Latest Cannabis News: October 20, 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:

Texas: Texas stands to generate billions of dollars in marijuana tax revenue and create tens of thousands of jobs if the plant is legalized, according to a new economic analysis. There would be $2.7 billion in cannabis sales annually in Texas. And if the state followed Colorado’s tax model, it could bring in more than $1.1 billion in marijuana tax dollars per biennium.
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Medical:

Florida: Local residents gained another marijuana dispensary on Friday. Curaleaf opened its 33rd location in Florida on 23rd Street next to Dr. Vape It in the Walmart Plaza. Curaleaf also has stores in 23 other states. At the grand opening of Curaleaf, a couple dozen people were lined up waiting to get their hands on the shop’s cannabis.
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Missouri: Less than two years after Missouri voters approved a ballot measure to legalize medical marijuana, dispensaries made the state’s first cannabis sales to patients on Saturday. N’Bliss Cannabis opened the doors of two separate St. Louis County locations, in Ellisville and Manchester.
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Montana: A campaign to legalize marijuana in Montana is facing a last-minute legal challenge, even as residents are already participating in early in-person voting and submitting mail-in ballots that feature a pair of cannabis reform initiatives. Prohibitionists have retained a law firm that’s preparing a lawsuit to be filed before the state Supreme Court against the statutory adult-use legalization measure, arguing that it violates state law by including provisions that would appropriate funds to specific programs.
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New York: The top marijuana advisor to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) says cannabis legalization legislation will again be introduced through the state budget in January 2021, with the goal being to enact the reform by April. He also previewed state regulations for hemp-derived CBD products, including allowing infused drinks and food items.
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Virginia: The governor of Virginia signed a modest marijuana reform bill into law this week, a move that comes days before the state’s first medical cannabis dispensary is set to open. Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who approved legislation to decriminalize low-level marijuana possession earlier this year, put his signature on a bill that will allow people issued summonses for the offense to prepay their civil penalty rather than having show up in court.
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Recreational:

California: The Sacramento City Council this week unanimously approved the addition of 10 new storefront dispensary permits. The new permits will benefit participants in the City’s Cannabis Opportunity Reinvestment and Equity (CORE) program, which works to remove barriers of entry into the cannabis industry for individuals and communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs.
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Colorado: Colorado marijuana sales have topped $1 billion since the pandemic began, according to figures released this week by the state Department of Revenue. Legal marijuana sales topped $200 million in August for the second month in a row.
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Illinois: Illinois has hit a marijuana tax milestone, the state announced on Tuesday, collecting more than $100 million in revenue from cannabis sales since the recreational legalization program launched this year. In spite of the coronavirus pandemic, Illinois has seen record-breaking marijuana sales month-over-month, contributing to the significant tax revenue that’s being used to fund local governments and restorative justice programs.
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Maine: Recreational cannabis has been legal for adult use in Maine since 2016. However, it took until recently for the “Pine Tree State” to open its first cannabis stores. Finally, on October 9, Maine got the okay to open up recreational cannabis shops for business. The six dispensaries that opened up found they had a shortage of cannabis in stock, as all products must be legally tagged, tested, and taxed under Maine law. While supply is available, it hasn’t all gone through this process yet. In order to ensure there was enough for everyone, these shops put a 2.5 ounce limit on flowers.
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Massachusetts: Marijuana regulators in Massachusetts decided Tuesday to restrict the number of recreational cannabis delivery licenses and rejected a plan to delay delivery until 2023. According to the State House News Service, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission agreed to allow one business to own up to two delivery licenses – either two marijuana delivery courier licenses or two MJ delivery operator permits or one of each.
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Oregon: Marijuana regulators in Oregon adopted temporary rules for recreational cannabis business applicants to speed up the process and help ease a licensing backlog. According to a release from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), which regulates licensed marijuana in the state, the rule changes are “intended to provide relief to the industry” and allow the regulators “greater flexibility” when processing applications.
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Vermont: Vermont’s new recreational cannabis program is projected to generate roughly $250 million in annual sales by the middle of the decade, but homegrown companies might find themselves pitted against larger out-of-state businesses. Three medical cannabis businesses – including multistate operators Curaleaf and iAnthus Capital Holdings – are poised to take advantage of a five-month head start in sales in the spring of 2022 backed by potentially large cultivation and processing facilities.
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