[author: Susan Ryan]

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

We’ve got several updates to share, starting with Senator Chuck Schumer’s plans to legalize cannabis at the federal level. Then, we look at the latest news from Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio. To round out our “serious” news coverage, there’s more on the TVA in Mississippi story. And finally, we hear Papa John’s has a special new ingredient.

CANNABIS ADMINISTRATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is inviting colleagues to help shape federal marijuana legalization in advance of introducing a bill in the spring. The bill has been floating around in draft form for several months, as its authors, Schumer, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), look to gather support before formal introduction.

VIRGINIA

2021 was a big year for cannabis in Virginia, as lawmakers voted to legalize adult use. It was also an election year, and elections have consequences. For marijuana, it’s not exactly clear what those consequences are yet. The Democratically-controlled Senate just passed a bill that would begin sales in September. Now, however, the legislation heads to the Republican-controlled House, where things get a lot more complicated. Some members want to pass the Senate bill; others want to slow down the measure, and yet others don’t want legalization at all.

SOUTH CAROLINA

The South Carolina Senate passed a medical marijuana bill late last week, sending the measure to the House of Representatives. It’s taken years to get to this point in the legalization process, but support for medical cannabis runs high in the state, so perhaps 2022 is the year. Further bulletins as events warrant.

OHIO

As we reported a couple of weeks ago, supporters of adult-use cannabis in Ohio can both ask the legislature to consider the measure and put an initiative on the November ballot. It looks like option 2 will come into play. The President of the state Senate, Matt Huffman (R) indicated he will not bring the measure to the floor, saying, “And if that means people want to go put it on the ballot, have at it.” Activists will need to collect more signatures to put the measure on the ballot, which they say they are prepared to do.

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

Following up on last week’s story about power for pot in Mississippi, the TVA is backtracking a bit on its earlier statement that they would not provide electricity to medical marijuana operations in the state. The power supplier now says they will provide energy to all customers, and that they are looking to the federal government for further guidance.

AND FINALLY

Pepperoni? Mushrooms? Anchovies? When it comes to what goes on a pizza, opinions vary. Now, Papa John’s is adding a new option: hemp seeds. Available only in the U.K. and Russia, the company’s new Hemp Sticks are the company’s first new product of the year. The Russian recipe includes garlic sauce and hemp seeds, while the U.K. version ups the ante with garlic butter sauce and mozzarella.

Stay safe and be well everyone – we’ll see you next week!