Latest Cannabis News: January 18, 2022
Latest Cannabis News: January 18, 2022
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.
No Cannabis Legalization
Kansas: A House-passed bill to legalize medical marijuana in Kansas seems to be in jeopardy, with GOP Senate leadership moving the legislation out of a committee and into a different panel where it may sit in legislative limbo, resulting in the cancellation of hearings that were scheduled to be held this week. Advocates are concerned about the decision by Senate President Ty Masterson (R), who withdrew the cannabis reform legislation from the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee days before hearings were to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was then re-referred to the Senate Interstate Cooperation Committee, which Masterson chairs and where the bill’s fate is unclear.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that medical marijuana legalization is off the table for Kansas in 2022, but it does seem to signal that the reform might need to be enacted through another vehicle, either in the legislature or at the ballot, as top Democratic lawmakers in the state are pursuing.
CBD
Texas: The governor of Texas said on Monday that he doesn’t believe people should be incarcerated over low-level marijuana possession, effectively endorsing decriminalization on the same day that Austin officials certified a ballot initiative to enact the reform on the local level. But he also went on to incorrectly suggest that lawmakers have already adopted the policy statewide.
It’s not the first time that Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has expressed support for moderate cannabis reform, but it’s a notable remark from a Republican governor nonetheless. Pressed about broader cannabis legalization at a campaign press event, Abbott emphasized that Texas is “making steps in that regard” to decrease marijuana penalties, though he misstated the current law.
Medical
Arkansas: State regulators Thursday approved a rule change that will allow issuance of the remaining two medical marijuana dispensary licenses permitted under the Arkansas Constitution. The two licenses will be in Zone 6, which covers Scott, Polk, Montgomery, Garland, Perry, Saline, Hot Spring and Grant counties; and Zone 8, which includes Howard, Sevier, Little River, Hempstead, Miller, Nevada, Lafayette, Columbia, Union, Ouachita, Calhoun, Clark and Dallas counties. Of the 38 licensed dispensaries, 37 are open so far, and the other is expected to open by early February, according to Hardin.
Source: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/jan/14/arkansas-medical-marijuana-panel-awards-last-two/
Delaware: Delaware lawmakers on Wednesday filed a newly revised marijuana legalization bill that has several changes from a previous version that passed a House committee last year but stalled ahead of a scheduled floor vote amid disagreements about equity provisions. Rep. Ed Osienski (D) is sponsoring the legislation again. It would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis, but it would not provide a home grow option. A marijuana commissioner under the state Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement would be responsible for regulating the cannabis market and issuing business licenses for retailers, cultivators, manufacturers and laboratories.
Equity is built into the licensing scheme. After 19 months of the bill’s enactment, regulators would have to approve 30 retailer licenses, half of which would go to people identified as social equity applicants who have been disproportionately impacted by cannabis criminalization, for example.
Mississippi: The Mississippi Senate passed a bill to create a medical marijuana program, according to the Associated Press. Senate Bill 2095 would allow a person with a marijuana prescription to obtain up to 3.5 grams of the substance per day. The bill also sets taxes on the production and sale of cannabis, and it specifies that plants must be grown indoors under controlled conditions.
Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has said that amount is too large, and he believes it would lead to widespread recreational use of the drug. He wants legislators to revise the bill.
Pennsylvania: Since 2016, Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program has provided more than 600,000 patients and caregivers with lifesaving medicine. Each day Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana patients responsibly use their medicine to treat one of 23 serious medical conditions. Unfortunately, many patients fear that their employment could be affected given the failure of regulators to explain and enforce current law. The commonwealth’s regulators have failed the Pennsylvania workforce by remaining silent when it comes to employment matters. Now big employers are lobbying for SB 749, legislation that will punish working patients for accessing lifesaving medicine. At a time when employers are struggling to hire, it is unimaginable that Pennsylvania would even consider legislation to further restrict the workforce.
Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/letter-pa-regulators-must-offer-030011328.html
Recreational
California: On Thursday, a coalition of cannabis advocates rallied at the state Capitol, calling for a review of California’s marijuana tax system, and recognition of the inequities that remain in the ecosystem. “Small operators, especially social equity and small farmers are really being taxed out of existence,” said Amber Senter, executive director of Supernova Women. “Outdoor grown cannabis is $300 a pound, and we have a cultivation tax that’s $161 a pound. So if you do the math there, over 50% of a pound of cannabis is going to be taxes.”
Meanwhile, the marketplace for illegal cannabis continues to grow.”If you’re going to buy cannabis on the illicit market versus licit market, it’s going to be a third of the price,” explained Tiffany Devitt, chief of government and consumer affairs at CannaCraft.
The lower prices are driving customers away from businesses operating legally.
Source: https://www.kcra.com/article/legal-cannabis-growers-operators-calling-change/38775414#
Colorado: Colorado brought in a record $423 million in tax revenue from marijuana sales last year, according to the latest market report from the state’s Department of Revenue (DOR). In all, Colorado has sold more than $2 billion in marijuana through November 2021, making it the second consecutive year that the state has eclipsed that mark. In 2020, the state collected $387 million in taxes from the sales. Colorado’s tax revenue total also implies that the state beat its previous record of $2.1 billion in sales, though DOR said it will release the final numbers next month.
Source: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/colorado-earned-423-million-in-marijuana-tax-revenue-last-year/
Connecticut: We’re on the cusp of a whole bunch of cannabis-related businesses, retailers, and cultivators opening up around here. Recreational sales likely won’t appear until late this year, but the behind-the-scenes activity has really ramped up.
Under Connecticut State Law, for a cannabis establishment to operate, it must have zoning approval from local authorities. According to the latest update at ct.gov, 23 Connecticut municipalities have chosen to approve, or prohibit. recreational marijuana sales and cultivation within their borders (So far).
Sources: https://i95rock.com/legal-weed-in-ct/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
https://portal.ct.gov/cannabis/Knowledge-Base/Categories/Business-Information/Lottery?language=en_US
Montana: The city of Bozeman continues taking applications for new recreational marijuana business licenses after a district court judge denied the request for an injunction regarding eliminating a 20-cannabis business cap allowed within city limits.
In October 2021, the Bozeman City Commission approved 500 feet boundaries from the property line of a school or place of worship to keep cannabis businesses away from protected areas along with an annual licensing fee for marijuana businesses operating within the city of Bozeman of $750.
Vermont: The Vermont Cannabis Control Board has told lawmakers that the Board will need about a dozen new staff members to properly administer the state’s new retail cannabis law. Board Executive Director Brynn Hare told members of the House Ways and Means Committee that the Board needs the positions soon because the state wants to start issuing licenses to growers and potential retailers by the beginning of April.
“In order to launch and conduct oversight of this cannabis market in the way that the Legislature has asked us to, in order to reach the policy goals the Legislature gave to us, we really need additional staff,” she said.
Source: https://headyvermont.com/2022/01/11/vermont-cannabis-control-board-requests-more-staff-funding/
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