on their way in some states here with a range of security and privacy protections. There's little time for security testing. And the apps are dealing with potentially sensitive health and location data. Developers could miss basic security measures amid pressure to get the apps released as quickly as possible. “The speed factor is probably the most concerning right now,” David Grout, a top technology executive at the cybersecurity firm FireEye, told me. “That’s clearly a challenge because developers need to put solutions in place in the really short term.” Already a coronavirus app launched by one of India’s largest telecom companies exposed millions of records about users' symptoms and locations, TechCrunch reported. Security pros fear that similar vulnerabilities could lurk in other apps from state and national governments, health services and private companies, many of which are still in the process of being released. “We know these apps are going to be buggy when they come out and that’s a cause for concern,” said Jon Callas, senior technology fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union and a former cybersecurity executive at Apple. “They’re being rushed out in months if not weeks. I expect at least one horrible security or privacy thing to happen.” The way some apps are built could make them an attractive target. And a compromise could have have huge social consequences. Security pros are especially concerned about apps that store large amounts of coronavirus data in a central location. Those systems raise risks because they create a single target for hackers who could steal or expose reams of data that could be used to identify infected people. This could be attractive to hackers working for adversary government, too: They might seek to link it with other stolen data troves to uncover secret health information about government officials or other intelligence targets.

NBC3 Las Vegas: May 1, 2020

Starting May 1, cannabis dispensaries will be allowed to begin curbside pickup due to Governor Steve Sisolak loosening restrictions on the industry. “I think as everybody moves into this new phase, if we continue to be responsible operators and abide by the rules – making sure safety is the top priority – that we will be able to move to the next phase more comfortably and gradually and hopefully get things back to normal very soon," Cultivate Dispensary COO Matt McClure said. McClure is eager to see how this will help out his dispensary's bottom line, as the coronavirus pandemic has created serious challenges for his industry. One of those challenges: having to change up business on the fly, in order to stay in business per the Governor's directives. “A lot of were, not forced, but made the decision to in-house our delivery services, which meant developing, essentially, a new business," he said. “It’ll be a wait and see approach. We’ll staff up as needed to be ready for any level of demand, but we’ll adjust accordingly.”

Ventura County Star: May 1, 2020

Backers are circulating a petition to put a measure on the November ballot allowing limited indoor commercial production of marijuana in unincorporated areas of Ventura County. The petition containing 30,912 valid signatures must be turned in by May 15 to be placed on the ballot, county elections officials said. Passage would require a simple majority from voters countywide although the areas where production would be allowed lie in agricultural and certain industrial zones in the unincorporated territory. Growers could produce the cannabis for both medical and recreational adult use. Spokeswoman Jeanette Lombardo said polling indicates voters will support what's being called the Ventura County Pilot Cannabis Cultivation Program. "I think it's time," Lombardo said this week. Commercial production of marijuana in the unincorporated area has repeatedly been rebuffed by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, but the initiative would allow voters to make the decision. If approved, the initiative would allow up to 500 acres of plants to be cultivated in existing permanent greenhouses or other indoor facilities in the unincorporated area. No planting would be allowed outdoors or in hoop houses, the tent-like plastic structures used to cover raspberries. Another 100 acres of nursery cultivation would be allowed in the same type of facilities for propagation of seedlings. The seedlings would have to be non-flowering and cannot emit odors, according to the text of the initiative. The acreage figures are totals countywide, not for each greenhouse, Lombardo said. Also permitted would be commercial processing and distribution of the products. No sales will be made to the general public from the facilities, Lombardo said. A political committee called Ventura County Citizens for Responsible Cannabis — which is generally composed of owners of glass greenhouses — is sponsoring the initiative. Lombardo said the main purpose of the pilot project is to help the county's struggling agricultural industry.

Courier Journal: May 1, 2020

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the economy, small businesses are paying a heavy price. A record number of unemployment applications and bankruptcies are being filed weekly, and officials say the worse is yet to come. With so many industries absorbing the shock and strain of the financial crisis, public officials and leaders should seek every solution to help protect and lift business owners. For hemp farmers and small business owners in Kentucky and across the land, one simple solution exists, and it costs nothing. What the industry needs is for the FDA to take action and classify cannabidiol, better known as CBD derived from hemp, as a food additive or supplement enabling it to be included in food, beverages and supplements. The market for oils, capsules, body lotions and other products containing CBD has been rapidly growing, but there’s room for further expansion with ingestibles. Downstream demand is strong but the only ingestible products sold are outside the regulated system. Last year across America the number of acres of hemp quadrupled to more than 500,000, and the number of licenses issued grew by 476% to nearly 17,000. The growth trajectory remains strong long term including here in Kentucky, where the industry already employs hundreds of workers. Yet it could be even greater if CBD ingestibles were allowed to be sold in mainstream retailers and online stores. This would allow companies like Walmart, Target and Kroger to get fully behind CBD products. Industry experts estimate the potential associated market with CBD edibles, beverages and other products could exceed $23 billion by 2023. There’s already support from several members of Congress including many in the Kentucky delegation. Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota has also introduced a bipartisan Bill HR 5587, co-sponsored by both Reps. James Comer and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, that would allow FDA-regulated, hemp-derived CBD to be marketed in dietary supplements and as food and beverage additives. It would provide a boost to the multi-billion-dollar industry and help keep current hemp businesses thriving. If the FDA had taken action several companies here in Kentucky, like Atalo Holdings and GenCanna, and elsewhere in America might have avoided declaring bankruptcy. Those companies, at least in part, blamed the FDA’s inaction on ingestibles for their decline. This one policy change would have saved hundreds of jobs and kept revenue streaming into local restaurants, shops, stores and communities.

Newsweek: May 1, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic could change the U.S. election system for good. The effects of the global health crisis are already on full display in the 2020 cycle, which has been thrown into slight chaos as officials navigate how to balance public health and election security. The most immediate solution for state and local contests, including the Democratic primary race, has been to limit in-person voting by increasing mail and absentee balloting. If that trend continues, voters can expect a very different presidential election in November. "It's more of an Election Month," Amber McReynolds, the CEO of the nonprofit Vote at Home Institute, told Newsweek about predominately vote-by-mail systems. "And we look at Election Day as the final day to vote instead of the only day to vote." Ballots would likely be mailed out to every registered voter three or four weeks before Election Day. The ballots can be returned multiple ways, either by sending it back in the mail or by dropping it off at a specific location. Experts said there would still be in-person voting options available, though the number of physical polling locations may be more limited than in a normal election. One of the biggest changes would be that results of the race will come in later than usual. As seen in a few Democratic primaries, such as Wisconsin and Ohio, counting all of the ballots could take several days. "We may not actually know the winner on the night of Election Day," Darrell West, the vice president of governance studies at the Brookings Institute, told Newsweek. At least 15 states have postponed their presidential primary contests amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Most of those states are in the process of expanding absentee and mail voting options for their new election date.

The Hill: May 1, 2020

House Democrats' latest round of legislation for economic relief from the coronavirus pandemic released on Tuesday included a provision that would allow the financial sector to serve cannabis businesses. The House is expected to pass the $3 trillion bill Friday and it includes the House-passed Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would allow banks and financial institutions to work with cannabis businesses. Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), a group opposing marijuana legalization, said in response that including this provision “makes no sense.” “Numerous industries have been forced to completely shut down and have made great sacrifices to comply with shutdowns and limitations on their business operations. The marijuana industry has been a painfully obvious exception to this. This industry has used its lobbying arm to force state officials to keep their storefronts open, sued leaders who shut them down, and bragged incessantly about their revenues,” CEO Kevin Sabet said in a statement. Twenty states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are allowing medical cannabis dispensaries to remain open during the pandemic, and several allow both licensed recreational and medical cannabis dispensaries to operate. Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office in a statement to The Hill responded to SAM by noting that the SAFE Banking Act already passed the House overwhelmingly in September. The bill, however, faces an uphill battle in the GOP-controlled Senate. The provision in the coronavirus relief package stated, “the purpose of this section is to increase public safety by ensuring access to financial services to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers and reducing the amount of cash at such businesses.” Sabet said that coronavirus relief should be for those suffering during the pandemic, not industries making money.

Minnesota Public Radio: May 1, 2020

The federal government is letting states know it considers online voting to be a "high-risk" way of running elections even if all recommended security protocols are followed. It's the latest development in the debate over internet voting as a few states have announced they plan to offer it to voters with disabilities this year, while security experts have voiced grave warnings against doing so. An eight-page report distributed to states last week recommends mail-in ballots as a more secure method of voting. It was co-authored by four federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. "We recommend paper ballot return as electronic ballot return technologies are high-risk even with controls in place," says the document, according to a copy obtained by The Wall Street Journal. A source with knowledge of the document confirmed its authenticity to NPR.

The Hill: April 30, 2020

Five key states will need millions more in federal funding in order to move forward with this year's elections during the COVID-19 pandemic, new research released Thursday found. According to a report spearheaded by New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, current federal election funds will cover less than 20 percent of the costs required for mail-in voting and other election changes in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Missouri. The report, which was also put together by the Alliance for Securing Democracy, the R Street Institute and the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security, examined the impact of the $400 million in election funds sent to states as part of last month’s $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill. Georgia faces the biggest pitfall in funding, with the report finding that the $10.8 million the state received will only address around 10 percent of its election needs. This is primarily because mail-in voting has been historically low in the state, and now the state is funding the mailing of absentee ballot request forms to every registered voter. The more than $11 million given to Michigan only covers 12 percent of their estimated election costs this year, while the $7.6 million Missouri received will only cover up to 13 percent of costs. Ohio and Pennsylvania will fare slightly better, with the funding each state received able to cover between 16 and 18 percent of estimated election costs. Areas where more funds are needed include securing online election systems, sending out and processing mail-in ballots, and educating the public about changes to elections. While states are constitutionally in charge of running elections, the report’s authors argued that states do not have the money to address election needs on their own, with many facing serious financial challenges amid the pandemic. Beyond state-level funding, the report concluded that local governments, not states, will be burdened with 90 percent of the estimated costs needed to ensure Americans can vote in primaries and general elections this year. “Without funding from the federal government, there is little chance that state and local governments can shoulder the financial burden,” the authors wrote. “Indeed, nearly every state and local government in the country faces severe budget challenges this year.” The report’s authors argued that “problems” during recent primaries could “increase dramatically” without the funds. Primaries have been postponed in many states, and in Wisconsin, dozens of coronavirus cases have been traced to the state’s recent primary in which many voters were forced to cast their ballots in-person. The groups involved in the report have all pushed in recent weeks for Congress to send states more funding for mail-in ballots. Their goal is for Congress to eventually send states a total of $4 billion in election funding.

The National Law Review: April 29, 2020

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) released their annual Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy for 2019 on April 29, 2020 and included three mainland Chinese online markets in the online market section of the list. Markets on the list are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. There is no penalty for being listed but the list has been used to encourage foreign companies and countries to crack down on piracy and counterfeiting. The three Chinese companies listed are DHGate (???), Pinduoduo (???), and Taobao (???) (owned by Alibaba (????????????)). The report also listed seven physical markets located in China notorious for selling counterfeit goods.

Marijuana Moment: April 29, 2020

The governor of Kansas says that medical cannabis legalization remains a legislative possibility this session despite lawmakers temporarily disbanding amid the coronavirus pandemic. In an interview published by KSNT on Wednesday, Gov. Laura Kelly (D) was asked about various policy proposals and noted that there’s “been some discussion about legalizing medical marijuana.” “I think that discussion continues and I think if it actually was able to come to a vote, I think that it probably would pass the legislature,” she said, adding that “I think the issue of recreational marijuana is still not on the table.” According to a writeup by the local news outlet, Kelly also said that the “possibility of medicaid expansion still exists this session as well as legalizing medical marijuana in Kansas.” The governor said earlier this year that legalizing marijuana for medical use is a priority, but she also said she’d be inclined to sign a bill to legalize recreational cannabis in the event lawmakers sent one to her desk. According to a poll released late last year, Kelly would have the support of a majority of residents (63 percent) if she enacted that broad policy change. Last year, a special legislative commission issued recommendations in support of establishing a limited medical marijuana program that would allow patients to access products, though they advised that patients shouldn’t be able access smokable products. If the legislature were to take up medical cannabis legalization this year, that would mark a notable victory for the reform movement at a time when campaigns are shutting down or suspending signature gathering due to stay-at-home orders and social distancing requirements. It’s not clear at this point when lawmakers would be able to reconvene to take up legislation, though the governor said they will have to come back “in the near future.” Meanwhile, the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands is pushing for legalization during the health crisis, announcing that he would be introducing a revised reform bill this week. He argued that the territory could benefit from tax revenue from legal cannabis sales, offsetting economic challenges resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Fulcrum: April 29, 2020

Wisconsin's last-minute decision to hold an in-person election this month was a failure from a public health and election security standpoint. Holding the vote in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak resulted in mass confusion, thousands of voters waiting in hours-long lines, problems adapting to the surge in absentee ballot requests and significant shortages of both polling workers and polling places. Stubbornly ignoring the practical difficulties presented by the Covid-19 crisis during the rest of this year's primaries or the general election could have grave consequences. Proactive planning by states and localities and clear communication with the public are essential to build resiliency and trust in our election system. There were nearly innumerable mistakes by both Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-majority Legislature in the run-up to Wisconsin's election. Yet one largely overlooked fact in all the coverage was that state and local officials with the most experience running elections lacked the power to revamp or postpone the vote. This could be an issue in the rest of this year's primaries as well. Election officials have the authority both to delay an election and shift polling places in only six states: Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina and Virginia. Another issue that many states with upcoming primaries will need to address is preparing for a surge in mail-in voting. Wisconsin officials simply did not have time, resources or staff to process all those requests. At least 900,000 Wisconsinites requested absentee ballots but didn't get them, forcing them to risk voting in person or not vote at all. While states with primaries this spring and summer have had more time to prepare for such a surge, expanding vote-by-mail capacity is not as easy as it might seem, particularly in places where there has not traditionally been a high percentage of mail voting. Here are three essential steps to helping ensure elections conducted amidst the coronavirus are free, fair and secure. Follow professional advice. Wisconsin inexplicably conducted in-person voting April 7 despite a shelter-in-place place order directing Wisconsinites to stay at home from March 25 until April 24. The state had more than 2,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus two days before the primary, but was the only state out of 11 originally scheduled to hold Democratic presidential primaries in April that did not postpone or substantially change the way people could vote. Ideally, decisions on when and how to conduct elections during this pandemic can be made in consultation with public health experts. At least 16 states and one territory either pushed back their presidential primaries or switched to voting by mail with extended deadlines, citing the challenge of conducting elections during the pandemic. Plan for voting by mail. There are a number of potential issues — legal, political, administrative and financial — with conducting all-mail elections, particularly in states where there has historically been a relatively low percentage of such absentee voting. And ideally every state that wants to will be able to have in-person voting as part of this November's election. However, it is important that all states have backup plans in place to conduct their elections entirely by mail if the state of the pandemic this fall makes it too risky for even limited in-person voting. The public's confidence that their vote counts — and is counted correctly — relies on secure election infrastructure and voters shouldn't have to risk their health to cast a vote.

Motley Fool: April 28, 2020

The tobacco giant counters that the regulatory agency is misunderstanding the facts of its e-cig investment.

The Daily Times: April 28, 2020

Customs and Border Protection officers completed a seizure April 14 of two shipments from China that contained more than 20,000 pieces representing 35 different counterfeit consumer electronics, including video gaming systems, speakers, watches, cameras, scanners, DVD players, headphones, chargers and other electronics. Additionally, Customs and Border Protection officers seized counterfeit injectable dental gels.

NPR: April 28, 2020

Election officials nationwide are preparing for what may the highest election turnout in modern history in the middle of a pandemic. In response, several states will be turning to a relatively new and untested form of Internet-based voting to aid the voters who may have the most trouble getting to the polls. In the latest demonstration of the technology, Delaware will allow voters with disabilities to return their ballots electronically in its primary election next month, becoming the second U.S. state to do so. The decision comes despite grave warnings from the cybersecurity community that the technology doesn't offer sufficient safeguards to protect the integrity of an election. NPR is the first to report the development, which has yet to be announced publicly. Both the state, and the Seattle-based company administering the technology, Democracy Live, confirmed the decision, although they dispute the term "Internet voting" for the cloud-based system. Earlier this year, West Virginia passed a bill to allow the use of the technology for disabled voters, after becoming the first state to allow overseas and military voters to use an app to vote in the 2018 midterms. Delaware will also allow overseas and military voters to use the technology. A third state, New Jersey, is considering making the technology available for voters with disabilities and overseas voters, according to an election official with knowledge of the state's plans. A state elections spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The developments are sure to worry election security advocates. Until the pandemic struck, their efforts were focused on cybersecurity following the 2016 election, when Russian operatives successfully hacked election networks in multiple states. Since then, many states have increased their security protocols and generally moved away from all-electronic voting systems back toward paper ballots.

The Yucatan Times: April 28, 2020

Mexico has once again delayed the legalization of marijuana and hemp. The potential future of the measure is now more anticipated than ever. The decision (originally set for April 30) was postponed due to the pandemic. They pressed pause on the process of legalization, missing the deadline originally set by Mexico’s supreme court. Because of this delay, “lawmakers have to pass a legalization bill during their next scheduled legislative session, which runs from Sept. 1 to Dec. 15,” according to Hemp Industry Daily. Before the latest setback, the senate committee approved a legalization bill that came from a consensus between political parties. According to the Daily, Mexico would be “the world’s most populous country with legalized cannabis regardless of THC content, meaning both marijuana and hemp,” if it in fact passes. This delay, while frustrating, is not entirely a bad thing; it offers lawmakers time to organize and discuss how they can improve the measure. Even if, or when, the legislation is passed, it will take years to construct and put into place regulations around the growing and selling of cannabis products. Denver’s Hoban Law Group’s Luis Armendáriz, an attorney in Chihuahua, Mexico offered Hemp Industry Daily’s Ivan Moreno insight on what the bill will bring to the Mexican people.

The Washington Post: April 27, 2020

Cannabis companies would get access to small-business aid under new legislation introduced in the House last week, but whether the pandemic helps or hurts broader legalization efforts is an open question. Executives and policy experts are debating whether states and countries desperate for tax revenue as a result of the coronavirus will rush to legalize cannabis, or whether it will take a back seat to more pressing public-health and economic issues. “I think the issue is when you’ve got an enormous hole to fill -- and every state will have just a colossal budget deficit -- then filling it with a teaspoon of cannabis tax revenue doesn’t really feel like the most productive thing you can do,” said Roy Bingham, chief executive officer of pot data firm BDS Analytics. However, “every state’s going to need every single dollar they can get,” said Matt Hawkins, founder and managing partner of private equity firm Entourage Effect Capital LLC. “As a result, once we get on the other side of this, you’re going to start seeing a little bit more willingness to discuss, if not pure federal legalization, then quasi-legalization.” Boris Jordan, executive chairman of Curaleaf Holdings Inc., said he sees “an extreme parallel” between the current crisis and the lifting of Prohibition during the Great Depression. “Prohibition was lifted and alcohol sales were taxed because the federal government and the local governments needed the revenue,” Jordan said. “We expect over the next 12 to 18 months that significant changes in regulation will bring cannabis into the mainstream in the U.S. as an industry.” For now, the industry is running up against the same constraints it’s always faced because of its federal illegality. While most states with legal recreational cannabis have declared it an essential service, allowing dispensaries to remain open, companies haven’t been able to access the federal relief loans available to other small businesses during the Covid-19 crisis.

Cannabis Business Times: April 25, 2020

This week, Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Ed Perlmutter introduced the Emergency Cannabis Small Business Health and Safety Act to extend federal COVID-19 relief efforts to cannabis businesses. Elsewhere, the industry’s biggest sales day of the year saw a dip in sales due to states’ stay-at-home orders. Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over. Federal: The SAFE Banking Act may be back on the table in the coming weeks as members of Congress look to include a revised version of the proposal in the next COVID-19 stimulus bill. U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, the SAFE Banking Act’s primary sponsor, is leading the charge to include its provisions in a forthcoming stimulus package. While dispensaries certainly saw a relative spike in purchases this past Monday for 4/20, the effects of the coronavirus outbreak and many states’ stay-at-home orders flattened the industry’s own demand curve a bit. According to Headset data, it appears that customers spread out their purchases across the entire week leading up to April 20. U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Ed Perlmutter have introduced the Emergency Cannabis Small Business Health and Safety Act, legislation that would extend federal COVID-19 relief efforts to the cannabis industry. The bill would grant state-legal cannabis businesses access to the resources offered through federal COVID-19 emergency response packages, and would prohibit additional federal relief funding provided through the Small Business Administration (SBA) from excluding both cannabis businesses and businesses that provide services to the industry.

The Hill: April 23, 2020

Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) have introduced a bill to make legal cannabis businesses eligible for federal coronavirus relief aid meant for small businesses. The legislation would grant the businesses eligibility for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loans and other aid. A $483 billion interim coronavirus aid package, which will replenish the small-business lending program, is set to pass the House on Thursday, but it excludes marijuana companies from receiving aid. “As Congress seeks to provide relief to small businesses across America, chief among those being left out are state-legal cannabis businesses that are essential to communities and have met the demands of this crisis,” Blumenauer said in a statement. “We should include state-legal cannabis in federal COVID-19 response efforts. Without providing these businesses the relief needed to carry out the recommended public health and worker-focused measures, we are putting these hard-working people — and ourselves — at risk.” Cannabis lobbying groups have been pushing for eligibility for the aid since Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March, which also excluded marijuana companies. Congress is looking ahead to the next coronavirus-related bill, which is expected to be another massive package, but timing for it is up in the air. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said it will not be negotiated until the Senate is able to return in full and debate. The National Association of Cannabis Businesses said in a statement on Thursday that the group would continue advocating for financial relief for the industry. “We are extremely disappointed that Congress again excluded legal cannabis businesses and thousands of their hardworking employees from the benefits of this legislation,” CEO Gina Kranwinkel said. The anti-marijuana lobby is pushing back on pot businesses seeking relief, noting that marijuana sales have been up during the coronavirus pandemic in states that have allowed businesses to stay open. “This bill should be a complete nonstarter in Congress. Record levels of Americans are finding themselves unemployed as businesses nationwide have been forced to close their doors in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19," Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said in a statement on Thursday. "One notable exception to business closures has been the marijuana industry, which has quite publicly strong-armed leaders into reversing course on closures and even common sense limits on operations," Sabet added. Blumenauer and Perlmutter led a letter last week, signed by dozens of members of Congress, asking House leadership to include these businesses in the interim coronavirus package. “As you draft the next COVID-19 relief bill, we write to ask that you address one of the shortcomings of the CARES Act — the exclusion of state-legal cannabis businesses and their employees,” the letter read.

Hemp Industry Daily: April 23, 2020

Farmers and hemp businesses could soon be able to apply for loans with a second round of federal funding aimed at keeping small businesses afloat through the coronavirus disruption. The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to pass a $484 billion economic stimulus package after a deal was struck between Congress and the Trump administration. The House is expected to vote on the measure Thursday. The stimulus relief package includes $321 billion to fund the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Of that, $60 billion is designated for smaller lending facilities, including community financial institutions and credit unions with assets less than $10 billion.

Click on Detroit: April 23, 2020

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced on Thursday that the state is on the receiving end of more than $278 million in payments this year. Those payments are part of a 1998 settlement with major tobacco companies after dozens of states sued the businesses for decades of allegedly deceitful advertising and marketing.

Healio: April 22, 2020

Using the nationwide telephone-based Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, researchers identified 28,917 current e-cigarette users, which corresponded to 10.8 million U.S. adults (30% aged 18-34 years; 49% men; 63% white). Between 2016 and 2018, increases in e-cigarette use occurred in the following subgroups: Additionally, an increase ...

Marijuana Moment: April 22, 2020

A majority of Americans believe that state marijuana legalization laws have been a success, according to a new survey. YouGov asked more than 27,000 adults about states where cannabis has been legalized for recreational purposes and whether they “think the legislation has been a success or a failure.” Fifty-five percent of respondents in the poll, released on Monday, said that regulated marijuana markets are either complete successes or more of a success than failure. Thirteen percent said they were more of a failure than success, and just six percent said they were total failures.

Politico: April 21, 2020

The Supreme Court could narrow the scope of the 1986 law that to this day still is the main avenue for federal hacking prosecutions. — MC exclusive: An activist group is asking Oregon to investigate mobile voting firm Voatz for violating state law. — “Bad bots” and unwanted emails using the keywords “Covid” or “corona” are on the rise, research out today found. — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a major case involving the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act that could, for the first time, redefine the chief federal law used in hacking prosecutions. One expert who has studied the law extensively believes the court is likely to narrow the law, which critics have long viewed as overly broad. The Supreme Court in the past few years has issued decisions narrowing federal criminal law, such as in McDonnell v. United States and Yates v. United States, observed Orin Kerr, a professor at the University of California Berkeley School of Law. The case, Van Buren v. United States, asks whether a police officer “exceeded authorized access” to a license plate database to look up information for someone who was not in law enforcement in return for money. The officer, Nathan Van Buren, was convicted of violating CFAA and that ruling was upheld by an appeals court. Kerr told MC he thinks the government knows it doesn’t have a winning hand on CFAA. The circuit courts have been split on how broadly to interpret CFAA in past cases. “It’s interesting the government has had the opportunity to seek review in the Supreme Court” but “did not do so,” Kerr said. “They can read those cases, too.” The likeliest outcome, according to Kerr: The Supreme Court votes to narrow the law, and Congress writes legislation to govern criminal penalties for government employees who misuse sensitive databases.

Convenience Store Decisions: April 20, 2020

In a way, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ban on flavored e-cigarettes and vaping ended in a compromise. As of Feb. 6, convenience stores and other retailers can no longer carry or display cartridge-based e-cigarettes or vaping pods in flavors other than menthol and tobacco.

Marijuana Moment: April 20, 2020

Dozens of lawmakers and congressional candidates are calling for marijuana reform on 4/20. While major brands are marketing off the informal cannabis holiday, policymakers and office-seekers are drawing attention to the ongoing harms of prohibition and encouraging policy changes. Here’s what they’re saying:

Hemp Industry Daily: April 20, 2020

Mexican lawmakers now have until Dec. 15 to legalize marijuana and hemp – a new deadline set by the country’s Supreme Court in light of the coronavirus outbreak. Late Friday, the Supreme Court announced the new deadline for legalization to happen during the lawmaker’s next scheduled session, which runs from Sept. 1 to Dec. 15. Only weeks ago, it appeared Mexico was on the verge of becoming the world’s most-populous country to legalize marijuana and hemp.

MSN News: April 19, 2020

Intense court battles over voting rights and election security always promised to be part of the 2020 election cycle, but the coronavirus has added new urgency to the cases, which are multiplying nationwide. This month’s fight over when and how Wisconsin voters would cast their ballots marked the unofficial start of the litigation campaign. In the two weeks since, courts in several other states have issued notable decisions about conducting elections during a pandemic, and a host of new lawsuits has been filed. “Before I’d ever heard of the coronavirus, I was convinced that this was going to be a record year for litigation,” said University of California, Irvine law professor Richard Hasen. “Now I’m even surer of that fact.” Voting-rights fights have been growing for years, a function of tighter voting regulations in several Republican-led states, intense partisanship and a realization that electoral rules can affect outcomes in close races. The cases have nearly tripled since 2000, the year of the Bush v. Gore showdown, Mr. Hasen said. According to his new book “Election Meltdown,” the 2018 election year saw a record 394 cases, surprisingly high for a nonpresidential cycle. Throw into the 2020 mix the divisions over President Trump and the importance of state legislative races whose winners will control redistricting after the 2020 census, and experts see a recipe for an even more furious litigation season.

Business Wire: April 17, 2020

Altria Group, Inc. (Altria) (NYSE: MO) will host a live audio webcast on Thursday, April 30, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its 2020 first-quarter business results. Altria will issue a press release containing its business results at ...

NJ.com: April 17, 2020

Legislation allowing banks to provide credit cards and checking accounts to legal cannabis businesses has been stalled in the Senate. But members of Congress are looking to add its provisions to the next coronavirus stimulus bill, NJ Cannabis Insider has learned. The argument is that many patients who use legal marijuana are among the most vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, and forcing them to deal in cash also puts employees at risk. “Everything has to be capable of mitigating the spread of the coronavirus and mitigating the economic harm of the pandemic,” said Justin Strekal, political director for NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The effort is taking place as supporters of ending the federal ban on marijuana seek to make legal cannabis businesses eligible for Small Business Administration loans. The $2 trillion stimulus law included a $349 million paycheck protection program to encourage small businesses to retain their employees, but the cannabis businesses were excluded. “We want to pass the SAFE Banking Act, but we also know SAFE Banking alone won’t be enough to give cannabis businesses the relief they need like other businesses,” said Rep. Earl Perlmutter, D-Colo. “I plan to keep pushing to ensure the cannabis industry has the ability to be eligible for SBA relief funds during this COVID-19 crisis. I have spoken to House leadership about this matter and I’m hopeful in one of the next two packages we can get this done.” Perlmutter, the chief sponsor of the banking bill, is pushing for its inclusion in the stimulus bill, according to another member of Congress speaking on condition of anonymity. After all, asking the marijuana businesses eligible for the loans raises the question of how they would get the money, since most do not have bank accounts and an SBA official isn’t going to walk in the door with a paper bag of dollar bills. “If we get SBA access but don’t get banking, how can SBA distribute money to someone who is unbanked?” Strekal said. “Are they going to get $10,000 cash?”

The New York Times: April 17, 2020

Congress is scrambling for ways to safeguard the Nov. 3 U.S. elections amid the coronavirus pandemic, with a partisan fight shaping up over a Democratic proposal to require states to offer the option of voting by mail. President Donald Trump, seeking re-election this year, and some of his fellow Republicans have voiced opposition to expanded voting by mail, citing concern over ballot fraud - a worry that Democrats dispute. Democrats have said election procedures will need to change this year because many voters will be reluctant to stand in long lines or enter crowded polling sites for fear of infection. In recent years, Democrats also have accused Republicans of pursuing policies in some states to make voting more difficult in a bid to disenfranchise Democratic-leaning voters. Congressional Democrats are pushing for additional funding for election aid to states in the next round of coronavirus-response legislation expected to be crafted by lawmakers in the coming weeks. Democrats control the House of Representatives while Republicans control the Senate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has proposed seeking $2 billion to $4 billion in fresh election-related aid to states. Republicans have said they are open to considering some additional emergency funding if the $400 million in such aid approved in legislation passed on March 27 proves inadequate. The focus of Democrats is on providing money so states can establish or expand existing "vote-by-mail" options under legislation requiring them to offer the option of mail-in ballots as an alternative to voting in person. Wisconsin's April 7 Democratic presidential primary was marred by numerous polling sites being closed due to staffing shortages caused by the pandemic while long lines of voters dressed in makeshift protective gear waited for hours to cast ballots. The state carried out the election after Republican legislators successfully sued to block the Democratic governor's plan to postpone the voting for public health reasons. 'MAKE THE ELECTIONS SAFE' Democratic U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, spearheading the vote-by-mail effort along with House Administration Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, also a Democrat, dismissed Republican charges that they are trying to run the 50 states' elections from Washington. "We're trying to make the elections safe, that's all we're doing," Klobuchar said in a telephone interview, referring to the pandemic.

Marijuana Moment: April 16, 2020

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Thursday that it has approved two additional state hemp regulatory plans, as well as three more tribal proposals. Florida and Kansas are the latest states to have their plans federally accepted, raising the number of state approvals so far to 16. The Blackfeet Nation, the Cayuga Nation and the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa also had their plans signed off on. USDA has been accepting plans on a rolling basis since hemp and its derivatives were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. Last month, South Carolina and West Virginia joined the list of states where proposed regulations for the crop were approved. “After months of incorporating feedback from the public, growers, and industry stakeholders, we are thrilled that Florida’s hemp industry officially begins now,” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a press release. ” I thank the USDA for their swift review and approval of our state hemp program.” “By working closely with our farmers, processors, retailers, and consumers, Florida’s state hemp program will become a model for the nation, will set a gold standard for this emerging industry, and will create billions in economic opportunity for Florida,” she said. “As our economy deals with the impacts of COVID-19, this approval will give our agriculture industry a new alternative crop for many years to come.” Jeff Ochampaugh of the Kansas Department of Agriculture said in a release that the development is “great news for Kansas, as it moves us one step closer to establishing a commercial program for industrial hemp.” He added that it’s “important for Kansans to understand, though, that our program won’t be active until the regulations are adopted.” USDA said in a notice that it “continues to receive and review hemp production plans from states and Indian tribes.” While the agency released an interim final rule for a domestic hemp production program last year, industry stakeholders and lawmakers have expressed concerns about certain policies it views as excessively restrictive. The department announced in February that it will temporarily lift two provisions that the industry viewed as problematic. Those policies primarily concern testing and disposal requirements. The department declined to revise the THC limit, however, arguing that it’s a statutory matter that can’t be dealt with administratively. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has said on several occasions that the Drug Enforcement Administration influenced certain rules, adding that the narcotics agency wasn’t pleased with the overall legalization of hemp.

The Boston Globe: April 14, 2020

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says the state will become “a more fair, just, and equal place” now that simple possession of marijuana will be decriminalized. Democratic Governor Ralph Northam signed the decriminalization legislation into law over the weekend. The new law scraps criminal charges for simple possession of marijuana and creates a $25 civil penalty. It also creates a work group to study the impact of legalization of marijuana and eventually release a report on the matter. Supporters have argued the measure is needed in part because African Americans are disproportionately charged with drug crimes. A measure to legalize marijuana failed earlier this year. “Decriminalization is an incredibly important first step, and one that many thought we may never see in Virginia, but we cannot stop until we have legal and regulated adult use,” Herring said in a statement.

Marijuana Business Daily: April 13, 2020

Cannabis companies are entering a new normal as the coronavirus pandemic puts stress on every sector of business, fundamentally altering the industry in possibly permanent ways. The COVID-19 outbreak has exacerbated fault lines in the rapidly evolving market and led to number of new outcomes, including: Retailers adapting to changing consumer behavior by offering delivery, curbside pickup, etc. State-by-state legalization movements hitting major obstacles Businesses hoping for post-pandemic real estate deals. An acceleration of acquisitions and business failures, specifically in California. Canadian companies making the best of market uncertainty and changing regulations. Firms reevaluating the viability of the international supply chain. As the market moves through this crisis, companies and their investors will learn to develop built-in resilience, make better assumptions about what could go wrong and put robust practices in place to gird against any disruptions, no matter how major or minor. And they need to be flexible. “Don’t plan for disruptions to end on your timeline,” said Sumit Mehta, CEO of San Francisco-based investment group Mazakali. Buyer behavior. Consumers’ purchasing habits are changing, including the method they use to buy cannabis products. Online ordering, delivery, curbside pickup and drive-thru lanes are likely here to stay as customers recognize their ease of use.

The Hill: April 13, 2020

The spread of COVID-19 is causing not only a health crisis and economic turmoil, but is also affecting the fundamental act of citizenship in a democracy — voting. Several states have already postponed primaries to help stem the outbreak. If November’s election takes place in the shadow of a pandemic, our nation must be prepared to protect the health of voters and election workers while also encouraging participation and ensuring election integrity. As the respective former chairs of the Federal Election Commission and the Election Assistance Commission, we believe the best, most effective steps require tailored assistance that recognizes the unique regional and local ways Americans cast their vote. Advocates of top-down, one-size-fits-all federal solutions miss the simple reality that what works in one place might not in another. We need to help states and localities, each with unique geography, custom and history, do it best their way. Decentralized election administration in the United States is a feature, not a bug. It encourages innovation. Additionally, the diversity of election practices in our country protect against large-scale election fraud by forcing bad actors to overcome the imposing obstacle of manipulating not one, but multiple different systems. The good news is that the most recent economic relief bill by Congress included $400 million for helping state and local election officials address coronavirus-related complications. Fortunately, this will equip the people who best understand local voter needs with important resources to meet current challenges by identifying and implementing targeted responses, such as polling place reconfiguration to allow for proper distancing, rigorous voting device cleaning procedures, expanded curbside voting, increased access to absentee ballots, and relocating polling places away from vulnerable populations. The bad news is legislation that encroaches on state and local authority to run elections may be considered soon. If Congress is going to act, it should focus on the exigencies of the current crisis; avoid imposing broad new requirements that further nationalize our election system; dispense funds as efficiently as possible; and provide election officials with discretion in spending funds.

The Hill: April 12, 2020

President Trump is taking a hard stand against expanding alternatives to in-person voting amid the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that mail-in voting risks “tremendous potential for fraud” and hands an advantage to Democrats. While voting rights and elections experts say there may be some truth to Trump's claim that mail-in voting is more susceptible to fraud, they note that electoral fraud of any form is exceedingly rare. And they say there are security measures that can mitigate those risks. At the same time, experts argued that policymakers should be wary of restricting an already-existing alternative to in-person voting that has the potential to expand the electorate and limit the spread of the coronavirus. “Perhaps there’s more potential for fraud than in in-person voting, but both can be done safely and securely,” said George Hornedo, the former deputy political director and national delegate director for former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign. “Election fraud in all instances is extremely rare.” Hornedo suggested several measures to cut down on the risks of fraud in mail voting, including ballot tracking, pre-paid postage and setting up ballot drop boxes that would “eliminate the need for voters to hand over ballots to third parties.” Vote-by-mail programs are already extremely common and have been in use for years. Five states — Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington — now conduct their elections almost entirely by mail. And in about two-thirds of states, voters can request a mail-in ballot without providing an “excuse” for not being able to vote in person on Election Day.

The Boston Globe: April 12, 2020

Forrest Lehman, an elections director in central Pennsylvania, watched Wisconsin’s primary unfold in the news last week with a sense of horror. The snaking lines of masked voters risking their health to cast ballots in the middle of a pandemic and the sharp drop in polling sites in Milwaukee and other urban areas were a real-life premonition of what could happen if Pennsylvania holds its own primary, rescheduled to June 2, with in-person voting. “That’s where we could end up,” said Lehman. The thought of asking poll workers to show up that day is weighing heavily on his conscience. He believes it would be much better to simply conduct the entire election by mail. Elections experts say expanding mail-in voting will be key to stopping widespread voter disenfranchisement in the remaining primaries — and, crucially, the November general election — as the coronavirus turns the simple act of voting at the local polling place into a potential public health nightmare. But as the pandemic has spread in recent weeks, many Republicans from President Trump on down have remained staunchly opposed to some efforts to expand the practice, turning the once-mundane issue of mail-in balloting into the latest front in the party’s years-long effort to toughen voting rules. The fight in Wisconsin, where Republicans in the state and a conservative majority on the US Supreme Court stopped Democratic attempts to postpone the election and loosen limits on absentee voting in it, could be the opening salvo in a new phase of the nation’s long-running battle over voting rights that has been turbocharged by the coronavirus outbreak.

NBC News: April 11, 2020

Wanda James sold more cannabis two weeks ago than she usually does on April 20 — the day many marijuana users have come to consider their holiday — after Denver's mayor announced that recreational cannabis shops like hers would have to shut down to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. "There was a huge rush. It felt like people were starting to hoard," said James, who opened her shop, Simply Pure, in 2016. "Everyone was buying cannabis and toilet paper." But since Mayor Michael Hancock quickly reversed himself and exempted the stores because they were getting swarmed by anxious customers, causing long lines that violated social distancing guidelines, her sales have fallen off a cliff. She hasn't been able to get a delivery license from the state yet, and customers, who might be getting laid off and spending more judiciously, aren't coming through the doors. Now, with additional social distancing measures in place statewide that require businesses to cut staff by at least 50 percent, she's had to lay off employees and is asking her landlord for a temporary cut in rent. James says her store should have the same opportunities for federal financial relief that other small businesses are getting to help them through the crisis, such as the $350 billion small-business loan program that Congress passed late last month. But her shop and others in the 34 states that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana can't qualify for the assistance because the federal government still considers their product illegal. The problem is compounded by their inability to get loans because banks are afraid to violate federal law by doing business with them. They can't even take federal tax deductions for expenses as other businesses do because of cannabis' illegal classification. The industry has been among the fastest growing in the U.S., accounting for about 243,000 jobs and $13 billion in sales last year, according to cannabis industry figures. But it is facing a potentially crippling financial crisis as it grapples with how to get products to customers amid and with fears about a possible slowdown in private investment, the industry's traditional source of funding, because of the pandemic. "Like all consumer goods cannabis sales have been on a wild ride these last six weeks, with panicked buying, business operations changes, and state travel and store restrictions," said Liz Connors, director of analytics at Headset, a cannabis market research company. After sales increased to twice there normal levels in mid-March, most states have seen those numbers taper off, Connors said, with some, like Colorado and Nevada — which are heavily reliant on tourism — seeing a dramatic declines that pushed sales into the negative compared to the same time last year. While legislation moving through Congress would ease funding problems and legalize marijuana, industry players are uncertain whether the pandemic will be the catalyst to get the bills passed. "We're hoping that common sense prevails here," James said. "Even though the federal government wants to deem us illegal in nature, I think everyone knows we aren't running an illegal business."

Marijuana Moment: April 10, 2020

A congressman says he’s working to include provisions to allow marijuana businesses to access banking services in an upcoming COVID-19 stimulus package. The proposal from Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) also has the support of top congressional leadership, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), he said. The congressman brought up the measure—a revised version of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act—during a Democratic caucus meeting last week. That bill, which cleared the House along largely bipartisan lines last year, has been the subject of ongoing negotiations since it advanced to the Senate Banking Committee. On a town hall call with small businesses in his Colorado district on Thursday night, Perlmutter was asked by the executive director of a top marijuana company whether the cannabis market has any hope of becoming eligible for federal loan and lending programs, as businesses that work with marijuana directly or indirectly are currently excluded from Small Business Administration (SBA) benefits. Perlmutter first discussed the SAFE Banking Act and said that there “had been work on it and then the pandemic hit.” But now he’s working to insert its provisions into the next coronavirus package, albeit in a revised form. “We have prepared legislation that we hope will be in the next package. Probably not the one that’s being discussed right now, but we’ve asked for legislation to allow for banking, for SBA lending, for testing to be part of the next package,” the congressman told the LivWell Enlightened Health executive. “Whether we’re going to get it, whether we can get the Senate to finally get off of their fannies and pass it, I don’t know. But you can rest assured that the issue you raised is front and center.” A spokesperson later said the congressman misspoke when he referenced including SBA program access in the legislation, though there is a strong push by industry stakeholders and advocates to extend those benefits to cannabis businesses through upcoming coronavirus legislation. “I raised this very question to our caucus, to Speaker Nancy Pelosi directly last week, saying, look this is a major employer in Colorado and elsewhere around the country. They have been deemed essential services in many, many states,” Perlmutter said during the town hall call. “They cannot access any of the relief that we are providing for in any of these three packages that we have passed. She said, as did the other leadership members on the call, said she wanted to see it get passed.” Perlmutter reiterated that the speaker supports his proposal and said the Democratic caucus will “continue to work on it over the next couple weeks as we put these additional packages together.” Marijuana Moment reached out to Pelosi’s office for comment, but a representative did not immediately respond.

KBTX-TV: April 10, 2020

A farmer in Killeen is the first in the state to be issued a license to grow hemp following the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish a regulatory framework for hemp production in the U.S., Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced in a press release Thursday. The name of the farmer and the site where the hemp will be grown weren’t released Thursday. “Let’s face it, Texas farmers and ranchers needed some good news,” Miller said. I am happy that I can be the one to deliver it. I know Texas farmers have been eagerly waiting for a chance at these hemp licenses and now the wait is over.” Following passage of the 2018 Farm Bill the Texas Legislature, in 2019, approved legislation establishing rules governing hemp production in the state. In January 2020 the USDA approved the state’s plan and the application process started on March 16. The agriculture department has received 454 producer applications, 58 handler applications and 30 handler sampler applications, Miller said. “License number one is just the beginning for industrial hemp in Texas,” Miller said. “Hemp offers Texas farmers a great new opportunity, but I want them to understand that with every promise of high profit comes the reality of high risk,” he said. “My job was to get this program started, it’s now up to farmers and processors to build that Texas ‘hempire,’” he said.

The Washington Post: April 10, 2020

Time’s running short for states and counties to prepare for a possible massive surge of mail-in voting in November prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. That’s the assessment from companies that manage the printing, mailing and sorting of absentee ballots that are already ramping up to manage the crush. If counties don’t start inking contracts to handle the increase in the next two months, they’ll risk problems that could lead to chaos or shatter voter confidence in November. They could include ballots failing to reach voters who request them, voters getting the wrong ballot for their districts or reams of ballots arriving late and delaying election results. “Time is what’s going to kill this whole thing,” Jeff Ellington, president of Runbeck Election Services, one of the largest mail ballot printers in the nation, told me. Most state officials, however, haven’t released plans that look beyond their primaries — many of which were postponed by the pandemic. And President Trump and other Republicans are launching legal and rhetorical assaults on mail-in voting that could further delay preparations. That could be a recipe for disaster if states are left unprepared and the coronavirus is still making in-person voting unsafe in November. A glimpse of such a scenario came from Wisconsin, which held its primary on Tuesday and was slammed with more than one million absentee ballots — far more than in 2016 election when voters cast a record 865,000 ballots by mail. Because of the rush and lack of preparation in Wisconsin, at least 900,000 people requested absentee ballots but didn’t get them, the state Elections Commission said — forcing them to risk voting in person or not voting at all and contributing to a chaotic election marred by long lines and shuttered polling sites. Wisconsin is among about two-thirds of states that allow all voters to request absentee ballots without an excuse such as illness or travel and where mail voting could surge for the general election even without any intervention by lawmakers. “[Voting by mail] isn’t really up to election officials but to voters, and there’s going to be a big jump. Wisconsin just showed that,” Amber McReynolds, a former top election official in Denver and CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute, told me. “Most states are going to experience a huge increase in ballot requests, which is going to create a huge backlog. They need to start having conversations with vendors now.” McReynolds’s group issued a strategy for ramping up mail voting during the pandemic recommending states consider centralizing mail voting operations instead of managing them by county. The group also suggests standardizing ballot formats and procedures, expanding mail voting deadlines and implementing best practices such as allowing voters to track their ballots like a FedEx package.

Bloomberg Law: April 10, 2020

Fraudsters are taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic, and the Department of Justice is making sure they do not get away with scamming health-care providers and patients.

Politico : April 9, 2020

— An ambitious, Google-backed election security training initiative has had to adapt its plans during the pandemic by taking it online. — Internet voting is inherently unsafe, warned a group of security experts and good-governance groups. — A wide assortment of advocacy groups and companies recommended policy and enforcement steps to deal with coronavirus scams, including cyber-based ones. — The University of Southern California has moved its 50-state, in-person election cybersecurity training series online, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. The school’s Election Cybersecurity Initiative — supported by a grant from Google — will conduct a virtual workshop today with Arkansas state and local campaign and election officials, including Leslie Bellamy, director of elections for the secretary of state’s office. “Potential changes to the primary schedules of certain states, and the exploration of further mobile and mail voting options in the midst of coronavirus, has only piqued interest on the topic of election cybersecurity, and we look forward to continuing a bipartisan dialogue, state-by-state,” Justin Griffin, the project’s managing director, told Martin. The program held its first virtual workshop last week, focused on Georgia — which has become a hotbed for controversial election security decisions — and featured Republican Attorney General Chris Carr and Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs. Carr “addressed the importance of continuing to work to adopt the best cybersecurity practices possible — to protect government infrastructure, private sector institutions, political campaigns, and elections alike,” according to Griffin. The USC effort visited Ohio, Kentucky, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Maryland — that workshop was attended by the co-leads of the NSA’s election security task force — before the pandemic hit. “There has been a particularly significant uptick in misinformation and disinformation related to the virus, and we have made a concerted effort to weave coronavirus into all three of our modules: cyber safety, misinformation and disinformation, and crisis communication,” Griffin said. THE FUTURE OF VOTING — From our colleagues at Morning Score: As states scramble to adapt their voting systems to the coronavirus, a group of security experts and good-governance groups penned an open letter warning that states should stay away from internet voting. “All internet voting systems and technologies are currently inherently insecure,” reads the letter, which includes signatories like Michael Fernandez, the director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues, and Common Cause’s Karen Hobert Flynn. The letter said states should “consider expanding access to voting by mail and early voting to maintain the security, accuracy, and voter protections essential for American elections in the face of this public health crisis.” The letter also includes several computer science professors from across the country. ACTION ON PANDEMIC SCAMS — A broad coalition of consumer advocacy, industry and research groups and individual companies said in a letter today that Congress should require domain name registrars to validate names and registration information, and make that data accessible to federal agencies and law enforcement, to crack down on internet-based coronavirus fraud. More than 30 organizations or businesses signed the letter to Vice President Mike Pence and top executive branch leaders. Congress also should require “U.S.-based domain name registrars to immediately lock and suspend any domain name used to facilitate coronavirus and other public health scams,” said the letter, spearheaded by the National Consumers League and the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies. While the groups praised the Trump administration for the many steps it’s taken to crack down on Covid-19 scammers, they wrote that “the current situation was ... largely preventable. No-cost solutions to better protect consumers already exist.” Going forward, they urged DOJ and the FTC to crack down on phishing campaigns that focus on economic fears. BIG REPORT DAY — For some reason everyone decided to put out all their research today. Behold, the rundown of what they learned! — Small business and remote work: Nearly half of all small-business owners surveyed by the Cyber Readiness Institute said they were worried that expanded remote working would lead to more cyberattacks, but nearly 40 percent said they feared economic uncertainty would keep them from being able to invest enough money to address the problem. Additionally, only 40 percent said they had implemented a remote work policy.

The Oklahoman: April 8, 2020

Tax collections from Oklahoma's medical marijuana industry set a record high in March.

The Washington Post: April 8, 2020

President Trump railed yesterday against expanding voting by mail to keep U.S. citizens safe during the coronavirus pandemic, calling the process “horrible,” “corrupt” and prone to widespread fraud. It's a controversial marker for the president to set down when many states have had to delay their primary elections because of fears that in-person voting could spread the virus. And it puts him at odds with congressional Democrats pushing for billions in federal money to ensure no-excuse absentee voting for all Americans in November – as well as many Republican state officials in places like Georgia and West Virginia that are rushing to broaden mail-in voting during the pandemic. Trump's pointed criticism could cast doubt on the validity of mail-in balloting for some of his supporters and make it awkward for Republican state officials who want to pursue the strategy in case in-person voting is still a problem in November. “Mail ballots are a very dangerous thing for this country because they’re cheaters,” Trump said during his daily coronavirus news conference, though there is no evidence that mail in voting substantially increases fraud. In fact, election security hawks may be pleased to see an all-paper ballot election that by nature limits the hacking and other dangers of an electronic process. Nonetheless, the president went on to charge that widespread voting by mail would lead to thousands of forged ballots. But the president defended his own decision to vote by mail in Florida, saying out-of-state mail votes are more acceptable and suggesting his absentee ballot was better verified than others. The declarations came the same day Wisconsin held a primary election bedeviled by closed polling sites, long, snaking lines and voters who said they were forced to show up at the polls after absentee ballots they requested after the pandemic struck never arrived, as my colleagues Elise Viebeck, Amy Gardner, Dan Simmons and Jan M. Larson report. Wisconsin is the only state with an April primary that didn't delay voting because of the pandemic. The election went forward after the Republican-led legislature and state Supreme Court blocked efforts by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to postpone voting. That prompted Democrats to accuse Republicans of forcing voters to risk their health to exercise their democratic rights. They also fretted that if the federal government doesn’t move fast, it could result in millions of Americans being disenfranchised in November. “I can vote by mail because I’m allowed to,” he said. “I happen to be in the White House, and I won’t be able to go to Florida to vote.” Trump has also played into Democrats' fears, seeming to suggest during an earlier news conference that voting by mail would favor Democrats and that if he had agreed to Democrats’ demands for $4 billion for voting by mail and other reforms in the recent $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill, “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.” Democrats were able to secure only $400 million with no mandates on how states must spend the money in the stimulus bill. A Senate bill mandating nationwide access to absentee ballots and expanded early voting days sponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) hasn't won over any Republicans. The fight also “foreshadowed the likelihood that Wisconsin, an important presidential battleground state, could become the epicenter of partisan rancor as the health crisis continues to upend the 2020 race,” as my colleagues noted.

Marijuana Moment : April 7, 2020

New York State might not be legalizing marijuana this year, in large part due to complications from the coronavirus outbreak, but at least many of those still in the workforce in New York City won’t risk being denied jobs over a positive THC test thanks to a local law that goes into effect next month. And now a city commission is proposing regulations on who exactly will be protected from pre-employment cannabis testing. The New York City Commission on Human Rights proposed a rule, which was published in The City Record on Tuesday, that When the City Council first approved the legislation—which was enacted without Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) signature last year—it included language carving out exceptions from the prohibition on testing for those applying to certain jobs such as police officers and people charged with supervising or caring for children, as well as positions “tied to a federal or state contract or grant.” The law, which goes into effect starting May 10, also exempts jobs with “the potential to significantly impact the health or safety of employees or members of the public.” To that end, these new proposed regulations from the commission seek to explain exactly what constitutes such a position. Here’s who would still be subject to pre-employment drug testing under the proposal: 1) People in jobs that require them to regularly be on active construction sites, 2) those who regularly operate heavy machinery, 3) those who regularly work with power or gas utility lines, 4) those who use a motor vehicle on approximately a daily basis and 5) those for whom impairment “would interfere with the employee’s ability to take adequate care in the carrying out of his or her job duties and would pose an immediate risk of death or serious physical harm to the employee or to other people.”

Politico: April 7, 2020

— The penultimate Senate Intelligence Committee Russia report is on its way, and a panel member said it “verified” the intelligence community conclusion that the Kremlin sought to get Donald Trump elected. — Coronavirus-related domain registrations skyrocketed in March, a report found, and some of them were for phishing purposes. — The FBI issued a pair of alerts about business email compromise, one of them related to the pandemic. — The Senate Intelligence Committee has unanimously approved the fourth installment of its probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Martin reports with our colleague Andrew Desiderio. The move sets the stage for the report — which is undergoing a classification review — and the fifth and final installment that examines whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow, to potentially be published before Election Day. The fourth portion focuses on the intelligence community’s assessment in January 2017 that the Russian government meddled in the 2016 election with the goal of helping Trump become president — a determination Trump has rejected. The committee “verified” the intelligence community’s conclusion, according to Intelligence member Angus King (I-Maine). “It was an exhaustive review of that report — the sources, the background, everything that went into it and the conclusion was that that report, the original report, which found that in fact there was substantial Russian interference with the [2016] election and that part of the purpose of that interference was to support the election of Donald Trump,” he said. “That has been verified by our committee’s action. … The conclusion is clear.” The release of the two reports would put an end to the committee’s bipartisan investigation, which began over three years ago. The committee has already released the first three chapters detailing Russia’s use of social media “troll farms” and cyberattacks on the U.S. political apparatus, including the Democratic National Committee. EVIL WILL PREVAIL — Registration of coronavirus-related domains, many of them designed for phishing attacks, have risen dramatically, IntSights found in a report out Monday. There were 38,000 domains registered in March that used “corona” or “covid” in their names, up from 5,000 in February, 1,800 in January and 190 in 2019. “Between January and March, coronavirus-themed phishing lures, malware infections, network intrusions, scams, and disinformation campaigns have become rampant across the clear, deep, and dark web,” the company wrote in its report, which offers a broader rundown of all of those phenomena. IT STILL NEEDS A BETTER NAME — The FBI issued a pair of warnings on Monday about the rise in business email compromise attacks, some centered on the coronavirus and others targeting organizations that use cloud-based email services. An example of the first: “A bank customer was emailed by someone claiming to be one of the customer’s clients in China. The client requested that all invoice payments be changed to a different bank because their regular bank accounts were inaccessible due to ‘Corona Virus audits.’ The victim sent several wires to the new bank account for a significant loss before discovering the fraud.”

CS News: April 6, 2020

Tobacco legislation and regulation is constantly under review at the local, state and federal levels. In this monthly roundup, Convenience Store News highlights the latest proposals and approved changes happening across the United States

Bloomberg Tax: April 6, 2020

The Nebraska Department of Revenue April 3 published an information guide on motor fuels tax refunds.

The Guardian: April 5, 2020

Canada had permitted cannabis for medical use since 2001. Medical patients were allowed to grow four plants, and licensed producers cultivated larger crops for sale online to those with valid prescriptions. But most Canadian cities had illegal – but tolerated – dispensaries where the drug was sold completely indiscriminately. These stores made Amsterdam’s coffee shops look as prim as a WI cake stand. The quality and variety of cannabis on sale at these illegal outlets was outstanding, bewildering. Business was not just booming, but blazing.And it was all completely illegal.

The Denver Post: April 4, 2020

A confounding hypocrisy about cannabis is again rearing its head. In mid-March, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced disaster assistance including low-interest loans of up to $2 million — yet taxpaying, state-licensed cannabis businesses do not qualify, according to the SBA. Congress went on to pass a $2 trillion stimulus package, the largest emergency relief bill in American history — but cannabis businesses are left out of that, too. Licensed cannabis businesses across the U.S. are unable to take the ordinary tax deductions afforded to other industries, leaving them saddled with an effective tax rate that is two-to-three times higher than other legal businesses. In sum, legal cannabis businesses paid an estimated $4.7 billion in federal taxes in 2017, for example (along with state and local taxes). And in recent weeks many states have declared cannabis businesses as “essential service” providers — and yet the government is not providing any emergency support so these businesses can meet payroll and continue operating.

The Boston Globe: April 3, 2020

US Senator Ed Markey joined with 10 other senators to send a letter to leadership in a key committee asking that they add a provision allowing marijuana businesses to access federal loan services in an upcoming annual spending bill. In the letter, led by US Senator Jacky Rosen, the lawmakers told the Appropriations Committee that it should “include report language prohibiting the Small Business Administration (SBA) from denying loan applications” to cannabis firms as part of the fiscal year 2021 spending bill for Financial Services and General Government and Related Agencies. “Over the last decade, there has been a clear shift in public opinion toward supporting the legalization of cannabis in the United States,” the letter states. While the number of legal marijuana states continues to grow, and those jurisdictions continue to collect millions of dollars in tax revenue, SBA policy prohibits participation in their programs by companies that directly or indirectly “aid the use, growth, enhancement, or other development of cannabis” by providing marijuana products or services. “Consequently, small businesses in states with some form of legal cannabis must choose between remaining eligible for SBA loan programs, or doing business with a rapidly-growing and legal industry,” the senators wrote. “The SBA’s loan programs provide financial assistance in the form of loans and loan guarantees to small businesses who cannot easily access capital, which disproportionally impacts minority entrepreneurs.” SBA services that marijuana companies should be eligible for include the Loan Guarantee Program, Disaster Assistance Program, and Microloan Program, the group said. The letter also notes that “most banks are reluctant to serve cannabis businesses due to conflicts with federal law, meaning that these businesses often are forced to operate using purely cash, creating an unsafe operation.” “SBA loans would be especially helpful to cannabis small businesses because they would fill gaps left by the private sector. Access to these SBA loan programs could ensure that small businesses — especially those led by our minority, women, and veteran entrepreneurs — can raise money for their ventures and support job creation. We strongly support ensuring that SBA loan programs are made available to all cannabis small businesses.” Senators Ron Wyden, Tammy Duckworth, Michael Bennet, Kirsten Gillibrand, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Bob Menendez, Jeff Merkley, and Kamala Harris also signed the letter. In recent days, advocates have stepped up the push to include provisions for marijuana businesses in an upcoming fourth round of coronavirus relief legislation. SBA did confirm last week that cannabis companies do not qualify for disaster relief loans amid the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, the agency has touted its work in support of hemp businesses following that crop’s legalization through the 2018 Farm Bill. It remains to be seen whether any lawmakers will take up the industry’s call to insert language providing for marijuana industry relief in the next COVID-related stimulus bill.

Politico: April 2, 2020

— The push is on for more grants to deal with the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on elections, with advocacy groups and Democrats continuing to seek an expansion of vote-by-mail and early voting. — Coronavirus-themed cyberattacks continue to grow, evolve and expand, per the newest security research. — The FBI and VA are the latest to receive demerits from watchdog audits of their information security safeguards...— The campaign to get more grants for election preparations amid the coronavirus pandemic is heating up, as Covid-19 wreaks havoc on the electoral system in an election year. Less than two weeks after Congress set aside $400 million for such purposes, lawmakers and a coalition of advocacy groups today will call for additional aid. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) this morning will participate in a conversation about protecting voting rights during the pandemic and the need for more election funding in the next stimulus bill. The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School — whose estimates of $2 billion for coronavirus prep and response has united a number of advocacy organizations — will join, along with the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the End Citizens United Action Fund/Let America Vote Action Fund and the Native American Rights Fund. Wyden and Klobuchar sponsored legislation to expand vote-by-mail and early voting. Later in the day, the Brennan Center, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Stand Up America and Common Cause will hold a media call to press for more funding. “With Congress discussing the next coronavirus response package, lawmakers must include $1.6 billion in additional funding for states to be able to implement vote-by-mail, guarantee no-excuse absentee voting, expand online and same-day registration, and increase early voting,” said Sean Eldridge, Stand Up America’s founder and president. “We’re running out of time. Failing to provide states with meaningful funding puts the election and the right of every voter to participate at risk — and that’s why we will continue ramping up pressure until Congress funds the $1.6 billion needed for states to prepare for November.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday likewise pressed for additional election funding. "The integrity of the election system is central to our democracy," Pelosi said. "How anyone could oppose our enabling the states to have vote-by-mail raises so many other questions, but let's just be hopeful and have public opinion weigh in on that." But Republicans have so far indicated more funding is not in the cards. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Wednesday that “partisan responses” in future aid bills such as “changing election laws” aren’t helpful in fighting the coronavirus. President Donald Trump has rejected an expansion of vote-by-mail, saying Monday that “you would never have a Republican elected in this country again” with such changes. House Democrats’ version of the latest aid bill included $4 billion for mail-in and absentee ballots and other voting provisions, which Trump said was “just totally crazy.”

The Washington Post: April 2, 2020

Some states are planning to dramatically expand their use of mobile voting in response to the coronavirus pandemic – even as cybersecurity experts warn such systems are unproven and too vulnerable to hacking. Two states will soon announce that they’ll offer voters who have disabilities the option to cast ballots using mobile phones in upcoming primary elections so they don’t have to risk going into polling places, said Sheila Nix, president of Tusk Philanthropies, which is funding the efforts. The option will extend to voters in the military or state residents who are based overseas. “With coronavirus and the uncertainty about what the situation will be in November, a lot of states and jurisdictions are looking for a solution,” Nix told me, but declined to name the states or the mobile voting vendor they’ll be using, because memorandums of understanding aren’t complete yet. Those states will join West Virginia, which became the first to try statewide mobile voting for military and overseas voters in 2018 and has already announced it will expand to voters with disabilities during its upcoming primary June 9. Nix said she’s also talking with about half a dozen other states about potentially using mobile voting for some residents, which would be a significant expansion for a system that has otherwise been tried for just a handful of counties since 2018 and typically just for military and overseas voters. As states scramble to expand voting-by-mail and early-voting days so voters don’t have to risk their health by crowding into polling sites, mobile voting could be an additional solution. The states are offering mobile options to voters with disabilities partly because some conditions make it impossible for them to vote by mail without assistance, which would undermine the secrecy of their ballots. Voters who are blind or have advanced Parkinson’s disease, for example, would be unable to fill in the ovals on a voting form. But there have been dire warnings from cybersecurity experts that mobile voting lacks basic protections to ensure votes haven’t been manipulated by hackers. This trade-off for access to voting during a pandemic could undermine the sense of security around the 2020 contest that officials have worked for years to achieve following Russian interference efforts in 2016. The critics’ strongest objection is that, by definition, mobile voting doesn’t produce a paper record that is verified by the voter and that auditors can use to ensure votes were tallied correctly. That’s basically the same problem with the paperless voting machines that state and local election officials have been replacing across the nation since Russia’s 2016 election interference operation. There's also no way of ensuring a mobile vote was cast by the person that was supposed to cast it rather than a hacker that compromised the phone. And adding new technology to the voting process also creates other risks, such as that hackers from adversary nations will force mobile networks offline on Election Day or overwhelm them with traffic so voters get frustrated and give up. “There’s a remarkable consensus among the scientific community that voting on mobile apps just cannot be made secure,” Marian Schneider, president of the voting security group Verified Voting and a former state election official in Pennsylvania, told me. “Election officials are under enormous pressure right now to deliver an election where everyone can vote, but Internet voting is not the solution.”

Atlanta Jounral Constitution: March 30, 2020

Hemp farming has finally gotten the green light to begin in Georgia, bringing a new crop that will sprout this summer. Farmers will soon be able to grow hemp, which will then be processed into CBD oil, a popular product used for anxiety and sleeplessness. CBD oil is already sold in stores across Georgia, but it’s imported from other states.The prospects for the Georgia hemp industry to start this year were in doubt until the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the state’s hemp plan this month. The federal government had put Georgia’s plan on hold late last year but gave it the go-ahead when state legislators appropriated $200,000 to regulate the program in this year’s budget and proposed additional funding next fiscal year.“With everything online and all systems go, our phones are ringing daily with farmers,” said Thomas Farmer, a co-founder of Second Century Ag, which plans to distribute hemp starter plants to farmers and then process grown hemp at a facility in Ocilla. “It’s a relief that it happened, without a doubt. We were looking forward to moving forward.” Hemp farmers and processors rushed to obtain licenses when state government began accepting applications last Monday. The Georgia Department of Agriculture received 57 applications for hemp farming licenses and five applications for hemp processing licenses in the first four days of the program.Hemp and marijuana both come from the cannabis plant, but hemp varieties contain little or no THC, the compound that gives marijuana users a high. State inspectors will test hemp to ensure it contains less than 0.3% THC.It will take at least 20 days for hemp licenses to be approved, and then farming can start.

CBS Miami: March 29, 2020

Voting experts are warning that the coronavirus crisis could threaten the integrity of the 2020 presidential election. These experts are raising the alarm that the virus poses unprecedented challenges to the 2020 election, and that time is running out to prevent a disaster at the polls. President Donald Trump will square off against likely Democratic nominee Joe Biden in what is shaping up to be a tight race, where small tweaks to voting rules could tip the scales or trigger a constitutional crisis. The Trump administration is planning for a pandemic with multiple waves of illness that are expected to stretch into next year, according to an internal government report obtained by CNN. That means sweeping changes will be necessary in all 50 states to pull off the first pandemic-plagued presidential election in American history, according to interviews with more than a dozen state officials, former federal officials, voting rights activists and legal scholars. Congress took a step forward this week by approving $400 million in federal grants that states can use to make coronavirus-related adjustments for the general election. But the two parties couldn’t reach a deal on the politically-charged question of how to overhaul the voting laws. In a best-case scenario, the pandemic settles down over the summer and the country holds a relatively normal November election. But some experts are contemplating doomsday scenarios that include attempts to postpone the election, a flurry of litigation and a constitutional crisis. “At all costs, the election must go on,” said CNN presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. “This is not the NBA season or the Olympics. Come November, we’ve got to vote. If we can vote in the middle of the Civil War, and if Franklin D. Roosevelt can run for an unprecedented fourth term in the middle of World War II, then we can figure out how to make 2020 a free and fair election.”

The Boston Globe: March 28, 2020

A group seeking a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana in Arkansas has stopped collecting signatures due to the coronavirus pandemic but will refocus its efforts for 2022, a spokeswoman said. Arkansas True Grass wanted an amendment to legalize marijuana use and expunge prior drug convictions on the Nov. 3 ballot. But the pandemic has led to the cancellation of events, making it all but impossible to collect the nearly 90,000 signatures required by the July 3 deadline, according to Briana Boling, the group’s spokeswoman.

Politico: March 27, 2020

Cannabis is turning out to be the one thing the coronavirus can’t destroy. Marijuana sales are booming, with some states seeing 20 percent spikes in sales as anxious Americans prepare to be hunkered down in their homes potentially for months. Weed sellers are staffing up too, hiring laid-off workers from other industries to meet demand. And in the midst of a historic market meltdown, stock prices for cannabis companies have surged, in some cases doubling since the public health crisis began. “We are hiring because we are having to shift our business a bit,” said Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve, which is valued at $1 billion. The company is staffing up its delivery fleet, retail workers, and people to handle increased inventory shipments. “Now is a great time [to apply], particularly if you’re in a business that has seen layoffs.” Nearly all of the 33 states with legal medical or recreational markets have classified marijuana businesses as an essential service, allowing them to remain open even as vast swaths of the retail economy are shuttered. San Francisco and Denver initially announced plans to shut down dispensaries, but immediately backpedaled after a public furor. Weed shops are essentially being treated the same as pharmacies, reflecting a dramatic shift in cultural perceptions about the drug over the last decade. “It is a recognition that it has taken on much greater significance around the country,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), a longtime Capitol Hill champion for cannabis. “This is something that makes a huge difference to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every day. I do think that this might be part of a turning point.“ Concerns about whether smoking pot is the smartest response to a pandemic that’s causing severe lung injuries in tens of thousands of Americans have been largely drowned out. "Public opinion has pushed lawmakers to think about cannabis — and particularly medical cannabis — in different ways than they used to," said John Hudak, a cannabis policy expert at the Brookings Institution, and author of Marijuana: A Short History. "A lot of state policymakers are trying to get this right and they obviously see the risk of shutting down a dispensary to be higher than the rewards of shutting down a dispensary." Sales in Denver spiked by 120 percent on Monday when spooked residents believed shops were about to be shuttered, according to cannabis analytics firm Headset. Legendary California dispensary Harborside already hired 10 workers since the outbreak began. The stock prices of MedMen Enterprises and Tilray, two of the largest cannabis companies in North America, doubled over the last week.

2KUTV: March 25, 2020

Medical cannabis is now more accessible to Utahns. Starting Wednesday, qualifying patients will be able to get medical cannabis with cards from the Utah Department of Health and/or recommendation letters from medical providers. Those with letters will be able to purchase medical cannabis until Dec. 31. “A patient who purchases medical cannabis using a recommendation letter must purchase all of their medical cannabis from the same pharmacy until they obtain a medical cannabis card from the Utah Department of Health,” Richard Oborn, director of the Center for Medical Cannabis, stated in a press release. The change comes after House Bill 425 passed during the legislative session and was signed into law by Gov. Gary Herbert. Prior to the legislation, patients could only purchase medical cannabis with an official medical cannabis card. In order to qualify for a recommendation letter, patients must meet the following requirements: Live in Utah. Present a recommendation letter to the medical cannabis pharmacy from a licensed medical professional that states you have been diagnosed with a qualifying condition. Approved licensed medical professions in Utah include a medical doctor, osteopathic physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant. The medical cannabis pharmacy must receive independent confirmation from the individual’s medical provider that the recommendation letter is valid. Present a valid form of photo identification to the medical cannabis pharmacy such as a drivers license, a United States passport or passport card, or a United States military identification card. Recommendation letters will no longer be accepted after Dec. 31. Patients will need to get a medical cannabis card from UDOH in order to buy medical cannabis in 2021.

Capital Gazette: March 25, 2020

The article about the shortened legislative session highlighted important bills passed by Anne Arundel lawmakers (The Capital, March 23). Also of note, Del. Alice Cain had an important bill pass both chambers, which will be enacted into law upon signature by the governor. This ground-breaking, bipartisan, legislation addresses the growing issue of the use of rapidly disseminated digital information to sway public opinion to disrupt elections. The bill (HB465) bans the use of “bots” (automated online accounts where actions or posts are not the result of a person) for the purpose of influencing elections, punishable with fines and/or imprisonment. In testimony given by Cain, an estimated 50 million Twitter accounts, or 15 percent of all Twitter users, are bots. Both Republicans and Democrats can come under attack by bots, making this issue truly bipartisan. Battling digital information used for nefarious purposes, without infringing on Freedom of Speech rights, represents a new area of law that our state, and our country, are just beginning to address. Cain’s carefully drafted bill achieves that, giving the Maryland State Board of Elections an important tool to secure elections in our state without treading on First Amendment rights. It comes at a particularly critical time, with the 2020 presidential election occurring in November. I believe HB465 places Maryland at the forefront of the effort to secure elections and our democratic process. Thank you Del, Cain.

The Washington Post: March 24, 2020

State and local officials are warning that congressional efforts to prepare states for a possible national surge in mail-in voting in November may result in chaos instead of smoother balloting. They say more federal funding for such an effort, currently being debated as part of the $1.8 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill stuck in Congress, could overwhelm election officials with just seven months left to prepare for a presidential and congressional elections. Federal mandates for a largely mail-in election could well be a “recipe for disaster,” Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate (R), president of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), told me. Pate worries there may inadequate machinery to process ballots, poorly trained poll workers and a confused voting public. “You have 50 states with different levels of resources and history of how they do voting,” he said. “I want to caution Congress that there is no one-size plan that fits all of us." The problem is symptomatic of the divide between Washington, where efforts to protect elections against myriad threats tend to happen in last minute compromises, compared with states and localities where it's common to spend years developing new voting procedures and to lock them in place many months before elections. “Congress always seems to operate on a crisis basis, and sometimes that doesn’t work in reality,” Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos, who served as NASS president until 2019, told me. Some of that rift is partisan as Democratic officials generally support robust help from the federal government while Republican want the cash but not the strings attached to it. “Still, Republicans in Washington say they are inclined to oppose an effort to include the funding and new rules on how states run their elections in a $2 trillion coronavirus response package, with some casting the effort as part of a Democratic strategy to try to load up the bill with unrelated pet priorities,” as my colleagues Amy Gardner, Elise Viebeck and I report. State and local officials are warning federal efforts may only ramp up mail-in voting by a few percentage points in some states without a robust system in place for it – especially the roughly one-third of states that require an excuse to vote by mail such as illness or travel. The percentage of voters who vote at a polling place on Election Day has declined steadily over the past decade, but there are only 16 states where a majority of voters either mailed in their ballots or voted early at a polling site in 2016, according to data from the Election Assistance Commission. That includes Washington, Oregon and Colorado, which rely almost entirely on vote by mail.

The Hill: March 17, 2020

The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) on Tuesday announced it would allow states to use funds allocated by Congress for election security to fight the spread of coronavirus at the polls. The EAC said it would allow states to use the money, which totals over $800 million, to purchase disinfectant wipes, masks and other cleaning supplies in order to lower the risk of voters contracting coronavirus at the polls. “The EAC considers these allowable costs purchased to protect the health and safety of poll workers, staff and voters during federal elections,” the EAC wrote in a notice announcing the change. The funds include $380 million allocated by Congress to states to shore up election security in 2018. It also includes the $425 million given to states as part of the 2020 appropriations cycle, money that has still not been made available but that states are allowed to incur expenses against. Both amounts were given to the EAC to distribute to states, with no specific instructions on how states could use the money beyond “activities to improve the administration of elections for Federal office,” according to the appropriations bill language. The EAC noted on Tuesday that the amount spent on cleaning supplies should be “reasonable” and that the cleaning supplies bought must be used for federal elections. The EAC made the announcement on the day that Florida, Illinois, and Arizona held primaries. In Ohio, the primary scheduled for Tuesday was postponed after the state’s top health official ordered polling sites closed to prevent the spread of the virus.

Securing Industry: March 17, 2020

Australian startup CellR has unveiled a connected smart cap platform that it thinks could help wine producers protect bottles from counterfeiting.

The Hill: March 14, 2020

Long lines, confusion and malfunctioning machines plagued the Super Tuesday vote earlier this week, as thousands of Americans voted – or attempted to vote – in the presidential primaries. Some states and municipalities have turned to electronic voting machines or mobile voting apps to make voting more accessible and convenient for all. But solving America’s voting access problems will require long-term legal and policy changes, not just new technology. Many voters waited for hours for a chance to vote in the primaries on Tuesday. These waits may have disproportionately affected communities with large populations of black and Latino voters. Excessively long wait times (some reported upwards of six hours) hurt all Americans, especially many who already face greater barriers to democratic participation. An hours-long wait creates disparate negative impacts on the poor, the working class and all people whose wages are paid on an hourly or contract basis. Long wait times also hurt parents and guardians of children, especially those who cannot afford childcare. People with disabilities, who already have more difficulty accessing voting sites, also suffer with long wait times. The lines for many polling places extend outside, into cold and dark environments, sometimes past reasonable hours for public transportation.

The Hill: March 13, 2020

Foreign interference in upcoming U.S. elections is secondary right now to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country, but ultimately American leaders must address the problem. It is also is tempting to view foreign interference in the upcoming American elections as mischievous political meddling. Yet, these covert operations are much more than that. They are urgent national security matters that attack the U.S. national election process in ways that undermine the very foundation of American democracy. The critical question today is: What will the current U.S. leaders and the national political parties do about it? In 2016, the primary culprit was the Putin regime in Moscow who favored Donald Trump for president. Recent congressional testimony indicates that Russian interference continues into the 2020 presidential campaign, and Moscow apparently added Bernie Sanders to its list of supported candidates. However, the administration just softened its position on interference in a carefully choreographed assessment after President Trump publicly attacked the briefer who presented the earlier judgment. More recently, CNN exposed Russian internet operations in Africa spreading divisive hate messages among targeted audiences in the U.S. Foreign attacks on American elections are not just political issues. They are an urgent bipartisan national security threat. Today, Putin’s favorite may be Trump. Tomorrow, it could be foreign interests with a preference for Democratic candidates. The Republican Party seems unlikely to aggressively counter Russian or other foreign influence since the president calls the entire covert Russian election interference operation a “hoax” and removes or intimidates any government official who hints otherwise. The Mueller Report and the associated U.S. national intelligence assessments established that Russia directly interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Yet, the Trump administration’s response has been half-hearted and ineffective. None of the sanctions placed on the Putin regime so far are enough to offset the advantages to Russia of the growing isolation of the U.S. from our traditional democratic allies, the weakening of NATO, Russian strategic advances in Syria and elsewhere and the political polarization in the U.S. Further, Attorney General William Barr has undermined the Mueller Report and continues to challenge the legitimate U.S. counterintelligence operations and assessments that exposed the 2016 Russian interference in U.S. elections. Skepticism of current threats to U.S. security is hardly the attitude of those committed to the defense of American elections against foreign attacks.National security is a major responsibility of the Attorney General. Congress should be grilling Barr and his associates on why they are not conducting aggressive investigations to expose and respond to covert foreign influence operations rather than downplaying the threat to this nation’s democracy. Given the current attitude of the Trump administration, the Democratic Party has the chance to become the voice of transparency, truth and national defense on foreign interference. The questions are whether they will seize the opportunity and whether they will be serious about it. Here are some ideas for the major political parties to consider if they are to seriously tackle foreign interference in American democracy: As a matter of official party policy, reject all foreign support — financial or otherwise — to the party’s political campaign at every level. Commit to complete transparency of financial contributions provided either directly to the campaign or through Political Action Committees (PACs). Terminate all relationships with individuals or PACs accepting financing or other foreign assistance in their campaign and refer violators to legal prosecution. Be completely transparent on the source of information placed on the internet or other public outlet by the campaign; If elected, commit to: Strengthening U.S. laws on foreign interference in U.S. elections and increasing penalties for violators; Creating a comprehensive strategy with harsh penalties to respond aggressively to any future foreign influence in U.S. elections; Significantly improving assistance to state and local governments on standards, technical support and resources to ensure the security of voting and vote counting. In the meantime, individual voters can take measures to limit the effects of covert foreign disinformation. They can recognize that political activists in all parties will interpret facts to the advantage of their candidates. The core issue is whether or not the parties are transparent in the sources of their information and the facts of their underlying assessments. In addition, voters can demand that candidates absolutely reject foreign financial and other support and commit to defending American elections and transparency.

Yahoo! Finance: March 13, 2020

a digital technology solutions provider specializing in counterfeit prevention, authentication, serialization, track and trace features for labels, packaging and products, today announced that its counterfeit prevention "VerifyMe As Authentic™" solution enables Amazon retailers to combat counterfeits, which is major current concern as coronavirus safety and protection products are in high demand.

Design News: March 12, 2020

In 2019, the worldwide fake semi market was estimated at $75 billion according to Industry Week. This counterfeit chip market particularly prevalent in the government and defense industries.

The Tax Foundation: March 11, 2020

Last month, a small majority in the House of Representatives approved a measure that bans all flavored tobacco and vapor products and imposes an excise tax.

Marijuana Moment: March 11, 2020

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved hemp regulatory plans for two additional states and one Indian tribe. With approvals for Georgia and Montana announced on Friday, that brings the total number of states that have had their proposals cleared to ten. The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe’s approval raises the number of authorized tribal plans to 12. While USDA is still considering changes to interim federal rules for the crop since its legalization under the 2018 Farm Bill, it has systematically been approving plans submitted by states and tribes. “USDA continues to receive and review hemp production plans from states and Indian tribes,” the department said in a notice. Industry stakeholders have welcomed the department’s commitment to ensuring that the hemp market is supported. However, they raised a series of issues with the proposed interim final rule that USDA released last year. USDA announced last month that it had considered the feedback and decided to temporarily lift two provisions that the industry viewed as problematic. Those policies primarily concern testing and disposal requirements. The department declined to revise the THC limit, however, stating that it’s a statutory matter that can’t be dealt with administratively. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue testified at a congressional hearing last week that the Drug Enforcement Administration is partly to blame for the imposition of restrictive policies in hemp regulations. Separately, the Food and Drug Administration submitted an update last week on the status of its regulations for hemp-derived CBD. The agency said it is in the process of determining whether the cannabis compound can be marketed as a dietary supplement, and it’s still developing enforcement discretion guidance for cannabidiol. A public comment period was reopened indefinitely for individuals to submit feedback on the cannabis compound.

WGCU/NPR: March 11, 2020

Bringing hemp into a state prison or county jail could soon be a felony offense in Florida, under a bill that’s on its way to the governor’s desk. The legislation revises the list of contraband in facilities statewide. “Because hemp is indistinguishable, it will prohibit hemp, and therefore prohibit more weed in our facilities,” House sponsor Scott Plakon said, before his chamber passed the Senate’s version of the bill Tuesday. The measure would make bringing hemp and medical marijuana into prison, jail or juvenile detention facility a third degree felony. That’s punishable by up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $5,000. “The kind of determination, or definition of what’s contraband under current law, is if it has the potential to threaten the security of a facility or negatively impact the security of the people within,” Plakon told his colleagues. Growing and using hemp was legalized by the Florida legislature last year. Since then, local law enforcement have grappled with the change, as hemp is identical to marijuana in smell and appearance. Some state attorneys stopped prosecuting small pot possession cases. Plakon and proponents of the bill say banning hemp as contraband will eliminate any such confusion. “A yes vote on this today will do just that. It will prevent marijuana from coming into our facilties, thereby helping the safety of the people within it. And think about how that can be traded for other things as well, which can be unhealthy … A no vote, seriously, will result in more marijuana in our facilities,” Plakon said. The bill ultimately passed with a 71-43, largely party-line vote. It also adds vaping devices to the list of banned items in any facility, county or state. The measure adds cell phones to the list of contraband items banned in facilities run by the Department of Children and Families and the Agency for Persons with Disabilities. Each of those would be a first degree misdemeanor if Governor Ron DeSantis signs the measure into law. House Democrats like Joe Geller put up a last stand fight, arguing the bill would keep people in a corrections system already fraught with problems. “People get on the wrong end of the law, they go into jail,” Geller said on the House floor. “We shouldn’t be all about finding ways to keep them thee indefinitely, and extend their sentences.” Dems tried to tack on an eleventh-hour amendment that would require a search of everyone who enters a state prison, including wardens and all correctional officers, but it was withdrawn. Rep. Dianne Hart was among those who pushed for the nixed amendment. “Not only do the inmates plant contraband, but so do our officers,” Hart said. Even though the proposed amendment didn’t make it into the bill, Plakon addressed his Democratic colleagues concerns, saying there are penalties in place for officers who smuggle contraband. “Several members have talked about contraband from officers being perhaps a bigger problem than coming in from the outside,” Plakon said. “I don’t know that, but even if that is so, this legislature took steps last year, in 2019, with Rep. Drake’s bill, HB 41, which provides enhanced penalties for correctional officers that would do bad things within the facilities of our correctional institutions.” The bill will go into effect in October of this year, if it gets a signature from the governor.

Post Register: March 11, 2020

After two days of testimony, a House committee on Wednesday voted 8-7 to kill the Senate-passed legislation to legalize hemp farming and transportation in Idaho — leaving Idaho as one of just two states, along with Mississippi, with no legal industrial hemp. Numerous Idaho farmers and farm groups spoke in favor of the bill, SB 1345, over the two days, as did the Ada County prosecutor’s office; those opposing it included retired law enforcement people and anti-marijuana activists who warned that the bill would open the door to the “marijuana-hemp culture” in Idaho. Rep. Caroline Nilsson-Troy, R-Genesee, the bill’s lead sponsor, said in her closing comments, “I want to talk about the ‘marijuana-hemp culture.’ … You can go to Albertson’s, you can buy hemp hearts, you can buy hemp milk … hemp lip balm … you can even buy hemp treats for your dog. Now you tell me how that equals a marijuana culture.” “I don’t think any of us have any intention of opening up Idaho to marijuana,” Troy declared. “We put so many sideboards on this bill, as I said, we could haul an elephant.” Committee Chairman Steven Harris, R-Meridian, originally called the bill dead based on a voice vote, but committee members, including House Assistant Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Nampa, pressed for a division. Harris gave in, and the roll was called. Those voting in favor of Rep. Vito Barbieri’s motion to hold the bill in committee were Reps. Harris, Randy Armstrong, Brent Crane, Joe Palmer, Barbieri, James Holtzclaw, Heather Scott and Julianne Young. Those voting against it were Reps. Monks, Christy Zito, Kevin Andrus, Linda Hartgen, Elaine Smith, John Gannon and Brooke Green. The vote was 8-7. There were three states that still hadn’t legalized industrial hemp until just this week, when South Dakota passed legislation and sent it to the state’s governor. Now, just Idaho and Mississippi remain. Scott had made a motion to put the bill up for amendments, saying she thought it should be expanded to allow more processing, not just farming and transportation. “If we’re going to open up this market, let’s do it for everyone and just not a few farmers,” she said. “Welcome to my world of Goldilocks, too hot, too cold,” Troy said. “It’s hard to find just right on this issue.” Hartgen had made a motion to pass the bill as-is. But because Barbieri’s motion passed, neither of the other two was considered. Rep. Brooke Green, D-Boise, argued in favor of the bill. “This is a bill that has had some significant compromise,” she said. “It’s got winners and losers on both sides, not everyone is happy. But it ... really provides an opportunity for a new agricultural commodity to enter the market.” Deputy Ada County Prosecutor Scott Bandy told the committee, “We are in support of this bill. … It does allow law enforcement to make that distinction between hemp and illegal marijuana.” It was the Ada prosecutor’s office that charged three out-of-state truck drivers with marijuana trafficking after they drove loads of industrial hemp from other states through Idaho, because current Idaho law makes no distinction between industrial hemp and its psychoactive cousin, marijuana. Marijuana trafficking charges carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The truck drivers’ charges eventually were reduced. The federal government legalized industrial hemp, which has less than 0.3% THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, in the 2018 Farm Bill. When Troy was asked during the hearing what would happen if someone smoked hemp in an attempt to get high, she said, “It would be like smoking a bale of hay.” The hemp bill had passed the Idaho Senate on a 27-5 vote on Feb. 27.

The Hill: March 10, 2020

President Trump on Tuesday said people shouldn't "expect too much" at the congressional election security briefings scheduled for later in the day because House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) was involved in organizing them. “There is another Russia, Russia, Russia meeting today,” Trump tweeted “It is headed up by corrupt politician Adam “Shifty” Schiff, so I wouldn’t expect too much!,” tagging acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Chad Wolf in the tweet. Members of the House and Senate are set to receive separate classified briefings on the state of election security from top administration officials on Tuesday afternoon. Schiff, who was one of the key players in the impeachment inquiry into Trump, pushed back against the president, tweeting that Trump was incorrect “as usual.” “Mr. President, you are wrong. As usual,” Schiff tweeted. “Today’s briefing for all House Members focuses on the threat of foreign interference in our election. The briefers are agency heads and senior officials. They are your own people. We will insist on the truth, whether you like it or not.” The briefings were scheduled following reports in February that Russian agents were already interfering in the 2020 elections in order to favor both Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The information about interference in the Trump campaign stemmed from a briefing given to the House Intelligence Committee, including Schiff, by top officials at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). According to The New York Times, former acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Joseph Maguire stepped down as DNI after Trump found out about the briefing, taking extreme issue with Schiff’s involvement. Richard Grenell was named acting DNI following Maguire’s departure. His office tweeted on Tuesday that despite some media reports, Grenell would not be participating in the congressional briefings. “FBI and DHS are the lead in charge of securing our elections, and the IC [intelligence community] is participating in today’s briefings in support of that mission,” the ODNI tweeted. “The IC is focused on detecting and countering foreign election-related threats.”

The Washington Examiner: March 9, 2020

Lawmakers in Virginia passed a bill that would decriminalize the possession of marijuana in the commonwealth. The legislation makes possession of less than an ounce of cannabis a civil infraction, punishable by a $25 fine on the first offense. In addition, the bill creates a means by which citizens charged with possession can have their records expunged if their case is dismissed in court. "This means close to 30,000 people a year will no longer be labeled as criminals and no longer will suffer the negative repercussions of a criminal conviction,” state Sen. Adam Ebbin said Sunday, according to the Virginia Mercury. The current penalty for possession of marijuana in Virginia is up to 30 days in jail, in addition to a $500 fine. Lawmakers also approved a bill commissioning a study on the outright legalization of marijuana in the state. Several states have either decriminalized or legalized marijuana possession or consumption in recent years. The decriminalization bill now heads to Gov. Ralph Northam and would go into effect on July 1 if signed.

The Atlanta Jounral-Constitution: March 6, 2020

A bill passed Thursday clearing up who is allowed to possess hemp following questions created by legislation enacted last year. The state’s 2019 hemp farming law caused an unintended quandary for Georgia prosecutors. Some, including Gwinnett County Solicitor Brian Whiteside, decided to stop prosecuting misdemeanor marijuana cases because the hemp plant and marijuana are virtually identical. House Bill 847 requires people to have farming or processing licenses in order to possess hemp in Georgia, but does not tie criminal consequences to those found with the substance unlicensed. An earlier version of the bill had criminal penalties identical to those for misdemeanor marijuana possession. Because the penalties were removed from the bill, it would not fully resolve the questions some prosecutors have raised, said Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Nelly Miles. The key difference between hemp and marijuana is the level of THC, the chemical that produces the high associated with marijuana. Law enforcement agencies didn’t have technology to test THC levels and the GBI only accepts felony quantities for THC testing. Legally grown hemp can have no more than 0.3% THC.In theory, a defendant charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession could argue they simply had hemp. Because last year’s bill to allow hemp farming didn’t explicitly address the legality of hemp possession by everyday residents, Whiteside and Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said it legalized hemp by default. Without the ability to prove what was hemp and what was marijuana, there wasn’t enough evidence to make convictions, the prosecutors argued.Gwinnett was the first county to halt misdemeanor marijuana prosecution, with counties including Cobb, DeKalb and Richmond following. Police departments in counties including Gwinnett, Cobb and DeKalb stopped making misdemeanor marijuana arrests because they would not be prosecuted. Some officers even gave suspects their marijuana back.This interpretation was not universally adopted, and solicitors in counties including Hall and Cherokee reaffirmed their commitment to prosecuting misdemeanor marijuana cases.HB 847, sponsored by Rep. John Corbett, R-Lake Park, also puts Georgia in compliance with federal hemp regulations and explicitly allows colleges to process and research hemp.The bill passed 157-9 and must be approved by the Senate before reaching the governor’s desk.

Oil City News: March 6, 2020

The Wyoming House of Representatives passed Senate File 55 on third reading during their Friday, March 6 floor session. The legislation aims to establish fees for inspection the ensure hemp produced in Wyoming is not considered marijuana and fees for disposal of the crop or hemp products. The House passed the bill on a vote of 40-18: Since the House have adopted amendments different from the version of the bill passed by the Senate on third reading, the bill will return to the Senate for a concurrence vote. The House amended the bill on second reading. Hemp can legally be produced in Wyoming so long as it does not exceed 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on a dry weight basis. When the plant exceeds that amount of THC, it is considered marijuana, a controlled substance illegal under state and federal rules. In order to ensure that hemp produced in Wyoming does not exceed the 0.3% THC content limit, producers are required to allow the Wyoming Department of Agriculture to test their crops. The proposed bill would establish the following fees related to hemp testing and disposal: $200 per chemical test sample. $200 for Department of Agriculture analysis of production or processing activities. $250 to verify that hemp or hemp products are being “effectively” disposed. When hemp is found to contain THC in excess of the 0.3% limits, corrective action plans would be imposed on producers. “The corrective action plan may include reporting requirements, additional inspections, suspension of a license, steps necessary to restore a license, requirements related to disposal of hemp or hemp products that contain in excess of three?tenths of one percent (0.3%) THC on a dry weight basis,” the bill reads. The Senate amended this section such that the corrective action plan may require producers to provide “notice of the violation to the licensee’s known creditors.” House District 02 Representative Hans Hunt said that this requirement was going too far. He suggested an amendment to repeal that Senate amendment. Hunt said that even when producers don’t intend to allow crops to exceed the 0.3% limits, at times “it almost certainly will exceed.” “I understand that we are dealing with something that has THC in it,” he said. “Just because a crop tests over that limit does not make these growers criminally liable.” But requiring that producers notify creditors that their crops have exceeded the legal limit could create problems with the federal government, Hunt said. He noted that banks are required to inform the federal government if they are lending money to someone who grows crops which are found to exceed the limit. Hunt said he didn’t think it was appropriate that state law include the provision that creditors be notified when a hemp crop in Wyoming tests in excess of the limits. “I just think this is a step too far,” he said. “I think that it insinuates that there is intentional criminal activity when there is not.” He said that such language in the bill could act to deter people from getting involved in the hemp industry. House District 59 Representative Bunky Loucks agreed with Hunt’s amendment, suggesting that other provisions in the corrective action plan are sufficient. He noted a practical problem with the requirement that creditors be notified. “If there is a hot test, and the department acts on that…they don’t know who [hemp producers] borrowed money from,” he said. “The department does not who the lenders are.” He added that it is a banks responsibility to have an understanding of who they are working with. “Banks will know their customers,” he said. House District 06 Representative Aaron Clausen said that he was against the Senate amendment requiring creditors be notified. “This is simply an overreach,” he said. Clausen noted that banks have processes in place to monitor and report suspicious activities and that they could require producers to report their THC test results without the state putting such a requirement in statute. “This could all be done with loan agreements,” he said. House District 14 Representative Dan Furphy disagreed. “The problem is if a bank lends to one of these companies developing hemp, the banking regulations state clearly that the bank regulators will check to see if a bank checked if the hemp produced [exceeds the THC] limits,” he said. “You’re going to make it very difficult for banks to lend to this industry. The banks have to report this to the federal regulators if it exceeds in order to be able to continue to lend to this industry.” House District 41 Representative Bill Henderson said that the requirement to report to creditors should be kept in place. “I’d urge caution on this,” he said. “There is a regulation that we are required to do good diligence. The banks are required to report, this is all part of doing business. It’s not overreach, that’s normal.” Hunt reiterated that he thought the provision was too much. “If we were talking about [state legalized recreational or medical] marijuana, then this would make sense,” he said. “In the case of industrial hemp, this simply goes a step too far.” The House adopted Hunt’s amendment before passing the bill on second reading. If they pass the bill on third reading, the bill would need to move back to the Senate since the House amended the version of the bill they received after the Senate passed the bill on third reading on a vote of 29-1 on Feb. 13.

Detroit Free Press: March 6, 2020

As the Michigan primary draws near, Wayne County schools are making preparations to keep students safe as they open as polling locations. While some districts are closed while the schools serve as polling spots, others remain open but still offer ballot drop-off. The districts that will be closed Tuesday for the presidential primary are: Livonia, Northville, Plymouth-Canton, South Redford, Taylor, Woodhaven-Brownstown, Crestwood, Dearborn Heights. Deidre Thornsbury, Wayne RESA administrative assistant to superintendent, said there could be others that are closed due to the primary and it is up to the individual districts whether to be open or not. Others, such as Dearborn school district, will remain open but still operating as a polling location. To safely and effectively keep classes in session while as many as 15,000 people cast their ballots across the precincts, Dearborn schools are putting measures into place to ensure both run smoothly. John Leacher, health, safety and security supervisor for Dearborn Public Schools, said in a letter sent out March 3 the district has been working with the city clerk's office along with Dearborn police to ensure there is communication and precautions put into place to allow the schools to operate as polling locations while school is still in session. "For those schools where voting will occur, there will be a bit of change in the daily routine," Leacher wrote. "Principals and engineers have plans in place that will ensure a minimal amount of disruption but it will require a little patience from all of us." Dearborn City Clerk George Darany said of the 33 polling locations, 25 are located at Dearborn schools. "It is just something that the schools will have to be prepared for," Darany said. "We are not opening up all the doors to all the schools, we are just going to continue to open up the one door so it's not like voters will have the opportunity to enter in to the schools at many different locations, it is just the one location they will be allowed in and out of." Elections: In September 2019, Rep. Ann Bollin (R-District 42) introduced a bill that would allow privately owned locations, such as condo complexes, senior citizen communities and more to open their spaces up for polling. As more and more people are taking advantage of absentee voting, county clerks have run into trouble getting schools to open up their spaces for polling locations. "Schools are closing their doors to clerks on election day because they think it's a safety issue or they want to have school open that day," said Toby Prafke, legislative director with Bollin's office. "They basically have to corner off an entire area of the school just to put a polling place in there. This would basically open it up to certain privately owned locations." Prafke said the bill is in negotiations with the goal of getting it past the house soon and implementing it ahead of the November 2020 elections.

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: March 5, 2020

The Senate's vote on the bill legalizing industrial hemp was delayed until next week as Gov. Kristi Noem and legislators continue negotiating over the funding. The Senate deferred its vote on House Bill 1108 from Thursday to Monday. On Thursday, the Senate's party leaders said they're unsure the bill has the votes to pass because of concerns about funding the state's hemp program. "I believe there's a will to move forward, but there's a lot of details and circumstances and situations that need to be worked out," said Senate Assistant Majority Leader Jim Bolin, R-Canton. The Senate was unable to override Noem's veto of the industrial hemp bill last year and if it comes to another veto override vote in the Senate this year, Senate Majority Whip Jordan Youngberg, R-Madison, said the funding is the biggest issue and that will determine senators' votes. Funding the industrial hemp program in the state budget is the last piece that needs to fall into place. Noem directed the Legislature to adequately fund the program before she'll consider signing the bill, and negotiations between Noem and legislators over the budget amount were still ongoing on Thursday. When asked if a veto was on the table for the hemp bill, Noem responded on Thursday, "I anticipate that they will fully fund it." The Legislature's research department and state agencies released vastly different pictures of how they see the hemp program this week. The Legislature proposed a program through the Department of Agriculture with 1.6 staff and $245,000 in funding. The state Agriculture, Health and Public Safety departments proposed a program involving 15 additional staff and $3.5 million to cover new equipment and renovations to the state's lab and drug lockers. Hemp license and inspection fee revenue would partially cover the state's cost. The two estimates are far apart, but everyone is still at the table in the negotiations, said Rep. Oren Lesmeister, D-Parade. He said on Thursday that he doesn't anticipate Noem vetoing HB 1008, but it could happen if legislators don't come up with the funding. He said there hasn't been movement from the Governor's Office from its $3.5 million figure, but they're still in conversations about it. "It's just like anything this year when it comes to the budget, it's been tough. I hope we come to an agreement," Lesmeister said. House Majority Leader Lee Qualm, R-Platte, said he's "confident" legislators and Noem will be able to agree on a hemp budget. "It seems like you got to get into the 11th hour. So often that happens on issues like this. We come together and say, 'Absolutely, we can make this work,'" Qualm said. Legislators are coming from the perspective that few farmers will likely grow hemp this year if it's legalized. Additionally, voters will decide on two ballot questions about hemp, recreational marijuana and medical marijuana later this year that could change what the state needs to do. "Obviously, we need to have the funding in place to get the program up and get it going," Qualm said. "As far as everything else that the governor has asked for, I guess I just have questions about that. I don't think it's that necessary at this point in time."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: March 5, 2020

A company that operates a hemp farm plans to add an indoor growing operation at a redeveloped building in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood. Wisconsin Growing Co. wants to grow 20 to 30 plants within about 5,000 square feet it's leasing at 3728 N. Fratney St., said Sam Santana, who operates the company. Wisconsin Growing has applied for a city permit to remodel space on the building's ground floor. Santana told the Journal Sentinel Thursday he hopes to begin the indoor growing operation as soon as possible. He wants to use the indoor growing operation to test the use of various nutrients, as well as genetic techniques, to grow better plants. Then, Wisconsin Growing would apply those lessons to its 30-acre farm near Whitewater, Santana said. The company plans to grow about 30,000 plants this spring and summer on its farm, he said. "Something we learned last year," Santana said. "You have one shot a year to get it right." The 2019 season marked Wisconsin Growing's first crop. It totaled around 15,000 plants, he said. Wisconsin Growing also managed a farm with around 125,000 plants for another owner, Santana said. "It gave us a lot of experience," he said. Hemp is a business that is gaining momentum in Wisconsin and other states. Hemp and marijuana are both genetically from the same plant: cannabis. Marijuana is illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act — even though Illinois and other states have decriminalized it. Hemp is not a controlled substance — as long as it contains less than 0.3% of THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana that produces a high when marijuana is smoked or ingested. Marijuana has a very high percentage of THC. Hemp is used to produce cigarettes and other substances with cannabidiol, also known as CBD. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not made a definitive ruling on the safety of CBD products. One challenge with growing hemp is to make sure the crop doesn't exceed that 0.3% threshold, Santana said. If that happens, hemp growers could have their crops seized and destroyed by law enforcement, said Trista Curzydlo, an attorney and consultant who spoke at a Monday seminar sponsored by the Commercial Association of Realtors-Wisconsin. Curzydlo's seminar, "Up In Smoke," focused on the benefits and risks from the hemp and marijuana industries for commercial building owners and managers. Wisconsin's hemp industry includes such companies as Milwaukee-based Vance Global Inc., which makes CBD cigarettes. Other businesses are processing and selling CBD products. Gov. Tony Evers in November signed legislation that removed hemp from the state's list of controlled substances. That came after then-Gov. Scott Walker in 2017 approved a law allowing farmers to grow hemp in Wisconsin for the first time in nearly 50 years. Meanwhile, Wisconsin Growing is among the latest in a series of businesses moving into the three-story, 52,300-square-foot Fratney Street building, which was remodeled last year by its new owners. Other new tenants include Natural Pet Food Co. and Cre8tive Live Studios LLC, according to building permit records.

NPR: March 5, 2020

The big picture on election security in the 2020 campaign after Super Tuesday: could be worse — but also could be better. The biggest day of voting so far in this year's race wasn't problem-free: Officials dealt with problems in Texas, California and North Carolina, plus tornadoes disrupted the vote in middle Tennessee. And, as national security officials acknowledged before and during the vote on Tuesday, foreign malefactors continue to try to influence the information environment in the United States via agitation and disinformation on social media. Even so, Americans appear to have been able to cast a ballot as they wished without major cyberattacks, information dumps or other mischief like that seen in the wave of active measures launched by Russia in 2016. So far. "Tuesday may have been a success, from the perspective of foreign influence — but folks ought to remain vigilant," said David Levine, a former elections supervisor who now serves as elections integrity fellow with the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a group in Washington. The problems and disruptions that took place around the country were connected with elections equipment systems, shortages of poll workers and long lines of voters. They followed comparatively smooth primaries in South Carolina and New Hampshire, a comparatively smooth caucus in Nevada and the high-profile implosion of Iowa's caucuses — itself the result of problems with an app used to tally and report caucus results. With public confidence in elections already shaken by the 2016 experience, even innocent problems or disruptions can have a corrosive effect, Levine said. Counties and local jurisdictions can buy back goodwill by executing well in states that still are scheduled to vote between now and November — but they also can inadvertently fuel suspicions, he said. "It's really important that local elections officials have an opportunity to assess what worked, what didn't and work assiduously to try and mitigate these issues," Levine said. "The perception of interference can be as dangerous as interference — the administration of elections need to be as seamless as possible. Long lines at polling places can mean people choosing to leave lines and not vote, or not vote in future ... it has the ability to undermine the democratic process and play into the hands of foreign adversaries." The influencing machine: Russian, Chinese, Iranian and potentially other cyberspecialists are interested in influencing or disrupting the presidential election, national security officials warn. Intelligence officials reportedly briefed members of Congress that Russia's preferred outcome this year mirrors that of 2016: a Trump victory. But that country's operatives also are working to boost Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders; Sanders has acknowledged receiving a protective briefing from federal officials. Trump and Sanders both say they want no foreign help winning in 2020. What hostile governments want is less a certain political outcome than "to cause confusion and create doubt in our system," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other officials said on Monday. Pompeo and the heads of defense and intelligence said they're responding across the board.

The Hill: March 5, 2020

U.S. Cyber Command leader Gen. Paul Nakasone told a House panel Wednesday that election security is his “top priority,” emphasizing strides made in combating threats in the years since Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. “We are 244 days from the 2020 presidential election,” Nakasone testified during a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing on U.S. Cyber Command’s proposed fiscal 2021 budget. “My top priority is a safe and secure election that is free from foreign influence.” Nakasone emphasized that even if foreign actors try to interfere in U.S. elections, federal agencies are prepared. “Malicious actors are trying to test our defenses and our resolve,” Nakasone warned. “We are ready for them and any others who try to interfere in our democratic processes.” U.S. Cyber Command, which is a branch of the Department of Defense, was involved in monitoring for cyber interference both during the 2018 midterm elections and on Super Tuesday this week. Nakasone said the rate of improvement made by U.S. Cyber Command and other federal agencies in communicating threats to elections made the work done on Election Day in 2018 “look like a pickup game to me as opposed to what I saw yesterday.” A senior official at another key cybersecurity agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), told reporters on Super Tuesday that no “malicious cyber activity” was observed during the course of primary voting in 14 states. Prior to Tuesday, Nakasone joined CISA Director Christopher Krebs and the leaders of six other federal agencies in putting out a statement calling on Americans to be vigilant for foreign influence campaigns on social media. The agency leaders emphasized that coordination at the federal level to address election threats was “stronger than it’s ever been.” The bipartisan leaders of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities praised Nakasone for his agency’s focus on election security. Rep. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), the panel’s top Republican, told Nakasone that due to the changing nature of adversaries in cyberspace, efforts to secure elections in 2018 may not work in the future. “We must acknowledge the creativity of our adversaries,” Stefanik said. “We must ensure that election security is a continuous, sustained effort 365 days a year.” Subcommittee Chairman Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) noted that "while we have had some success countering Russia's malign influence campaigns in 2018, we must not let our guard down."

The Boston Globe: March 4, 2020

Say hello to the city of Boston’s newest government agency: the Cannabis Board. Mayor Martin J. Walsh on Wednesday appointed five members to the board, which will issue local licenses to marijuana companies and advise Walsh’s office on cannabis regulation and policy. They are Kathleen Joyce, the chair of Boston’s Licensing Board and a former top lawyer at the Boston Planning and Development Agency; Monica Valdes Lupi, Boston’s former health commissioner; Darlene Lombos, the executive secretary-treasurer of the Greater Boston Labor Council; former Boston Police Department superintendent Lisa Holmes; and John Smith, the director of programs at TSNE MissionWorks, a nonprofit that provides meeting space plus management, training, and consulting services to other nonprofits. The members will serve two-year terms and be paid $600 for each day they work on behalf of the Cannabis Board, according to an executive order issued by Walsh. They are barred from working for or financially benefiting from any cannabis companies in the city. It was not immediately clear when the Cannabis Board will first meet; Walsh’s executive order creating the body says the mayor can designate one member to issue licenses to companies that have already signed a host community agreement with the city. “The purpose of Boston’s Cannabis Board is to make sure our actions continue to match our values: supporting equity, diversity and local ownership in this new industry,” Walsh said in a statement. “I’m proud to appoint these exceptional members to the Cannabis Board as we work to ensure every resident has access to the same opportunities in our growing city.” The announcement follows a 12-1 City Council vote in November approving an ordinance to overhaul the city’s much-criticized process for selecting which marijuana operators win coveted local permits that are required before companies can apply for licenses from the state Cannabis Control Commission. The measure, proposed by council president Kim Janey, is intended to increase the transparency and predictability of the process by having the board vote in public on applications using clear, weighted criteria. Previously, Walsh’s Office of Emerging Industries made those calls behind closed doors. The ordinance also establishes an equity program offering technical assistance and training for entrepreneurs who were arrested in the past for marijuana crimes, or who belong to groups or communities disproportionately targeted by police enforcing the prohibition of cannabis. The program would be funded with as much as $5 million in fees charged to marijuana operators over the next five years. The new board must approve equal numbers of such equity program participants and other firms seeking licenses. “I am excited by the appointment of the Boston Cannabis Board today," Janey said in a statement. “This board is so important to our City as it will bring a new, transparent and public facing process, focused on equity, for creating Host Community Agreements in Boston.” Boston’s first recreational marijuana store, Pure Oasis in Grove Hall, is expected to open within weeks.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: March 4, 2020

State officials warned Tuesday about the unknown risks of using products that contain CBD, which remains largely unregulated despite increasing popularity. While proponents claim CBD, or cannabidiol, derived from hemp can help ease chronic pain and anxiety, the federal government says there is little research into its benefits or potential harms. The head of the state Health Department said Tuesday “there are significant concerns about the quality, safety, and the content” of CBD products found at gas stations, grocery stores, and online. Unlike items at the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries, Pennsylvania does not test or regulate these CBD products. “Our supply chain is extremely, tightly regulated,” Secretary Rachel Levine told members of the House Health Committee. “None of that is true for the hemp-derived CBD products." The state has approved clinical research of CBD as part of the medical marijuana program. But there is a growing need, Levine said, for “more research about the benefits and side effects of CBD-rich medical marijuana and CBD medications from hemp.” Despite similar warnings nationwide, CBD products have exploded in popularity. That’s provided an opportunity for farmers looking for a new cash crop. Most hemp in Pennsylvania is grown for CBD. Fred Strathmeyer, a deputy secretary with the state agriculture department, said farmers may be eager to grow hemp for CBD for “quick dollars.” But, he added, “our sustainability will be in the fiber” — which can be used in building materials, clothing, and paper— “and not the CBD.” “We are trying to create a situation where our farmers succeed,” he said. “It’s all about success.” At the moment, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved just one CBD product for medicinal purposes. “It is currently illegal to market CBD by adding it to a food or labeling it as a dietary supplement,” according to the agency. “Some CBD products are being marketed with unproven medical claims and are of unknown quality.” Natalie Krak, a policy director for the state Agriculture Department, said the agency only tests hemp for its THC threshold. “We have seen a proliferation of CBD products,” Krak said. “There is no consistent federal enforcement.” Robert Rudnitsky, executive director of the pro-cannabis group PhillyNORML, said it is crucial to regulate hemp-derived CBD as it is the only option for Pennsylvanians who cannot afford a medical marijuana card. “We want complete regulation," he told Spotlight PA. “Do we want our family and friends to buy CBD from gas stations? There is a lot of contaminated, foreign, counterfeit gray-market hemp.” While legalizing recreational cannabis was not the subject of Tuesday’s hearing, some lawmakers used the opportunity to raise concerns about Gov. Tom Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s support for legalization. “I’ll be upfront: I was a ‘no’ on medical marijuana — not because I didn't want to see people benefit from it, but because of the way it was done,” Rep. Jerry Knowles (R., Schuylkill) said. “But what is done is done.” With Wolf and Fetterman “hell-bent” on legalization, Knowles asked Levine if she’s concerned about what that would do to Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program. “My goal with the medical marijuana program is to keep this medically and clinically based,” Levine said. “I did not want Pennsylvania to become Venice Beach. ... We have been able to thread that needle and keep this a very medically based program for patients with serious medical conditions.” She also noted that Wolf and Fetterman are championing marijuana legalization as a social justice issue, highlighting that many people are incarcerated for possessing small amounts.

The Hill: March 3, 2020

A senior official at the Department of Homeland Security expressed high confidence in the security of voting systems on Super Tuesday, saying "all systems look green" nationwide. The top official with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) told reporters Tuesday that while there is “constant” disinformation efforts on social media directed at elections, the activity was “low level” and CISA had not seen any increase as voters head to the polls in 14 states. “We need to mindful that there is just that chronic level of misinformation and disinformation, whether it’s the Russians or anyone else,” the official told reporters. “There is a low level here of constant activity, but at the moment, we are not seeing any appreciable increase or spike in activity.” CISA is one of the federal agencies that works with state and local officials to boost election security protocols. The agency on Tuesday said it was operating as a “national cybersecurity situational room” to allow for “rapid sharing of information” on threats to elections between officials at all levels of government. The CISA official said that as of midday, there were no signs of cyber targeting or hacking of election infrastructure, and that “everything we are aware of has been resolved, more of a tech glitch than anything. All systems look green right now across the country.” The problems encountered by the agency were complications for voters in Tennessee, where deadly tornadoes devastated parts of Nashville on Monday night, according to the official, who praised Tennessee for moving swiftly to put in place contingency plans to allow affected residents to vote. “We’re better prepared for this single election than any other election in American history,” the official said. “We have clarity of purpose and unity of mission here, and I think the American people, the voting public, need to take a great deal of confidence away from that.” The comments came just a day after CISA Director Christopher Krebs joined the leaders of seven other federal agencies to issue a statement warning of foreign influence campaigns on social media, and urging voters to seek out trusted sources of information on how and where to vote. “We remain alert and ready to respond to any efforts to disrupt the 2020 elections,” said the group of officials which included acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf, Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “We continue to make it clear to foreign actors that any effort to undermine our democratic processes will be met with sharp consequences.” Election security has been a major area of concern since the 2016 election, when Russian agents launched a sweeping disinformation and hacking campaign designed to benefit President Trump. CISA has played a key role in the federal effort to combat election security threats, with Krebs telling The Hill during an interview last month that he spends “40 to 50 percent” of his time on the issue of election security.

Packaging Europe: March 2, 2020

The global counterfeiting market is booming. Unfortunately for organisations across the value chain, the implications of such practices can be severe – health-related incidents, revenue-loss, lawsuits, and damage to a brand can all occur if parties fail to remain vigilant. Luckily though, sophisticated anti-counterfeiting measures are constantly being designed, refined, and implemented.

The Boston Globe: March 1, 2020

A majority of Connecticut residents favor legalizing marijuana, according to a new poll released Thursday. But even among those who oppose the reform move, a significant number said they could still be persuaded under certain circumstances, the survey found. As lawmakers push to advance a governor-backed legalization bill, the poll — showing that 63.4 percent of state residents support ending cannabis prohibition — comes as a welcome result for advocates. Its release also comes weeks after a key Connecticut committee held a hearing on the legislation. Asked whether they back legalizing cannabis for adult use, 34.4 percent of respondents said they “strongly support” the policy, and 29 percent said they “somewhat support” it. About 19 percent said they “strongly oppose” legalization, and 10.7 percent said they “somewhat oppose” it. In response to a separate question, fewer people (45.3 percent) said they back the specific legalization proposal in the Legislature that would give municipalities partial tax revenue from cannabis sales only if they allow a dispensary to operate in their jurisdiction. As is typically the case with cannabis surveys, younger people and Democratic voters proved most likely to favor legalization. But unlike many others, this poll dove into the opposition and found that a solid percentage of respondents would be inclined to change their position if legalization produced specific results. Of the roughly 30 percent who said they don’t support taxing and regulating cannabis, about 24 percent said they would back legalization if it lowered crime and incarceration in the state. Twenty percent said they would support legalization if tax revenue from sales would “help with Connecticut’s fiscal situation and resolve the budget deficit,” and about 28 percent said they’d change course if marijuana was regulated similarly to alcohol in a way that prevents youth access and impaired driving. The main reasons people said they opposed legalization were concerns that marijuana leads to more dangerous drugs (18.4 percent), that it impairs driving (12.6 percent), and simply because they are “against drug usage” (10.5 percent). Taken together, these results stand to embolden lawmakers as they work to pass a legalization bill, though the specific result on tax revenue only for cities that allow sales could lead some legislators to support amending the current proposal. In any case, the effort, like several others across the country, could be impeded by the coronavirus outbreak. The Senate president and House speaker, who sponsored the legislation, recently said that because the state Capitol is closed until at least March 30 to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, legislative priorities have shifted and that could interfere with legalization. The survey — conducted by the Hartford Courant and Sacred Heart University, involving interviews with 1,000 residents from February 24 to March 12 — also asked participants about a proposed “clean slate” bill and its provisions. Less than half said they’d heard about the existing legislation, which would make people eligible for expungements for certain offenses seven years after their latest conviction. However, after the proposal was described, 62.5 percent said they either strongly or somewhat support it.

NPR: March 1, 2020

When San Francisco announced its "shelter in place" order this week, it said only "essential businesses" could remain open to support the public's needs, such as grocery stores and gas stations. Missing from that list were marijuana dispensaries. But a day after residents were told to stay home, the city revised its position and deemed cannabis "an essential medicine," allowing stores to open. Mayor London Breed announced "adjustments" to the city's public health order issued the previous day. It originally said essential businesses, including banks and pharmacies, could remain open while residents were required to stay in their homes. Now dispensaries and marijuana deliveries are deemed critical. "We know this is an evolving situation," Breed said at the Tuesday evening press conference. "In terms of the cannabis dispensaries, the Department of Public Health today clarified that since cannabis has medical uses, dispensaries will be allowed to operate as essential businesses, just as pharmacies are allowed to do," she added. After the city's initial announcement ordering residents to remain inside "with the only exception being for essential needs," officials from both the city's health department and its Office of Cannabis got in contact with local marijuana industry leaders, according to SFGate.

Vice: March 1, 2020

: February 29, 2020

In January, the Department of Homeland Security issued a report detailing the rise of counterfeiting on e-commerce platforms and vowed to crackdown. “International e-commerce players must step up do and do more,” acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf said when the report was released.

WGME: February 27, 2020

Maine plans to create a new division of the state Drug Enforcement Agency tasked with regulatory compliance as well as monitoring illegal activity that competes with state-licensed growers, processors and retailers. Michael Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, said Monday the four-person unit will be funded annually by $649,000 in cannabis tax and licensing revenue, the Portland Press Herald reported. Advocates for cannabis say the state should be trying to help businesses comply with regulations, not prosecute them. “We do not want to see one additional person incarcerated for marijuana,” said Mark Barnett, a Portland coffee shop owner applying for a recreational cannabis license. “It’s a move in the wrong direction and counter to the very idea of legalization.” Rep. Kent Ackley believes the unit will create what he called a “risk premium” and force the shut down of the black market for fear of prosecution and fines. “My hope would be that we don’t have to send people to jail to convince the gray market to participate in the regulated marketplace,” Ackley told lawmakers Monday. “Nonetheless, the threat of doing that is an important piece of what we’re trying to accomplish with these four agents.” Some lawmakers question the decision to spend so much in state funds in pursuit of cannabis crimes amid an ongoing opioid crisis. “I thought we legalized cannabis,” said Rep. Charlotte Warren, D-Hallowell, co-chair of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. “If we have spent a total of $33.2 million over just the time I’ve been in the legislature, why are we adding more agents for something that we actually legalized?”

WUSA : February 27, 2020

A surprising side effect of the CBD oil craze has left farmers who grow the oil-producing plant in Baltimore County, MD feuding with their neighbors. "Hemp fields stink like dead skunks!" claimed one neighbor of a farm that grew hemp outside Baltimore during the summer and fall of 2019. "Many of my neighbors complained of allergic reactions, eye irritation, headaches and nausea," the woman said to WJZ in Baltimore. "We need to change Maryland law to stop this nightmare." As a result, Maryland's legislature is now debating a proposed ban on growing industrial hemp -- used in the production of CBD oil -- within two miles of homes. Hemp is a cousin to marijuana, but the plant does not contain enough of the psychoactive substance THC to make a person intoxicated. However, hemp does have a strong odor similar to marijuana. State Senator Shelly Hettleman (D- Baltimore County) proposed the two-mile ban. "If we go down the road of legalizing marijuana, which also gives off a powerful smell when grown, then its really important for policymakers to take into effect these policies on residents," Hettleman told WJZ. At least 20 farms in Maryland grow industrial hemp under a 2018 Maryland law allowing the crop as a pilot program, according to biological science professor Mark Holland of Salisbury University. The law requires hemp operations to be partnered with a research university. Other hemp farms are operating in Howard and Anne Arundel County, according to state regulators. At hearings in Annapolis this week, farmers said a two-mile buffer requirement from homes would kill the business in Maryland.

Toronto Sun: February 26, 2020

It turns out legalizing recreational cannabis in Canada was easier said than done. Trying to convert a market from illicit to regulated was done in the name of health and public safety with the added benefit of tax revenue. The conversion has introduced new challenges. Having spent my career in law enforcement, drug policy, and trade, I recognize it must be a journey where all stakeholders contribute.

INC42: February 26, 2020

The US in its annual ‘Special 301 Report’ on intellectual property protection and review of ‘notorious markets’ for piracy and counterfeiting had reportedly blamed India for its growing problem of counterfeit medicines. According to the United States Trade Representative (USTR), almost 20% of all pharmaceutical goods sold in the Indian market are counterfeit.

Los Angeles Times: February 26, 2020

California’s largest marijuana association is in a bind after powerful labor unions accused the organization of distributing an anti-union document and asked Democratic politicians to “refrain from engaging with” the group in a display of organized labor’s immense political muscle at the state Capitol. The call to cut off the California Cannabis Industry Assn.'s access to decision makers marks a major blow to the state’s most influential marijuana lobbying group and comes at a precarious time for its more than 500 member companies, which operate in a legal industry struggling to compete with the illicit market, laying off workers and hovering near insolvency. The association, which represents companies working across the marijuana supply chain, went into 2020 hoping to push legislation this year to cut taxes, open more cities to pot shops and create a banking system for the industry. Now some are concerned those efforts could be stymied by the tussle with the unions. “The obstacles are so high and so challenging that in my view they can only be overcome if the industry and organized labor work together,” said Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Alameda). “When I saw this white paper from CCIA, I was very disappointed and frankly worried about what the future holds.” Californians voted in 2016 to approve Proposition 64, legalizing growing and selling marijuana for recreational use. But so far only about 1,070 retailers and delivery firms have been licensed, a fraction of the 1,800 dispensaries that were selling marijuana for medical purposes before the initiative and the 6,000 sellers that were originally anticipated by state officials. Industry leaders say legal cannabis firms have experienced numerous impediments, including state and local taxes that can add 45% to the cost of legal marijuana, and a provision of the law that has allowed three-quarters of California cities to ban pot shops. State law requires applicants for cannabis licenses with 20 or more employees to enter into a labor peace agreement, a sort of neutrality accord in which the employer promises not to disrupt a union’s attempts to organize employees and the union agrees not to picket, boycott or otherwise interfere with the employer’s business. The United Food and Commercial Workers, which advocated for pot legalization, originally championed the provision in a law regulating medical marijuana in 2015 and again when guidelines for medical and recreational sales were merged in 2018. But UFCW, the California Labor Federation and International Brotherhood of Teamsters in California alleged earlier this month that a document the association distributed to its members is evidence of an attempt to weaken the law. The unions sent a letter to the Democratic caucuses in the Senate and Assembly that included a copy of the paper, which offered guidance for pot businesses that are negotiating labor peace agreements.

WSAW: February 26, 2020

Wisconsin election officials plan to debate Thursday how to spend a new $7.8 million election security grant, the second major influx of federal dollars to help local clerks fend off hackers in two years. The U.S. Elections Assistance Commission announced in early January that Wisconsin would receive a the grant if it can produce a $1.6 million match. Wisconsin Elections Commission spokesman Reid Magney said the commission will pull the match from within its existing budget. The commission must submit a spending plan to the EAC by April. The commission plans to discuss a wide range of options during a meeting Thursday in Madison, including sub-grants for local authorities or purchasing expensive technology for them, such as the Albert Sensor, an intrusion detection system many larger cities and counties in the U.S. use. Initial costs for hardware and installation runs about $9,000 with additional fees for maintenance. Other ideas range from providing technical support for local clerks who lack IT departments; creating a campaign to communicate with voters; upgrading local clerks’ laptops and computers; upgrade firewalls; and establishing data back-up system. Still more options include helping local clerks obtain a government email address with built-in security features; buying new voting equipment; and upgrading local clerks’ election management systems to including new security features such as encrypted data storage. The WEC received a $7 million grant in 2018 to bolster election security. The commission has used some of that money to develop a public relations campaign designed to tamp down rumors about vulnerabilities. Other funding from the grant has gone to create an app to ensure that the security status of every computer that connects to the state’s voter registration database can be checked before access is granted. All 684 jurisdictions that connect to the database have now installed the app, according to commission documents prepared for Thursday’s meeting. About 300 other local jurisdictions that can’t access the database directly have installed the app voluntarily. The grant also has gone to purchase loaner computers for clerks still using Windows 7. Security upgrades for that operating system ended in January. According to commission documents, 98% of clerks’ systems are up-to-date and have no serious security concerns. People familiar with the briefing have said U.S. election security officials told members of the House intelligence committee during a recent closed-door hearing that the Russian government was looking to help President Donald Trump win re-election. Trump has dismissed U.S. intelligence agencies’ assessment that Russia has interfered in elections on his behalf. Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has said U.S. officials told him in January about Russian efforts to boost his chances against Trump.

Marijuana Moment: February 25, 2020

Marijuana legalization is “on track” in Mexico, a top senator said on Monday, announcing that several committees are convening to tackle the issue this week. Sen. Ricardo Monreal of the ruling MORENA party said that four panels have started the process of reviewing comprehensive legislation that deals with medical, recreational and industrial cannabis reform. The committees are set to meet to go over the draft bill on Wednesday. “There is no limit on the content,” he said, referring to the scope of the legislation, according to a translation. “I think it is worth taking advantage of the political moment to be able to legislate broadly on this cannabis issue.” Monreal said he has “confidence” that the Justice, Health, Legislative Studies and Public Safety Committees will reach a consensus on the bill. He also told reporters that he’s spoken to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and that he “expressed his respect” for the legislative process and has “no problem with the Senate carrying out a comprehensive legislative exercise” on cannabis issues. While Sen. Julio Menchaca, chairman of the Justice Committee, predicted earlier this month that the full Senate would vote on the legalization proposal by the end of February, it does not appear that the chamber will meet that tight deadline. Monreal previously said that lawmakers are positioned to advance it prior to an April deadline imposed by the nation’s Supreme Court, however. The court, which ruled in 2018 that the country’s ban on marijuana possession and cultivation for personal use was unconstitutional, initially gave Congress a deadline of October 2019 to enact reform. Legislators came close to voting on a committee-approved bill last year, but they ultimately requested a deadline extension that the court granted. While the court only mandated that legislators remove the prohibition on personal possession and cultivation from the lawbooks, leading officials have expressed a desire add a legal sales component as well. “I would like broad, unbounded legislation because if we were strict, it would be enough for us to reform the three articles that the Court has declared unconstitutional,” Monreal said. “But I want to go further.” The senator wants lawmakers to tackle “all items, recreational, medicinal, recreational, sale, cultivation, commercialization, industrialization, everything,” he said. The legislation as currently drafted would allow adults to possess up to 28 grams of cannabis for personal use and cultivate up to four plants. Individuals could apply for a license to possess more than 28 grams but no more than 200 grams. A regulatory body called the Mexican Cannabis Institute would be responsible for issuing business licenses and developing rules for the market. The bill also contains provisions to promote social equity, such as prioritizing cultivation licenses for individuals from communities most impacted by the drug war.

Naples Daily News : February 25, 2020

When the issue at hand is security, we understand the need for secrecy. We don’t expect banks to reveal everything they have in place to thwart robbers or the Secret Service to explain every step taken to protect its charges. Like protecting our money and protecting our leaders, protecting our elections is an important security matter, so some of the details are rightly kept on a need-to-know basis. But state and federal officials in Florida have taken advantage of the situation to keep secret aspects of 2016’s vote, in which they concede outside interference was attempted, and the steps taken to prevent a repeat. In one example, the FBI has refused to name the counties where Russian operatives are known to have hacked into election systems. Why? The Russians certainly know which systems they penetrated and how. The residents of those counties need to be able to hold their elections officials accountable, and the residents of the rest of the state deserve to know their votes weren’t at risk from this particular threat. In another example, Florida’s secretary of state insisted that elections supervisors sign a nondisclosure agreement in order to share system weaknesses, cyber threat indicators and defense measures and other election security-related information among themselves. The agreement says the supervisors won’t divulge any of the vulnerabilities they found or how they had been fixed. The nondisclosure agreement helps explain why USA TODAY Network requests sent to all 67 Florida counties yielded uniform responses from elections supervisors who turned over heavily redacted records and, in some cases, refused to provide them at all.?Most won’t say how they spent millions of dollars directed toward election security or with whom. We aren’t suggesting the supervisors should tell the world about all their security fixes, but knowing who got the money is paramount to accountability. Are the firms receiving the payments competent? Do they have a reputation for success - or failure?

The Hill: February 25, 2020

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other senior Senate Democrats on Monday called on the Treasury and State departments to impose sanctions on Russian individuals found to be meddling in U.S. elections following reports of new interference efforts. In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the Senate Democrats pointed to concerns about reports last week that Russian agents are already interfering in the lead-up to the 2020 U.S. elections in order to boost the campaigns of President Trump and Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). “In light of this information, we urge you to immediately and forcefully impose sanctions on the government of the Russian Federation, any Russian actors determined to be responsible for such interference, and those acting on their behalf or providing material or financial support for these election interference efforts,” Schumer and Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) wrote. Brown serves as the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, while Menendez is the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The senators called on Mnuchin and Pompeo to use existing statutory powers to impose sanctions on individuals including Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian government officials. The senators warned that “doing anything less” than imposing sanctions on those interfering in U.S. elections would be “an abdication of your responsibility to protect and defend the US from this serious threat to our national security, and to the integrity of our electoral process.” The State and Treasury departments did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the letter. Senate Democrats have pushed hard for passage of legislation over the past years to strengthen U.S. elections against foreign interference but have been blocked by Republicans, who have cited concerns that the pieces of legislation would federalize elections, multiple times. Election security has become a major source of concern since the 2016 elections, during which, according to U.S. intelligence agencies and the report compiled by former special counsel Robert Mueller, Russian agents launched a sweeping interference effort designed to favor Trump's campaign.

Argus Leader: February 25, 2020

The bill legalizing industrial hemp in South Dakota is headed to its final vote of approval in the Legislature. The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources unanimously approved the industrial hemp bill, House Bill 1008, on Tuesday, and it'll now go to the Senate for a vote. It has already passed the House. Bill sponsor Sen. Joshua Klumb, R-Mount Vernon, said he doesn't believe hemp is going to save anyone's farm, but it'll provide farmers with another crop option. He said he wants farmers to take it slow and carefully with hemp. Klumb said this year's bill has been a collaboration between the Legislature and the Governor's Office. Committee chair Sen. Gary Cammack, R-Union Center, noted that the bill has been a "monumental effort" between legislators and the state agencies. Sen. Bob Ewing, R-Spearfish, said he opposed legalizing hemp last year because of the state agencies requesting to delay it. "I still had heartburn about it until this morning, but then I got to thinking about the different variables here," Ewing said. He pointed out that people are already using CBD products in South Dakota, and the bill will legalize that. One of the ballot questions in November will ask voters to decide on legalizing marijuana and industrial hemp. Ewing said he hopes that voters will defeat the ballot question if legislators legalize industrial hemp during the 2020 session. The bill contains three of four of Gov. Kristi Noem's guardrails of reliable enforcement, responsible regulation and safe transportation, Klumb said. Legislators have said they're working on the fourth guardrail of funding needed to implement a hemp program, but legislators have questioned the estimated costs the state agencies have proposed. Noem said she'll consider signing the bill if it contains all four of her guardrails.

The Washington Post : February 24, 2020

Americans should not be confident about the security of the 2020 election, according to a slim majority of experts surveyed by The Cybersecurity 202.The assessment from 57 percent of The Network, a panel of more than 100 cybersecurity experts who participate in our ongoing informal survey, puts a serious damper on the years-long push by federal, state and local government officials and political parties to bolster election security since a Russian hacking and influence operation upended the 2016 contest. “There are no signs that any part of our institutions are capable of providing an election that is reasonably secure from tampering and manipulation,” said Dave Aitel, a former NSA computer scientist who is now CEO of the cybersecurity company Immunity. “Every part of the voting process is vulnerable. This includes the voter registration process, the voting itself, the vote tabulation, and the results-reporting system,” said Bruce Schneier, fellow and lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

The New York Times: February 24, 2020

Russia wants to watch Americans “tear ourselves apart" as the United States heads toward elections, an FBI official warned Monday. David Porter, an assistant section chief with the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, accused Russia of conducting brazen operations aimed at spreading disinformation, exploiting lines of division in society and sowing doubt about the integrity of U.S. elections and the ability of its leaders to govern effectively. Porter spoke at an election security conference on Capitol Hill just days after conflicting accounts emerged of a closed-door briefing intelligence officials had given to House lawmakers on threats from Russia and other nations in the 2020 election. That briefing focused attention on the possibility that Russia could work to aid President Donald Trump's reelection. Democratic rival Sen. Bernie Sanders has said intelligence officials told him that Russia was looking to boost his candidacy, too. Porter did not address the briefing or whether Russia had a preference for particular candidates. But he said Russia was generally engaged in “information confrontation" aimed at blurring fact from fiction, eroding American confidence in democratic institutions and driving wedges into society's fracture lines. “The primary objective is not to create a particular version of the truth but rather cloud the truth and erode our ability to find it, creating a sentiment that no narrative or news source can be trusted at all," Porter said. The FBI formed the Foreign Influence Task Force after widespread interference by Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign. The task force was initially intended to focus on Russia, but it also works to counter influence operations — including hacking and more covert methods — from China, North Korea and Iran. U.S. officials see China as an aggressive threat, particularly when it comes to espionage and theft of intellectual property, but Porter said Beijing's goal was less about sowing general chaos in the U.S. and more about promoting and developing its own economic standing in the world. “To put it simply, in this space, Russia wants to watch us tear ourselves apart, while it seems that China would rather manage our gradual economic decline over the course of generations," Porter said. Intelligence officials have not commented publicly on the Feb. 13 briefing given to members of the House Intelligence Committee. One intelligence official said lawmakers were not told that Russia was working directly to aid Trump. But other people familiar with the meeting said they were told the Kremlin was looking to help Trump's candidacy. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discussed the classified briefing.

The Columbus Dispatch: February 24, 2020

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. voters will cast ballots this year on devices that look and feel like the discredited paperless voting machines they once used, yet leave a paper record of the vote. But computer security experts are warning that these so-called ballot-marking devices still pose too much of a risk. Ballot-marking machines were initially developed not as primary vote-casting tools but as “accessible” alternatives for the disabled. They print out paper records that are scanned by optical readers that tabulate the vote. They cost at least twice as much as hand-marked paper ballots, which computer scientists prefer because paper can’t be hacked. That’s an important consideration as U.S. intelligence officials warn that malicious meddling in this year’s presidential contest could be worse than in 2016. The machines have been vigorously promoted by the trio of privately held voting equipment vendors that control 88% of the U.S. market and are nearly unregulated at the federal level. They are expected to be used by some 40 million eligible voters more than in the 2018 midterm elections. Key counties in the crucial swing states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina, much of Texas, California’s Los Angeles County and all of Georgia and Delaware have bought ballot-marking machines. So has South Carolina, which will use them in Saturday’s primaries. Some of the most popular such devices, from Election Systems & Software and Dominion Voting Systems, register votes in bar codes that the human eye can’t decipher. That means skilled hackers could alter outcomes without detection, gaming bar codes while keeping voters’ choices on the human-readable portion of the ballot printout, computer scientists have found. ES&S claims such tampering is “a practical impossibility.” Spokeswoman Katina Granger said the company’s ballot-marking machines’ accuracy and security “have been proven through thousands of hours of testing and tens of thousands of successful elections.” Dominion declined to comment for this story.

The Guardian: February 23, 2020

Donald Trump’s national security adviser has said he has not “seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything” to get the president re-elected, but also seemed to accept reports that Russia is backing Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary. In response, one senior Democrat slammed the “politicisation of intelligence” by the Trump administration and said Robert O’Brien should “stay out of politics”. O’Brien’s claim, in an interview with ABC’s This Week, came at the end of a week in which it was reported that US officials briefed the House intelligence committee that Russia was again trying to help get Trump elected. Reports of Trump’s furious reaction were followed by the departure of Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, and his replacement by Richard Grenell, formerly ambassador to Germany and a Trump loyalist. The president has tweeted extensively on the subject, blaming Democrats and the media for “disinformation hoax number 7”. It was also reported this week that Trump, congressional leaders and Sanders himself were briefed that Moscow was repeating another tactic from 2016 and backing the Vermont senator. Sanders told Russia to stay out of US elections, then won convincingly in Nevada. O’Brien said Russian backing for Sanders would be “no surprise. He honeymooned in Moscow.” Sanders has described a 10-day visit to the then Soviet capital in 1988 as “a very strange honeymoon”. O’Brien was repeating a line used by Trump at campaign events. Speaking to CNN’s State of the Union, Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, said O’Brien had made a “political statement” and as national security adviser should “stay out of politics”. Asked if he had seen analysis showing a Russian aim in its election interference efforts was to help the president, O’Brien said: “I have not seen that, and … the national security adviser gets pretty good access to our intelligence. I haven’t seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump re-elected.”

NECN: February 22, 2020

The New Hampshire House has again voted to legalize recreational marijuana, this time without trying to establish a regulated commercial market for it. The bill sent to the Senate on Thursday would allow adults to possess up to 3/4 of an ounce of marijuana and to grow up to six plants. Last year, the House passed a broader bill that would have created a regulated and taxed retail market, but it died in the Senate. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu opposes such measures. The latest bill passed the House with four votes more than needed to achieve a veto-proof majority.

Politico: February 21, 2020

— A recent election security briefing played a part in President Donald Trump switching up leadership atop the intelligence community, and the new pick looks to be simpatico with Trump’s views on Russian election meddling. — The agency that handles the president’s communications had a data breach, although there was no evidence yet that any potentially stolen data had been exploited. — The U.S. and other countries pointed the finger at Russia over a cyberattack on Georgia. THE INTELLIGENCE THE PRESIDENT WANTS — Russian election interference figured into Trump’s abrupt selection of Richard Grenell as acting director of national intelligence, it appears — it’s just a question of how much of a role it played. The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Trump soured on the prior acting DNI, Joseph Maguire, after blasting him for remarks made during a House Intelligence panel briefing on 2020 election security, and apparently blamed him erroneously. The New York Times reported that remarks a DNI official made in that briefing about Russia trying to get Trump reelected did lead to a blowup, but Trump already wasn’t gung-ho about Maguire. House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) was not happy about the development. “By firing Acting DNI Maguire because his staff provided the candid conclusions of the Intelligence Community to Congress regarding Russian meddling in the 2020 Presidential election, the President is not only refusing to defend against foreign interference, he’s inviting it,” he said. Either way, it looks like Grenell will offer a sympathetic point of view to Trump on Russian election interference, with Grenell having downplayed it in 2016. He deleted some of his tweets that weighed in on Russia-related topics, such as one where he cheered the firing of former FBI Director James Comey. It’s less clear how long Grenell will be around. While a Senate GOP leader and member of the Intelligence Committee, Roy Blunt (Mo.), supported the pick, other Republicans have been less vocal, and Grenell himself said he wouldn’t be the eventual nominee; on the other hand, even having a nominee could keep Grenell in the spot for a while longer. Trump said late Thursday that he was considering Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) and others for the nomination. WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN — The Pentagon’s top IT support agency suffered a data breach last year that may have compromised Social Security numbers and other sensitive information. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), which handles communications for Trump, sent letters to possible victims earlier this month warning of a “data breach” between May and July 2019 involving a system run by the organization. DISA's letters said it was required to notify individuals who may have had data taken, though the agency has no evidence any personal data possibly taken was exploited. KNOCK IT OFF — The U.S. and more than a dozen other Western countries on Thursday blamed Russia for an October cyberattack on Georgia that disrupted access to thousands of websites and knocked the national TV broadcaster offline. “This action contradicts Russia’s attempts to claim it is a responsible actor in cyberspace and demonstrates a continuing pattern of reckless Russian GRU cyber operations against a number of countries,” the State Department said in a statement, referring to Russia’s military intelligence agency. Allies including the U.K., Australia, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania joined the attribution campaign. Georgia said the attack “runs counter to the principles and norms of international law and represents another breach of Georgia's sovereignty against the country's European and Euro-Atlantic integration and democratic development.” Thursday’s joint announcement marks the latest example of the Trump administration’s multilateral attribution strategy, which is aimed at deterring malicious cyber activity by strengthening the consensus around culpability in its aftermath. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), the co-founder of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, praised the State Department for sending a “clear message” that “destabilizing activity in cyberspace is unacceptable regardless of where it occurs.” The GRU unit behind the Georgia cyberattack, known as “Sandworm,” is one of Russia’s most prolific hacking groups. It has been implicated in the DNC hack, repeated hacks of the Ukrainian power grid, and the 2018 Winter Olympics hack, not to mention the devastating NotPetya malware outbreak. “Notably, they have not been publicly admonished for their attempt to disrupt the Games,” said John Hultquist, senior director of intelligence analysis at FireEye, “and we are concerned that the actors will target the Games in Tokyo this year.”

Label & Narrow Web: February 20, 2020

With the industry placing a premium on speed, quality and efficiency for label printers, we must also remember that there are increasing opportunities for brands and consumers to change their experience with labels and packaging. Smart labeling can change the packaging landscape in a number of ways, from combating counterfeit goods to revolutionizing the retail experience.

PBS.org: February 19, 2020

Weeks after the Iowa caucuses dissolved into confusion over who won the first contest in the race to the White House, Americans are largely unfazed about election security, according to the latest poll from PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist. Roughly three-quarters of Americans — 72 percent — said they are confident that their state and local elections will be fair and accurate this November, while another quarter were not as assured. Technical glitches riddled this year’s Iowa caucuses, when, for the first time, the Iowa Democratic Party used an app in hopes of gleaning results faster. But the app malfunctioned and results took days to retrieve. When former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg appeared to sneak ahead of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the Associated Press said the 0.09 percentage points separating the two candidates was too close to declare a winner. Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez called for a recanvass, and Iowa’s Democratic Party leader Troy Price resigned as a result of the confusion. Late Tuesday, new results were released showing Buttigieg and Sanders in a near tie, and the Sanders campaign said it would ask for a more thorough recount. When asked about their confidence in election security, political affiliation did not seem to factor significantly in how respondents answered. Democrats, Republicans and independents responded to the question roughly the same. Another area of consensus: Two-thirds of Americans say they think the economy is working well for them. But whether President Donald Trump is responsible for that economic well-being is more divisive. Fifty-one percent of U.S. adults say they think Trump has handled the economy well, while 40 percent disagree and another 9 percent said they don’t know.

NJ.com: February 18, 2020

On March 10, NJ Cannabis Insider will host the state’s premier all-day, multi-track panel event focused on the imminent legalization of adult-use cannabis, the expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program and the exploding hemp/CBD industry at the New Jersey Conference and Expo Center in Edison. The event, which starts at 10:30 a.m., also packs in serious networking opportunities, an exhibitors vendor and lunch. Tickets are currently on sale, including group rates; click here for details. This week, NJ Cannabis Insider Live Event: Road to Legalization conference organizers added two new panels: Cannabis activism: Preparing for the November ballot referendum, featuring Amol Sinha of ACLU-NJ, Jackie Cornell, 1906 edibles, and Elise Grosso, Cannabis Voter Project. And, Women in Leadership with Arlene Quiñones Perez of DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Giblin, Colleen Mahr, Fanwood mayor, former president of League of Municipalities, and Tanya Osbourne of Women Grow. The rest of the lineup offers something for people in the cannabis business community at all levels: Update on the Garden State market will feature: Bill Caruso of Archer Law; Arlene Quiñones Perez of DeCotiis, Lynn Nowak of Porzio Governmental Affairs, and Fruqan Mouzon of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney and Carpenter.

The Salt Lake Tribune: February 18, 2020

State lawmakers reiterated their firm commitment to keep recreational marijuana out of Utah on Tuesday, as they advanced legislation to help streamline its emerging medical cannabis program. The multifaceted bill that they discussed would offer expungement opportunities for patients prosecuted in the past, increase the number of cannabis recommendations each doctor can issue and eliminate a much-maligned packaging requirement for raw flower. However, the bill’s sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, warded off concerns that the state is slipping toward legalization for the general public. "You know how strongly opposed I am to recreational," the Cedar City Republican told a worried colleague in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. "I would never do anything, in my mind, that would lead to any kind of stepping stone toward recreation." Still, Vickers, a pharmacist, acknowledged that designing a functional cannabis program was like “tiptoeing through a minefield” to strike the right balance between control and flexibility. The committee moved the bill, SB121, to the full Senate by a unanimous vote, although Sen. Allen Christensen said he only supported the legislation because of its sponsor. “If you weren’t my trusted pharmacist, I would be a no vote on this,” Christensen, R-North Ogden, said after expressing concerns about a slide toward recreational marijuana in Utah. “But I’m going to take a leap of faith and support you.” A handful of patient advocates spoke against the bill and, more broadly, the law that state legislators passed in late 2018 to replace the cannabis initiative approved by Utah voters. Nathan Kizerian, whose wife used cannabis to find relief while she was dying of colon cancer, objected that the bill includes a 60-day expiration for raw flower, after which patients couldn’t legally take the substance out of their homes. He also raised concerns about data privacy for patients. "All I can do is attack this program, and I'm doing that on social media," said Kizerian, who runs the popular Utah Satire page on Facebook.

The Wahsington Post: February 18, 2020

The Trump administration’s pressure campaign on allies to break ties with Huawei is taking a very Trumpian turn with bombastic and neck-wrenching tweets replacing private diplomatic warnings. Trump’s Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell tweeted out of the blue on Sunday that President Trump had called him from Air Force One “and instructed me to make clear that any nation who chooses to use an untrustworthy 5G vendor will jeopardize our ability to share Intelligence and information at the highest level.” That marked a major reversal from just two days earlier when U.S. officials assured an audience at the Munich Security Conference the United Kingdom's decision to allow Huawei to build parts of its next-generation 5G wireless network would not affect intelligence sharing. The tweet came as Germany, France and Canada all appear likely to follow the United Kingdom in allowing Huawei to build portions of their 5G networks. And, in typical Trump fashion, it threw allies who are mulling multibillion-dollar 5G decisions into a new phase of uncertainty, wondering whether the pronouncement represented an actual shift in policy or just presidential bluster. U.S. officials have long warned that Huawei is too dependent on China’s Communist Party and can’t be trusted not to aid Chinese spying — especially if it has access to nations’ 5G systems, which will carry far more data than earlier generations of wireless networks. But they’ve stepped back from threats to cut off intelligence sharing as more nations sign on with Huawei. If the United States did halt sharing intelligence with key allies — especially among the Five Eyes alliance including the United Kingdom and Canada — it would be a momentous move with dramatic national security consequences. China punched back on Twitter, where Foreign Ministry representative Hua Chunying argued the United States could be just as great a threat to Germans' privacy as Huawei. She referred to a story leaked by NSA contractor Edward Snowden that U.S. spies listened in on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone, which caused a major rift between the nations in 2013. The social media sniping comes as time is running out for the United States to convince allies to bar Huawei from their networks entirely. Only a handful of nations have followed the United States' lead in implementing a full ban, including Australia, New Zealand and Japan. And U.S. leaders are bringing out their biggest rhetorical guns. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) slammed Huawei at the Munich Security Conference, saying there was bipartisan U.S. agreement about the telecom’s dangers and that nations contracting with Huawei for 5G are choosing “autocracy over democracy.” “It is about putting the state police in the pocket of every consumer in these countries,” she said. That drew swift pushback from Chinese state media.

WKU and NPR: February 18, 2020

A top Kentucky election official says foreign hackers scan the state’s election systems looking for vulnerabilities “on a regular basis” and that lawmakers need to create a more stable funding source for election security. Jared Dearing, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said election officials don’t know if the hacking attempts are coming from foreign governments, but that they “don’t have good intentions.” “We are routinely scanned by Venezuela, by North Korea, by Russia on a regular basis,” Dearing said. “This is not something that is in the past that happened in 2016, it happens on a weekly basis. We don’t necessarily know that those are coming from nation-state actors, but we know the IP ranges are coming in from those localities.” Dearing made the comments during a hearing with lawmakers on the House Budget Review Subcommittee on General Government. He said that efforts to boost security in recent years “have paid off,” but that Kentucky has become reliant on irregular financial windfalls from the federal government to prop up the state’s election security posture. Kentucky received about $6 million in both 2018 and 2019 as part of special Congressional initiatives to boost election security in the states in the wake of Russian hacking in the 2016 election. Dearing said that as the state has beefed up its security, those looking to spread misinformation and disrupt elections have shifted their attention to local elections. “The world that we live in now is fraught with cyber danger. There is an increase of ransomware and phishing attempts and malware attacks at our local level is only increasing dramatically over the last several election cycles,” Dearing said. “In many ways we are asking of our 120 county clerks, many of whom in very small counties that are resource-strapped to begin with, to participate in national defense.” Despite recent transfusions from the government for states to boost election security, the amount received by Kentucky represents only a fraction of the amount needed to upgrade the state’s voting infrastructure—somewhere between $60 to 80 million, Dearing said on Tuesday. By this year’s General Election, Kentucky will likely be one of only eight states in the country that use voting machines that don’t create a paper trail—an industry standard. Only five of the state’s 120 counties have full fleets of voting machines that create paper records of voting results. Buying voting machines is ultimately the responsibility of the 120 county governments around the state, most of which have been financially hamstrung by massive pension payments and other obligations in recent years. Dearing said with increased funding, the State Board of Elections would fund a new information security officer and IT training opportunities for county clerks who administer elections. The State Board of Elections received $4.2 million from the state this year. Dearing asked for $5.7 million and 5.8 million from the state over the next two years.

Idaho Press Tribune: February 17, 2020

New legislation regarding legalizing industrial hemp was introduced in the Senate State Affairs Committee this morning; it was proposed by Sen. Abby Lee, R-Fruitland, and Rep. Caroline Nilsson Troy, R-Genesee. “I will assure you that should you choose to print this bill, we will have a robust discussion about this policy and opportunities in the state of Idaho,” Lee told the Senate committee. She noted that since the federal Farm Bill legalized industrial hemp in December of 2018, “We took a look at a couple of options last year and left without anything. Since that time, the governor has presented an executive order,” to allow interstate transport of industrial hemp through Idaho to and from states where it’s legal. “So currently that’s all we have,” Lee said. The new bill, she said, includes “some updates to that executive order, and some clarifications that I think would help our transporters, as well as specific direction to develop a state plan.” A state plan, to be developed by the state Department of Agriculture, would meet the requirements of the federal Farm Bill and also “identify a path for our growers to receive crop insurance and bank loans should they want to grow this. It also has an emergency clause to direct the state Department of Agriculture to being working on that state plan with our producers and other interested partners through negotiated rulemaking.” Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, said, “Thank you, Sen. Lee, for your diligence and perseverence on this issue. Seems like it’d be a fairly simple thing to deal with, with the changes at the federal level, but it certainly hasn’t been. … I look forward to further discussions.”

The Baltimore Sun: February 17, 2020

Some Baltimore County residents have complained for months of an overpowering stench coming from an industrial hemp farm. They said the odor would cling to their clothes, cause headaches and drift through open windows. The farm, tucked off Broadway Road between Greenspring Avenue and Falls Road, reeked from late July or early August and until early November, when the plant was harvested, and now nearby residents say they’re worried about the next growing season. Besides the smell, several neighbors said they worry about the possible health effects of inhaling the fumes from hemp, a variety of the cannabis plant, but without the active ingredient of marijuana, that can be used in an array of commercial products, including clothing fibers and CBD oil. The neighbors, who asked to remain anonymous, said they were not opposed to industrial hemp. Rather, the group wants the county or the state to impose restrictions that would prohibit industrial hemp farming within 2 miles of a residential area. The Broadway farm is surrounded by suburban homes, just north of Stevenson, between Lutherville-Timonium and Owings Mills. The odor is “kind of a skunky marijuana smell,” said Mark Holland, a professor of biological sciences at Salisbury University.

Albuquerque Journal: February 17, 2020

A proposal heading to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham would prohibit out-of-state residents from participating in New Mexico’s medical marijuana program. The legislation, Senate Bill 139, won House approval 44-19. It passed the Senate last week. Supporters of the bill said it would “fix” a change in state law enacted last year that opened the door for Texas residents and others who live outside New Mexico to get medical marijuana ID cards if they meet qualifying criteria. Rep. Deborah Armstrong, D-Albuquerque, presented the bill during Monday’s debate. She said more than 600 out-of-state residents have enrolled in New Mexico’s medical cannabis program. They will be able to keep their cannabis cards, she said, but wouldn’t be permitted to renew them when they expire. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque. The proposal triggered an unusual abstention this session. House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, notified his colleagues last week that he wouldn’t cast a vote on the bill or participate in determining its committee assignments — because the legislation would affect a lawsuit he’s involved in as a private attorney. He wasn’t present on the House floor Monday when the bill was debated and passed. Rep. Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque, presided over the House debate, sitting in the speaker’s chair during Egolf’s absence. It isn’t unusual for other members of the House to preside over debates periodically when Egolf is unavailable or wants to take a seat on the floor to participate in debate.

Politico: February 16, 2020

Anxiety is rising over the possibility of another tech-induced meltdown at the Nevada Democratic caucuses on Saturday. In interviews, three caucus volunteers described serious concerns about rushed preparations for the Feb. 22 election, including insufficient training for a newly-adopted electronic vote-tally system and confusing instructions on how to administer the caucuses. There are also unanswered questions about the security of Internet connections at some 2,000 precinct sites that will transmit results to a central “war room” set up by the Nevada Democratic Party. Some volunteers who will help run caucuses at precinct locations said they have not been trained on iPads that the party purchased to enter and transmit vote counts. Party officials scrambled to streamline their vote reporting system — settling on Google forms accessible through a saved link on the iPads — after scrapping a pair of apps they’d been planning to use until a similar app caused the fiasco in Iowa two weeks ago. The volunteers also said the party has not provided sufficient training on how to use the Google form that will compile vote totals, a complicated process in a caucus. The concerns, which were described on condition of anonymity because the volunteers are not authorized to speak to reporters, come at a perilous moment for the Democratic Party. As the third state on the primary calendar and the first with a significant minority population, Nevada holds huge importance in the nomination contest. The debacle in Iowa cost one state party chairman his job and threatened the standing of the national party chairman, while casting doubts about whether the results from party-run caucuses can be trusted. Nevada Democratic officials insist they have everything under control. But a repeat of Iowa — or any kind of breakdown — would be disastrous. One volunteer who has worked on past caucuses in Nevada said the Google form that will be used to input vote totals wasn’t even mentioned during a training session for precinct chairs late last week. “We weren’t told at all about it,” the person said. The iPads weren’t discussed until more than halfway through the presentation, the volunteer said, when someone asked how early vote totals would be added to the totals compiled live at each precinct. The person leading the training said not to worry because the iPads would do the math for them. “There were old ladies looking at me like, ‘Oh, we’re going to have iPads,’” the volunteer told POLITICO. After sitting through the two-hour training session, the person predicted the caucus would be a “complete disaster.” Another volunteer, who will be in a senior position at a caucus site, said that as of Feb. 11 the party had failed to provide updated training sessions for caucus day to many people who’d been preparing to use the now-scrapped apps. Recently, the volunteer did take a refresher course for early voting, but it “diverged significantly” from the initial training. “We were practically starting from scratch,” the volunteer said.

Democrat & Chronicle: February 15, 2020

Disagreements over revenue and reparations have held up proposals to legalize recreational marijuana in New York, but opportunities for compromise could come up in the weeks ahead. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to soon release suggested tweaks to his budget proposal, which included a plan to legalize the drug. Senate Democrats plan to unveil the latest version of their own legalization bill. And marijuana legalization could be part of the state budget proposals being prepared now by the Assembly and Senate. Last year, New York softened some criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana and launched a process to automatically expunge the records of thousands of individuals convicted of low-level possession crimes. Full legalization, however, broke down amid fights about just how the state should take steps to aid minority communities that were disproportionately harmed by the decades-long drug war. Those disputes remain unresolved. Some legislators have proposed setting aside 50% of marijuana tax revenue for grants to help such communities. Supporters, including Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, have said New York can't pass a bill that doesn't dedicate revenue to those efforts. Cuomo has proposed putting marijuana tax revenue in a fund that could be used for a wider variety of expenses, including encouraging minorities, women and disadvantaged farmers to join the cannabis industry, public health campaigns and offsetting the cost of regulating marijuana. Activists say the governor's proposal is too vague and won't ensure New York heavily invests in things directly related to lifting up places that has suffered from mass incarceration, like community reentry programs for prisoners, job development, drug treatment and legal services. They also say Cuomo's proposal focuses too much on criminal penalties, rather than civil fines, to enforce marijuana laws. "There's so much that we can do with revenue from marijuana, but it needs to be done in a way that creates a model for the nation," said Jawanza James Williams, an organizer with the pro-legalization group VOCAL-NY. "How do we legalize marijuana while correcting wrongs?"

The New York Times: February 13, 2020

Nevada Democrats have released a revamped plan for the Feb. 22 caucuses, adding measures intended to avoid a repeat of problems that ensnared Iowa's vote. But they will still rely on a complex process involving internet-connected iPads that is being rolled out to caucus organizers a little more than a week before voting. In a memo released Thursday, Nevada Democrats said there will be a two-step process for reporting results consisting of submissions made by phone and electronically. Caucus organizers will be relying on off-the-shelf Google data-management software to calculate and submit results electronically. The Google app and iPads are trusted commercial tech tools — a contrast to the newly developed app used in Iowa. “In choosing the best path forward our guiding principles have been security, efficiency and simplicity,” the party’s executive director, Alana Mounce, said in the memo. Election experts have warned that deploying new technology and making last-minute changes to the process without sufficient training and field testing increase confusion and the possibility of problems. They have also raised concerns about a lack of transparency over who is helping party officials develop some of the technology being used, which prevents scrutiny of their qualifications and security experience. “Very much like Iowa, this sounds like a tremendous amount of information coming relatively late in the game for fallible human beings in a complex environment,” said Eddie Perez, an election technology expert with the OSET Institute, a nonprofit that promotes reliable voting solutions. “And that creates risk for another process breakdown.” The stakes are high for Democrats after the meltdown of the Iowa caucuses and amid heightened concern of election security following Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential contest. As in Iowa, Nevada’s caucuses are run by the state party and not state and local election officials. Nevada Republicans do not have caucuses this year. The state party had to scramble to rework its process after jettisoning software made by the same developer whose mobile reporting app failed in Iowa. State party officials said they have been consulting with the Democratic National Committee, the Department of Homeland Security and technical experts. Party officials emphasized that no custom applications were built and instead the process relies on “off the shelf technology from Google” connected with forms and spreadsheets for convenience. They also said they alerted Google that they planned to use its programs. In recent days, volunteers who will be leading the Nevada caucuses had raised concerns that key information about the process had yet to be released and that there had been no hands-on training with the iPads they will be expected to use. In addition, they said there had been no opportunities to practice using what was then described as a “tool” for calculating results.

Tampa Bay Times: February 13, 2020

A ransomware attack apparently corrupted some of the data at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office in 2016, but state and federal officials were not told about the attack for years. The cyberattack — which became public this week after current Palm Beach County elections supervisor Wendy Sartory Link discussed it in a Palm Beach Post editorial board meeting — raises questions not only about what could happen if other elections offices across the state are hit with ransomware attacks, but also about whether the public would know if they were. Then-Gov. Rick Scott, who is now a U.S. senator, was not notified of the reported ransomware attack in 2016, his Senate office said. The Florida Department of State also said it was not told about the attack in 2016. The previously unreported incursion occurred in September 2016, Link told the Tampa Bay Times, under the watch of her predecessor, Susan Bucher. Link said she found out about the attack in November 2019 from one of her IT specialists after her former IT director had been fired. Link said she then reported the cyber incident to the state, the FBI and Homeland Security. Link said she has since been told the office had been infected with a type of ransomware known as a zepto virus. She said she did not believe the attack was tied to Russian interference efforts in the 2016 election. The Times was not able to reach Bucher on Thursday. In a Thursday interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Bucher, who was suspended in 2019 by Gov. Ron DeSantis after he said she failed to properly conduct recounts in the 2018 election, said she can “swear on a stack of Bibles” that the cyberattack described by her successor did not happen. Link, who was appointed by DeSantis to replace Bucher, said she has spoken with the fired IT director as well as employees in her office regarding the attack, saying they described seeing files that suddenly couldn’t be accessed or whose names had changed, and pop-up text boxes demanding payments in order to get the files back. She said employees described moving frantically to contain the infection, saying the IT director at the time screamed for employees to shut down the servers. Link said she does not believe any ransom was paid. She said the majority of files were able to be restored with backups. She was not able to say exactly which files were affected, but said she did not believe it impacted the voter registration system. Link said employees were recently able to find thousands of pages of code that had been printed out at the time of the virus. She said she sent those pages recently to the FBI. She also said her office has been working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to do a further review of her office’s systems ahead of the 2020 election.

FCW: February 13, 2020

Officials from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency often describe their role in election security as helping to coordinate and advise the larger ecosystem of election stakeholders. In a newly released strategic plan, the agency lays out its strategy for protecting the 2020 elections by largely leaning into that facilitator role, breaking down its coordination activities across four lines of effort: elections infrastructure, campaigns and political infrastructure, the American electorate and warning and response. To help protect digital and physical elections infrastructure, such as voting machines, election software systems and polling places, CISA views its role as largely complementary to that of states and localities, vendors and others on the front lines of election administration. Thus, getting those organizations to adopt better security practices through outreach and offers of federal resources are its prime tools. The plan notes that CISA has "identified incident response and reporting as a capability gap" in its engagement with state and local governments, something a government watchdog report released just last week determined was an issue during the 2018 mid-term elections. With local officials unsure of who to contact when faced with different cybersecurity incidents, one tactic for closing that gap is a series of emergency response guide posters for polling places, election offices and storage facilities that offer step-by-step instructions on who to contact when variables such as weather, a violent incident, fire or cybersecurity events cause a disruption during an election. The agency has also deployed physical and cybersecurity advisors to different regions across the country who act as the primary point of contact between the federal government and election stakeholders, offering vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, phishing tests and incident response services upon request. Some members of Congress want CISA to go even further and have introduced legislation that would have the agency designate cybersecurity coordinators for all 50 states. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill told FCW that while he wasn't opposed to the legislation, he believes CISA and other federal agencies are already listening to states. "What we know is that our friends at DHS, at FBI, CIA, [Office of the Director of National Intelligence] have all been very receptive to suggestions that we have made over the last three years, and they have adjusted their programs, adjusted their responses … to be helpful to us whenever we've introduced something to them," Merrill said in a January interview when asked about the bill. Bodies like the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center and Election Information Sharing and Analysis Center are also viewed as key arteries for quickly disseminating threat intelligence from the federal government to states and localities.

Star Tribune: February 13, 2020

Minnesota House Democrats launched an attempt Thursday to prevent Republicans from blocking Secretary of State Steve Simon from spending $7.4 million in federal election security money, aiming to head off a repeat of partisan maneuvering from last year. Rep. Mike Freiberg, of Golden Valley, told a state government finance committee that Minnesota is one of only a handful of states that require the Legislature to sign off before elections officials can use federal money provided under the Help America Vote Act. His bill would eliminate the need for legislative approval. The latest round of federal funding was assigned in December. The federal government allocated Minnesota $6.6 million in the previous round in 2018 after Minnesota and other states' election systems were targeted by foreign hackers in 2016. The Democratic-controlled House authorized spending it by a wide bipartisan margin last year. But GOP Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, of Big Lake, a former secretary of state who chairs a key election committee, was blamed for stalling approval in the Republican-controlled Senate until the end of the 2019 session, despite repeated pleas by House Democratic leaders and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. Simon, a Democrat, told the committee that the reasons for the holdup still remain unclear to him. He said he concluded that the money became "trade bait for an end-of-session deal that may or may not have even included elections." But, he said, the 16-month delay in final clearance put Minnesota's election security at risk. "There are things we can't do for the 2020 election that we could have done had we gotten this money on time," said Simon, who is using the money mostly for software updates to beef up security for the state's elections system. The committee approved the bill on a voice vote and sent it to its next committee stop. Kiffmeyer said in an interview that she didn't see any need for the legislation and disputed that there was any holdup last year. She said Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka promised that the money would be released by the end of the session, and it was. A similar bill introduced in the Senate this week would have to get through Kiffmeyer's committee.

KRQE: February 12, 2020

Legalizing marijuana in New Mexico won’t happen this year, despite the governor strongly supporting the move. Late Wednesday night, two Democrat lawmakers joined Republicans in a 6-4 vote to table Senate Bill 115. The measure would have sheltered the state’s medical cannabis program and expunged convictions from people’s criminal records for having small amounts of pot. Lawmakers spent a lot of time debating the controversial bill and with the clock ticking to get it through both chambers, some lawmakers are doubtful. “Legalizing marijuana is way too big of a bill that impacts all of New Mexico and society to do in eight days. The Governor completely mishandled this issue- there was an opportunity last year to do a bipartisan, bicameral effort but the governor has really turned this into a political and fundraising effort that I think has created a lot of tension in this issue and has really sabotaged it,” said Sen. Mark Moores of Albuquerque. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham says legalization would have helped the state’s economy. The vote leaves little to no chance of reviving the bill before the end of the session next week. The governor issued a statement saying she’s disappointed but her administration will keep working to get it done. Even if Senate Bill 115 would have passed its second committee Wednesday, there would have been a long way to go before it can reach the Senate floor. It still needed to travel through one more committee, then it would head to the House for a similar process. One of the bill’s sponsors was still holding out hope late Wednesday. “It’s very late in the session so it’s going to be very hard to get it through both houses this late but every different legislator we could expose to what we’re trying to do and educate them on why it’s so crucial and something should be done about this I think is a step in the right direction,” said Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino of Albuquerque.

Vox: February 12, 2020

Virginia seems poised to decriminalize marijuana. The Democratic-controlled Virginia Senate approved a bill on Tuesday that would eliminate jail time for simple marijuana possession, leaving only a civil penalty with a fine in place for the first offense. On Monday, the Virginia House approved a largely similar bill to decriminalize cannabis. The two legislative bodies will now have to reconcile the small differences between their bills in conference. Gov. Ralph Northam has vowed to sign a decriminalization bill into law, previously making the issue a priority for the year. That’s different from marijuana legalization. Under decriminalization, penalties carrying jail or prison time are removed, but lower-level penalties, like a fine, remain in place and sales remain illegal. Under legalization, all penalties for marijuana possession are removed, and sales are typically allowed. Some opponents of legalization favor decriminalization as a step toward peeling back America’s harsh drug and criminal justice policies. They see “tough on crime” policies as too punitive and costly, but they don’t want to resort to full legalization, which they fear would make pot too accessible in the US and allow big corporations to sell and market the drug irresponsibly. The concern for legalization advocates is that decriminalization keeps the ban on selling marijuana, which means users wouldn’t have a legal source for the drug, and criminal organizations would therefore still have a source of revenue that they can use for violent operations around the world. The fines, while less punitive than arrests or prison time, can also cause problems, since they’re often applied in a racially disparate manner. Some activists, including the Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, oppose the decriminalization measure on similar grounds: They fear that the bill doesn’t do enough to dismantle the status quo of prohibition, preferring lawmakers legalize outright instead of taking smaller steps. But state lawmakers and other activists argued that some progress is better than none. So after Democrats this year took control of Virginia’s legislature for the first time in decades, they moved to decriminalize.

The Hill: February 11, 2020

Senate Republicans blocked an effort by Democrats to unanimously pass three election security-related bills Tuesday, marking the latest attempt to clear legislation ahead of the November elections. Democrats tried to get consent to pass two bills that require campaigns to alert the FBI and Federal Election Commission (FEC) about foreign offers of assistance, as well as legislation to provide more election funding and ban voting machines from being connected to the internet. But Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) opposed each of the requests. Under the Senate's rules, any one senator can ask for unanimous consent to pass a bill, but any one senator can object and block their requests. Blackburn accused Democrats of trying to move the bills knowing that GOP lawmakers would block them and giving them fodder for fundraising efforts. “They are attempting to bypass this body’s Rules Committee on behalf of various bills that will seize control over elections from the states and take it from the states and where do they want to put it? They want it to rest in the hands of Washington, D.C., bureaucrats,” she said. Election security has become a point of contention during the Trump era. House Democrats have passed several election-related bills, including a sweeping ethics and election reform measure, but they've hit a wall in the GOP-controlled Senate. A release from Democrats this week that blasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for a "legislative graveyard" included a list of 10 election security-related bills that have stalled in the upper chamber. Senate Democrats have tried repeatedly during the past year to try to bring up election security bills on the floor without success. The latest attempt comes as Democrats are embroiled in their own days-long scandal after an app malfunctioned, throwing the Iowa caucuses into chaos. The snag was not due to a hack or cyberattack, but a "coding issue," according to the Iowa Democratic Party. It also comes as Democrats are turning their attention to the 2020 election after the months-long impeachment battle, as they try to find ways to pressure GOP senators to buck President Trump. The New Hampshire primary is underway Tuesday, and voters in both Nevada and South Carolina are expected to head to the polls this month. "The current president of the United States, far from having the same fears about foreign interference as our founders, has been very public about his openness to foreign assistance and manipulation in support of his election," Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. "The president was just impeached over this issue, and the Senate just concluded a trial in which it appeared a bipartisan majority of senators broadly accepted the fact that the president leveraged hundreds of millions of dollars of military assistance to Ukraine to compel its government to investigate one of his political rivals," he added. Trump has denied wrongdoing in his dealings with Ukraine, with the administration arguing he was concerned about corruption and cost-sharing with other European countries. Several GOP senators who voted to acquit Trump on House-passed articles of impeachment also described the president's conversation with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as "shameful" and "inappropriate."

The Washington Post: February 11, 2020

The fiasco caused by an app that failed to properly transmit votes in the Iowa caucuses is worrying the mobile voting industry, which hoped 2020 would be a banner year. Companies — and proponents of incorporating more technology into elections — are trying to avoid being lumped in with the hastily made app used in Iowa. They’re saying its failure proves serious investment in user-friendly, secure election technology is more critical than ever. “We need to ensure that every new idea is tested, transparent and secure — just like the eight successful mobile voting pilots conducted to date,” Bradley Tusk, the founder and CEO of Tusk Philanthropies, said in a statement. “Enough is enough. 2016 should have been enough of a wake-up call. Iowa just confirmed it.” Tusk Philanthropies has funded pilots for mobile voting across the country, launched in a push to increase participation in elections. Unlike the app used in Iowa, which was developed to relay vote counts, the pilots use technologies that allow voters to easily vote from their mobile phones. So far, the pilots have largely been limited to eligible uniformed and overseas voters and voters with disabilities. But any expansion is sure to fall under an even more critical spotlight. Any malfunction — or hack — of an app used directly for voting in 2020 could have far greater impact in undermining public faith in the Democratic process than one Democratic caucus gone wrong. “I think [Iowa] really set back mobile voting, maybe even by a number of years,” Maurice Turner, an election security expert at the Center for Democracy & Technology, told me. “Because what voters and officials and the press see is this is a failure of new tech. Most people aren't going to appreciate that this is a caucus app, that this was procured by the party and developed in secret.” Voatz, a mobile election platform used in many pilots, is stressing that difference in its public messaging — insisting it had never heard of the app used in Iowa until it flopped. “We are also committed to transparency which is why we were one of the first elections companies in the world to invite the research community to help test our technology through our public bug bounty program,” the company said in a statement. Votes cast on the app are encrypted and stored on a blockchain that election officials can access. Voatz also highlighted that it voluntarily worked with the Department of Homeland Security after Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) called on intelligence agencies to audit the app in the fall. Still, Iowa could have a chilling effect on any election officials still on the fence about whether to adopt such technology.

New York Magazine: February 11, 2020

Donald Trump has released what may be the last budget proposal of his presidency, and the contents are predictably unsettling. The spending cuts he has proposed are plentiful, and they are steep; they would knife what’s left of the American welfare state to the bone. Trump wants to cut $2.8 billion in homelessness-assistance grants, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, and $292 billion overall from Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known to most as food stamps. By changing eligibility standards for certain disability benefits, the White House hopes to save the government another $70 billion. Trump does not universally apply this penchant for austerity. The tax cuts he imposed in 2017, which almost exclusively benefited the nation’s richest households, would become permanent. He would increase the budgets of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Homeland Security, and he wants another $2 billion for his border wall, a perennial object of fixation. Democrats in Congress probably won’t help him chase that particular white whale. Many of his cuts, in fact, are unlikely to pass Congress, and for this, low-income voters can give some thanks. But there are ways for Trump to shrink the welfare state by going around Congress. The USDA’s proposed changes to eligibility standards for food stamps, which would cut over 3 million people total from the program, are proof. His budget only clarifies the stakes of the general election. If Trump were ever to impose a fraction of the cuts he has repeatedly proposed, the most vulnerable people in the country would have to absorb losses they are ill equipped to endure. Even if Trump loses reelection, his budgets would retain a certain power. Examined for what they are — dispatches from the fantasy life of a Republican president — they are meaningful. Trump’s budget priorities do occasionally alienate his fellow Republicans. In past years, he put forward proposals to cancel funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission, which exists to support economic development in the Appalachian region. Republicans were not amused. “It’s true that the president won his election in rural country. I would really like to see him climb aboard the ARC vehicle as a way to help us help ourselves,” Congressman Hal Rogers, a Republican who represents coal counties in eastern Kentucky, told Reuters at the time. No Republican, no matter how loyal he may be to Trump, wants to go home to his constituents and explain why their grant money vanished. In most respects, though, Trump’s fiscal sense is fully in line with that of his party. They share a hostility toward welfare spending and to the people who rely on it to survive. Trump’s demeanor may be unusual for a president, but Ronald Reagan would recognize the beliefs behind the 45th president’s budgets.

Marijuana Moment: February 11, 2020

The Virginia Senate approved a bill on Tuesday to decriminalize possession of marijuana. This comes one day after the House of Delegates passed similar cannabis decriminalization legislation. Given that Gov. Ralph Northam (D) supports the change, it is all but certain that the state will soon become the 27th in the U.S. to remove the threat of jail time for low-level marijuana possession. The Senate version, SB 2, would make possession of up to one ounce a civil penalty punishable by a $50 fine and no jail time. Current policy stipulates that possession is punishable by a maximum $500 fine and up to 30 days in jail. It would also raise the threshold for what’s considered distribution or possession with intent to distribute from a half ounce to an ounce. An expungement provision that was initially included in the legislation was removed in committee and incorporated into a wide-ranging expungements bill that was also approved in a floor vote on Tuesday. The chamber also unanimously passed another bill to formally legalize possession of CBD and THC-A medial cannabis preparations that are recommended by a doctor, as opposed to simply regulating it and offering patients an affirmative defense, which is the current policy. The Senate vote on decriminalization was 27-13. “We all know, whatever our views are on this bill, that prohibition on cannabis in this country has failed and in the Commonwealth as well,” Sen. Adam Ebbin (D), the legislation’s lead sponsor said ahead of the vote. A floor amendment that would have prevented the oder of marijuana from being used as a justification for police searches was rejected. Another amendment to allow people to do five hours of community service in place of paying fines was approved, however. “Virginia made history this week with both the House and Senate voting to decriminalize personal possession of marijuana, and the Senate approving a measure to legalize the state’s nascent medical cannabis program,” Jenn Michelle Pedini, executive director of Virginia NORML, told Marijuana Moment, adding that the Commonwealth “will become the 27th state to decriminalize marijuana.” “These victories come after years of dedicated work by Virginia NORML and unrelenting advocacy by NORML members to build bipartisan support for common sense reforms,” Pedini said. While the decriminalization bill is largely similar to what the House approved on Monday, there are a few differences that will have to be resolved in a conference committee where lawmakers will merge the two versions into one unified proposal to send to Northam for his signature. The House version would impose a $25 fine for possession of up to a half ounce, and it contains provisions allowing for criminal records to be sealed for marijuana-related offenses. The bills also treat juvenile offenses differently. Last week, the Senate also passed a separate resolution calling for the formation of a joint commission to “study and make recommendations for how Virginia should go about legalizing and regulating the growth, sale, and possession of marijuana by July 1, 2022 and address the impacts of marijuana prohibition.” That’s a key step if Virginia hopes to build on decriminalization and the limited medical cannabis program by pursuing adult-use legalization down the line. The legislature generally insists on studies prior to enacting such bold reform, and this resolution included a specific deadline to ensure that a review is ready in time for lawmakers to act on legalization in the 2021 session. While Northam campaigned on decriminalization and included the policy proposal in his State of the Commonwealth address last month, he hasn’t come out in favor of recreational legalization yet. “Passing decriminalization in both the House and the Senate is a really important first step in the right direction on Virginia’s journey towards legal and regulated adult use, but this cannot be the end. We must keep going because the work is not done,” Attorney General Mark Herring (D) said in a press release. “For too long, Virginia’s approach to cannabis has needlessly saddled Virginians, especially African Americans and people of color, with criminal records but with these votes that is finally coming to an end. I want to thank my colleagues in both the House and the Senate for joining me in making this issue a priority and I look forward to seeing the progress we can make in the coming years.”

KEOLAND: February 11, 2020

Minutes after House members voted 54-12 Tuesday afternoon for legalizing low-THC hemp in South Dakota, the top elected lawmaker on the other side of the Capitol already knew where he plans to send it. “It’d be my intention at this point to put it in Ag and Natural Resources,” Senator Brock Greenfield, a Clark Republican, said. As president pro tem, he is responsible for deciding the best Senate committee for each bill. “Last year that’s the committee that I assigned it to,” Greenfield continued. “It’s obviously an ag issue. I know that it has broader ramifications, and it holds a lot of promise for the state, but I think this is an issue best addressed by the agricultural experts, and most of them rest on the Ag and Natural Resources Committee.” Governor Kristi Noem used her veto last year to stop a somewhat similar version of the hemp legislation from becoming state law. The difference this session is the Legislature’s top Republicans and Democrats agreed to meet key conditions the Republican governor laid down in January. House Republican leader Lee Qualm of Platte was the only representative to speak about HB 1008 on the House floor Tuesday before the vote. He said it wasn’t a perfect bill because there is no perfect bill. “But it does what we need to do to move forward and grow hemp in this state,” Qualm told House members. He said afterward he didn’t expect to be the only House member to talk. “I guess I was a little surprised at that. I expected somebody to get up and speak, but we’ve been discussing this now for two years, extensively. It’s been talked about so much. We’ve talked about it in our caucuses, as to what the bill stood for, what was in there. I think everybody just knew it, and there really was no reason to go any further.” Qualm said he spoke with Rep. Oren Lesmeister, a Parade Democrat who sponsored the 2019 legislation. They agreed Lesmeister shouldn’t get up unless something negative surfaced. The House has 59 Republicans and 11 Democrats.

Marijuana Moment: February 10, 2020

President Trump proposed ending an existing policy that protects state medical marijuana programs from Justice Department interference as part of his fiscal year 2021 budget plan released on Monday. The rider, which has been renewed in appropriations legislation every year since 2014, stipulates the the Justice Department can’t use its funds to prevent states or territories “from implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.” This isn’t the first time that an administration has requested that the rider be stricken. Trump’s last two budgets omitted the medical cannabis protections language, and President Obama similarly asked for the policy to be removed. In all cases, Congress has ignored those requests and renewed the protections in spending bills. During last year’s appropriations season, the House approved an even more expansive amendment that would have provided protections for all state and territory marijuana programs, rather than just medical cannabis systems. But the Senate did not follow suit and the provision was not included in final fiscal year 2020 legislation sent to Trump’s desk. When Trump signed that large-scale spending legislation in December, he attached a statement that said he is empowered to ignore the congressionally approved medical cannabis rider, stating that the administration “will treat this provision consistent with the President’s constitutional responsibility to faithfully execute the laws of the United States.” Cannabis is also mentioned in several other places in Trump’s new budget proposal for next year. For example, it contains another long-standing rider that blocks Washington, D.C. from using local tax dollars to legalize marijuana sales. Separately, the plan requests that funds be set aside to help the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) invest “in priority activities,” including the “regulation of cannabis and cannabis derivatives.” FDA is actively developing regulations for CBD since hemp and its derivatives were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. “FDA recognizes the potential opportunities that cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds may offer, and acknowledges the significant interest in these possibilities,” the agency said in a summary. “FDA is aware that companies market products containing cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds in ways that violate the law and may put consumer health and safety at risk.” “Questions remain regarding the safety of these compounds,” it continued. “FDA is committed to protecting the public health and improving regulatory pathways for the lawful marketing of cannabis and cannabis-derived products within the agency’s jurisdiction.” FDA said it was important to fund these regulatory efforts because it’s an example of an issue with “rising public health needs as growing markets outpace increases to Agency resources.” The agency requested $5 million to “continue enforcing the law to protect patients and the public while also providing potential regulatory pathways, to the extent permitted by law, for products containing cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds.” “FDA is seeing a significant increase in activity relating to the marketing of unlawful cannabis-derived products, especially those containing cannabidiol (CBD), since the Farm Bill passed. In many cases, product developers make unproven claims to treat serious or life-threatening diseases, and patients may be misled to forgo otherwise effective, available therapy and opt instead for a product that has no proven value or may cause them serious harm.”

The Hartford Courant: February 10, 2020

As Connecticut lawmakers take another crack at legalizing marijuana and Gov. Ned Lamont moves to establish a regulatory apparatus, supporters are running into opposition from manufacturers and defense contractors alarmed that employees, with cannabis in their systems, could show up for work off their game. Kevin Graney, president of Electric Boat, was the most recent executive to weigh in. “For me, it’s a nonstarter,” he said at the submarine manufacturer’s annual meeting to provide its outlook for the year. “I want to make sure that people coming to work on a daily basis are completely capable of doing that job, and we are very, very focused on safety. “The ships that we build go down to great depths with nuclear reactors … and more importantly our precious sailors,” Graney said. “For me, there’s no equivocating about it. I’m against it for those reasons.” State Rep. Holly Cheeseman, R-East Lyme, an opponent of legalized marijuana, asked Graney for his opinion. In an interview, she said that because manufacturing is a strong sector in Connecticut’s weak economy, lawmakers must consider the possible impact of marijuana on the workplace. “This is something we have to consider if it affects a bright spot in Connecticut,” Cheeseman said. Rep. Josh Elliott, D-Hamden, a backer of legalized marijuana, dismissed that argument. “I think it’s a legitimate concern if someone comes to work impaired,” he said. “With liquor, you don’t go to work drunk.” Eleven states and Washington, D.C., have legalized small amounts of marijuana for adult recreational use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Connecticut established a medical marijuana program in 2012. Defense contractors such as Electric Boat have another reason to oppose legalized marijuana. They are required to operate a workplace free of controlled substances under a1988 federal law. Many employees are required to have security clearances for their jobs and may not use or possess cannabis.

WFPL.org: February 9, 2020

John Fuller is waiting for another farmer he’s never met before to talk about a situation he never imagined he would be in. It’s an overcast January day on his farm in west Kentucky, where he grew 18 acres of hemp last year, investing more than $250,000 of his own cash. He’s one of nearly 1,000 licensed hemp growers in 2019 who helped grow Kentucky’s biggest hemp crop since the state reintroduced it, trying to cash in on what could be a $1 billion industry for CBD products made from hemp. But now, Fuller is wondering how much of that investment he’ll get back. “There’s some pirates that are out here. Just pirates. Us trying to get with a good, ethical processor has been a real, real challenge for us,” Fuller said. Later that morning, Bobby Huff arrives after driving more than two hours from Clinton County. By coincidence, both men are pharmacists turned hemp farmers, who saw potential in the alleged medicinal properties of CBD.

MassLive: February 9, 2020

The century-old tobacco barn on the Herbert farm on Depot Road looks like dozens of others around town, but it’s what is inside that makes it different. Hanging on racks from one end of the barn to the other and three levels high is the output of the Herbert family’s first foray into the cultivation of hemp. “Holy smokes!” exclaimed Christopher Verni while walking into the barn for the first time. Verni, chief operations officer with Northwest Cultivation, a Connecticut hemp nursery that worked with the Herberts, was clearly impressed with their first crop. “There is a lot of product here,” he said. Michael A. Herbert, who with his father, Stephen J. Herbert, make up the father-son team behind Urban Grown Inc. of Hadley, said their first time growing hemp went pretty well, and they expect to turn a modest profit from it. “This was a big season,” he said. “It definitely was a very good season.”

Ironton Tribune: February 8, 2020

Eight counties in the state have not completed all parts of an election security directive issued last year by Ohio's secretary of state. The directive issued by Republican Frank LaRose required all boards of elections in Ohio's 88 counties to complete a comprehensive security checklist intended to strengthen Ohio's election system infrastructure. The. deadline was Jan. 31, 2020.

NBC12: February 7, 2020

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - This year, Virginia will not join the list of states that have legalized marijuana but the idea of decriminalizing possession is gaining momentum. This week, a committee voted to send the proposal to the House of Delegates. Friday, lawmakers will begin debating it. It’s become the topic of conversation in the Commonwealth. Will the General Assembly, made up of a majority of Democrats, reform Virginia’s marijuana laws? Right now, a person who is found with half an ounce of the drug can be jailed for up to 30 days and/or fined $500. The second time it happens, jail time is increased up to a year and the fine increases up to $2,500. "The amount of arrests and prosecutions of African-Americans with simple marijuana possession is 3x that of their white counterparts,” said Delegate Charniele Herring. Herring believes the penalty of the misdemeanor offense is having a negative impact on far too many. "It ends up on your criminal record. It can affect employment, as well as getting housing,” she added. It’s why the majority leader proposed House Bill 972. That would strike any jail time for having half an ounce of marijuana. Offenders would only have to pay a $25 penalty. Those who want marijuana legalized have issues with that proposal. The ACLU says it’s “not enough”. The group believes it contributes to over-incarceration if an offender can’t pay the $25 penalty. Right now, Virginia lawmakers sent the idea of legalization to a non-partisan committee to study, and Herring says that the study could take a year. The results may give lawmakers guidance on whether they want to re-visit legalization in 2021. "If we could have a good regulatory environment for it and make sure that we are protecting the public safety, I have no opposition to legalization, but that’s why we sent it to a study to make sure we have the proper construct,” Herring added.

Marijuana Moment: February 7, 2020

Critics have taken pot shots at Colorado’s cannabis laws since voters there became the first in the nation to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012. Now, a pair of activists want to scrap the system entirely, erasing all mention of adult-use cannabis from the state Constitution. A newly filed proposed ballot initiative would repeal the section of the Colorado Constitution that says cannabis “should be legal for persons twenty-one years of age or older and taxed in a manner similar to alcohol.” The measure, submitted to state officials for review last month, would not change Colorado laws concerning medical cannabis or industrial hemp, both of which are also legal in the state. The long-shot effort seems unlikely to pass, at least in its current form. The proposal as submitted last month is four sentences long and appears to leave key questions unanswered. But the would-be initiative is nevertheless an indication of the ongoing frustration felt by those who believe communities would be better off under prohibition. The full text of the proposal is as follows: The people of Colorado declare that the recreational use of marijuana is a matter of statewide concern. Article XVIII, Section 16 of the Colorado Constitution (Personal Use and Regulation of Marijuana) is repealed.Laws regarding medical marijuana and industrial hemp are not changed. This amendment is effective upon the official declaration of the vote hereon by the Governor pursuant to Section 1(4) of Article V of the Colorado Constitution. The initiative was submitted to the state last month by Mary Lou Mosely of Denver and Willard Behm, a lawyer in Rocky Ford. Neither responded to telephone messages left by Marijuana Moment on Thursday morning. Legalization advocates are downplaying any threat posed by the measure, saying there’s no evidence to support the idea that voters want to reverse course. “We view this initiative as a deeply misguided and futile attempt to roll back a successful legalization policy that Coloradans firmly support,” Matthew Schweich, deputy director of Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), told Marijuana Moment. “This initiative would kill jobs, destroy businesses, deprive the state of tax revenue, and restore the injustice of prohibition.” “We are confident that Colorado voters would firmly reject it,” Schweich added. “But we will not be complacent. If this initiative qualifies for the ballot, the marijuana reform movement will make sure that there is a strong and well-funded campaign to defeat it.” A 2016 poll commissioned by MPP found that only 36% of voters supported reversing legalization in Colorado.The group’s communications director, Violet Cavendish, said she’s unaware of any more recent polling on the issue but added that studies out of other states, such as Washington, which began legal sales just months after Colorado did, suggest that residents of legal-cannabis states are broadly happy with the decision to legalize.

Vox: February 7, 2020

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — The long-delayed Iowa caucus results denied Sen. Bernie Sanders the big victory speech he was hoping to make on Monday night. But Sanders was ready to declare victory on Thursday, even without all the results in. “We won an eight-person election by some 6,000 votes, that is not going to be changed,” Sanders told reporters Thursday afternoon, downplaying other traditional metrics for winning the state in which he did not lead. That wasn’t the only thing he had to say. Sanders blasted the chaos and confusion in Iowa. “I really do feel bad for the people of Iowa,” Sanders said. “What has happened with the Iowa Democratic Party is an outrage. That they were that unprepared, that they put forth such a complicated process, relied on untested technology ... There is very little doubt that what happened on Monday night — that complicated process, that is never, ever going to happen again.” And for some Sanders supporters, the Iowa aftermath confirmed a belief they’ve held since 2016: that the Democratic Party just didn’t want to give their candidate a win.“I felt like it was expected; no matter what, they weren’t going to let Bernie win,” said supporter Robert Cromer, who traveled to Milford from his home state of New York to see Sanders speak. It wasn’t just Sanders die-hards who were suspicious. The lack of hard numbers in Iowa on Wednesday night allowed confusion to run amok: Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg declared himself “victorious” before any of the results were released, and Sanders declared victory on Thursday, based on the fact he won the popular vote in the state. Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign openly questioned the validity of the process, after he came in fourth place in the caucuses. “We have real concerns with the integrity of the process,” Biden’s communications director Kate Bedingfield told CNN. “There were some significant failures in the process last night that should give voters concern.” The Iowa caucuses Monday night were marked by widespread chaos: precinct captains trying to report their numbers had to deal with a new, glitchy app and jammed phone lines when that app failed in some precincts. It took a full 24 hours for 71 percent of the vote to come in. Those numbers showed Sanders winning the popular vote in the state, but coming in razor-thin second in the state delegate equivalent count behind Buttigieg. “I think it’s embarrassing for the Democratic Party,” said Bernie Sanders supporter Laura Gurney of Nashua. “This is such a shitshow. We’ve been fighting against the mainstream for a long time, it’s clear we’re not part of their party.”

WBUR: February 7, 2020

All week we've been checking in on New Hampshire as the first-in-the-nation primary approaches. We hear from WBUR's Chris Citorik, who talked to cybersecurity analysts about election safety, and Fred Thys, who's been following former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg's campaign.

Politico: February 7, 2020

— A DHS official shed more light on the department’s communications with the Iowa Democratic Party over testing a vote-counting app that misfired in this week’s caucuses. — A Senate panel report on the Obama administration’s handling of 2016 Russian election interference received, shall we say… differing reactions from Democrats and Republicans. — The vice chairman of the House Science Committee proposed electricity grid security legislation this week that gives DOE a list of tasks. ABOUT THAT DHS SHADOW APP CONSULT — A DHS official spoke with MC on Thursday about what exactly the department offered to the Iowa Democratic Party regarding its caucus vote-tabulating app, an issue that has generated some back-and-forth after the messy result reporting this week. To recap: Acting Secretary Chad Wolf said DHS had offered to have CISA test the Shadow Inc. app “from a hacking perspective,” but the party “declined.” Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price said, “We have no knowledge of DHS making that offer to us.” The DHS official told MC that CISA approached Iowa Democrats via the DNC sometime in the fall of 2019. The approach was typical of how CISA approaches other political entities and state and local officials; it informs them of the various resources it offers and lets them choose, the DHS official said. The Iowa Democratic Party told DHS it thought that CISA could be of the greatest assistance by supporting a tabletop exercise via the Harvard University Belfer Center, home of the Defending Digital Democracy initiative. The app figured into that exercise, including crisis communications planning should the app fail to work due to some malicious attack. (The official would not comment on whom, specifically, DHS spoke to at the Iowa Democratic Party.) “It’s not like they flat out said, ‘We don't want this,’” the DHS official said of the offer to vet the app. Rather, the Iowa Democratic Party answered that it thought “the tabletop exercise would help us the most.” It wouldn’t be fair to say DHS had any concerns about the app because they hadn’t seen it, the official said. And although the Iowa caucuses have been broadly panned as a debacle, the DHS official saw a silver lining. “In the end, of the many lessons we can take and apply, the fact that they had resilience and a transparent process with paper records, that was really critical,” the official said. Given the lack of evidence of any hack, the official said, “there doesn’t appear to be any reason or need” for further DHS investigation. The DHS official spoke to MC the same day that top GOP House committee leaders criticized Shadow for “choosing not to test” the app pre-rollout. The Government Accountability Office also faulted CISA for “urgently needed” election security plans not yet in place for the 2020 elections.

The Boston Globe: February 6, 2020

The New Hampshire Senate approved a bill Thursday that would allow medical marijuana patients and caregivers to cultivate their own cannabis. While medical cannabis was legalized in the state in 2013, growing the plant for personal use is currently considered a felony offense. The Senate agreed to change that policy, passing a home grow bill in a voice vote. The legislation — designated as SB 420, perhaps in a legislative staffer’s nod to cannabis culture — would let registered patients and caregivers cultivate up to three mature plants, three immature plants, and 12 seedlings each. Both the House and Senate approved similar legislation last year, but it was vetoed by Governor Chris Sununu. The House mustered enough votes to override the veto, but the Senate came just three votes short of being able to do the same. “This bill presents Gov. Sununu with a great opportunity to continue his evolution on cannabis policy,” Matt Simon, New England political director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a press release. “Patients all over New Hampshire are benefitting from cannabis as an alternative to opioids, but many are unable to afford the expensive products that are available at dispensaries.” “Home cultivation is a cost-effective option that is available to patients and adults in all neighboring jurisdictions, and there is no good reason it should remain a crime for patients in the ‘Live Free or Die’ state,” he said. Prior to the vote, three senators spoke in favor of the legislation, and none spoke out against it. The bill now heads to the House. But while advocates consider the vote a positive step, it still faces obstacles ahead. “The fact that no senators spoke against SB 420 is an encouraging development, but patients aren’t out of the woods yet,” Simon told Marijuana Moment. “Patients will either have to convince Sununu to evolve or gain a few votes in the Senate if SB 420 is to become law,” he said. Meanwhile, the Legislature is also considering a bill that would legalize marijuana for adult use in the state — though it would not provide for retail sales. The non-commercial legalization legislation was approved by a House committee last month. Lawmakers are hoping that removing the sales element of a legalization bill will be more palatable to the governor, who has said he opposes full-scale commercial legalization. A full tax-and-regulate marijuana legalization bill did pass the House last year, but after receiving a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, it ultimately stalled and died. However, Sununu did sign a modest decriminalization measure last year.

NewsCenter1.tv: February 6, 2020

HB1008B, a bill to legalize the growth and transportation of hemp in South Dakota cleared the House Agriculture and Natural Resources committee Thursday morning. The bill was heavily amended by Governor Kristi Noem’s office before being passed on an 11 yes, 2 excused vote. HB1008B will now be sent to the full House for debate. House Majority Leader Lee Qualm says he feels ‘really good’ about the current bill but added that there’s still work to be done. Governor Noem vetoed a similar bill in 2019, saying that the legalization of hemp production in South Dakota was a ‘gateway’ to legalizing marijuana. She agreed to partner with lawmakers this year provided that the bill include what she referred to as her “Four Guardrails.” The amended bill covers three of the four guardrails, with the exception of the ‘funding’ component, requiring roughly $3.5 million in funds without specifying where that funding will come from. According to Committee Chair Thomas Brunner (R-Dist 29), the bill was being ‘held hostage’. Several members of the committee expressed similar frustrations over how the state would fund hemp testing and transportation if HB1008 were to fail to pass. Acknowledging those concerns, Qualm told reporters afterwards that the bill still had work to be done, but that he was confident it would receive a favorable reception on the full floor of the House.

Hemp Industry Daily: February 6, 2020

A South Dakota legislative committee on Thursday unanimously approved a bill to allow industrial hemp production in the state. The proposal, which passed in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources committee, would legalize and regulate the growth, processing and transportation of hemp in the state. Passage would leave Idaho and Mississippi as the only states with no hemp-production laws on the books. The South Dakota bill’s advancement to the House floor marked progress on an issue that divided legislators and Gov. Kristi Noem last year. The Republican governor vetoed a bill in 2019 that would have allowed industrial hemp production. She originally vowed to veto again this year because she says hemp legalization could lead to the legalization of marijuana, but she changed her mind just before the session began. House Republican Leader Lee Qualm introduced this year’s bill and expects it to pass in the state House of Representatives.

CommonWealth Magazine: February 4, 2020

It’s been five months since House Speaker Robert DeLeo said he was unaware of any legislation filed by the Cannabis Control Commission seeking to change state laws around agreements between marijuana companies and their host communities. A month before that, a legislative committee (with DeLeo-appointed co-chair Rep. David Rogers) held a public hearing on a bill that would let the Cannabis Control Commission regulate host community agreements – a policy the CCC publicly voted in favor of in January 2019. But DeLeo’s comments, which Senate President Karen Spilka agreed with at the time, illustrated the lack of interest lawmakers had in making further tweaks to the state’s marijuana laws. DeLeo is unaware no longer. On Wednesday, the full House will take up a bill that would clarify the rules around host community agreements, which are pacts marijuana businesses must sign with their host municipality as a condition of state licensure. This would be the first significant marijuana-related bill the Legislature will vote on since its July 2017 overhaul of the 2016 ballot question.

Marijuana Moment: February 4, 2020

A top Minnesota lawmaker said on Tuesday that he will soon release a bill to legalize marijuana that will be the best “in the country to date.” During a press conference, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL) and Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL) said that after conducting a statewide tour to get public input on reform and discussing the issue within the party and with administration officials, they’ve reached conclusions about fundamental principles for legalization legislation that “will be drafted and ready early this session.” “We heard from Minnesotans that our current cannabis laws are doing more harm than good,” Winkler said in a press release. “By creating a regulatory framework we can address the harms caused by cannabis and establish a more sensible set of laws to improve our health care and criminal justice systems and ensure better outcomes for communities.” “The cannabis legal system that we have today is a failure, and the message is that we need to figure out how to move on from that,” he said. “It will be a bill that will represent the best step forward for Minnesota and should be the best legalization bill in the country to date.”

Politico: February 4, 2020

— Key election battleground states are forgoing important website security measures, according to research out today. — Results of the Iowa caucuses weren't delayed on Monday due to any hacking, the state Democratic Party said. Still, what apparently did happen might have election security ramifications. — Don’t expect President Donald Trump to talk about cybersecurity in tonight’s State of the Union speech, if past is precedent. States that will play a key role in the presidential election aren’t widely using secure website protocols, McAfee said in a report published today. Only 17 percent of counties in battleground states use .gov domains, as federal authorities recommend, including 11 percent of Iowa counties and 10 percent of New Hampshire counties. Arizona fared the best out of the 13 states that McAfee examined, but even there, only 67 percent of its counties used .gov domains. At the bottom of the list were Minnesota (4.6 percent) and Texas (5.1 percent). On an even more basic level, nearly half (46.6 percent) of battleground-state counties lack HTTPS, which protects traffic from interception and tampering. “This means that any personal voter registration information that a user shares with the site cannot be intercepted and stolen by hackers while they are on the site,” wrote McAfee’s researchers. Another possible risk: hackers directing voters to a fake county website, exploiting the real county site’s lack of trust signifiers like .gov or HTTPS. “As people gear up to cast their ballots for party candidates,” the researchers wrote, “they may not realize that website security shortcomings could leave the U.S. elections susceptible to digital disinformation campaigns or possibly worse seeking to influence and/or manipulate the democratic process.” IOWA VOTING SNAFU AND THE APPARENT LACK OF HACKING — The Iowa Democratic Party said late Monday there was no "hack" or "intrusion" on the voting. Nor did the controversial app for reporting results go down, the party said, despite reports from county chairs that they had trouble using it. The outcome was instead delayed following the discovery of "inconsistencies" in the reporting of the results, a party statement explained. DHS did not answer questions from MC on Monday evening or early Tuesday morning. Smartphone voting was already unpopular with election security experts, so this isn't likely to help the cause. Even as speculation ran wild on Twitter and elsewhere, some of it deemed false, there may have been potential lessons related to election hacking. "Most who have been paying attention to election 'hacking' threats, have focused on the voting machines," tweeted Nathaniel Persily, co-director of Stanford Cyber Policy Center. "But we need to focus equally on the entire technological ecosystem of elections — and any technology that can raise doubts (however unfounded) about the accuracy of results." LET’S GET THIS OUT OF THE WAY — Trump delivers his fourth State of the Union speech tonight, and if he mentions the word “cyber,” it would mark the first time he does so in the annual address to Congress. President Barack Obama raised the subject in five of his eight speeches. Although Trump has touched on the occasional cyber-adjacent subjects, mostly he’s taken heat for his snubs. WHAT BSA WANTS ON CYBER — BSA | The Software Alliance released its five-item cybersecurity agenda today: secure software; strengthen supply chain security; strive toward international agreements; develop the cyber workforce; and use high-tech to bolster network defenses. That, in turn, leads to some policy prescriptions, like increasing spending on security research and coordinated vulnerability disclosure programs, expanding K-12 cybersecurity education and targeting government IT funds with cybersecurity in mind.

Vox: February 4, 2020

The Iowa caucuses melted down on Monday night after technical difficulties caused significant delays in reporting the results, which have not, as of Tuesday morning, been declared. A smartphone app, which was reportedly made by a firm called Shadow, appears to be at the center of the confusion. The app was designed to help precinct chairs send the results to the Iowa Democratic Party headquarters, but reports that volunteers were unable to download or properly use the app suggest that this new way of doing things did not go smoothly. A number of volunteers resorted to calling the state party to report results, and many reported being left on hold indefinitely due to busy phone lines. Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) communications director Mandy McClure issued a statement saying there was a “reporting issue” late Monday night: We found inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results. In addition to the tech systems being used to tabulate results, we are also using photos of results and a paper trail to validate all results match and ensure we have confidence and accuracy in the numbers we report. This is simply a reporting issue, the app did not go down and this is not a hack or an instruction. The underlying data and paper trail is found and will simply take time to further report the results. The IDP issued another statement on Tuesday morning providing more details about what exactly happened. One problem seemed to be that the smartphone app was not reporting complete results: As precinct caucus results started coming in, the IDP ran them through an accuracy and quality check. It became clear that there were inconsistencies with the reports. The underlying cause of these inconsistencies was not immediately clear, and required investigation which took time. …

MSNBC: February 4, 2020

As things stand, there is no reason to believe the Iowa Democratic Party’s presidential caucus fiasco had anything to do with a “hack” or a nefarious outside actor. But as the political world marvels at the mess in the Hawkeye State, some are turning their attention to worst-case election scenarios. Take Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), for example, who published this tweet a few hours ago. Think #IowaCaucus meltdown is bad? Imagine very close Presidential election. Russian or Chinese hackers tamper with preliminary reporting system in key counties. When the official results begin to be tabulated it shows a different winner than the preliminary results online. This is, to be sure, a scary scenario for Americans to “imagine,” and I’m glad to see the Florida Republican draw attention to the possible vulnerabilities to our system of elections and those who might target it. There is, however, just one nagging problem: Rubio’s missive suggests the Senate should take up new measures to improve domestic election security, and the senator’s party seems to disagree. Let’s circle back to our earlier coverage on this. It was just last summer when Rubio partnered with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on an election-security proposal called the Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines (DETER Act). The idea was pretty straightforward: if U.S. intelligence agencies were to determine that Russia interfered in another federal election, new sanctions would kick in targeting Russia’s finance, defense and energy sectors. The point, obviously, would be to create a disincentive, letting the Kremlin know in advance that Russia would face significant economic consequences if Moscow once again attacked our democratic institutions. The bill picked up a bipartisan group of co-sponsors, and it seemed like the sort of proposal that might even have a chance in the Republican-led Senate. Those hopes were dashed in December when the GOP balked: Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) insisted the bipartisan legislation had been “designed” to be bad for Donald Trump, and must, therefore, be defeated.

Procon.org: February 3, 2020

Marijuana prosecutions have dropped by more than half in Texas since June 2019. Statewide, prosecutors filed about 5,900 new misdemeanor marijuana possession charges a month in 2018. In the first five months of 2019, prosecutors filed about 5,600 new cases. However, the number of new misdemeanor marijuana possession charges began to drop in June 2019 and had plummeted to 1,919 in November. The decrease is connected to Texas legalizing hemp in June 2019 (HB 1325) in an effort to bring the state into compliance with federal laws. The federal government legalized hemp in Dec. 2018. Both marijuana and hemp come from the cannabis plant, and are mostly indistinguishable by look or smell. THC content is the main difference between the two substances, with marijuana classified as having more than 0.3% THC content, while anything with 0.3% or less is considered hemp according to federal and Texas law. Proving that a substance is marijuana rather than hemp requires lab tests, according to some Texas attorneys, and those lab tests are expensive and time-consuming to use for every possible misdemeanor marijuana charge. Houston Forensic Science Center COO, Peter Stout explained, "None of the labs in the state are in a position to do this type of testing, certainly not at this scale. None of us can do it to meet the marijuana caseloads in the state. We don’t have adequate resources to process the caseloads that we already have.”

The Wahsington Post: February 3, 2020

Just in time for the Iowa caucuses, YouTube this morning clarified how it's cracking down on videos spreading falsehoods related to elections -- and promised to remove misleading content that could confuse people about how to vote. The streaming service, drawing from its existing “deceptive practices policies,” said in a blog post that it will remove: Content that is “technically manipulated or doctored in a way that misleads users” and “may pose a serious risk of egregious harm.” The company clarified this goes beyond clips taken out of context, and could include, for instance, a video that has been doctored to falsely make it appear that a politician is dead. Videos that “aims to mislead people about voting or the census processes.” This could include telling viewers an incorrect voting date. Clips that advance “false claims related to the technical eligibility requirements” for politicians to serve in office. For instance, this could apply to falsehoods about a candidate's citizenship status and their eligibility for a particular office. “Over the last few years, we’ve increased our efforts to make YouTube a more reliable source for news and information, as well as an open platform for healthy political discourse,” wrote Leslie Miller, the vice president of YouTube’s government affairs and public policy. YouTube's parent company Google also highlighted its election integrity efforts today. The search giant said in a blog post it is offering products for campaigns to secure their Google accounts and is supporting a University of Southern California initiative to train campaigns, academics and others for election security challenges.

New York Post: February 3, 2020

Tired of your same ol’ Mary Jane? Italian scientists have discovered a new cannabis compound that could be as much as 30 times stronger than tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the stuff in weed that gets you high. However, the researchers admit that the newfound cannabinoid, named tetrahydrocannabiphorol, or THCP, has not actually been tested for its intoxicating effects. Authors of the report, published in the journal Nature, estimated THCP’s effects by assessing its ability to bind to human cannabinoid receptors, which impacts the entire nervous system, scientists say. THCP has a bond 33 times stronger than THC, and 63 times stronger than another compound called THCV. “This means that these compounds have higher affinity for the receptors in the human body,” Cinzia Citti, lead study author, tells CNN. “In cannabis varieties where THC is present in very low concentrations, then we can think that the presence of another, more active cannabinoid can explain those effects.” Research has revealed that the molecular chain of nearly 150 cannabis compounds is five atoms long, while THCP has seven. This is the first time they’ve seen atom chains of more than five in any naturally occurring cannabinoid, leading authors to believe it may be the most potent compound yet discovered. Scientists are considering further studies on the medical benefits of THCP, which could help uncover even more unintended compounds. “There are other minor cannabinoids and traces in the plant that can be hard to study, but by isolation we can continue to assess the effects they might offer,” Jane Ishmael, associate professor in Oregon State University’s College of Pharmacy, tells CNN.

The Wall Street Journal: February 1, 2020

With Iowans kicking off voting in the 2020 presidential election season, the race is also on to protect the vote from cyberattacks and other intrusions. Precautions being taken to secure elections range from revamped electronic voting systems backed up by paper ballots to having cybersecurity experts on standby on voting days. Election officials from across the country gathering this weekend in Washington are discussing contingency planning and other safeguard measures for the 2020 voting season.

The New York Times: January 31, 2020

Iowa Will Be the First Test Case for 2020 Election Security

VICE : January 30, 2020

Like most people with a felony on their criminal record, 27-year-old Ivan has run into some roadblocks when it comes to things like jobs and housing. When Ivan was 19, he told VICE, he was the designated driver shuttling a group of friends around on New Year’s Eve when the car was pulled over. Ivan, whose last name is not being used because he fears encountering further difficulties over his criminal record, said he was “done kind of dirty,” slapped with charges like kidnapping because some of his friends in the car were underage. As part of a plea deal, Ivan agreed to a felony charge of delivering marijuana even though he maintains that he wasn’t selling or delivering it. For nearly all of his adult life, Ivan, said, his felony has held him back—which is why he rented a car and drove nearly two hours to Portland from Eugene to attend a January expungement clinic hosted by the Oregon Cannabis Association. “It was difficult having a felony trying to get a house and a job and stuff,” Ivan said. “I’d have to work jobs like Taco Bell when I had the experience for higher-qualifying jobs. I’d even had job offers where at the end, you know, they’d say all right we need a background check and a piss test—and when I’d inform them of what was on the background check, they would have to retract the offer for insurance reasons.” Ivan told VICE that his three years of work at a warehouse, including a stint as a supervisor, were essentially useless when it came to finding a similar job. “It didn't matter if it was a large company such as UPS, Pepsi, Anheuser-Busch, or even the reputable local construction and labor companies that paid a few dollars above minimum wage, my skills couldn't outshine a marijuana felony,” he said. One of the arguments for cannabis legalization has been about the effects of arrests on nonviolent offenders. Black and brown people, in particular, have been disproportionately affected by marijuana arrests, according to multiple studies before and after legalization; to take just one example, Black Americans were nearly four times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession, according to a 2013 ACLU report. So in states like Oregon where pot is available for sale to anyone over the age of 21, it seems bizarre that countless people still carry marijuana records, which can prevent people from getting a job or being approved for housing. That’s because when Oregon legalized recreational marijuana in 2015, the state failed to do something that legalization advocates have said would help level the playing field for people with marijuana arrest records: enact automatic expungement.

Ganjapreneur : January 30, 2020

An Ohio man who was arrested with 91 pounds of suspected THC-rich cannabis has been acquitted of drug charges because of the state’s hemp legalization law. An Ohio man caught with 91 pounds of what is suspected to be THC-rich cannabis was acquitted of drug charges due to hemp legalization in the state, according to a News 5 report. Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association President Ian Friedman, the defense attorney in the case, said that the prosecution’s test for just “the presence of THC” was insufficient because the state’s hemp law allows industrial hemp to contain 0.3 percent THC and the tests did not show THC levels. “If you don’t get the concentration correct, you’re not going to be able to establish what it is,” Friedman said in the report, adding that it would be dangerous for prosecutors to convict someone without proving that the substance was, in fact, illegal. In August, state Attorney General David Yost warned prosecutors that the legislative changes made quantitative analyses “necessary to ensure the THC content exceeds the statutory 0.3 percent level. In that memo, Yost said that law enforcement agencies should “suspend any identification” of cannabis testing in local jurisdictions because those methods “do not quantify THC content,” and not to “indict any cannabis-related items” prior to crime laboratories being able to perform the concentration tests. Yost’s office has announced a $50,000 grant for agencies to send cannabis samples to out-of-state labs that can perform the testing and that $1,820 has been used from that grant. On Monday, Rocky River police told News 5 that Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt was not cited for cannabis possession last week due to Ohio‘s hemp legalization laws. In a statement, the Rocky River Police Department said that the law changes “have created challenges in prosecuting marijuana possession offenses” and that many municipalities are not issuing citations for low-level possession as a result of the reforms.

NPR: January 29, 2020

Local governments across the United States could perform a simple upgrade to strengthen voters' confidence that they are what they say they are: use websites that end in .gov. Federal officials control the keys to the ".gov" top-level domain, making it less likely that somebody could get one fraudulently and use it to fool people. Domains that end in .com or .org, meanwhile, could be set up by attackers to try to intercept users seeking information from real sources. But with an uneven appreciation across the country about the way a fake website could deceive users, and with little guidance from officialdom about what to do, many counties aren't taking that step, cyberspecialists say. "The big problem today is we don't have a simple rule to tell people how to differentiate a legitimate election domain from one that was set up for malicious purposes," says Steve Grobman, a senior vice president at the cybersecurity firm McAfee. A McAfee analysis found that 95% of counties in Texas and Minnesota, 91% of counties in Michigan and 90% of counties in New Hampshire aren't using .gov addresses.

The Washington Post: January 29, 2020

The Democratic National Committee’s top cybersecurity and disinformation experts will head to Iowa to help protect the caucuses against digital attacks from Russia and other U.S. adversaries. The team will run a rapid response operation out of the Iowa Democratic Party’s main operations center in Des Moines on caucus night, the DNC's chief technology officer Nellwyn Thomas said in an interview. The team will be standing by to act on any reports of possible hacking of caucus technology. It will also flag for social media companies anything that violates their policies and work with the state party and campaigns to punch back at phony narratives that spread online. “All eyes are on Iowa,” Thomas told me. “Any doubt about the outcome or especially about the legitimacy of the process could really cast a shadow, so we’re doing everything we can to be ready for it.” Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucus will mark the DNC’s greatest challenge so far in efforts to guard its presidential contenders from the same fate that befell Hillary Clinton in 2016 when her campaign was upended by a Russian-backed hacking and disinformation effort. The DNC has surged its work on cybersecurity since then and even intervened to quash Iowa state Democratic Party plans to allow some people to caucus remotely using smartphone apps over security concerns. The national party has also held biweekly calls with campaigns to talk about cybersecurity and disinformation and run anti-disinformation war rooms during the Democratic debates, Thomas told me.

Marijuana Business Daily: January 28, 2020

New Zealand has scheduled a date for its next general election, which will coincide with a referendum on the legalization of recreational cannabis. On Sept. 19, New Zealanders will be asked to answer the straightforward question, “Do you support the proposed Cannabis Legalization and Control Bill?” Two options will be on the ballot: “Yes, I support the proposed Cannabis Legalization and Control Bill." “No, I do not support the proposed Cannabis Legalization and Control Bill.” In December, the first draft bill was released to the public outlining a wide range of business opportunities if the country voted to overturn adult-use cannabis prohibition, including those related to cultivation, manufacture and retail. The final draft bill is expected to be released “in early 2020,” which will contain more detail and take into account public and industry feedback. “The government is publishing a draft bill at this point to ensure that New Zealanders are informed about the direction being taken and the decisions that have been made to date,” according to the referendum website. The current government has said the vote is binding, but opposition parties seem less committed, according to industry sources. “It’s still unclear just how binding it really is. Even the current government says that it will be up to the new government to work through when and how it implements the legislation,” Manu Caddie, CEO of Rua Bioscience, said in a phone interview with Marijuana Business Daily.

The Agriculture Analysis : January 28, 2020

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Marijuana Moment: January 27, 2020

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Monday that it has approved hemp regulatory plans for three more states and four additional Indian tribes. This is the latest in a series of approvals that USDA has doled out since the crop and its derivatives were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. Texas, Nebraska and Delaware—in addition to the Colorado River Indian Tribes, the Fort Belknap Indian Community, the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska and the Yurok Tribe—each had their regulatory plans cleared. “USDA continues to receive and review hemp production plans from states and Indian tribes on an ongoing basis,” the department said in a notice. “Plans previously approved include those for the states of Louisiana, New Jersey, and Ohio, and the Flandreau Santee Sioux, Santa Rosa Cahuilla, and La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indian Tribes.” While hemp is no longer a federally controlled substance, farmers interested in cultivating and selling the crop must live in a jurisdiction where USDA has approved a proposed regulatory scheme. The process was outlined in an interim final rule USDA published late last year. If a state or tribe does not have, or plan to propose, regulations for hemp, cultivators can apply for a USDA license instead. “This is a victory for Texas farmers,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in a statement. “We are one step closer to giving our ag producers access to this exciting new crop opportunity.” “We’ve got to get our rules approved and get our licensing program up and running, but the dominoes are dropping pretty quick,” he said. “We’re almost there.”

WTTW News: January 27, 2020

Illinois voters can begin casting ballots as soon as next week, though undecided voters need not worry: the election itself isn’t until March 17. State and local officials took pains Monday to assure voters that whenever and however they cast their ballots in 2020, the process will be safe and secure. And in Chicago and suburban Cook, voters who don’t mail in their ballots will be using new machines. “We strive to instill confidence in our elections which represent the bedrock of our government and the strength we project around the world,” said Marisel Hernandez, chair of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. Hernandez said Chicago’s elections board has fortified its online defenses with software that detects malware and minimizes phishing attempts, converted its website to a more secure .gov domain, and will use field investigators who will be in wards to respond to issues that may pop up. Illinois ramped up its security efforts after its voter database was infiltrated by Russian hackers in 2016. Since then, it’s built up a team of cyber navigators who help to test and train election equipment. “The Russians were here, the Russians never left and they’ll be with us leading up to this election,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, a Democrat. “I believe what he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) was attempting to do was to attack the integrity of the democratic process and it only takes a little bit of hacking to accomplish that. To raise questions in the public’s mind.” Quigley helped to secure $420 million in the current federal budget that’s been disbursed to elections authorities nationwide.

Expedition 99: January 27, 2020

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The Wall Street Journal: January 27, 2020

New York state lawmakers say they are optimistic a law to regulate and tax recreational marijuana will be enacted in the coming months, perhaps as part of a new state budget that must be adopted by April.

Cannabis Business Times: January 27, 2020

Tennessee Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) introduced legislation Jan. 24 that would legalize adult-use cannabis in the state, according to a local News Channel 3 report. S.B. 1849 would allow retail sales and levy a 12% tax to support education and infrastructure, and would allow customers age 21 and older to purchase up to a half ounce of cannabis. State regulators would be charged with creating rules for commercial sales. “Tennessee’s tough on crime possession laws have trapped too many of our citizens in cycles of poverty and they haven’t actually stopped anyone from obtaining marijuana,” Akbari said in a public statement. “The enforcement of these laws in particular have cost our state billions, contributed to a black market that funds criminal organizations, and accelerated the growth of incarceration in Tennessee’s jails and prisons. Tennesseans deserve better.” The bill is not yet scheduled for a hearing, and no companion legislation has been filed in the House, according to News Channel 3. Earlier this month, Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) reintroduced a bill to legalize medical cannabis in the state after last year’s attempt stalled in the legislature.

Marijuana Moment: January 27, 2020

The president of Mexico said on Monday that a government panel is being formed in order to make recommendations for a legal marijuana system in the country. While he didn’t offer many details about the commission, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said it will be focused on studying public health aspects of legalization. “A group is going to be formed to decide what will happen about that with a public health approach. We are about to comply with the recommendation of the Supreme Court,” the president said during a press conference, according to a translation of his remarks, referencing a 2018 ruling that deemed the prohibition of cannabis for personal use unconstitutional. Asked to weigh in on the argument that regulating drugs like cannabis could combat cartels, the president said “we are analyzing this possibility” and went on to describe the state of play on legislation to legalize marijuana. Since the court ruling, legislators have spent months discussing and drafting marijuana reform legislation to create a commercial cannabis market. Several Senate committees produced a comprehensive legalization bill last year, which advocates hoped would get a vote before the court’s October 2019 deadline to change the country’s marijuana policy, but that didn’t pan out. The court granted lawmakers a deadline extension to end prohibition by April 30 of this year. “We are about to fulfill this recommendation of the [Supreme Court] so that it becomes law,” he said. “We are going to process it, we are working on that—I think it will move forward. A group will be formed to decide what to do about this, basically.”

Vox: January 23, 2020

It looks like 2020 could be a very big year for marijuana legalization. The year began with a bang when Illinois started recreational marijuana sales, after the state became the 10th in the country and the second in the Midwest to legalize marijuana. It’s a big deal because Illinois is a big state — the sixth most populous overall and the second most populous to legalize pot — but also because of how Illinois legalized: It’s the first state to allow recreational sales through the legislature, meaning state lawmakers and the governor signed off on it. That typically cautious politicians signed off on legalization is a testament to its growing political appeal. Several state governments could follow Illinois’s lead this year. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pushed for legalization — and it almost passed in 2019, with a deal falling apart at the last minute due to disagreements about how the tax revenue raised should be used and how to help people hurt by the war on weed. In New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has made it a priority to legalize marijuana, though it’s unclear if the legislature is ready to do so. In Vermont, Gov. Phil Scott, who legalized marijuana possession but not sales, now may be open to legalizing sales. Connecticut and Rhode Island also could legalize through their legislatures. Most states that have legalized so far, however, have done so through ballot initiatives, and many more may join them. Recreational legalization could end up on the ballot this year in Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, and South Dakota may vote on medical marijuana this year too. Not all of these are guaranteed to appear on the ballot, much less win a vote, but activists are trying. (Mona Zhang at Politico and Tom Angell at Forbes have good rundowns of these efforts.)

WBUR: January 23, 2020

Experts say there could be election interference from a wider range of aggressors than in 2016. Federal and state governments are fortifying defenses against these threats, but national security concerns have kept most of these advancements out of the public eye. Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson speaks with NPR election security editor Phil Ewing (@philewing) about the latest efforts to combat election interference.

The Boston Globe: January 22, 2020

When Connecticut’s Legislature convenes for its 2020 session next month, top lawmakers say marijuana legalization will be a priority. While legislation to legalize cannabis for adult use in the state advanced in several committees last year, disagreements about certain provisions, such as how to allocate revenue, ultimately derailed those efforts. This time around, however, the General Assembly is positioned to build on those bills and craft a passable measure. That’s according to Senate President Pro-Tempore Martin Looney. “We are revisiting legalizing recreational cannabis because we see that most of our neighboring states have already done it or want to do it this year,” Looney told CT Insider earlier this month. “We had three very detailed bills on this last year, so I think we’re well prepared to do that when the time comes. We clearly need additional revenue and anecdotally we hear about people who travel to Massachusetts to purchase it.” “We’re very well prepared to enact the legalization bill because we have the statutory framework already drafted,” he said in a separate interview. “It’s absolutely essential, I think, that we move on this front. We need the revenue.” Leaders of key committees met last week to discuss what a legalization push could look like this year, and the Senate Democratic caucus is expected to outline the contours of a new proposal on Thursday, according to the Hartford Courant. There were some who felt the Legislature was only positioned to put the question of legalization to voters in the form of a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot — a process that would mean legal sales wouldn’t go online until 2024. “At least a constitutional amendment would be forward movement,” Representative Josh Elliott told CT News Junkie.

NPR: January 22, 2020

Threats to U.S. elections this year could be broader and more diverse than before, warns the spy world's boss for election security — and she also acknowledged the limits of her ability to tackle them. Shelby Pierson, the intelligence community's election threats executive, told NPR in an exclusive interview that more nations may attempt more types of interference in the United States given the extensive lessons that have since been drawn about the Russian attack on the 2016 presidential election. "This isn't a Russia-only problem," she told Noel King on Morning Edition. "We're still also concerned about China, Iran, non-state actors, 'hacktivists.' And frankly ... even Americans might be looking to undermine confidence in the elections." But the U.S. intelligence community isn't standing still, Pierson said. It, too, has been working since 2016 to learn what lessons it can from that year and also adapt in real time as others do to the way officials at every level plan for this year's presidential race. "I do think it is broader and more diverse simply because we might have more actors than we had in 2016 and we might be looking at different inroads — not just necessarily capitalizing on social media, but also interfering in networks or the vote count," she said. "So you really have a broader waterfront than you might have had in 2016." Pierson said that the intelligence community is expanding its technical capabilities and trying to develop more human sources to alert it to interference efforts, but there are two major factors that complicate both what it can achieve and the efficacy of foreign interference. First is the tension over what spies should reveal about what they know, how much and when. Second, the reality that each person forms her or his own perceptions about democracy, whether an election is "rigged" or whether a fact is reliable.

Idaho State Journal: January 20, 2020

Magic Valley farmer Tim Cornie took a trip to Alberta, Canada, in September. He drove more than 3,000 miles in four days with one specific goal: To learn about hemp from Canadian farmers and researchers. And he learned a lot. “I came back thinking (hemp) was a very viable thing for Idaho,” Cornie said. Cornie, and his cousin Kurt Mason, are farmers and owners of 1,000 Springs Mill, a new food company in Buhl that specializes in organic and non-genetically modified foods. They want to grow hemp essentially like a grain in the Magic Valley and sell the seeds as food. But Idaho law won’t let them, even though hemp production is legal at the federal level and in 47 states. While hemp looks like marijuana and smells similar, it contains less than 0.3% THC, the chemical that gives marijuana its psychoactive properties. Marijuana contains up to 30%. Cornie said he thinks anti-hemp sentiment is driven by misunderstanding, not common sense. If more people knew the differences between the two plants and the advantages of growing hemp, he suspects there’d be less opposition to legalization. He said there’s no reason to take a moral stance against hemp. “If you’re going to get high on it, you might as well smoke alfalfa,” Cornie said. “That’s the truth. Just roll up alfalfa and smoke it, you’ll get higher off that than you will hemp.” 2020 could be the year Idaho legalizes the versatile crop, which, among many other applications, can be eaten as a protein-rich food, used as a construction material or made into paper. Rep. Dorothy Moon, R-Stanley, is expected to bring forward a bill that, if passed, would make Idaho the 48th state to allow hemp production. And if the Legislature legalizes the plant, Cornie and Mason think farmers will be ready to take advantage.

Boston.com: January 17, 2020

Massachusetts has more than 30 recreational marijuana dispensaries, but zero are currently open on Cape Cod. That is slated to change later this month. Curaleaf, the Wakefield-based marijuana giant, is planning to open its downtown Provincetown pot shop on Jan. 29, after receiving a commence operations notice Wednesday from the Cannabis Control Commission.

FoxNews: January 16, 2020

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has updated its policy with regard to election interference and is changing the process for alerting state officials to voting irregularities and breaches. The bureau on Thursday called election security a "top priority" for federal agents and the Department of Justice (DOJ) as they gear up for the 2020 election cycle. The top law enforcement agency also said the internal policy changes will help bolster America's election infrastructure, which is frequently under siege. "Protecting the integrity of elections in the United States against criminal activity and national security threats is among the top priorities of the Department of Justice and the FBI," the agency said in a statement. "Cyber intrusions affecting election infrastructure have the potential to cause significant negative impacts on the integrity of elections. Understanding that mitigation of such incidents often hinges on timely notification." "The FBI’s new policy recognizes the necessity of notifying responsible state and local officials of credible cyber threats to election infrastructure," the bureau added. Under the new standards, the federal government will strive to respect the autonomy of local election officials, while still encouraging a cooperative relationship with federal authorities in rooting out those who seek to destabilize the U.S. voting.process. "The FBI’s interactions regarding election security matters must respect both state and local authorities," the bureau said. "Thus, the FBI’s new policy mandates the notification of a chief state election official and local election officials of cyber threats to local election infrastructure." The initiative is based on existing FBI standards related to cybercrimes but also includes new guidelines about the severity of each threat and how they should be handled.

The Boston Globe: January 16, 2020

A few days before Thanksgiving, the woman realized she needed to refill her marijuana vape pen, which helped her relax and cope with migraines. The 33-year-old veterinary technician perused her dealer’s menu and texted her order for delivery to her home north of Boston. She chose his cheapest option: a $40 prefilled cartridge of cannabis oil branded Dabwoods. A better deal, she reasoned, than the $70 she would spend at a licensed cannabis store for what she thought was the same product. It never occurred to her that the container of amber oil, smaller than her pinky and wrapped in purple packaging, could be dangerous. Like her friends and many others, she thought the cartridges held only a pot extract and that the recent headlines about lung illnesses caused by vaping were overblown. She was feeling good at the time. Accomplished. She had finished 200 hours of yoga teacher training and was supposed to teach her first class that week. She had learned to focus on her breath, how deep inhales and exhales could regulate her emotions. But after puffing on her vape pen a few times over two nights, she had a fever and pounding headache. She was eventually hospitalized and placed on a ventilator in a medically induced coma. She was one of 2,600 people stricken across America by vaping-related lung injuries in an outbreak that has claimed 57 lives — four in Massachusetts. “It seemed like such a myth, like it can’t happen to me, but my life came crashing down overnight,” said the woman, now 34, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of career repercussions.

ClickOrlando/ 6News: January 15, 2020

Election leaders in Orange and Osceola counties held a briefing Wednesday to discuss law changes and cybersecurity ahead of what’s expected to be a busy election year. With voters casting their ballots for president in November, elevated turnout is expected at the three elections scheduled for 2020. Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles said voters should be aware of several law changes that went into effect at the beginning of the year. During early voting and on election day, there will now be a 150-foot no solicitation zone at voting sites. Also new this year, voters are allowed to take pictures at the voting booth, but those images are restricted to only that voter's ballot. One issue that is still tied up the courts is Amendment 4, which was passed in 2018 and surrounds the restoration of the voting rights of felons. “The question is, what is the process for verifying the information on an individual and that’s got to be answered?” Cowles said. Cybersecurity was another big issued that was discussed during the briefing. Osceola County Supervisor of Elections Mary Jane Arrington said the threat of election hacking is why computers aren’t used to cast a ballot.

Marijuana Moment: January 14, 2020

On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing centered around six pieces of marijuana legislation, including two bills that would legalize marijuana on a federal level. A briefing memo for the hearing, obtained by Marijuana Moment last week, offers a breakdown of the six bills up for debate. At the top of the list is the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which passed the House Judiciary Committee last fall and became the first marijuana legalization bill to be approved by a Congressional committee. The other legalization bill up for debate is the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act, while the final four bills deal with cannabis research, medical marijuana, and access to medical marijuana for veterans. The memo includes a brief list of witnesses set to appear at the hearing, including Matthew J. Strait, a senior policy advisor for the Drug Enforcement Agency, Dr. Douglas Throckmorton, deputy director for regulatory programs at the Food and Drug Administration and Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Though Wednesday’s hearing doesn’t guarantee any of the bills will make it to the House floor for a vote, it does mark another significant step towards legalization and decriminalization, as well as efforts to improve medical marijuana research. The hearing also offers a glimpse into the growing bipartisan push for more progressive marijuana policy, with four bills coming from House Democrats and two coming from House Republicans. Below is a breakdown of the six bills up for debate: H.R. 3884, Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act: Introduced last year by New York Democrat and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, the MORE Act notably passed that committee 24 to 10 last November, with two Republicans (Matt Gaetz of Florida and Tom McClintock of California) joining the 22 democrats who voted for the bill. The MORE Act would decriminalize marijuana and THC at the federal level by removing it from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, which currently classifies it as an addictive drug that has no accepted medical use, akin to heroin. But it also has a strong focus on restorative justice for individuals and communities hit hardest by the War on Drugs. It would create an “Opportunity Trust Fund” at the Treasury to support a variety of programs such as “job training, reentry services, legal aid for civil and criminal cases, including expungement of cannabis convictions, literacy and health education programs, and youth recreation or mentoring programs.” H.R. 2843, Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act: Similar to the MORE Act, this bill from Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) would also remove marijuana and THC from the list of Schedule I drugs and create a grant program for states and local governments “for marijuana conviction expungement programs.” Additionally, it would open up medical marijuana policies with “directives to conduct research on the impact of marijuana on the brain, the efficacy of medical marijuana, identification of additional medical benefits and uses of cannabis, and support highway safety research.”

Banzinga: January 14, 2020

The New Hampshire Legislature is set to once again take up the issue of marijuana legalization this session — but this time, there’s a new strategy that lawmakers hope will overcome challenges they’ve previously faced. A bill filed last week would allow adults 21 and older to possess and gift up to three-fourths an ounce of cannabis, and they could grow up to six plants. Missing from the legislation is a commercial sales element, which was intentionally left out to bolster its chances of passage. That means the proposal would essentially mirror the current marijuana model of neighboring Vermont, which became the first state to enact a legal cannabis system through the Legislature in 2018. While there are no recreational marijuana shops in the state, adults are allowed to grow their own and possess it for personal use. The new legislation in New Hampshire, which has eight sponsors, including three Republicans, has been referred to the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, where it’s scheduled to get a hearing on January 23. “It’s a bipartisan bill, and we’re hoping to advance it through the House and through the Senate and to, at the very least, put an end to criminalizing the possession and cultivation of cannabis in New Hampshire,” Representative Renny Cushing, a cosponsor of the legislation who has previously been the chief sponsor of broader legalization bills, said in a phone interview Monday.

CBS7.com: January 14, 2020

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers have introduced a new bill that would allow for hemp-derived CBD to be lawfully marketed as a dietary supplement. While hemp and its derivatives were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is still in the process of developing regulations that would let businesses sell it in the food supply or as nutritional supplements. Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said that rulemaking could take years without congressional action. This legislation, filed on Monday, could be one way to resolve the problem, in that it amends the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to include CBD in the definition of dietary supplements. Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, filed the bill. Initial cosponsors include Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), James Comer (R-KY) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME). “The last two Farm Bills were landmark successes for hemp, but we are still very early in this process, and growers need regulatory certainty,” Peterson said in a press release. “This bill will allow FDA to regulate CBD that comes from hemp as a dietary supplement, providing a pathway forward for hemp-derived products.” Massie told Marijuana Moment that he’s “excited to be an original cosponsor of this bill.” “Bipartisan allies in Congress and in the grassroots have worked hard for many years to pave the way for hemp legalization,” the congressman said. “In its first year, Kentucky’s industrial hemp industry added hundreds of new jobs and $100 million to the state’s economy! I’m confident H.R. 5587 will be another step in the right direction for industrial hemp.” As it stands, FDA has said it is using enforcement discretion when it comes to CBD products that are already widely available in markets across the U.S. Only businesses making especially outlandish claims about the therapeutic benefits of the cannabis products are being targeted for the time being, with the agency sending a series of warning letters to select companies.

CBS News: January 14, 2020

A top U.S. election security official warned on Tuesday that the country faces threats from adversaries beyond Russia, and can count on "more sophisticated" attacks from other state and non-state actors ahead of the 2020 presidential election. "This is not a Russia-only problem," said Shelby Pierson, who serves as the intelligence community's election threats executive within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. "Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, [and] non-state hacktivists all have opportunity, means, and potentially motive to come after the United States in the 2020 election to accomplish their goals." Pierson spoke at a U.S. Election Assistance Commission summit in Washington, DC, where she also said key adversaries had likely honed and made adjustments to their interference tactics based on past actions taken by the U.S. "They've learned from the volume of information that we have shared," Pierson said. "They have learned — certainly based upon red-teaming the results of some of our operations — and they have sharpened their own capabilities." The U.S. intelligence community determined that Russia, ahead of the 2016 presidential election, engaged in a wide-ranging and systematic interference campaign that was designed to boost then-candidate Trump's chances of winning while damaging Hillary Clinton's. To date, public evidence of U.S. election interference efforts by Iran, China and North Korea remains relatively scarce. Social media companies including Facebook and Twitter have several times removed pro-Iranian, state-sponsored materials from their platforms. In September 2018, President Trump accused China of "meddling" in the midterms against his administration because of its tougher trade policies. Mr. Trump later posted on Twitter what he called "propaganda ads" — images of paid ads China had placed in the Des Moines Register and other newspapers. Intelligence officials have frequently cited the preparations and proactive steps agencies took ahead of the 2018 midterm elections as key to ensuring their security.

Marijuana Moment: January 13, 2020

Florida activists announced on Monday that due to restrictive ballot qualification policies in the state, they have decided to pursue a marijuana legalization initiative in 2022, rather than this year as initially planned. While the campaign Make It Legal Florida said it has already submitted more than 700,000 signatures for their legalization petition, the narrow timeline to get those signatures verified ahead of next month’s deadline will make it impossible for the measure to qualify. “With the support of over 67 percent of Florida voters, Make it Legal Florida is proud to have gathered more than 700,000 signed petitions in the effort to bring adult-use cannabis to the Sunshine State,” Nick Hansen, the group’s chairman, said in a press release, referring to polling data. “The narrow timeframe to submit and verify those signatures has prompted our committee to shift focus to now gain ballot access in 2022.” As a midterm year, voter turnout in 2022 is expected to be lower than it would be for this year’s presidential election cycle. Low turnout seemed to be a factor in Florida voters’ narrow rejection of a medical cannabis initiative in 2014. Voters later approved the reform proposal during the 2016 presidential election. In the meantime, Make It Legal Florida is still going forward with a lawsuit it filed with the state’s Supreme Court last month, alleging that a recently enacted law that imposes restrictions on the signature gathering process is unconstitutional. Organizers also accused the state of creating a “stealth deadline” by requiring signatures to be verified before the February 1 deadline while giving county election supervisors a 30-day window to validate them.

QZ.com: January 12, 2020

Though researchers discovered a fundamental security flaw in voting machines months ago, the company behind the machines may still be advertising them to states in a way that allows the vulnerability to persist, according to a letter sent to the US Election Assistance Commission and reported by NBC News. In Aug 2019, a team of independent security experts found that, contrary to popular belief, many digital voting machines were connected to the internet, sometimes for months on end, Motherboard reported. This, the experts feared, could give hackers a window through which to manipulate votes.

The Boston Globe: January 10, 2020

From covering pivotal hearings and key votes to fund-raisers and political maneuvering, the Globe wants to keep a close eye on what Rhode Island’s congressional delegation is doing here and in Washington. We’re launching a weekly feature that will hold our leaders accountable and highlight the work of Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Representatives James Langevin and David Cicilline. We’ll also ask each of them to answer a different policy-related question every week. Do you have a question for Rhode Island’s congressional delegation? E-mail it to Dan.McGowan@globe.com and we’ll consider it in future editions. As the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Reed has attended several classified briefings this week that focused on the fallout from the US drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Reed has also been a familiar face on cable television to discuss the Iran situation, appearing on CNN with Wolf Blitzer, and MSNBC with both Chris Mathews and Andrea Mitchell. He was critical of President Trump’s threat that future airstrikes could target Iranian cultural sites. Back home in Rhode Island, Reed also announced $2 million in federal funds for the Pascoag Utility District to make water system improvements.

Sioux Falls Argus Leader: January 10, 2020

After months of discussion, the industrial hemp bill is officially on the Legislature's docket for the 2020 session. House Majority Leader Lee Qualm, R-Platte, filed the industrial hemp bill, House Bill 1008, to legalize industrial hemp in South Dakota on Thursday. Sen. Josh Klumb, R-Mount Vernon, is the prime sponsor of the bill in the Senate. Eight legislators had signed on as co-sponsors of the bill as of Friday morning, all of whom were members of the legislative Industrial Hemp Committee last year. HB 1008 includes an emergency clause that would make it effective immediately if it's signed into law, rather than waiting until the usual July 1 start date for state laws. The legislation also requires the South Dakota Department of Agriculture to submit a hemp program plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for approval within 30 days of the bill being signed into law.

The New York Times: January 10, 2020

The National Security Agency and its British counterpart issued an unusual warning in October: The Russians were back and growing stealthier. Groups linked to Russia’s intelligence agencies, they noted, had recently been uncovered boring into the network of an elite Iranian hacking unit and attacking governments and private companies in the Middle East and Britain — hoping Tehran would be blamed for the havoc. For federal and state officials charged with readying defenses for the 2020 election, it was a clear message that the next cyberwar was not going to be like the last. The landscape is evolving, and the piggybacking on Iranian networks was an example of what America’s election-security officials and experts face as the United States enters what is shaping up to be an ugly campaign season marred by hacking and disinformation. American defenses have vastly improved in the four years since Russian hackers and trolls mounted a broad campaign to sway the 2016 presidential election. Facebook is looking for threats it barely knew existed in 2016, such as fake ads paid for in rubles and self-proclaimed Texas secessionists logging in from St. Petersburg. Voting officials are learning about bots, ransomware and other vectors of digital mischief. Military officials are considering whether to embrace information warfare and retaliate against election interference by hacking senior Russian officials and leaking their personal emails or financial information.

Politico: January 10, 2020

— Lawmakers and election equipment makers discussed researcher probes of the companies’ wares at a rare hearing on Thursday. — A major software industry organization raised doubts about a proposed Commerce Department rule for information and communications technology supply chain security. — The risk of possible Iranian cyberattacks has stayed on the agenda for DHS, researchers and others. THE ROAD TO A CVD — Voting machine vendors keep inching toward a coordinated vulnerability disclosure program, Thursday’s House Administration Committee hearing revealed, but there are still some hitches emerging toward fuller collaboration with researchers. John Poulos, CEO of Dominion Voting Systems, testified that his company reached out to an organizer of DEFCON’s machine-hacking Voting Village because it was “interested in a more collaborative penetration testing with stakeholders,” and actually sent modern certified systems, but an internal conference dispute led to scuttling those plans. The CEOs of Election Systems & Software (Tom Burt) and Hart InterCivic (Julie Mathis) both said their companies had submitted equipment to Idaho National Laboratory, which conducts vulnerability tests with DHS. Overall, Burt said he doesn’t want to hand-select red teams but is “interested in making sure we attract hackers who can make our systems better without requiring that the information that they discover be put into the public domain,” and would like to see the Election Assistance Commission manage the program and choose researchers.

Cannabis Dispensary Magazine: January 9, 2020

Tennessee Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) has reintroduced a bill this legislative session that would legalize medical cannabis in the state. The legislation would allow qualified patients to access medical cannabis, and would establish a licensing process for businesses to grow, distribute, transport and sell cannabis for both medical use and scientific research, according to a local WKRN report. “There are tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans that could benefit from medical cannabis,” Bowling told the news outlet. “This is desperately needed in Tennessee, it is desperately needed by the patient, and doctors need an alternative from opioids.” Bowling will hold a meeting Jan. 9 to allow law enforcement to weigh in on medical cannabis legalization, WKRN reported.

Siox Falls Argus Leader : January 9, 2020

South Dakota lawmakers are ready to work with Gov. Kristi Noem on industrial hemp legislation after she indicated she's ready to compromise. Noem has staunchly opposed legalizing industrial hemp for nearly a year, but in a memo to legislators on Thursday, she listed four regulations that need to be in an industrial hemp bill for her to sign it. The four "guardrails" she included in the memo are reliable enforcement, responsible regulation, safe transportation and adequate funding. "Everyone knows I don't think it's a good idea," she said in a Facebook video announcing her decision Thursday morning. She vetoed a bill to legalize industrial hemp during the 2019 session because it didn't address her concerns about public safety, law enforcement or funding, she said. Circumstances have changed since then, however. Federal guidelines have been put in place, South Dakota's tribes have begun receiving federal approval to grow hemp and the need to address the legal transportation of it through South Dakota, she said. Legislators studying the hemp issue ahead of the 2020 session also did "great work" that included some "good ideas," she said.

WIBC.com: January 9, 2020

Whether you pull a lever, push a button or tap a screen, you want to know that your vote is secure and that the choice you make counts. The FBI is doing its part in Indiana to make it as secure as possible. In a meeting Thursday, agents said they are working with the Indiana Secretary of State's office to help. "It is not a crime to lie about your opponent," said Special Agent Ben LaBuz. He said when you see misinformation or disinformation on social media, you should know the FBI does not have the ability to take it down, nor should they, according to our Constitution. "We all have a hand in ensuring that the elections of the United States are protected and that the Constitutional right to vote is protected for every American," he said. Some of the misinformation that you may see through the year may include falsehoods about candidates. While that is not illegal, Special Agent Mike Alford said the FBI partners with Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets, to inform them who puts the info up, what the posts say, and whether it is false. The outlets can then choose whether they will take the posts down. It's not likely that a hacker or some other malefactor will be able to manipulate vote totals, said Alford. "The biggest concern we have is that someone would create the optic that something bad had happened." That could undermine confidence in the system, which is not centralized. Since the federal government does not run or control elections, and the state does, through the counties, it would be very difficult to break into the systems.

Politico: January 7, 2020

— The Artist Formerly Known as the Consumer Electronics Show will feature plenty of cybersecurity and cybersecurity-related talks beginning today. — An organization representing some of the top state election officials cheered a cash infusion from Congress that gave them a win in more than just their coffers. — Speaking of Congress, lawmakers have returned to Washington and are set to approve some 5G legislation this week...NO KICKSTARTER NECESSARY — State officials are pleased that Congress appropriated $425 million for election administration grants in its latest spending bill. The money “will help states meet their unique needs to further invest in election security protections, personnel and systems,” Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, said in a statement. But Pate reiterated NASS’ request for dedicated, regular funding “that allows states to plan and implement election security enhancements to counter emerging cybersecurity threats.”

WCAX3: January 7, 2020

As the session kicks off, Vermont lawmakers are poised to pick up a bill on legalizing a taxed and regulated market for marijuana. But many questions remain about what a legal market would look like, who would benefit and who would be able to sell. Our Calvin Cutler has more on what that legal market could look like. For business owners like Kelsy Raap at Green State Gardener in Burlington, a vote can't come soon enough. "We produce our own organically grown hemp flower, indoors here in the store. Like I mentioned, we will be scaling that up significantly," Raap said. Raap's business model has bloomed as marijuana laws have taken root in the Legislature, from decriminalization to legalization to a potential regulated market. Green State Gardener is ramping up its product selection and is looking to offer classes to educate people about responsibly growing and consuming marijuana. "Making sure that people are really prepared with the knowledge and skillset to make the best use of what they just purchased," Raap said.

Market Realist: January 6, 2020

Cannabis legalization was a hot topic in Florida in 2019. Floridians have stepped up to legalize recreational marijuana in the state by 2020. Cannabis company MedMen’s 2019 cannabis campaign initiative, “Make It Legal Florida,” collected enough signatures to qualify for the November 2020 ballot. Let’s look at the progress of the cannabis legalization campaigns in the state.

Statehouse News Bureau: January 6, 2020

Some states around Ohio have legalized recreational marijuana. But Ohio’s Governor isn’t embracing that possibility. Gov. Mike DeWine was adamantly opposed to the marijuana legalization plan that was on the ballot in 2015. And the fact that neighboring states, like Illinois and Michigan, are allowing it hasn’t changed his mind now.

Marijuana Moment: January 3, 2020

The governor of Kansas said on Thursday that she’d likely sign a bill to legalize marijuana in the state if lawmakers sent one to her desk. In a pair of TV interviews looking at her legislative priorities for 2020, Gov. Laura Kelly (D) said the legislature needs to approve medical cannabis, which she argued would help families with children who have serious illnesses and also combat the opioid crisis. But while the governor said she isn’t “going to advocate for” broader recreational legalization, that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t enact such legislation if it advanced in the state. “I haven’t really decided what I would do. This is something where what the people want is probably more what I will want on something like that,” Kelly told WIBW. “I don’t have a personal ideology regarding it. If the folks want it and the legislature passes it, would I sign it? Probably.” Again, however, she stressed that it’s the more focused legalization of cannabis for medical purposes that is part of her personal agenda for the 2020 session.“I have always said that I want it well-regulated so that it’s controlled so that it’s not the first step to legalization of marijuana,” the governor said. “I don’t want that. I want it to be seen as a pharmaceutical and controlled as we do that.”

Roll Call: January 3, 2020

The Flandreau Santee Sioux cleared a major hurdle when the Agriculture Department approved its plan for growing industrial hemp on reservation land, but the tribe may face other obstacles in a state where laws still prohibit hemp farming. Gov. Kristi Noem, a former Republican House member, vetoed legislation in 2019 that would have amended state law to allow South Dakota farmers to grow hemp after Congress legalized the plant and its products in the 2018 farm bill. Federal law had previously treated hemp, like its botanical cousin marijuana, as an illegal substance although hemp has a lower concentration of the psychoactive compound delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. South Dakota, Idaho and Mississippi are the only three states that don’t allow the production of industrial hemp. The 2018 farm bill made hemp a legal substance and legitimate crop at the federal level and at the state and tribal level if those governments have approved hemp farming. Noem vowed in late 2019 to kill any future hemp legalization bills in her state. The governor says hemp and marijuana are so similar in appearance that it is difficult for law enforcement to tell them apart, which could hamper enforcement of pot infractions.

Indianapolis Business Journal: January 3, 2020

Nearly a dozen government institutions throughout Indiana have reported a cyberattack in recent years. To fight back, state and local government officials are taking a page from the enemy’s playbook by expanding protections against attacks from one entry point to thousands. This past summer, the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office entered into an agreement with California-based FireEye Security to provide counties with desktop and email protection, as well as 24/7 live network monitoring. The effort initially focused on clerk’s offices and elections-related personnel but broadened this fall to include all end points. Using federal funds, the secretary of state is providing FireEye’s capabilities to all 92 counties at no cost for three years, saving each of them hundreds of thousands of dollars in protection and reconstruction costs. About 25 counties have signed up so far. Deputy Secretary of State Brandon Clifton said his office’s decision to blanket all end points dates to December 2015, when a worker at a Ukrainian electric power distribution company looked up at his computer screen to see the cursor seemingly moving under its own power. The bad actor—or actors—who had gained control of the computer shut off scores of energy grids to plunge 225,000 people into the cold and dark, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “They did that by targeting vendors or offices three or four degrees removed from the energy offices,” Clifton said. “That scenario is just critical in understanding this FireEye project. The intelligence shows foreign actors and adversaries will remain patient; they’ll watch and wait and do their research on what their ultimate target is.” Since then, cyberattacks closer to home have awakened local government leaders to the real threat of remaining unprotected. In 2016, voting systems in Illinois and Arizona were compromised by hackers. In Indiana, Madison County officials resolved a November 2016 attack after weeks of disruption and thousands spent on an outside consultant by eventually paying the $21,000 ransom.

The Huffington Post: January 1, 2020

As the new year begins, slews of bills that were signed into law over the past year go into effect Wednesday as 2020 begins...Illinois legalized the possession and sale of cannabis for recreational use ? and was also the first state to pass such a comprehensive measure via legislature rather than a ballot initiative. Under the new law, adults 21 and older who live in the state can possess up to 30 grams of cannabis. Now about 315,000 Illinois residents with weed-related criminal records are eligible to have these records expunged. The legislation also includes a social equity program ? similar to one that exists in Oakland, California, for instance ? meant to support minority-owned businesses in entering the marijuana market. This is meant to repair some of the harms done by law enforcement disproportionately targeting poor communities of color over marijuana use in recent decades. Illinois is the 11th state to legalize cannabis for adult use.

Jackson Progress-Argus: December 30, 2019

It was 2018, and after years of running a successful business in the Boise area — Same Day Electric — Patty Fletcher and her husband, Randy, wanted a change of pace. They landed on what might seem like an odd choice: farming. And then landed on hemp, which they found to be one of the most versatile options. “We have lived in Boise for about 25 years, we still have a home in Boise,” Patty Fletcher said. “... We looked at different places and what kind of crop we wanted to grow, and found out about hemp.” There was just one big problem: Idaho doesn’t allow the cultivating or selling of hemp. But its next-door neighbor, Oregon, does. So the Fletchers sold their Garden City electric business, found a 30-acre farm in Vale and began working by hand to ensure a harvest for this fall. “It was really challenging because it is a new industry, but it has been great. We found a buyer who was interested in all of it,” Patty Fletcher said. “Hemp is a profitable product, so it is twofold: We could buy the farm, make it work financially; plus we’re growing something that we really believed in.” If the state of Idaho starts believing in hemp, people like the Fletchers might not have to go elsewhere.

Reason: December 30, 2019

Oren Levy has spent the last six years selling and promoting the benefits of herbal remedies, including cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating compound found in both marijuana and hemp. But it wasn't until after Congress decriminalized hemp, the source of Levy's CBD, that Levy had his first shipment confiscated by law enforcement and nearly lost his business. As Levy's case demonstrates, federal decriminalization is not equivalent to state-level legalization. As I previously reported, Levy's New York-based Green Angel CBD used FedEx Freight in November 2019 to send a 106-pound shipment of hemp flower from Fox Holler Farms in Vermont to New York. The shipment has an estimated value of $50,000 to $60,000. Levy's problems began when FedEx Freight alerted the Williston Police Department (WPD) in Vermont that a customer was possibly attempting to ship marijuana. In its police report, the WPD explained that it examined two of the FedEx boxes and that each box contained documentation showing the plant matter inside had only 0.06 percent THC—which is within the legal limit for hemp plants. The boxes also contained paperwork showing that Fox Holler Farms was licensed by the state of Vermont to grow hemp.

Messenger-Inquirer: December 29, 2019

In 2019, hemp made more headway as tobacco continued to wane. China's imposed tariffs of 25% on soybeans also made the past 12 months difficult for U.S. crop farmers who rely on that foreign market. And the overall growing season won't be remembered fondly within state agriculture circles, according to Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles. "2019 was a tough production year," Quarles said. "It was a very wet year and very dry year wrapped into one, which caused significant crop losses across the state." In particular, many burley tobacco farmers suffered a setback with less than suitable weather conditions during the curing process.

EMissourian: December 28, 2019

As of this time next week, residents in neighboring Illinois will be able to legally purchase and consume recreational marijuana as it becomes the 11th state to legalize the once demonized drug. In the much more conservative state of Missouri, however, out of the nearly 1,000 bills prefiled for the 2020 legislative session, only seven are related to marijuana and none of those are calling for its legalization yet. As the session progresses and as Missouri lawmakers will see the positive or negative results of the Illinois plan to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana, more bills may be filed here in the coming months as the session runs until mid-May. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker estimated $170 million in revenue from licensing fees in 2020, though that amount later was reduced to $57 million. The state projects that taxes could raise $375 million annually after the program grows over the next five years. In Missouri, baby steps have been taken in the past two years with measures passed allowing the growing and harvesting of industrial hemp in 2018 and the use of medical marijuana in 2019. The 2018 industrial hemp bill signed by then Gov. Eric Greitens, was sponsored by former State Rep. Paul Curtman, R-Union.

Chicago Tribune: December 26, 2019

The ripple effects of legalization will extend far beyond people getting high. Foremost among them are what the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project, which ...

WKU FM: December 26, 2019

An eastern Kentucky lawmaker has proposed a bill to legalize the recreational use of marijuana and dedicate tax revenues from the industry to the state’s cash-strapped pension systems. The proposal is a long-shot in the Republican-dominated Kentucky legislature, but Democratic Rep. Cluster Howard of Jackson says that citizens are more receptive to marijuana than they have been in the past. “I think that a lot of people make this a moral issue. To me, we know as a society that times have changed. People are more apt to accept legalization of the product,” Howard said. The bill would allow the state to regulate marijuana growers, processors, testers and retailers. It would also decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and expunge the criminal records of those with marijuana-related misdemeanors. Howard predicted the bill could bring in more than $200 million per year in tax revenue. The bill would dedicate revenues to the state’s struggling pension systems, which are short about $37 billion.

Forbes: December 26, 2019

In 2019, legal cannabis sales jumped 32% since 2018, Illinois became the first state to legalize cannabis via legislation and the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SAFE Banking Act, a first step toward opening banking services for the industry. Of course, the news wasn’t all rosy. Stock prices fluctuated and a cash crunch hampered growth and expansion. New York and New Jersey failed to lift prohibition. But these can be viewed as growing pains for an emerging industry. As we head into 2020, here’s a look at what’s ahead for the industry. Now that two-thirds of Americans favor a complete end to prohibition and 90% support medical cannabis, politicians are getting on board, too. Only three major presidential candidates (Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg) oppose full legalization at the federal level, although all three do appear to support a states-rights approach to cannabis regulation. Cannabis is an issue that drives voters to the polls, so depending on how many states have legalization referendums on the ballot next year, cannabis voters could play a big role in 2020. Which brings us to our next topic.

EvanstonNow: December 25, 2019

Evanstonians 21 and older will be able to legally buy cannabis here and throughout Illinois starting Jan. 1. Here's a guide to the new law. As the chart above, provided by the Cannabis Businss Association of Illinois, indicates, there are significant limits on how much cannabis you can possess -- with Illinois residents allowed to have twice as much as people from out of state. A list of licensed adult-use dispensaries includes one in Evanston, at 1804 Maple Ave. The new law prohibits possession of cannabis: On a school bus and in any preschool or primary or secondary school, except by qualified medical cannabis users and their caregivers. On in any correctional facility. In a vehicle not open to the public unless the cannabis is in a "reasonably secured, sealed container and reasonably inaccessible while the vehicle is moving. In a private residence used to provide licensed child care or other similar social service care. The law only permits qualified medical cannabis users to grow their own cannabis and only for personal use.

The Boston Globe: December 25, 2019

In the first year that recreational marijuana was legal in Vermont, the number of drivers arrested by state police for impaired driving who had THC in their systems more than doubled, according to state police data. While some police believe the increase in 2018 shows more people are using cannabis and driving since legalization, other observers say the rise is at least partially due to the expansion in and emphasis on police training in such stops. Data requested by the AP from the Vermont Forensic Laboratory indeed shows that more drivers are being tested — undergoing blood screenings for drugs, including marijuana. The rise in testing is due to a combination of factors, including officers getting better at recognizing drug impairment, said Trisha Conti, director of the lab. “It might just be that officers are getting better at recognizing, it might just be because there are more officers on the road, there’s more DREs (drug recognition experts) than there used to be, so it’s a combination of a lot of things,” Conti said. About 12 million drivers nationally, 4.7 percent, reported driving under the influence of marijuana in 2018, compared with 20.5 million, 8 percent, who reported driving under the influence of alcohol, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Washington Post: December 25, 2019

Military cyber officials are developing information warfare tactics that could be deployed against senior Russian officials and oligarchs if Moscow tries to interfere in the 2020 U.S. elections through hacking election systems or sowing widespread discord, according to current and former U.S. officials. One option being explored by U.S. Cyber Command would target senior leadership and Russian elites, though probably not President Vladimir Putin, which would be considered too provocative, said the current and former officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity. The idea would be to show that the target’s sensitive personal data could be hit if the interference did not stop, though officials declined to be more specific. “When the Russians put implants into an electric grid, it means they’re making a credible showing that they have the ability to hurt you if things escalate,” said Bobby Chesney, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “What may be contemplated here is an individualized version of that, not unlike individually targeted economic sanctions. It’s sending credible signals to key decision-makers that they are vulnerable if they take certain adversarial actions.”

Los Angeles Times: December 24, 2019

Two years after California began licensing pot shops, the industry remains so outmatched by the black market that a state panel recently joined some legalization supporters in calling for significant changes — perhaps turning again to voters to address the problems. In its annual draft report, the Cannabis Advisory Committee warned Gov. Gavin Newsom and California legislators that high taxes, overly burdensome regulations and local control issues posed debilitating obstacles to the legal marijuana market. With tax revenue about a third of what was expected and with only about 800 of an anticipated 6,000 licensees open for business, the panel said, officials may need to consider “revisiting the ballot initiative process.” “Despite the state’s committed efforts to bring cannabis businesses fully into the regulated commercial market,” the report said, “as much as 80% of the cannabis market in California remains illicit.”

Marijuana Times: December 24, 2019

Since 2014, medical marijuana laws in the United States have been protected from federal government interference by very little. The only thing really standing in the way is a spending bill that is renewed annually, in which Congress has continuously included a provision that prevents the Department of Justice (DOJ) from prosecuting medical marijuana businesses and patients operating within state laws. Earlier this year, a version of the spending bill included a provision that included both the medical and recreational markets – but it was revised before being finalized, once again only covering state-legal medical marijuana. Not for the first time, President Trump signed the spending bill – but made sure to include a signing statement basically saying that he has the right to ignore that provision, whether congress approved it or not. Trump has been back and forth about his support for legalization, making statements like the one below, while also claiming to support states’ rights to legalize.

Axios: December 24, 2019

New voting machines rolled out in six Georgia counties last month were meant to resolve longstanding issues with the state's election security, but experts say vulnerabilities remain, and Georgia isn't the only state facing the issue. Why it matters: Officials argue not enough has been done to strengthen election system protections across the country ahead of the 2020 elections. Experts persistently warn of foreign interference, as seen in the 2016 presidential election. The state of play: Georgia's new machines are touch screen, but officials argue they're too visible from outside the voting booth. Issues with programming can also delay vote counts and cause machines to reboot at random. The machines do produce paper records, but some officials say they're insufficient and difficult to verify.

Ganjapreneur: December 23, 2019

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission, the state’s cannabis regulation agency, has banned CBD and THC from alcoholic drinks effective January 1, the New York Daily News reports. Commission spokesman Mark Pettinger said that while people are using CBD for wellness, there is “little scientific evidence” about how the compound interacts with other substances including alcohol. “We’ve wanted to address the issue of CBD getting into alcohol and because there are a lot of unknown unknowns about the effect of taking CBDs,” Pettinger said in the report, adding that the agency could reverse the decision once the federal government published guidelines for CBD in the wake of last year’s legalization of hemp. Several companies in mostly legal states have introduced alcoholic beverages that include CBD as an ingredient, including Heineken-owned, California-based Lagunitas Brewing Company, Black Hammer Brewing, Oregon-based Coalition Brewing, and Vermont’s Long Trail Brewing Company and Green Empire Brewing, among others.

Utah Public Radio: December 23, 2019

Tucked inside the trillion-dollar budget approved by Congress last week is a measure allocating $425 million to states for election security. The line item will provide grant funds to all 50 states to protect against the types of interference caused by cyber-attacks during the 2016 election. Utah is expected to get $4.6 million, but the state hasn't indicated how the money will be spent. Patrick Thompson, technology director with the government watchdog group Alliance for a Better Utah, said because a majority of Utah's ballots are cast by mail, there are fewer opportunities for voting data to be hacked. "The way the majority of voters in Utah vote is through mail-in ballots. Ballots are sent out X number of days before the election and voters can make their choices," Thompson said. "They can consult the internet, they can think about it and then, mail the ballot back in and it's tabulated." Utah officials have previously used ballot security funds to buy new voting machines, upgrade the voter registration database and conduct training sessions for county clerks. State officials have previously said they found no evidence of any ballot interference in Utah during the 2016 election.

International Business Times: December 22, 2019

Republicans plan to resort to their traditional tactic of voter suppression to ensure the reelection of president Donald Trump in 2020, according to one of Trump's top reelection advisers, who also admitted voter suppression is the way the GOP wins key elections. Justin Clark, a senior political adviser and senior counsel to the president’s reelection campaign, was recorded as admitting voter suppression is “traditionally” part of the Republican Party’s strategy to compete in battleground states. Clark spoke on the subject before a gathering of the Republican National Lawyers Association’s Wisconsin chapter on November 21. Wisconsin is one of three key battleground states Trump has to win to be reelected. “Traditionally it’s always been Republicans suppressing votes in places,” Clark told the Republican lawyers in the audio recording.

Marijuana Moment: December 21, 2019

In a statement attached to a large-scale funding bill he signed into law on Friday, President Trump said in effect that he reserves the right to ignore a congressionally approved provision that seeks to protect state medical marijuana laws from federal interference. “Division B, section 531 of the Act provides that the Department of Justice may not use any funds made available under this Act to prevent implementation of medical marijuana laws by various States and territories,” Trump wrote in a signing statement. “My Administration will treat this provision consistent with the President’s constitutional responsibility to faithfully execute the laws of the United States.” (Marijuana Moment’s editor provides some content to Forbes via a temporary exclusive publishing license arrangement.)

CommonWealth Magazine: December 21, 2019

CUMBERLAND FARMS is pushing a 2020 ballot question that would create a new beer and wine liquor license for food retailers, an initiative that could also have an impact on the number of marijuana stores opening up across the state. Under the existing cannabis law, communities must allow a minimum number of marijuana retail stores. Communities can only ban marijuana stores through a municipal election. The minimum number is set at “20 percent of the number of licenses issued within the city or town for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on the premises,” rounded up to the nearest whole number. For a community with 18 liquor licenses, that would mean four marijuana stores must be allowed. In addition to creating the new beer and wine license for food stores, the Cumberland Farms ballot question would lift the cap on the number of licenses an operator could hold. If the question survives a legal challenge from the Mass. Package Stores Association, wins at the ballot, and food stores ultimately gain approval for new beer and wine licenses, many communities could end up with more marijuana stores.

Marijuana Moment: December 20, 2019

The House and Senate have agreed to include a variety of marijuana, hemp and CBD provisions in reports attached to appropriations legislation that’s expected to be signed into law by President Trump on Friday. Although more sweeping provisions that passed the House—such as measures shielding all state and tribal cannabis programs from federal interference and protecting banks that service state-legal marijuana businesses—were omitted from the Fiscal Year 2020 spending legislation following the merging of the two chambers’ versions, the report language that came out of the bicameral negotiations reflects growing bipartisan interest in researching cannabis and ensuring that hemp legalization is effectively implemented. One provision directs the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to “provide a brief report on the barriers to research that result from the classification of drugs and compounds as Schedule I substances” under federal law within 120 days. There’s widespread recognition, including from the head of NIDA, that the Schedule I status of marijuana has inhibited studies into the plant’s effects.

The Huffington Post: December 20, 2019

Congress is giving states a last-minute infusion of federal funds to help boost election security with voting in early caucus and primary states slated to begin in February. Under a huge spending bill, states would receive $425 million for upgrading voting equipment, conducting post-election audits, cybersecurity training and other steps to secure elections. To receive the funds, states must match 20% of their allocation. The Senate approved the bill Thursday, sending it to President Donald Trump for his signature. States have been scrambling to shore up their systems ahead of the 2020 election. The nation’s intelligence chiefs have warned that Russia and others remain interested in attempting to interfere in U.S. elections and undermine democracy. For many who have been advocating for more congressional action on election security, the money is welcome, but they say more must still be done to ensure elections are secure. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, has been among those pushing Congress to require states to implement rigorous post-election audits and use paper ballots in exchange for federal funds. “I’m afraid this bill will widen the gulf between states with good election security and those with perilously weak election security,” Wyden said in a statement. “I appreciate the intent behind this provision, but until Congress takes steps to secure the entire election system, our democracy will continue to be vulnerable to foreign interference.”

CNN: December 19, 2019

The most recent national estimates of drivers who operate a car under the influence of marijuana put the numbers in the millions, according to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thursday's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that in 2018, 12 million American adults said they had driven under the influence of weed in the 12 months prior to the survey. About 2.3 million said they had driven under the influence of illicit drugs such as cocaine or methamphetamine. That breaks down to 4.7% of Americans driving under the influence of weed and 0.9% driving under the influence of the other drugs. The percentage is much smaller than the number of drivers who said they drove under the influence of alcohol. In 2018, 8% of drivers said they had a drink before driving at some point during the previous year. Male drivers were more likely to report using marijuana or illicit drugs than female drivers. The people most likely to say they used pot before driving were people in the 21-25 age group. The second highest group to report using weed were people between the age of 16 and 20, the youngest category of drivers to qualify for a license. That, the authors say, "is of special concern," since newer drivers already have a heightened risk of causing accidents because of their inexperience on the road. The demographic most likely to drive under the influence of marijuana are non-Hispanic multiracial persons at 9.2%, the report found.

CBS News: December 19, 2019

The Senate has voted to advance a $1.4 trillion government spending package in a last, bipartisan burst of legislating before bolting for the holidays from a Capitol that's toxic with impeachment. The vote in the Senate comes the day after the House voted to impeach President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The first bill in the two-bill package, covering domestic programs, passed easily Thursday by a 71 to 23 vote, with a vote on a Pentagon and homeland security measure to come later in the day. The package passed in the House earlier this week. The legislation gives Mr. Trump a victory on his U.S.-Mexico border fence and gives Democrats long-sought domestic spending increases and a repeal of Obama-era taxes on high-cost health insurance plans. It blends spending increases for both sides — reelection fodder for lawmakers throughout the Capitol — with tax and benefit add-ons that will add roughly $400 billion to the deficit over 10 years. The compromise bill would forestall a government shutdown this weekend, and the White House has announced Mr. Trump will sign it before Friday's midnight deadline. The split-their-differences legislation is towing an unusually large haul of unrelated provisions into law, prompting futile protest from fiscal conservatives. It implements a summertime spending deal that reversed unpopular and unworkable automatic spending cuts to defense and domestic programs — at a $2.2 trillion cost over the coming decade...Democrats have cheered several of their priorities in the mammoth legislation, including $25 million for gun violence research — the first time money has been provided for this kind of research in more than two decades — and $425 million for election security grants.

Politico: December 18, 2019

— An Election Assistance Commission advisory group will review the latest progress on new voting system guidelines, which include a ban on internet connectivity. — The Office of Personnel Management’s inspector general urged the agency to complete a host of cybersecurity improvements that have sat unaddressed for years. — Election security advocates produced an estimate of how newly approved grant money will be divvied up between states based on their voting-age populations...LET’S SEE WHAT YOU’VE GOT — The EAC’s Technical Guidelines Development Committee meets today by phone to review the latest draft of version 2.0 of the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines. Public working groups have been meeting for months to revise different aspects of the widely cited federal standards, including its security provisions. In October, the cybersecurity working group added a ban on internet and wireless connectivity, which prompted some consternation and confusion at a TGDC meeting in November. Input from the TGDC — a body that includes technical experts and election officials — marks one of the first steps in the process of approving a new VVSG. But more work remains to be done on VVSG 2.0, and the TGDC isn’t likely to give the draft its final seal of approval at today’s meeting. “We anticipate continuing the discussion of the requirements with the TGDC on the next call,” NIST staffer Gema Howell wrote in an email to members of the cyber working group.

Politico: December 17, 2019

State lawmakers are warning there will be bumps in the road to selling cannabis, which becomes legal starting Jan. 1 — including possible shortages of the product. That’s of special concern to medical marijuana users. “Each state that has implemented an adult-use cannabis program has had issues related to supply shortages,” lawmakers wrote in a letter to the media, signed by state Sens. Heather Steans and Laura Fine, and state Reps. Kelly Cassidy, Bob Morgan, Jehan Gordon-Booth, Celina Villanueva and David Welter.

MArijuana Moment: December 17, 2019

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is extending the public comment period on proposed hemp regulations that was initially set to expire at the end of December.

The Boston Globe: December 16, 2019

It seemed like food poisoning. All weekend, I lay in bed with such abdominal pain that I cried, moaned, even yelled. It was the worst stomach bug I had experienced in my 40 years. By Sunday, I began to improve. I held down fluids, I ate a banana. But that night I grew sicker. No matter how much water and sports beverage I drank, my mouth dried out and my fever rose.

The Motley Fool: December 16, 2019

Lacking access to the banking system has been a big problem for the cannabis industry. Since marijuana is illegal at the federal level, many banks have shunned businesses that sell pot, making it difficult for those sellers to hold bank accounts. Some banks have provided services to cannabis companies but it's still a very gray area...

Chicago Tribune: December 14, 2019

Indiana's Republican Statehouse leaders are firmly against taking any steps toward following neighboring states in legalizing marijuana use…

Marijuana Moment: December 13, 2019

A coalition of trade associations sent a letter to Senate Banking Committee leadership on Thursday, urging a vote on legislation to protect financial institutions that service state-legal marijuana businesses. But those senators are also feeling pressure from leading civil rights groups like the ACLU and Human Rights Watch, which sent an earlier letter insisting that they not allow cannabis banking to detract from more comprehensive reform that addresses social equity. The organizations involved in the latest letter—including the American Bankers Association and Credit Union National Association—said that advancing the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act or similar legislation is pivotal to ensuring that stakeholders receive needed clarity and are shielded from being penalized by federal regulators. The letter, addressed to Banking Chair Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH), emphasized the bipartisan nature of the House passage of the bill in September and the growing movement at the state level to legalize cannabis for medical or recreational purposes.“Our organizations support an initial legislative step that allows the legal cannabis industry into the banking system,” the groups, which also include the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, International Council of Shopping Centers and National Association of REALTORS, wrote. “Ultimately, protecting law-abiding financial institutions and ancillary businesses from their currently untenable position and addressing increasing public safety concerns.”

WAMU.org: December 12, 2019

State officials, lawmakers, academics and policy experts holed up in a room in Richmond on Wednesday for a day-long “cannabis summit” convened by Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. The topic of discussion: how and when the Commonwealth could start loosening its strict marijuana laws — including moving to a system of legal and regulated sales for recreational use. “I don’t believe our current system of criminalizing possession of marijuana is working at all,” Herring said in opening remarks. “It is needlessly burdening Virginians with convictions and criminalizing them. The human and social costs of this are enormous, in addition to the millions of dollars it is costing Virginia taxpayers. And the burden of this system is falling disproportionately on African Americans and people of color.” The summit came just a month after Democrats claimed control of the General Assembly for the first time in more than a generation, giving marijuana advocates an opening to move forward on policy priorities stymied in the past by Republican legislators. It also follows polling showing that a majority of Virginians favor both decriminalization and outright legalization.

The Boston Globe: December 12, 2019

Major League Baseball and the MLB players union announced Thursday that they have reached an agreement to remove marijuana from the list of banned substances and will begin to treat its consumption by players in the same way that alcohol use is handled. The agreement is the product of negotiations on the league’s drug policy, with both parties agreeing that steps must be taken to handle drug misuse through a treatment-focused model, rather than by simply imposing penalties. With that, the MLB will also start to test for opioids and cocaine, and players who test positive will be referred to treatment. Only those who refuse the treatment program will be penalized. The cannabis change reflects an attempt to modernize the league’s drug policy as more states move to enact legalization. “Going forward, marijuana-related conduct will be treated the same as alcohol-related conduct under the Parties’ Joint Treatment Program for Alcohol-Related and Off-Field Violent Conduct, which provides for mandatory evaluation, voluntary treatment and the possibility of discipline by a Player’s Club or the Commissioner’s Office in response to certain conduct involving Natural Cannabinoids,” the MLB wrote in a press release.

Henrico Citizen: December 12, 2019

“We do grams, eighths, quarters, half ounces, pounds, wholesale pounds — however you want it,” Jacob Stretch said, standing between crates of dried hemp in his living room that doubles as his hemp processing and drying facility. Stretch, owner of Chesapeake Blue, just finished his first season growing industrial hemp as a registered grower and processor on his family’s farm. Industrial hemp is poised to be a fast growing sector of agriculture in Virginia. Hemp advocacy group Vote Hemp estimates 2017 retail sales of hemp products neared $820 million nationally and will continue to grow. Hemp is a versatile material that can be used in foods and beverages, personal care products, nutritional supplements, fabrics and textiles, paper, construction materials and other manufactured goods, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service. In an October press release, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Virginia’s first commercial industrial hemp fiber processing facility. Appalachian Biomass Processing, in Wytheville, will create 13 new jobs and purchase more than 6,000 tons of Virginia-grown industrial hemp over the next three years, at a value of more than $1 million, the governor stated. “I am committed to pursuing every path that will attract economic prosperity to our rural communities, and hemp production opens up a wealth of opportunity to bring new jobs and new business to Virginia,” Northam wrote. The processor will mainly create hemp hurd, a woody fiber extracted from the plant stalk to be used for animal bedding. Hurd can also be used to make industrial items such as hemp-based concrete and hemp-derived plastics. In 2018, when hemp could only be grown for research purposes in Virginia, there were 135 acres of hemp planted and about 85 registered growers, according to Erin Williams, senior policy analyst with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. As of Nov. 15, VDACS had registered 1,183 industrial hemp growers, 262 processors and 117 dealers, Williams said. Nearly 2,200 acres of hemp were planted in Virginia this year. The economic impact of industrial hemp in the state has yet to be determined, Williams said. The harvest season has just finished and crops are being sold to processors.

WIBC.com: December 12, 2019

Legislators plan to tighten Indiana's election security another notch ahead of next year's elections. A government watchdog group says they should go farther. Senate Elections Chairman Greg Walker (R-Columbus) says he expects a bill to require more training for election workers to keep them from inadvertently opening voting machines to hackers by clicking on the wrong email or Internet link. Secretary of State Connie Lawson has already been conducting cybersecurity training for state election workers. And an election security training academy at Ball State graduated its first class of county election workers this summer. But Common Cause policy director Julia Vaughn says there needs to be more focus on making sure vote totals can be verified. 34 counties use optical-scan ballots, like the sheet you took your SAT on. Four more are debuting an add-on this year that prints a paper copy of your vote. The state is also piloting a "risk-limiting audit" where election officials review a sampling of ballots to confirm the totals make sense. But Vaughn says that still leaves 54 counties where vote tallies go straight to the hard drive. She says that's not only a target for hackers, but makes an audit impossible. About 60 people attended a Common Cause-hosted workshop on the state of election security in Indiana.

The Washington Post: December 11, 2019

That warning, delivered by senator after senator during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday, reflects the fierce anti-encryption mood now reigning on Capitol Hill -- and how the Justice Department's warnings about how the digital protection allows child sex traffickers and other criminals to act with impunity seem to be moving the needle. “It ain’t complicated for me. You’re going to find a way to do this or we’re going to do it for you,” committee chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told representatives from Facebook and Apple. “We’re not going to live in a world where a bunch of child abusers can have a safe haven to practice their craft. Period. End of discussion." Graham added, "You’re either the solution or you’re the problem.” Similar warnings came from the committee’s top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Republican Sens. Joni Ernst (Iowa), John Cornyn (Texas) and Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) who charged the companies are “creating a sanctuary” for criminals. “You all have got to get your act together or we will gladly get your act together for you,” Blackburn said. The lawmakers’ with-us-or-against us approach marks a huge about-face from a few years ago, when Congress seemed more split on whether advanced encryption provided a dangerous haven for criminals or a vital protection for all Americans. Back in 2016, even Graham warned the Obama Justice Department against trying to legally force Apple to help break into an encrypted iPhone used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook, saying the precedent could backfire and damage national security. “I’m a person who’s been moved by the arguments [about] the damage we may be doing to our national security,” Graham told then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Graham’s office didn’t respond to a query asking for details about his shifting position.

Forbes: December 10, 2019

If you listen carefully, you will hear the sound of a crooked foundation known as marijuana prohibition starting to crumble in the United States. It has been more than eight decades since the federal government outlawed the cannabis plant nationwide, and yet, here we are finally standing on its lawn with torches in hand waiting for a day of reckoning. Because no matter how much the suits on the Hill have schemed to enslave a population through backasswards drug laws, the nation has risen up in true knock-down-drag-out fashion and fought for its freedom back. Admittedly, this battle for legal bud took a lot longer than it should have, but considering that everyone in the trenches was stoned beyond belief, the marijuana movement seems to be arriving right on time. Although pro-pot groups insist that 2019 has been the best year ever in the realm of cannabis reform, the reality is not much progress has transpired. It is only revered as the “best year” because even less occurred in the years that came before it. But no matter how you size it up, nothing plus bupkis still equals squat. In spite of everything, marijuana remains illegal across most of the United States. At the state level, many advocates predicted that New York and New Jersey would be the next to legalize weed. Well, that didn’t happen. In fact, Illinois swooped in and legalized first, making both states look like dorks. But aside from that, no other significant pot laws were passed at the state level in 2019. We also learned that police are still out there arresting more than 600,000 pot offenders nationwide every year — mostly small timers, too. In addition, some states, like California, are having trouble curbing the black market, and tainted pot products, most of which were initially believed to be counterfeits, are finding their way into legal dispensaries. To make matters worse, the cannabis industry, as a whole, is struggling to keep it together long enough to see profitability. Layoffs are prevalent and some of the nation’s most popular cannabis magazines are at risk of going under.

Capital Public Radio: December 10, 2019

The city of Sacramento wants to extend its ban on hemp cultivation and manufacturing from 45 days to a full year. The hemp plant, sibling to marijuana, is legal under state law as of October 12, when Senate Bill 153 was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. But the city says it is unwilling to establish its own regulations for hemp until new rules are developed at the state and federal level. "They don't really exist at this moment and the city is really leery of moving into regulating yet another industry,” said Assistant City Manager Leyne Milstein. Milstein added that the city doesn’t want to create new rules only to be forced to change them when the state and feds come up with theirs.

The Washington Post: December 9, 2019

As Facebook sought to recover from its disastrous 2016 election season, company officials debated ways to curb distortions and disinformation on the platform. One of the most potentially powerful — limiting advertisers’ ability to target narrow slices of voters with political messages — struggled to find support and was abandoned, say people familiar with those discussions. But today, as disinformation begins to spread ahead of the 2020 presidential vote, Facebook again is discussing “microtargeting” and weighing whether to restrict a set of advertising tools so powerful that, critics say, it may threaten democracy itself. Though political advertising is a relatively small source of revenue for Facebook, which took in nearly $56 billion overall last year, the stakes are high because many politicians, including President Trump, are avid users of its microtargeting tools. These include the ability to tailor messages to lists of individual voters or to small groups based on characteristics such as age, education, Zip code, income, relationship status, interests, political leanings or combinations of the above. Politicians and operatives from both major parties have reacted angrily to proposals to curb these powers.

Fifth Domain: December 9, 2019

The National Defense Authorization Act released Dec. 9 contains several provisions aimed at securing U.S. election infrastructure months before presidential primary season is in full-swing. The provisions in the compromised conference report mandate a broad range of election-related steps, from an assessment of foreign intelligence threats to U.S. elections to allowing top state election officials to receive Top Secret security clearances. The security clearance language is good news for the information-sharing relationship between the the federal government and state election officials, who don’t have proper clearance to view high-level intelligence related to election infrastructure cyberthreats. Throughout the 2016 election, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI had a fraught information-sharing relationship with the states. In the years since, top federal election officials have consistently said information sharing needed to be improved, and while officials say it has been, the clearance problem was still a hindrance. The election security language in the bill directs DHS to furnish a report on 2016 cyberattacks on U.S. election infrastructure by foreign government within 60 days of the bill being signed into law. The report, which Congress wants unclassified, must include attempted and successful cyberattacks related to the 2016 election, including the names of the states and localities affected. Congress also wants it to include all attacks on vote registration databases, voting machines, voting-related computer networks.

The Providence Journal: December 9, 2019

Voting by email. Upgrading the modems used to transmit election-day vote tallies. Unmasking the donors hiding behind names like “The Coalition to Make Our Voices Heard” who pour money into campaigns. On a day Russian interference in past U.S. elections again made news, Rhode Island election officials waded into this quagmire without making any final decisions on what to do next. For example, they briefly weighed the pros and cons of allowing overseas voters — such as members of the military — to cast their R.I. election ballots from afar by email. The idea was shelved — at least for now — pending more study, after one member after another of the state Board of Elections voiced concern about the security of ballots cast in this fashion, despite assurances the ballots would be sent to a dedicated “address.” “I think we need to look very carefully at the security issues,? said the vice chairman, Stephen P. Erickson. It was unclear who authored the email-voting proposal that appeared on the board’s agenda, alongside a proposal to upgrade from 3G to 4G the modems the state uses on election-day to transmit results to state Board of Elections headquarters. That proposal too was put on hold — until next week — amid warnings from Brian Tardiff, the information security officer for the state’s Division of Information Technology, that making public all of the findings of a cybersecurity analysis of Rhode Island’s election system could put the system at risk.

ProPublica: December 9, 2019

This week in our state: weed and taxes! With less than one month left of 2019, and with recreational marijuana set to become legal on Jan. 1, officials in cities and towns across the state are wrestling with the issue and determining where they’ll stand. Some of the biggest news on the issue this week occurred in Evanston, where the City Council voted Monday to use sales tax revenues from marijuana to fund a local reparations program, according to the Chicago Tribune. While logistics are up in the air, aldermen who approved the measure see it as a way to try to retain the city’s black population, which has fallen in recent years, while “investing in residents who were harmed by discriminatory housing and other past policies.” Alderman Robin Rue Simmons said that, for generations, Evanston’s black population has been disproportionately affected by arrests for marijuana possession, the Daily Northwestern reported: “It is appropriate that sales tax revenue from recreational marijuana be invested in the community in which it unfairly policed and damaged,” she said.

Marijuana Moment: December 9, 2019

North Dakota activists submitted a measure to legalize marijuana for adult use to state officials on Thursday, an organizer confirmed to Marijuana Moment. Legalize ND, the group behind the proposed statutory initiative, delivered the measure to the secretary of state’s office. It’s expected to be validated within days, after which point petitions will be distributed to collect signatures in support of qualifying for the 2020 ballot. It’s been about a year since organizers began working on the measure, which would allow adults 21 and older to possess and purchase cannabis for personal use. The proposal is more narrowly tailored than a legalization initiative from the same organization that voters rejected in 2018, however. The previous version didn’t include any restrictions on cultivation or possession, and it didn’t involve a licensing scheme. By contrast, the new measure would prohibit home cultivation, limit possession to two ounces, impose a 10 percent excise tax and establish a regulatory body to approve licenses for marijuana businesses. “One of the largest complaints from last time was the mantra of ‘poorly written,'” Legalize ND’s David Owen told Marijuana Moment in a phone interview. “They targeted the lack of legal experience from our team and they targeted a lack of ‘qualified lawyers’ to be drafting language that would go into the state’s statutory law.”

Bloomberg Environment: December 9, 2019

States’ efforts to legalize marijuana could be endangering workers, job safety advocates warn. At issue is whether employers in states legalizing the recreational or medical use of marijuana can ban workers in “safety-sensitive” positions from off-hour use of marijuana or consumption of foods and drinks containing the plant’s psychoactive chemical, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The safety-sensitive classification should include occupations where a mistake can threaten the life and health of others, safety experts say. “The National Safety Council believes safety is being left out of the conversation, in general,” said Jane Terry, the council’s vice president of government affairs. The council in October issued a policy statement declaring “there is no level of cannabis use that is safe or acceptable for employees who work in safety-sensitive positions.” The recreational use of marijuana has been approved in the District of Columbia and in 11 states, including California, Michigan, and most recently Illinois. Another 22 states allow only medical use of cannabis.

Chicago Tribune: December 9, 2019

Once marijuana is legalized on Jan. 1, Chicago residents will be able to smoke legal cannabis in their balconies or backyards without being ticketed, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and interim police Superintendent Charlie Beck announced Thursday. “While the state law prohibits cannabis consumption in a ‘public place,’ which is defined as anywhere you can be observed by others in the public, the Chicago Police Department recognizes that an individual using cannabis in their own backyard or balcony poses no direct threat to public safety, and no resident should be arrested or ticketed solely for such a scenario,” Lightfoot and Beck said in a joint statement. “Any characterization to the contrary is simply wrong.” Illinois lawmakers voted earlier this year to legalize recreational use of marijuana with the new year. That’s led the city to make changes on how the city will address cannabis. Last month, the City Council approved Lightfoot’s plan to reduce penalties and fines for people caught carrying pot in their car or using it in public in Chicago.

The Ellsworth American: December 9, 2019

When political polar opposites such as U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) align on the same side, we notice. The issue that draws them close to rapture is hemp. The upheaval resulting from the disjointed legalization of hemp as an industrial agricultural crop in Maine has put farmers squarely in the middle of incompatible and conflicting state and federal rules and regulations. Pingree, McConnell and Governor Janet Mills are calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to keep pace with the social, scientific and market changes around hemp and products derived from hemp, especially cannabidiol oil (CBD). As we experienced with Maine’s legalization of marijuana, the state’s decision to normalize hemp as a crop collided head-on with federal prohibitions. Hemp is a brand-new “old” agricultural product in Maine. In 2015, the Maine Legislature rejected a Governor LePage veto and voted to allow planting of hemp for commercial purposes. In 2017, the Canadian firm Future Farm Technology acquired a hemp farm and a year later converted a former frozen-blueberry processor in Belfast to CBD processing in order to establish a base of operation in the United States. Hemp growing is not legal in many states, but in 2018 the Federal Farm Bill legalized hemp as an agricultural crop for states and tribes to manage. The USDA just released proposed rules governing hemp standards and eligibility for federal programs such as farm loans and crop insurance and the public comment period is now open. Interim rules will be published to address growing, testing, disposal and licensing standards.

Politico: December 9, 2019

— The case against two alleged Russian hackers provides insights on how Russia handles cyber, the evolving state of Washington-Kremlin relations and more. — Congress is losing another leading cybersecurity-oriented lawmaker to retirement, this time the House member most associated with the “hack back” movement. — A NATO-affiliated research group is out today with a report detailing how Facebook, Google and Twitter are struggling to stop widespread inauthentic behavior across their platforms. BETWEEN THE LINES — The unsealed U.S. indictment of, and related materials about, the alleged leaders of the cybercriminal gang Evil Corp released on Thursday expound on the massive scope of the operation, and more: at least $100 million stolen from banks in 40 countries via the Dridex malware, some pretty massive fees to their customers and a naming convention that suggests they haven’t watched “Mr. Robot” too closely. But some of the most interesting bits involve how Russia operates in cyberspace. First, and surprisingly, FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich said at a news conference that Russia was "helpful in the investigation, to a point.” The complaint elaborates that the aid came shortly after the Obama administration “reset” with Russia but just as relations were starting to deteriorate anew: “Affidavits from the Russian response also indicated that on or about November 24, 2010, Russian authorities executed a residential search warrant at the Moscow Address. According to the affidavits produced by Russian authorities, individuals present or with belongings at the residence included Maksim Yakubets and a specific female individual.” Special Agent Jacob Foiles said he believed “that the Russian response to the mutual legal assistance request was reliable. Russian authorities did not produce the actual records and information they had obtained, as had been requested; instead, they summarized the records and information in affidavits.” On the other hand, since there are pictures of Yakubets and his gaudy car hanging around police, they apparently didn’t make an effort to do more than that.

Des Moines Register: December 9, 2019

An Ankeny business owner was arrested Wednesday for allegedly selling products containing cannabidiol, or CBD, while unlicensed by the state — the first charge of its kind in Polk County, according to the county attorney's office. Ankeny police arrested Lacie Navin, 33, of Des Moines at her business, Your CBD Store, at 833 E. First St., said Lt. Heath Osberg, spokesperson for the Polk County Sheriff's Office. Officers from the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force twice purchased CBD products at Navin’s store, according to a criminal complaint. The complaint did not say whether the officers were in uniform or working undercover, and Navin could not be reached for comment. The first purchases, on Oct. 15, were a pack of CBD gummies, hemp extract oil and CBD lotion. Lab testing showed all the products contained cannabidiol, according to the complaint. Officers went to Navin's store again Monday and purchased another pack of CBD gummies. Navin was arrested two days later and charged with two counts of controlled substance violation and failure to pay tax on an unlawful substance. Navin’s arrest was a part of a task force investigation of businesses selling CBD in central Iowa that began after complaints had been filed in multiple counties, Osberg said. Officers were unable to find CBD at some stores, Osberg said. At the others, officers warned owners to remove the products from their shelves or face charges. Osberg declined to identify the businesses the officers investigated...CBD is derived from hemp, a member of the same plant family, cannabis, as marijuana, though it typically does not contain a significant amount of THC, marijuana's psychoactive substance. Despite the growing presence of CBD in the Des Moines area, it is still illegal to sell or possess over-the-counter CBD in Iowa, said Nathan Blake, Iowa’s deputy attorney general.

Market Realist: December 5, 2019

Marijuana legalization is picking up the pace again. The 2020 elections are drawing closer. More states are working to pass bills to get medical, recreational, or both cannabis forms legalized. On Wednesday, I discussed how Virginia is pushing for marijuana decriminalization and legalization in 2020. Read Marijuana Legalization: Can Virginia Expect it in 2020? to learn more. Now, we’ll discuss what’s happening with marijuana legalization in Utah. Recreational cannabis is still illegal in Utah. The state legalized medical cannabis in 2018. However, the medical marijuana program will go live in March 2020. As a result, under current cannabis laws, people in Utah can grow cannabis plants for medical use, especially for certain terminal conditions. Medical dispensaries haven’t been set up yet in Utah. In 2018, Utah passed a law for dispensaries to be opened by January 2021. Utah’s laws are pretty strict when it comes to cannabis possession despite making medical marijuana legal. Doctors and patients in Utah don’t feel protected under current cannabis laws, as reported by Fox 13 last month.

WTVR: December 4, 2019

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring will host a cannabis summit one week from Wednesday ahead of the start of the 2020 General Assembly next month. “The reason that I’ve organized this cannabis reform summit is to bring lawmakers and policymakers together to hear from experts and folks from other states who’ve had experience in this to share that information to give them the tools and information they need in order to craft a good plan for Virginia going forward,” said Herring (D). With the Democrats taking control of both the House and Senate of the General Assembly, along with already controlling the Governor’s mansion, there are expectations that the party will pass legislation on issues that has failed in the past. This includes the possibility of decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana, both of which Herring has voiced support for. “Now that that’s changing, I think there’s a real opportunity that this new Democratic majority will pass real meaningful reform,” said Herring. “I hope at a minimum that means decriminalization of possession of small amounts and addressing past convictions. I also hope that it puts on a path to make a concrete plan for how Virginia could move to legal and regulated adult use.”

The Press Herald: December 4, 2019

State agriculture officials are saying new federal rules regulating hemp production nationally would hurt Maine’s rapidly growing hemp industry. The rules being proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under its Domestic Hemp Production Program are currently open for public comment, and the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Commissioner Amanda Beal detailed the state’s concerns about the rules in comments released Wednesday. Hemp, a strain of marijuana that does not contain high levels of the psychoactive chemical tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is generally grown for its fiber or for the extraction of cannabidiol, or CBD, a key component in marijuana-based medicines and treatments. The proposed federal rules would require lab testing of hemp to certify THC levels, but the rules require that those labs be registered with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. The rules also set a limit on THC in hemp at .3 percent, require state sampling of all hemp farms, federal registration and federal background checks for those involved in the industry. Maine’s hemp program currently has only one private lab available for testing, and it is not registered with the DEA.

The Washington Post: December 4, 2019

A tenuous Senate consensus on the dangers of Russian election hacking is being threatened by the GOP’s embrace of President Trump’s debunked argument that Ukraine also interfered in 2016. Numerous Senate Republicans promoted that argument this week, bucking the conclusion of U.S. intelligence officials and ignoring warnings the claims are part of a Kremlin-backed effort to muddy the waters on Russia’s own interference. "There's no question in my mind Ukraine did try to influence the election," Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.), one of Trump’s most vocal supporters on the issue, said yesterday. Senate Democrats also struck back. “The only people who are advancing the discredited theory about Ukraine and intervention are part of the continuing Russian disinformation campaign,” Sen. Mark R. Warner (Va.), ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said. The conflict is a sea change for the Senate, which has generally maintained a bipartisan consensus on the singular damage caused by Russia’s 2016 hacking and disinformation campaign and the danger of a repeat in 2020 — even as House GOP lawmakers have proved far more willing to follow Trump’s lead in questioning Russia’s role in the attacks and embrace conspiracy theories.

Marijuana Moment: December 3, 2019

New Zealand residents got a first look on Tuesday at details of a draft marijuana legalization proposal that will be the subject of a voter referendum next year. “The Government is publishing a draft Bill at this point to ensure that New Zealanders are informed about the direction being taken and the decisions that have been made to date,” a summary states. The draft bill outlines the basic elements of establishing a regulated cannabis market for adults. It will be updated with more details, taking feedback into account, ahead of the referendum vote. If more than 50 percent of voters approve the legislation, the incoming government will have to enact a law legalizing marijuana for adult use. The measure, as proposed, would set an age limit of 20 to purchase cannabis products, require marijuana to be consumed in private residences and licensed facilities, mandate investments in public health education campaigns, impose restrictions on advertising and create a licensing scheme for marijuana businesses. Individuals could purchase up to 14 grams of cannabis per day and cultivate up to two plants for personal use. The government would establish a body called the Cannabis Regulatory Authority to regulate the industry, approve licenses for marijuana businesses and promote public health. It would also be tasked with setting an excise tax so that the government recoups the administrative costs of implementing a cannabis program.

: December 3, 2019

Marijuana is strictly prohibited in Virginia. All forms of marijuana are illegal in the state. Yet, recreational cannabis sales went live in Michigan on Sunday. To know more about this, read Recreational Marijuana Sales Go Live in Michigan. Furthermore, Illinois will legalize marijuana on January 1, 2020. While the other states are pushing for legalization, let’s see what steps Virginia is taking. In June, the Daily Press reported Virginia’s Attorney General Mark Herring discussed his views about the unfair marijuana laws in the state. He feels decriminalization is the first step the state should take as it costs the state money dealing with marijuana convictions. Additionally, treating marijuana usage as a criminal offense leads to racial disparity. According to the Daily Press, marijuana convictions had increased from 6,500 in 2008 to 10,000 in 2017. Furthermore, he added that the state should look at legalizing marijuana, as well. A Newsweek article in June mentioned that both Democrats and Republicans supported Attorney General Mark Herring’s stance on decriminalization. On November 19, a Marijuana Moment article stated that Senator Adam Ebbin introduced a bill to decriminalize the possession of cannabis. It appears that this bill has a better chance as Democrats hold the majority in both the House of Delegates and Senate now. The state elections held in November decided the fate of Virginia, with Democrats holding the majority now. We have seen earlier that Republicans are not a fan of cannabis legalization. Talking about this, Jenn Michelle Pedini, executive director of Virginia NORML, said, “The new majority creates a real pathway for the passage of decriminalization in the 2020 General Assembly.” The new bill would now charge anyone possessing up to one ounce of cannabis to a maximum civil penalty of $50.

The New York Times: December 3, 2019

The number of banks in the United States willing to lend to hemp producers can be counted on one hand. That is about to change. Federal and state bank regulators announced Tuesday that they were scrapping a burdensome requirement that banks said kept them away from the hemp business. Banks will no longer have to treat their hemp customers as suspicious and file reams of paperwork to anti-money-laundering authorities for each interaction. The change could provide a major boost to a niche product that began its own legalization process last year. “Banking has been an ongoing problem,” said Erica McBride Stark, the executive director of the National Hemp Association, a trade group for growers. “So this actually should be quite helpful.” Hemp products are made from the same plants that produce marijuana, but they are cultivated to have far less tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical that produces a “high” when ingested. The plants’ stalks can be woven into fabric and their seeds processed into oils used in food, but they cannot be made into drugs. Even so, federal law long considered hemp to be as forbidden as cocaine and heroin. But with the legalization of marijuana spreading across the country — 33 states have legalized the drug for medical use and 11 states will allow sales for recreational use by January — lawmakers in Washington decided to do away with the designation for its milder sibling.

Marijuana Moment: December 3, 2019

Federal financial regulatory agencies are clarifying that banks no longer have to take extra steps to track accounts for hemp-related businesses. Before hemp and its derivatives were federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, financial institutions were required to file suspicious activity reports (SARs) for accounts associated with the crop because it was a Schedule I controlled substance treated the same as marijuana. But the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, as well as the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, issued a statement on Tuesday updating banks on the legal status of hemp. “Because hemp is no longer a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act, banks are not required to file a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) on customers solely because they are engaged in the growth or cultivation of hemp in accordance with applicable laws and regulations,” the memo states. “For hemp-related customers, banks are expected to follow standard SAR procedures, and file a SAR if indicia of suspicious activity warrants.” In essence, the financial agencies said that while banks don’t have to accept hemp accounts, if they do, those clients shouldn’t be treated any differently than customers from any other legal industry.

ABC News: December 3, 2019

A federal appeals court in Cincinnati is holding oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the security of voting machines in Tennessee's largest county. The Shelby County Advocates for Valid Elections are hoping the appellate judges will call for a switch to handwritten ballots and a voter-verifiable paper trail. They claim the outdated touchscreen voting machines used in the Memphis area aren’t secure, and more safeguards are needed to shield the system from outside manipulation. A judge dismissed their lawsuit in September, saying they failed to show any harm has come to them and that they have no legal standing. Attorneys for the state of Tennessee will tell the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday that any claims of vote miscount and dilution are merely hypothetical.

Salon: December 3, 2019

A Russian-owned company tried to hack the Ohio office that oversees the state’s voting systems on Election Day, according to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. LaRose told the Columbus Dispatch that the state’s internal systems detected an “SQL injection” attack that attempted to insert malicious code onto his office’s website. LaRose said that the attack originated in Panama but was traced back to a Russian-owned company. He downplayed the attempted hack as “relatively unsophisticated.” “Some of these unsophisticated attacks are ways that they probe for vulnerabilities. They are poking around for soft spots,” LaRose explained. He went on to credit the state’s “Albert” alert system that quickly identified the attack. “The good guys won that day and the bad guys lost,” he said. LaRose said that similar attacks are designed to disrupt or undermine the credibility of elections but he is confident that hackers cannot access voting machines because they are not connected to the internet. LaRose’s announcement came several months after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis revealed that Russian hackers had breached the voting systems of two counties in the state in 2016, though he said there was “nothing that affected the vote count.” That attack was first revealed in the final report of former special counsel Robert Mueller, who later testified to Congress that Russia was planning to interfere in upcoming elections “as we sit here.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: December 2, 2019

State election officials plan to ask the Legislature to help set rules for when they should purge the voter rolls, in part in response to a lawsuit against the state. On a 5-1 vote Monday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission directed its staff to start talking to lawmakers about how to address the issue. The commissioners want clearer rules about how to treat voters who may have moved — either with a law that spells out those rules or a law that gives the commission the power to set those rules on its own. The issue arose after the Elections Commission in October sent letters to about 234,000 voters telling them election officials believe they may have moved. The commission plans to remove them from the voter rolls in 2021 if they haven't confirmed they're still at the same address or registered to vote at a new address.

The Washington Post: December 2, 2019

Massive voting machine failures in a Pennsylvania county in November are giving election security advocates fresh ammunition to call for nationwide paper ballots. The problems, which may have been caused by a software glitch, resulted in some Northampton County residents who tried to vote straight-ticket Democrat initially registering as straight-ticket Republican. It also incorrectly showed a Republican judicial candidate winning by a nearly statistically impossible margin, the New York Times’ Nick Corasaniti reports. In this case, voters got lucky. The county had paper backups for all the votes the machine counted incorrectly. They showed the Democrat judicial candidate Abe Kassis — who the computer tally said got just 164 votes out of 55,000 ballots — actually narrowly won the race.

Politico: December 2, 2019

— In the first part of a two-part interview, the senior director of Microsoft’s Defending Democracy Program talked about the company’s work with political campaigns and organizations. — The DHS vulnerability disclosure policy directive and Commerce Department supply chain rule got some fresh reaction over the holiday break...I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU — Microsoft’s multifaceted election security program has trained more than 1,300 campaign staffers and consultants worldwide since launching a year and a half ago, and its leader says the tech giant wants to be a long-term ally in the fight against hackers. Campaigns “need a trusted partner that can help them throughout their life cycle,” Jan Neutze, the senior director of Microsoft’s Defending Democracy Program, told Eric in an interview. “That’s really what we’re trying to do.” Neutze, whose team’s AccountGuard service currently monitors more than 65,000 political accounts in 26 countries, talked about the company’s pitch to candidates and party committees, the threat landscape facing democracies, how Microsoft decides when to disclose election cyberattacks and how the company has changed its program in response to user feedback. Part one of the interview is available now for Pros and part two will run Tuesday morning...A TALE OF TWO FEDERAL CYBER PROPOSALS — A DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency draft binding operational directive that would require agencies to establish vulnerability disclosures got some good reviews after its release last week. “This is a banner day for federal agency cybersecurity,” Rhode Island Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin, co-chairman of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus and a member of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, said Wednesday. “CISA’s decision to require every agency to have a vulnerability disclosure policy is a major step forward in both increasing security and extending an open hand to a community that is on the front lines of securing our nation in cyberspace.”

The Motley Fool: December 1, 2019

When the year began, the North American cannabis industry looked to have plenty of momentum. Canada had just become the first industrialized country in the modern era to green-light adult-use cannabis, Mexico looked to be on track to legalize recreational pot later in the year, and support for legalization in the U.S. remained high (pardon the pun). But this has all changed as the year has worn on. Canada's weed industry has dealt with persistent supply issues, Mexico has kicked the can on recreational legalization into 2020, and the federal government in the U.S. continues to stymie any efforts to reform cannabis banking laws or the drug's Schedule I classification. Maybe the lone bright spot this year has been the projected uptick in cannabidiol (CBD) sales in the United States. CBD is the nonpsychoactive cannabinoid derived from cannabis and hemp that's best known for its perceived medical benefits.

The Washington Post: December 1, 2019

THE SUREST way to guard our democracy against foreign interference? Persuade the meddlers not to meddle in the first place. Congress has a last chance to take a common-sense step in that direction before lawmakers call it a year. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has written a letter exhorting Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to support a provision in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would trigger cross-sector sanctions on any government that tried to tamper with U.S. elections. The measure mirrors the Deter Act that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) first introduced with Mr. Van Hollen almost two years ago. The Senate has passed by voice vote a resolution instructing the conferees currently finalizing the authorization act to take similar steps, and the House has approved a sister amendment.

The New York Times: November 30, 2019

It was a few minutes after the polls closed here on Election Day when panic began to spread through the county election offices. Vote totals in a Northampton County judge’s race showed one candidate, Abe Kassis, a Democrat, had just 164 votes out of 55,000 ballots across more than 100 precincts. Some machines reported zero votes for him. In a county with the ability to vote for a straight-party ticket, one candidate’s zero votes was a near statistical impossibility. Something had gone quite wrong. Lee Snover, the chairwoman of the county Republicans, said her anxiety began to pick up at 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 5. She had trouble getting someone from the election office on the phone. When she eventually got through, she said: “I’m coming down there and you better let me in.” With clearly faulty results in at least the judge’s election, officials began counting the paper backup ballots generated by the same machines. The paper ballots showed Mr. Kassis winning narrowly, 26,142 to 25,137, over his opponent, the Republican Victor Scomillio. “People were questioning, and even I questioned, that if some of the numbers are wrong, how do we know that there aren’t mistakes with anything else?” said Matthew Munsey, the chairman of the Northampton County Democrats, who, along with Ms. Snover, was among the observers as county officials worked through the night to feed the paper ballots by hand through scanning machines. The snafu in Northampton County did not just expose flaws in both the election machine testing and procurement process. It also highlighted the fears, frustrations and mistrust over election security that many voters are feeling ahead of the 2020 presidential contest, given how faith in American elections has never been more fragile. The problematic machines were also used in Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs — areas of Pennsylvania that could prove decisive next year in one of the most critical presidential swing states in the country.

Chicago Tribune: November 27, 2019

The Baltimore Sun: November 26, 2019

The prospect of legalizing recreational marijuana use in Maryland is growing dim for 2020. While there’s growing acceptance for adult use of the drug, and some see it as a potential source of money to boost spending on public schools, state lawmakers appear not quite ready to legalize the sale and use of marijuana for recreational purposes. “I think the consensus is: We are not recommending legislation this session to legalize adult use,” said Del. Kathleen Dumais, who co-chairs a bipartisan work group of delegates and senators that’s been studying marijuana. “We are still in the investigative mode.” Maryland legalized marijuana for medical purposes in 2014, and there are now 16 growers, 18 processors and 85 dispensaries operating statewide. Dumais and work group co-chair Sen. Bill Ferguson said members say they still have many more issues to resolve before moving forward on legalization governing recreational use. “It seems like every time we get some information to answer one question, it just begets another three or four questions,” said Dumais, a Montgomery County Democrat.

Politico: November 26, 2019

FDA WARNS ON CBD SAFETY — The agency sent warning letters to 15 companies on Monday for selling CBD products that it believes are illegal under federal law. It's among the most aggressive actions that FDA has taken yet to police the rapidly growing market for CBD products, POLITICO's Paul Demko writes. "The FDA has seen only limited data about CBD safety and these data point to real risks that need to be considered before taking CBD for any reason," the agency wrote in an accompanying consumer update. — The agency has been grappling with how to regulate CBD ever since the 2018 farm bill legalized hemp, with patients taking hemp-derived CBD products to address every ailment from insomnia to cancer. FDA warnings that it’s illegal to use CBD in food or dietary supplements have been widely ignored, Paul writes. — Is a clash coming between FDA and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell? The Kentucky senator, who drove the farm bill language on hemp, has spent months urging the agency to appropriately speed CBD products to market. McConnell asked FDA nominee Stephen Hahn about his plans to regulate the products when the two men met last week. "Like many Kentuckians who are taking advantage of hemp’s legalization, I am eager for FDA’s plans to create certainty for CBD products," McConnell said in a statement after his meeting with Hahn.

: November 26, 2019

In their latest report on fake online pharmacies that ply their trade in the United States, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) found more than 1,500 new websites that it considers “Not Recommended,” and of these, 31% are offering illicit prescription drugs, such as codeine, fentanyl, oxycodone, Adderall, Valium, and Xanax.

Yahoo Finance: November 26, 2019

Assistant to the President and Director of the office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro discussed the Trump Adminstration's effort to protect consumers by keeping dangerous counterfeit goods out of the U.S. in a November 24th interview that aired on "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" on Fox News Channel at 10 a.m. EST.

Marijuana Moment : November 26, 2019

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced on Tuesday that he will be working with lawmakers to advance legislation to decriminalize marijuana possession after the legislature failed to produce a passable bill to more broadly legalize cannabis. While the question of legalizing and regulating sales is now expected to go before voters as a referendum on the 2020 ballot, removing criminal penalties for mere possession could prove more palatable to some lawmakers in the interim. “Decriminalization of adult-use marijuana cannot be our long-term solution, but we now must turn to it for critical short-term relief while we await a ballot measure on legalization next November,” Murphy said in a press release. “Maintaining a status quo that sees roughly 600 individuals, disproportionately people of color, arrested in New Jersey every week for low-level drug offenses is wholly unacceptable.” The governor said he would coordinate with both chambers to ensure that decriminalization passes “as soon as possible.”

Yahoo Finance/Bezinga: November 24, 2019

For the first time ever, a congressional committee in the U.S. has voted on a cannabis legalization bill. The law in question, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2019, passed the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday in a 24-10 vote. If approved by the House and Senate, the MORE Act would end the federal prohibition of cannabis with other provisions for social equity, record expungement and small business support. See the video below for the main highlights.

The Motley Fool: November 24, 2019

Marijuana's momentum has been undeniable in recent years. Last year, we saw Canada become the first industrialized country in the world to legalize recreational cannabis in the modern era. Now, Mexico looks to be just months away from becoming the third country worldwide to OK the sale and consumption of adult-use weed...Marijuana's scheduling in the U.S. puts pot businesses at a serious disadvantage|||And yet, despite two-thirds of the American public favoring some sort of national legalization program, the U.S. federal government continues to classify cannabis as a Schedule I substance. That means it's entirely illegal, is deemed to be prone to abuse by users, and is considered to have no recognized medical benefits. In fact, cocaine has a less stringent scheduling than marijuana, according to the Controlled Substance Act. But the illegality of marijuana is just the start. Even though the federal government has taken a hands-off approach to state-level regulation, this isn't exactly making life easy for companies in the cannabis space. For one, U.S. pot businesses have limited or no access to basic banking services. Since banks are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the FDIC is a federally created agency, they fear potential financial and/or criminal repercussions if caught aiding cannabis companies. This means limited or no access to everything from loans and lines of credit, to something as simple as a checking account.

CBS News: November 24, 2019

There was a lot of testimony during this past week's impeachment inquiry about foreign interference in our 2016 election, including the president's assertion that Ukraine was involved. But the president's own intelligence agencies say it was the Russians who "hacked" the 2016 elections. Special counsel Robert Mueller spelled it out in his report. Now the Justice Department has at least two open cases against Russian citizens for interfering with our presidential and congressional races, we decided to take a closer look at one of them - the case against 12 Russian military officers accused of breaking into the Democratic Party's computers, stealing compromising information, and selectively releasing it to undermine Democratic candidates. There's no evidence of similar operations against Republicans in 2016. With the 2020 election approaching, the story of "The Russian Hack." Robert Anderson: The Russians never left. I can guarantee you in 2016 after this all hit the news, they never left. They didn't stop doing what they're doing.

U.S. News & World Report: November 23, 2019

The top White House official for national security would not say Saturday whether President Donald Trump's concerns about corruption in Ukraine have been satisfied, declining to answer a direct question about whether the U.S. would provide military aid to Kyiv next year. Speaking to a group of reporters on the sidelines of an international security conference here, national security adviser Robert O'Brien demurred when asked specifically whether current corruption levels in Ukraine could yet again threaten almost $400 million in annual military aid the U.S. supplies as a critical bulwark for Kyiv's ongoing conflict with Russia.

Chicago Tribune : November 22, 2019

The legalization of industrial hemp in the U.S/ less than a year ago has sparked interest from both traditional farmers and newbies like Crabill. The early stages…

Texas Standard: November 22, 2019

Houston Public Media: November 21, 2019

The 2020 presidential election is now less than a year away. That doesn’t leave a lot of time to address people’s concerns about election security – concerns that have lingered at least since revelations surfaced about Russian efforts to interfere with the 2016 election. So, what exactly are election officials across Greater Houston doing about it? “Our elections are only as valid as people think that they are,” said John Oldham, who has served as election administrator for Fort Bend County for more than 11 years, under both Republican and Democratic leaders. “Our country exists under a social contract, and every time we go to the polls to vote for people or on propositions, we ratify that contract again and again…And so long as people believe elections are secure – that’s just as important as making them secure.” Oldham said that’s a big reason why Fort Bend County has switched over from purely electronic voting to a hybrid system involving paper backups — that’s what residents say they want. Fort Bend County is ahead of Harris County when it comes to upgrading voting machines. The Harris County Clerk’s Office has just reached the point of getting permission from County Commissioners Court to start the bidding process for voting machine vendors. But even if commissioners give their permission at the December meeting, the process of selecting a vendor could take until May.

NBC News: November 21, 2019

The campaign to decriminalize marijuana overcame a historic congressional hurdle this week, but opponents and some supporters acknowledge the legislation faces serious obstacles. The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted 24-10 to approve the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE, which would remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances, where it's now banned alongside powerful drugs like heroin and LSD. The bill would require federal courts to expunge convictions for marijuana offenses and authorize a 5 percent tax on marijuana sales to encourage minority communities to enter the cannabis business. It's believed to be the first time a congressional committee has backed legislation to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. Eleven states and Washington, D.C., have already done so.

Marijuana Moment: November 21, 2019

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) says she’ll make another attempt to legalize marijuana in the Ocean State next year. In an appearance on WPRI-TV’s Newsmakers program, the governor said she recently discussed the cannabis issue during a lunch with Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R), and she left feeling encouraged to pursue the policy change. Baker “basically said, ‘Look, you’re going to have to do it, so you probably should do it and do it right.’ And I think he’s probably right,” Raimondo said in the interview that aired last weekend. “Connecticut I think is pretty close to doing it, so it’s likely.” “Last year we made a step forward with more medical [cannabis] and I think the next logical step is adult use,” she said. Raimondo’s meeting with Baker and Lamont came just weeks after a separate vaping and cannabis-focused summit featuring the Connecticut governor and those from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, at which those top state executives agreed to a set of principles to shape regional marijuana legalization plans. Raimondo included a legalization proposal in her 2019 budget submission to the legislature, but it was not adopted by lawmakers.

The Washington Post: November 20, 2019

The U.S. risks losing the next generation of telecommunications systems to China if the White House doesn't create a new position to oversee 5G policy, the Senate’s top security leaders are warning. The bipartisan group is calling for a unified national strategy as U.S. officials are fighting a rear-guard battle to prevent the Chinese firm Huawei from building super-fast 5G wireless networks across much of the world — which they fear could support a global network for Chinese spying. A new 5G coordinator would tackle threats that cross government agencies including the Pentagon, State and Homeland Security departments and Federal Communications Commission, the senators said in a letter to the Trump administration’s national security adviser Robert O’Brien. “In our view, the current national level approach to 5G is comprised of a dispersed coalition of common concern, rather than a coordinated, interagency activity,” the senators warn.

The Business of Federal Technology: November 20, 2019

Expert witnesses warned Congress that the U.S. government has largely failed to address known security shortfalls leading up to 2020 and future elections. Much of the election security debate in Washington since 2016 has focused on improving baseline protections for voting machines, but witnesses at a Nov. 19 House Homeland Security Committee hearing noted that similar deficiencies also exist when it comes to protecting political campaigns from compromise by foreign intelligence services and preventing foreign and domestic disinformation. In his opening statement, Georgetown University professor Matthew Blaze noted that the current generation of voting machines used in U.S. elections were never designed to combat attacks or threats from adversarial foreign governments with the resources to penetrate the global supply chain or obtain software source code before it's even shipped to election officials.

American Academy of Family Physicians: November 20, 2019

The good news: Cigarette smoking among U.S. adults reached an all-time low of 13.7% in 2018 -- down about two-thirds in the more than 50 years since U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry, M.D., issued his landmark report on the health consequences of smoking.

Chicago Tribune: November 19, 2019

On a foggy November day, farm workers take clippers to a field of bushy green plants, snipping tops full of flower buds dotted with flecks of sticky resin. By the end of the day, the cuttings dry inside a southeast Portland warehouse, hanging from tall plastic trellises like aromatic curtains. This harvest from a 22-acre patch of land looks, feels and smells like marijuana. But this is hemp cultivated to produce cannabidiol, or CBD, increasingly popular in pills, tinctures, oils, rubs and foods. Though lacking a psychoactive punch, CBD also is in high demand as a smokable flower marketed online with names such as Paradise, Charlotte's Sauce and Honolulu Haze. If everything goes right, and that's a big if, hemp can be a very lucrative crop. Last year, a 1-acre patch could yield about $70,000, far more than even high-value fruit such as cherries or blueberries, according to Portland-based industry analyst Beau Whitney. But hemp may require, even for a few dozen acres, a six-figure investment to bring the crop to market. And this year, farmers in Oregon, Washington and elsewhere are struggling with mold, poor seed quality, a scarcity of drying facilities and other problems that risk financial disaster to some. As they try to sell their crops, they find that a dramatic increase in U.S. plantings and bottlenecks in processing have pushed typical harvest prices down to $12,000 to $30,000 an acre.

The Washington Post: November 19, 2019

The Trump administration's failure to follow through on a key promise to punish Huawei is spiking fears among cybersecurity hawks. The administration just issued a third three-month delay in blocking U.S. companies from doing business with the Chinese telecom firm. And those who support the administration's get-tough argument worry it might abandon the plan entirely. Experts are concerned the delay could signal to Beijing that the United States — which has banned Huawei from its own 5G networks and from government systems — is unwilling to take more decisive action to punish Chinese spying and theft of U.S. companies’ intellectual property. “It sends a message of toothlessness,” Paul Rosenzweig, a former top cybersecurity official at the Department of Homeland Security during the George W. Bush administration, told me. “If I threaten to send you to jail but I never actually do it, what message does that send?” They're also concerned the delay, which means the ban won't be imposed for at least nine months since it was announced, could fatally undermine the United States’ credibility as it argues that Huawei poses an unacceptable threat to national security and urges other nations to ban its equipment from their next-generation 5G wireless networks. And that, in turn, could broaden Beijing's ability spy on data that crosses the super fast networks in countries where Huawei has a foothold, security hawks say.

The Hill: November 18, 2019

2020 presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on Monday published a strategy for how she would secure elections against cyber and disinformation threats if elected president, the same day she joined a group of Senate Democrats in pushing for election security funding. In her plan, Klobuchar, who is a longtime advocate in the Senate for election security efforts, zeroed in on improving the transparency of political ads on social media, combating disinformation, and promoting cybersecurity. Key parts of the strategy include Klobuchar’s intention to issue an executive order that would bolster government-wide cybersecurity efforts, and launch a “cabinet-level taskforce” that would coordinate across federal agencies and with state and local governments to better address cyber threats to elections. Klobuchar would also require states to use paper ballots as a way to prevent cyber tampering with the vote, and set “strong cybersecurity standards” for voting infrastructure. On the disinformation front, the strategy points to passage of the Honest Ads Act as a major priority Klobuchar would pursue as president. The bill, which is sponsored by Klobuchar and Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), aims to increase transparency of who buys political ads on social media.

The Washington Post: November 18, 2019

A controversial activist is rallying other hackers to crack into scandal-ridden companies and spill their secrets — and offering cash rewards for the biggest leaks. Phineas Fisher is offering up to $100,000 for damaging information about targets including U.S. oil company Halliburton and NSO Group, an Israeli firm that sells software to governments and that critics say helps authoritarian regimes stifle dissent. It's all part of a “Hacktivist Bug Hunting Program,” as Vice’s Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai reports. The cash incentive has the potential to reinvigorate the community of hacktivists, which has lagged in recent years with collectives such as Anonymous and LulzSec largely fading from mainstream view. But it could create serious problems for the community of cybersecurity researchers who’ve spent years trying to distinguish their work from the illegal side of hacking -- and have even gotten many companies and government agencies to join programs that welcome ethical hackers to find bugs that could make their products safer. They fear a resurgence of vigilante hackers using their skills for what they perceive as social justice could blur those lines. It could even imperil some legal protections ethical hackers have spent years fighting for, such as tighter restrictions on when companies can threaten researchers who find bugs in their products.

The Columbus Dispatch: November 18, 2019

Ohio farmers worry that the state’s proposed hemp production rules, which require that at least 1,000 plants be grown on at least a quarter acre, will exclude smaller operators. Application and licensing costs also are a concern.

The State Journal: November 17, 2019

When leaders of our state get together, the same question inevitably dominates the conversation: How do we diversify our economy while transitioning away from extraction industries? My typical response is we should focus on making West Virginia a “cornucopia of specialty crops.” This answer should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me from my tenure as a state Senator or my current role as the Commissioner of Agriculture. It easy to be a vocal proponent of agriculture because those who work within the industry are some of the hardest-working individuals in our country. They understand what it truly takes to make something out of nothing. It is more difficult to get other leaders, especially those less connected to agriculture, to see the $7 billion opportunity before us. The good news is, now, we have a shining example of a booming agricultural industry here in the Mountain State: industrial hemp. Foresight by the West Virginia Legislature in 2017 allowed West Virginia farmers, for the first time ever, to begin growing industrial hemp for commercial purposes. Our leaders in Congress, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, followed suit in the 2018 Farm Bill, legalizing a new cash crop across the United States.

Osceola Sun: November 16, 2019

When lawmakers passed legislation that legalized hemp and CBD products in Wisconsin, a new world opened up for local farmers. Though some legal lines are blurred, and the market is questionable, Osceola farm manager, Drew Slevin, and farm assistant, Elle Sullivan, of Lily Springs Farm are seeing promise in their second year in the Wisconsin hemp-farming boom. “I want farmers to be successful,” says Slevin. “That’s actually a big part of why we got into farming hemp. As a farm, we’re really concerned about land management practices on private land. I think there’s a lot of opportunity in this industry to make sensible choices and build an economy that will serve us.” Last year, Lily Springs started with a one-acre plot of textile variety hemp, often used for clothing, furniture, shoes and other products. Jumping into a brand new crop, Slevin and Sullivan hoped for prosperity, but prepared themselves for a possible letdown. “It was our first year we were doing it, and the first year Wisconsin was doing it, so it was super exciting, but it really underperformed,” says Slevin. “Because of that, we really didn’t have high expectations for this year, but we wanted to see what we could do. So, we came up with a plan to protect [the plants] from weeds, prepared for unpredictable weather, and they absolutely blew our minds.”

Vox: November 14, 2019

The overwhelming majority of Americans support marijuana legalization, according to two recent surveys from major polling organizations. The newest poll, from the Pew Research Center, found that 67 percent of Americans now back marijuana legalization, up from 62 percent in 2018. Opposition to legalization also dropped to 32 percent, down from 34 percent last year. Pew also asked respondents about what kind of legalization they back. About 59 percent said they want medical and recreational legalization, while 32 percent said they only want medical legalization. Only 8 percent said neither. Pew found that even a majority — 55 percent — of Republicans support legalizing pot. About 78 percent of Democrats do as well. At the same time, another recent poll by Gallup found 66 percent of Americans support marijuana legalization, the same as Gallup found last year. Gallup also found that a majority of both Republicans and Democrats support legalization.

Sparta Independent: November 14, 2019

U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) announced the introduction of the Election Technology Research Act of 2019 (H.R. 4990), joined by Representatives Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), and Frank Lucas (R-OK). This bipartisan bill will give the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) new resources to conduct research to promote the security and modernization of U.S. voting systems. “There are few things more central to American democracy than the safety and security of our elections, where citizens from all walks of life can cast their vote and know it will be counted,” said Congresswoman Sherrill. “The election security hearing I held this summer underscored the urgent need for federal research and resources to combat the growing threats against the technologies that have become essential to our elections. I’m introducing this bill with my colleagues to help states arm themselves with strategies to prevent interference and the resources and support to ensure voting systems are reliable and secure.” On June 26, 2019, House Science Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee Chairwoman Mikie Sherrill held a hearing with voting technology and election administration experts to discuss U.S. election system technologies and research recommendations made in the 2018 National Academies report Securing the Vote: Protecting American Democracy. The report and the expert testimony from that hearing helped informed the development of the Election Technology Research Act of 2019. Representative Mikie Sherrill is a former federal prosecutor and a U.S. Navy veteran. On her last tour, she served as a Russia policy officer, and handled interactions between the United States Navy and the Russian Federation Navy. In June, Representative Sherrill announced her endorsement of a series of bipartisan bills in the House and Senate to address foreign interference and election security.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: November 14, 2019

Dauphin County, home of the Pennsylvania capital city of Harrisburg, is starting a high-stakes game of chicken with the state: Republican county commissioners decided Wednesday not to buy new voting machines, defying an order from Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, all but daring him to take action against the county ahead of the 2020 election. Dauphin has been one of several counties that have resisted buying new voting machines, with its outspoken elections director saying the electronic machines used for more than three decades remain secure and usable. The two Republican county commissioners agreed Wednesday not to buy machines. (A third, Democratic, commissioner, did not attend the meeting.)

Vox: November 13, 2019

A new study suggests that marijuana legalization leads to more cannabis use and perhaps addiction, particularly among adults 26 and older — highlighting a public health downside to a policy change that now 11 states and Washington, DC, have adopted and several others are considering. The consequences could be serious. As Magdalena Cerdá, the study’s lead author, and her coauthors wrote in JAMA Psychiatry, “Although occasional marijuana use is not associated with substantial problems, long-term, heavy use is linked to psychological and physical health concerns, lower educational attainment, decline in social class, unemployment, and motor vehicle crashes.” In short: If legalization only makes occasional use easier, that’s probably not a concern. But if legalization is leading to more use and addiction overall, that could cause real problems — for individuals and society at large — down the line.

Politico: November 13, 2019

TECHNICAL ELECTION SECURITY — A bipartisan group of House lawmakers on Tuesday introduced legislation that would allow NIST and the National Science Foundation to augment technology in the country’s election systems. The House Science Committee will mark up the measure Thursday. The Election Technology Research Act, H.R. 4990, would establish an Elections Systems Center of Excellence at NIST to promote cooperation between the agency, state and local governments, and academia; direct NIST to provide technical assistance to state and local election officials on implementation of cybersecurity and privacy standards; and authorize research grants for elections systems research and education at NSF. The bill would also expand the 2002 Help America Vote Act definition of “voting systems” to include electronic poll books and voter registration systems. The bill will “help states arm themselves with strategies to prevent interference and the resources and support to ensure voting systems are reliable and secure,” said Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), who introduced the measure along with House Science leaders Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) and Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio). OTHER THAN IMPEACHMENT, YET MORE NIST — The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will mark up a measure (S. 2775) today that would direct NIST to develop standards and guidelines for shoring up cybersecurity awareness of federal employees and contractors. It would also seek to improve national initiatives for cybersecurity education by identifying cybersecurity workforce skill gaps in public and private sectors and leading interagency efforts of federal cybersecurity programs, including the National Science Foundation's Federal Cyber Scholarship for Service program.

The Washington Post: November 13, 2019

Shockwaves are rippling through the cybersecurity community after researchers hired to test the digital and physical defenses of Iowa county courthouses ended up facing criminal charges instead. The researchers from Coalfire were arrested Sept. 9 after tripping an alarm at a Dallas County, Iowa courthouse in what seemed at first like an honest case of confusion. But they’re still facing burglary charges more than two months later, as CNBC’s Kate Fazzini reported. That’s sparking major anxiety among “penetration testing” companies, which worry they can’t guarantee protection for their employees who role-play as hackers and burglars trying to sneak into organizations’ networks and buildings to steal their data. The Coalfire employees were arrested during a physical security check, but penetration testers also frequently cross digital barriers that could land them in jail — if they didn’t have express permission from the clients who own those digital networks. The Coalfire employees’ main job was also to verify the physical security of digital files. The timing couldn’t be worse, with such companies prepping to vet the security of hundreds of local election operations in advance of the 2020 contests amid widespread concerns Russia will try to hack voting machines and other election infrastructure as it did in 2016. If those machines and the buildings that store them aren't properly vetted, they could be far more vulnerable.

International Banker: November 12, 2019

In late September, the United States House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that aims to “increase public safety by ensuring access to financial services to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers and reducing the amount of cash at such businesses”, according to the official wording. This means that banks and other financial institutions such as credit unions will now be able to deal with cannabis companies in states in which marijuana is legal; it marks the first time the House has ever passed a standalone reform bill for the often fiercely debated substance. The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act passed comfortably in the House at 321-103, with all but one Democrat (229 in total), almost half of the Republicans (91) and one independent supporting the bill. Its passage comes at a time when public opinion in the US regarding marijuana is distinctly changing. A Gallup poll last year found that 66 percent of Americans support its legalisation, an all-time high for this poll and the third consecutive year in which public support has risen. Last year’s passing of the Farm Bill, which allows the legal growing and sale of industrial hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD), further illustrates the increasing openness held by Americans towards cannabis and the cannabis industry. At present, banks still face a legal quandary over servicing cannabis firms, given that despite legalisation having taken place in many US states, marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. Currently, at least one form of cannabis use is legal in 33 states, but banks have remained decidedly averse to servicing cannabis companies in case they violate federal laws. Specifically, banks are most concerned about receiving deposits from such firms, as this could be a violation of federal anti-money laundering laws, and thus banks fear reprisal for onboarding such businesses as clients. Any bank that provides lending or holds deposits for a cannabis company could end up having to pay heavy federal fines, and that includes those in states that have legalized marijuana.

NBC4 : November 12, 2019

The county's top election official assured members of the Los Angeles City Council Tuesday that the revamped voting system going into effect next year is secure. Dean Logan, county registrar-recorder/county clerk, said the new technology has security measures in place, and experts are overseeing the implementation process. "We have engaged in this design process a technical advisory committee that includes security experts, privacy experts and usability experts that have guided us," Logan said. He said the FBI and Department of Homeland Security are also monitoring the county's voting technologies. "Where I think we have seen weaknesses in that (security) process is not in technology and systems, but it's more about the misinformation campaigns, and there was evidence of that in the elections that took place nationally last week as well," Logan said. "That's a much harder issue to address."

Healthline: November 11, 2019

A number of veterans groups are working to get medical marijuana approved as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. The Department of Veterans Affairs still refuses to provide marijuana to veterans because it’s still listed as a Schedule I drug. Veterans groups want to get that designation changed and to have more research done on the benefits of medical marijuana...On the VA’s website, marijuana use is still labeled as harmful to veterans. “Marijuana use for medical conditions is an issue of growing concern,” the VA states. Marijuana also remains on the Schedule I list under the Controlled Substances Act, the same level as heroin. According to the VA website, “controlled studies have not been conducted to evaluate the safety or effectiveness of medical marijuana for PTSD. Thus, there is no evidence at this time that marijuana is an effective treatment for PTSD.”

Ganjapreuner: November 11, 2019

Adult-use cannabis legalization in Minnesota could bring in $300 million in taxes for the state over five years on sales of $1.12 billion, according to a MinnPost report. The estimate, by Sal Barnes of the Marijuana Policy Group during last week’s CannConMN Symposium, also suggests that the industry would create 20,000 direct and indirect jobs statewide. During his keynote remarks, Barnes estimated that there are 115,000 daily cannabis users in Minnesota and cannabis “follows the 80-20 rule” and “20 percent of the consumers produce 80 percent of the market.” According to the report, about 7.9 percent of Minnesotans say they use cannabis at least once a month – which is below the 9.5 percent national average and the 20 percent post-legalization rate in Colorado. Barnes said that is a difference of 341,000 consumers in Minnesota and 860,000 in Colorado as both states have a near-equal population of adults 21-and-older.

USA Today: November 10, 2019

Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters has yet to play in a game this season for a variety of reasons, but his latest absence might be the strangest reason yet.

Grizzle.com: November 10, 2019

San Diego enjoyed a $1.4 million sequential increase in marijuana tax revenue during the three months to June 30 after city officials ramped up collection efforts.

Texarkana Gazette: November 9, 2019

Georgia farmers are poised to cash in on the cannabis craze. By the end of the year, state officials plan to submit proposed rules to the federal government for growing hemp, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. That means Georgia farmers could begin legally raising the crop as early as this spring. Hemp is used to make CBD, the suddenly popular compound extracted from the cannabis plant. Marketers say it can treat a range of ailments without getting users high. CBD oil in Georgia has so far come from other states.

Richmond Times-Dispatch: November 9, 2019

More than half of Virginians did not vote in Tuesday’s elections. Whether or not you made it to the polls, we all know what’s at stake. When we leave the polls and receive that simple “I Voted” sticker, we recognize the right we have as citizens to shape our democracy. It’s our say in the policies that govern our country — the laws that shape our schools, our taxes, our health care and more. No matter how we vote, we all expect our vote to count. That premise is under attack. On Election Day 2019, some powerful federal agencies — the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency — released a highly unusual joint statement warning of security issues in the 2020 presidential and other elections. “Our adversaries want to undermine our democratic institutions, influence public sentiment, and affect government policies,” the statement said. “Russia, China, Iran, and other foreign malicious actors all will seek to interfere in the voting process or influence voter perceptions.”

Stock Daily Dish: November 8, 2019

Alaska‘s marijuana tax revenue continued a steady climb upward in September, with $723,757 collected statewide, according to a state official. Sixty-four growers from across the Interior, Southcentral and Southeast paid taxes to the Alaska Department of Revenue last month, wrote Kelly Mazzei, excise tax supervisor in the tax division.

Marijuana Moment: November 8, 2019

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) signed onto a bill on Thursday that would effectively legalize medical marijuana for military veterans. The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, who has backed broader cannabis reform measures as well, cosponsored the legislation, which in addition to providing a federal “safe harbor” for veterans to use and possess cannabis in legal states would also allow doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend medical cannabis to their patients. If the bill is enacted, it “shall not be unlawful” for veterans to “use, possess, or transport medical marijuana in a State or on Indian land if the use, possession, or transport is authorized and in accordance with the law of the applicable State or Indian Tribe.”

The Washington Post: November 7, 2019

Political campaigns are flocking to encrypted messenging apps to avoid being the next big target after the Hillary Clinton campaign's emails were exposed by hackers in 2016. But these apps are far from a panacea if other campaign security practices are subpar. That’s the blunt assessment from Joel Wallenstrom, chief executive of encrypted messaging app Wickr, one of seven cybersecurity products the nonprofit group Defending Digital Campaigns is offering candidates at a steep discount in an effort to level the playing field between often-scrappy campaigns and sophisticated nation-state adversaries trying to compromise them. “There are conversations where it’s just not a good thing for Russia or China to get access to them,” Wallenstrom told me, noting the adoption of encrypted apps has been “pretty prevalent this cycle.” So far, House Democrats’ campaign arm has invested about $22,000 in paid Wickr accounts for House races over the past two election cycles, and Democrats’ Senate campaign arm has invested about $12,500 during the same period, according to Federal Election Commission records. The presidential campaigns for Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) have about $8,000 and $1,600 in Wickr contracts respectively this cycle. Several other presidential campaigns are either using the free version of Wickr or receiving the paid version through purchases from broader IT contracts, Wallenstrom told me.

CNN: November 7, 2019

One year from now, the American people will head to the polls for what many believe will be the most consequential election of our lifetimes. They will do so amid an environment of foreign election interference, in which our nation's adversaries engage in malign influence operations in hopes of achieving their desired outcomes and undermining faith in our democratic institutions. Time is running short to ensure that we are better prepared to withstand these attacks. That is why Congress must quickly enact election security funding; it may be our last opportunity to shore up our defenses before the polls open. Foreign election meddling is a certainty. The Russian government systematically interfered in the 2016 presidential election, and US intelligence officials warn of more interference in 2020. And Russia isn't the only concern.

The Virginia-Pilot: November 6, 2019

South Dakota groups submitted separate signed petitions Monday that would allow residents to vote next year on whether to legalize medical marijuana and recreational marijuana. Monday was the deadline for submitting signatures to the South Dakota secretary of state's office for measures for the November 2020 ballot. One proposal would create a medical marijuana program for patients with serious health conditions. The other would legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older and require the state Legislature to enact a hemp cultivation law. New Approach South Dakota submitted more than 30,000 signatures to put the medical marijuana initiative on the ballot. The same group tried to get medical marijuana on South Dakota's ballot last year but fell short of enough valid signatures. The minimum number of signatures required for an initiative to change state law is 16,961.

Fortune: November 5, 2019

The U.S. is less than a year out from one of the most consequential elections of the century, which President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security has called “the big game” for foreign adversaries looking to attack and undermine the Democratic process. Congress, meanwhile, is locked in a stalemate about how to secure systems in the country’s 8,000 largely disjointed voting jurisdictions. Tuesday marks the last test of security preparedness before the 2020 elections, as certain statewide polls take place around the country. The Department of Homeland Security is gearing up “war rooms” to monitor for potential interference and test voting infrastructure, but with sluggish movement at a federal level there is little they’ll be able to do to correct any issues within the next 12 months.

PR Newswire: November 5, 2019

EWING, N.J., Nov. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A new global solution named Verified by GS1 will provide consumer packaged goods (CPG) retailers and marketplaces with brand-verified product data, creating a global, cloud-based GS1 Registry Platform of unique product identifiers and attributes. Created in response to growing consumer demand for accurate product information, Verified by GS1 will support the unique identity of CPG products — leading to better quality product information for consumers and fewer counterfeit item listings.

New York Post: November 5, 2019

What were they smoking? The NYPD crowed that it confiscated a 106-pound marijuana shipment, but the owner of the company the flora was bound for says the greenery was no more than hemp containing legal CBD for use by cancer sufferers — and he’s got the papers to prove it. Oren Levy, who sells hemp wholesale through his company GreenAngels CBD, claims that a “gung-ho” Fedex driver took it upon himself to report the shipment to the 75th Precinct when it arrived in Brooklyn — despite the fact that the cargo had all the necessary documentation to prove it was legal. Cops determined it was straight-up, illegal marijuana, but Levy claims cops used an outdated testing method. “Industry hemp looks like real weed…It’s the same species of plant, it’s just the chemical compound is different,” Levy explained adding his product was below legal federal limits for THC.

Cannabis Business Times: November 4, 2019

A bill that would regulate CBD in New York remains in limbo as it awaits Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature. The state legislature approved the legislation earlier this year, and Jen Metzger (D-Hudson Valley), the Senate sponsor of the bill, told WBFO that she is hopeful Cuomo will sign it, although he has yet to act on it. “There is zero regulation of these products,” Metzger told the news outlet. The bill would remedy that by requiring testing on CBD products sold in the state, WBFO reported. The legislation also establishes labeling requirements and guidelines for farmers to grow CBD-rich plants and share in the profits of CBD products, according to the news outlet. The governor’s office is still reviewing the bill, WBFO reported. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its interim rules for the hemp industry last week, and the rules are open for public comment until Dec. 30.

The Washington Post: November 4, 2019

House Republicans’ campaign arm is still relying on CrowdStrike to protect its sensitive data, even as the cybersecurity firm has become embroiled in a bizarre conspiracy theory promoted by President Trump and his GOP allies. The California company, which Trump and some House Republicans have accused without evidence of conspiring with Democrats in the 2016 election, is still helping the National Republican Congressional Committee protect its networks. The committee has no immediate plans to change vendors, a person familiar with the matter told me. The NRCC decision suggests a stark split between Republicans’ rhetoric and their actions when it comes to the serious task of protecting campaign data against hacking from Russia, China and elsewhere. Both President Trump and some House Republicans insist, without basis, that the firm was somehow involved in a Ukrainian-backed intelligence operation designed to harm Trump's winning the White House in 2016. “[This is] a great illustration of how the GOP knows better when it enables conspiracy theorists,” Peter Singer, a cybersecurity expert at the New America think tank, told me. “It actually makes that knowing act worse.”

The Hill: November 1, 2019

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) on Thursday signed into law a proposal that provides $90 million for replacing outdated and nonsecure voting machines, along with making reforms to ways Pennsylvanians can vote. The new law marks a major change for Pennsylvania’s voting system, allowing mail-in voting and a 50-day period for voters to mail in ballots ahead of the election, as well as moving the deadline to register to vote from 30 days prior to the election to 15 days prior. The law also provides $90 million to assist counties in purchasing new election machines with paper trails to help increase the security of voting. These funds will serve to reimburse counties for 60 percent of what they have spent on replacing older voting equipment with machines that have paper records of votes, something Pennsylvania’s Department of State ordered them to do last year. Forty-six Pennsylvania counties, or around 68 percent, have the new systems in place as of this month. Wolf said in a statement that the new law marks “the biggest change to our elections in generations." “This bill makes voting more convenient and more secure for millions of Pennsylvanians and continues my commitment to modernizing our elections,” Wolf added. Chester County Commissioner Kathi Cozzone said in a separate statement that the funding is “crucial for counties who are continuing to work to meet requirements to purchase new, voter-verifiable paper trail elections systems by April 2020." Cozzone said that the move is a win for "both voters and county property taxpayers.”

Marijuana Moment: October 30, 2019

Wisconsin lawmakers filed a bill on Wednesday to decriminalize marijuana possession. The legislation, introduced by Reps. David Crowley (D) and Shelia Stubbs (D), would decriminalize possession of up to 28 grams, which amounts to about one ounce. Currently, possession is treated as a misdemeanor offense that can carry up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. “The weaponization of drug possession laws, particularly marijuana, has been the driver of the state of ramped mass incarceration in which we find ourselves,” Crowley said in a press release. “This bill should have been passed years ago—Wisconsin is now an island of antiquated drug policy in a sea of decriminalization.” “It is absolutely wrong to continue this needless cycle of disparate enforcement that continues to feed mass incarceration—I have seen firsthand the devastating effect of our unjust and racially inequitable criminal justice system,” he added. “We have lost a generation of men and women to the failed war on drugs and mass incarceration—how many more must be lost before we have the courage to do something about it?” The legislation also contains provisions to facilitate the expungement or dismissal of prior marijuana possession convictions. The sponsors held a press conference announcing the legislation on Wednesday, appearing alongside Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D), who also spoke in favor of the policy change.

Politico: October 30, 2019

— The Agriculture Department rolled out its long-sought hemp production rules, offering new guidance on THC testing, handling “hot crops,” certifying hemp seeds and interstate transport. Another hemp trade group is also launching today, joining the industry’s recent lobbying blitz...WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE HEMP REGS: Now that USDA’s highly-anticipated hemp rules are out, the industry is pouring over the 161-page document and sussing out what they’re happy with — and what they want changed. (Don’t have time to read the entire guidelines? Here’s our breakdown of what’s in there.) Everyone can agree they’re glad to see some federal guidance, given the confusion surrounding hemp since legalization last year. But not everything has been settled, Liz and Pro Cannabis’ Mona Zhang report. Business owners wanted to see USDA declare a single testing method for THC levels, but the department opted to accept multiple sampling standards. NEW HEMP GROUP LAUNCHES TODAY: Another trade association is jumping into the hemp lobbying rush — the Hemp Federation of America, a farmer-focused organization that wants to represent producers inside the Beltway, MA exclusively reports this morning. Founded by former Hill veterans Chris Thorne and Scott Graves, HFA plans to host its first fly-in Nov. 14. Thorne previously worked for then-Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Graves worked for Rep. Mike Conaway, ranking member of the Agriculture Committee.

The Washington Post: October 30, 2019

Facebook launched a new front in the battle over encryption yesterday by suing the Israeli spyware firm NSO Group for allegedly hacking WhatsApp, its encrypted messaging service, and helping government customers snoop on about 1,400 victims...Six months after the Mueller report revealed that at least one Florida county election system was penetrated by Russian hackers before the 2016 contest, a top election official says the state is ready for any cyberattacks that 2020 might bring, Bobby Caina Calavan at the Associated Press reports. Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee declined to provide substantial details, though, from a review of the systems mandated earlier this year by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R.). During a news conference she said only that her office is working “to address any weaknesses or vulnerabilities that have been identified in advance of the 2020 election cycle.” The state is providing more than $15 million in grants to local jurisdictions to beef up election security and will install a $2 million network monitoring system, Bobby reported. Lee acknowledged security hawks will still keep their eyes on Florida, a key swing state with a history fo election probelms. “I know Florida will be under great scrutiny when it comes to elections and elections security,” she said.

The Baltimore Sun: October 30, 2019

Florida's top elections officer insisted Tuesday that her state's voting systems are adequately prepared for electronic attacks despite persistent concerns that hackers could again infiltrate the state's voting systems. Earlier this year, the Mueller Report referenced at least one Florida county where election systems were infiltrated by Russian hackers. Gov. Ron DeSantis later confirmed that at least two counties were hacked, but no data was compromised. "This is a very real threat to Florida," Secretary of State Laurel Lee told reporters. "Every single day, domestic actors and foreign actors attempt to penetrate our Department of State networks and the networks of supervisors of elections around our state." During her appearance before the media gathered for a Capitol news event organized by The Associated Press, Lee came under intense questioning by reporters to elaborate on her agency's review of elections security across the state's 67 counties. But Lee mostly sidestepped questions about what that review revealed. With Florida's history of troubles at the ballot box, Lee acknowledged the widespread concern, particularly because of its critical role in next year's presidential elections. Florida's 29 electoral votes is the biggest prize among a handful of battleground states that are expected to decide the 2020 presidential election.

Philadeplhia Inquirer: October 29, 2019

Vaping is growing at an alarming rate among adolescents, putting their health at risk both now and in the future. Over 1,200 cases of severe acute lung injuries and at least 26 fatalities have brought the dangers of vaping to the forefront in recent months, but the risk of its potential long-term effects should also be considered. While these long-term effects have not yet been studied, there is plenty of evidence that indicates that vaping is not safe. E-cigarettes, such as the poplar Juul, vaporize nicotine (or THC) as well as flavorings and other chemicals. Even though this vapor doesn’t contain the tar that results from combustible tobacco and cannabis, inhaling vaporized drugs and the chemicals that accompany them exposes the deepest parts of the lungs to heavy metals, formaldehyde and other particles. This exposure increases lung tissue inflammation, as well as increases the risk of cancer and other lung diseases. In fact, new evidence shows a correlation between vaporized nicotine constituents in e-liquids and lung cancer in lab rodents.

Marijuana Moment: October 29, 2019

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released draft rules for hemp manufacturing on Tuesday and said it will soon begin accepting state regulatory plans for the newly legal crop. The interim final rule on hemp will be formally published in the Federal Register on Thursday, with a 60-day public comment period to follow. Once the rules are finalized, USDA will begin to evaluate states’ and tribes’ submitted regulations plans, and any jurisdictions that do not send proposals will fall under the department’s general guidelines for producing the crop, which was federally legalized under the 2014 Farm Bill. The regulations cover the requirements for where hemp can be grown, THC testing standards, the disposal process for crops that don’t meet federal standards and licensing protocols. “At USDA, we are always excited when there are new economic opportunities for our farmers, and we hope the ability to grow hemp will pave the way for new products and markets,” USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a press release.

Politico: October 29, 2019

— The Agriculture Department appears poised to roll out hemp regulations today, which growers and manufacturers hope will sort out the mess of state rules, legal snags and other headaches that have ensued since Congress legalized the crop’s production last year. — Gaps in federal ag research are coming back to bite pork producers and regulators as they rush to prevent African swine fever from entering the country. The deadly pig disease is decimating hog herds in Asia, and years of budget cuts have hindered U.S. efforts to develop a vaccine. — The EPA’s dismantling of the Obama administration’s Waters of the U.S. rule has put the Trump administration in an awkward spot: defending an interim framework of water regulations from the 1980s that conservatives and some ag groups consider far too restrictive.

WENY News: October 29, 2019

Legislation speeding toward approval in Pennsylvania would deliver the biggest changes to state election laws in decades while approving much of the money it'll cost counties to buy new voting machines ahead of next year's presidential election. The Republican-controlled House passed it Tuesday, 138-61, and a Senate vote was possible later. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf negotiated its terms with top Republican lawmakers and his office says he'll sign it. It lets any voter mail in a ballot, moves voter-registration deadlines closer to elections and authorizes $90 million in borrowing for voting machines that Wolf wanted counties to buy to bolster election security. It also eliminates the ballot option for straight party-ticket voting. Republicans pushed for that provision, amid worries that down-ballot Republican candidates will suffer from a suburban voter backlash against President Donald Trump next year.

The Intelligencer: October 29, 2019

Legislation speeding toward approval in Pennsylvania would deliver the biggest changes to state election laws in decades while approving much of the money it’ll cost counties to buy new voting machines ahead of next year’s presidential election. The Republican-controlled House passed it Tuesday, 138-61, and a Senate vote was possible later. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf negotiated its terms with top Republican lawmakers and his office says he’ll sign it. It lets any voter mail in a ballot, moves voter-registration deadlines closer to elections and authorizes $90 million in borrowing for voting machines that Wolf wanted counties to buy to bolster election security. It also eliminates the ballot option for straight party-ticket voting. Republicans pushed for that provision, amid worries that down-ballot Republican candidates will suffer from a suburban voter backlash against President Donald Trump next year.

The Hill: October 29, 2019

Leaders of the Blue Dog Coalition on Tuesday urged House and Senate leaders to provide states with election security funds as part of the ongoing appropriations process. The coalition, which consists of 26 moderate Democrats, wrote a letter to the bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees asking for their support in including $600 million to be given to states in order to bolster election security as part of the ongoing appropriations process. “In light of the proven threat posed by Russia—and possibly other foreign powers—to our democratic process, we believe the final bill should provide $600 million or as close to it as possible,” the leaders of the coalition wrote. They also asked for the House and Senate, when they meet to negotiate the differences between their versions of appropriations bills, to add language requiring the funds to go toward improving the cybersecurity of elections, such as providing cybersecurity training for election officials and moving toward voter-verified paper ballots. The letter was signed by Reps. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.), Lou Correa (D-Calif.), Anthony Brindisi (D-N.Y.), Kendra Horn (D-Okla.) and Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.).

The Washington Post: October 28, 2019

Regarding the Oct. 25 Local Digest item “First vaping-related death reported by city” [Metro]: The time has come to eradicate the rogue legislation preventing the District from licensing and administering safe sales and consumption of marijuana. The best way to prevent further deaths on a national level would be for Congress to act with emergency legislation legalizing cannabis at the federal level, leaving states the authority to legislate its availability. The infrastructure already exists in this country for safe marijuana products. How many more people have to die before Congress wakes up?

The Washington Post: October 28, 2019

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is intensifying his calls to legalize marijuana products. That could help the federal government prevent more vaping-related deaths in the future. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Friday what many had already suspected: That most people who died from a spate of vaping-related injuries used products containing illegal THC oil, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, my colleague Lena H. Sun reports. “Based on data available from 860 of the 1,604 patients who have fallen ill with the disease, about 85 percent reported using THC-containing products, compared to about 10 percent who reported exclusively vaping nicotine-containing products,” Lena writes. “Many sick patients said they bought THC vape products on the black market, and those have come under increased scrutiny. “The data do continue to point towards THC-containing products as the source of individuals’ injury,” said CDC principal deputy director Anne Schuchat. Officials don’t know what about the products are harmful, “but we’re seeing THC as a marker for products that are risky,” she said. As we wrote last month, illegal vape cartridges containing THC also contain significant amounts of vitamin E acetate. Because cannabis oil is expensive, producers use the acetate to dilute and thicken it without affecting its flavor or smell. But the vitamin’s oil-like properties are associated with the kinds of respiratory problems many patients have reported, including cough, shortness of breath and chest pain.

U.S. News & World Report: October 28, 2019

MIGRAINES ARE A VERY common and often debilitating, painful headache condition that affects some 39 million people in the United States, according to the Migraine Research Foundation. For those who experience them, the quest for relief can be lengthy. While avoiding triggers and making other lifestyle changes are typically the first line of defense in treating migraines, there are many medications that have helped people cope with them. Still, for some people it’s not enough, and increasingly, people who get migraines are turning to a compound called cannabidiol, more commonly known as CBD, to ease their aching heads. Dr. Thinh Vo, director of quality and compliance at Koi CBD, a company that makes CBD products, says that “CBD is one of many cannabinoids, or molecules, produced uniquely by (plants in) the cannabis family. Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the primary psychoactive element in marijuana (another name for cannabis), CBD is non-psychoactive – meaning it doesn’t have a strong effect on cognitive brain activity and doesn’t cause the high associated with marijuana.” Despite these differences, “CBD, like THC, works by interacting with our body’s endocannabinoid system,” which is a “regulatory system made-up of naturally occurring cannabis-like molecules. These endocannabinoids work like neurotransmitters to help maintain homeostasis,” or balance in the body, Vo explains. “Cannabinoids, like CBD and THC, interact with the endocannabinoid system,” and CBD “encourages the body to produce more of its own endocannabinoids,” which some patients report helps reduce anxiety, pain and inflammation.

The Washington Post: October 28, 2019

Several Democratic presidential campaigns targeted by a Russia-based operation on Facebook’s popular Instagram app said they had been unaware of the new foreign disinformation efforts until the tech giant announced them publicly last week, raising alarms that American democracy remains vulnerable to foreign interference even after three years of investigations into the Kremlin’s attack on the 2016 election. The lack of advance notice to the apparent victims of the first-known attempts by Russians to interfere directly in the 2020 race has heightened fears that campaigns are largely on their own when it comes to guarding against attacks from foreign interests. Campaign officials, security experts and Democratic lawmakers said the latest material served as a warning sign that the Trump administration and the tech industry are still struggling to coordinate their response as threats to the U.S. political system intensify. In particular, the threats now emanate from multiple countries, including Iran and China, where malicious actors have adopted Russia’s playbook in a bid to manipulate social media to their political advantage.

The Washington Post: October 25, 2019

Sen. Bernie Sanders released a proposal Thursday to legalize marijuana across the country and expunge criminal convictions related to the drug, embracing an overhaul of federal laws on the eve of a presidential forum expected to renew the debate on race, drugs and police violence. Sanders becomes the latest Democratic White House aspirant to issue a plan for more tolerant drug laws, a shift from past presidential elections when Democrats, like Republicans, often promoted more toughness. Changing attitudes toward drug crimes, and a growing number of states legalizing cannabis, have ushered in a primary where ideas once seen as provocative have become mainstream. Sanders’s plan, which aims to overhaul an approach he argues has unfairly hurtminorities, calls for using executive power to reclassify marijuana as a dangerous controlled substance and passing legislation to permanently legalize the drug. It would direct federal and state authorities to review, vacate and expunge past marijuana convictions. “We’re going to legalize marijuana and end the horrifically destructive war on drugs,” the Vermont independent said in a written statement. “It has disproportionately targeted people of color and ruined the lives of millions of Americans.”

Forbes: October 25, 2019

Marijuana legislation seems to be gaining traction on Capitol Hill during what is undoubtedly the most cannabis-friendly Congress in history, with the House already passing an amendment this year to shield local legalization laws from federal interference as well as approving a bill to let state-licensed businesses access banks. But as the Senate prepares to more seriously consider far-reaching cannabis proposals, one Republican congressman who backs ending federal prohibition is concerned that impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump could undermine the bipartisan momentum that has been pushing marijuana reform forward in 2019 to date. “I think the impeachment thing is not going to be helpful to getting much done between now and November 2020, which is a shame because we have some serious issues that we need to address,” Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) said in an interview. “I haven't seen any facts that say whether the president will be impeached or not, but I do think that there are going to be a lot of raw nerves out there.” NORML Political Director Justin Strekal praised Joyce—who is a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus—for his leadership role on the issue, but said he is hopeful that disputes over impeachment will not endanger reform efforts.

Politico: October 25, 2019

— A key GOP House member with cybersecurity responsibilities discussed the Republican impeachment protest, the Election Assistance Commission and blockchain voting in a soon-to-be-aired interview. — One of the nation’s top security officials said federal agencies with planned encryption events won’t diverge in their messages, despite a schism on banning warrant-proof encryption. — Senate appropriators want to see what kind of role drone technology research can play in agriculture and cybersecurity...— Blockchain voting: “We need to look at what the next, most secure way of voting is going to be and test those methods,” Davis said. “We have sat down with some folks who are testing” a blockchain-based voting method via phones, like West Virginia has done, and it shouldn’t be dismissed, he said. Most cybersecurity experts have indeed dismissed it as unsafe...AROUND THE HORN WITH FEDERAL CISO — The National Security Council has worked with agencies like the Departments of Justice, Commerce and Homeland Security on events related to the encryption debate, a senior White House official told reporters Thursday. “NSC is working with the agencies as they are engaging with stakeholders so that we can understand the risks associated in this space on both sides and then what options may be there for leadership to consider,” Grant Schneider, the federal chief information security officer and NSC senior director for cybersecurity, said after speaking at CyberTalks.

The Kansas City Star: October 24, 2019

Kansans are telling lawmakers they want medical marijuana. In 2020, legislators should recognize the momentum that’s building and authorize limited access to cannabis. A special legislative committee heard testimony Wednesday about the issue. More than two dozen groups and individuals provided oral or written support for medical marijuana in Kansas. Supporters include patients, nurses, professors and activist groups. Some told the committee they use marijuana to relieve chronic pain and disease. “There are a lot of citizens saying ‘we do want this,’” Nick Reinecker, a former Republican political candidate, told the committee. There are ongoing disputes about the efficacy of marijuana and THC, its active ingredient, in medical treatment. And it’s essential that the medical community and the federal government intensify efforts to understand the therapeutic benefits of medicinal pot.

Marijuana Moment: October 24, 2019

Two-thirds of Americans favor legalizing marijuana, according to a Gallup survey released on Wednesday. The 66 percent support for ending cannabis prohibition is the same the polling firm found last year—indicating that supermajority backing for broad marijuana in the U.S. hasn’t waned in the wake of a widespread outbreak of vaping-related injuries that prohibitionists have sought to pin on legalization.

Politico: October 24, 2019

For Illinois hemp farmers, the crop's first year was rough: "Illinois farmers bet big on hemp this season, the first in which it was legal to grow the crop. But growing hemp — a cousin of the marijuana plant known for its use in foods, fibers and the wildly popular CBD products — proved risky,” Tribune's Ally Marotti reports. “Farmers had to learn on the fly about a crop that hadn’t been grown in Illinois soil for generations, and many with successful harvests are struggling to find a market for it."

MSNBC: October 24, 2019

The White House would have voters believe the Democratic majority in the House is focused exclusively on Donald Trump’s impeachment, to the point that it can’t be bothered to work on legislative priorities. And yet, House Dems continue to tackle legislative priorities, including a new bill on election security that passed yesterday. The Associated Press reported: The Stopping Harmful Interference in Elections for a Lasting Democracy, or SHIELD Act, would require that candidates and political committees notify the FBI and other authorities if a foreign power offers campaign help. It also tightens restrictions on campaign spending by foreign nationals and requires more transparency in political ads on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. And it would explicitly prohibit campaigns from exchanging campaign-related information with foreign governments and their agents. The latter provision was aimed at reports that officials in Trump’s 2016 campaign shared polling data with a person associated with Russian intelligence. The final roll call is online here. Note, the bill passed 227 to 181, with literally zero Republicans voting for it. The White House announced before the vote that Donald Trump would veto the bill if it were to reach his desk. Given the circumstances, the Republican can probably keep his veto pen in a drawer: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) – who picked up the “Moscow Mitch” moniker after balking at other bills on election security – condemned the latest House bill yesterday, insisting it’s at odds with the First Amendment.

The Cannabis Investor: October 21, 2019

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NPR: October 21, 2019

Facebook announced new efforts Monday to curb the spread of false information on its platform ahead of the 2020 presidential election. But, in an acknowledgement of the struggle the social network faces to stay ahead of groups intent on manipulating its users, Facebook said it had taken down another set of disinformation networks, this time tied to Iran and Russia. That adds to the more than 50 such networks the company said it has already removed in the past year. The social media giant is under pressure to stop a repeat of 2016, when Russian trolls spread disinformation on the platform. "Elections have changed significantly since 2016, but Facebook has changed, too," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, on a call with reporters. "We know that we have a big responsibility to secure our platform and stay ahead of some of these new threats to election security," he said, adding that the issue is one of his "top priorities."

FreshFruitPortal.com: October 21, 2019

The Argentine Citrus Federation (Federcitrus) has announced that blockchain has been incorporated into the most recent version of the country's informatics system.

Westword: October 19, 2019

Just a couple of years ago, few people had ever heard of cannabidiol, or CBD. But now it's everywhere — on shelves at grocery stores and other shops, offered with smoothies and coffee, and widely available online. By 2024, the domestic market for CBD is forecast to reach $20 billion, according to Colorado cannabis data analytics firm BDS Analytics. With sales of approximately $1.9 billion in 2018, that represents astounding growth in just a few years. That said, CBD faces a wide range of hurdles on the regulatory and legal fronts. And it flirts with turning into a short-lived bubble. A general lack of research and science into CBD's benefits has created a Wild West of claims. People (illegally) champion CBD for everything from sleep to energy. They suggest it fights cancer, suppresses pain, alleviates anxiety and much more. Unfortunately, few of these claims are backed up by rigorous scientific studies. At some point, consumers could grow weary of the wilderness of unfounded benefits and cures. After all, CBD can't be effective for everything.

Alizila: October 18, 2019

With nearly three years of rapid growth, experience and actions on multiple fronts, the Alibaba Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance has evolved into a full-fledged “IP-protection ecosystem,” Alibaba Senior Vice President Michael Yao said Thursday.

Politico: October 18, 2019

— Gov. Andrew Cuomo hosted governors from the northeast to investigate regional standards for vaping and e-cigarette products. The governors also released recommendations to create a broad policy framework for marijuana. CANNABIS TOO — Sam reports: Five northeast governors agreed Thursday to a broad policy framework for a legal market for cannabis across the region, providing a rough sketch for how a multistate marijuana industry could eventually function. The framework, though broad in scope, contains specific policy recommendations that had been the subject of intense debate among state legislators and policymakers across the region, most notably in New York and New Jersey, where efforts to legalize cannabis through legislation failed earlier this year.

Marijuana Moment: October 18, 2019

A group of governors representing states across the Northeast convened on Thursday for a marijuana summit at which they agreed to basic principles for legal cannabis programs they plan to pursue in 2020. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) organized the meeting. They were joined by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D), who came out in favor of legalization last month. Representatives from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Colorado also attended. “This is a very important topic,” Cuomo said in his opening statement. “It is probably one of the most challenging issues that I know I’ve had to address in the state of New York. It is complicated, it is controversial and it is consequential. That is a very difficult and challenging combination.”

: October 18, 2019

Gov. Ned Lamont said there was agreement with the governors of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey following a meeting that they would work together to come up with a similar set of rules around cannabis legalization. Government officials from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Colorado were at the meeting, too.

NBC News: October 18, 2019

Pennsylvania's Department of State is launching a pilot program of a math-based audit system that has gained traction in recent years as a way to quickly check the accuracy of election results. The system is known as a "risk-limiting audit" and uses an advanced statistical analysis along with a dose of randomness — auditors can use a 10-sided dice — to look for irregularities in vote tallies. The system has been lauded for its transparency, since the results of the audits are then made public. "This pilot project will allow us to explore audit procedures that will further strengthen Pennsylvania's election security profile and provide confidence to the voters that their votes are being counted accurately," acting Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said in a press release on Wednesday. The program is being run in Mercer County in western Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, which are both using new paper-based voting systems. The pilot program comes as elections officials are looking for any way to increase the security of elections and bolster public trust in the voting process. Intelligence officials have repeatedly warned that the 2020 election will be a target for manipulation, with efforts to undermine U.S. public confidence at the forefront. Risk-limiting audits have been tested in various states including Virginia and Rhode Island, and the latter now mandates the audits for statewide, primary, general and special elections.

CNBC: October 17, 2019

Legislation to legalize and regulate cannabis in the U.S. continues to gain steam but commercial and investment banks are moving in the opposite direction. Capital in an exciting, profitable and socially-beneficial industry shouldn’t just be flowing north to Canada. It should stay in the U.S. so that when Americans invest in this space, they can do so with confidence. In a head scratching move, Bank of New York Mellon Corp said it would restrict trading of popular cannabis companies that are listed on Canadian exchanges, but have U.S. operations. Canadian-listed firms without U.S. operations would still be tradable. Buoyed by wide-scale public support, legislation to legalize and properly regulate cannabis in the U.S. on the state and federal level continues to gain steam.

The Botson Globe: October 17, 2019

Ever since Canada became the first major country to legalize marijuana for adults a year ago, other nations have been paying attention. The small South American nation of Uruguay was the first to legalize marijuana for adults. New Zealand, Luxembourg, and Mexico are among those that have looked to Canada for guidance or lessons, while Russia has chastised it for its “barefaced” flouting of international anti-drug treaties. Here’s a look at how Canada’s experiment is playing out internationally and where the next attempts at legalization are coming: United States: States continue to flout federal prohibition and legalize marijuana within their borders, arguing that the nation’s war on pot has drained law enforcement resources, had a disparate impact on minorities, and failed to curb the drug’s popularity.

WRBL: October 17, 2019

MONTGOMERY, Ala (WRBL) Alabama officials are planning ahead for the 2020 elections—and voting security is at the top of their minds. On Friday, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill plans to hold a cyber security meeting for election officials in Montgomery. “A pretty large portion of the American electorate is concerned that there could be election tampering for foreign sources. This is mainly a concern among Democrats,” said Dr. David Hughes of Auburn University Montgomery. He says although there weren’t any successful attempts to influence the outcome of the 2016 elections, foreign governments tried their best. “They ran essentially a misinformation campaign, or troll farms, on the internet and trying to stir up the passions of a polarized American electric, ” Hughes said. The National Association of Election Officials met this week in Auburn to talk about voter integrity.

StreetInsider.com: October 16, 2019

For 20 years MIT LLC has provided patented services to the bio/ pharmaceutical industry which have been successfully employed in various legal matters, supporting pharmaceutical patent-infringement and fraud lawsuits.

Idaho Press-Tribune: October 16, 2019

Sometime in July, the Boise Police Department returned 69 pounds of a green leafy substance, which was hemp under federal law but technically marijuana under Idaho law, to its owner, after confiscating it weeks prior in preparation of possible criminal charges. That transfer occurred in person, at the department’s evidence storage facility in Boise, not long after the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office declined to bring charges in the case because its prosecutors were not provided with a suspect. The owner of the substance — Jim Hutchens, who manages an Ontario-based business called Treasure Valley Extraction — then drove it across state lines to Oregon, according to Jeremy Foresee, whose own company, Ejuice Blvd in Caldwell, partners with Hutchens. “By releasing this property, the city of Boise is not making any representations about the legality of the product under Idaho law,” a Boise city attorney wrote in an email to Treasure Valley Extraction weeks prior to the transfer. “You may wish to consult with legal counsel prior to taking possession of the property.”

Politico: October 16, 2019

— One House committee today makes another go at election security legislation while another explores supply chain security. — It’s not clear who’s behind all of it, but typosquatters are sending would-be visitors to candidate and election sites elsewhere, sometimes with malicious intent. — There’s a reason businesses relent when hijackers demand ransom: The downtime cost is plenty higher than the payment hackers seek, according to an estimate out today. SHIELDS UP — The House Administration Committee will mark up a bill (H.R. 4617) today that would seek to shore up election security from foreign interference and disinformation campaigns. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the panel’s chairwoman and bill sponsor, will offer a substitute amendment to reserve a section for elements outside committee jurisdiction, according to a committee spokesperson. Republicans will put forth 10 amendments outlining where they say the bill fails to adequately address the interference carried out by Russia in the 2016 presidential election, according to a GOP spokesperson. The legislation includes provisions from two stand-alone bills: One (H.R. 3281) that would seek to block deceptive practices in elections and another (H.R. 2592) that would bolster disclosure requirements for online political ads.

Star Tribune: October 16, 2019

More than a quarter-million voters in Wisconsin identified as having moved could be made ineligible to vote before next year's presidential primary election if a complaint filed Wednesday by a conservative law firm is successful. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty argues that the state Elections Commission broke the law when it decided to wait up to two years, rather than 30 days, to make ineligible voters who may have moved. The complaint asks for that decision to be immediately revoked, which could lead to as many as 234,000 voters losing their eligibility until they can confirm their addresses or re-register. The outcome could affect how many voters are able to cast ballots in both the April presidential primary and November 2020 general election in Wisconsin, a key swing state that both sides are targeting. President Donald Trump narrowly won the state by less than 23,000 votes in 2016.

Star Tribune: October 16, 2019

A new council formed to bolster Wisconsin election security is meeting for the first time. The council includes representatives from 18 organizations, including the FBI, the state Elections Commission, the Wisconsin Towns Association and the Wisconsin Counties Association. The group met Wednesday morning in Madison. They began the meeting by laying out broad goals of increasing collaboration and developing security training programs. Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe outlined steps her agency has already taken to improve security, including multi-factor authentication to access the state election database, testing local clerks' systems for vulnerabilities, establishing a technology help desk for local clerks, helping them upgrade to Windows 10 and helping them move to government email.

Mrijuana Moment: October 15, 2019

If Congress declines to take legislative action on popular issues such as marijuana legalization, Americans should be able to take matters into their own hand and enact reform through an annual national referendum, Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer said recently. In a campaign video, the philanthropist and liberal activist proposed having citizens vote on various policies each year, forcing the government’s hand to legislate. Steyer noted that more than half the states have already used the initiative and referendum process to enact new laws, and he specifically highlighted marijuana reform as one example. While there is currently no provision in the Constitution or federal statutes that allows voters across the U.S. to weigh in on national ballot questions, Steyer wants to replicate what the states are doing on a country-wide level. “It’s a process that’s already working successfully in 26 stares, resulting in legislative term limits and the decriminalization of medical marijuana,” he said in the video he posted on Twitter last moth.

Politico: October 15, 2019

The Democratic National Committee sent an urgent alert on Monday to every presidential campaign aimed at avoiding a repeat of the cybersecurity fiasco the party suffered at the hands of Russia and WikiLeaks in 2016. The subject of the email was “Counter-Disinformation Update,” and it was part of a regular series of communications by DNC Tech, the party’s in-house group responsible for internal security and monitoring the spread of fake news about Democrats. POLITICO obtained the full archive of DNC Tech’s missives to the presidential campaigns. They reveal a party struggling to combat the continued onslaught of the twin threats faced by the Democratic Party: cyber penetration from state actors abroad and the spread of disinformation about its top presidential candidates by Donald Trump and his allies at home. Democrats are entering a critical stretch of the campaign when voters are paying more attention, the top candidates and their desperate single-digit rivals are more likely to begin attacking one another, and Trump, facing both impeachment and a slew of general election polls that show him losing to most Democrats, is pillorying Joe Biden in an attempt to shape the nomination contest to his benefit. It was a moment, the DNC warned, to be hypervigilant about fake news. “[A]ll campaigns should expect to see heightened disinformation and discourse manipulation activity leading up to, during, and after the debates with the goal of polarizing opposing Democratic supporters,” Monday’s predebate email said. Tech, as the DNC Geek Squad is known inside Washington headquarters, asked each presidential campaign to report “inauthentic or suspicious activity” to the DNC as well as to the major social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook/Instagram, Google/YouTube).

West Virginia Public Broadcasting: October 14, 2019

Tony Silvernail swings a heavy machete at a stalk of bushy hemp and chops the plant near the root, grabbing the five-foot-tall shoot with his sun-weathered hand. It’s an unusually hot October day on his farm, Beyond The Bridge LLC, tucked in the hills outside of Frankfort, Kentucky. But the heat doesn’t faze Silvernail, sporting a sweat-soaked shirt, a huge smile, and a fat cigar between his teeth. Silvernail and hundreds of others of farmers across the Ohio Valley are finally getting to harvest thousands of acres of hemp, the first harvest since the federal government legalized hemp cultivation last December. “Oh, I’m happy as hell,” he said with a laugh. “We’re all like little kids, Shawn and I, getting all excited when we’re sitting here harvesting and talking. This is actually the glory part of being a farmer, as anybody whose livelihood depends on this. When you’re harvesting, it’s a happy time.” He’s been an organic farmer for decades in Kentucky, and it wasn’t until last fall when he and his business partner, Kentucky State University professor Shawn Lucas, decided to try their luck at growing organic hemp for cannabidiol, or CBD. Silvernail said when he first became an organic farmer in the ‘90s, he appreciated the advice experienced farmers shared with newcomers in the industry. But he said that hasn’t been the case with hemp.

The Motley Fool: October 13, 2019

Last year, we saw marijuana history made many times over. Canada became the first industrialized country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana nearly one year ago, while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its very first cannabis-derived drug. The latter is a pretty big deal, considering that marijuana remains a Schedule I (i.e., illicit) substance at the federal level in the United States.

U.S. News & World Report: October 11, 2019

MORE THAN THREE YEARS after media reports disclosed hackers were interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential race to influence voters, most of the country's candidates in the 2020 presidential election are struggling with cybersecurity issues, according to a nonpartisan group focused on internet standards. A majority of the 23 candidates in the race for the White House failed to meet the privacy and security standards set by the Internet Society's Online Trust Alliance (OTA), according to the group's audit released this week. The findings are the latest to show the increasing pressure countries are facing to preserve online security during elections, as well as in their industries and infrastructure. The research by the OTA examined how well the 23 Democratic, Republican and Independent candidates are handling online security challenges in their campaigns. Just seven of the 23 politicians scored 80% or higher in campaign cybersecurity, meaning researchers found no failures in the three areas examined: privacy, website security and consumer protection. Weaknesses ensuring the data privacy of users accessing the candidate's online platforms raised the most red flags, researchers found.

My Northwest : October 10, 2019

A week ago, Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman told KIRO Radio that the state’s election system routinely faces faces tens of thousands of hacking attempts daily. But how exactly is Washington’s system designed to fight those attacks? Wyman stopped in again to detail the various measures in place. “The biggest thing is we moved to the VoteWA system, and so this has enabled us not only to build a stronger firewall, more robust security, and monitoring systems around it, but now … any user that gets into our system, they have to be pre-approved,” Wyman told KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross. VoteWA is system that was first enacted for August’s primary election, featuring a handful of new security measures to ensure results aren’t altered, hacked, or tampered with in any way. Results from each of the state’s 39 counties are tabulated from paper ballots, and then transferred to an air-gapped machine (i.e. a computer not connected to the internet). The results are then transferred to a flash drive, which is plugged into an internet-enabled computer to transmit the final results.

New York Post: October 10, 2019

The Russian social media campaign against the United States targeted no single group more than African Americans, a new federal report has concluded. The report from the Senate Intelligence Committee’s probe into the 2016 election comes as social media companies attempt to prevent further disinformation and disruption of American democracy. Moscow’s efforts — led by the Internet Research Agency (IRA) — were sophisticated and multifaceted, targeting the black community and sowing division across a range of platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Google-owned YouTube and Instagram. The shadowy effort aimed to support the Trump campaign, denigrate opponent Hillary Clinton, suppress the vote and attack various public figures. According to the report, more than 66 percent of Facebook advertisements posted by the IRA contained a term related to race.

The Motley Fool: October 9, 2019

Canada and Uruguay are still the only two countries that have legalized marijuana for recreational use thus far. Much of the progress that has been made on cannabis legislation has largely been related to medical use. However, there could soon be a third country to legalize recreational marijuana: Mexico. Although the country has been known for its problem with illegal drugs, there is the potential that Mexico could soon legalize cannabis. A year ago, the courts ruled that the prohibition of cannabis for personal use was unconstitutional. However, it would be up to Congress to regulate cannabis and provide the framework under which it would be allowed. The problem is, that part may not be so easy.

Pekin Daily Times: October 9, 2019

At the forum, Gordon-Booth spoke about achievements — the Neighborhood Safety Act — but also plans for the future. Prison reform was part of the 2017 act which focused largely on rehabilitation and greater discretion for judges for first-time drug offenders. Rehabilitation, she said, is key. According to Gordon-Booth, 94 percent of people currently in Illinois prisons will be released. Thus, we as a populace need to consider the environment in which those people are serving sentences. Additionally, she said issues like cannabis need to be on the forefront of minds, particularly as legalization happens in the state. “Cannabis has been used for the last 80 years in a failed war on drugs to lock people up,” she said. It was an example of a minor infraction with major implications for the lives of Americans, particularly black Americans. Gordon-Booth explained, like Asbell, that these criminal records led to hardships in finding employment, which, obviously, has a direct impact on socioeconomic status. 770,000 of those criminal convictions will be expunged under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, a crucial step to returning at least a small portion of what was lost.

JD Spura: October 9, 2019

On September 25, 2019, the US House of Representatives ("House") passed, by a vote of 321 to 103, the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act ("SAFE Banking Act"), bipartisan legislation designed to secure and regulate banking services to the expanding cannabis market in the United States. The SAFE Banking Act would bar federal regulators and prosecutors from penalizing banks and credit unions for providing core banking services to cannabis-related businesses ("CRBs") and ancillary businesses authorized under state law. As the first standalone cannabis reform bill to pass either chamber of Congress, its passage in the House represents a major step towards harmonizing treatment of the US cannabis industry at state and federal levels. However, the future of the legislation remains unclear as it awaits a vote in the Senate. The Current State of Play: the use of cannabis, in certain forms, is authorized and regulated in the majority of US states, including 33 states that legalized the medical or recreational use of cannabis and 13 others that permit the use of nonintoxicating cannabidiol-derived ("CBD") products.1 Nevertheless, the manufacturing, sale, distribution and possession of cannabis remain illegal under federal law due to its classification as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act ("CSA")...

Hartford Courant: October 9, 2019

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators urged President Donald Trump on Tuesday to warn the public about efforts by foreign governments to interfere in U.S. elections, a subject he has largely avoided, and take steps to thwart attempts by hostile nations to use social media to meddle in the 2020 presidential contest. The recommendations came in an 85-page report issued by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which has been investigating Russia's large-scale effort to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The senators described the social media activities of the Kremlin-backed Internet Research Agency in 2016 as part of a "broader, sophisticated, and ongoing information warfare campaign designed to sow discord in American politics and society." The senators noted the Russians' social media effort was a "vastly more complex and strategic assault on the United States than was initially understood," with planning underway in 2014 when two Internet Research Agency operatives were sent to the U.S. to gather intelligence. While a previous assessment indicated the Russian activities aspired to help then-candidate Trump when possible, the Senate report went further and said the Russians' social media campaign was "overtly and almost invariably supportive" of Trump and designed to harm Democrat Hillary Clinton. Also targeted by Russian social media efforts were Trump's Republican opponents — Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Trump has been largely dismissive of Russian activities in 2016 and now faces an impeachment inquiry into whether he inappropriately solicited foreign election help from Ukraine ahead of the 2020 vote. White House spokesman Judd Deere said the Trump administration has made election security a priority.

PEW: October 8, 2019

FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Kat Merryfield was ready to share her farm-to-home oils, chocolate and creams with the rest of the country. But banks and credit card processors weren't ready to work with her small business.

The Salem News: October 8, 2019

Gov. Charlie Baker is prodding lawmakers to pass restrictions on marijuana-impaired drivers, as his proposal for tougher rules idles in a legislative committee. Baker, a Swampscott Republican who opposed legalization of marijuana, filed legislation earlier this year that would suspend the driver's liceses of motorists suspected of being high behind the wheel who decline to submit police demands for a blood, saliva, or urine test. Most of the prooposed rules would mirror the penalties for drunken drivers who refuse a Breathalyzer test. But the proposal hasn't gained much traction in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, even as the state's commercial pot market expands.

WGBH: October 8, 2019

In Dorchester's Grove Hall sits an empty storefront where a marijuana shop is projected to open sometime next month, its owner says. But beyond the nondescript facade lies a more complicated story — opposing reactions to the incoming store reflect the challenges inherent in trying to build an equitable industry. While there is wide agreement that striving for equity is a good goal, many residents in places deemed “disproportionately impacted” by marijuana law enforcement before the industry was legalized don’t necessarily want the drug being sold in their backyards. As Boston moves to enter the recreational marijuana industry, this site encapsulates a conflict between equity and NIMBYism.

Dark Reading: October 8, 2019

A recently detected Iranian cyberattack targeting a US presidential campaign may well be a harbinger of what's in store for political parties and election systems in the run-up to next year's general elections. Last Friday Microsoft disclosed it had observed significant threat activity over the past two months by Phosphorus, a threat group believed linked to the Iranian government. Phosphorus, which is also known as APT25 and Charming Kitten, made over 2,700 attempts to break into specific email accounts belonging to Microsoft customers. In many cases, Phosphorus used information about the targets — including phone numbers and secondary email addresses — to try and infiltrate their email accounts. In the end, Phosphorus attacked 241 targeted email accounts and eventually managed to compromise four of them.

Lancaster Online: October 7, 2019

On Sept. 16, Tulare County in California announced the nation’s seventh death from vaping-related illness. Its advisory warned about “the dangerous effects of using electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes.” Like so many of the official warnings coming out around the country, it lacked details about the specific products involved in the vaping death. But by the time of the announcement, the family of the man who died had been in touch with Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, which advocates for vaping products.

twincities: October 6, 2019

State authorities intent on recovering thousands of dollars in lost tobacco taxes have set their sights on Interstate 94, just west of the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.

Herald & Review: October 5, 2019

We've all had those moments in our lives when we've asked a parent for something and attempted to lay the groundwork for why they should support it...We got the same feeling from Monday's special Decatur City Council meeting held to discuss whether to allow recreational cannabis dispensaries, cannabis-related businesses and the restrictions on its use.

ABC 15: October 4, 2019

With the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yet to develop a regulatory framework for CBD-infused products, states are stepping in. This week, Illinois introduced new legislation that could require the testing of CBD products sold in its state. The hemp-derived cannabidiol, or CBD, is sold as a supplement, promising to manage everything from anxiety and insomnia to chronic pain. Rahul Easwar, co-founder of Chicago-based CBD-retailer LeafyQuick, says the product is everywhere. “Gummies, edibles, we’ve got bath bombs, salts, topical lotions," Easwar says. "You name it, there’s CBD in it.” But while some CBD shops like LeafyQuick only sell products that have been tested, there are no laws requiring that. “We don’t obviously accept every brand that knocks on our door, and we go through a very stringent due-diligence process,” says Easwar. And because CBD products are considered supplements rather than drugs, they remain largely unregulated.

Politico: October 4, 2019

— Farmers across the country are rushing to harvest hemp. But some may end up accidentally growing marijuana, as the THC levels in hemp can fluctuate above the legal limit. USDA has been pressured by states to settle confusion and establish a national THC testing level. — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is under fire for declaring — at a dairy expo in Wisconsin — that small dairy farmers may not survive as the industry grapples with dismal economic conditions. — Trump officials are expected to roll out their Renewable Fuel Standard package today. Here’s what we know about the new biofuel boosts. MAJOR HURDLE FOR HEMP FARMERS — TESTING THC: The hype over hemp sparked a gold rush-level enthusiasm to plant the new crop across the country ever since it was legalized by the 2018 farm bill. In a declining farm economy, hemp offers a new source of income for farmers who are under siege because of the trade war with China, dropping commodity prices and a series of natural disasters. The potential economic boom is luring scores of agricultural novices.

: October 3, 2019

The CBD products that populate shelves at Walgreens, gas stations and other retailers in Illinois could be subject to lab testing under a bill introduced in the Illinois legislature Wednesday.

The Floridian: October 3, 2019

The Congresswoman from Winterpark, FL, Stephanie Murphy (D–FL 7th District), sent a letter to Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee lending her support in the serious financial investment of cybersecurity to protect against election interference from foreign aggressors. Secretary Lee requested close to $1.3 million to fund a 10-person cybersecurity team in September. She also requested another $1 million to help local election offices to assist in dealing with current system issues. In July of 2019, Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) and Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) introduced the Achieving Lasting Electoral Reforms on Transparency and Security (ALERTS Act), H.R. 3529 to address election interference in Florida. This bipartisan bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to notify state and local officials, some members of Congress and voters how have been victimized when federal agencies identify an election system breach.

Forbes: October 3, 2019

An estimated $200 billion of counterfeit drugs go on the market annually. That makes it the largest fraud market in the world! Not too surprisingly, it is in the third world countries where the proportion of counterfeit drugs is very high. But even in the developed world, you could buy life-saving medicine from your local pharmacy which was previously returned. If the manufacturer didn’t adequately verify the return, your drugs could be fake.

Yahoo Finance: October 2, 2019

OpSec Security, the global leader in anti-counterfeiting and brand protection solutions, has been selected by Ringers Gloves®, an Ansell Limited Company, to provide authentication for select styles in their line of high performance safety gloves.

Cannabis Business Times: October 2, 2019

Pennsylvania Rep. David Delloso has proposed legislation that would legalize adult-use cannabis for adults 21 and older and distribute it through state-run stores. House Bill 1899 would amend the state’s liquor code to allow for adult-use cannabis and use the current state retail system to sell it, according to a local Fox News report. The legislation also includes expungement provisions, the news outlet reported, which would clear the records of those previously arrested, charged or convicted under Pennsylvania’s Controlled Substance, Drug, Device, and Cosmetic Act. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman announced their support for adult-use legalization last week during a press conference, and indicated the need for criminal justice components in any future legislation.

The Fresno Bee: October 2, 2019

Colorado’s cannabis industry has had a chief request since marijuana was legalized: Give us access to banks. But it turns out that hundreds of the state’s pot businesses are already working with financial institutions under the close watch of federal regulators, even though marijuana remains illegal at the federal level. As many as 35 banks and credit unions offer services to the industry that has made $6.5 billion in sales in Colorado since 2014, according to the Colorado Bankers Association. Most financial institutions are secretive about their business relationships with companies that grow and sell marijuana legally, limiting the number of customers they will take on and asking their clients to sign nondisclosure agreements, said Amanda Averch, a spokeswoman for the bankers association.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: October 2, 2019

Last Wednesday, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that he is now in favor of legalizing marijuana for recreational use, following a months-long statewide recreational marijuana listening tour in which Lt. Gov. John Fetterman talked to Pennsylvanians in all 67 counties about the issue. Following Wolf’s announcement, Attorney General Josh Shapiro echoed the governor’s statement, tweeting, “Continuing to criminalize adult personal marijuana use is a waste of limited law enforcement resources, it disproportionately impacts our minority communities and it does not make us safer.”

Chicago Tribune: October 2, 2019

The CBD products that populate shelves at Walgreens, gas stations and other retailers in Illinois could be subject to lab testing under a bill introduced in the Illinois legislature Wednesday. The bill, from Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, would require all CBD products sold in the state to meet testing requirements that would be developed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture. CBD-infused products, which include everything from caramels and dog treats to oils and bath bombs, have become ubiquitous on retail shelves during the past year. CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a cannabis compound that does not get users high. Consumers use the products to alleviate conditions like anxiety or chronic pain, but the items remain largely unregulated. Some products put themselves through third-party testing to prove they contain the promised levels of CBD, but there is no standard requirement.

Herald & Review: October 2, 2019

Council members Chuck Kuhle, Lisa Gregory, Pat McDaniel, Rodney Walker and Bill Faber and Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe during a four-hour meeting on Monday voted to "opt out" of allowing sales. Councilman David Horn voted to allow the dispensaries.? They also voted 4-3 to opt out of other cannabis-related businesses, such as cultivation and processing centers, and tabled future discussion a measure related to the open, public consumption of cannabis. The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act passed by the General Assembly allows units of government to ban recreational marijuana sales, but may not ban individual possession. Communities can apply a tax of up to 3% for sales within its borders. Illinois is the 11th state to legalize cannabis.

CoinGeek: October 1, 2019

Tennis shoes are getting a boost from the blockchain. New Balance has announced it is working with the Cardano blockchain to develop an authentication system that will help consumers quickly and accurately determine if their shoes are the real deal, or counterfeit knockoffs. The program reportedly revolves solely around the Cardano blockchain, created by Hong Kong-based FinTech firm IOHK, and won’t use the platform’s associated ADA cryptocurrency.

Law 360: October 1, 2019

In a white paper issued Tuesday, the National Cannabis Industry Association outlined a framework for regulating cannabis once it is legalized federally by using the existing infrastructure of government agencies, most notably the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, instead of creating new bureaucratic bloat.

The Delaware County Daily Times: October 1, 2019

A state representative’s plan to decriminalize recreational marijuana and make it available for purchase in state-controlled stores will be the focus of a press conference at the state Capitol Wednesday morning. Freshman state Rep. Dave Delloso, D-163 of Ridley Township, will elaborate on his House Bill 1899 that will change the legal groundwork by which people in the state can use marijuana and create a system under the state Liquor Control Board to control and regulate marijuana sales and marijuana store licenses. “In order to guarantee the safety of our citizens, I’ve introduced a bill that would use our current state store system to sell cannabis, ensuring state regulations are enforced,” wrote Delloso in a release announcing Wednesday’s press conference. “This legislation would not only create more than 18,000 jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in annual tax revenue, but it would allow Pennsylvania to be competitive with its neighboring states as more and more states legalize cannabis.”

Marijuana Moment: October 1, 2019

A bill to legalize marijuana in Pennsylvania through a state-run model was filed on Monday, days after Gov. Tom Wolf (D) announced that he now supports legalization. Rep. David Delloso (D) introduced the legislation, which would allow adults 21 and older to possess, consume, cultivate and purchase cannabis through a state stores system run by the Liquor Control Board. “In the interest of the efficient use of law enforcement resources, enhancing revenue for public purposes and individual freedom, the people of this Commonwealth find and declare that the use of cannabis should be legal for individuals who are at least 21 years of age and should be taxed,” the bill text states.

Times Free Press: September 29, 2019

Washington is joining several other states in banning the sale of flavored vaping products amid concern over the mysterious lung illness that has sickened hundreds of people and killed about a dozen across the country. Gov. Jay Inslee signed an executive order Friday asking the state Board of Health to issue the emergency rule at its next meeting, scheduled for Oct. 9. The ban, initially slated to last four months but which could be renewed, will apply to products containing nicotine as well as the cannabis extract THC. It would not apply at tribal shops, but the governor's office said the administration is reaching out to tribal governments for their cooperation. "We need to act for the public health of our people," said Inslee, a Democrat. "I'm confident this executive order will save lives."

The Hill: September 27, 2019

Democrats renewed their push for election security legislation after a stark warning from acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire and the release of a whistleblower complaint about President Trump's call with Ukraine's leader. Maguire on Thursday warned that the “greatest challenge” the U.S. is facing is “maintaining the integrity of our election system” and said “there are foreign powers that are trying to get us to question the validity of whether or not our elections are valid." The intelligence official made the comment during testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday about a whistleblower complaint alleging that Trump tried to persuade Ukraine to mount a corruption investigation against former Vice President Joe Biden, the current front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Democrats also highlighted a section in the whistleblower complaint that Trump’s actions could pose "risks to U.S. national security and undermine the U.S. Government’s efforts to deter and counter foreign interference in U.S. elections.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: September 26, 2019

Hackers were able to use a screwdriver to get inside a ballot-scanning machine similar to what will soon be used across Georgia, allowing them to replace a memory card and effectively take control of the machine that counts votes. That was one of the vulnerabilities found in the Dominion ImageCast Precinct ballot scanners, according to a report Thursday from the DEF CON Voting Machine Hacking Village, a conference in Las Vegas where hackers tinkered last month with voting equipment to expose weaknesses. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the hackers examined an “old, outdated system” that didn’t match the ballot scanners that will be rolled out statewide starting with the March 24 presidential primary. He also said the hacks didn’t account for real-life election security protocols. The report on the problems of voting technology across the country, which found weaknesses in every system tested, highlights some of the ways that computerized election equipment could be manipulated if hackers were able to subvert security precautions.

The Street: September 26, 2019

Certainly there are vulnerabilities in the country's election systems. It's relatively easy to hack voting machines. Personal information can be purchased to alter voter registrations in as many as 35 states, according to one Harvard study. Disinformation campaigns by other countries can confuse voters and manipulate public opinion. Much of our democracy depends on eliminating these security issues in our voting system. All 50 states have taken at least some steps to provide more election security, according to the Center for American Progress. Many have gotten help from the Department of Homeland Security or the National Guard to assess and identify some of the potential threats. This list is based on a 2018 report by the Center for American Progress, an independent nonpartisan policy institute that seeks to improve life in America by developing new policy ideas, challenging the media to cover critical issues, and shape the national debate.

CNN: September 25, 2019

The Australian capital Canberra will become the country's first city to legalize marijuana following a landmark vote Tuesday night. Lawmakers in the Australian Capital Territory voted to pass a bill allowing people aged 18 or over to possess and cultivate marijuana for personal use. The new law is set to come into effect from January 31, 2020, state broadcaster ABC reported. Under the new regulations, residents in the territory -- which is home to the capital -- will be able to legally possess up to 50 grams (1.76 ounces) of marijuana and cultivate up to two plants per person, or four per household.

York Daily Record: September 25, 2019

Gov. Tom Wolf wants to legalize recreational marijuana for adults in Pennsylvania. In a news conference on Wednesday, Wolf called for legislation to eliminate criminal charges for nonviolent acts involving small amounts of cannabis and expunge the records of those previously convicted. Wolf also wants the General Assembly to begin serious debate on legalizing regulated recreational marijuana for adults.

Chicago Tribune: September 25, 2019

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s capital has become the first part of the country to legalize recreational marijuana for personal use. The Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly voted on Wednesday to legalize possession by adults of up to 50 grams (1.8 ounces) of dried marijuana and cultivation of two marijuana plants beginning Jan. 31. The assembly is the local government of Canberra, the national capital with a population of 400,000.

The Marijuana Times: September 24, 2019

South Dakota has been seeing a great deal of momentum with petitions to legalize some form of cannabis as of late. Last month, a medical marijuana legalization petition was approved and since then, New Approach South Dakota has been working hard to collect the needed signatures before their deadline. Now, a second group – South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws – has had their initiative approved for signature gathering as well. Their goal is legalizing cannabis for adult use, rather than focusing on medical only.

VT Digger: September 24, 2019

Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan joined 21 other attorneys general Monday in signing a letter urging Congress to pass a bill allowing legal cannabis businesses to access banking systems. The Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (or STATES) Act would allow states that have legalized cannabis to create their own laws and regulatory structures, doing away with the conflict between state and federal rules. Under current federal banking laws, because marijuana is considered an illegal drug, cannabis businesses are forced to operate primarily in cash. Over the past five years, 33 states have developed legalized markets in some form.

The Sun-Sentinel: September 24, 2019

More than a dozen Florida members of Congress, concerned over Russian election meddling in 2016, want the state’s top election official to detail what’s being done to ensure accurate and secure elections in 2020. “The 2020 primary election is fast approaching, and so now is the time to ensure our state is taking all necessary actions to harden our election defenses, guard against disinformation, and improve election administration generally,” the members of Congress wrote Tuesday to Secretary of State Laurel Lee. “Together, we must take steps to guard against these vulnerabilities before next year’s elections to make sure Floridians can express their will at the ballot box, unencumbered by outside forces,” they wrote. Questions surrounding the way elections are run in Florida is always surrounded by politics, and the congressional letter is no exception. All the signers of the letter, which originated with U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch of Broward and Palm Beach counties, are Democrats. And the request for information went to Lee, an appointee of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Wichita Eagle: September 24, 2019

The Wisconsin Elections Commission has created a grant program to help communities that are using outdated and potentially insecure computer equipment to make upgrades before the 2020 election. The commission voted Tuesday to approve grants of up to $1,200 for qualified applicants. The commission has determined that election clerks in 215 communities are using only Windows 7 devices. Free security upgrades for that program ends in January, creating security concerns ahead of elections in 2020. Of the 215 clerks using Windows 7, the commission says about 65 don't have firm plans to replace the equipment after January primarily because of cost concerns. The goal of the grant program is to make money available to communities to ensure they are compliant with baseline security standards.

The Salt Lake Tribune: September 24, 2019

For more than a year, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., went eyeball to eyeball against those demanding the United States protect its elections from ongoing Russian tampering. Repeatedly, McConnell blocked all meaningful attempts to fortify U.S. defenses, and when critics pointed out that he was making things easier for the Kremlin, he howled about "modern-day McCarthyism." But the pressure did not recede, and on Thursday, McConnell strode onto the Senate floor and surrendered. "I'm proud," he said, that a forthcoming spending bill "will include a bipartisan amendment providing another $250 million for the administration and security of their elections. … I am proud to have helped develop this amendment and to co-sponsor it in committee." When a journalist observed that McConnell had made the reversal "under fire," McConnell's communications director, David Popp, replied on Twitter: "He's not under fire from anyone. He pounced at the opportunity to seize the moment and help secure this important funding."

The Fix: September 23, 2019

There are ways to get THC without smoking marijuana, and we don’t encourage smoking period.” Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York may have hinted that the state’s cannabis legalization bill may include a ban on smoking the substance, allowing only other methods of use such as edibles. This suggestion was noticed by Marijuana Moment after Cuomo was interviewed on MSNBC Sunday and was asked if the recent cases of lung injury and deaths possibly connected to vaping products had made him reconsider his stance on the issue.

Chicago - AmericanInno: September 23, 2019

Come Jan. 1, it will be legal to purchase and possess recreational marijuana in Illinois. And as the new year gets closer, several Chicago cannabis startups are beginning to imagine what the future holds for them under the new law. For cannabis growers and dispensary operators, they can expect to attract a whole new set of buyers—not just those with a medical marijuana license. The tech-based startups that simplify how people buy cannabis or how marijuana companies advertise their offerings should also expect to find new consumers. And as happens with any big cultural or economic shift, new companies are likely to pop up once voids in the industry are discovered. At the end of May, Illinois lawmakers approved a bill that would allow residents age 21 and older to legally possess 30 grams of cannabis, 5 grams of cannabis concentrate or 500 milligrams of THC contained in a cannabis-infused product. When the bill takes effect next year, it will also create a licensed cultivation and dispensary system.

MSN News: September 23, 2019

As of today, Donald Trump is now the least liked president in almost 40 years. The September NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday shows that 69 percent of voters dislike Trump. That is a toxic level in any race let alone one for the presidency. It is impossible to improve that sentiment to less than 50 percent in the remaining 14 months before the 2020 election. Prior to this poll, the highest dislike of a president was 42 percent for George W. Bush after Hurricane Katrina in March 2006...However, the Senate had not taken up the measure because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was refusing to do so. Until last week. Out of the blue, just one day after the Ukraine story broke, McConnell approved $250 million for election security, a token amount that will provide only $5 million per state to fight the Russians and will have little real effect. It seems McConnell, who takes umbrage with his nickname “Moscow Mitch," may have been trying to head off criticism about foreign election interference with this gesture. But it is just that, a gesture. There are 406 days until next year's general election – and only 133 until the 2020 caucuses and primaries begin – and the resources and reforms to guard against foreign interference are not close to what is needed.

The Cap Times: September 22, 2019

The historic hub of black culture on the south side of Chicago called Bronzeville bears the marks of disinvestment, white flight and redlining common to many of the city’s black-majority neighborhoods.

Herald & Review: September 21, 2019

CHICAGO — Following a wave of concern nationally over lung illnesses and deaths linked to vaping, Illinois lawmakers are set to consider legislation this fall that would ban most flavored vaping products and outlaw e-cigarette use in indoor public spaces. "It's become a health crisis," said Democratic state Rep. Deb Conroy of Villa Park, who's sponsoring a bill that would ban all vaping flavors except menthol. "People are dying."

The Pantagraph: September 21, 2019

SPRINGFIELD — Some of the lead negotiators of the law to legalize adult-use marijuana in Illinois are seeking to provide clarity on a provision that gives local municipalities control over which facilities, if any, would be authorized to allow cannabis consumption. The topic is at the top of the discussion list for potential follow-up legislation, commonly referred to as a trailer bill, which could be heard when the General Assembly returns for veto session in late October, the original bill’s Senate sponsor said. That senator is Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat who said it is “certainly not the intent” of House Bill 1438, the bill which legalized adult-use marijuana, to allow consumption at public places such as restaurants.

The Motley Fool: September 21, 2019

The marijuana industry made history more than a dozen times in 2018. We witnessed Canada become the first industrialized country in the world to legalize recreational cannabis, and observed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve its very first cannabis-derived drug. We even saw support for marijuana legalization soar to an all-time high. However, one thing we haven't seen is clear and definitive progress made on the marijuana front at the federal level in the United States. Currently, cannabis is classified as a Schedule I substance by the Controlled Substances Act. Put simply, this means it's entirely illegal, prone to abuse, and despite having a cannabidiol-based drug legalized by the FDA, doesn't have any recognized medical benefits. Put in another context, marijuana is classified on par with heroin and LSD, while cocaine is actually slightly less restrictive than cannabis as a Schedule II substance.

Politico: September 20, 2019

Main sponsors claim they have the votes. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) told Natalie the bill will move next week, and that he thinks he has the votes to call for a “motion for suspension” on the bill — passage with limited debate and no amendments, requiring a two-thirds majority. This is not your mother’s banking bill. If your mother voted on it in the House Financial Services Committee this past spring, that is. While the bill’s sponsors hope it will pass the floor without amendments, they already have done a lot of tweaking since it breezed through committee. Paul, along with our colleague Zach Warmbrodt, got their hands on a new version of the banking legislation, which has two key additions: — The first is that banks doing business with hemp companies won’t face federal punishment. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed hard for hemp legalization in last year’s farm bill. The other would prevent the revival of an Obama-era program known as Operation Choke Point. It aimed to cut off the banking system from wrongdoing by merchants.

Kendall County Now: September 20, 2019

SPRINGFIELD — Some of the lead negotiators of the law to legalize adult-use marijuana in Illinois are seeking to provide clarity on a provision that gives local municipalities control over which facilities, if any, would be authorized to allow cannabis consumption. The topic is at the top of the discussion list for potential follow-up legislation, commonly referred to as a trailer bill, which could be heard when the General Assembly returns for veto session in late October, the original bill’s Senate sponsor said. That senator is Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat who said it is “certainly not the intent” ofHouse Bill 1438, the bill which legalized adult-use marijuana, to allow consumption at public places such as restaurants.

SF Gate: September 20, 2019

Jane Sevdinski used to work in the legal department at the finance ministry. He and a friend are now investing more than 1 million euros ($1.1 million) in four huge greenhouses...It may be one of the more unusual economic models, but the two men are part of a plan to turn the former Yugoslav republic now called North Macedonia into a nation of cannabis farmers...The economy since the breakup of Yugoslavia has been dependent on exporting tobacco, fruit and vegetables and auto parts. There's still no legislation to allow most exports of medical cannabis, though it has cross-party political support and the government says it wants to pass it in coming weeks.

Orlando Sentinel: September 20, 2019

A college cheerleader in Orlando could lose his left lung from an illness that his family links to vaping, and in Jacksonville, a 17-year-old was hospitalized to treat breathing problems. Amid an explosion of vaping-related lung illnesses and related deaths nationwide, Floridians remain on high alert. Seven deaths and 530 hospitalizations in 38 states have spurred state lawmakers to propose raising the legal age to buy vaping products, and the state’s health and education departments are readying to roll out a three-hour anti-vaping course for Florida’s schoolchildren. While the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation regulates tobacco, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Food Safety regulates ingested products like CBD food and drink, the state is left with a major question.

The San Diego Union-Tribune: September 20, 2019

WASHINGTON (AP) — Microsoft said Friday it will offer free security updates through the 2020 election in the United States — and in other interested democratic countries with national elections next year — for federally certified voting systems running on soon-to-be-outdated Windows 7 software. An Associated Press analysis previously found that the vast majority of 10,000 election jurisdictions in the U.S. use Windows 7 or an older operating system to create ballots, program voting machines, tally votes and report counts. Windows 7 reaches its “end of life” on Jan. 14, meaning Microsoft stops providing free technical support and producing “patches” to fix software vulnerabilities, which hackers can exploit. Cash-strapped election officials are scrambling to address this issue and what’s essentially a one-year extension on additional costs.

Daily Press: September 19, 2019

WASHINGTON Measures making it easier for hemp growers to sell their product may be tucked into legislation that would allow banks to conduct business with state-approved marijuana growers and retailers giving the pot industry a potential boost with a skeptical Senate. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., says two provisions aimed at helping hemp producers are likely to be added to the House version of the SAFE Banking Act. The act would give marijuana businesses in the states where it is legal the ability to conduct transactions with federally regulated banks.

CBS News: September 19, 2019

A key Senate panel is approving $250 million to help states beef up their election systems, freeing up the money after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell came under criticism from Democrats for impeding separate election security legislation. McConnell's reluctance to legislate on election security has led some Democrats to refer to him as "Moscow Mitch." The Kentucky Republican announced Thursday in a floor speech in advance of a Senate Appropriations Committee vote that he would support the funding, claiming the Trump administration has "made enormous strides" in protecting the nation's voting infrastructure.

Curbed Chicago: September 18, 2019

With cannabis poised to become legal in Illinois on January 1, 2020, Chicago lawmakers are ironing out rules that will govern the location of the city’s first recreational marijuana dispensaries. On Wednesday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot formally introduced an ordinance to the Chicago City Council creating seven “cannabis zones” in neighborhoods across the city’s North, South, and West sides. By spreading the businesses evenly among the different zone, the mayor hopes, will bring new economic opportunities to underserved neighborhoods.

Los Angeles Times : September 18, 2019

With the White House and Congress paralyzed over how — or even whether — to act on intelligence agency warnings about foreign interference in U.S. elections, Maryland opted to take matters into its own hands. The state adopted transparency rules for political advertising on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere online. The pioneering move drew praise from election reformers as a blow against foreign meddling. Then came the backlash. And it wasn’t from Russia. Newspaper publishers hauled the state into federal court. The new rules ran afoul of the 1st Amendment and created burdens on media organizations that could push struggling local papers under, they protested.

Politico: September 18, 2019

— One of the five people the president is considering for national security adviser has been skeptical of Russian election interference. Some of the others have talked about cybersecurity, too. — A newly identified hacking group has been carrying out supply chain attacks and on a couple of occasions infected hundreds of computers, according to research out today. — A coalition of IT and telecom companies spelled out essential security requirements for internet-connected devices.

Chicago Sun Times: September 17, 2019

In May, Illinois became the 11th state to legalize recreational cannabis. We did so with the goal of bringing an illicit market out of the shadows and righting some of the historical injustices of the past. How we handle legalization can be a tremendous opportunity if we do it the right way. If we fall short, it can inflict harm on Chicago’s communities.

The Washington Post: September 17, 2019

Hillary Clinton accused President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) of “abdicating their responsibility” on election security during a pointed speech Tuesday in which she also took aim at Trump for his repeated claims about voter fraud. In a speech delivered at a conference in Washington, the Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nominee applauded the Democratic-led House for passing legislation designed to strengthen election systems in the wake of Russian interference. Clinton then slammed “Mitch McConnell’s Senate” for not acting on the legislation, which would authorize more than $600 million to update voting equipment to comply with new standards, including requirements that devoting machines produce a paper record, stay disconnected from the Internet and be manufactured in the United States.

Colorado Springs Gazette: September 17, 2019

Colorado will halt its use of QR coes on ballots, citing concerns over the hostile actors to manipulate voting data.

NJ.com: September 16, 2019

For proponents of legalizing marijuana for personal use in New Jersey, their new theme song may be, “You can’t always get what you want.” After failing to win approval of legislation earlier this year, advocates said they would settle for less than they would prefer, with the hope that they can make changes to the law later. “It’s a start to open a door to move forward with more reform,” said Tyler McFadden, northeast political associate for NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. “We can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

MSN News : September 16, 2019

Citing security concerns, Colorado has become the first state to stop counting ballots with printed barcodes. The state's secretary of state told CNN she felt it was a necessary step to ensure Colorado maintains its position as a national leader on election security. The decision is a further step toward prioritizing the role of human eye, rather than computers to count votes. In recent years — after researchers have repeatedly demonstrated it's possible to hack many voting machines in particular circumstances and the US intelligence community detailed Russia's interference in the 2016 election — both government and industry leaders have reached a general consensus that the US needs to use paper ballots so that elections can be properly audited.

MetroWest Daily News: September 15, 2019

The news of the Fall River mayor’s arrest this month on federal charges of soliciting bribes from marijuana vendors might sound like fodder for late-night comics, but it’s no joke for the would-be dispensary owners trying to comply with a state law that, in the words of one cannabis advocate, gives cities a license for “extortion by another name.” “This whole thing would be funny if it weren’t so sad,” said David O’Brien, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Cannabis Business Association. “It really is just unbelievable.” Since recreational marijuana use was approved last year, the Cannabis Control Commission has wrestled with the policies for the state-mandated agreements between the businesses and the cities in which they operate.

Boston Herald : September 15, 2019

A bipartisan bill protecting banks who serve marijuana business could pass in the House this month as key members of Democratic leadership vowed to make the bill a priority despite pressure to act on gun and immigration reforms. “I have no doubt the votes are there to pass this. My expectation is that we will have a vote on this in the House soon,” said U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Worcester), who chairs the powerful House Rules Committee. Additional delay on the legislation could trigger political backlash, especially for pols in the 33 states that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana. “It’s a political liability not to take action on this,” said McGovern. “Members of Congress and Senate will have to answer to their constituents if they don’t act on this.”

The Mercury News: September 15, 2019

Following the 2016 elections, investigators found evidence that Russian hackers successfully infiltrated the computerized voting systems of several states. Hackers also stole data from campaigns and weaponized social media polarizing the electorate against and for certain candidates. All of this undermines the trust we all place in the United States’ election system. There is nothing more powerful in a democratic country than a legitimate election. Unchecked, these actions and future similar future actions against our elections are a significant danger to our democracy. It’s clear we’ll be facing similar threats in the 2020 election cycle.

The Washington Examiner: September 15, 2019

On Election Day 2016, President Trump offered an unequivocal statement on how our elections should be run: “There’s something really nice about the old paper ballot system,” he told Fox News. “You don’t worry about hacking.” Trump’s view is increasingly becoming the consensus position. There’s growing agreement that the United States needs action to ensure verifiable elections with paper ballots and audits — as well as to patch cybersecurity vulnerabilities and to upgrade dangerously old election infrastructure. Leading Republican lawmakers, including the chairs of the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence Committees and the leader of the House Freedom Caucus, have advocated strongly for this agenda. Top Democrats in the House have come around to the position as well. And as of this past month, even the CEO of a major election machine vendor — a player with the most at stake in paperless systems — expressed this view.

West-Central Tribune: September 14, 2019

It took three years for Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., to find out that Russian actors had hacked into her state's voting systems ahead of the 2016 presidential election. First she was unaware the Kremlin had penetrated any counties, then she heard it was two, and now new intelligence suggests four jurisdictions might have been breached. The public has even less information than she does — because, as she explained in a Washington Post opinion article, she is not allowed to share much of what she learns.

Florida Politics: September 13, 2019

The use of medical cannabis is growing, but two bipartisan delegation members from opposite corners of the state are looking for increasing its benefits. Gaetz and Coral Gables Democrat Donna Shalala have introduced the Expanding Cannabis Research and Information Act. The bill would have cannabis research placed on the national agenda and would direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to record data on the health impacts of cannabis. Additionally, they would establish a National Institute of Health “Centers of Excellence” research designation and reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III controlled substance.

New Jersey Patch.com: September 13, 2019

There exists a dangerous misunderstanding, particularly among young users, that vaping is safer than smoking and that vaping cannabis is somehow safer than with nicotine use. New York State health officials said last week that extremely high levels of the chemical vitamin E acetate were found in nearly all cannabis-containing vaping products that were analyzed as part of the investigation. Vitamin E acetate has been found in each vaping-related illness in New York.

The Washington Post: September 13, 2019

A group of centrist House Democrats that usually aims for bipartisanship is coming out swinging against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Republicans for blocking election security legislation. Members of the Democrats’ Blue Dog Coalition, which includes the conservative wing of the party, charged Republican senators with endangering the country's democratic process for not forcing a vote on election security legislation during a press briefing. And they leveled their most pointed criticism at McConnell, who has steadfastly refused to allow major election security bills to get a vote on the Senate floor.

The Huffington Post : September 13, 2019

A GOP group is using Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) own pledge to keep fighting for election security against him. A new TV commercial released online Wednesday by Republicans for the Rule of Law uses footage of Graham from July 2018 saying he is “1,000% convinced that the Russians meddled in our election.” “I’m hoping that the president will call the Congress together to secure our election the best we can,” Graham, an ardent defender of President Donald Trump, says in the clip that Fox News will air in his home state over the weekend. “I don’t know how any of us can go to our constituents if we do nothing. The one thing I cannot live with is not trying.”

The Herald News: September 12, 2019

Less than a week after Mayor Jasiel Correia II was arrested for allegedly extorting roughly $600,000 from cannabis businesses trying to open in Fall River, a state representative from a neighboring community has filed legislation to prevent any more Fall River dispensaries from being allowed to open for the time being. A bill titled “An Act Moratorium on marijuana establishments in the city of Fall River” has been submitted to the Legislature by 9th District state Rep. Christopher Markey, who chairs the Massachusetts House Committee on Ethics.

The Hill: September 12, 2019

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are mulling how to address the spate of ransomware attacks that have brought some state and local governments to their knees over the past few months. The ransomware attacks, which involve an individual or group encrypting a computer system and demanding money to allow the user to regain access, have crippled districts, libraries and municipal governments...The lack of urgency on Capitol Hill stems in part from competing legislative priorities. Democrats have made election security legislation one of their key priorities for the fall, and both parties are now turning much of their attention to passing spending bills to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1.

WCVB.com: September 11, 2019

A sixth person in the United States has died from lung disease related to vaping, Kansas health officials said Tuesday. The woman was older than 50 and had a history of health problems. She became seriously ill shortly after she started using e-cigarettes and her symptoms progressed rapidly. It's not clear what type of vaping products she used, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said...New York health officials said last week that extremely high levels of the chemical vitamin E acetate were found in nearly all cannabis-containing vaping products that were analyzed as part of the investigation. At least one vape product containing this chemical has been linked to each person who fell ill and submitted a product for testing in the state.

NJ.com: September 11, 2019

Representatives from Monmouth County saw the prompt asking what would happen if their Twitter accounts and websites had been hacked and were giving out incorrect information to voters about polling times. They knew exactly what page of their manual to turn to solve the problem. Election representatives from all of New Jersey’s 21 counties practiced their emergency election preparedness skills Tuesday in an all-day seminar hosted by the New Jersey Division of Elections and the Department of Homeland Security.

Politico: September 11, 2019

Bolton repeatedly warned U.S. adversaries that the Trump administration would use its cyber warriors to punish them for jeopardizing American interests. In June, he said the U.S. would use cyberattacks to deter election interference and corporate data breaches, an escalation he described as “broadening the areas we’re prepared to act in.” He telegraphed a similar message last September while unveiling the Trump administration’s cybersecurity strategy. “We're going to do a lot of things offensively” in cyberspace, he told reporters...But Bolton also earned enmity from many cybersecurity experts — not to mention Democratic lawmakers — for eliminating the White House cybersecurity coordinator position and downgrading the rank of the homeland security adviser, who supervised the coordinator and oversaw all cyber policy matters. Upon his arrival, he pushed out homeland security adviser Tom Bossert, a well-respected cyber expert. Observers said the moves left the U.S. rudderless on issues ranging from election security to critical infrastructure protection.

The Boston Globe: September 10, 2019

Medical marijuana advocates and conservative groups sparred Monday over proposed changes to Utah’s medical marijuana program during a tense, two-hour public hearing...The draft suggests eliminating an unusual plan for a state-run medical marijuana dispensary system in favor of private dispensaries...Medical marijuana advocates raised concern that 12 dispensaries won’t be enough to meet growing patient demand.“We have patients everywhere now in this state, and they’re so spread out ... what about the people out in rural areas? That’s who I worry about,” Tiffiny Malo, a mother of two cannabis patients, said.

Politico: September 10, 2019

State election commissions are running old software and prone to email attacks, according to a study out today. There are some positive signs, too. Two panels today will look at how federal agencies are bolstering the fundamentals of internet security, with witnesses from three departments testifying. A judge issued a major ruling on the prevailing U.S. cybercrime law, with the court favoring a narrower interpretation.

The Trusted Chronicle: September 10, 2019

Metallic hot stamping foils are utilized in hot foil stamp printing. The hot foil stamp printing is a process of printing pigmented, hologram or metallic foil on solid surfaces ranging from plastic, light paper, laminated board, carton board and corrugated boards by applying heat and pressure.

Politico: September 9, 2019

Criminal justice reform is the tipping point for cannabis legislation on Capitol Hill right now, and it’s playing a huge role in whether a bill to help provide banking to cannabis businesses will get a floor vote this fall. Cannabis lobbying is booming in Washington. A record 116 groups hired lobbyists to make their case to Congress and federal agencies on marijuana- and cannabis-related issues in the second quarter of 2019.

NorthJersey.com: September 9, 2019

State and federal officials plan a day-long series of exercises Tuesday to assess New Jersey's election security and spot potential weaknesses ahead of voting in November. New Jersey's division of elections is partnering with the U.S. Office of Homeland Security to conduct what's known as the Election Security Tabletop Exercise. The two offices routinely work together on election security, but the event planned for Tuesday is the first of its kind in New Jersey, officials said, bringing together representatives from all of the state's 21 counties as well as those from 13 other states.

KPCW.org : September 6, 2019

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert issued a call for a special session of the State Legislature Thursday, to amend Utah’s medical cannabis law. The special session is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 16. In a press release from the governor’s office, Gov. Gary Herbert says taking the state-run, central fill pharmacy out of the equation will help ensure patients have access to medical cannabis by March 2020, the deadline set during a December 2018 special session when the legislature overrode the Proposition 2 medical cannabis ballot initiative.

The Washington Post: September 6, 2019

Top government cybersecurity officials are worried that ransomware, which has wreaked havoc by locking up the computer networks of businesses, schools and police stations, could be used to sow chaos during the 2020 election.

Enterprise-Journal: September 6, 2019

after bad” — buying more of the touchscreen machines that election security experts say are susceptible to hacking and prone to malfunction.

Newsweek: September 5, 2019

MODERATE DEMOCRATS URGE PARTY LEADERS TO COME TOGETHER IMMEDIATELY TO ADDRESS ELECTION SECURITY

In-Pharma Technologist: September 5, 2019

The blockchain pattern uses an open standard blockchain directory and encrypted peer-to-peer messaging to allow stakeholders to check and confirm the authenticity or perscription medicines with partners.

CBS Miami: September 4, 2019

Miami-Dade Commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday to support legislation kickstarting industrial hemp production in the county. The resolution was sponsored by County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava and directs the administration to support Florida’s industrial hemp program.

San Antonio Express-News: September 4, 2019

It will soon be easier for prosecutors to press charges in marijuana cases after the Bexar County Commissioners Court approved funding for new equipment that can determine the difference between marijuana and hemp. The move comes months after a new state law legalizing hemp inadvertently made it difficult to press charges in such cases.

WGBH: September 3, 2019

With five months before primary season begins, election officials around the country are busy buying new voting equipment. Their main focus is security, after Russians tried to hack into U.S. election systems in 2016. Intelligence officials have warned that similar attacks are likely in 2020, from either Russia or others intent on disrupting U.S. elections.

Fox News: August 27, 2019

Cohen's stunt came as Congressional Democrats lambasted Republicans for refusing to pass an election security package designed to prevent future meddling from nations like Russia. Democrats have also criticized Trump for supporting Russia's re-entry into the G-7.

SC Magazine: August 27, 2019

Concerned about cyberattacks on the 2020 elections after evidence that Russian hackers accessed voter registration systems in 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introducing a new program next month to protect the systems as well as voter registration databases.

Yahoo Finance: August 27, 2019

Geneva, Switzerland/New York, USA – August 27, 2019 – WISeKey International Holding Ltd (“WISeKey”), (WIHN.SW) a cybersecurity IoT platform company, today announced that it has adapted its U.S. patent. No. 7,898,422 for an anti-counterfeiting NFC device designed to protect the pharmaceutical industry from the escalating counterfeit problem which is causing damage to these companies and putting lives at risk (see list of U.S. patents here).

Bloomberg Tax: August 26, 2019

The cash that Reno cannabis businesses bring to City Hall to pay their taxes weighs more than some of the employees in charge of collecting it.

Reuters: August 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government plans to launch a program in roughly one month that narrowly focuses on protecting voter registration databases and systems ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Label & Narrow Web: August 26, 2019

The Label Printers, located in Aurora, IL, USA, has benefited from a partnership with Domino. The digital printing specialist has played a key role in helping The Label Printers produce 1.75 billion labels annually.

The National Law Review: August 23, 2019

While not the only issue addressed, hemp features prominently in this particular Farm Act. The version of this Act as approved by the House is different from the Senate version. Among other things, it features a ban on smokable hemp which mirrors the ban featured by the Senate version.

Politico: August 23, 2019

In January, a truck driver transporting hemp grown in Oregon to be processed in Colorado was stopped for a random inspection at a weigh station in Boise, Idaho. Unable to immediately distinguish between hemp and marijuna, authorities charged the driver with trafficking marijuna, a felony charge that can carry a minimum of five years in prison.

The Charlotte Observer: August 23, 2019

North Carolina elections officials upset a packed room of advocates for election security Friday, voting down a proposal to require stricter anti-hacking provisions in the 2020 elections and beyond.

True Viral News: August 22, 2019

New laws in Colorado will allow state residents to order pot delivered to their house and give businesses the chance to apply for a license to run a “cannabis cafe” where people can legally use marijuana.

Tampa Bay Reporter: August 22, 2019

PALM HARBOR – Boutique CBD franchise Your CBD Store, which got its start in Bradenton, has opened its 400th nationwide store in Palm Harbor.

Salt Lake Tribune: August 22, 2019

Utah lawmakers are crafting a cannabis bill that would ditch a state-run system of dispensing the substance, increase the number of private pharmacies from seven to 12 and allow for home delivery of the plant-based treatment.

Packaging Strategies: August 21, 2019

Smart packaging is developing rapidly. A major factor driving the growth of the smart packaging market is increasing demand for packaging that indicates and maintains product quality throughout the supply chain. Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) and smart labels are easy to integrate into current packaging formats. These labels not only help to prevent theft but help to locate products as they move through the supply chain. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requires CPGs to be able to, at minimum, identify the immediate supplier and recipient (other than retailers to consumers) of a product, placing responsibility on companies to monitor the path of their products.

Forbes: August 21, 2019

For a sign that the cannabis sector is maturing, look no further than the recent introduction of the State Cannabis Commerce Act by Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Sen. Ron Wyden. In addition to containing language to protect state cannabis programs from federal interference, the bill would create a legal structure to allow interstate commerce between states where cannabis has been legalized.

WRAL.com: August 21, 2019

RALEIGH, N.C. — A legislative attempt to protect law enforcement's ability to search people's vehicles whether an officer detects legal hemp or illegal marijuana in the car cleared the House Wednesday as legislators tinkered with a wide-ranging farm bill in an effort to address police concerns.

Politico: August 21, 2019

And USDA has yet to implement the provision defining alternative documentation that farmers without a deed can use to obtain a farm number, though the department held two listening sessions on heirs’ property this summer. A spokesperson said USDA is “in the process of gathering feedback and writing the rule.” (Of course, the department has a long list of farm bill programs to implement, including highly anticipated hemp production rules expected next month.)

Yahoo! News: August 21, 2019

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is facing new pressure from his own party for blocking two election security bills.

The Hill: August 19, 2019

State governments across the country are pulling in millions of dollars from taxes on legalized marijuana, but the revenue they receive has fluctuated wildly as new markets for a once-illegal product struggle to become established.

DeBanked: August 19, 2019

According to Kris Krane, Co-founder and President of 4Front, a leading multi-state cannabis company, and contributor to Forbes, support for legalization has steadily increased 1-2% each year since the 1970s, with the recent state-wide legalization legislation bumping those figures up. But while support amongst the populace as well as within certain corners of the government has grown, infrastructural support that is regulated by politicians has lagged.

Fox 34: August 19, 2019

On Friday May 31st, the Acting Commissioner of the FDA Norman Sharpless held the agency's first hearing with the public to discuss cannabidiol, or CBD. CBD is, of course, the popular non-intoxicating cannabinoid ingredient which has found its way into everything from tinctures and lotions to candy and dog food. There have recently been crackdowns about CBD’s place in products like food and beverages.

The Register Citizen: August 19, 2019

While some prominent lawmakers and some farmers see hemp as the next great hope, many of the state’s dairy farmers are saying that the odds of hemp becoming their cash cow are slim. Since the state’s pilot program began in June, the Department of Agriculture has issued 71 licenses for prospective hemp growers —giving them the opportunity to tap into the still-fledgling industry that was estimated at $800 million last year.

The Washington Post: August 19, 2019

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Several voter registration organizations are asking a judge to stop Tennessee’s new restrictions for signing up voters from taking effect in October, saying the law has already curtailed their ability to enroll voters in communities of color and other historically disenfranchised groups.

Footwear News: August 12, 2019

The e-commerce boom continues to generate robust revenue streams for retailers, but it has also unleashed a growing threat for brands: online fraud.

Los Angeles Times: August 11, 2019

Grass Lands is a test case for California regulators trying to create boundaries for the expanding marijuana industry. For marijuana brands, it was a chance to woo new customers as cannabis morphs into an everyday commodity.

Yahoo: August 10, 2019

State contortions to legalize hemp in Ohio got so complicated that it now looks like misdemeanor marijuana charges won’t be prosecuted — in effect legalizing pot for the time being.

WSJ: August 1, 2019

Some Chinese manufacturers are dodging U.S. tariffs by rerouting goods to Vietnam and other countries. Here’s a look at why transshipment is on the rise, and how U.S. customs officials are struggling to stamp out the practice.

Ganjapreneur: August 1, 2019

Massachusetts has awarded the first provisional license under the state’s social equity licensing rules to Pure Oasis, a Boston-based dispensary; the owners say they will hire locally and hope to establish a business incubator.

Green Entrepenur: August 1, 2019

Saying he wants to allow people to “move on with their lives,” Jeff Irwin, a Michigan state senator from Ann Arbor, has introduced a bill that would allow the state to expunge the arrest records of state residents on misdemeanor marijuana use and possession charges.

Quartz: August 1, 2019

A big challenge for employers in the nearly $14 billion global market for legal marijuana is not a shortage of applicants but the shortage of qualified applicants. “We have one of the biggest industries developing without any trained professionals,” says Jamie Warm, co-founder and CEO of Henry’s Original, a Mendocino County, California-based cannabis cultivator and distributor. He’s pulling professionals from packaged goods industries from liquor and fashion, where the “particular business feels like their experience translates,” he says, but there’s still a “learning curve.”

NJ.com: August 1, 2019

Jersey City may soon have its first medical marijuana dispensary. The city’s Redevelopment Agency approved a plan on July 16 to build a medical marijuana facility on the industrial Edward Hart Road near Liberty State Park, where cannabis would be grown and sold .

Salt Lake Tribune: July 31, 2019

Utah officials are reworking how to distribute medical marijuana amid concerns that current plans to use county health departments as pickup points might violate federal law and essentially make local government employees drug dealers.

Spectator USA: July 30, 2019

High prices, plain packaging and restrictive licensing conditions have deterred long-term users from switching to the legal market

Ganjapreneur: July 24, 2019

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have approved legislation banning hemp flower starting in 2020 due to police complaints that hemp flower will interfere with their cannabis enforcement efforts.

Milwaukee Patch: July 23, 2019

The simple truth is that the legalization of cannabis will bring multifaceted benefits— from economic opportunity, to medicinal relief and addressing egregious racial disparities— for our state. Yet, time and time again, lawmakers here in the Capitol continue to fail to grasp, or choose to dismiss, the importance of truly comprehensive cannabis reform.

Tucson.com: July 23, 2019

Attorney General Mark Brnovich wants state lawmakers to debate and enact a law allowing recreational marijuana use for adults, rather than risk an industry-crafted measure winning at the ballot box.

Ganjapreneur: July 23, 2019

Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler and Sen. Kamala Harris are introducing a federal cannabis reform bill called the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act to both decriminalize cannabis and set up the expungement of prior cannabis convictions.

Marijuana Moment: July 22, 2019

From marijuana legalization in Illinois to decriminalization in New Mexico, 2019 has been a banner year for the cannabis reform movement, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) said in a mid-year progress report published on Monday.

Ganjapreneur: July 22, 2019

Some law enforcement groups in Florida will stop arresting or detaining people for cannabis odor because hemp products — which are now legal in the state — can smell and appear identical to cannabis.

Forbes: July 22, 2019

On July 10, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing entitled “Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the Need for Reform.” While one subcommittee hearing hardly guarantees imminent reform of cannabis laws at the federal level, the historic nature of this hearing can’t be overstated. While Congress has held hearings over the years on marijuana-related issues, mostly on the issue of medical marijuana or concerns over harms associated with the plant, this is the first hearing to focus exclusively on legalization.

Trib Live: July 22, 2019

Part of the problem is the cost of underwriting new voting machines as states and counties struggle to meet the timeline to have systems with paper backups in place in time for the 2020 presidential primaries. In Pennsylvania, where voting machines are purchased at the county level, Deluzio said the $14 million federal grant that was doled out to counties will finance only about 10% to 12% of the estimated $150 million needed to replace voting machines across the state.

AZ Central: July 21, 2019

The medical marijuana industry is reportedly gearing up for another initiative to legalize recreational pot in Arizona. This will rekindle familiar arguments. But there is one new issue that should take center stage in this debate: the regulation of the potency of recreational marijuana. The observation is frequently made that today’s marijuana isn’t the marijuana familiar to aging boomers from their college days. It’s far more potent.

The Boston Globe: July 18, 2019

As it continues to build out the nation’s first statewide cannabis social equity program, the Cannabis Control Commission on Wednesday selected six organizations to provide technical and financial assistance to prospective business owners from communities disproportionately harmed by past drug laws.

Green Market Report: July 15, 2019

As our readers are aware, we look at developments in California’s cannabis industry differently than most. AB 97 and SB 97 were signed into law by Governor Newsom on July 1st. These Bills address expiring provisional licenses and add a new tool for law enforcement to use against unlawful cannabis activities. We applaud the Legislature and the Governor for trying. However, these Bills merely assure that the chaos will continue. These Bills address none of the causes of the chaos in California’s cannabis industry.

Cannabis Health Insider: July 15, 2019

Almost half of the British adults support the legalization of marijuana, according to the YouGov survey. The results of the survey reveal that public opinion is opposite to the laws of legalization of marijuana in the U.K. 48% of people are in favour of legalizing recreational use of marijuana. While only 24 percent of people are against the legalization of marijuana.

Leafly: July 15, 2019

Applicants vying for a handful of licenses to grow Utah’s medical marijuana will have to wait longer than expected to find out who has been selected. The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food announced Saturday that they are delaying the announcement of who will grow the state’s medical marijuana to the end of the month. State officials had originally estimated a July 15 deadline for the decision.

The Partnership for Safe Medicines: July 15, 2019

A pair of fake Adderall dealers who sold their counterfeits on the web has been arrested as a result of their Stamps.com account, Quartz reports. The duo allegedly sold almost $9 million worth of counterfeit Adderall

NPR: July 14, 2019

So while Congress has allocated money to protect cyber systems, there's this entire, you know, information ecosystem out there that is vulnerable. Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen have a proposal that would impose automatic new sanctions against any foreign actors who interfere with an election in the future. Senator Mark Warner - he has another proposal that would require campaigns to report any foreign contacts that they've had to the FBI. And then there's a bill that has already passed the House. And that would authorize money for voting equipment, increase the standards for voting machines and require the use of paper records.

Yahoo Finance: July 12, 2019

Systech has been selected as a 2019 recipient of an SDCE 100 Award by Supply & Demand Chain Executive, the executive's user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation. Systech was selected as a recipient of this prestigious award for its proven track record of delivering revolutionary technologies

The Partnership for Safe Medicines: July 12, 2019

In the past few weeks, cases against members of a major counterfeit pill ring that authorities busted in San Antonio in 2017 have moved forward.

Roll Call: July 11, 2019

House has passed legislation, but there is no plan for moving a Senate bill

Marijuana Moment: July 10, 2019

With a congressional committee set to hold a first-ever hearing on ending federal marijuana prohibition on Wednesday, debate among legalization advocates over which piece of cannabis reform legislation would be the most effective and politically achievable is intensifying.

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: July 10, 2019

A longtime medical-marijuana advocate said Tuesday that she'll make a push to get on the 2020 ballot a proposal to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Arkansas. Melissa Fults, executive director of the Drug Policy Education Group, said she plans to file two proposed constitutional amendments with the secretary of state's office this afternoon, so that she may begin gathering signatures for the 2020 ballot.

Ganjapreneur: July 7, 2019

Emergency rules laying out adult-use cannabis regulations in Michigan have been released; under the new rules, delivery is allowed and adult-use business licenses will be cheaper and easier to acquire than medical cannabis licenses.

Leafly: July 1, 2019

A new medical marijuana dispensary plans to begin sales in Kailua-Kona on Sunday. Hawaiian Ethos is the eighth and final licensed medical cannabis dispensary to receive approval from the state Department of Health. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports the dispensary plans to open another retail center in Hilo.

The Hill: July 1, 2019

Earlier this week, Klobuchar attempted to force a vote to allow the Senate to consider her Election Security Act, but was blocked by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). Her legislation would require back-up paper ballots and provide $1 billion in election security grants for states to improve election security issues.

Wide Open Country: July 1, 2019

Get excited, Texans. On June 10, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a farm bill that allows Texas farmers to grow hemp as a crop, with hemp production starting in 2020. That's right, it's not necessarily full marijuana legalization but a new law for industrial hemp production is still pretty cool.

Yahoo Finance: June 27, 2019

VerifyMe, Inc., a digital technology solutions provider specializing in counterfeit prevention, authentication, serialization, track and trace features for labels, packaging and products…

Yahoo Finance: June 26, 2019

Tobacco giant Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) spent millions of dollars on a marketing application millions of pages long to get its heated tobacco IQOS device approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

PR Newswire: June 26, 2019

Keeping deliveries, inventory, or product warranties protected and secured has consistently been a major priority in nearly every industry. Security tape supplier, American Casting and Manufacturing, outlines and explains the key features of tamper-evident tape and security labels below.

Leafly: June 26, 2019

A recent report by CBC News underscores the importance of the little excise duty stamp affixed to all legally-purchased cannabis products in the country.

Ganjapreneur: June 14, 2019

Cincinnati will become the fourth municipality in Ohio to decriminalize cannabis possession, following Dayton, Toledo, and Norwood.

The News & Observer: June 14, 2019

State lawmakers in 2013 passed a new law requiring every county in the state to use voting machines with a paper record. That could include either a paper ballot, or a touchscreen ballot that produces some sort of physical proof of what the voter chose. The deadline for that switch is the end of this year, when the machines used by about a third of voters in North Carolina — notably in places like Mecklenburg and Guilford counties, but not Wake or Durham — will be de-certified. The deadline for that switch is the end of this year, when the machines used by about a third of voters in North Carolina — notably in places like Mecklenburg and Guilford counties, but not Wake or Durham — will be de-certified.

Yahoo Finance: June 14, 2019

Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (APDN), announced today that its scientific paper entitled, ‘Rapid authentication of pharmaceuticals via DNA tagging and field detection’, has been published in the June 2019 edition of PLOS ONE, detailing a novel Physical-Chemical Identifier (PCID) to authenticate and track legitimate pharmaceutical products through the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Ganjapreneur: June 13, 2019

Nevada is the first state to prohibit employers from drug testing applicants for cannabis use during pre-employment. The governor also signed a bill creating industry oversight boards for the industry.

The Boston Globe: June 13, 2019

Cultivate Holdings, the Leicester-based marijuana company that in November opened one of the first two recreational shops in Massachusetts, will pay the state $75,000 to settle charges that it sold hundreds of improperly labeled pot products to consumers.

Marijuana Business Daily: June 11, 2019

The New Jersey Assembly postponed voting Monday on a medical cannabis expansion measure to avoid walking into a possible veto by Gov. Phil Murphy. Lawmakers instead plan to try to resolve disagreements with Murphy’s office over the bill’s tax rate and program oversight provisions, NJ.com reported.

Ganjapreneur: June 11, 2019

The New York Farm Bureau has announced its support for pending legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis. The legislation would give farmers priority consideration for cannabis cultivation licenses.

The Hill: June 11, 2019

The legal marijuana industry in California is asking officials to intervene in widespread unregulated distribution practices in the state, saying illegal distributors are pushing legal shops out of business. The Southern California Coalition, a cannabis industry group, penned a letter Monday to Los Angeles City Hall asking for a crackdown on the rampant illegal shops, according to The Associated Press. In the letter, the coalition urges officials to seize cash and cannabis from illegal shops, saying that they may be selling tainted products.

Ganjapreneur: June 10, 2019

Recent polling data suggests that a strong 55 percent majority of New Yorkers support cannabis legalization, including an overwhelming 75 percent of young voters.

Marijuana Moment: June 6, 2019

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) said on Wednesday that he has “pretty good confidence” that Congress will pass far-reaching marijuana reforms this year, citing conversations he’s had with key committee chairs and President Donald Trump. Gardner, who is the lead GOP sponsor of separate bills to let cannabis businesses access banking services and to protect states that have legalized from federal interference, said bipartisan support for his legislation “sends a strong signal that it’s time to pull the federal government’s head out of the sand on marijuana and actually address” the issue.

San Marcos Daily Record: June 6, 2019

Hays County could consider purchasing voting equipment that provides a paper record of votes after a workshop on voting equipment held on Tuesday. At the workshop meeting, the Hays County Commissioners Court heard presentations from two vendors — Hart Intercivic and ES&S — on their hybrid voting machines. The hybrids are electronic but provide a paper backup of a voter’s record that the voter can verify before casting a ballot.

Marijuana Moment: June 5, 2019

Residents of Salem, West Virginia, voted to reject a local marijuana decriminalization measure during a city election on Tuesday. The defeat, in a vote of 114 to 45, follows a brief legal battle that ensued after city officials removed the measure from the ballot in March, citing concerns that it would conflict with state laws prohibiting cannabis. In response, organizers filed a lawsuit stating that they collected sufficient signatures before the deadline and that the ordinance’s removal constituted a violation of free speech.

The Hill: June 5, 2019

ELECTION SECURITY GETS A BOOST: A House Appropriations subcommittee approved a bill Monday night that includes $600 million in funding for the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) meant for states to bolster election security, with the money specifically earmarked for states to buy voting systems with "voter-verified paper ballots."

Ganjapreneur: June 3, 2019

Idaho law enforcement says it will continue arresting long-haul truck drivers who ferry industrial hemp through the state and confiscating their cargo, despite hemp’s federal legalization and a USDA memo that clarifies interstate hemp transport is legal.

Marijuana Moment: June 3, 2019

Advocates of expanding marijuana businesses’ access to banks are pursuing two new strategies: amending pending standalone legislation to broaden its GOP appeal as well as supporting a separate a rider on the issue that was recently attached to a large-scale appropriations bill. While lawmakers have primarily focused on the bipartisan standalone bill, which would provide safeguards for banks that service marijuana businesses in states where it’s legal, House Democratic leaders released a new version of an annual spending package on Sunday that includes language providing similar protections.

Marijuana Business Daily: June 3, 2019

According to the Bismarck Tribune, the state will make the cards accessible through mobile devices and will roll them out in conjunction with BioTrackTHC, which is implementing the state’s medical marijuana seed-to-sale traceability system.

Crypto Briefing: June 2, 2019

The next time you eat a tuna sandwich, think about where it came from. You might enjoy your lunch a bit more if you knew it was sustainably harvested, with the help of blockchain technology.

Marijuana Moment: June 2, 2019

Federal officials would be blocked from punishing banks for working with marijuana businesses under an annual spending bill released by congressional Democratic leaders on Sunday. The legislation, which is set to be considered by a House subcommittee on Monday, would also remove a longstanding rider that prevents the city of Washington, D.C. from spending its own money to legalize and regulate recreational cannabis sales.

Ganjapreneur: May 31, 2019

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has signed two new cannabis bills into law: one allows cannabis delivery as an option in the state, the other gives Coloradans the right to establish and visit social-use cannabis lounges.

New Hampshire Public Radio: May 31, 2019

“Although we may disagree on whether the prohibition of marijuana has been a success, or whether we should remain an island within New England, we all agree that this decision cannot be made lightly and without further consideration," Sen. Martha Hennessey, D-Hanover, said in motioning the bill back to the Judiciary Committee.

Asbury Park Press: May 30, 2019

The state Senate on Thursday is expected to pass bills that would expand the New Jersey medical marijuana program and overhaul the process of expunging criminal records in the state. The Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act would make it easier for patients to register, purchase and consume cannabis for medicinal purposes. The bill would raise the monthly limit to 3 ounces per patient, and legalize the manufacture and purchase of edible forms of medical marijuana, including food and oils.

NBC News: May 30, 2019

Kelley said the county is still evaluating options, but whatever machine it selects will generate a paper backup ballot that will be available for an audit should there be need for a recount. Some of the voting systems under consideration would allow the voter to review that paper ballot before casting a vote, as will be the case with the new Los Angeles voting machines. All new voting systems in California must generate a paper record of every vote. Twelve states currently have jurisdictions that use machines without paper backups. Without paper backups, there is no way to verify the accuracy of the vote should a recount be needed.

Harvard Business Review: May 24, 2019

For years, the luxury industry has waged a battle against counterfeiters. It has invested heavily in ultra-sophisticated tech solutions which use the latest advances in nanotechnology, internet of things (IoT), and AI to authenticate products.

Ganjapreneur: May 23, 2019

Hemp farms in Washington are expected to expand from last year’s 140 acres to more than 6,000 acres of hemp this year now that the crop has been federally legalized via the 2018 farm bill.

Asbury Park Press: May 22, 2019

An effort to decriminalize marijuana proposed after the state's failed attempt at outright marijuana legalization doesn't have the support of the Legislature's top Democrat. Senate President Stephen Sweeney on Tuesday called the measure, which would significantly lessen penalties for possessing the drug, "problematic" and likened it to legalizing the marijuana black market.

The Texas Tribune: May 22, 2019

Marijuana advocates were handed an unlikely victory Wednesday after the Texas Senate advanced a bill greatly expanding the list of debilitating medical conditions that can legally be treated by cannabis oil in the state.

New Hampshire Public Radio: May 17, 2019

A committee is holding off action on a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in New Hampshire. The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted unanimously to hold it in committee. The recommendation means it is unlikely a legalization effort will move forward in the Legislature this year. The House passed the bill in April.

Ganjapreneur : May 15, 2019

Michigan companies in Detroit and Portage have received the state’s first cannabis delivery licenses. Delivery services, however, will only be available to patients who live in municipalities where cannabis sales are generally outlawed.

Ganjapreneur : May 15, 2019

The Vermont bill to create a taxed and regulated system for adult-use cannabis sales is likely dead until lawmakers — some saying they don’t want to rush the policy-making process — bring it up again next year.

Forbes: May 15, 2019

After the failure to include legalized adult use cannabis in the New York State budget earlier this year, sponsors of the legislation say they are introducing a new bill that they hope stands a better chance at becoming law.

Leafly: May 15, 2019

More than 50% of cities and counties ban local shops, even though a majority of local voters in many of those places approved of state legalization. Now, a new bill in California might be the first of its kind to mandate that local officials permit at least one cannabis retailer in towns where the voters want it.

Ganjapreneur: May 13, 2019

With more than 30,000 patients registered to the program, Ohio’s medical cannabis market has now surpassed $5.8 million in sales since dispensaries opened on January 1.

Civilized: May 13, 2019

Cannabis legalization is losing support among Canadians, according to a new survey. Back in 2017, when the federal government was working on reforming Canada's marijuana laws, more than two-thirds of Canadians (68.6) percent supported legalization. But now, six months after the new laws took effect, support for cannabis legalization has fallen to 50.1 percent, according to a new survey led by Dalhousie University professor Sylvain Charlebois.

Ganjapreneur: May 10, 2019

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has given South Carolina-based CBD brand Palmetto Harmony organic certification, marking the first time the agency has given the designation to a hemp product, according to a Bezinga report.

Ganjapreneur: May 10, 2019

California’s high cannabis tax rates — which in some communities can reach as high as 50 percent — appear to have drastically stunted the marketplace’s growth, so much so that state officials have scaled back their estimated cannabis tax revenues through June 2020 by $223 million.

WJBF: May 10, 2019

With the new machines, you vote electronically. It then prints out a paper ballot, which will only be submitted into the system once you put it through a scantron. State Representative Barry Fleming says this is the best way to avoid voter fraud. "Everybody that goes to vote will be affected by our having new better and more secure at elections to these new voting machines," says Fleming.

The National Law Review: May 10, 2019

Hemp and hemp-derived CBD were previously classified as Schedule I controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act of 1972. But, that changed with the December 20, 2018 enactment of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 ("2018 Farm Bill") which, among other things, decriminalized hemp and hemp-derived CBD and opened the doors for brand protection at the USPTO.

Ganjapreneur : May 9, 2019

The vast majority of California’s cannabis industry is not currently using the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system. Instead, regulators are relying on a paper-based honor system that uses hard copy invoices and shipping manifests.

Marijuana Moment: May 8, 2019

A powerful congressional committee is expressing concerns about barriers to marijuana research created by the drug’s Schedule I status. The panel also called for studies on CBD and kratom as potential alternatives to opioid-based painkillers in its supplemental report on a spending bill released on Wednesday. Some of the language around cannabis research has previously appeared in House and Senate Appropriations Committee reports on the relevant legislation, which is meant to designate funds for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education.

Ganjapreneur : May 7, 2019

A recent report suggests that the international industrial hemp market is poised to grow to $13.03 billion by 2026 due to increasing demand for hemp-based cosmetics, health foods, and protein supplements.

NPR: May 7, 2019

In an effort to improve confidence in elections, Microsoft announced Monday that it is releasing an open-source software development kit called ElectionGuard that will use encryption techniques to let voters know when their vote is counted. It will also allow election officials and third parties to verify election results to make sure there was no interference with the results. "It's very much like the cybersecurity version of a tamper-proof bottle," said Tom Burt, Microsoft's vice president of customer security and trust, in an interview with NPR.

Marijuana Moment: May 6, 2019

The president of Mexico called the ongoing prohibition of drugs “unsustainable” and proposed a broad decriminalization policy as part of his administration’s “National Development Plan” that was released last week.

The Washington Post: May 3, 2019

The mayor of Washington, D.C., has proposed a bill to locally legalize the sale and distribution of recreational marijuana, despite a federal budget provision barring the city from enacting marijuana legislation. The Washington Post reports Mayor Muriel E. Bowser announced the legislation Thursday. A 2014 law allows District residents to grow and possess marijuana, but doesn’t purchases of the drug.

Leafly: May 2, 2019

DC Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, a Democrat, unveiled a bill Thursday that would legalize the sale of adult-use cannabis and bring much-needed clarity to DC’s pseudo-legal cannabis marketplace. Yet in order for it to become law, Congress will need to undo an existing appropriations bill amendment, implemented by House Republicans in 2014, that prevents DC from taxing or regulating cannabis.

The Hill: April 30, 2019

The market for cannabis-based products is booming, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is struggling to keep up. Congress legalized the use of hemp-based cannabidiol (CBD) products late last year in the farm bill, sending the agency scrambling to figure out new rules around regulating a unique product that is both a drug and a dietary supplement.

KHQA: April 29, 2019

The plan expands who can certify sick Iowans for medical cannabis cards to include nurse practitioners and physicians assistants, a move supporters say will increase access to Iowans especially in rural parts of the state.

New Jersey Globe: April 29, 2019

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez is introducing legislation to provide federal funding for states seeking to safeguard voting systems.

Washington Post: April 20, 2019

Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of the “sweeping and systematic fashion” in which Russia interfered in the 2016 election highlights the breadth and complexity of the U.S. voting infrastructure that needs protecting.

Thrillist: April 19, 2019

State of the Weed Union 2019, your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about which states are stacking hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue by legalizing and/or not imprisoning non-violent drug users, and which states are… not.

Vice: April 17, 2019

Several countries are poised to legalize marijuana in the coming years, especially in Central and South America.

Philly Inquirer: April 17, 2019

The two judges acting as Philadelphia’s elections officials won’t overturn the three-member election board’s selection of new voting machines, a setback for watchdogs and advocates who have been criticizing the pick and urging officials to start over.

San Francisco : April 16, 2019

Cannabis enthusiasts are advocating for a balance between necessary safety regulations and burdensome packaging designs.

Forbes: April 16, 2019

The top financial regulators in 25 states and U.S. territories are joining together to pressure Congress to pass legislation allowing marijuana businesses to store their profits in banks.

Coin Telegraph: April 15, 2019

Portland State University (PSU) researchers have made a blockchain protocol to prevent counterfeit pharmaceuticals from filling the market, according to a press release published on April 15…

Marijuana Moment: April 12, 2019

On Thursday, a key Missouri House committee unanimously approved a bill that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. The House Special Committee on Criminal Justice voted 7-0 to approve the legislation, which would reduce the penalty for possessing fewer than 36 grams of marijuana from a felony to a class D misdemeanor, and and shift possessing 10 grams or fewer from a misdemeanor to an infraction.

KTVB: April 12, 2019

Lawmakers headed home for the year Thursday without enacting any changes to Idaho's hemp regulations, meaning it remains illegal to grow or possess and truckers transporting hemp crops across the state line could face long prison sentences under Idaho's marijuana trafficking laws.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: April 12, 2019

There is a consensus among the intelligence community and cybersecurity experts that human-readable paper ballots, which can be audited by comparing them to the official tally of votes, are necessary to secure our elections. As a result, states such as Georgia are responding — moving toward paper-based voting systems for 2020 and planning for more robust audits to ensure the count is accurate, regardless of foreign interference.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: April 12, 2019

The Georgia General Assembly recently passed House Bill 316, a voter-centric bill to update Georgia’s aging voting machines and enact new reforms to promote voter participation and bolster confidence. HB 316 will transfer our state to a touchscreen-marked paper ballot system with a new auditable paper ballot trail.

IDEMIA: April 11, 2019

Asymmetric cryptosystems are at the heart of digital security as they are the cornerstone for the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), as well as – amongst other things - secure authentication, digital Identities and trusted services.

App.com (USA Today): April 10, 2019

Now, after watching the Legislature blow by nearly a dozen self-imposed "deadlines" on a legal weed vote, Murphy has laid down his own: If the votes aren't there to legalize weed by the end of May, he'll move to expand medical marijuana by executive action — which could throw a wrench into those recreational marijuana plans.

CBC: April 9, 2019

Cannabis sales projected to hit $940 million by 2024

NPR: April 8, 2019

Who says a dollar doesn't go as far as it used to? When it comes to dollar bills, a new report from the federal government says they're lasting more than twice as long as they were at the beginning of the decade.

Chicago Tribune: April 7, 2019

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill Sunday that will raise the legal age for purchasing cigarettes, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21 statewide

Ganjapreneuer: April 5, 2019

Beginning today, industrial hemp is no longer a controlled substance in Texas, East Texas Matters reports, and Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller expects “more hemp to be grown” than the state “could ever process.”

The Fresh Toast: April 5, 2019

The biggest winners in an environment like this are firms like Helix TCS Inc. (OTC:HLIX) that actually benefit from the strict and complex legal structures. Since their merger with BioTrackTHC, they have been the market leader in seed-to-sale tracking and dispensary point of sale systems.

Go Erie: April 5, 2019

The new machines, which make paper copies of all ballots casts, are being implemented throughout the state following an initiative from Gov. Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of State started in 2018. Machines that produce paper ballots are more secure, officials said.

Marijuana Moment: April 4, 2019

The New Hampshire House again voted in favor of a bill to legalize marijuana on Thursday, sending the legislation to the Senate.

CNN: April 4, 2019

US states and territories given $380 million in combined federal funds for election upgrades last year only spent 8.1% of that money in the first six months it was available, the agency responsible for distributing the funds said on Thursday.

Bloomberg: April 3, 2019

As the traditional world of retail embraces the legal cannabis industry, and potentially demonstrates the consumer appeal of these products, investors can gain confidence that, assuming regulatory hurdles are removed, this Wild West of a sector may settle down into a profitable new niche with staying power.

US News & Word Report: April 3, 2019

The FDA has sent warning letters to companies it says are making "egregious and unfounded" claims about the benefits of products made with CBD, a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis, the agency said Tuesday.

OPB News: April 3, 2019

Oregon is warning medical cannabis growers that if they don’t report their inventories, they could face stiff fines.

Democrat Gazette: April 1, 2019

It also would levy a special-privilege tax on e-cigarettes that is equal to the total levied on tobacco products other than cigarettes, starting Sept. 1. The money from the tax would go to general revenue.

CityNews : April 1, 2019

Nearly six months after the drug became legal, private marijuana sales have yet to be approved in the Lower Mainland.

Michigan Radio: March 31, 2019

A state agency has issued its first official advice to help businesses that want to get into the marijuana business.

Pennsylvania Capital Star: March 31, 2019

The reality is that Pennsylvania’s “modern” election system is governed by an election code that hasn’t been updated in more than 60 years, and it’s dominated by aging machines that are prone to malfunction or failure or vulnerable to interference.

Marijuana Moment: March 28, 2019

At his final hearing before a Senate appropriations subcommittee on Thursday, outgoing Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb was again pressed on the agency’s plan to regulate hemp-derived CBD products.

AP : March 28, 2019

Legislation that would provide federal protection for financial institutions that serve state-authorized marijuana and ancillary businesses passed the House Financial Services Committee.

AP: March 28, 2019

A Nashville election panel has given approval to buy voting machines that create a paper trail of votes.

Marijuana Moment: March 27, 2019

Lawmakers in Guam voted in favor of a bill to legalize marijuana on Wednesday, which means the island territory could become the first place in the U.S. to end cannabis prohibition in 2019.

Marijuana Moment: March 27, 2019

New Hampshire got one step closer to legalizing marijuana on Wednesday after a key committee approved a bill to tax and regulate cannabis sales.

Orlando Sentinel: March 27, 2019

Preparing for the 2020 elections, when Florida is sure to be a pivotal state again in the race for president, Orange County commissioners unanimously granted Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles’ appeal for $1.7 million to upgrade voting equipment now.

New York Times: March 27, 2019

Disagreements on several key issues resulted in the breakdown of legislation to legalize cannabis in New Jersey.

Salt Lake Tribune: March 25, 2019

The state has started its search for multimillion-dollar software that will form the spine of its medical cannabis program, serving as the repository for sensitive patient information and logging the movements of each marijuana plant.

The Hill: March 25, 2019

Experts are expressing concerns over ES&S' voting machine equipment in Indiana.

STAT News: March 22, 2019

The precedent Canada set when it legalized cannabis last fall is something the U.S. could follow. There’s much to emulate about the Canadian government’s approach to legalization, and a few things to avoid, but having marijuana legalized on such a large scale so close to home will no doubt have a profound effect on America’s future treatment of the issue.

Associated Press: March 20, 2019

A growing majority of Americans say marijuana should be legal, underscoring a national shift as more states embrace cannabis for medical or adult use.

The Boston Globe: March 20, 2019

The state projected it would reap $63 million in taxes by June 30, but had received only $5.9 million as of March 1.

FoxKVTU2: March 19, 2019

Voters will still receive paper ballots. The machine will take a photo of the actual ballot and vote will be tallied based on the image. The machine will not be connected to the internet, so there will not be an opportunity to hack from the internet.

Marijuana Moment: March 18, 2019

New Jersey Assembly and Senate committees voted in favor of companion bills that would legalize marijuana and provide for the expungement of prior cannabis convictions on Monday

Cannabis Business Times: March 14, 2019

California regulations are concerned about cross-pollination between cannabis and hemp fields.

NextGov: March 13, 2019

The 2018 midterms marked “the most secure election held in the modern era in the U.S.,” Chris Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told lawmakers on Wednesday.

MeriTalk: March 12, 2019

The National Security Agency (NSA) and the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) industry consortium have come up with validation software that can be used with any device and could go a long way to securing the supply chain for computing devices.

Supply Chain Digital: March 11, 2019

Today Systech, a Princeton, New Jersey-based supply chain security and brand protection company announced a new strategic partnership with Excellis Health Solutions to provide a complete, end-to-end offering for brand protection strategy through sustainability.

Government Technology: March 9, 2019

Since the 2016 presidential election, securing voting infrastructure has been top of mind for federal, state and local elections officials. As Jeanette Manfra, the assistant director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, would explain during a SXSW session on the topic, that is easier said than done.

Vice: March 7, 2019

A complex licensing system, conflicting state and local rules, and an aggressive enforcement regime has some cannabis industry heads wishing for the good old days.

PR Newswire: March 7, 2019

Authentix, the authority in authentication and information services, announced that it has acquired Security Print Solutions Limited ("SPS") through its United Kingdom based entity, Authentix Limited.

TechCrunch: March 6, 2019

The report from the inspector general,аout Wednesday, said progress had been made but Homeland Security, the department charged with protecting elections and the back-end voting machine infrastructure, still Уdoes not have dedicated staffФ focused on election infrastructure.а

Marijuana Moment: March 5, 2019

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) reiterated his commitment to legalizing marijuana during his budget address on Tuesday. But he said heТd only sign legislation to end cannabis prohibition if it included provisions to expunge records for prior convictions.

GCN: March 5, 2019

Even with state and local government officials pledging to replace paperless voting machines, the security vulnerabilities faced in 2016 will likely continue through 2020, according to a new report by the Brennan Center for Justice.

Supply Chain Dive: March 4, 2019

The software supply chain is increasingly targeted by cyber bad actors, according to security researchers at Microsoft in the company's most recent Security Intelligence Report.

Healthcare Packaging: March 1, 2019

A recent statement from The Partnership for Safe Medicines addressed two separate proposals from the Florida Governor and a State Representative to legalize the importation of drugs from Canada.

Marijuana Moment: February 24, 2019

Two different visions for how marijuana should be legalized in New Mexico made progress on Saturday as legislative committees voted to advance separate bills to end cannabis prohibition.

Twin Cities Pioneer Press: February 24, 2019

The federal money to improve Minnesota’s election security remains tied up essentially because the Democratic-led House and GOP-controlled Senate differ on the best way to say “yes.”

Forbes: February 22, 2019

Running a cannabis company across multiple states can be challenging -- each state has its own very specific rules on ownership, growing, packaging, testing and marketing. Multi-state operators (MSOs) often try to standardize their practices, but things get complicated quickly.

The Berkley Independent: February 20, 2019

The House of Representatives gave second reading approval to H.3274, a bill providing for the preemption of local government regulation of vaping, e-cigarettes, cigarettes, and other tobacco and nicotine products.

NextGov: February 20, 2019

The Election Assistance Commission on Friday unanimously agreed to release the latest iteration of the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines for public comment.

Philadelphia Inquirer: February 20, 2019

The Philadelphia city commissioners chose a new voting machine system Wednesday to be used starting this November, despite criticisms of the process by election-security advocates, the city controller, and the state auditor general.

ATM Marketplace: February 20, 2019

In the interests of enterprise preservation, the most pragmatic path for a financial institution or retail deployer to take is to identify threats to the ATM fleet and then anticipate them with technologies that prove enough of a deterrent to persuade criminals to look for an easier target elsewhere.

The Partnership for Safe Medicines: February 20, 2019

When, in October 2016, The Partnership for Safe Medicines began tracking the incidence of counterfeit prescription pills made with fentanyl and fentanyl analogues…

Atlanta Constitution Journal: February 19, 2019

Impassioned voters packed a hearing Tuesday to oppose a bill replacing Georgia’s electronic voting machines, with many of them telling lawmakers that the state’s proposed new voting system is no more secure.

The GrowthOp: February 19, 2019

Harvest One Cannabis Inc., a Canadian licensed producer of medical cannabis, has signed a deal with BLOCKStrain Technology Corp. to use the company’s proprietary genome tracking software to collect and register cannabis plant DNA and strains.

Packaging Digest: February 17, 2019

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking pharmaceutical packaging companies, brand owners and entities engaged at various levels of pharmaceutical distribution to make the prescription-drug supply chain more secure.

Securing Industry: February 12, 2019

The FDA has launched a new pilot programme to look at technology that can help it meet its commitment to implement a track-and-trace system for medicines by 2023.

PharmTech: February 12, 2019

GS1, a global supply-chain standards organization, has launched a new messaging standard in collaboration with GS1 US to help meet the requirements of the US Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) for salable returns of serialized prescription drugs

Supply Chain Management Review: February 11, 2019

During the next two weeks, while most factories are shut down in China, why not take some time to reevaluate your strategy and processes regarding counterfeit imports? The way imported products are sold has drastically changed over the past few years.

Labels & Labeling: February 7, 2019

Having passed the most demanding security tests, the new Visapin label not only facilitates evidence of a fraudulent manipulation of information sent via mail, it’s also a highly customizable to the needs of the issuing company.

FashionHerald: February 7, 2019

The labeling market is likely to witness demand from the laboratory and healthcare market in the coming years. The sudden increase in research industry is propelling demand for this market during the course of forecast period from 2018 till 2026.

US DOJ: February 7, 2019

ATF and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration worked diligently to put an end to the defendants unlawful acts of tobacco trafficking. Their actions resulted in a loss of millions of dollars in excise taxes for the state of California and the programs those taxes are used to help.

ABC News: February 6, 2019

A bill that would have increased Wyoming's tax on cigarettes by 50 cents a pack has failed in the state House of Representatives.

Marijuana Moment: February 6, 2019

A pair of bills filed this week would legalize marijuana in Maryland.

The Inquirer: February 6, 2019

The latest in a series of bills to legalize marijuana in Pennsylvania for adult recreational use was introduced Monday in the Assembly.

Willamette Week: February 6, 2019

Oregon's legal cannabis market is bringing in robust tax revenues, but none of that money is going to regulate the cannabis industry.

Washington Post: February 4, 2019

State election officials want the latest round of election security money included in a major bill proposed by House Democrats – but they’re divided on whether they want to accept a slew of voting mandates that come along with it.

The Jamaican Gleaner: February 3, 2019

About halfway up the United States Pacific coast, in the northern end of California, Humboldt County, is an interesting mix of physical and sociocultural features. The Pacific coastline blends with redwood forests and rugged mountain ranges; natural food outlets and microbreweries blend in with wineries and music festivals of various types, including the annual Reggae on the River festival in South Humboldt.

Times Union: February 3, 2019

As New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo rolls out new policy proposals aimed at curbing e-cigarette and tobacco use, critics say his continued failure to adequately fund the state's tobacco control program threatens to undermine those efforts.

The Motley Fool: February 3, 2019

The legal cannabis industry had itself a year to remember in 2018. Although marijuana stocks were a mixed bag, the weed industry gained validation like never before following the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada. Rolling out the red carpet for cannabis will mean billions of dollars in added annual revenue, and it demonstrates that the cannabis industry is in no danger of disappearing.

San Francisco Chroncile: February 3, 2019

California’s high cash expectations from recreational marijuana are going up in smoke as most people are opting to buy their weed on the cheaper, more available and tax-free black market.

CoinGeek: February 1, 2019

Blockchain technology and artificial intelligence have been widely regarded as the two technology fields that will shape the future. And now, one company is bringing the two together to fight the ever-growing challenge of counterfeit goods.

KMOX Radio: January 31, 2019

The St. Louis County Election Board is seeking bids to replace all voting machines, software and equipment by November 2020.

The Heartland Institute: January 30, 2019

Voters in November rejected ballot measures to increase tobacco taxes in Montana and South Dakota, while Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s proposed budget includes a tobacco tax hike.

Associated Press: January 29, 2019

Once a product is equipped with an embedded form-factor, every transaction is digitally signed using WISeKey’s Identity Blockchain and PKI technology, giving an accurate and immutable representation of the recycling efforts made by each and every participating company.

MPR News: January 29, 2019

Minnesota could be the next state to consider legalizing recreational marijuana. Bills to legalize and tax marijuana were introduced Monday in the state House and Senate, and DFL Gov. Tim Walz has said he supports legalization.

CBS Pittsburgh: January 29, 2019

A new report says Pennsylvania should adopt a number of improvements to make its elections more secure, encouraging the replacement of older voting machines, enhanced security of voter lists and better planning for cyberattacks and other technological cha

Fox Business: January 29, 2019

The Temporary Cannabis Tax Reduction bill, would slash state excise taxes for legal marijuana retailers to 11 percent from the current 15 percent for three years. It would also end a cultivation tax altogether for growers until 2022.

Rolling Stone: January 28, 2019

Lawmakers are planting the seeds of legal weed in Minnesota — introducing legislation on Monday that would end marijuana prohibition in the state, creating a system of taxation and regulation for adult use.

Associated Press: January 28, 2019

Maine officials announced on Monday that they are trying again to hire a consultant to help the state craft rules about the legal sale of marijuana.

CNBC: January 24, 2019

Acreage Holdings CEO Kevin Murphy said he believes that a key bill aimed at recognizing legalization of cannabis will be passed this year.

Green Market Report: January 22, 2019

We were prompted to write this post by the publication of an article explaining some of the reason California's...

Marijuana Business Daily: January 17, 2019

The California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved final marijuana industry rules that regulators had published in December.

Palm Springs Desert Sun: January 17, 2019

State rules approved by the Office of Administrative Law on Jan. 16 give licensed cannabis delivery operations free rein to deliver pot almost anywhere in California, even into cities and counties that have barred it.

Times of India: January 15, 2019

Say good-bye to fake degrees and forged marks sheets with new document security QR code, a technology that enables secure QR code integration to secure both printed and electronic documents.

Fortune: January 11, 2019

In six weeks, customers in MA spent nearly $15 million in two locations on legal cannabis, despite the regulatory issues plauging the industry's growth in the commonwealth.

EcoWatch: January 11, 2019

A series of new recalls demonstrate that the pace of marijuana regulation is still well behind that of legalization.

Politico: January 11, 2019

The incoming president of the National Association of Secretaries of State called Democratic legislation to enhance election security, "a huge federal overreach."

Orange County Register: January 10, 2019

California Governor Gavin Newsom wants to increase state spending on cannabis regulation.

Gant Daily : January 4, 2019

Pennsylvania counties can now choose from three paper-recording voting systems, while two additional systems are still in the certification process.

PharmTech: January 3, 2019

The winner of the 2018 CPhI Excellence in Pharma Award for supply chain, logistics, and distribution, Systech, discusses the fundamentals of its non-additive brand protection solution.

WCVB: December 28, 2018

About five weeks since the first non-medical marijuana stores opened in Massachusetts, the chairman of the Cannabis Control Commission said it is still too early to determine what, if any, changes need to be made to the law or regulations.

Loop: December 21, 2018

Using current techniques, including track and trace mechanisms, offers the best path to getting voluntary compliance in the local cannabis industry.

The Sacremento Bee: December 21, 2018

Yolo County judge ordered an Antioch man to pay $2.8 million Friday after growing hundreds of marijuana plants on his property without a license.

Marijuana Business Daily: December 20, 2018

President Donald Trump signed hemp legalization into law Thursday, a change that’s expected to unleash seismic market changes for the entire cannabis industry.

AP: December 17, 2018

The state of Massachusetts has ordered that medical marijuana dispensaries in Mashpee and Plymouth close due to concerns about pesticides.

The New York Times: December 14, 2018

New Jersey's legislation provides a roadmap for how legalized marijuana would be regulated and distributed.

ABC News: December 13, 2018

The CDC released a report that shows that the number of annual drug overdose deaths increased by 54 percent.

Detroit Free Press: December 13, 2018

Marijuana enthusiasts will be able to grow cannabis at home after the state Senate failed to get a supermajority vote to make changes to the recreational marijuana ballot proposal approved Nov. 6.

VICE: December 10, 2018

Scientus Pharma claims its technology will ensure customers are getting what they pay for.

Baltimore Sun: December 7, 2018

Maryland's medical marijuana industry ended its first year of operation with $96.3 million in sales driven by nearly 52,000 patients who purchased about 730,000 individual products.

Marijuana Business Daily: December 7, 2018

The World Health Organization (WHO) postponed its much-anticipated recommendations about the international scheduling of cannabis, citing a need for more time to review its findings.

Marijuana Business Daily: December 5, 2018

A group of licensed medical marijuana companies resumed efforts to challenge Pennsylvania's MMJ clinical research program, saying it needs a transparent vetting process for selecting cultivators.

Pharma Times: December 5, 2018

The article discusses the issues with counterfeit pills and emphasizes the importance of brand protection.

Gangapreneur: December 5, 2018

Lawmakers in Rhode Island say they will look seriously at cannabis legalization in the coming term, due to reforms in surrounding states and the reelection of a governor who favors cannabis reform.

BuzzFeed News: December 5, 2018

The allegations that Republicans tampered with absentee ballots in a close North Carolina election represent the most serious federal election tampering case in years, one that allegedly stole votes from elderly black voters in the state’s rural south.

CNN: December 5, 2018

The article details the various components of voter fraud that are relevant to North Carolina.

Pharma Times: December 5, 2018

The article discusses the issues with counterfeit pills and emphasizes the importance of brand protection.

The Guardian: December 4, 2018

Altria, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, is in talks about a potential takeover of the Canadian cannabis prodcer Cronos.

The Mercury News: December 4, 2018

Cannabis could be used to treat diabetes, lower cholesterol and provide other health benefits.

Cannabis Business Times: December 4, 2018

The online portal where patients can register through their doctors to use medical cannabis opened yeserday.

Michigan Live: December 4, 2018

The audit is designed to detect irregularities that could influence reported election outcomes, including cyber-attacks and unintentional machine or human errors.

AP: December 3, 2018

On December 6th, Michigan will begin selling recreational marijuana, the first state in the Midwest to do so.

Washington Post: December 3, 2018

Dentists who prescribe opioid painkillers to teenagers and young adults after pulling their wisdom teeth may be putting their patients at risk of addiction, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found.

CNN: December 3, 2018

Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport and Delta Air Lines have opened the nation's first curb-to-gate biometric terminal, which promises to improve aviation security while moving travelers faster through screening.

AP: December 3, 2018

On December 6th, Michigan will begin selling recreational marijuana, the first state in the Midwest to do so.

Marijuana Business Daily: December 3, 2018

An overview of licensed cultivation capacity in CA's adult-use market.

ABC News: December 2, 2018

Florida election officials are meeting to discuss reforms in their system in preparation for the 2020 election.

Forbes: December 1, 2018

Author Joseph V. Micallef interviews Maureen Downey, one of the world's foremost experts on wine fraud, counterfeit wine and fine wine authentication.

Cardivascular Business: November 30, 2018

A possible deal between controversial e-cigarette company Juul and tobacco giant Altria could be a matter of weeks away, the Wall Street Journal reported in late November—and Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, isn’t pleased at the prospect.

VICE: November 30, 2018

From VICE UK, a conversation with Steve Rolles, senior policy analyst for the Transform Drug Policy Foundation. They discuss the potential of legalizing stimulants.

AP: November 30, 2018

Washington state regulators say a marijuana store offered free samples to undercover officers and a place to try the product in an unlicensed portion of the building.

The Hill: November 30, 2018

The measure would establish a way for the U.S. and other countries to share information on the best practices for administering elections.

CNN: November 29, 2018

California gives voters more time to send in their ballots and requires counties to give voters time to fix any issues with their ballots.

Associated Press: November 29, 2018

Gov. Tom Wolf's administration is settling a vote-counting lawsuit stemming from the 2016 election, in part by affirming a commitment it's made previously to push Pennsylvania's counties to buy voting systems that leave a verifiable paper trail by 2020.

NBC News: November 29, 2018

Drug overdose dose deaths rose almost 10 percent to a record high, according to government statistics released today.

AP: November 29, 2018

On Saturday, medical marijuana dispensaries in Iowa will open their doors.

AP: November 29, 2018

On Saturday, medical marijuana dispensaries in Iowa will open their doors.

Associated Press: November 28, 2018

The first commercial cannabis shops in Massachusetts sold more than $2.2 million worth of marijuana products during the first five days they were open for business.

Tribune News Service: November 28, 2018

The law suit calls for replacing voting machines with paper ballots that can be counted by optical scanners.

Leafly: November 28, 2018

The article discusses trends in the cannabis industry including freezing, expanding production sizes, and vertical growing.

Boston Globe: November 28, 2018

A former high-ranking executive of an Arizona-based drug company pleaded guilty for his role in a nationwide conspiracy to bribe doctors to unnecessarily prescribe a fentanyl-based painkiller.

Securing Industry: November 27, 2018

L’Oreal vs India’s ShopClues, fake drugs in Cambodia, Malaysian bag bust and electrical counterfeits.

Associated Press: November 23, 2018

New Jersey lawmakers released their latest proposal to legalize recreational marijuana in the state.

The Drinks Business: November 22, 2018

Police in China have arrested 11 people and seized more than 50,000 bottles of fake wine bottled as Australia’s Penfolds and China’s Changyu in a crackdown in central Hebei province near Beijing.

Colorado Gov Page: November 21, 2018

“At a meeting of the Medical Marihuana Licensing Board (MMLB) next week, the Dept. of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) will recommend the board pass a resolution to maintain safe patient access to medical marihuana…”

Michigan Gov Official Website: November 21, 2018

“DENVER – The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has awarded $2.7 million in grant funding for two research studies to investigate the potential therapeutic uses of marijuana…”

USA Today: November 19, 2018

The long wait for recreational marijuana sales to begin in Massachusetts is almost over with the first commercial pot shops set to open on Tuesday.

Forbes: November 15, 2018

Trulioo set out to learn whether fraudsters, under the guise of a fake company, offering a fake product, could convince internet users to disclose their personal information.

CNBC: November 13, 2018

The maker of blu e-cigarettes plans to tighten its sales practices in an effort to restrict underage access and appease federal health officials amid an industry-wide crackdown on "epidemic" teen use.

Disrupt Africa: November 12, 2018

Nigerian startup Chekkit has a big vision – one day, it hopes its labels will be a seal of quality for every great product, making sure people know the background of everything the consume.

NBC News: November 7, 2018

Recreational cannabis was legalized in Michigan and medicinal cannabis was legalized in Missouri.In Utah, voters endorsed a measure that would provide access to medical marijuana.

The Globe and Mail: November 7, 2018

Canada Post said in a statement that someone had used its delivery tracking tool to gain access to personal information of 4,500 customers of the Ontario Cannabis Store but declined to identify the information.

Globe Newswire: November 5, 2018

Document Security Systems, Inc. announced today that its packaging and brand protection executives will be presenting the DSS platform of anti-counterfeiting technologies and packaging design to members of the global cannabis industry.

BBC: November 1, 2018

Medicinal cannabis products can now be legally prescribed to some patients across the UK for the first time.

TIME: November 1, 2018

According to a Thai official, a draft bill now under consideration proposes allowing marijuana for medicinal purposes, a considerable change in a country with tough drug trafficking laws.

Associated Press: October 31, 2018

Mexico's Supreme Court issued two more rulings Wednesday ordering that complainants in individual cases be allowed to use marijuana for recreational purposes, establishing a precedent that a blanket prohibition on pot is unconstitutional.

Axios: October 31, 2018

21 states in the U.S. have completed or are scheduled to complete on-site risk and vulnerability assessments of their election systems through the Department of Homeland Security

TIME: October 31, 2018

In the 21st century, threats of voter fraud have been compounded by modernization and the fast-paced technology of the digital age.

Authentication News: October 31, 2018

OpSec Security recently announced that it has joined the John Deere supply base to provide brand protection and licensing management solutions for John Deere officially licensed merchandise.

Authentication News: October 31, 2018

Guilloche is the subject of this fifth article in the security features series. This series focuses on individual security features and their uses in high security printing and brand protection.

CNN: October 30, 2018

CEO James Quincey said that Coca-Cola "doesn't have any plans at this stage" to enter the CBD market.

New York Times: October 29, 2018

In Vancouver, illegal marijuana dispensaries outnumber Starbucks outlets. Stores continue to sell products that are illegal to sell under Canada's new laws.

Forbes: October 28, 2018

Ballots across the U.S. will include numerous cannabis-related measures — many at the county and municipal level — regarding laws for commercial cultivation in certain zones and how to spend abundant new cannabis taxes.

MTL Blog: October 25, 2018

Because each province has chosen a different method of cannabis distribution, there's a lot of confusion about legal purchases and acquisition.

NBC Los Angeles: October 24, 2018

The Board of Supervisors Tuesday tentatively agreed to permit marijuana cultivation and sales in unincorporated areas of Riverside County and directed staff to refine a set of regulations that will establish where, when and how cannabis is grown and distributed.

The Hill: October 24, 2018

The 2018 Unisys Security Index found that a vast majority of the respondents — 86 percent — said they feared that U.S. voting systems could be manipulated by outside actors. It also found that 19% of American respondents "will not vote" or "have a high likelihood" of not voting.

CNET: October 23, 2018

West Virginia is allowing overseas citizens and military members to vote through a smartphone app called Voatz.

News 12 New Jersey: October 22, 2018

State legislative leaders believe that a vote on legalizing recreational marijuana is unlikely to happen in the next week.

Cannabis Business Times: October 18, 2018

Supervisors voted to allow recreational sales at dispensaries as early as mid-November and limited most farms to properties at least 10 acres or larger.

Newsweek: October 17, 2018

30 states have already adopted some form of legal marijuana use but it remains illegal at the federal level. The upcoming midterm elections could cause some major changes in marijuana policy.

NBC News: October 15, 2018

The Department of Homeland Security says it's working to identify who — or what — is behind an increasing number of attempted cyber attacks on U.S. election databases ahead of next month's midterms.

Business Times: October 15, 2018

China has launched a nationwide campaign to catch and penalize criminals in relation to fake food, counterfeit drugs, and fake agricultural supplies.

Politico: October 13, 2018

West Virgina will deploy a smartphone app in a general election allowing thousands of citizens to vote remotely.

Associated Press: October 13, 2018

Oregon's Congressoinal delegation is calling for an investigation as to whether a California wine producer is falsely labeling wines as an Oregon coast pinot noir.

LA Weekly: October 12, 2018

The first cannabis storefronts in Culver City could be open as early as next year. The city has not permitted any cannabis retail stores including medicinal dispensaries.

Cision PR Newswire: October 11, 2018

Leader in Track and Trace Solutions for the pharmaceutical market, announced today that it is extending its leading-edge track and trace solutions to the Food and Beverage industry

CBC: October 11, 2018

One of Canada's largest producers believes automated machines will be the key to producing more cannabis.

CBC: October 10, 2018

Black-market websites sell dried cannabis and edibles and send them via Canada Post

The Hill: October 10, 2018

Almost eight in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned about the potential hacking of the nation's voting systems, according to a University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey.

SF Weekly: October 10, 2018

Currently, California state law requires that cannabis must be grown within a given California county to be labeled as such, but some small farmers believe more specific designations will help them offer what amounts to a luxury product.

AP: October 9, 2018

Legalization advocates are hoping that Michigan and North Dakota will become the next two states to legalize recreational marijuana in November.

Politico: October 6, 2018

Marijuana opponents are concerned that state by state cannabis legalization will lead to 'de facto legalization' nationwide.

Bloomberg: October 5, 2018

Brian Kemp, who has been charged with overseeing the Gerogia's state elections for the past eight years has scoffed at cybersecurity concerns. He's running for governor and has refused to allow someone else to take over his position.

Time: October 5, 2018

Federal agents arrested 50 people after a drug raid that resulted in the seizure of over 10 kilograms of fentanyl.

Illinois Policy: October 5, 2018

The city’s e-cig tax went from 80c to $1.50 container, and from 55c to $1.20 for liquid nicotine. Including Cook County’s liquid nicotine tax of 20 cents per ml, Chicagoans now pay a combined tax of $1.40 for every ml of liquid nicotine.

Washington Times: October 5, 2018

Monthly marijuana tax revenue in Alaska hit $1.5 million in August, another new high.

Marijuana Business Daily: October 5, 2018

An independent report commissioned by Washington state regulators found the state and MJ Freeway were forced to rush out a new cannabis seed-to-sale traceability system earlier this year despite technical problems that cost cannabis businesses tens of thousands of dollars in lost sales.

Chicago Tribune: October 4, 2018

Medical marijuana use is up 83% in Illinois.

Boston Globe: October 2, 2018

Massachusetts state officials will vote this week on whether to issue final licenses to several marijuana stores.

CNBC: October 2, 2018

PepsiCo has become the latest beverage company to announce that it is exploring the rapidly growing cannabis market.

NextGov: October 2, 2018

Twitter announced that it will crack down on any accounts spreading misinformation ahead of the 2018 midterms,

CNBC: October 2, 2018

PepsiCo has become the latest beverage company to announce that it is exploring the rapidly growing cannabis market.

Politico: October 2, 2018

It is unclear if Congress will pass the Secure Elections Act during the upcoming lame-duck session.

NextGov: October 2, 2018

Twitter announced that it will crack down on any accounts spreading misinformation ahead of the 2018 midterms,

Wall Street Journal: September 27, 2018

The flaw in Election Systems & Software’s Model 650 high-speed ballot-counting machine was detailed in 2007. At Def Con, researchers found about seven security problems in several models of voting equipment.

USA Today: September 26, 2018

The overprescription of opioids is leveling off, but deaths continue rising, says Dr. Marc Fishman of the Maryland Treatment Centers. He talks about addiction, treatment and bootleg fentanyl with USA TODAY Editorial Page Editor Bill Sternberg.

The New York Times: September 26, 2018

As the midterms approach, America's electronic voting systems are more vulnerable than ever. Zetter discusses what is and isn't being done to protect votes.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: September 26, 2018

Plugging tens of thousands of American pharmacies into a drug-tracking database is a huge challenge, and a blockchain is an attractive way to simplify that.

Chicago Sun Times: September 26, 2018

Residents of Cook County Illinois could be the first voters to use new election equipment from Diminion Voting Systems, Inc. This would update the county's ten-year-old equipment.

WSHU: September 25, 2018

Connecticut will use $1 million in federal funds to purchase new optical scan voting machines.

Marijuana Business Daily: September 24, 2018

California officials continued cracking down on illegal cannabis businesses with a major bust in Humboldt County.

IGD Supply Chain Analysis: September 24, 2018

Walmart has written to suppliers of leafy greens to use blockchain technology to implement real-time, end-to-end product traceability.

Cannabis Business Times: September 21, 2018

Gov. Torres signed H.B. 20-178 into law on Friday legalizing marijuana use for adults over 21.

CCN: September 21, 2018

The Department of Public Safety Canada is looking to commission a study that will shed light on the crypotmarkets with regards to both buyers and sellers of cannabis.

Forbes: September 20, 2018

MJ Freeway completed its $10 million Series C round of financing.

The Washington Post: September 20, 2018

Author Greg Miller discusses how prepared the Trump administration would be if there was another election attack.

Montanta Public Radio: September 20, 2018

Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton said the state will use a $3 million federal grant to upgrade its election security infrastructure.

CNBC: September 20, 2018

Producing and acquiring marijuana legally in Amsterdam is difficult and as a result their market may be falling behind Canada and states in the U.S. where marijuana is legalized.

The New York Times: September 19, 2018

Inside Facebook's quarters, there is the War Room which will house a small team of about 20 people focused on rooting out disinformation, monitoring false news and deleting fake accounts that may be trying to influence voters before coming elections in the United States, Brazil and other countries.

BNN Bloomberg: September 18, 2018

Tilray Inc. has received approval from the DEA to ipmort cannabis into the U.S. for medical research. They are the first Canadian company to do so.

NutraIngredients: September 17, 2018

In the latest of our NutraIngredients video diaries, we look at key issues of traceability, quality control and authenticity.

Detroit News: September 17, 2018

Michigan state officals announce that permanent medical marijuana rules will be in place by late November. Current facilities are using emergency rules which expire on November 30th.

LA Times: September 13, 2018

The LA police department busted an illegal cannabis store that was operating without a license

Forbes: September 12, 2018

This article traces the recreational legalization path of cannabis in Canada and other nations to the positive connotation medical legalization gives cannabis

Forbes: September 11, 2018

This article discusses the effect that the legalization of recreational cannabis will have on the medical cannabis industry.

Live Bitcoin News: September 10, 2018

China has created a mechanism by which internet courts can authenticate electronically-submitted evidence using blockchain technology

Forbes: September 10, 2018

The U.S. House panel that oversees federal drug enforcement is scheduled to vote this week on a bill to dramatically expand opportunities for research on the medical benefits of marijuana.

Arab News: September 10, 2018

14 Iranian nationals were taken into custody after their passports, bearing fake Asian names, were confiscated

Bloomberg: September 10, 2018

This editorial board opinion piece outlines the fentanyl crisis in the United States. It calls on elected officials to act quickly in order to prevent more people from dying from the substance.

LA Times: September 7, 2018

The prescription generic drug valsartan, often sourced from Chinese manufacturers, was revealed to be "contaminated with a carcinogenic material once found in rocket fuel"

ABC News: September 6, 2018

The panel, attributed to the National Academy of Sciences, recommended all elections transition to paper ballots by 2020

CoinDesk: September 5, 2018

The platform is aiming to 'provide trading partners with real-time data on the location of goods, along with functionality that lets them use a bid-and-order marketplace and create automated contracts'

CNBC: September 4, 2018

In an interview with CNN, Facebook's former security chief said that the U.S. is no better prepared to fight election hacking ahead of the 2018 midterm elections than it was two years ago when Russian agents hacked the 2016 presidential election.

NBC News: September 3, 2018

A "cannabis initiative team" at UCLA plans to conduct a high-quality clinical study of the painkilling properties of cannabis.

CBC: September 2, 2018

This article outlines the extensive cannabis public education campaign that will be implemented later this year by Health Canada.

KTVU: September 1, 2018

Police chiefs in California lined up against a proposed state rule that critics say would allow unchecked home cannabis deliveries anywhere in California.

Demcrat and Chronicle: August 31, 2018

The Cuomo administration announced 15 listening sessions to be held across the state, through which residents can discuss issues related to marijuana legalization

Daily Monitor: August 31, 2018

45 fuel stations in Uganda were discovered to have been selling "adulterated fuel" after they failed a regulatory inspection, though officials suspect the number could be higher

Chicago Tribune: August 28, 2018

The Governor of Illinois signed into law a measure that could dramatically expand access to medical cannabis in Illinois. The new law made cannabis available as an opioid painkiller replacement and easing the application process for all who qualify.

Times Union: August 28, 2018

The New York State Assembly plans to hold four public hearings this fall on authorizing adult recreational cannabis use as the state continues along a track to legalization.

Reuters: August 27, 2018

According to a report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, one in seven adults in the United States had used marijuana in 2017, with smoking being the most common manner of consumption.

Supply Chain Dive: August 23, 2018

This article describes a survey that revealed discomfort in adopting new supply chain technologies that improve efficiency and minimize the potential for fraud.

LA Times: August 23, 2018

Out-of-state medical marijuana users will be able to buy cannabis products at dispensaries in Hawaii next year. However, it will include a fee and an application to do so.

Politico: August 22, 2018

The Secure Elections Act faced increased hurdles in Congress after Republicans pulled their support based on a measure compelling states to use more paper-based audits.

AP: August 22, 2018

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions during an appearance in Cleveland on Wednesday outlined law enforcement actions aimed at combatting the opioid crisis.

Forbes: August 21, 2018

This is an overview of the four states with cannabis legalization legislation on the ballot this fall.

WFYI: August 20, 2018

The Indiana Secretary of State's office is running advertisements to boost confidence in the security of the State's election system.

KVAL: August 17, 2018

The Portland Police Bureau is warning the community about counterfeit prescription drugs that are being illegally sold in the city and around Oregon. Police say the illegal counterfeit drugs are marketed and sold as prescription drugs such as Xanax, Oxycodone, Alprazolam and others.

Gizmodo: August 15, 2018

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that doctors are severely underreporting payments they receive from medical device companies.

CBS46: August 15, 2018

Concerns surrounding election security in Georgia revolve around revelations that the Russians visited several pertinent websites, as the push for paper ballots moves forward in court.

Rolling Stone: August 14, 2018

This article discusses how Oxycodone gets laced with Fentanyl and why this occurs. This article was in response to singer Demi Lovato's reported overdose on oxycodone was that was mixed with fentanyl.

CreditCards.com: August 14, 2018

What's unique about you will authorize payments and replace account passwords

Food, Drink & Franchise: August 13, 2018

Combining its knowledge of the food and beverage market with the expertise of blockchain partner Microsoft, firm's traceability application will monitor products across entire supply chain.

NPR: August 12, 2018

Brian Kemp, the State's Republican nominee for Governor and current Secretary of State, faces calls from the Democratic Party of Georgia to resign because of his refusal to adopt federal aid to bolster Georgia's electronic-only balloting system before the upcoming midterms.

USA Today: August 10, 2018

Confusion between federal and state law surrounding medicinal cannabis legalization has led to discrepancies in school policy and enforcement across the state.

Harvard Business Review: August 10, 2018

This article details the ways in which artificial intelligence is revolutionizing efficiency and decision-making in companies.

Detroit Free Press: August 9, 2018

A surge of approval applications for medical marijuana labs in Michigan––the country's second largest medical marijuana market––was met with two approvals for testing facilities by the Michigan Medical Marijuana Licensing Board.

Reuters: August 6, 2018

Pain Therapeutics’ said on Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve the company’s opioid drug for the management of severe pain as the benefits of the drug did not outweigh the risk.

The Hill: August 6, 2018

The FDA issued guidance to encourage the development of more drugs that can be used in what is known as Medication Assisted Treatment, a leading way to treat people with opioid addiction, through using certain drugs to reduce dependence on opioids.

BBC: August 6, 2018

The number of deaths in England and Wales due to the synthetic opioid fentanyl rose by 29% in 2017

The Washington Post: August 4, 2018

Federal prosecutors allege in a case unsealed this year that the Newport News, Va., company sold 398,000 pounds of Chesapeake blue crab mixed with cut-rate crab from as far away as Indonesia or Brazil and labeled it as an American product. The retail value of the crab is roughly $14 million at current prices

India Post: August 3, 2018

Five gang members who entered India last week did so using fake passports.

Forbes: August 3, 2018

This article discusses the ability of blockchain to potentially stymie illegal fishing and the mislabeling of seafood products, if it were to be implemented across the seafood and fishing industries.

New York Times: August 2, 2018

Opioid-based cancer drugs were given to patients without cancer, violating an agreement the F.D.A. had with pharmaceutical companies that prevented the overprescription of medications like fentanyl.

CNBC: August 2, 2018

AmerisourceBergen, a major drug wholesale distrbutor based in Pennsylvania, received a subpoena from a U.S. Attorney office that suspectedly pertains to the company's role in the opioid epidemic.

WJLA: August 2, 2018

A computer system that tracks medical marijuana prescriptions has been crashing and that’s affecting some of the 47,000 medical marijuana users in Maryland who tell ABC7 News they have been turned away from dispensaries.

Review Journal: August 1, 2018

The Las Vegas City Council voted Wednesday to file a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.

WHAS 11: July 30, 2018

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security are reviewing county voting and election infrastructure to verify its viability for election day.

NBC San Diego: July 27, 2018

One in five batches of marijuana in California that have undergone laboratory testing as required by state law have failed the state’s new safety requirements. These regulations took effect on July 1.

Reuters: July 27, 2018

Following Senator Claire McCaskill revealing Russian targeting of her campaign just yesterday, President Trump convened his national security advisors today in anticipation of the November elections.

BBC: July 26, 2018

Specialist doctors in the UK will be able to legally prescribe cannabis-derived medicinal products by autumn, the home secretary has announced. This came after a review into medicinal cannabis after a public outcry over children with epilepsy being denied access to cannabis oil.

AP: July 25, 2018

Bosnian authorities are pondering changes to the nation's defense laws that would allow military troops to guard the border to prevent a mass influx of migrants.

Newsweek: July 24, 2018

Many Australians are not able to get access to medical cannabis, despite its legality in some medical cases. This is due to a "long and tedious" application procedure. This comes as Australia's Health Minister previously said that he hopes his country can become the world's largest exporter of medical cannabis.

NewsFirst: July 24, 2018

Three Iraqi nationals––all from the same family––were arrested attempting to travel to London with fake Cyprus passports.

NPR: July 21, 2018

This is a transcript and recording of NPR's All Things Considered talking with West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner about steps his state is taking to safeguard election systems ahead of the 2018 midterms.

Mumbai Mirror: July 19, 2018

Two Sri Lankan nationals were arrested with fake passports and are suspected of being part of a larger, 11-person operation.

Morristown Daily Record: July 19, 2018

Discrepancies in counts between mail-in, machine, and provisional ballots have cast doubt on the purported results of a Dover local election, causing a candidate who lost by 12 votes to file a voter fraud lawsuit to challenge the results.

Arkansas Times: July 19, 2018

Arkansas was deemed a 'Tier 3' state by an election security report released by House Democrats, meaning its election system lacks paper balloting verification methods.

Bloomberg: July 19, 2018

Endo International and Mallinckrodt sued a host of convicted drug dealers and Internet sites this week for illegally offering opioids. This was done in an effort by the drug manufactures to place blame and financial responsibility on illegal dealers of the painkillers for the opioid crisis.

Los Angeles Times: July 19, 2018

This article outlines the effort by opioid manufactures that funneled close to $9 million over five years to various non-profit advocacy groups. These groups promoted messaging and policies that favored the opioid production industry.

Ink World Magazine: July 19, 2018

reprint of SICPA press release about election security

Ganjapreneur: July 19, 2018

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) issued its second emergency license suspension of 2018 last week.

Washington Post: July 12, 2018

Although lawmakers previously approved a $380 million funding package for states to upgrade their election systems, new legislation called the Secure Elections Act has found new bipartisan life.

Washington Post: July 12, 2018

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday ordered federal prosecutors in 10 areas that have been especially hard-hit by overdose deaths from fentanyl to bring drug charges against anyone suspected of dealing the synthetic opioid, regardless of quantity.

WCPO : July 12, 2018

Ohio officials have said the state's medical marijuana program won't be ready to launch by the Sept. 8 deadline. This article examines what the industry will look like in Ohio once it is fully launched.

whisky.com: July 12, 2018

Edrington Group removes disputed bottles from the “Wall of Whisky” at the new Macallan distillery visitor centre

Washington Post: July 11, 2018

Supporters of marijuana legalization in North Dakota have submitted more than 18,000 signatures to the secretary of state in support of a measure that would fully legalize the drug, well above the 13,452 signatures required to put the question on the November ballot.

Politico: July 11, 2018

In a surprise to many, Democratic candidates for US Senate are making cannabis legalization a prominent election issue for the Fall. This Politico piece examines the effects that this strategy could have on the midterm elections.

NBC News: July 11, 2018

Federal officials said Wednesday that new synthetic opioids are killing more people than ever before, with more than half of all opioid overdose deaths caused by the powerful, lab-made drugs.

Boston Globe: July 10, 2018

The top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts gave an apparent green light Tuesday to the state’s recreational marijuana industry, lifting some of the legal uncertainty hanging over the drug’s imminent commercialization.

Government Technology: July 9, 2018

Washington State, which already has one of the most secure election systems in the country due to its mail-in verification ballot system, is employing new tactics to bolster its election system in light of new emerging threats.

Atlanta Journal Constitution: June 28, 2018

Atlanta City Hall and newly-elected Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who won a narrow runoff contest earlier this year, denied allegations that a supervisor on her campaign ordered a staffer to "print and deliver absentee ballots to an advocacy group’s staffer during work hours" after compiling a voter numbers list.

Rolling Stone: June 27, 2018

The FDA’s decision to approve an epilepsy drug utilizing plant-derived cannabidiol (CBD), a common non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in the Cannabis sativa plant could have large effects on the legal cannabis industry. In order for Epidiolex to even be put on the U.S. market, the Drug Enforcement Administration would need to reclassify CBD. This could lead to changes in the classification of cannabis by the DEA.

CBS News: June 27, 2018

Oklahoma voters on Tuesday backed the medicinal use of marijuana, overcoming a late opposition campaign from law enforcement and business, faith and political leaders.

WPSD: June 27, 2018

Kentuckians who smoke will soon have to pay more thanks to an increase in the state cigarette tax.

WBALTV11: June 26, 2018

DHS and Maryland Board of Elections Administrators discussed Maryland's investment in election security, particularly in voting systems that avoid needing an internet connection.

Michigan Radio: June 25, 2018

Democrats in Michigan have introduced bills that would repeal a law that gives drug companies immunity from lawsuits. The laws grant immunity for pharmaceutical companies over drugs that have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Lawmakers claim that FDA approval does not guarantee that the drug maker "did not act negligently or without malice."

Politico: June 21, 2018

Senate Rules Chairman Roy Blunt told Senator Amy Klobuchar, a sponsor of the Secure Elections Act (S.2261), that the bill, which authorizes $380 million in election security upgrades, will be brought up sometime in the next month.

Securing Industry: June 21, 2018

Holography company Optaglio is establishing a behaviour laboratory in the Czech Republic to study the human factors in anti-counterfeiting.

Nasdaq: June 19, 2018

The 150% gold-backed tokens are secured through the CryptoSecure platform, which renders stolen coins futile through its multilayered security approach.

Forbes: June 19, 2018

A New York judge refused to dismiss any of the claims by eight counties against Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson and other prescription-opioid manufacturers. The judge's decision was a strong affirmation of the plaintiffs’ litigation strategy against the opioid manufacturers. This strategy could be a roadmap for future lawsuits against opioid manufactures.

Marijuana Business Daily: June 19, 2018

Recreational cannabis sales to begin across the country Oct. 17.

Housing Wire: June 19, 2018

A third member of criminal conspiracy to bribe voters and register inelligible voters in local elections plead guilty to using the tactics to aid real estate investments.

New York Times: June 18, 2018

The state of New York is one step closer to legalizing recreational cannabis use. A study commissioned by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will recommend that “a regulated, legal marijuana program be available to adults in the state,” the New York State health commissioner said on Monday.

BBC: June 18, 2018

Support for the legalization of medicinal cannabis is growing within the British parliament. Sir Mike Penning MP, who is the proposed chairman of the new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Medical Cannabis Under Prescription, said: "It's bizarre and cruel that we have a system that allows the medical use of strong opiates, but bars the medical use of cannabis.

Toldeo Blade: June 15, 2018

Residents of Michigan will be voting whether to become the 10th US state to legalize recreational cannabis use. The legalization initiative heading to the ballot Nov. 6 would allow individuals age 21 and over to possess, use, or transport up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, and grow up to 12 marijuana plants in their homes for personal use. Recent polling indicates about 60 percent of Michigan voters support legalizing recreational marijuana.

Oceana Canada: June 15, 2018

The Canadian Food and Inspection Agency failed to include seafood fraud prevention measures––such as traceability and documentation from boat to table––that would put its seafood standards on par with the United States and the European Union in its updated Safe Food for Canadians regulations, released this week.

Biometric Update: June 13, 2018

The technology uses EKG monitoring to verify a user's identity ensuring a secure transaction.

Tech Crunch: June 13, 2018

Called the "Protecting American Votes and Elections Act" and introduced by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, a similar version is expected to be introduced in the House in the coming days.

Reuters: June 12, 2018

Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma LP. They accusing the OxyContin maker of illegally promoting the use of opioids, and became the first state to sue the drugmaker’s executives and directors to hold them responsible as well.

NPR Austin (KUT): June 12, 2018

On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling that Ohio can legally purge voters from its rolls if they have been inactive in multiple previous elections and fail to respond to a mailer notice from election officials.

The Verge: June 11, 2018

Lattice is a new border security system that uses cameras, LIDAR, and infrared sensors to maintain an "virtual border wall". In testing along the Mexican border so far, the system has helped apprehend 55 individuals and 982 pounds of marijuana.

Entrepreneur: June 11, 2018

Duncan Berry's company FishPeople relies on tracking codes on all of its products in addition to supply quotas and fair compensation to ethically source and supply its frozen seafood kits to over 6,000 retail stores across the country.

The Guardian: June 6, 2018

Canada is preparing to become the first G7 nation to legalize marijuana, and the process is being watched closely by international experts.

AP: June 6, 2018

California voters recalled a sitting state senator, which could set up a statewide battle over a gas tax increase this fall.

New Food: June 6, 2018

New research finds that counterfeit wines and spirit cost the European economy €2.7 billion annually.

LA Times: June 6, 2018

Over 118,000 people were left off of Los Angeles County voting rosters during Tuesday's primary.

KBZK: June 4, 2018

Backers of a proposed ballot measure to increase tobacco taxes and extend government-funded health coverage for 94,000 low-income Montanans said Monday that groups opposing them are not properly reporting their campaign activity.

CBS New York: June 1, 2018

Starting today, the base price for a pack of cigarettes in New York City will be $13, the city’s Health Department announced Friday.

Oakland Press: June 1, 2018

Sec. of State Ruth Johnson said new election equipment and millions of dollars of federal election security grants will help to further protect Michigan’s elections systems this fall.

NBC: May 29, 2018

International drug cartels are targeting states that have legalized marijuana, in order to hide their operations among legal growers.

Sun Sentinel: May 29, 2018

Florida's elected officials are growing increasingly concerned that the state is not prepared to counter cyber threats in the upcoming elections.

Morning Advertiser: May 29, 2018

The Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has joined forces with Crimestoppers in a bid to crack down on criminals pedalling counterfeit alcohol.

Merry Jane: May 25, 2018

The NYC Comptroller's Office released a new report estimating that if the state legalizes cannabis, the market could exceed $3 billion annually and bring in upwards of $400 million in tax revenue.

The Guardian: May 24, 2018

Doctors in the House of Commons are to lead a campaign to change the law banning the medicinal use of cannabis, as a new all-party parliamentary group (APPG) forms to campaign for the issue.

Tampa Bay Times: May 24, 2018

Sixteen states have formally applied for federal grants to improve their election security ahead of 2018, but Florida has not.

NPR: May 24, 2018

In Congress, lawmakers are trying to make it harder to buy fentanyl, in part by forcing the U.S. Postal Service to make it more difficult to send narcotics through the mail. But the measure has been languishing.

SF Chronicle: May 24, 2018

The number of people who died from fentanyl overdoses in California has increased by more than three times since 2016.

Fox 5 Vegas: May 23, 2018

Sales for recreational marijuana topped $41 million in March, setting a new record, according to the Nevada Department of Taxation.

The Hill: May 23, 2018

Twitter announced a new security feature that will label general election candidates running for federal office who use the platform.

AP: May 23, 2018

Mississippi is expected to receive nearly $4.5 million in election security funding from the federal government.

Marijuana Business Daily: May 22, 2018

When California released its latest marijuana industry regulations on Friday, the response from cannabis businesses in the state was largely muted.

Forbes: May 22, 2018

Using technology to improve the ability to track and trace not just the provenance of goods but also the origins of shipments and parcels is critical

Washington Post: May 22, 2018

The rise of fentanyl will alter how countries combat international drug trafficking.

The Hill: May 21, 2018

Speaker Paul Ryan scheduled a classified briefing for Congress on election security for Tuesday.

The Tennessean: May 21, 2018

Fentanyl overtook heroin to become the deadliest drug in Nashville.

Vermont Public Radio: May 17, 2018

Businesses in a variety of industries are preparing to enter the cannabis market ahead of legalization in Vermont.

MSN: May 16, 2018

The alcohol industry is pressing Congress to make permanent the excise tax relief it received under the Republican tax law.

The Hill: May 15, 2018

DHS sent officials to Pennsylvania to discuss steps that the state is taking to secure its digital systems ahead of primary day.

Lincoln Journal Star: May 13, 2018

Nebraska was one of the first states to accept help from DHS following the 2016 election, and has completed a variety of state-level risk assessments to prepare for 2018.

Wired: May 13, 2018

Cannabis suppliers are strugging to navigate California's legal marijuana regulations, while also following federal transportation laws.

Marijuana Business Daily: May 11, 2018

Scores of California marijuana companies are complying with cease-and-desist letters, as part of a major operation to crackdown on potentially illegal cannabis operations.

NPR: May 10, 2018

A newly released Senate report reveals that Russian-affiliated cyber operatives conducted malicious attempts on voting-related websites.

Econo Times: May 10, 2018

Diamond giant De Beers has announced that it has successfully tracked diamonds using blockchain technology.

San Francisco Business Journal: May 10, 2018

California's cannabis tax revenue amounted to a disappointing $34 million in the first quarter, the first round since recreational marijuana was legalized in the state.

Forbes: May 10, 2018

Polls across several states, including Michigan, Oklahoma and Utah, found strong support for legalizing marijuana.

Marijuana Business Daily: May 9, 2018

Retail sales of medical and recreational cannabis in the United States are expected to hit $8 billion-$10 billion this year – a nearly 50% increase from 2017 – and rise as high as $22 billion by 2022.

Denver Post: May 9, 2018

Colorado's recreational marijuana sales set a new monthly high, brining in $106 million in revenue.

Securing Industry: May 8, 2018

The market for counterfeit veterinary medicines has grown to roughly $2 billion a year.

Marijuana Business Daily: May 8, 2018

Marijuana companies are fleeing Los Angeles, a setback for what is arguably the biggest cannabis market in the world.

NBC New York: May 7, 2018

DHS has only completed on-site risk assessments of election systems for nine of the seventeen states that have requested them. Some of the states that have not been assessed, such as Indiana, have contested primaries this week.

Sun Herald: May 7, 2018

Officials in Southern Mississippi are warning that a large batch of counterfeit pills labeled as oxycodone contrain fentanyl.

BusinessWire: May 2, 2018

Traceability of provenance, transparency regarding freshness, and product sourcing information all affect consumer purchase intent and satisfaction.

The Drinks Business: May 2, 2018

The Macallan has unveiled a new look across its range of single malt whiskies, which boast an anti-refill closure and anti-counterfeit technology to, “ensure that consumers are protected at the point of purchase,” the company has announced.

The Tribune: April 30, 2018

SLO residents argue for and against proposed cannabis stores, rules

Finextra: April 26, 2018

Swiss fintech leader Avaloq has acquired a 10% stake in Metaco, the Lausanne-based blockchain and crypto-currency specialist.

FiercePharma: April 25, 2018

In a case dating back to 2010, U.S. prosecutors said defendant Kris Thorkelson of Manitoba, Canada, admitted to illegal sales of misbranded and counterfeit prescription drugs in the U.S.

The Hill: April 24, 2018

Lawmakers should pursue a vehicle-mileage tax to rescue the struggling Highway Trust Fund, a right-leaning think tank argues in a new study.

Nextgov: April 24, 2018

The Homeland Security Department has seen no evidence so far this year that Russian intelligence agencies are trying to hack into voting systems to undermine the 2018 midterm elections, the department’s cyber lead told Congress Tuesday.

AM New York: April 24, 2018

Despite repeated investigations, crackdowns and arrests, counterfeit designer handbags are bigger business than ever. And while buyers seem exempt from arrest, the sellers are at risk, and act accordingly.

Smithsonian: April 24, 2018

Our research on the pharmaceutical industry has revealed that one reason for malaria’s continued virulence in the developing world is ineffective medicine. In fact, in some poor African countries, many malaria drugs are actually expired, substandard or fake.

Gloucester Times: April 20, 2018

The Gloucester Biotechnology Academy is expanding the reach and the scope of its educational offerings with a new summer course, "Fish Fraud Forensics," that will introduce students to biotech forensic detective work.

WUKY: April 20, 2018

Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes says state election systems remain secure, but the top election official warns it’s a never-ending battle against new and emerging threats.

Los Angeles Times: April 20, 2018

It’s still possible for cannabis customers to run afoul of state and local laws, which dictate where and how weed can be purchased and consumed.

Monterey Herald: April 19, 2018

With Monterey County staring at a $36.2 million budget deficit for the upcoming 2018-19 fiscal year, county departments may have to tighten their legal cannabis program administration belts even further.

Atlanta Journal Constitution: April 18, 2018

At a Georgia Tech demonstration, professor Alex Halderman showed how easily electronic voting machines, which Georgia uses, could be hacked.

Quartz: April 16, 2018

A London-based cybersecurity firm became the first overseas company to win a contract with DHS to help tackle border security, by rolling out its biometric facial verification technology to help CBP and improve the passenger-entry operation process.

The Federick News-Post: April 11, 2018

Maryland legislators passed a bill that will require the state administrator of elections to report security breaches or serious hacking attempts within a week of their discovery.

Pharma Phorum: April 11, 2018

Counterfeit medicines are a multi-billion dollar problem on a global level. From the size, shape and colour of the pharmaceuticals, to the packaging made to look like the real thing…

NPT Telegraph: April 11, 2018

The Nebraska State Patrol seized 36 pounds of marijuana in a traffic stop Saturday.

Insurance Journal: April 11, 2018

New regulations will require medical marijuana providers in Montana to closely test, label, and track their products.

AIPIA: April 10, 2018

The scale of France’s Côtes du Rhône wine fraud scandal in 2017 is larger than first thought, with new figures revealing that as many as 66.5 million bottles of wine were counterfeit

Lehigh Valley Live: April 10, 2018

A Philadelphia man was arrested after troopers said they found 775 cartons of out-of-state cigarettes in the bed of pickup truck on Interstate 78 in Williams Township.

The Washington Times: April 9, 2018

With growing support from anti-smoking advocates, the D.C. Council is aiming to increase the city’s tax on cigarettes by $2 a pack.

Metro News (Canada): April 8, 2018

Tech companies are entering the cannabis market with solutions to help retailers comply with strict tracking regulations.

News 6 Orlando: April 7, 2018

Instagram is cracking down on posts relating to the purchase or sale of prescription drugs.

Africa Times: April 6, 2018

A school just outside Nigeria’s capital Abuja became the site of an unforeseen tragedy in February this year when two 14-year-old classmates, Nahima and Yayaya, died after eating tainted biscuits at a school birthday celebration.

CBS News: April 6, 2018

60 Minutes goes to Illinois to report on the state where election officials first reported and responded to cyber attacks.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution : April 6, 2018

Biometric technology is rapidly spreading throughout American airports, and experts predict that facial recognition may become the primary form of identification for air travel.

New Food Magazine: April 5, 2018

A science-based traceability system is needed to combat the growing international problem of food fraud in the seafood industry, according to a new report by the FAO.

Illinois News Network: April 5, 2018

Despite a statewide elections database having been hacked in 2016, Illinois elections officials said the state is on good footing to keep voting secure, but more can be done.

Omaha World-Herald: April 5, 2018

A pair of traffic stops in Hamilton County less than five minutes apart netted 381 pounds of marijuana and landed two men in jail.

CBC News: April 4, 2018

Cybersecurity experts are expressing concerns over the adoption of online voting technology in Ontario.

Daily Report: April 4, 2018

Cyber researchers are concerned that a Georgia bill aimed at protecting election systems may leave researchers who find vulnerabilities open to prosecution.

Biometric Update: April 3, 2018

Airlines are among several industries that would benefit from adopting more biometric technology.

Los Angeles Times: April 2, 2018

The LA Times Editorial Board called on Congress to pass the Secure Elections Act in order to upgrade and secure election infrastructure.

Associated Press: April 2, 2018

Illicit fentanyl from China is being increasingly mixed into cocaine and methamphetamine, leading to a growing number of overdose fatalities.

Associated Press: March 31, 2018

The Missouri Senate is debating a proposal that would ban touchscreen voting, and require voters to use paper ballots exclusively.

Undercurrent News: March 28, 2018

The SIMP final rule establishes traceability beginning at the point of harvest for wild-capture fisheries, and at the point of production for aquaculture products.

Miami Herald: March 28, 2018

Senator Marco Rubio warned that a lack of progress on a state and federal level could leave election systems vulnerable in this year's elections.

Fast Company: March 28, 2018

The recent presidential election in Sierra Leone used blockchain technology to enable voting, but its debut had mixed results.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: March 28, 2018

Missouri’s 17-cents-per-gallon fuel tax would increase under several proposals moving in the capital city.

Monterey Herald: March 27, 2018

Monterey County cannabis committee: cannabis operators are clamoring for both lower tax rates and more black market enforcement and everyone it seems has their hands out for millions in projected tax revenue.

Packaging Materials: March 26, 2018

Finland-based packaging solutions provider Huhtamaki has agreed to acquire India-based Ajanta Packaging to expand its operations in the region

The Hill: March 26, 2018

Former Texas Congressman Henry Bonilla urges lawmakers to combat illicit fentanyl smuggling and the trafficking of other counterfeit pills.

The Book Seller: March 23, 2018

Leading the market in next-gen art authentication, this British tech company is now applying its 'DNA tags' to high-end books.

NBC News: March 23, 2018

Cannabis industry leaders are concerned that their businesses may technically fall under the Trump administration's new guidelines for prosecuting drug dealers.

CBC News: March 23, 2018

Some Canadians are concerned about aspects of Colorado's experience with legalizing marijuana, which has been associated with an increase in illegal marijuana sales

Daily Coffee News: March 22, 2018

Starbucks has announced it is launching a pilot program to incorporate blockchain technology, or “traceability technology” as the company put it, into its coffee supply chain.

Forbes: March 22, 2018

The gasoline tax is the source of revenue for the Highway Trust Fund at its current level of 18.4 cents per gallon. But, the Highway Trust Fund is significantly underfunded since the last increase of 4.3 cents in 1997. This freeze of the tax amount has resulted in a funding gap.

Governing: March 22, 2018

It's time to raise the federal gas tax to help fix Michigan's ravaged roads, Gov. Rick Snyder said Tuesday.

Denver Post: March 22, 2018

A $1.3 trillion plan to fund the federal government through the end of September won’t include protections for the recreational marijuana industry — a blow to Colorado lawmakers who tried to add that language to the must-pass bill.

The Hill: March 21, 2018

The omnibus spending bill is expected to include $380 million in election technology grants for states to secure election infrastructure.

Economic Times: March 21, 2018

The issue of fraud and counterfeits could be tackled by using technology and will radically reshape companies and businesses in the next five years.

The Garden Island: March 21, 2018

annual license fee for wholesalers increased from $2.50 per year to $500 per year. tax on cigarettes climbs from $3.20 per pack to $4.50 per pack.

The Sacramento Bee: March 21, 2018

Cannabis industry leaders in California are concerned that high taxes and complicated regulations are allowing for a thriving black market to cut into legal sales.

CBC News: March 20, 2018

An ocean research charity is providing Halifax citizens with DNA kits to test potentially fraudulent fish.

The Drinks Business: March 19, 2018

French officials have released the details of an enormous fraud perpetrated by a leading bottler in the Rhône, thought to be Raphaël Michel, which was of such size that at one point up to 15% of all Côtes-du-Rhône was falsely labelled.

Washington Post: March 19, 2018

States are not applying uniform methods when testing how potent legal cannabis products are, or what compounds may be present in them.

Standard Media: March 18, 2018

Nairobi: The original contract was for making excise stamps for tobacco products, wines and spirits but the Treasury, through a Legal Notice 110 of June 2013 increased the scope to cover beer, bottled water and soft drinks

Food Navigator: March 16, 2018

Biogenetics is working on a platform for verifiable product authenticity certification and traceability along the food chain.

Washington Post: March 16, 2018

Humboldt County, the heart of California’s dark marijuana economy, is facing a new market force: legalization.

Washington Post: March 15, 2018

How can Americans respond to this possibility? Here are two key lessons from other countries, including U.S. allies in Europe that have years of experience counteringRussian misinformation and attacks.

Forbes: March 15, 2018

Some California lawmakers are trying to decrease the tax on cannabis from 15% to 11%, in order to discourage the rise of illegal businesses.

PCMag: March 13, 2018

Sierra Leone implemented blockchain-based voting technology in its most populous reagion. The technology has the ability to provide more secure and transparent results.

IT Pro: March 13, 2018

Partnering with Accenture has enabled DHL to track the pharma supply chain, from the point of origin (for example, the factory where the drugs are produced), right through to the consumer, preventing them from being tampered with en route. Using blockchain will also help eliminate errors in the processing of the freight, ensuring supply data is as accurate as possible.

Forbes: March 13, 2018

Under legislation set to be voted on by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, patients with terminal diseases would be able to access drugs that have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

KFOR: March 13, 2018

A bill that would legalize and regulate medical marijuana in Oklahoma has failed to pass in the Senate amid concerns over anticipating a vote by residents.

Nutritional Outlook: March 12, 2018

TruTags, which are invisible to the naked eye and thus do not impact the finish of the adhesive laminate or final product, are food-grade and Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by FDA. In addition, they are manufactured using Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) standards.

Property Casualty 360: March 12, 2018

An appellate court in California has ruled that a vintage wine collector’s insurance company did not have to cover the loss he suffered when he purchased close to $18 million in counterfeit wine.

Chicago Tribune: March 9, 2018

Two suburban Chicago suspects have been charged in an alleged conspiracy involving the importation of a fentanyl analogue from China.

CNN: March 8, 2018

The nation's election infrastructure is almost no more secure than it was a few years ago, a new report concludes, continuing to sound the alarm ahead of the upcoming midterms.

Washington Examiner: March 8, 2018

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday night the Republican-led Congress won’t raise the federal gas tax to pay for President Trump’s infrastructure plan, seemingly putting the idea to rest.

Staten Island Live: March 8, 2018

As lawmakers debate legalizing marijuana in New Jersey, the players who stand to be impacted -- from businesspeople already invested in the medical industry to black market dealers -- are keeping a close eye on how things develop.

Courier Journal: March 8, 2018

After hearing from hundreds of residents suffering from chronic ailments who say they want an alternative to pain pills, Metro Council on Thursday approved a resolution by a 20-4 vote that supports legislation in Kentucky allowing the use of medical marijuana.

NewTimes: March 7, 2018

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has acquired two smart fuel dispensing bowsers in a move expected to eliminate fuel losses associated with siphoning.

Reuters: March 6, 2018

The top U.S. intelligence official said on Tuesday President Donald Trump’s administration is “actively engaged” in efforts to prevent Russian efforts to influence the November midterm elections, even as he warned of Moscow’s continuing “malign activities.”

Washington Examiner: March 6, 2018

As the Senate Intelligence Committee sends recommendations to states on securing election systems, lawmakers from both parties say they are confident that Congress can overcome partisan tensions around Russia investigations and actually help ensure the sanctity of the ballot box in November.

New Food Magazine: March 5, 2018

Supply chain mapping and analysis are key tools in the fight against food fraud, said Petter Olsen, Senior Scientist at Norwegian food research institute, Nofima, at the recent Food Fraud Conference 2018, organised by New Food. Such techniques, he said, came into their own in investigating potential food frauds where scientific testing was neither relevant nor appropriate.

Financial Times: March 5, 2018

The US will dominate oil production growth over the next two years, keeping the market well supplied, but a crunch could loom after 2020 if investment into future global output fails to keep up with rising consumption, the International Energy Agency said.

Vaping Post: March 5, 2018

Up to now, the state of New Jersey had not imposed any taxes on electronic cigarettes, however, the situation may be changing drastically. Local authorities are considering a 75% tax on wholesale sales and use tax on electronic cigarettes.

Burlington Free Press: March 2, 2018

Vermont's top doctor told the Legislature this week that the number of fatal overdoses involving the synthetic drug fentanyl spiked in 2017.

Arkansas Business: March 2, 2018

tobacco tax collections were above forecast by $1.5 million

Associated Press: March 2, 2018

Alaska has raked in its biggest monthly haul in marijuana taxes, with just over $1 million collected in January.

The Independent: March 2, 2018

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) seized 199 pounds of marijuana and a gun during a traffic stop on Interstate 80 in Seward County.

ABC News/AP: March 1, 2018

The state House and Senate within hours of each other passed a sweeping tax bill that Republicans had amended to strip out a sales tax exemption on jet fuel.

Forbes: March 1, 2018

Under a new bill filed in the state House of Representatives on Wednesday, Rhode Islanders would be able to decide on a ballot measure calling for the end of cannabis prohibition.

NBC Washington: March 1, 2018

Jacola said there can be loop holes in the producer processor's tracking system that some may take advantage of to make more money on their product.

NBC: February 28, 2018

NBC reports that voter registration systems in seven states were compromised by Russian hackers in 2016.

Pharmaceutical Processing: February 28, 2018

Supply chain security firm Applied DNA Sciences has signed a memorandum of understanding with pharmaceutical capsule and tablet manufacturer ACG for enhanced traceability and authentication of ACG’s capsule products.

Oil and Gas Investor/Reuters: February 27, 2018

The U.S. has issued a new round of sanctions targeting oil smugglers in Libya aimed at blocking exploitation of natural resources that is driving instability, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Feb. 26.

NBC News: February 27, 2018

The U.S. intelligence community developed substantial evidence that state websites or voter registration systems in seven states were compromised by Russian-backed covert operatives prior to the 2016 election — but never told the states involved, according to multiple U.S. officials.

Portland Press Herald: February 27, 2018

Maine Senator Angus King called on the federal government to take more action in regards to cybersecurity.

Associted Press: February 27, 2018

The Justice Department said Tuesday it will support local officials in hundreds of lawsuits against manufacturers and distributors of powerful opioid painkillers that are fueling the nation's drug abuse crisis.

CNBC: February 27, 2018

Sessions said the Justice Department will look at existing state and local lawsuits against painkiller makers and distributors to see where it can be of help.

New York Times: February 26, 2018

A federal judge in New York tossed out a sweeping lawsuit Monday that sought to make marijuana legal under federal law

Associated Press: February 22, 2018

An Oregon sheriff and district attorney blasted efforts to regulate legalized marijuana, saying Tuesday the state is allowing black market operations to proliferate.

Supply Chain Digital: February 21, 2018

Procter & Gamble has entered into a partnership with CBP to prevent counterfeit P&G products from entering the US supply chain. P&G will donate testing devices to help CBP verify the authenticity of certain products.

Secure ID News: February 20, 2018

The technology that helps power bitcoin transactions could also help officials authenticate airport passengers, under a blockchain-enabled ID pilot that has the backing of Canada and the Netherlands.

VOA News: February 20, 2018

An OECD report found that more than $50 billion a year is lost across the African continent, as a result of illicit financial flows.

The Australian: February 20, 2018

Blockchain technology is centred on improving trust and can fix the grim realities of corrupted supply chains in the pharmaceutical industry.

New York Post: February 20, 2018

New Yorkers — especially those under 24 — are giving up cigarettes at record rates.

SI Live: February 20, 2018

As New Jersey lawmakers debate legalizing marijuana for recreational use in the Garden State, the focus in New York has shifted to the border.

WWLP : February 20, 2018

Massachusetts' Cannabis Control Commission has approved seed-to-sale contracts with JD Software and Franwell.

Boston Globe: February 19, 2018

Election officials across several states are expressing interest in utilizing paper ballots to improve election security.

CNN: February 18, 2018

Hillary Clinton's former campaign manager highlights the importance of increasing election security, and advocates for bipartisan action.

Food Ingredients 1st: February 16, 2018

Early food sector adopters can undoubtedly take of advantage implementing blockchain too, particularly when it comes to traceability.

USA Today: February 16, 2018

States are taking various steps to secure their election infrastructure, but they are receiving little help from the federal government.

Local Memphis: February 16, 2018

Congressman Jim Cooper has raised concerns about the security of Tennessee's election infrastructure.

US News & World Report: February 16, 2018

A new report finds that a thin strip, similar to a pregnancy test, can detect whether street drugs contain fentanyl.

Securing Industry: February 16, 2018

Fewer than 10 per cent of medicines in the US have 2D barcodes that contain the data elements required under the Drug Supply Chain Security Act legislation, an assessment on serialisation progress has revealed.

Food Processing: February 15, 2018

Blockchain technology has the potential to change information transfer in supply chains but still faces challenges overcoming implementation and mindset barriers.

Yakima Herald: February 15, 2018

with the state’s pot-tracking system hobbled earlier this month, marijuana production soaring here, and wholesale prices for a gram of weed going for less than the cost of a gallon of milk at Safeway, some marijuana retailers, growers and analysts say the market forces have never been stronger for Washington pot to leak across state borders.

New Food Magazine: February 14, 2018

A recent study in Spain found that half of the restaurants surveyed are mislabelling their fish.

The Merkle: February 14, 2018

blockchain has innumerable functionalities apart from merely keeping a record of financial transactions. One such use is transforming the future of supply chain.

Allure: February 14, 2018

Rachael McLaughlin purchased a matte liquid lipstick for about $4 from a Facebook vendor who claimed it was a genuine Kylie Cosmetics product. It wasn't. And she paid the price.

The Hill: February 14, 2018

Senator Gillibrand co-sponsored Senator Booker's bill to eliminate marijuana's status as a Schedule 1 drug.

Associated Press: February 13, 2018

Newly released "playbooks" from a bipartisan team at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government aims to help state and local elections officials protect against hacking and disinformation.

The New York Times: February 13, 2018

Crucial arguments are being heard in a sweeping lawsuit challenging the administration's marijuana policy by seeking to legalize pot under federal law.

Knox News: February 11, 2018

Ralenkotter has confessed carrying out a five-year scheme at the truck stop giant to lure trucking companies to buy diesel fuel at Pilot Flying J in return for discounts and then short them.

Wired: February 9, 2018

The first 2018 primaries kick off in under a month, leaving very little time for officials to upgrade election systems.

Supply Chain Dive : February 9, 2018

Anti-counterfeiting efforts surrounding the Super Bowl resulted in the recovery of over $15 million in counterfeit merchandise.

InsideSources: February 9, 2018

Blockchain technology could solve some of the regulatory issues that have plagued the cannabis industry.

WSB-TV Atlanta: February 8, 2018

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation issued a public safety alert after a study showed how many counterfeit pills were in the state.

Marijuana Business Daily: February 8, 2018

An audit of Oregon's marijuana tracking system found that it lacked proper safeguards, allowing businesses to hide violations such as illegal sales.

Sustainable Brands: February 7, 2018

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program has created a new tool that allows businesses to assess the risk of forced labor in their seafood supply chains.

What They Think: February 7, 2018

Sun Chemical has acquired Luminescence Holdings Ltd., a manufacturer of currency, tax stamp, passports, ID cards, secure documents and brand protection inks for the security market.

WDBJ: February 6, 2018

The Virginia Senate has passed legislation that could expand the use of medical marijuana in Virginia.

Noozhawk: February 6, 2018

https://www.noozhawk.com/article/santa_barbara_cannabis_tax_land_use_ordinances_regulations

Washington Post: February 5, 2018

The possibility of raising the gas tax -— which has not been increased since 1993 — to pay for an infrastructure plan has so far gotten a mixed reception from Republicans.

Las Vegas Now: February 5, 2018

States like Nevada with legal marijuana track the plant through the growing processes, all the way until it is sold in a dispensary. However, there are loopholes, but one company says its software can fix that with seed-to-sale

AP (Via Akron Beacon Journal): February 1, 2018

Ohio is requiring that drug wholesalers identify and hold onto suspicious orders until questions are answered about the purchasers.

Washington Post: February 1, 2018

A bill that would allow doctors to prescribe a form of medical marijuana is moving forward in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Slate: January 31, 2018

Privacy advocates expressed concerns over biometric scans of passengers exiting the country.

The Atlantic: January 31, 2018

Senate investigators found that it was remarkably easy to purchase fentanyl online from the dark web.

LA Times: January 31, 2018

San Francisco will retroactively apply California's new marijuana legalization laws to prior convictions, expunging or reducing misdemeanors and felonies dating to 1975, the district attorney's office announced Wednesday.

KVUE: January 30, 2018

The first cannabis dispensary is set to open in Austin next month, a little more than four months after the Texas Department of Public Safety granted the first three medical marijuana licenses in the history of the state.

Bloomberg: January 30, 2018

It’s relatively cheap in Seattle, and L.A. and San Francisco are pretty competitive, but it’s an entirely different story on the East Coast, especially in the nation’s capital.

ACS Information Age: January 29, 2018

How the tech industry is stamping out counterfeit goods.

Securing Industry: January 26, 2018

A US Senate report found that nearly $800 million worth of illegal fentanyl pills have been transported via the US Postal Service over the past two years.

Newsweek: January 26, 2018

Democrats in Massachusetts are proposing legislation that would prevent local law enforcement from supporting investigations into federal marijuana crimes.

Asbury Park Press: January 25, 2018

The event is expected to shed light on the opportunities and hurdles of legal marijuana, an industry that comes with an unusual problem. It could be made legal in the state, but remains illegal under federal law, creating all sorts of headaches. Learn more about the problems facing New Jersey's cannabis industry in the video at the top of the page.

CBC: January 25, 2018

Nearly five million Canadians spent money on marijuana last year, spending an average of about $1,200 each, according to new federal data.

ABC News: January 24, 2018

Sellers of illicit fentanyl in China prefer to ship through the U.S. Postal Service because delivery is “basically guaranteed,” according to a new congressional investigation.

The Hill (op-ed): January 23, 2018

Today, however, the election process is vulnerable to manipulation by hostile powers. We know that (beyond social media manipulation) Russia quite brazenly hacked into the IT systems of political campaign committees and tried to gain access to data held by local elections boards.

Forbes: January 23, 2018

Cannabis-related products and services that “don’t touch the plant,” are subject to less risk from federal anti-cannabis prosecution, and have fewer rules and regulations to abide by.

Reuters: January 22, 2018

Authorities in Singapore uncovered a complex scheme to steal millions of dollars in oil from Shell's largest refinery.

Boom Bust: January 21, 2018

Counterfeiting is a massive problem that ranges from high end goods to low-end products; Manila Chan and Bart Chilton discuss this global threat with Lara Miller from the IACC.

Fox 11: January 19, 2018

LAX is testing biometric facial recognition technology that would replace boarding passes.

Reuters: January 18, 2018

An alleged oil heist in Singapore that has already led to 20 arrests, the seizure of at least one tanker and allegations that thieves siphoned thousands of tonnes of fuel from Shell’s biggest refinery is shining a spotlight on an illegal trade worth tens of billions of dollars worldwide.

New York Times: January 18, 2018

China's illegal smuggling of oil to North Korea has made it more difficult for international officials to take action against the regime.

Science Magazine: January 18, 2018

That’s because researchers have tailored a 3D printer to synthesize pharmaceuticals and other chemicals from simple, widely available starting compounds fed into a series of water bottle–size reactors. The work, they say, could digitize chemistry, allowing users to synthesize almost any compound anywhere in the world.

Jerusalem Post: January 18, 2018

Last week, the cabinet hinted that it would approve exports of medicinal cannabis during the 2019 state budget vote, only to dash hopes by leaving the measure out.

GovTech: January 17, 2018

Iowa County spent over $160,000 on 22 new voting machines that are expected to be more efficient and secure.

The Journal: January 17, 2018

Under Senate Bill 18-029, Colorado State University-Pueblo would be tasked with developing marijuana tracking technology through an agent or chemical that can then be scanned by a device.

Associated Press: January 16, 2018

Oregon’s two senators urged the head of the FDA to update federal regulations to permit interstate commerce of food products containing a key non-psychoactive ingredient of cannabis.

Fox Business: January 16, 2018

Maersk, which owns the world's biggest container operator, said Tuesday that it will enter a joint venture with International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) to create a more efficient and secure platform for organizing global trade using blockchain technology.

Health Data Management: January 16, 2018

The Department of Veterans Affairs is the first healthcare system in the country to post information on its opioid-prescribing rates, including dispensing rates for each VA facility displayed on an interactive map that shows data over a five-year period.

Marijuana Business Daily: January 16, 2018

firsthand accounts detailing the historic, Jan. 1 launch of the state’s recreational marijuana market.

AP: January 16, 2018

A group representing marijuana business owners in the West is urging Congress to include language in a government spending bill that would protect pot operations.

Washington Post: January 16, 2018

The Department of Veterans Affairs says it will not conduct research into whether medical marijuana could help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain

Reuters: January 15, 2018

A Singapore court filed additional charges against nine individuals accused of a large-scale oil theft plot at Shell's biggest refinery.

CNN: January 14, 2018

The FDA announced that cough medicines containing opioid ingredients should no longer be given to children of any age. The FDA will require safety labeling to be changed accordingly.

Forbes: January 12, 2018

when any layman can go onto Amazon.com and do a search for “Michael Kors” and find knockoff accessories on the first page of results or a new pair of $1,200 Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 Oxford sneakers going for the bargain price of $40, it's clear that the company may not be as effective in its mission to cleanse its ecosystem of counterfeits as they claim.

PharmTech: January 12, 2018

Labels must have special features to prevent tampering of pharmaceutical packaging.

Electronics 360: January 11, 2018

Component and subsystem manufacturers in military and aerospace, automotive, and medical devices are under pressure to improve lot-to-lot traceability

Lowell Sun: January 10, 2018

Trump is expected to sign a bill that will provide federal funding for Customs & Border Protection to obtain screening devices that can detect fentanyl at various points of entry.

Enterprise: January 10, 2018

Yolo County supervisors appeared to reach some consensus Tuesday on the future of commercial cultivation of medicinal cannabis, including plans for a cannabis tax to be placed on the June ballot

Financial Review: January 9, 2018

Maintaining a strict zero tolerance for error approach to running federal polls, the commission said any move by foreign powers to interfere in Australian democracy represents a "potential catastrophic risk", akin to Russia's meddling in the United States 2016 presidential race.

PR Newswire: January 9, 2018

Andrey Ostrovsky, M.D., to lead Maryland-based Opioid Treatment Program

NBC: January 9, 2018

The legal status of marijuana on a federal level could impact California's ability to become a major producer of legal marijuana.

NHPR: January 9, 2018

The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted Tuesday morning in favor of legislation to legalize recreational marijuana.

Undercurrent News: January 8, 2018

The World Wildlife Fund has introduced blockchain technology to the Pacific Islands' tuna industry to decrease illegal fishing.

Associated Press (Via Boston Herald): January 8, 2018

The U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts stated that he would not offer blanket immunity to "participants in the state-level marijuana trade."

Wines and Vines: January 4, 2018

Winery says grapegrowers must abide by Lodi Rules

Quartz: January 4, 2018

The Australian government announced today that it would allow medicinal cannabis exports. It said the move would boost opportunities for domestic manufacturers, and that, in turn, a strong industry would mean Australian doctors having high-quality products to prescribe to their patients.

News Herald: January 3, 2018

A bill aimed at stopping the flow of fentanyl into the United States is awaiting the president’s signature.

USA Today: January 3, 2018

Dispensary owners hope the new law broadens marijuana's appeal beyond a base of twentysomethings. Older buyers, however, who try smoking pot may want products that are less conspicuous. They wouldn't want to fire up a fat joint on a street corner.

Ars Technica: January 2, 2018

A bipartisan group of six senators has introduced legislation that would take a huge step toward securing elections in the United States. Called the Secure Elections Act, the bill aims to eliminate insecure paperless voting machines from American elections while promoting routine audits that would dramatically reduce the danger of interference from foreign governments.

Huffington Post: January 2, 2018

On Nov. 28, 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) released new research showing that approximately one in 10 medical products circulating in low- and middle-income countries around the world are fake or substandard.

Financial Post: January 2, 2018

But while pot smokers and the companies that will serve them celebrate, the concerns of the medical marijuana industry seem to be getting short shrift.

Financial Post: January 2, 2018

Justin Trudeau’s marijuana czar is warning that policy makers may need to adjust taxes to prevent prices from falling too low after legalization.

Huffington Post: January 2, 2018

Marijuana is becoming a widespread legal and tangible asset that will require a method for assured accountability. What is the fastest growing technology for assured accountability for assets? The blockchain of course.

Newsweek: January 2, 2018

Implementing the new law requires an impressive amount of regulation, and the new rules—many of which have yet to be finalized—are extensive. But the changes are unlikely to have much of an immediate impact on California’s robust illegal marijuana production.

Government Technology: December 14, 2017

The state’s Department of Revenue has published marijuana sales data, giving a detailed look at the footprint of the young industry.

Mairjuana Moment: October 1, 2024

Two key House lawmakers sent a letter to the attorney general on Friday, condemning the recent expansion of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) authority amid mass protests and criticizing the agency’s objectives as out of step with the movement to legalize marijuana and reschedule other drugs.

The New York Times: October 1, 2024

With the general election less than 150 days away, there are rising concerns that the push for remote voting prompted by the pandemic could open new opportunities to hack the vote — for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, but also others hoping to disrupt, influence or profit from the election. President Trump has repeatedly said that mail-in ballots invite voter fraud and would benefit Democrats.

WABE: October 1, 2024

The majority leader of the Georgia Senate unveiled plans Wednesday for major changes to the state’s election laws that would strengthen state oversight of election officials and add more identification requirements to absentee ballot voting, including elimination of no-excuse absentee voting with certain exceptions.

ABC27 : October 1, 2024

Pa. Representative Lloyd Smucker is introducing a bill to review elections and boost voter confidence after the 2020 election. “Reestablishing voter confidence should not be a partisan exercise. And I am hopeful it will not be.

Trust Technologies

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