The year 2022 is drawing to a close, and we’re starting to get sentimental about the cannabis-related stories that dominated our headlines throughout the year.
As 2022 comes to a close, we take a look back at the top 10 cannabis-related stories that were reported on nationally during the year. The following are the cannabis-related news items that we believe to be the most significant for the year 2022.
1) Joe Biden’s Statement on Cannabis
On October 6, 2022, President Biden made an announcement that he would pardon all federal convictions of simple marijuana possession. He also instructed his government to begin steps to reschedule or deschedule cannabis and urged governors to do the same for state offenders.
Under the Controlled Substances Act, the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services both have the authority under federal law to remove marijuana from the list of substances classified as being in Schedule I. (CSA). The remark made by Biden may very likely mark the beginning of the end of the prohibition of cannabis at the federal level.
You can find additional information regarding this new development here:
Important Announcement Regarding Cannabis from the Vice President Biden
Is It Possible That Cannabis Will Become Legal Again Before Joe Biden Leaves Office?
Joe Biden
Photo taken by Jeff Swensen and published by Getty Images
2) A piece of legislation known as the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act has been signed into law.
In December, Vice President Joe Biden became the first person in the history of the United States to sign a cannabis bill into law. Researchers in the United States will be able to study cannabis with a reduced amount of bureaucratic hurdles as a result of the new law. Research that is carried out in accordance with this new regulation may be utilized to reconsider marijuana’s placement in Schedule I as a controlled substance.
Check out the post we made on our blog for more details. The recent passage of a bill to legalize marijuana research is yet another indication that the federal prohibition on marijuana is coming to an end.
3) Dormant Commerce Clause Challenges
In the year 2022, a number of states were confronted with legal difficulties connected to the Dormant Commerce Clause (DCC). The Commerce Clause of the Constitution, which gives Congress the jurisdiction to regulate commerce among the states, serves as the legal foundation for the DCC. Because the Constitution gave the power to regulate interstate commerce to the federal government, the DCC is a well-established legal doctrine that establishes states are prohibited from enacting laws that discriminate against or unduly burden interstate commerce. This is because the Constitution granted the power to regulate interstate commerce to the federal government.
According to MJBizDaily, in August, a federal judge overturned a rule that cannabis businesses in Maine have to have a physical presence in the state. New York’s regulators have encountered a problem of a similar nature. On behalf of Jefferson Packing House, Green Light Law Group has filed a complaint against the state of Oregon alleging that the state’s prohibition on the export of cannabis is in violation of the Drug Control Act (DCC).
You can find additional reading material regarding that lawsuit as well as the DCC issue in New York here:
A lawsuit has been filed by Green Light Law Group client Jefferson Packing House LLC challenging Oregon’s ban on the export of marijuana.
New York’s legal marijuana courts have been put on hold after a judge halted the issuance of dispensary licenses based on the dormant commerce clause.
Photo taken by Jeff Swensen and published by Getty Images
4) The United States Court of International Trade has ruled that the importation of cannabis paraphernalia is legal.
The United States Court of International Trade ruled in the case of Eteros Technologies USA vs. United States that Washington’s repeal of certain prohibitions related to marijuana drug paraphernalia exempted the federal prohibition on importing drug paraphernalia to ports in Washington. This decision was made in the context of the case Eteros Technologies USA vs. United States.
You may find here a more in-depth examination of the case, as well as an explanation of what its implications are for businesses who import products related to cannabis: Case against Customs and Border Protection Regarding Cannabis Paraphernalia Dismissed
5) According to the DEA, cannabis seeds containing less than 0.3% THC are classified as hemp rather than marijuana.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sent out a letter in January stating that the agency does not consider cannabis seeds with a THC content of less than 0.3% to be marijuana. Instead, the DEA considers these seeds to be hemp, which is legal under federal law but is subject to stringent regulations. Hemp is not a restricted narcotic under federal law.
To learn more, click here: Marijuana Seeds With Trace Amounts of THC or Less Have Been Deemed to Be Legal Hemp by the DEA
6) The Federal Court Rules That Delta-8 Smokable Products Containing Hemp Are Legal Under Federal Law
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (also known as the 9th Circuit) issued a decision on May 19, 2022, in which it stated that the clear and unambiguous language of the 2018 Agricultural Improvement Act (also known as the 2018 Farm Bill) required the court to reach the conclusion that e-cigarettes and vaping products that contain delta-8 THC are permissible under the law of the United States.
You can read an in-depth analysis of this decision right here: The Rules of the Federal Court Hemp-Derived Delta-8 THC is Lawful
7) FDA Targets CBD and Delta-8 in Warning Letters
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has written more enforcement letters to CBD companies in 2022 than in any previous year, with the most recent batch of letters being sent in November, bringing the total number of letters to 33. Additionally, the FDA broadened its scrutiny to include items containing delta-8 THC.
To learn more, click here:
The FDA Is Stealthily Planning to Crack Down on CBD in 2022
The Food and Drug Administration Has Established Goals for Delta-8 Cannabis Prerolls
Photograph taken by Christopher Annis and published by Getty Images
8) The state of Minnesota, most likely unintentionally, legalizes hemp-derived THC in a broad sense.
THC-infused food and beverages containing up to 5 milligrams per serving and 50 milligrams per package were made legal in Minnesota by legislation that was passed by the state’s legislature over the summer. However, the lawmakers did not go so far as to explicitly legalize “marijuana,” which is defined as cannabis plants with a THC concentration of more than 0.3%.
Instead, THC products sold in the state of Minnesota have to be generated from hemp plants and their overall content of delta-9 THC cannot be more than 0.3%. As a result, the state of Minnesota has become, at least for the time being, a mecca for hemp products that contain an excessive amount of THC. Although the maximum amount of THC that can be included in a single product is 50 milligrams, there is no restriction on the number of such products that an individual can buy or keep in their possession.
This topic is discussed at length in the following links: With the legalization of THC in Minnesota, Oregon hemp farmers may have access to new markets.
9) The Legalization of Cannabis Moves Forward
On the night of the election, voters in five states debated measures that would legalize cannabis; however, only two of those initiatives were successful. In spite of these high-profile defeats, the cannabis industry achieved significant legislative triumphs in 2022.
Check out NORML’s 2022 Legislative Report for a comprehensive rundown of these recent events and their implications.
10) Brittney Griner Returns Home
Brittney Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, WNBA champion, and all-star for the Phoenix Mercury, was detained in Russia for over 10 months for possessing less than one gram of cannabis oil. Griner is a two-time winner of the WNBA championship. The news that she would be freed as part of a prisoner swap with Russia was announced by Vice President Joe Biden on December 8th. She has arrived home safely in the United States. We can only hope that the severity of the sanctions imposed by Russia would convince the Biden administration to move the legalization process along more quickly in the United States.
Read “Black Women Played a Critical Role in Helping to Free Brittney Griner,” an article written by Char Adams and published by NBC News, to learn more about the process that led to Griner’s freedom.
Laura McQueen is a writer for MJGreenNews.com.
She has been writing for different cannabis websites and publications since 2018.
