Latest Cannabis News: November 15, 2022
Latest Cannabis News: November 15, 2022
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.
Medical
Arkansas: Arkansas voters on Tuesday night rejected a ballot measure to legalize recreational cannabis, media outlets reported, dealing a setback to efforts to launch the first adult-use market in a deep-red, conservative Southern state.
Issue 4, which faced unfavorable odds, encountered opposition from a strong and unlikely coalition of political and religious conservatives as well as progressive cannabis advocates.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/arkansas-voters-look-set-to-reject-recreational-cannabis-legalization/
Mississippi: Republican Gov. Tate Reeves opposes using his pardon power to give people convicted of possessing marijuana a fresh start, but some of the Capitol’s lead lawmakers could bring changes on the legislative level.
Reeves recently told reporters that he currently has no intentions of issuing pardons for people convicted of low-level marijuana possession offenses and called President Joe Biden’s recent action pardoning people convicted of such crimes on the federal level a “political stunt.”
North Dakota: North Dakota voters rejected Measure 2, the state’s 2022 adult-use cannabis legalization initiative, by a roughly 55%-to-45% margin, with 374 of 398 precincts fully reporting, according to the North Dakota Secretary of State’s Office.
The initiative also aimed to establish a licensed industry for cultivation, processing, retail, and testing laboratories, requiring the Department of Health and Human Services or another department or agency designated by the state Legislature to establish a licensed program. Under the measure, seven cultivation facilities and 18 retailers would have been licensed.
Source: https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/north-dakota-votes-adult-use-cannabis-measure-2-2022/
South Dakota: South Dakota voters rejected a ballot measure to legalize marijuana on Tuesday.
Voters in the state had passed an earlier 2020 reform measure, but it was ultimately overturned by the courts.
Even though polling had consistently indicated that support was seriously lagging for the revised initiative, which would have legalized cannabis for adults 21 and older, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (SDBML) maintained all along that it remained confident in the measure’s prospects.
Recreational
California: California voters approved 12 local ballot measures in the 2022 midterm elections that will either expand or create retail cannabis markets in a dozen municipalities, with most of the gains centered in Los Angeles and San Diego counties.
All in, the wins should translate to more than 70 new retail licenses and countless other business opportunities for plant-touching and ancillary companies serving those retailers. L.A. County alone could create 25 retail licenses after voters in the nation’s most-populous county widely approved taxing marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas, including a 6% tax on gross retail receipts.
In San Diego County, the country’s fifth-most-populous county, voters approved a tax measure that ultimately could lead to more than 20 new retail licenses.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/california-voters-approve-dozen-cannabis-ballot-measures-to-expand-retail/
Connecticut: Cannabis entrepreneurs in the state’s social equity program can now apply for low-interest loans from the Social Equity Council’s $50 million fund, according to the Connecticut Cannabis Chamber of Commerce.
The fund, which was approved by the legislature when the adult-use cannabis program was created, is open to those social equity partners with provisional licenses.
A business accelerator program also is planned, according to the Social Equity Council.
Illinois: Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today announced that $8.75 million in Direct Forgivable Loans fully financed by the State will be made available to all conditionally-approved social equity loan applicants in order to provide immediate access to capital. Pending the completion of a simplified documentation process, forgivable loan amounts between $50,000-$500,000 will be released immediately.
The Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program is a first-of-its-kind program that launched in the summer of 2021 with the goal of providing low-interest loans to social equity licensees through a partnership with lending institutions. Program participants have encountered significant delays in receiving capital through financial institutions due to the complexities of navigating a new industry that remains illegal under federal law, as well as institutions’ fiduciary, regulatory responsibilities and underwriting standards that are set independent of the program.
Source: https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.25669.html
Massachusetts: Boston will refund millions of dollars in “impact” fees it collected from marijuana companies, the first Massachusetts municipality to do so after state lawmakers enacted a measure cracking down on the controversial payments.
Since 2017, Massachusetts law has allowed cities and towns to charge local marijuana operators impact fees of up to 3 percent of their revenue, as long as the payments were “reasonably related” to the facility’s negative impacts.
But in the absence of enforcement, most cities and towns charged the maximum rate, or even more, without enumerating any issues. They also spent the funds on a variety of projects, many with little apparent connection to the presence of pot shops and growing facilities. The debate culminated earlier this year when the state Legislature passed a law requiring cities and towns to document the costs supposedly covered by the fees and giving the Cannabis Control Commission oversight of the deals.
Source: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/11/10/marijuana/boston-refund-millions-marijuana-impact-fees/
Maryland: Maryland voters approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday to legalize adult-use cannabis. Even though Maryland voters chose to legalize recreational cannabis, it doesn’t mean that any adult aged 21 and older will be able to walk into the nearest dispensary and legally buy cannabis. Tuesday’s vote essentially gives Maryland lawmakers the green light to go ahead and set up a recreational industry that could start as soon as July 1. Approval of adult-use cannabis will trigger some legislation passed in the 2022 session.
Michigan: Michigan had 32 local ballot proposals asking voters whether they wanted marijuana sales in their communities, and the results were split.
Of 32 proposals, 15 passed, and 17 failed. However, two of the ballots proposals that failed in Macomb County’s Memphis city were initiatives that would have prohibited marijuana businesses.
Many of the proposals were intended to allow recreational marijuana businesses. Five of the measures were to allow only medical marijuana businesses. All of those passed, except a proposal in Oakland County’s Village of Clarkston. It failed, with only about 18% voting in favor of the initiative.
Missouri: Just two days after Missouri voters approved marijuana legalization at the ballot, the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has released draft regulations for the adult-use market and opened a public comment period.
DHHS, which will have regulatory authority over the program and be responsible for issuing cannabis business licenses, started initial work to prepare the rules back in August after it was confirmed the legalization would be on the ballot.
Now the draft rules are out, and officials are encouraging Missourians to submit public comments over the next two weeks to help them finalize the regulations.
New York: A federal judge has temporarily barred the state of New York from issuing the first batch of retail licenses for recreational cannabis in five regions pending the resolution of a lawsuit filed by a Michigan-based company challenging the program’s selection requirements.
The decision on Thursday from the Federal District Court in Syracuse spells trouble for the state’s plan to begin recreational cannabis sales as soon as this year. The case, brought by Variscite NY One, argues that requirements that applicants have a cannabis-related conviction under New York state law and significant ties to the state violate constitutional protections of interstate commerce. Judge Sharpe said the state, represented by the attorney general’s office, had not made a convincing case for how the legalization law and regulations were narrowly tailored to serve a legitimate purpose. He noted that Variscite “has also demonstrated a clear likelihood of success on the merits.”
The judge, Gary L. Sharpe, said the state could not issue conditional licenses to operate dispensaries in Brooklyn, Central New York, the Finger Lakes, the Mid-Hudson area, and Western New York while the case is pending. Eleven other regions, including the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, and Long Island, were not affected.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/11/nyregion/cannabis-dispensary-license-blocked.html
Rhode Island: Rhode Island residents in 31 cities and towns voted Tuesday on whether or not to approve recreational marijuana sales.
Six towns rejected ballot measures for recreational marijuana sales, including Barrington, East Greenwich, Jamestown, Little Compton, Scituate, and Smithfield.
Cannabis retailers will now be banned in those communities. Recreational sales at existing medical marijuana dispensaries will start on Dec. 1.
Source: https://www.abc6.com/6-rhode-island-towns-vote-no-for-cannabis-retail-sales/
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