Sep 03 2023

Oregon Marijuana Stores Sold $81 Million in August, Marijuana Taxes Reach $1 Billion Since 2016

Licensed marijuana retail outlets in Oregon sold over $80 million worth of marijuana and marijuana products in August.

oregon marijuana sales

According to data released by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, total marijuana sales for August was $81,631,600, roughly a quarter million dollars shy of the $81,880,154 sold in July. These sales include dried marijuana flower and shake as well as other marijuana products such as concentrates (hash, oil, wax, etc.), edibles, tinctures and topicals.

Based on Oregon’s 17% marijuana excise tax, the state garnered just shy of $14 million in taxes for the marijuana sold in August. This does not include taxes garnered from the up to 3% citywide tax implemented by some localities.
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Sep 03 2023

US Congressmember Introduces “Stop Pot Act” to Withhold Funds from Legal Marijuana States and Tribes

The “Stop Pot Act” has been introduced in the United States House of Representatives.

Filed by North Carolina Congressman Chuck Edwards, the Stop Pot Act would withhold federal funding from states and tribes that have legalized recreational marijuana.

“The laws of any government should not infringe on the overall laws of our nation, and federal funds should not be awarded to jurisdictions that willfully ignore federal law”, Edwards said in a press statement. “During a time when our communities are seeing unprecedented crime, drug addiction, and mental illness, the Stop Pot Act will help prevent even greater access to drugs and ease the strain placed on our local law enforcement and mental health professionals who are already stretched thin.”
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Sep 01 2023

New Mexico Marijuana Stores Sold $47.7 Million Worth of Marijuana in August, Over 1 Million Different Transactions

There was over $47 million in legal marijuana and marijuana products sold throughout the month of August.

According to data released by the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department, marijuana retail outlets sold $47,714,498.16 worth of marijuana in August, falling just short of but essentially tying the monthly record of $47,759,256.32 sold in May.

Of the $47.7 million sold, $14.4 million was medical marijuana and $33.3 million was recreational marijuana.
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Sep 01 2023

California Senate-Approved Bill to Legalize Psychedelics Passed by 3rd Assembly Committee

Legislation to legalize the personal possession of several psychedelic substances has been passed by a third Assembly committee, allowing it to advance to the full Assembly.

Psilocybin ("magic") mushrooms.

The Assembly Appropriations Committee has given approval to Senate Bill 58, a measure to legalize the “possession, preparation, obtaining, transfer, as specified, or transportation of” psilocybin, psilocyn, mescaline, ibogaine and DMT. The Assembly Health and Public Safety Committees have already voted in favor of the bill, as has the state’s full Senate.

The bill, which would also legalize “any spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other material which contain psilocybin or psilocyn”, will now be allowed a vote by the full Assembly. If it’s passed by the Assembly it will need to go back to the Senate for one final vote before it can be sent to Governor Gavin Newsom, given it was amended slightly in committee.
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Sep 01 2023

Global Cannabis Stock Index Sees 22% Increase Following Marijuana Rescheduling News

The Global Cannabis Stock Index has seen a significant jump following news that the Department of Health is requesting the DEA reschedule marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule III.

Last week, on August 24, the Global Cannabis Stock Index was at 7.29, the lowest ever recorded since the index’s creation in 2013. As of yesterday, August 31, the index had jumped to 8.91, a 22% increase. This jump came one day after the Department of Health news. As of the time of publication the index rose slightly more to 8.93 (its high for the day is 9.19).

The last time the index was above 8.50 was in the middle of March. The 8.93 represented currently still marks a roughly 20% decrease from the high point of the year (11.28 in February).
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Sep 01 2023

Michigan Marijuana Workers Vote to Unionize With Teamsters

Drivers and budtenders at Ascend Cannabis Provisions in Michigan have overwhelmingly ratified their first contract with Teamsters Local 406.

It is the second collective bargaining agreement in the Michigan cannabis industry that the Teamsters have ratified, and the first in the Western part of the state.

The agreement features significant improvements, including an immediate raise with a three percent wage increase for all workers each following year, guaranteed gratuities and increased transparency around the way they are distributed, guaranteed discounts, seniority, protections from unjust termination and discipline, enhanced safety for drivers, and more paid time off.
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Sep 01 2023

South Dakota AG Releases Final Ballot Summary for Marijuana Legalization Initiative, Proponents Aim for Vote in 2024

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has approved the final summary language for an initiative to legalize marijuana that proponents are hoping to put to a vote in 2024.

Proponents of the measure must now collect 17,509 signatures from registered South Dakota voters in order to put the issue before voters in November, 2024.

If the initiative is placed on the ballot and passed into law, the possession of up to two ounces of marijuana and the cultivation of up to six plants would be allowed for those 21+. Marijuana use would be restricted “where tobacco is prohibited”, and the initiative would have no impact on the state’s current hemp and medical marijuana laws.
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Sep 01 2023

Clinical Trial: High-CBD Marijuana Doesn’t Negatively Impact Driving Performance, But THC Could be Detected Hours Later

Consuming high-CBD/low-THC marijuana doesn’t adversely impact driving abilities, but THC may be detected up to five hours after, according to clinical trial data published in the International Journal of Legal Medicine.

Conducted by researchers at the  University of Basel, the aim of this “prospective, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized, cross-over study was to determine cannabinoid levels in blood and driving-related ability after single (S1) and repetitive (S2) vaporization of cannabis rich in cannabidiol (CBD)”. The study was published online ahead of print by the US National Library of Medicine.

For the study healthy adult volunteers were given either low-THC/CBD-rich cannabis products or a placebo. Main outcomes were “THC- and CBD-levels in whole blood and overall assessment of driving-related ability by computerized tests.”
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Aug 30 2023

New Hampshire: Legislative Work Session on Marijuana Legalization Scheduled for September 6

Legislation that would legalize marijuana for everyone 21 and older, first filed in January, has been scheduled for a legislative work session next week.

The subcommittee work session on House Bill 544 will take place at 10 am in Legislative Office Building 302-304. The proposed law was filed by State Representative Daniel Eaton along with with cosponsors.

House Bill 544 would regulate marijuana similar to alcohol. It would put control of the legal marijuana market in the hands of the state liquor commission.
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Aug 30 2023

US Secretary of Health Confirms Department of Health is Requesting DEA Make Marijuana Schedule III

Earlier today we reported that U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health sent a letter to the DEA recommending that marijuana be rescheduled. Now the head of the the Department of Health has confirmed the news.

“I can now share that, following the data and science, @HHSGov has responded to @POTUS’ directive to me for the Department to provide a scheduling recommendation for marijuana to the DEA”, said Secretary of Health Xavier Becerra in a social media post. “We’ve worked to ensure that a scientific evaluation be completed and shared expeditiously.” The social media post was made at exactly 4:20pm.

In the letter addressed to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) the Department of Health asked for marijuana to be reclassified as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act, allowing it to be used for medical purposes (other schedule III drugs include codeine and testosterone).
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