Latest Cannabis News: August 11, 2020

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.

CBD:

Mississippi: State voters will be offered two versions of a medical marijuana amendment on Mississippi’s Nov. 3, 2020, general election ballot. Initiative 65 was sponsored by the Medical Marijuana 2020 campaign and was placed on the ballot through the state’s voter initiative process. That process allows lawmakers to draft their own version of the amendment. The Legislature authorized Alternative 65 to appear on the ballot alongside Initiative 65. Republican lawmakers overwhelmingly supported the more restrictive Alternative 65 over the original Initiative 65 submitted by initiative petitioners.
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Medical:

Arizona: A measure to legalize marijuana in Arizona officially qualified for the November ballot on August 11, 2020. The secretary of state announced that activists turned in enough valid petitions to make the cut one month after about 420,000 raw signatures were submitted.
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New Mexico: The medical marijuana industry has experienced a surge in business during the pandemic. Medical marijuana sales in New Mexico are on record pace, according to an analysis from Ultra Health. The medical cannabis provider said the combined patient sales in the first six months of the year among 34 licensed producers totaled $92 million. That is a 55% increase from the same time last year.
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New Jersey: The attorney general of New Jersey announced on Tuesday that the state will immediately begin allowing patients to obtain medical marijuana recommendations remotely via telehealth services amid the coronavirus pandemic. This comes months before voters in the state are set to decide on a referendum to legalize cannabis for adult use.
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Utah: Another cannabis growing operation is hoping to locate in Weber County, joining Harvest of Utah. Zion Pharmaceuticals, one of eight firms to get a license last year from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food to grow medicinal cannabis, is hoping to locate in western Weber County. Any marijuana grown at the site would be processed into medicinal products elsewhere.
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Recreational:

Illinois: July alone saw more than $60 million in sales, setting a new record for the state — topping May and June, which had also set records. In the first six months of the year, the state recouped about $52 million in tax revenue, blowing through its initial estimate for the first half of 2020 of $28 million.
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Maine: Presque Isle City Council has given approval to the opening downtown of another medical marijuana facility. City Manager Martin Puckett says this is the third business of this kind to open this year in the community. He says the business met all the criteria established by the city, Planning Board, and the state.
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Michigan: Starting November 1, businesses and individuals aspiring a recreational marijuana license in Michigan may no longer need to be a medical marijuana license holder. David Harns, Interim Director of Communications for Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, said that the agency is leaning towards allowing standalone recreational marijuana licenses, but the decision has not yet been formalized.
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Check back every Wednesday morning to get the latest weekly news in the cannabis industry!