Mar 20 2023

Mississippi Legislature Approves Bill to Alter Medical Marijuana Law

Legal medical marijuana sales began in Mississippi less than two months ago, but the state’s legislature has already approved a bill to alter the state’s law.

The mostly technical piece of legislation, House Bill 1158, has been passed by the House and Senate and has been sent to Governor Tate Reeves for consideration. The measure would limit the information available to the public about businesses’ citation records and attempts to reduce inconsistencies from the agencies that are running the state’s medical marijuana program.

“Unfortunately the Department of Health in their rules and regs probably accepted some things that were not intentioned (sic) by the bill,” said Senator Kevin Blackwell, one of the bill’s sponsors. “So we are trying to correct those.. and we do so in the bill.”
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Mar 20 2023

State Report Finds Compliance Rates at WA Marijuana Stores Much Higher than Tobacco and Liquor Stores

According to a report by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, the compliance rate for the marijuana industry is considerably higher than other similar industries.

The report found that compliance rates for the marijuana industry was 92% through 2022, which was considerably higher than the liquor (77%), tobacco (80%) and vapor (75%) industries.

These numbers continues a trend, with compliance rates for the marijuana industry being higher than the liquor, tobacco and vapor industry every year since the start of legal marijuana sales in 2014. For example, in 2021 compliance rate for the marijuana industry was 95%. The liquor industry’s compliance rate was 75%, exactly the same as the tobacco industry.
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Mar 20 2023

Nevada Bill Would Legalize Cannabis Events and Allow Portable Cannabis Vendors

Legislation filed by State Representative Cameron Miller would legalize cannabis events and establish a license for “portable cannabis vendors”.

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Assembly Bill 253 would legalize the social use of marijuana in licensed places and during licensed events. It also explicitly allows for portable cannabis vendors who would be authorized to sell marijuana and marijuana products to those 21 and older at cannabis events and certain other events such as concerts.

The measure has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee. It will need to receive approval by two committees before it can receive a vote by the full House of Representatives.
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Mar 20 2023

Maine: $14.4 Million in Legal Marijuana Sales in February, 242,282 Different Transactions

There was $14 million in legal marijuana purchased in Maine in February, bringing the total for the year to $28 million.

This is according to data released by Maine’s Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP), which is part of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services. In total there was $14,451,293 worth of marijuana and marijuana products purchased in Maine, which has a population of around 1.3 million. This is a slight increase from the previous month, with $14,235,248 sold in January. The yearly total is now $28,686,541.

OCP data shows there were 242,282 different marijuana sales transactions in February, and 484,459 for the year. The average price of a gram currently stands at $7.93, $0.11 lower then the average in January. The average cost per transaction was $59.
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Mar 19 2023

California Cannabis Bill Introduced to Protect Consumers from Price Gouging and Harmful Ingredients

California Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer has introduced legislation designed to protect cannabis consumers and the legal cannabis market by enhancing testing and labeling standards.

“As consumers, we all want to know that what we purchase is safe, legal, and tested”, says Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer. “This is why I introduced AB 1610. As the cannabis industry continues to grow in California my bill will help protect consumers and maintain high quality cannabis products.”

Jones-Sawyer notes in a press release that the cannabis industry has seen product recalls in California, Michigan, Colorado, and Oklahoma for unsafe levels of mold, yeast, E. coli, and salmonella.
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Mar 19 2023

Study: 59% of Neighborhoods in Canada Within a 5-Minute Drive of a Cannabis Store

A new study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review details just how much Canada’s legal cannabis market has grown since being legalized in 2018.

Titled Access to legal cannabis market in Canada over the four years following non-medical cannabis legalisation, the study was conducted by researchers at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, the University of Ottawa, the University of Toronto, the Toronto Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Bruyere Research Institute.

For the study researchers examine and described “how the legal market has changed over the first 4 years following legalisation in Canada.”
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Mar 18 2023

Montana: $353 Million in Legal Marijuana Sold Between January, 2022 and February, 2023

In Montana there was $353 million in legal marijuana sold between January, 2022, and February of this year, resulting in over $50 million in taxes.

In total since January, 2022 Montana sold $248,407,983 million in recreational marijuana and $104,632,495 million in medical marijuana, for a total of $353,040,478 in sales. January, 2022 was the first month of legal recreational cannabis sales, with medical marijuana first being legalized back in 2004.

According to data released by the Montana Cannabis Control Division, the state made $49,681,597 million in taxes from recreational marijuana and $4,185,300 million from the sale of medical marijuana.
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Mar 18 2023

California Garnered $4.6 Billion in Marijuana Tax Revenue Between 2018 and 2022

According to data released by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, California has garnered over $4.6 billion in tax revenue from legal marijuana sales.

In total California has earned $4,632,749,942 in revenue from the distribution of marijuana and marijuana products as of the end of 2022. This revenue came from nearly $20 billion in marijuana sales.

Although California legalized marijuana in November, 2016 through the passage of Proposition 64, it wasn’t until January, 2018 when legal sales began to take place. Under the law those 21 and older are allowed to purchase up to an ounce of dried marijuana and up to eight grams of marijuana concentrates such as hash and oil. In California marijuana has a 15% excise tax placed on all sales. This is considerably lower than the 37% rate levied in neighboring Washington State.
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Mar 18 2023

Florida Bill to Allow Telehealth for Medical Marijuana Renewals Unanimously Passed by Two Committees

Legislation that would allow physicians to renew patients medical marijuana cards via telehealth options has been passed unanimously by two committees in the House of Representatives.

House Bill 387 was passed yesterday by the House Health and Human Services Committees in a 20 to 0 vote, eight days after it passed the House Healthcare Regulations Subcommittee by a vote of 16 to 0. The measure now goes to the full House, with passage there sending it to the Senate.

Under the proposed law although a licensed physician would still be required to meet a patient in-person to authorize their medical marijuana use for the first time, all subsequent annual renewals could be conducted through telehealth options such as Zoom.
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Mar 17 2023

Pennsylvania Court Rules Medical Marijuana Costs Should Be Reimbursed by Workers’ Compensation Insurance Plans

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled today that the costs associated with the legal use of medical cannabis are eligible for reimbursement under workers’ compensation laws.

The court ruled that the state’s Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board made a mistake when it upheld a decision by Firestone Tire & Rubber that denied the reimbursement costs for the medical marijuana used by employee Paul Sheetz.

“I am so excited that the Commonwealth Court, in their wisdom, agreed that workers comp carriers are required to reimburse injured workers who use medical marijuana to treat severe and often life-long injuries,” says Jenifer Kaufman, the attorney who represented the claimant’s estate. “This is a game-changer for those injured workers who have worked hard to get off dangerous and expensive opioids and are forced to pay the cost of medical marijuana treatment out of their fixed incomes.”
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