[author: Susan Ryan]

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

This week, the action is all in the states. So many ballot initiatives, so many challenges to those initiatives. But we start out in Pennsylvania, where pardons are the big news. Then we have an update on the Nebraska situation, followed by additional info on Missouri and Arkansas. And finally, that stoner stereotype just doesn’t hold up.

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D) supports legalizing cannabis in the state. The Republican-controlled state legislature does not. So the governor decided to take action on his own. Late last week, Wolf announced pardons for those convicted of low-level, non-violent cannabis offenses. The Board of Pardons is accepting applications through the end of the month. In other Pennsylvania news, Lt. Governor/Senate candidate John Fetterman (D) met with President Biden during Labor Day festivities, and the two discussed marijuana policy.

NEBRASKA

You may want to brush up on your knowledge of Constitutional law to keep up with what’s going on in Nebraska. As we reported two weeks ago, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana fell short of the signatures needed to put cannabis on the ballot this year. The ACLU of Nebraska filed suit in federal court saying the signature requirement violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The district court agreed and issued a temporary injunction. The state appealed the decision, which was overturned. So it looks like it’s up to the legislature, where Senator Jen Day (D-49) has pledged to introduce a legalization bill in the 2023 session.

MISSOURI

We reported last month that Missouri will have a legalization initiative on the 2022 ballot. But there’s a twist! A group of legislators don’t like the initiative and are pushing the legislature to act before the election. Governor Mike Parson (R), however, has nixed that idea. So we’re back to the ballot box, at least as of this writing…

ARKANSAS

We promised further bulletins on the Arkansas situation, and we’re delivering. Although there were more than enough valid signatures to put the initiative on the ballot, election officials deemed the title of the initiative to be insufficiently informative. Responsible Growth Arkansas recently filed a brief with the state’s Supreme Court insisting that the title meets the state’s requirements.

AND FINALLY

We’re all familiar with the stoner image – the guy sitting around smoking pot all day, with no ambition or drive. Turns out, that’s not true. Researchers from the UK conducted a study of cannabis users, and they’re no more apathetic than non-users.

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