May 09 2023

New Jersey Governor Signs Bill to Allow Marijuana Businesses to Take State Tax Deductions

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed into law legislation to allow legal marijuana businesses to take standard state-level tax deductions.

The New Jersey senate passed Bill A3946 in February by a vote of 32 to 3, roughly four months after the Assembly passed it by a vote of 60 to 6. Today the measure was signed into law by Governor Murphy.

The legislation is seen as a partial remedy to IRS code 280E, which prevents federally illegal entities from taking tax deductions. Although the measure doesn’t allow marijuana businesses to take federal tax deductions, it would allow them to take the state-level tax deductions the same as any other legal business in New Jersey.
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May 08 2023

$50 Million in Legal Marijuana Sold in Illinois in April, $295 Million So Far in 2023

According to data released by the Illinois Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer, the state sold $50 million worth of legal marijuana and marijuana products in April.

Of the $50 million sold, $32.3 million came from the distribution of medical marijuana, while $18.4 million came from recreational marijuana sales.

The year-to-date total for medical marijuana sales is now $149.6 million. The total for recreational marijuana is $146 million, bringing the combined total to $295.6 million. This puts the state on track to sell nearly $1 billion by the end of 2023.
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May 08 2023

Massachusetts Marijuana Stores Sold $145 Million in April, $568 Million Year-to-Date

In Massachusetts there was $145 million in legal marijuana sold in April, according to the Cannabis Control Commission.

In April recreational marijuana sales in Massachusetts were $125.3 million, a slight decrease from the $129 million sold in March, but an increase from the $120 million and $114 million sold in January and February. The year-to-date total is now $489.58 million.

In terms of medical marijuana sales, there was $19.9 million sold in April. This is exactly the same as January, a slight increase from February ($18.7 million) and a slight decrease from March ($20.5 million). The year-to-date total is $78.9 million.
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May 08 2023

Texas Bill to Allow Medical Marijuana for Chronic Pain Could Soon Advance in the Senate

House-approved legislation to expand Texas’ list of qualifying medical marijuana conditions, while replacing the current THC cap, has received a new committee assignment in the Senate and may soon receive a hearing and a vote.

The House of Representatives recently voted 121 to 23 to pass House Bill 1805, sponsored by Representative Stephanie Klick with over 40 cosponsors. This moved the measure to the Senate, which last month was referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. However, a few days back rereferred to the Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Committee.

Bryan Shufelt, Chief-of-Staff for Representative Klick, tells us that the measure was likely reassigned because Senator Charles Perry, who serves as Chair for the Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Committee, is carrying House Bill 1805 in the Senate.
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May 08 2023

Study: CBD Reduces Seizures in Those With Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet Syndromes

The marijuana compound cannabidiol (CBD) used without any other epilepsy medications appears to be safe and effective “for up to 12 months in clinical practice” when used by those with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) or Dravet syndrome.

This retrospective chart review study evaluated plant-derived highly purified cannabidiol use without other medications as add-on therapy in patients aged ≥2 years with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and Dravet syndrome (DS) who were enrolled in a European Early Access Program.

Of 114 enrolled patients, data were available for 107 (92 LGS, 15 DS) who received CBD without clobazam (an epilepsy medication) for at least three months. The mean age was 14.5 for those with LGS and 10.5 for those with DS. Mean time-averaged CBD dose was 13.54 (LGS) and 11.56 (DS) mg/kg/day.
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May 08 2023

US Senate Leader Says Marijuana Banking Bill Will Reach Senate Floor and Include Expungement Provision

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed this past weekend that federal legislation to allow banks to work with state-legal marijuana businesses will soon reach the Senate floor.

US Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaking at the 2023 New York City Cannabis Parade & Rally on Saturday.

Senator Schumer said that not only will lawmakers “put the bill on the floor”, it will include a provision allowing for the expungement of past marijuana convictions.

“We will put the bill on the floor and we will add to it expungement of the records of all of those who suffered from the over criminalization of marijuana”, said Schumer at the 2023 New York City Cannabis Parade & Rally on Saturday. “The SAFE Banking Act is a good thing.”
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May 08 2023

Report: Half of Americans Have Tried Marijuana, 37% are “Current Consumers”

According to a new report titled Cannabis Consumers in America 2023: Part 1, half of all Americans have tried marijuana and 37% are “current consumers”.

The new report, conducted by Frontier Data, found that 42% of adults in the United States have used cannabis and say that they will use it again, a 3% increase from the previous year. In total, 50% of Americans have tried marijuana at least once in their life.

“Cannabis consumers are diverse with users spread across age groups, genders, economic brackets and political affiliations,” said Gary Allen, New Frontier Data CEO. “With 42% of U.S. adults having used cannabis and likely to do so again, and another 15% expressing interest in trying cannabis in the future, acceptance and receptiveness continues to grow, creating massive opportunities in both new and emerging markets.”
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May 07 2023

Missouri: $121 Million in Legal Marijuana Sold in April

According to data released by state officials, Missouri sold $91 million worth of recreational marijuana in April, in addition to $30.1 in medical marijuana sales.

The $91 million sold in April is roughly on par with the $93 million sold in March, and is considerably higher than the $71 million sold in February, the first month of legal recreational marijuana sales in Missouri. This is according to data released by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The three-month total since recreational marijuana sales began stands at $256 million. When you account for the nearly $100 million in medical marijuana sold during the same period, the total amount of legal marijuana and marijuana products purchased in Missouri between February and April is $350 million.
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May 07 2023

Voters in Texas City Override Council Repeal of Marijuana Decriminalization

By literally one vote, voters in Harker Heights, Texas have approved an initiative to override their city council’s repeal of a voter-approved ordinance to decriminalize marijuana.

Last November voters in Harker Heights, a city with a population of around 26,000, overwhelmingly passed an initiative (Proposition A) to decriminalize marijuana on the city level by a vote of 64% to 36%. In the same election, four other Texas cities passed similar measures. Despite voters making their voice clear on the issue, the Harker Heights City Council took a vote following the initiative’s passage to repeal the proposal, effectively preventing it from taking effect.

This action led to activists submitting a new initiative that repeals the repeal in order to allow marijuana decrim to take effect despite the council’s opposition.
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May 06 2023

Study: CBD Exhibits “Significant Therapeutic Potential” Against HIV-1 Infections, Neuroinflammation

The results of newly published research shows that “CBD has anti-inflammatory properties and exhibits significant therapeutic potential against HIV-1 infections and neuroinflammation.”

Titled Anti-inflammatory effects of CBD in human microglial cell line infected with HIV-1, the study was published in the journal Scientific Reports. It was conducted by researchers at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University.

“Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with a chronic inflammatory stage and continuous activation of inflammasome pathway”, says the study’s authors. “We studied the anti-inflammatory effects of the compound cannabidiol (CBD) in comparison with Δ (9)-tetrahydrocannabinol [Δ(9)-THC] in human microglial cells (HC69.5) infected with HIV.”
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