Executive Director's Report

Hello!

For all of us who have been wondering where the Medical?Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act disappeared to ... mystery solved. It's being blocked and isn't headed to President Biden's desk anytime soon. As?POLITICO reported ?this past Thursday, Sen.?John Cornyn ?(R-Texas) is currently?stopping plans to bring up the bill for a unanimous consent vote in the Senate before the chamber recesses for the next 2 weeks or so. As reported,?"Sen.?Chuck Grassley ?(R-Iowa), a lead sponsor of the bill, told POLITICO earlier Thursday that the bill was in the hotline process, wherein members are polled to see if there are any objections to a bill coming to the floor for the unanimous consent vote. Cornyn's objection holds up the bill for now."

Moving off the Hill and back over to FDA ... we have some exciting news to share with you! Dr. Janet Woodcock, Principal Deputy Commissioner, and Dr. Patrick Cournoyer,?Science and Policy Coordinator for the FDA's Cannabis Product Committee, will be joining CFCR as our guests for our October webinar on Thursday, October 27th at 1pm ET. They'll be speaking with us and taking questions as we continue to work with federal regulators to help the industry and general public better understand the?FDA’s approach to cannabis science, policy, and regulation. Registration for this webinar will begin next week and we'll send out a reminder. Mark your calendars now!?

Also, for CFCR members who are interested in learning more about Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and some new legislation they are supporting, we'll be welcoming ASA President and Founder, Steph Sherer to a members-only webinar in the next 2 weeks. Check your email and our #general ?Slack channel ?for your invite. In meantime, we encourage all of you to participate in ASA's upcoming Unity Conference in DC December 12-14. You can?REGISTER HERE .?

The CFCR Cannabis Cafe is coming up next week! We're thrilled to welcome one of our new members, Nicole Wicker, CEO of Altopa. The cafe opens Friday, October 7th at 1pm ET. If you haven't registered and received your Zoom invite, please?CONTACT US?now and we'll send over the link!

And ... we're really excited to announce that?Cannabis Wire ,?a news organization that publishes original reporting and analysis on the intersection of cannabis policy, regulation, and research, is?now offering CFCR members an exclusive new benefit! You're?invited to subscribe to?Cannabis Wire?at a 30% discount, by using the promo code: CFCR30.?You can?SIGN UP HERE ?now.

?We at CFCR are daily readers and appreciate their deep expertise and old-fashioned reporting.?Cannabis Wire’s?work is not funded by the cannabis industry or any other business that might have interests, which means it can deliver independent reporting and analysis to subscribers.?

Speaking of good reporting ...?Cannabis Wire has been all over the news that Norman?Birenbaum, ?the founding president of the?Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA), was recently appointed as a senior public health advisor at FDA under the?Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). According to FDA, Norman will be?“responsible for advancing our efforts related to research and regulation of cannabis.”

If you'd like to get a better insight into what might be Norman's priorities in his new role, check out this feature interview from 2019,?"Five Questions for New York’s New Top Cannabis Regulator."?

All my best,?

Sarah