Cannabis Policy Watch

In this episode, Jason Ortiz (Students for Sensible Drug Policy) and Richard Juang (Parabola Center) join host Grant Smith Ellis (GrantSmithEllis.com) for an in-depth discussion surrounding structuring equity into model regulatory and legislative frameworks, an update on the implementation of Connecticut's adult use law and pending reform efforts nation-wide to emphasize harm-reduction policies on the local, state and federal level. Find more from SSDP at their website: https://ssdp.org/ and follow the organization on twitter: @ssdpofficial Find more from Richard and Parabola Center via their website or twitter: https://www.parabolacenter.com/ or @ParabolaCenter and follow Richard on twitter via @RichardParabol1

Over the past three years, local grassroots caregivers in Maine have been locked in a heated battle against large corporate adult-use operators who have used their wealth and connections in an attempt to destroy one of the strongest medical markets nationwide; on this episode of Cannabis Policy Watch, host Grant Smith Ellis talks with Susan Meehan (Chairperson of the Maine Cannabis Coalition) and Mark Barnett (Vice Chair of the Maine Craft Cannabis Association) about how that fight has played out for small local caregivers, where things stand currently, and what folks can do going forward to take the lessons learned in Maine (including multiple legislative victories) in order to build an equitable and authentic cannabis market in their own states. To read more, and donate to, the Maine Cannabis Coalition use this link: https://mainecannabiscoalition.org/ To read the newly proposed medical regulations in Maine, and sign up to provide testimony on February 2nd at 10am, use this link: https://www.maine.gov/dafs/omp/medical-use/rules-statutes/rulemaking/proposed-rules

In this inaugural episode, host Grant Smith Ellis sits down with two of the pillars of grassroots advocacy in Massachusetts, Shaleen Title and Joe Gilmore, for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of cannabis policy both within the Commonwealth and on a national scale. During the discussion, updates are provided on the state-level social equity loan fund bill (S.63), Host Community Agreement reform (S.72), and social consumption (S.65) -- all bills currently under consideration on on Beacon Hill. The panel also covers the Cannabis Control Commission's ongoing work related to identifying Areas of Disproportionate Impact (ADI) and some quick news on the future of federal legalization efforts (including what changes to the SAFE Banking Act might give the bill a chance of passage). To read Shaleen's recent paper on efficiency implementing equity via intentional regulatory frameworks, visit this link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3978766 To learn more about the Boston Equity Program, visit this link: https://www.boston.gov/departments/economic-development/cannabis-equity-program