Aug 18 2023

New York Judge Blocks Marijuana Retail Licenses

A New York judge on Friday blocked the state’s retail marijuana licensing program after a group of veterans sued over rules that allowed people with drug convictions to open the first dispensaries.

New York Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bryant blocked the state from processing or issuing marijuana dispensary licenses with an injunction that faulted regulators for creating a program that is at odds with the state law that legalized the drug, reports the Associated Press.

The order represents a large setback for the state’s legal marijuana industry, which has been defined by a slow licensing rollout, a glut of excess marijuana crops and legal challenges that have allowed an illicit market to boom.
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Aug 17 2023

Minnesota Officials Announce Rulemaking Process and Timeline for Legal Marijuana Industry

Officials in Minnesota have announced the rulemaking process and timeline for the legal marijuana industry.

At a public informational meeting held by the Office of Cannabis Management, the group announced a specific timeline and rulemaking process for the legal marijuana industry. If the timeline holds, it looks like Minnesota will see its first legal recreational marijuana stores open sometime in the Spring or Summer of 2025. This is in line with what was anticipated by proponents of the new law.

“This is really a unique opportunity for us to assess the business needs, to evaluate the authorities that the legislature and the governor have given to the Office of Cannabis Management and then to meet those business needs in a way that really helps us ensure the success of the cannabis industry in Minnesota,” said Charlene Briner, an implementation director for the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). The OCM has yet to hire its primary director.
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Aug 17 2023

Cheyenne, Wyoming City Council Approves Resolution in Support of Decriminalizing Marijuana

The Cheyenne City Council has given approval to a resolution urging state lawmakers to decriminalize marijuana.

cheyenne marijuana

The city council for Cheyenne, the capital of Wyoming and its most populated city, passed a resolution this week that it plans to present to the Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM) at their next meeting. The resolution, passed by a vote of 5 to 2, urges the Wyoming Legislature to begin considering the decriminalization of marijuana during the next legislative session.

“We’re asking the Legislature to run it with their interim topics and draft more marijuana-friendly legislation,” said City Council President Richard Johnson, who introduced the resolution. Johnson says he hopes that he can gain support from other WAM members and thus build momentum for a statewide change.
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Aug 17 2023

Federally Funded Survey Finds 29% of Those 19 to 30 Have Used Marijuana in Past Month

The federally funded and annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) has released updated marijuana consumption data.

The survey, funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted by the University of Michigan, found that 44% of those 19 to 30 have used marijuana in the past year, while 29% have used it in the past month. The percentage of daily consumers has risen to 11%.

Among those aged 35 to 50, 28% have consumed marijuana in the past year, 17% in the past month and 7% use marijuana daily. All three numbers are all-time highs.
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Aug 16 2023

It’s Official, Recreational Marijuana Legalization Will be on November Ballot in Ohio

An initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana for everyone 21 and older has officially made its way to the November, 2023 ballot.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose notified the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol today that the group has submitted 127,772 valid signatures from registered voters, surpassing the required 123,367.

LaRose says that “in the absence of judicial direction to the contrary, I will direct the boards of elections to place the proposed law on the November 7, 2023 General Election ballot.”
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Aug 16 2023

Florida: Court Rules in Favor of Leafly, Allowing Third-Party Medical Marijuana E-Commerce

A district court has ruled that regulators in Florida must establish a rulemaking process before they can legally block dispensaries from using third-party services such as Leafly and WeedMaps.

The 1st District Court of Appeal has unanimously voted to uphold a ruling by Administrative Law Judge Suzanne Van Wyk, who ruled that the Florida Department of Health failed to go through the necessary rule-making process before it could block third-party medical marijuana services. The suit was brought forth by Leafly following the department’s 2021 ban.

The ruling from the three-judge panel means that, effective immediately, medical marijuana dispensaries are allowed to use services such as Leafly. It’s unknown at this point if the Department of Health will allow the ruling to stand, or if they’ll go through the process to ban third-party medical marijuana services legally.
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Aug 16 2023

North Carolina Committee Passes Bill to Regulate Kratom and Hemp-Derived Consumables

A key North Carolina committee has approved legislation that will establish a regulatory and licensing system for both kratom and products made from hemp.

Hemp (left) and kratom (right).

The House Committee on Finance has given a favorable report to House Bill 563, allowing it to be referred to the Rules, Calendar, and Operations Committee (RCOC), the last step before it can be considered by the full House of Representatives. The RCOC held a public hearing on the measure this morning.

According to its official summary, the measure would:

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Aug 16 2023

Missouri Regulators Issue Recall of Over 62,000 Marijuana Products

The Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation (MDCR) has issued a recall covering more than 62,000 different marijuana products throughout the state.

The MDCR says they are “issuing a patient and consumer communication to alert patients and consumers about a mandatory product recall” affecting “manufactured products sold to dispensaries and manufacturers by infused product manufacturer, Delta Extraction, LLC, MAN000022.”

The agency says the “recalled products were not compliantly tracked in the statewide track and trace system (METRC) in order for [Division of Cannabis Regulation] to verify the products came from marijuana grown in Missouri or that the product passed required testing prior to being sold at dispensaries.”
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Aug 15 2023

Missouri Marijuana Sales Pass $123 Million in July

In Missouri there was over $123 million in marijuana sold legally in July, a modest increase from the month prior.

For the sixth straight month Missouri marijuana sales passed $100 million, with $123.2 million in sales for July. This is the second highest month so far this year (falling $3 million short of the $126 million sold in March), and it brings the year-to-date total to $752 million.

The $123.2 million sold in July is a roughly $2 million increase over the $121 million sold in June. Of the $123.2 million sold, $98.7 million was recreational marijuana with $24.5 million being sold to medical marijuana patients.
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Aug 15 2023

Montana Marijuana Sales Reach $28.5 Million in July, Break Monthly Record

In Montana July broke a record for the most legal marijuana sold in a single month.

According to data released by the Montana Cannabis Control Division, licensed marijuana stores sold $28,552,001 worth of marijuana and marijuana products in July. This beats the previous record of $27,098,679, set in March of this year, by nearly $1.5 million.

The marijuana sales total for July was $1.6 million more than the total for June ($26,935,335) and $2.5 million more than May ($26,096,828). Of the $28.5 million in marijuana sold, $23,505,205 was purchased by recreational consumers with $5,046,795 purchased by medical marijuana patients. These sales resulted in around $4.5 million in tax revenue.
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