Latest Cannabis News: November 22, 2022
Latest Cannabis News: November 22, 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.
CBD
Kentucky: n an effort to reduce Kentuckians’ reliance on addictive opioids and to provide them relief from pain, Gov. Andy Beshear today said that starting next year, Kentuckians with certain severe medical conditions and who meet specific requirements will be able to possess and use small amounts of legally purchased medical cannabis to treat their medical conditions.
In an executive order, the Governor outlined conditions that Kentuckians with at least one of 21 medical conditions, which include cancer, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, muscular dystrophy, or a terminal illness, must meet to access medical cannabis beginning January 1, 2023. These conditions include:
Cannabis must be bought in the United States of America in a state where the purchase is legal and regulated. Kentuckians will need to keep their receipt.
The amount a person can purchase and possess at any one time must not exceed 8 ounces, which is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony in Kentucky.
Each Kentuckian must also have a certification from a licensed healthcare provider that shows that the individual has been diagnosed with at least one of 21 medical conditions. A copy of the certification must be retained.
Source: https://www.kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=GovernorBeshear&prId=1580
Medical
Alabama: The bill also creates the Medical Cannabis Commission, which is responsible for licensing and regulating the cultivation, processing, transporting, testing, and dispensing of medical marijuana. The bill also created a 9% sales tax on medical marijuana, in addition to setting application and licensing fees.
As of Oct. 17, the number of businesses in the state to receive Request for Business Applications through the Medical Cannabis Commission was 607. Those businesses have until Dec. 30 to file their applications, which is supported by a $2,500 application fee.
Source: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/alabama-medical-marijuana-program-taking-first-steps
Florida: A former naval officer with a law background is the next leader of Florida’s medical cannabis regulatory agency.
Gov. Ron DeSantis named Christopher Kimball as the director of the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), the oversight authority within the Florida Department of Health (DOH), the News Service of Florida first reported on Nov. 16.
According to his LinkedIn page, Kimball served as a U.S. Navy surface warfare officer from 2001-2008, earned his law school degree in 2008, and served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. for nearly 14 years. He will lead the OMMU team after serving as a policy adviser to Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, News Service of Florida reported.\
Source: https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/kimball-new-florida-cannabis-ommu-director/
Maryland: Adult-use of marijuana outside of Maryland’s medical program will become legal on July 1 next year, but the state’s legislative arm must still hash out rules from taxation to regulating sales from marijuana dispensaries. That means it’s unlikely that dispensaries will be able to sell marijuana to anyone at least 21 years old or older in the next seven months. The voter referendum, which passed with 66% of the vote statewide, legalizes recreational marijuana, but the state legislature, known as the General Assembly, is tasked to build a framework for the industry.
Details like license distribution or measuring consumer demand need to be hammered out. Adults can grow two of their own marijuana plants at home and possess up to 1.5 ounces of bud. It’s unclear how much recreational marijuana may cost consumers or how much the state tax would be.
Minnesota: Democratic control of the Minnesota Legislature could lead to the legalization of recreational marijuana this spring. Representative Mike Freiberg of Golden Valley said the bill that passed in the House last year had bi-partisan support.
“It had a robust regulatory framework,” Freiberg said. “It had provisions like expungement of offenses. It secured some of the funding for communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of cannabis.”
Freiberg thinks similar legislation could be introduced in the upcoming session.
Mississippi: Less than two months remain until medical marijuana is expected to be in dispensaries across Mississippi.
Though it is still about seven weeks away, those wanting to have a medical card before the year change need to take heed. he Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association will give more information regarding qualifying and applications Thursday during a meeting at the University of Southern Mississippi at 5 p.m.
Source: https://www.wdam.com/2022/11/17/mississippians-preparing-arrival-medical-marijuana/
Missouri: Missouri could begin recreational marijuana sales in early February or before, a spokesperson for the state said, which is quicker than originally expected.
Under Missouri’s new constitutional amendment legalizing recreational cannabis – which voters approved during this year’s midterm election – existing medical marijuana companies can apply on Dec. 8 to switch their business to adult use, the St. Louis Dispatch reported. Under the law, the state must act on the applications within 60 days, which would be Feb. 6.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/missouri-could-begin-recreational-marijuana-sales-by-early-february/
Utah: At the urging of patient advocacy groups, Utah’s Department of Agriculture & Food is asking the state legislature to ban synthetic cannabinoids from medical marijuana products sold in the state.
It comes after patients have anecdotally reported some reactions to products with synthetics, which are a byproduct in the process of making some medical cannabis products. Chirine Touati, who uses medical cannabis to treat pain and nausea related to her multiple sclerosis, said she has experienced problems from what she suspects were synthetics.
Recreational
Connecticut: More than a dozen applicants denied cannabis licenses have been given another shot to get into Connecticut’s new adult-use market.
The Social Equity Council, which oversees the vetting of equity applicants for cannabis licenses, has remanded applications for 11 would-be cultivators and reconsidered applications from six applicants to the social equity lottery for varying license types from food and beverage to retail. The applicants, who previously failed to meet ownership and control criteria, were able to submit updated documents showing they met the council’s new definition of ownership. The 11 cultivator applicants were able to re-apply due to a partial settlement in response to a consolidated lawsuit challenging their denials as social equity applicants.
Source: https://www.ctinsider.com/cannabis/article/Denied-cannabis-applicants-in-CT-17595043.php
Illinois: passage, it was touted as among the most progressive programs in the nation — promising that people disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs would have a clear path toward success in the industry.
But during the first years of the program, the only companies successfully operating cultivation centers or dispensaries were those who got in during the pilot program for medical marijuana — when social equity rules hadn’t yet been established.
A week after Vargas Jaimes spoke at the City Club luncheon, the governor’s office announced the immediate issuance of $8.75 million in fully forgivable state-funded loans to social equity license holders. The state also announced two social equity dispensaries have been cleared to open: Green Rose Dispensary in River North and Ivy Hall in Wicker Park. Both stores are now operating.
But it’s been two-and-a-half years since the state was supposed to start issuing conditional licenses. Nearly 200 such licenses have been issued so far through the lotteries held in 2021 and 2022, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, all of which went to social equity applicants.
Maine: The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) released guidance last month limiting the sale of medical cannabis prerolls and liquid concentrates, but Attorney General Aaron Fry said this week that he will not enforce the rules. Regulators clarified in October that medical cannabis caregivers without a storefront cannot sell prerolls or liquid concentrates, while dispensaries must treat them like tobacco products that can be sold to adults 21 and older.
Former OCP Director Erik Gundersen issued the guidance before leaving his role to launch a cannabis consulting firm. Previously, prerolls and liquid concentrates could be sold to registered medical cannabis patients 18 and older with no such restrictions.
Fry announced Nov. 16 that the existing law is ambiguous, according to the Associated Press, and he said he will not prosecute registered caregivers for selling the products.
Instead, Fry urged the Maine Legislature to provide clarity on the policy when lawmakers reconvene for the 2023 legislative session, AP reported.
Nevada: U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev, introduced the Fair Access for Cannabis Small Business Act Thursday, which would ensure cannabis small businesses operating legally within their states can access Small Business Administration (SBA) services.
The SBA currently bars cannabis companies from its programs and loans, regardless of state law, because cannabis remains federally illegal. Marijuana is classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Schedule I controlled substance. There are currently over 700 active recreational and medical cannabis license holders in the state, according to the State of Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board.
According to the news release, the Fair Access for Cannabis Small Business Act would open up access to SBA 7(a) loans, disaster loans, microloans, the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, and the SBA’s resource partners, such as SCORE, Veterans Business Outreach Centers, and Women’s Business Centers.
New York: New York took a significant step on Sunday toward launching a legal market for recreational cannabis by announcing the 36 businesses and nonprofits under consideration for licenses for the first retail dispensaries in the state.
The Office of Cannabis Management published the list of candidates ahead of a vote on Monday by its governing body, the Cannabis Control Board, that would ramp up the race to begin legal sales in the state despite a legal challenge to the licensing program. Regulators also released 282 pages of draft regulations laying the foundation for the broader market.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/nyregion/new-york-marijuana-license.html
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