Apr 08 2023

Alaska Has Garnered Over $110 Million in Recreational Marijuana Taxes, 1.4 Million Ounces Sold

Alaska has brought in over $110 million in new tax revenue from marijuana and marijuana products purchased legally between January, 2017 and January, 2023.

Alaska voters legalized recreational marijuana for everyone 21 and older in 2015, with the first marijuana retail outlet opening their doors towards the end of the following year. Between 2017 and the end of 2022, Alaska garnered $113,212,190 in tax revenue from the marijuana industry, according to data released by the Alaska Department of Revenue. This doesn’t include the estimated $7 to 8 million already made so far in 2023.

Since the start of legal sales Alaska has sold almost 1.4 million ounces in dried marijuana flower, which doesn’t include products like trim and shake. This is despite Alaska having a population of less than 750,000 (only two other states, Wyoming and Vermont, have a smaller population).
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Apr 07 2023

Maryland Legislators Agree to Coalesce Marijuana Sales Bill

Lawmakers from Maryland’s House and Senate have reached concurrence on legislation that would establish rules and regulations for the state’s legal marijuana industry.

Last week Maryland’s Senate, in a 32 to 12 vote, passed a measure that would allow licensed marijuana sales to everyone 21 and older. Although Senate Bill 516 already passed the House of Representatives, the two chambers made slight amendments that resulted in the two version needing to be coalesced into one proposal.

Lawmakers were successful in accomplishing this as the House Economic Matters Committee and the Senate Finance Committee agreed on one unified measure. The legislation is expected to receive final votes in the House and Senate by Monday, the final day of the session.
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Apr 07 2023

Bipartisan Federal Bill Introduced to Allow Veterans Affairs Doctors to Recommend Medical Marijuana

U.S. Representatives Brian Mast (R-FL) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), along with 15 bipartisan cosponsors, have reintroduced the Veterans Equal Access Act (H.R. 2431).

The proposal would expand and facilitate medical cannabis access to military veterans suffering from chronic pain, PTSD, and other serious medical conditions by allowing physicians affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend cannabis in compliance with state laws.

Under current law VA healthcare providers are prohibited from making medical cannabis recommendations, even in states where medical marijuana is legal. This forces veterans to receive recommendations from private and often costly physicians.
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Apr 07 2023

Texas Bill to Add Chronic Pain as Medical Marijuana Condition and Replace THC Cap Scheduled for House Vote

A legislative proposal to expand Texas’ medical marijuana program has been scheduled for a vote by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, April 11.

Last month the House Public Health Committee gave approval to House Bill 1805, sponsored by Representative Stephanie Klick. The proposal would add chronic pain “for which a physician would otherwise prescribe an opioid” to the state’s list of qualifying medical cannabis conditions. The measure would also replace the 1% cap on THC content by instead instituting a volumetric dose of 10mg, and it empowers the Department of State Health Services to add additional qualifying condition through an administrative process.

The legislation has now been scheduled for a vote by the full House of Representatives, which will occur on April 11. Passage in the House would send it to the Senate.
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Apr 07 2023

Arkansas Senate Committee Passes Bill to Codify Medical Marijuana Gun Rights

An Arkansas bill to codify gun rights for medical marijuana patients that’s already passed the House of Representatives has now been approved by a Senate committee.

The Senate Committee on City, County and Local Affairs has voted to advance legislation that would amend the state’s gun laws to explicitly establish legal rights for medical marijuana patients. House Bill 1784 has already been passed by an 82 to 5 vote in the House, and if it’s passed by the full Senate it will be sent to Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Even if Sanders opposes the measure there appears to be well more than the 2/3rds required to override an executive veto.

House Bill 1784 would alter 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.”
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Apr 06 2023

Missouri: $126 Million in Legal Marijuana Sold in March

Despite being just the second month of legal sales, there was over $90 million in recreational marijuana and marijuana products purchased in Missouri in March, with millions more in medical marijuana sales.

According to data released by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, there was $93.5 million in recreational marijuana sold at licensed retail outlets in March. There was also $32.7 million in medical marijuana sold during the same period, bringing the monthly total to $126.2 million.

This is roughly in line with the numbers seen in February, the first month of legal recreational marijuana distribution, with sales reaching $102.9 million between February 3 and February 28.
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Apr 06 2023

New Hampshire House Votes 272 to 109 to Legalize Marijuana

New Hampshire’s full House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved legislation to legalize recreational marijuana.

New Hampshire marijuana legalizationThe House’s approval of House Bill 639, sponsored by Majority Leader Jason Osborne (Republican) and Minority Leader Matthew Wilhelm (Democrat), sends it to the Senate for consideration. The proposal would legalize the possession of up to four ounces of marijuana for everyone 21 and older while establishing a licensed and regulated system of marijuana stores.

The measure was passed last month through its first reading by the House of Representatives 234 to 127. This sent it to the House Ways and Means Committee, which voted 16 to 4 last week to pass the measure with some minor amendments back to the full House. During that period the measure gained considerable support, with 38 additional representatives voting in favor to bring the total “Yes” votes to 272, and bringing the “No” votes down to 109, on its final reading.
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Apr 06 2023

Arkansas Senate Passes Resolution to Extend Medical Marijuana Authorizations, Reduce Cost for Seniors / Veterans

An Arkansas resolution that would direct state officials to extend medical marijuana authorizations to be valid for two years instead of one, while greatly reducing the cost for seniors and veterans, has been adopted by the Senate.

Senate Resolution 54 was filed by Senator Clint Penzo on April 3, and was passed by the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee the same day. Just three days later the resolution has now been “Read the third time and adopted” by the full Senate. Given it’s a resolution and not a bill, it does not need approval by the House of Representatives prior to adoption.

The resolution directs the Department of Health to “promulgate a rule to extend the annual renewal for registry identification cards for qualifying patients from one (1) year to two (2) years without increasing the annual fee.”
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Apr 06 2023

Study Finds Association Between Medical Cannabis and Improved Outcomes in Chronic Pain Patients

A new UK study “observed an association between initiation of CBMP [Cannabis-Based Medicinal Products] treatment and improved outcomes for chronic pain patients.”

Chronic PainPublished in the journal Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, and epublished by the National Library of Medicine, the study “evaluated the clinical outcomes of patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry, who were treated with inhaled dried flower (Adven® EMT2, Curaleaf International, Guernsey), and sublingual/oral medium-chain triglyceride-based oils (Adven, Curaleaf International, Guernsey) for chronic pain.”

The study was conducted by researchers at the Imperial College London, Sapphire Medical Clinics, St. George’s Hospital NHS Trust, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, King’s College London and South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, all in the UK.
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Apr 05 2023

U.S. Sentencing Commission Approves Advising Judges To Treat Past Marijuana Convictions More Leniently

The U.S. Sentencing Commission has voted in favor of a proposal that updates sentencing guidelines to advise judges to treat past offenses related to marijuana in a more lenient manner.

The commission voted in favor of the change today through a unanimous voice vote, while also voting to advise that marijuana possession warrants discretion in regards to sentencing especially given its non-violent nature. The proposed changes have been sent to Congress which has until May 1st to issue any objections. Barring an objection the changes will take effect in November.

The change clarifies that a downward departure from the defendant’s criminal history category may be warranted based on if “the defendant received criminal history points from a sentence for possession of marihuana for personal use, without an intent to sell or distribute it to another person.”

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