Latest Cannabis News: April 7, 2021

Latest Cannabis News: April 7, 2021

Maxime Kot
APRIL 7TH, 2021

Stay up to date with the latest legalization and cannabis news with the CB Advisors. Every week, we will release a snippet of what’s happening with each state in the cannabis industry. Did you miss last week? No worries – click here for last week’s cannabis news.

CBD States

Texas: Texas House Committee is scheduled to meet on April 6th, 2021 to consider bills that will reduce penalties for marijuana possessions. Including House Bill 99, which would stop arrests for those caught with 2 ounces of marijuana or less. As well as House Bill 439, which would lower penalties over edibles.

Source: https://www.kristv.com/news/texas-house-committee-to-discuss-marijuana-reform-bills

Medical States

Mississippi: Mississippi’s Department of health (MSDH) held a virtual board meeting on March 26th where they indicated that MSDH is on track to issue its finalized rules and regulations by June 30, 2021, which will be effective July 1, 2021 and will be issuing licenses by August 15, 2021. The department also released a provisional timeline that can be viewed here. On March 30th, MSDH also published proposed regulations and rules for independent medical marijuana testing facilities. The regulations indicate that independent medical marijuana testing facilities must have everything required by state regulations as well as several written policies, quality control procedures, accreditations, certifications, and a full staff before submitting an application.

Source: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/update-on-medical-marijuana-in-3057232/

New Mexico: New Mexico is expected to become the 16th state to legalize adult-use recreational marijuana after the state legislature passed House Bill 2. New Mexico regulators have launched a website to provide information about the state’s new cannabis policies before the bill has even been signed by the governor. The website features a timeline for when the Cannabis Control Division will need to create an advisory board which is expected to be no later than September 1st, 2021. Business licenses will begin to be issued by January 1, 2022 and Retail sales of commercial cannabis are expected to begin April 1st, 2022. Within the new legalization bill there will be no limit to the number of business licenses that can be granted under the program.

Source: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-mexico-takes-first-step-on-marijuana-implementation-before-governor-even-signs-legalization-bill/

Recreational States

Arizona: Tucson Mayor Romero and Tucson City Council will be discussing changes to their marijuana ordinance at their next meeting. They are planning to remove any language that refers to medical marijuana and reducing some zoning restrictions. They will allow dispensaries to double in size, reduce the distance a dispensary must be from a rehab center, and will no longer have restrictions for dispensaries being a certain distance away from a church. The city is also thinking about allowing drive-thru and delivery services.

Santa Cruz County is also revisiting their ordinance this Tuesday, April 6, 2021, to discuss possible changes to their zoning restrictions as well.

Source: https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/mayor-council-to-discuss-changes-to-marijuana-ordinance

https://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/county-supervisors-to-revisit-marijuana-dispensary-ordinance/article_fb846c28-9644-11eb-bfda-f75ed1c83978.html

California: The state legislature is debating over cannabis-related billboards and if they should be banned or limited. One proposal encourages the ban of cannabis-related billboards to prevent harmful advertisements to minors while on the other hand Assembly members are arguing that this advertisement is necessary for licensed marijuana facilities to compete within the legal market and not in the illegal market.

Source: https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2021/03/31/californias-cannabis-culture-wars-converge-on-billboards-1369855

Illinois: Illinois marijuana sales keep increasing, this past month in March, sales exceeded $100 million, breaking the previous record. Nearly $30 million more then the prior month. Average daily sales were calculated to be approximately $3.5 million in March. If this trend keeps up, Illinois is expected to see more than $1 billion in adult-use marijuana sales for 2021.

Source: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/illinois-smashes-marijuana-sales-record-exceeding-100-million-in-march/

Michigan: Lake Superior State University established the nation’s first chemistry program, The Cannabis Center of Excellence in 2019, and Is now the first school offering a cannabis chemistry scholarship. The annual scholarship is $1,200 for cannabis chemistry students at LSSU. The Universities goal is to support students and future industry leaders on the safety of cannabis and position cannabis studies as a national leader of academic inquiry. The school currently offers degrees in cannabis chemistry, cannabis production, cannabis science, and cannabis business.

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michigan-lake-superior-state-university-cannabis-chemistry-scholarship/

Montana: Bills to regulate Montana’s recreational marijuana program are advancing in the legislature. Lawmakers are keeping several policies on the table to debate how to tax and regulate recreational marijuana. Including House Bill 701 which would institute a 20% tax on recreational marijuana to give most of the revenue to the state general fund and reserve money for proposed addiction and treatment programs, state parks, and wildfire programs. House Bill 670 offers a lower tax and uses the revenue to pay state employee pensions. Lawmakers also introduced and passed a new proposal, House Bill 707, which will place a 20% tax on wholesale recreational marijuana sales instead of retail sales.

Source: https://www.mtpr.org/post/recreational-marijuana-bills-advance-montana-legislature

New York: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed the cannabis legislation to legalize recreational marijuana in New York on March 31st, 2021. The bill will reinvest millions of dollars from cannabis sales into minority communities. The new law also seeks to allow people with past convictions to participate in the legal market. Adults 21 and older are now allowed to possess up to 3 ounces of cannabis and 24 grams of concentrated forms of the drug.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/31/nyregion/cuomo-ny-legal-weed.html

Virginia: Virginia Governor Ralph Northam recently amended legislation to accelerate the process to legalize marijuana possession and home cultivation in July as opposed to 2024. Legislators will review the governor’s proposal on April 7, 2021. They believe accelerating this process is important for social justice and equity.

Source: https://rvamag.com/politics/virginia-politics/marijuana-possession-and-cultivation-could-be-legal-by-july.html

Contact Info@thecannabisbusinessadvisors.com for more information on how to apply for a cannabis business license.

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