[author: Susan Ryan]

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

We’ll start off with Congress, where the House Energy & Commerce Committee held a hearing on marijuana on Wednesday.  Pretty much every news outlet that covers cannabis has a piece on this, Marijuana Business Daily has a nice round-up that’s free to access.

One of the subjects that was top of mind for legislators at the hearing was research.  The DEA is moving to offer proposed regulations for researchers who want to grow cannabis; the regulations are currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget.

Turning to the states, let’s start with Florida, where there was a lot of activity this week.  Proponents of marijuana legalization withdrew their ballot initiative, due to a lack of valid signatures.  Their plan is to try again in 2022.

In other Florida news, a state Senator has introduced a bill to legalize cannabis in light of the ballot initiative’s failure.  This is in addition to another bill that would decriminalize marijuana, introduced in August.

Meanwhile, in Mississippi, the voters will decide whether to allow medical marijuana in the state.  The Secretary of State certified the signatures submitted to allow a ballot initiative in the upcoming election.

And there’s news from Tennessee.  Legislators have introduced both medical marijuana and decriminalization bills.

Recently, South Dakota has become a hotbed of cannabis news, and this week is no different.  You will no doubt recall the governor’s adamant disapproval of hemp legalization.  Well, it’s slightly less adamant now.  This is surely good news for those seeking to transport hemp from Colorado to Minnesota.

And finally, Bessemer, Michigan purchased a “nasal ranger” to track down the source of a powerful marijuana odor plaguing the town.  Although the state legalized cannabis in 2018, there is a limit to how many plants one can grow at a time.  The hope is that the new equipment will sniff out any lawbreakers.

See you next week!