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Colorado’s Cannabis Industry is Slowly Becoming More Diverse

Colorado is slowly but surely increasing the diversity amongst its cannabis industry business owners. The state’s legal industry is still predominantly businesses owned by white males. However, recent data shows that minority business ownership has slowly increased over the last year. The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) reported that as of June 1st, 18.2 percent of cannabis businesses in the state were minority-owned. The state originally had a goal of 16.8 percent minority business ownership by June 2022, but that goal was exceeded in January of this year. The MED also reported that there were 76 social equity licenses as of June 1st. The gender gap for cannabis business licenses continues to be significant, with women owning only 19 percent of the licenses in the state. 

The Retail Cannabis Strike in Quebec Continues

Several government-owned retail cannabis locations in Quebec will be temporarily closed throughout the summer months due to a labor strike. One of the impacted locations will be closed for an indefinite period. Union workers began the strike in May, demanding better pay, benefits, and working conditions more on par with other businesses owned by the province. The Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) has 67 store locations that remain unaffected by the strike. According to a recent update from SQDC, sixteen of the 22 stores that have been impacted by the union strike will close for one to two weeks over the summer. The store closures are being done so on a rotating basis to give management a break, according to SQDC spokesperson Fabrice Giguere.

The Governor of Connecticut Expects Retail Cannabis Shops to Open in About Six Months

On Tuesday, Connecticut’s Governor Ned Lamont said that recreational cannabis sales are about six months away. Also on Tuesday, a state panel made the first steps toward approving the first cannabis cultivation licenses. The first round will go to 16  applicants that have met the requirements for social equity licenses. Gov. Lamont said on Twitter that after a briefing on the progress of the adult-use cannabis industry, Connecticut is “about six months away from opening a safe, equitable market.” Lamont has personally been an outspoken supporter of cannabis legalization for his state. 

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Auditor’s Report Says Arizona Regulators Need to Review Medical Marijuana Fee Structure

Last month, state auditors in Arizona released a report on the medical marijuana program. According to their report, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) hasn’t made recommended changes to the way the state manages the medical marijuana fund. The auditors made the recommendations three years ago. ADHS complied with most of the recommendations from 2019, including performing facility inspections and addressing issues of noncompliance. However, the 2019 report suggested that the department review the fee structure for the medical marijuana program and make changes to the allocation of funds for specific uses that were defined in the legislation. Last month’s audit found that ADHS has not yet performed this assessment. 

Health Canada Says There Won’t Be Any Changes to Cannabis Beverage Regulations Until Fall

According to MJBizDaily, Health Canada will not be making any changes to rules regarding cannabis beverages until at least fall. The proposed changes would increase the amount of cannabis beverage consumers could purchase at one time. Many Canadian marijuana businesses were hoping the transition to the new regulations would happen sooner. The purchase limit increase could potentially benefit the nascent cannabis beverage market in the country. Currently, the beverage limit means that individuals can only possess 71 ounces of infused beverage at one time, which is roughly equivalent to five standard-sized cans. The new regulations would increase that limit to approximately 48 standard-sized cans. Industry experts say this is an easy way to help the burgeoning infused beverage market and don’t anticipate pushback from any stakeholders in the marijuana supply chain. 

Cannabis Activists in Oklahoma Submit Signatures for Ballot Initiative

On Tuesday, Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws (OSML) announced that they submitted over 164,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office. The campaign needs 94,911 of those signatures to be valid to qualify for the November ballot. OSML’s proposed marijuana legalization amendment would permit Oklahomans 21 and older to purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis. The measure would also allow adults to legally grow a limited number of marijuana plants for personal use. The proposed initiative would also create a regulatory structure for the legal cannabis industry, which would include a 15 percent excise tax on adult-use cannabis purchases. 

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U.S. Army to Consider Making Sniper Uniforms Out of Hemp

The United States Army has expressed an interest in making sniper uniforms out of hemp. Last week, the Army posted a Request for Information (RFI) stating that they want to explore alternative materials to improve sniper uniforms. The Army thinks that hemp and jute could potentially help better camouflage snipers close to enemy combatants. The RFI also states that the hemp yarn can be imported or spun domestically. The Army wants to ensure that the yarn can be in direct contact with the skin for prolonged periods and that the material does pose any threat to soldiers’ health. July 27th is the due date for responses to the RFI. 

Germany’s Health Minister Says They are Taking a Safety-First Approach to Legalization

According to Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach, Germany’s recreational legalization program will focus on safety and youth protection. Lauterbach discussed the plans for legalization at the health ministry’s hearings on adult-use cannabis legalization. The hearings featured experts in law, business, addiction, and other areas pertinent to an upcoming legal cannabis market. The health minister also confirmed that Germany plans to have a draft law complete by the end of 2022. Lauterbach admitted that he used to be against cannabis legalization but has changed his stance on the matter. He said, “The repressive approach to cannabis has failed.”

Leaders in Congress Want More Research on Psychedelics

Leadership within the House Appropriations Committee has recently taken a more active interest in researching the potential health benefits of psychedelics. A manager’s amendment to legislation regarding the Department of Health and Human Services expresses this interest. In the amendment, there is language in two sections that mentions the possible therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. One section calls for more research into the use of psychedelics to treat PTSD and depression. The other section that specifically mentions psychedelics discusses their use as a possible option for helping military veterans combat certain conditions. The measures were adopted by the committee last week and build upon current drug policy reform provisions of the appropriations bill.

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Minnesota Passes a Law that Effectively Legalizes Cannabis Edibles

For years, consumers in Minnesota have been buying and using delta-8 THC products. In light of the legal gray area surrounding these types of products and to regulate the CBD market, lawmakers passed a bill and Governor Tim Walz signed it into law in May of this year. The law legalizes CBD products and provides some regulatory framework for delta-8 THC beverages and edibles. Products derived from hemp can legally contain no more than 5mg of THC per serving or 50mg of THC per package. But, the new law doesn’t specifically state what form of THC is legal, which effectively means that edibles containing delta-9 THC are now legal for Minnesotans.

California’s Governor Signs Bill to Provide Relief to State’s Cannabis Industry

Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation to restructure the state’s recreational cannabis program. Lawmakers in California are hopeful the bill will help eliminate the cannabis black market and provide much-needed relief to the legal marijuana industry in the state. The bill, known as AB 195, passed both the Senate and House with almost unanimous support. AB 195 will eliminate the cannabis cultivation tax and move the collection of the 15 percent excise tax from the cultivation level to the retail level. The bill also cracks down on illicit and unlicensed cannabis businesses with more stringent civil penalties.  

Lawmakers in Indiana Want to Discuss Marijuana Decriminalization 

This summer and fall, lawmakers in Indiana plan to discuss possible cannabis decriminalization and the regulation of THC products. While this is certainly no guarantee that any legislation will come from the discussion, it is still a step forward for the state. According to the agenda, which was approved by the leaders of both caucuses, the public health summer study committee will focus on THC products, delta-8, delta-9, and the possible benefits and consequences of decriminalization. Lawmakers plan to discuss complete marijuana decriminalization as well. They also intend to explore regulations surrounding THC products, such as age restrictions. 

The post Minnesota Passes a Law that Effectively Legalizes Cannabis Edibles, California’s Governor Signs Bill to Provide Relief to State’s Cannabis Industry, and Lawmakers in Indiana Want to Discuss Marijuana Decriminalization first appeared on The Marijuana Times.

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Nevada Could See Cannabis Lounges by the Year’s End

On Tuesday, Nevada’s Cannabis Compliance Board approved regulations for cannabis consumption lounges. The lounges will serve as a place where adults 21 and older can legally consume cannabis in a social setting. They are expected to boost the state’s tourism industry because they will provide a place for tourists to use cannabis products as it is currently illegal to consume marijuana outside of a private residence. Lawmakers passed a bill last year to legalize cannabis consumption lounges and create two separate licensing categories, one for existing retail stores to allow on-site consumption and another for independent establishments that will sell ready-to-consume and single-serving marijuana products for patrons to consume while at the lounge. State regulators unanimously approved the rules.

Canada Still Has No Projected Date for Mandatory Cannabis Act Review

The Canadian government is overdue for a mandatory review of its recreational marijuana law. To date, they still have not yet provided a specific date for when the review will take place. Originally, the review was supposed to begin in October 2021, roughly three years after Canada created their legal adult-use market. Industry experts and executives feel this delay is stalling progress toward regulatory reform. According to their legalization law, the review could take as long as 18 months and will generate a report which then needs to go to Parliament. A spokesperson for Health Canada told MJBizDaily in an email: “Preparations are underway for the launch of the legislative review”. 

DC Will Allow MMJ Patients to Self-Certify

Earlier this week, Washington, DC’s City Council approved an emergency ordinance that effectively opens the medical marijuana market to anyone that thinks cannabis can help with an existing ailment or condition. Patients will no longer need a doctor’s recommendation to legally obtain cannabis from one of the seven medical marijuana dispensaries in the nation’s capital. The law change was made to help licensed medical marijuana businesses in the district as current gray-market gifting practices have negatively impacted the legal operations. DC’s City Council has made repeated attempts to create a full recreational cannabis market, but their efforts have been shot down by Congress. 

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Canada Marijuana Sales See Record For April

In April, Canadians purchased a record amount of legal cannabis products. According to the latest data from the country’s authority on statistics, legal marijuana sales hit C$372.4 million. That brings the total sales for January through April to C$1.4 billion. According to Statistics Canada, sales for April were also 3.7 percent higher than in March. Quebec led the provinces with month-over-month growth of 18 percent. Most other provinces in the country also saw sales growth in April. 

CBD Companies Can Officially Sponsor MLB Teams

The MLB officially announced that CBD companies are permitted to sponsor teams in the league. However, before a baseball team sells a sponsorship to a CBD company, they must first ensure they meet specific criteria. To qualify for sponsorship, the CBD company must have NSF International certification and the team needs to get authorization from the MLB commissioner. MLB Chief Revenue Office Noah Green said that some companies have already reached out to the league about having their CBD products certified. However, Green was clear that none have attained the status yet, but three to five brands are currently working on the certification process.

23 State AGs Send Letter to Ask Congress to Address Cannabis Copycat Products

Copycat edibles have recently become a cause for concern. The State Attorneys General from 23 states have formed a bipartisan coalition to demand action on this issue. The group sent a letter to leaders in Congress, requesting that action be taken to prevent companies from being allowed to sell edibles that closely resemble popular food brands. The letter states that state prosecutors are “gravely concerned about the dangers of copycat tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) edibles in our communities, particularly the risk they pose to our children.” The bipartisan group contains AGs on both sides of the legalization issue, with some in support and some that strongly oppose. However, all of the attorneys general agree that some kind of regulatory action needs to be taken to prevent consumers – particularly children – from inadvertently ingesting THC with these copycat edibles.

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Town in Colorado Might Rename Itself ‘Kush’ in Honor of the Cannabis Industry

A small town in Colorado – currently known as Moffat – is considering changing its name to “Kush”. The idea for changing the town’s name came from Mike Biggio, the owner and founder of Area 420. Biggio’s company licenses land in Moffat to grow cannabis. Over the past six years, cultivation licenses in the area went from two to 70. According to town mayor Cassandra Foxx, this growth is driven by Area 420. Foxx says she credits the cannabis industry and Area 420 for breathing new life into the tiny town of 120 residents and providing them with an opportunity to grow.

Recent Data Shows Medical Marijuana Legalization is Associated with Safer Roads

A recent study published in the journal Health Economics found that auto insurance premiums went down in states that legalized medical marijuana. This indicates that medical cannabis legalization correlates with safer driving. The study analyzed insurance data from 2014 to 2019, which showed that auto insurance premiums decreased by an average of $22 per year after states legalized medical cannabis. The researchers behind the study concluded that this premium decrease may be due to less drunk driving, possibly indicating that people switched from alcohol to cannabis use once it was legalized for medical purposes. While a $22 average premium reduction may not seem significant on its face, the study found that “medical cannabis legalization has reduced auto insurance premiums by $1.5 billion in all states that have currently legalized, with the potential to reduce premiums by an additional $900 million if the remaining states were to legalize”. The overall conclusion of the study was that legal access to medical cannabis had a positive impact on road safety. While more research in this area is always helpful, this is contrary to a prohibitionist argument that legalization leads to unsafe road conditions.

DEA’s Marijuana Seizures Increased in 2021

Despite strides forward for cannabis reform in many states and even some effort on the federal level, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) released a report which shows that the agency seized far more cannabis last year than it did in recent years. The annual report from DEA’s Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program showed that the agency seized more than 5.5 million plants in 2021 and arrested about 6,600 people for cannabis in the same year. Compared to 2020, that is a notable increase of approximately 22 percent in confiscated plants and about 32 percent more arrests. Interestingly, the report from DEA shows a contrast to data and trends regarding cannabis seizures and arrests from other federal agencies like the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting and the Congressional Research Service, which showed declines in cannabis arrests and illegal marijuana from Mexico, respectively. 

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Due to The Cannabis Legalization Movement, Illegal Cannabis Seizures Have Dramatically Decreased Over the Last Few Years

A recent study shows that state-level cannabis legalization is impacting the illicit market, and the DEA has drastically less illegal cannabis to test and analyze because of it. According to Mahmoud ElSohly, who both authored the study and heads the U.S.’s only federally legal cultivation facility at the University of Mississippi, “The number of samples received over the last 5 to 6 years has decreased dramatically owing to the legalization of marijuana for either medical or recreational purposes in many U.S. states.”

Published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, the study found that illegal cannabis seizures began to decline in 2011, with >2432 exhibits. By 2019, there were less than 100 exhibits.

The decline in illegal seizures of marijuana isn’t the only finding that seems to support that cannabis legalization is making a positive difference. FBI data shows that cannabis-related arrests dropped sharply in 2020 as well.  

New Bipartisan Bill in PA Calls for Full Legalization

While making adult-use cannabis legal in Pennsylvania has been part of the agenda for Democrats in the state for some time, there is now a piece of bipartisan legislation that supports legalizing recreational cannabis. This is the first bill of its kind to garner support from a Republican lawmaker in PA. Because Republicans control the House and Senate in the state, many feel that having a Republican senator supporting the bill could go a long way in its passage. 

The bill, SP 473, is sponsored by Senators Sharif Street (D) and Dan Laughlin (R). It would legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older. In a public statement, Sen. Street has described ending cannabis prohibition as “An issue whose time has come … an expensive failure of public policy which has criminalized patients, personal freedoms and impacted generations in a failed war on drugs that continues to burden taxpayers with growing costs to our criminal justice system. This bill makes both moral and fiscal sense and prioritizes the people of Pennsylvania.”

Florida Governor Candidate Crist Supports Full Marijuana Legalization

Representative Charlie Crist, a Democratic candidate for Governor of Florida, has announced that he is in favor of legalizing cannabis for the state. Crist also says he supports expunging the records and sentences of all minor cannabis-related offenses, including misdemeanors and third-degree felonies for marijuana possession. 

Rep. Crist is calling his plan “The Justice for All” platform. It also includes objectives for using tax revenue from a state-legal cannabis industry to fund drug treatment and diversion programs, as well as support for public school teachers and law enforcement.

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