Latest Cannabis News: December 1, 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. Did you miss last week? No worries – click here for last week’s cannabis news.

CBD:

Kentucky: Medical marijuana is going to be a burning debate once again in the Kentucky legislature, but the recent election could cloud the issue somewhat in 2021. A medical marijuana bill easily passed the Kentucky House last session, 65-30. But with nearly two dozen new members coming into the chamber, some of those votes are now gone.
Source

South Carolina: Advocates for decriminalizing medical marijuana – most notably state senator Tom Davis of Beaufort, S.C. – believe 2021 will be the year they finally push a proposal across the finish line. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Davis told reporter Jamie Lovegrove of The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier there is a “very, very good chance that we get something passed next session.” Unfortunately for Davis, “Republican” governor Henry McMaster has vowed to veto a decriminalization bill in the event one were to land on his desk.
Source

Texas: Proponents of lifting the state’s strict marijuana prohibitions are bracing for a tough fight when the Legislature meets in January, despite momentum generated by recent successful legalization efforts around the country and what they consider to be a strong case based on both economics and the need for criminal justice reform.
Source

Medical:

Arkansas: In the 18 months since Arkansas’ first medical marijuana dispensary opened in May 2019, overall sales have surpassed 28,000 pounds. In total, Arkansans have spent $187 million to obtain 28,674 pounds of medical marijuana. At this rate, officials with the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission anticipate sales will reach 30,000 pounds by late December.
Source

Connecticut: After years of failed attempts to legalize marijuana in Connecticut, top Democratic lawmakers announced on Tuesday that if the legislature again rejects a cannabis reform bill in the coming session, they’ll take the issue directly to state voters via a ballot referendum.
Source

Florida: Nick Hansen, chairman of Make it Legal Florida, is leading the petition drive to get a constitutional amendment on the 2022 ballot to make marijuana available to adults for personal use. Based on the success and normalization of medical marijuana in Florida, Hansen said the chances for passage are good if the amendment makes it onto the ballot.
Source

Iowa: The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) rejected a petition to exempt Iowa’s medical marijuana program from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) this month, Marijuana Moment has learned. But the activist who filed the request plans to push again for the exemption—and the state itself is considering separately filing a petition of its own to the federal agency.
Source

Maryland: Maryland lawmakers will weigh legalizing recreational marijuana when they return to Annapolis next year. Although the state could use the revenue it would generate, that doesn’t mean all are on board. “I feel it’s a money grab, we’re looking to find more, but this is not the right way to do it,” says Delegate Wayne Hartman (R-District 38C). “We are at a pivotal point now that we need to look at all issues and all areas of recreational marijuana,” states Delegate Sheree Sample-Hughes (D-District 37A).
Source

Minnesota: The Minnesota Department of Health has announced that three more conditions now qualify for access to the state’s medical cannabis program. The department said sickle cell disease and chronic vocal/or motor tic disorder will be added to its list of qualifying conditions, which will take effect in August 2021.
Source

Missouri: Missouri Health & Wellness (MH&W), a medical cannabis company, is opening its new Washington dispensary to the public on Monday. It is one of five medical cannabis dispensaries operated by Missouri Health & Wellness, along with locations in Belton, Kirksville, Jefferson City and Sedalia.
Source

New Mexico: State Rep. Javier Martinez told a panel of lawmakers this week that he will introduce legislation in 2021 to regulate and tax recreational marijuana, hewing closely to a proposal that won House approval earlier this year but died in the Senate without a floor vote. Elections this year ousted several conservative-leaning Democratic state senators who opposed past legalization efforts. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last week reiterated her support for recreational marijuana as an opportunity to expand and diversify the state economy.
Source

Ohio: A majority of patients and caregivers in the Ohio medical marijuana program – 58.4% — are dissatisfied with product prices, according to a recent survey. The results of the survey, which the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program sent to all registered patients and caregivers this fall, aren’t surprising. Last week, plant material averaged $284.10 an ounce in the state. This is down from Jan. 19, 2019, the week the first dispensaries opened, when it averaged $428 an ounce.
Source

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania regulators gave the green light to a company that intends to delve into medical marijuana research, potentially opening the door for much more industry product development. Organic Remedies has been cleared by the state health department to start growing, producing and experimenting with medical marijuana at its facility in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, according to Harrisburg TV station WHTM.
Source

Virginia: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who said two weeks ago that “it’s time to legalize marijuana in Virginia,” has released a comprehensive road map for controlling and regulating adult-use marijuana in the commonwealth. The report by the governor’s Virginia Marijuana Legalization Work Group identifies the efforts the state must undertake to oversee a new industry, estimated to be worth between $700 million and $1 billion in annual economic activity. The report specifies the goals of legalizing marijuana, including protecting public health, undoing the harm caused by past policies that criminalized possession, creating opportunities for equitable industry participation and raising tax revenue.
Source

Recreational:

Arizona: On November 3, Arizona become the 13th state to legalize cannabis when voters approved Prop 207. The new law is known as the Smart and Safe Arizona Act (SSAA). The Arizona Secretary of State’s office announced it will certify the ballots on Monday, November 30. This official act will legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older in Arizona.
Source

California: In California, the LAO estimates that, for the first quarter of fiscal year 2020-2021 (July through September), the state collected about $160 million in marijuana tax revenue and $41 million from cultivation fees. Its revised data on the the 2019-20 fiscal year changed from a total of $477 million to $522 million in cannabis tax dollars.
Source

Maine: In the first month of adult use marijuana retail sales in Maine, merchants grossed roughly $1.4 million from 21,194 transactions, data from the state Office of Marijuana Policy shows. “I agree that the sales look promising, taking into consideration all of the variables, including the pandemic, scarcity in product, and the pace of regulation and guidelines around adult use cannabis,” Eben Sumner, a founding board member of Maine Growers Alliance, told The Center Square by email.
Source

Massachusetts: Massachusetts marijuana regulators approved final regulations Monday that pave the way for a new type of business to deliver adult-use cannabis to residents’ homes. But not if the state’s existing marijuana dispensaries have their say on the matter.
Source

Michigan: Since retail sales began Dec. 1, 2019, weekly sales numbers for adult use products have climbed steadily. In the past 12 months, retailers have sold roughly $450 million-worth of recreational pot products in the state, averaging about $13 million a week in recent months.
Source

New Jersey: The push to legalize recreational weed in New Jersey includes a new “social equity” tax that would benefit communities of color disproportionately affected by drug laws. Bills by both the Senate and Assembly allow the Cannabis Regulatory Commission to levy an optional “social equity excise fee” for programs aimed at alleviating racial disparities.
Source

South Dakota: South Dakotans voting to legalize recreational marijuana July 1 creates some challenges for law enforcement in Minnesota, mainly the possibility of impaired drivers coming back from South Dakota. “The potential for drivers who have consumed marijuana to various impairment levels and then driving in Minnesota creates a safety risk, mainly due to the impact of marijuana on reaction time and impaired judgment on their driving,” Willmar Police Chief Jim Felt said.
Source