Aug 01 2023

Minnesota: Hundreds Waited in Line at Tribal Marijuana Store on First Day of Legal Sales

Today marked the first day of legal marijuana in Minnesota, with thousands visiting Red Lake Nation’s marijuana store, one of just two open in the state.

(Photo credit: Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer)

As of today those 21 and older are allowed to possess and cultivate marijuana for recreational purposes in Minnesota. However, state-licensed marijuana stores are not expected to open until sometime in 2025. Despite this, two tribes in the state have voted to allow marijuana sales starting today, one of them being Red Lake Nation’s NativeCare. The other is White Earth Nation.

Despite heavy rain at times, hundreds waited in line to visit NativeCare, which opened today at 11 am.  Visitors included consumers who were both tribal members and nontribal members. By the end of the day, estimates put the total number of visitors in the thousands.
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Aug 01 2023

New Mexico Consumers Bought $45.7 Million in Legal Marijuana in July

In New Mexico over $45 million in marijuana and marijuana products were legally purchased in July.

In total $45,733,682 in legal marijuana was sold in July in New Mexico, a similar number to the $46,076,614 sold in June. The top month for sales so far this year remains May, with $47.7 million sold. All of this data was compiled and released by the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department.

Although overall marijuana sales were down sightly from June, there was actually more recreational marijuana sold in July; $31,623,732.74 compared to $31.2 million. Medical marijuana sales were higher in June, however, with $14.8 million sold compared to $14.1 million.
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Aug 01 2023

Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives Votes to End Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing

The Northern Mariana Islands’ House of Representatives have overwhelming approved a bill to end pre-employment cannabis testing for most government jobs.

Filed by Representative Diego Vincent Camacho, the legislation was passed by a 17 to 1 vote in the House, sending it to the Senate for consideration. The move comes around five years after the US territory legalized recreational marijuana, the first to do so in the US via the legislative and not the initiative process.

The proposed law would make it so that government agencies would no longer be allowed to test potential employers for THC, one of the main compounds found in marijuana. The change would apply to most all government positions, but would not apply to jobs where transportation or a firearm is involved.
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Aug 01 2023

Study: CBD “Shows Promising Effects in Limiting Adolescent Alcohol Binge Drinking”

According to a new study published in the journal Phytotherapy Research, the marijuana compound cannabidiol (CBD) “shows promising effects in limiting adolescent alcohol binge drinking and rebalancing the bio-behavioural abnormalities.”

The study was published online ahead of print by the National Library of Medicine, with the title Cannabidiol tempers alcohol intake and neuroendocrine and behavioural correlates in alcohol binge drinking adolescent rats. Focus on calcitonin gene-related peptide’s brain levels.

“Alcohol binge drinking is common among adolescents and may challenge the signalling systems that process affective stimuli, including calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) signalling”, states the study. “Here, we employed a rat model of adolescent binge drinking to evaluate reward-, social- and aversion-related behaviour, glucocorticoid output and CGRP levels in affect-related brain regions. As a potential rescue, the effect of the phytocannabinoid cannabidiol was explored.”
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Aug 01 2023

Arkansas Medical Marijuana Patients Now Have Explicit Gun Rights

Arkansas legislation that codifies gun rights for medical marijuana patients has officially taken effect.

House Bill 1784, which took effect today, alters Arkansas’ laws related to concealed carry licenses to state that officials “shall not consider a person’s status as a qualifying patient or designated caregiver under the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016, Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 98, § 2, in determining whether an applicant is eligible to be issued a license to carry a concealed handgun under this subchapter.”

House Bill 1784 was passed through the full Senate by a vote of 26 to 3, and was passed by the House of Representatives 82 to 5. It was signed into law by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
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Aug 01 2023

Marijuana Possession and Cultivation is Now Legal in Minnesota

As of today, August 1, the possession and personal cultivation of recreational marijuana is legal in Minnesota for everyone 21 and older.

Minnesota legal marijuana

Minnesota is now officially the 23rd state with legal recreational marijuana. The new law allows for the possession of up to two ounces of dried marijuana flower while in public and up to two pounds at a private residence.  The possession of up to eight grams of marijuana hash, oil and wax will also be allowed, as will possessing marijuana edibles with up to 800mg of THC.

The law allows for the personal cultivation of up to eight marijuana plants. These must be in an enclosed location at a person’s personal residence.
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Jul 31 2023

South Dakota Initiative Would Repeal Medical Marijuana Law

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has released a draft ballot explanation for a proposed initiated that would repeal the state’s medical marijuana program.

This proposed initiated measure would repeal the state’s medical marijuana program that was approved by voters in the 2020 general election. The repeal would make all possession, use, cultivation, sale, manufacture, sale of marijuana, and marijuana products a crime.. The ballot explanation can be found here.

The measure is proposed by Travis Ismay of Newell. According to a press release from Jackley, the “Attorney General takes no position on any such proposal. He has provided a fair and neutral explanation on the proposed constitutional amendment to help assist the voters.”
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Jul 31 2023

Study: New York is Top Marijuana-Consuming City in the World, Montreal Has Cheapest Prices

According to the the 2023 Cannabis Global Price Index, New Yorkers consume the most marijuana in the world.

The study found that New York City residents consume an average of 62.3 metric tons of marijuana each year, the highest amount in the world. Sydney, Australia came second with 45.8 metric tons per year, despite marijuana remaining illegal in Australia.

At 35 metric tons per year Los Angeles ranked third, followed by Chicago at 24.9 metric tons and Rome, Italy at 21.9 metric tons per year.
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Jul 30 2023

Second Minnesota Tribe Votes to Legalize Marijuana Stores, Sales to Begin Tuesday

Although the first state-licensed marijuana store isn’t expected to open in Minnesota until 2025, two tribes in the state are planning to open legal marijuana stores in just a couple days with no requirement to be a tribal member.

On Friday the White Earth Nation Tribal Council voted to legalize recreational marijuana for everyone 21 and older, including nontribal members. According to members of the council, sales are expected to begin Tuesday, August 1, the day marijuana officially becomes legal throughout all of Minnesota (although marijuana becomes legal on August 1, the state isn’t expected to issue the first marijuana retail licenses until sometime in 2025).

The tribe’s vote follows the actions of Red Lake Nation, which similarly voted last month to allow legal marijuana sales to anyone who’s at least 21 years old.
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Jul 28 2023

This is the Last Weekend in Minnesota Without Legalized Marijuana

In just three days, on August 1, marijuana will become legal in Minnesota.

Starting Tuesday those 21+ will be allowed to possess up to two ounces of marijuana in public, and up to two pounds at a private residence. They will also be allowed to possess up to eight grams of marijuana concentrates and 800mg of marijuana edibles, and they can grow up to eight marijuana plants at a private residence (given it’s in an enclosed location).

All of this is possible due to the passage of legislation that was signed into law by Governor Tim Waltz in May. The law went through an extensive process that included over 30 committee hearings.
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