Oct 25 2024

Washington State Auditor Finds Major Delays in Cannabis Industry Tracking System, Calls for Accountability

The Washington State Auditor has issued a performance audit evaluating the effectiveness of Washington’s oversight of its cannabis industry.

Released under the title “Evaluating Washington State Oversight of the Cannabis Industry,” the report outlines critical shortcomings in the state’s cannabis tracking system—a cornerstone promised to voters in 2012 with the passage of the recreational cannabis legalization initiative.

Initially, Washington State’s Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) aimed to implement a comprehensive “seed-to-sale” tracking system designed to monitor every stage of cannabis production and distribution. In 2018, the auditor’s office found this system under development, expressing confidence it would safeguard compliance, prevent illegal market diversions, and ultimately enhance transparency. However, the new audit reveals that the anticipated system has faltered, and the LCB now projects it won’t be fully functional until 2031, nearly 20 years after voters initially approved recreational cannabis.
Continue reading

Oct 25 2024

Analysis: Legal Marijuana States Generated Nearly $2 Billion in Revenue in September, $350 Million in Taxes

In September, legal marijuana states collectively generated $1.877 billion in sales, resulting in over a quarter of a billion dollars in tax revenue.

September’s total, based on an analysis by The Marijuana Herald, are slightly lower than August’s record $1.955 billion, but demonstrated market strength and consistency. The market’s monthly revenue is likely to increase in 2025, as Delaware and Minnesota plan to launch their legal marijuana markets. In addition, voters in three states —Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota— have the opportunity in less than two weeks to legalize marijuana for everyone 21 and older.

Using data from state regulatory agencies (and when that’s not available data from the research firm Headset), below is a state-by-state breakdown of September’s marijuana revenue.
Continue reading

Oct 25 2024

Massachusetts Initiative Campaign to Legalize Psychedelics Has Raised Over $7.5 Million

Massachusetts for Mental Health Options (MMHO), the group sponsoring Question 4, has raised over $7.5 million.

Question 4 would legalize the possession and personal cultivation of up to one gram of DMT, 18 grams of non-peyote mescaline, 30 grams of Ibogaine, one gram of psilocybin, and one gram of psilocin. Possessing up to twice this amount would be punishable by a fine of up to $100. According to state data, MMHO has raised $7,510,352.82 as of October 23, and increase of nearly $2.5 million since the first week of September.

The initiative aims to “expand mental health treatment options in Massachusetts by providing new pathways to access natural psychedelic medicine therapy,” including “creating access to natural psychedelic medicine therapy and removing criminal penalties for personal possession of these medicines.” The law would allow licensed service centers to supply psychedelics, overseen by a newly-created Natural Psychedelic Substances Commission, modeled after the state’s Cannabis Control Commission.
Continue reading

Oct 25 2024

$117 Million in Legal Marijuana Sold in Missouri in September, All-Time Sales Pass $3 Billion

All-time legal marijuana sales have surpassed $3 billion in Missouri, once September’s totals are added.

According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, there was a $117.43 million worth of legal marijuana and marijuana products (concentrates, edibles, tinctures, etc.) sold in September, a slight decrease from the $126 million sold in August. $103.35 of September’s sales were purchased by recreational consumers, with medical marijuana patients representing $14.08 million in marijuana sales.

The year-to-date total is now around $1.1 billion, with all-time sales now at $3,021,970,000.
Continue reading

Oct 25 2024

Maine Expands Marijuana Recall After Lab Testing Issues

Maine’s Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) has widened a recall on recreational marijuana products from Nova Farms due to possible contamination with bacteria, yeast, and mold.

The photo above shows the product packaging for the Frosted Cookies 1-ounce pre-ground flower (batch number ending in 5189), 3-gram pre-rolls (5195), and 1/8-ounce pre-ground flower (5216). Emphasis has been added to the photo to show where on the label consumers can find the product’s batch number.

Initially issued on October 11, the recall targeted “Frosted Cookies” products sold between September 17 and October 8. Expanded on October 19, the recall now covers products sold by nine additional retailers across the state from August 30 to October 14. The OCP attributed the recall to “data irregularities” in lab testing results, emphasizing that an investigation is underway to understand the contamination’s scope and cause.

The recalled products include various forms of “Frosted Cookies,” such as flower, pre-rolls, and blunts, found at 23 retail outlets. The contamination reportedly showed elevated levels of aerobic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, yeast, and mold. Consumption of contaminated cannabis can lead to sinus issues, headaches, flu-like symptoms, and fatigue.
Continue reading

Oct 25 2024

Florida Marijuana Legalization Campaign Raises Over $120 Million

Smart & Safe Florida, the nonprofit political committee sponsoring the marijuana legalization initiative Amendment 3, has raised over $120 million.

According to the Florida Division of Elections, Smart & Safe Florida has raised $121,717,339.03 in support of Amendment 3, as of October 21. The most recent donation was on October 18, with Trulieve giving another $10 million, adding to the tens of millions they’ve already donated.

Amendment 3 would make recreational marijuana a constitutional right. Under the proposed law, those 21 and older would be allowed to possess and use up to three ounces of dried marijuana flower and up to five grams of marijuana concentrates. These products would be available for purchase at licensed marijuana retail outlets and medical marijuana dispensaries with dual licenses.
Continue reading

Oct 25 2024

Study: CBD and THC Oils Show Antitumor Effects in Canine Prostate Cancer Cells

Researchers at São Paulo State University have demonstrated that cannabis extracts containing cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can inhibit the growth of canine prostate carcinoma cell lines, potentially offering new avenues for cancer treatment.

Published in Veterinary Sciences, the study states that prostate cancer “is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, even when diagnosed at an early stage in humans and dogs. Dogs have a significant incidence of spontaneous prostate cancer, which is highly similar to human androgen-independent prostate cancer and represents a valuable model for comparative studies.”

Researchers claim that CBD and THC “have demonstrated antiproliferative and anti-invasive properties in different tumor types. In this study, CBD or THC-rich extracts inhibited the proliferation of two canine prostatic carcinoma cell lines, PC1 and PC2, showing an IC50 of 3.43 and 3.57 μM for CBD rich extracts, and 4.90 and 4.48 μM THC rich extracts, respectively.
Continue reading

Oct 25 2024

Study: CBD Mitigates Anxiety and Neuroinflammation in Offspring of Obese Mothers

A new study has found that cannabidiol (CBD) may help alleviate behavioral and neuroinflammatory challenges in adult offspring born to obese mothers.

CBD tincture.

“Maternal obesity is known to increase the risk of psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder in the offspring”, notes the study’s abstract. “While preventive measures are well-documented, practical approaches for addressing the damages once they are already established are limited.”

Researchers say they “have recently demonstrated the interplay between maternal obesity and treatment with cannabidiol (CBD) on neuroinflammation and peripheral metabolic disturbances during adolescence, however, it is known that both factors tend to vary throughout life. Therefore, here we investigated the potential of CBD to mitigate these alterations in the adult offspring of obese dams.”
Continue reading

Oct 25 2024

Study: U.S. Adolescent Marijuana Use Decreased by Over 7% From 2011 to 2021

A recent study published in Pediatric Reports by researchers from Florida Atlantic University provides a comprehensive look into the evolving patterns of marijuana use among U.S. adolescents over the past decade.

Using data from the biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 2011 to 2021, which covered 88,183 students in grades 9 through 12, the study highlights a notable downward trend in marijuana use among teens.

The findings reveal that the percentage of adolescents reporting current marijuana use decreased significantly from 23.1% in 2011 to 15.8% in 2021. First-time use before age 13 also saw a marked reduction, dropping from 8.1% in 2011 to 4.9% in 2021.
Continue reading

Oct 24 2024

Delaware Awards State’s First-Ever Recreational Marijuana Business Licenses

The Delaware Office of the Marijuana Commissioner (OMC) held its inaugural marijuana licensing lottery today, marking the first step in awarding marijuana business licenses in the state.

The event, conducted at 9 a.m., randomly selected from 727 applications across multiple categories, excluding retail licenses, which will be drawn in a separate lottery in December due to the high volume of applications.

The lottery distributed licenses for categories such as cultivation, manufacturing, and testing across Kent and Sussex counties. In the open cultivation category, Kent County awarded 4 licenses out of 31 applications, while Sussex County granted 7 licenses from a pool of 27. The micro-cultivation category saw 6 licenses awarded in Kent and 8 in Sussex, with a similar distribution for social equity applicants.
Continue reading