UPDATE: New Hampshire Senate Passes Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization Bill

by Tony Lange - Cannabis Business Times

UPDATE: On May 30, the New Hampshire House voted, 252-117, against concurring with the Senate's amended version of House Bill 1633, and then the body voted, 261-108, to nonconcur and form a conference committee for the adult-use legalization legislation in an effort to resolve differences between the two chambers. 

New Hampshire is on the verge of becoming the 25th state in the U.S. to legalize adult-use cannabis and the first to do so in 2024.

This potential halfway benchmark for the 50-state nation comes as the New Hampshire Senate voted, 14-10, on May 23 to approve an amended version of House Bill 1633.

Read more: https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/news/new-hampshire-senate-passed-recreational-marijuana-bill-franchise/

Understanding the Shift: California’s Ban on Employer Cannabis Inquiries and Testing

by Anthony Zaller - Zaller Law Group, PC

Governor Newsom signed a new law this week restricting employers from asking about marijuana use and conducting certain drug tests for applicants and employees.  This Friday’s Five covers what the new law means for employers in the context of existing law governing employer’s ability to ask, test, and regulate employee’s use of marijuana in the workplace:

Read more: https://www.californiaemploymentlawreport.com/2023/10/understanding-the-shift-californias-ban-on-employer-cannabis-inquiries-and-testing/

New York Department of Labor Issues Guidance on Cannabis and the Workplace

by Steven D. Hurd, Alex S. Downie, Laura M. Fant - The National Law Review

The New York State Department of Labor (“NYDOL”) has issued FAQ guidance addressing common questions regarding recreational cannabis use by employees in and outside of the workplace in light of the enactment earlier this year of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (“MRTA”).

The MRTA legalized the use of recreational marijuana for individuals ages 21 and older.  Notably for employers, the law also amended Section 201-d of the New York Labor Law – which prohibits discrimination by an employer against an employee because of certain lawful outside work activities – to include protections for recreational cannabis use. As such, employers are now prohibited from discriminating against employees based on their use of cannabis outside of the workplace, outside of work hours, and where use does not involve the employer’s equipment or property.

Read more: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/new-york-department-labor-issues-guidance-cannabis-and-workplace