Rhode Island is now the 19th state to have legalized cannabis. The new law will give courts until July 1, 2024, to automatically expunge past convictions, and those who want their expungement sooner may request it.
Governor Dan McKee yesterday signed into law the Rhode Island Cannabis Act, legalizing and safely regulating recreational adult-use cannabis in the state, according to McKee’s office. The Act includes automatic expungement of prior civil or criminal marijuana possession charges, a key provision in the Governor’s original cannabis proposal to the General Assembly.
Under the new law, possession and home-growing of cannabis is now legal for adults age 21 and older, and in-store sales may begin as soon as December 1. The law also establishes a framework for common-sense adult use cannabis regulation with a strong emphasis on public health and public safety.
“This bill successfully incorporates our priorities of making sure cannabis legalization is equitable, controlled, and safe,” said Governor McKee. “In addition, it creates a process for the automatic expungement of past cannabis convictions. My Administration’s original legalization plan also included such a provision and I am thrilled that the Assembly recognized the importance of this particular issue. The end result is a win for our state both socially and economically.”
The legislation calls for a 20 percent tax rate, split up into the 7 percent sales tax, a new 10 percent cannabis tax, and a 3 percent tax by the municipality where the marijuana is sold. In addition, the legislation makes numerous investments in the creation of an equitable, accessible cannabis retail market through the set-aside of certain application fee revenues and the reservation of a portion of new licenses for social equity applicants and worker-owned cooperatives.
In its quarterly revenue forecast Oregon state economists released last week is an eye-popping number: revenues from a new tax on nicotine-based e-cigarettes and vaping products.
“Inhalant delivery [vaping] revenues, a new tax in 2021, continue to come in significantly above initial expectations,” the economists wrote. “Over the first year of the tax, actual collections have been three times as large as expected.”
Prior to 2020, the state didn’t collect any taxes on e-cigarettes.
That changed with Measure 108 in 2020 that included a suite of new policies aimed at reducing the harmful effects of tobacco use—most notably a $2 tax increase on every pack of smokes, according to Willamette Week.
The measure, which passed 66% to 34%, also included a tax of 65% of the wholesale price of vaping products.
In October 2020, right before the general election, the Legislative Revenue Office prepared an estimate of how much the new vape tax would raise and estimated revenues to be an estimated $10 million a year.
In 2021, the first full year of collections, the state took in nearly $30 million.
It’s not unusual for projected revenues from a new tax to be significantly low, especially if they deal with new products such as vapes or newly legal products such as recreational cannabis, which also significantly overperformed in the early years.
Four Red Dot Awards for Product Design 2022 have been garnered by FEELM, the flagship atomization technology brand belonging to Smoore International.
The innovative atomization products include the world’s thinnest ceramic coil vape pod solution FEELM Air, an eco-friendly non-nicotine disposable e-cigarette, and an anti-dust mouthpiece hygienic e-cigarette.
The FEELM Air is known as the world’s thinnest vape pod solution with ceramic coil. As the latest vape pod solution of FEELM, the thickness of FEELM Air is reduced by 25 percent, compared with the last generation, to only 7.8 mm.
In addition, FEELM also demonstrates its environmental awareness with the eco-friendly non-nicotine disposable e-cigarette.
Unlike traditional disposable e-cigarettes made of plastic, the external structure of the product is composed of recyclable and reusable paper and aluminum foil.
The other award-winning FEELM atomization product is the anti-dust mouthpiece hygienic e-cigarette, which features a twist nozzle to prevent dust falling on the mouthpiece.
Users can hide the mouthpiece into the device to avoid contact with something unclean, as they are more concerned with personal hygiene during COVID-19 pandemic.
“In the coming summer, FEELM will launch an innovative disposable e-cigarette series with anti-dust mouthpiece hygienic design, to provide users with a healthier vaping experience,” said Totom Lu, director of the FEELM Design Team. “In the near future, we also intend to introduce eco-friendly disposable e-cigarettes made of green materials, to reduce environmental impacts and carbon emissions of FEELM products.”
Committed to sustainable product designs, FEELM Design Team has been working on replacement of traditional plastic with biodegradable materials, such as paper and bagasse.
It is also exploring the application of highly reusable materials, including aluminum, in e-cigarettes. Moreover, FEELM Design Team attempts to make batteries easy to disassemble, encouraging the recycling of disposable vapes.
“FEELM has been aware that currently most disposable vapes are very similar in design and appearance, and appeal to consumers with diverse flavors,” said Lu. “The two award-winning products illustrate FEELM’s development roadmap for disposable vapes. FEELM will design eco-friendlier and more pioneering products, and has already developed nicotine-free disposable vape to address increasing harm reduction requirements.”
The governor of Delaware announced on Tuesday that he has vetoed a bill to legalize marijuana that the legislature sent to his desk earlier this month. Gov. John Carney said the law wasn’t in “the best interest of the state” despite the issue’s popularity within his own party.
In a statement, the Carney said that he supports allowing people to access cannabis for medical purposes and feels that “individuals should not be imprisoned solely for the possession and private use of a small amount of marijuana.” But he doesn’t believe Delaware should go beyond its current policies, according to Marijuana Moment.
“I do not believe that promoting or expanding the use of recreational marijuana is in the best interests of the state of Delaware, especially our young people,” he said. “Questions about the long-term health and economic impacts of recreational marijuana use, as well as serious law enforcement concerns, remain unresolved.”
The legislature could still override the governor’s veto of HB 371, which is sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski, as it’s already received more than three-fifths of the vote in both chambers that would be required to overrule Carney’s decision.
This use of electronic cigarettes costs the United States $15 billion annually in health care expenditures — more than $2,000 per person a year — according to a study by researchers at the University of California San Francisco School of Nursing.
The study, published on May 23 in Tobacco Control, is the first to look at the health care costs of e-cigarette use among adults 18 and older, according to the release.
“Our finding indicates that health care expenditures for a person who uses e-cigarettes are $2,024 more per year than for a person who doesn’t use any tobacco products,” said lead author Yingning Wang, PhD, of the UCSF Institute for Health & Aging.
According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, combustible cigarette smoking-related illness in the United States costs more than $300 billion each year, including more than $225 billion for direct medical care for adults.
The researchers based their estimates of health care costs and utilization on data from the 2015-2018 National Health Interview Survey. Health care utilization included nights in the hospital, emergency room visits, doctor visits and home visits.
“Health care costs attributable to e-cigarette use are already greater than our estimates of health care costs attributable to cigar and smokeless tobacco use,” said Wang. “This is a concerning finding, given that e-cigarettes are a relatively new product whose impact is likely to increase over time.”
In what could have national implications, a federal appeals court has ruled that Delta-8 THC derived from hemp is “lawful” and eligible for trademark protection.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said in its ruling Thursday that because Congress legalized not just hemp but its “derivatives” and “extracts” in the 2018 Farm Bill, delta-8 THC is legal if it is derived from a hemp extract – in this case, CBD.
The ruling gives delta-8 vape maker AK Futures another opportunity to block fellow California company Boyd Street Distro from allegedly selling counterfeit versions of AK Futures’ “Cake” vapes containing delta-8 THC, according to MJ Biz Daily.
The three-judge appeals panel sided with AK Futures and said that delta-8 THC is not a controlled substance under federal law if it comes from hemp.
“Regardless of the wisdom of legalizing delta-8 THC products, this court will not substitute its own policy judgment for that of Congress,” Judge D. Michael Fisher wrote.
However, the ruling does not address the legality of selling consumable delta-8 THC products.
Though Congress legalized hemp derivatives such as delta-8 THC, it also directed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to oversee how those products could be sold.
So far, the FDA has declined to authorize any cannabinoid products without a prescription, and the agency issued a consumer alert last September warning saying that delta-8 THC “may have potentially harmful by-products (contaminants) due to the chemicals used in the process.”
The Alaska Legislature gave its approval to SB 45, a bill that raises the minimum age to purchase, sell, exchange, or possess electronic nicotine-delivery system (ENDS) products to 21-years-old, as well as makes changes to the tax rate on electronic smoking products.
The bill includes an imposed tax rate of 35 percent of the wholesale price for ENDS products, a notable difference from the state’s tax rate for other tobacco products, which is 75 percent of the wholesale price.
If signed into law, it would bring the state into alignment with the federal minimum age. As such, it allows state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce the federal minimum age, including fining retailers or others for selling or otherwise providing tobacco products to a person under 21-years-old, according to Halfwheel.
It also amends the state’s minimum age to possess ENDS and other tobacco products to 19-years-old. Violators of that law will be subject to a fine of up to $150.
For retailers, they will now be required to only allow tobacco products to be sold by employees who are at least 21-years-old, unless they were at least 19-years-old at the time the bill goes into effect.
The bill now heads to Gov. Mike Dunleavy for his signature. If the governor does not veto the bill, the changes will go into effect on July 1, 2023.
A small city outside of Santa Cruz is looking to become one of the next cities in California to ban the sale of flavored vaping and other tobacco products. Last week, the Scotts Valley city council introduced and unanimously passed the first reading of an ordinance that will bring an end of the sale of such products.
The ordinance also includes a ban on smoking or vaping in outdoor dining spaces, as well as requiring that all tobacco retailers be at least 21-years-old and prohibiting all self-service tobacco displays, according to Halfwheel.
The city council must still hold a second reading of the ordinance, which is currently scheduled for June 1. If it passes its second reading, it will go into effect 30 days later.
According to the city council agenda, Scotts Valley is the only one of the four incorporated cities in Santa Cruz County not to have such a ban. The county also has a ban that applies to its unincorporated parts.
Brian King will replace Mitch Zeller as head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). He will take over the position on July 3 after spending more than a decade at the Centers for Disease Control.
King was most recently the Deputy Director for Research Translation in the Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) within the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“After a robust executive search, I have selected Dr. Brian A. King as FDA’s new Center for Tobacco Products Director,” Califf tweeted. “Dr. King brings extensive and impressive expertise in tobacco prevention and control and has broad familiarity with FDA from his more than 10-year tenure at CDC.”
The move comes just days after the FDA submitted a status report for products that currently have a premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) under review. The regulatory agency states that it expects to have resolved 63 percent of the applications set out in its original priority by June 30, 2022, and 72 percent of the applications in its original priority set by the end of this year. However, the agency does not expect to complete its review of timely submitted applications until June, 2023.
During a House subcommittee meeting after the release of the report, Califf said the agency needs more resources to speed up its review of e-cigarettes and is avoiding making hasty decisions that could incite lawsuits from the industry.
“This is an industry that has amazing capabilities on the legal front,” Califf said. “If we make one single error in the process, we can be set back for years in these applications.”
Many vaping industry leaders say they are discouraged by the announcement and that “there is no longer any hope for flavored products other than tobacco.”
Matt Meyers, the controversial leader of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and an anti-nicotine advocate, called King a “legend” and an “icon.”
In his role at the CDC, King was responsible for providing scientific leadership and technical expertise to CDC/OSH, the lead federal agency for comprehensive tobacco prevention and control. King joined the CDC in 2010 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer, before which he worked as a Research Affiliate in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. During his time at Roswell Park, his primary research focus related to tobacco prevention and control.
King has worked for over 15 years to provide sound scientific evidence to inform tobacco control policy and to effectively communicate this information to key stakeholders, including decision makers, the media, and the general public.
He has authored or co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed scientific articles pertaining to tobacco prevention and control, was a contributing author to the 50th Anniversary Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health, was the lead author of CDC’s 2014 update to the evidence-based state guide, “Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs,” and was the senior associate editor of the 2016 Surgeon General’s Report, “E-cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults” and the 2020 Surgeon General’s Report, “Smoking Cessation.”
He was also the Senior Official for CDC’s emergency response to the 2019 outbreak of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI).
King holds a PhD and MPH in Epidemiology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. King will replace Zeller who retired in April. There has not been an official announcement from the FDA.
The largest atomization technology brand yesterday released its “Race to Zero” roadmap to carbon neutrality. FEELM, a division of China-based vaping hardware manufacturer Smoore International, stated that its plan brings forward FEELM’s ambitions to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 in its direct production activities and indirect purchased energy. The company has also made a commitment to use renewable energies in at least 30 percent of its total energy consumption by 2030.
“As one of China’s first atomization tech brands to make a carbon neutrality commitment, FEELM pledges to reach net zero in full supply chain and full product lifespan by developing sustainable products, improving energy efficiency with automated production, supporting the supply chain in decarbonization, and increasing renewable energies and eco-friendly materials,” a press release states. “FEELM, being the world ‘s largest closed vape system solution provider, plays a significant role in the global vaping supply chain.
“On the one hand, it provides millions of global consumers with premium product experience by virtue of partnership with vaping brands around the world; on the other hand, FEELM has been leading a sustainable revolution in the supply chain.”
Beginning in 2019, FEELM has pioneered a number of green vaping solutions. The company won the iF Design Award 2020 for its disposable paper e-cigarette, which is made up of spiral composite paper tubing that improves “the degradability rate to approximately 76 percent of the total volume,” compared to the plastic used in traditional vaping products.
FEELM is also set to unveil another eco-friendly non-nicotine disposable e-cigarette at Vaper Expo UK 2022 in late May. The new device was awarded the Red Dot Award for Product Design 2022. Its external structure is composed of recyclable and reusable aluminum foil. It looks similar to a paper foil pouch that also serves as a packaging bag, which the reduces the amount of packaging materials.
“In addition to developing sustainable products, FEELM has also partnered with suppliers to develop and encourage utilizing biodegradable materials while optimizing the water, electricity and gas consumption management,” the release states. “FEELM is also working with global customers to promote the recycling and reusing, so as to explore a feasible path towards carbon neutrality for the product lifespan and the supply chain.”
