Jan 22 2024
There was $158.7 million worth of marijuana sold legally in December, narrowly breaking the previous monthly record of $158.3 million sold in August.
According to data compiled and released by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, $140.1 million of the marijuana sold in December was recreational marijuana, while medical marijuana sales reached $18.6 million.
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Jan 22 2024
December marked the 10th straight month that legal marijuana sales surpassed $100 million in Missouri. In total there was $123.3 million worth of marijuana sold, coming within $3 million of the record-setting $126 million sold in March. $106.5 million of the marijuana sold in December was purchased by recreational consumers, while $16.8 million was purchased by medical marijuana patients.
Sales for all of 2023 reached $1.3 billion, resulting in over $100 million in tax revenue for the state. All-time sales for legal marijuana is now just shy of $2 billion.
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Jan 19 2024
Conducted by Lake Research Partners, the poll found that 58% of likely voters support rescheduling marijuana, moving it from its current Schedule I status to Schedule III. Just 19% oppose this move, which would legalize medical marijuana for prescription use nationwide while providing medical marijuana patients and businesses with a plethora of legal protections.
Rescheduling marijuana was supported by a majority of all age groups and political affiliations, but was unsurprisingly highest among those aged 18 to 25 with 65% in support and just 14% opposed.
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Jan 19 2024
Psilocybin (“magic”) mushrooms.
The Assembly Appropriations Committee voted 11 to 0 today to pass Assembly Bill 941, filed by Assemblymember Mari Waldron (R). The committee’s vote comes nine days after it was approved, also unanimously, through the Assembly Health Committee, and a little over three months after Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have legalized certain psychedelics including psilocybin, DMT and ibogaine.
This bill “would require the California Health and Human Services Agency to convene a workgroup to study and make recommendations on the establishment of a framework governing psychedelic-assisted therapy, as defined.”
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Jan 18 2024
House Bill 1596 was filed Wednesday by State Representative David Tarnas along with a coalition of 11 other lawmakers. Yesterday the measure “passed First Reading”, with it needing to be passed through two additional readings before it can be sent to the Hawaii Senate.
In 2019 lawmakers in Hawaii passed a limited marijuana decriminalization law that removed criminal penalties for possessing up to three grams of marijuana, making it at most an $125 ticket. House Bill 1596 would increase the three gram limit to be 28 grams (one ounce), and it would reduce the ticket to just $25.
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Jan 18 2024
Senate Bill 5376 was approved through the Senate yesterday in a unanimous 48 to 0 vote. The measure was filed by Senator Derek Stanford (D) and is cosponsored by Senators Anna Rivers (R), Karen Keiser (D), Rebecca Saldana (D) and Claire Wilson (D).
The measure states that “A licensed cannabis producer and a licensed cannabis processor may sell cannabis waste to a person not licensed by LCB if:
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Jan 18 2024
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act was filed in September with five sponsors. In the four months since being filed, 77 additional lawmakers have signed on as cosponsors, bringing the total to 82. This represents nearly 20% of the entire 435-member House of Representatives. However, all of the measure’s cosponsors are Democrats, providing a slim outlook in the near future in a chamber that’s controlled by Republicans.
This outlook could change by the end of the year, given every member of the House is up for reelection this November, and polling shows that there’s a reasonable chance the Democrats could take back majority control of the House of Representatives. If they were to do so, the sheer number of Democrats sponsoring the MORE Act indicate that it could be the primary vehicle for reforming marijuana laws, something many Democrat leaders have vowed to fight for.
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Jan 18 2024
The American Nurses Association (ANA), formed in 1896 and representing over five million registered nurses across the United States, calls the recommendation “a positive step toward developing an evidence-based approach for marijuana and related-cannabinoids use in disease and symptom management.”
ANA’s press release notes that “HHS’ Assistant Secretary for Health, Rachel L. Levine, M.D, recommended marijuana be reconsidered as a Schedule III drug given it poses lower health risks than other controlled substances and offers possible medical benefits. While the DEA has yet to act on this recommendation, the American Nurses Association (ANA) recognizes this as an accomplishment in realizing the potential for marijuana in health care delivery.”
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Jan 18 2024
The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission voted 4 to 0 yesterday to approve the proposed rules, which will establish a license for marijuana consumption lounges.
At these locations patrons would be able to purchase and consume marijuana and marijuana products. Consumption lounges would be prohibited from selling food or alcohol, although the commission notes that food could be delivered to the establishment.
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Jan 18 2024
House Bill 2334 was filed last week by State Representative Kristine Reeves along with four bipartisan cosponsors. Today the House Committee on Regulated Substances & Gaming held a public hearing on the measure, with an executive session and potential vote scheduled for January 25.
If passed into law, the measure would transfer “the responsibilities of the Liquor and Cannabis Board for the regulation and licensing of the production, processing, and testing of cannabis and cannabis products to the Department of Agriculture.
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