Latest Cannabis News: May 30, 2023

Stay up to date with the latest legalization and cannabis news with the C.B. 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

North Carolina: Members of the North Carolina House are now ready to talk about medical marijuana, and it appears for the immediate future that talking is all members are going to do. The bill calls for 10 licensed dealers for the various approved cannabis products, and each of those can have up to eight outlets. Those numbers might need to be addressed to reach saturation across all 100 counties. There are tight regulatory specifications.

Unless House Speaker Tim Moore takes some action to remove the bill from the committee and reassign it, the Health Committee will give SB 3 its full review. 

Source: https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/north-carolina-medical-marijuana-bill-passed-by-state-senate-scheduled-for-discussion-in-house/

Medical 

Minnesota: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is poised to legalize recreational marijuana with the stroke of a pen on Tuesday. The most immediate change in the new law will take effect Wednesday, the day after Walz signs the bill. Liquor stores will now be allowed to sell lower-potency, hemp-derived THC edibles and beverages. Many liquor stores had already been selling THC seltzers made by local breweries despite previous law not allowing it.

At a news conference earlier this month, Walz said it will take time to set up the new state cannabis office and the licensing process for cannabis businesses. Walz also must appoint someone to lead the Office of Cannabis Management.

Walz is set to sign the bill into law during a ceremony at the State Capitol, making Minnesota the 23rd state to legalize recreational marijuana for adults.

Source https://www.startribune.com/walz-signs-bill-legalizing-marijuana-in-minnesota-cannabis-legal-weed-midwest-states/600278668/ 

New Hampshire: A new push at the State House is aiming to update a bill that could help legalize marijuana.

Representatives on the New Hampshire House Commerce Committee have started working on a version of legalization that complies with Gov. Chris Sununu’s new position on the issue. The New Hampshire Senate is unwilling to move forward on cannabis legislation this year. They defeated a different legalization bill that passed the House earlier this month.

Source: https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-house-committee-marijuana-control/43988097

Recreational

Maryland: Maryland officials have released draft regulations for the state’s adult-use marijuana market that’s set to come online in July in accordance with a legalization ballot referendum that voters approved last year.

Weeks after Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed cannabis sales legislation into law, the Marijuana Cannabis Administration (MCA) submitted a first batch of rules for the industry last  Friday to the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review (AELR). That panel will need to review and approve the emergency regulations, which will also be published in the Maryland Register before they’re enacted. Highlighted in rules also is that the 65 percent ownership threshold for social equity businesses is “higher than some other states,” and eligibility for the category is based on geographic factors such as living or attending school in certain areas, which the Office of Social Equity will determine. 

Source: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/maryland-officials-release-draft-marijuana-rules-to-prepare-for-legalization-this-summer/
 

New York: The New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced that they have agreed to settle a lawsuit against a Michigan business owner.

The lawsuit, according to OCM, placed an injunction on five of New York’s regions — including the Finger Lakes region. With this recent announcement of a settlement, OCM said that they will move forward with the CAURD program and begin sending out licenses to the Finger Lakes region.

Source: https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/nys-office-of-cannabis-management-settles-lawsuit-aims-to-issue-licenses-to-finger-lakes/ 

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