In last week’s election, Baltimore voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to establish a city fund aimed at compensating communities disproportionately impacted by past cannabis arrests and prosecutions.

The charter amendment, known as Question G, passed with 76% of voters in favor and 24% opposed.

Question G allows Baltimore to tap into state funds generated by Maryland’s recreational marijuana sales tax to support these communities. Maryland imposes a 9% tax on recreational cannabis, directing 35% of the revenue to the state’s Community Repair and Reinvestment Fund, of which Baltimore will receive the largest share due to its high proportion—30%—of marijuana possession prosecutions between July 2002 and January 2023.

Under the new measure, Baltimore must outline specific legislation detailing how these funds will be allocated before receiving its share. The law identifies “disproportionately impacted communities” based on areas with more than 150% of the state’s 10-year average for cannabis possession charges, ensuring targeted support.
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Following last week’s election, Democrats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives retained a one vote majority. Now, Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D) says that he expects the House to see some movement on legislation to legalize recreational marijuana.

In September, a bipartisan coalition of 17 House members introduced a comprehensive, bipartisan marijuana legalization bill. Under the proposed law, those 21 and older would be allowed to possess and use up to 30 grams of marijuana, purchasable via a licensed marijuana outlet. The legal marijuana industry would be overseen by the Department of Agriculture.

Now, following Tuesday’s election, Bradford says there’s “will in the House to move forward” on marijuana legalization next session.
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In October, Arizona’s marijuana industry generated $25,496,330 in tax revenue.

This brings the state’s year-to-date total to approximately $235 million, with the all-time total nearing $1 billion at $993,703,867 since the state legalized marijuana. October marked the 35th consecutive month of marijuana tax revenue surpassing $20 million.

According to the Arizona Department of Revenue, the majority of October’s tax revenue came from the state’s 16% recreational marijuana excise tax ($16,014,939) and the 5.6% adult-use tax ($7,823,952). The medical marijuana program also contributed $1,656,348.
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Montana marijuana sales saw a slight increase from September to October, though totals for both months were nearly the same.

There was $27,728,562 worth of marijuana sold legally in October, which includes marijuana products such as edibles and concentrates, according to data released by the Montana Department of Revenue. This is nearly identical to the $27,520,406 sold in September. The high this year was $29,716,881 sold in August.

There has now been around $280 million in legal marijuana sold so far this year, bringing all-time sales since January 2022 to $893,601,035.
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Legal marijuana sales in Maine experienced a slight drip from September to October, but remained steady at over $20 million.

According to the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy, licensed marijuana stores sold $20,839,409 worth of product, which includes dried marijuana flower as well as a variety of marijuana products including edibles, concentrates and topicals. Sales were spread across 399,729 different transactions.

Total marijuana sales from January 1 to October 31 is now $204,097,715, split across 3,806.690 transactions.
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According to a new study being published in the December issue of the journal Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy, cannabis use can lead to “an important improvement in pain, quality of life, and sleep habits” among those with fibromyalgia.

Conducted by researchers rom the University of Antioquia in Colombia and the University of Granada in Spain, the study is titled Effectiveness and safety of cannabis-based products for medical use in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome: A systematic review. It was also published online by the US National Library of Medicine.

“There is a need to explore pharmacological options for syndrome (FMS), such as medical cannabis”, begins the study’s abstract. “The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize and analyze the available information about the effectiveness/efficacy and safety of cannabis-based products for medical use (CBPMs) and cannabis-based medicines (CBMs), in patients with FMS.”
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