Latest Cannabis News: October 27, 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:

Mississippi: A Mississippi mayor on Tuesday challenged the petition process that put one of two medical marijuana proposals on the statewide ballot, arguing that the number of signatures gathered does not meet standards set in the state constitution. Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler filed papers with the state Supreme Court one week before the Nov. 3 general election, more than a month after the start of absentee voting in Mississippi and several months after the secretary of state’s office said the initiative qualified for the ballot.
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Idaho: Idaho advocates have submitted a petition to legalize medical marijuana in the state that they plan to qualify for the 2022 ballot. The campaign attempted to get a virtually identical reform measure before voters this election, but they ultimately ditched the effort due to signature gathering complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the state’s refusal to provide petitioning accommodations.
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Nebraska: Cannabis advocates in Nebraska are regrouping for 2022 after their medical cannabis initiative was struck down in September by the state Supreme Court. Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) has launched a new medical cannabis ballot initiative after the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected the group’s 2020 initiative in September. Having been rejected over claims that the initiative covered more than one issue, the new initiative is only one sentence: “Persons in the State of Nebraska shall have the right to cannabis in all its forms for medical purposes.”
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South Dakota: Voters in South Dakota are poised to approve two separate ballot measures next month that would legalize marijuana and allow patients to access medical cannabis. The initiative to allow adults to possess, grow and purchase marijuana leads among likely voters by a margin of 51 percent to 44 percent, with five percent undecided, according to the survey released over the weekend by Argus Leader Media and KELO-TV.
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Medical:

Arizona: Just because the LDS Church supported medical marijuana in Utah does not mean it supports the legalization of recreational marijuana in Arizona. Recently, the church supported the passage of a compassionate and well-regulated proposition in Utah for the use of medical marijuana. The church is not opposed to the use of medicinal marijuana when it is used under the direction of an authorized medical professional. The use of recreational marijuana has proven to negatively affect everything from education to job stability and is especially harmful to our most vulnerable populations.
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Missouri: The Kansas City Star reports that Fresh Green dispensary in Lee’s Summit opened Monday and was sold out by the end of the day Tuesday. All told, the shop served about 500 customers. Bianca Sullivan, who owns the dispensary with her husband, says most people had to wait about 90 minutes to two hours. Sullivan hopes the dispensary gets another delivery with 5-10 days from its St. Louis-area grower. Other Kansas City-area dispensaries appear to be weeks away from opening.
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Missouri: It’s been almost two years since Missouri voters legalized medical marijuana and by the beginning of next week, there will be four total dispensaries open in the state. Voters in the Show Me State passed an amendment in 2018 legalization medical marijuana. Missouri was the 33rd state to legalize cannabis as medicine, but why, two years later, is there less than five dispensaries open? The director the state program said it’s due to the lack of product.
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Montana: The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a lawsuit seeking to invalidate a marijuana legalization initiative that will appear on the state’s November ballot. With weeks before the election, opponents asked the court to quash the measure, arguing that because it involves appropriating funds, it violates state statute on citizen initiatives. The court didn’t weigh in on the merits of the challenge; rather, it said the petitioners with the campaign Wrong for Montana (WFM) failed to demonstrate “urgency or emergency factors” that would justify moving the case into its jurisdiction instead of going through trial and appeals courts first.
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New Jersey: Employment insurance benefits would be extended to cover the costs of medical marijuana for registered patients in New Jersey under a bill that cleared an Assembly committee on Monday. The bill advanced through the Assembly Appropriations Committee in a 7-4 vote.
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New Mexico: A strong majority of New Mexico voters are in favor of legalizing marijuana with social equity provisions in place, and about half support decriminalizing drug possession more broadly, according to a new poll. Seventy-two percent of respondents said they favor the proposal, including 94% of Democrats, 46% of Republicans and 93% of independents.
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New York: As COVID-19 has created major financial issues in New York State, a solution could come in the form of marijuana. According to Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, the next budget could see the legalization of recreational marijuana as it has gained support throughout the state legislature. “It was being considered even prior to the pandemic but now more than ever, as we’re finding how cash strapped our state will be as we run out of revenues, I think it will absolutely be on the table for consideration in the next budget,” (D) Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul said.
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Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania House of Representatives approved an amendment on Tuesday that would protect medical marijuana patients from being penalized under the state’s DUI laws for using their legal medicine. The proposal cleared the chamber as an amendment to a broader piece of legislation concerning motor vehicle policies. It passed in a 109-93 vote.
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Recreational:

Colorado: The governor of Colorado is jokingly discouraging Texas from legalizing marijuana, saying it would mean less tax revenue for his own state from cannabis tourism. Gov. Jared Polis (D) was responding to a Marijuana Moment report on a new economic analysis that showed how Texas stands to generate billions in tax revenue and tens of thousands of jobs if it enacted the policy change.
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Maine: Two small Maine-based marijuana businesses are suing the agency that oversees recreational marijuana operations, arguing state licenses were illegally awarded to out-of-state owners. State law requires owners of marijuana operations to live in Maine and to have filed state income taxes for four years. But the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy ignored the requirement, based on the state attorney general’s conclusion that it’s unlikely to hold up to legal scrutiny.
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Massachusetts: Despite pushback from some lawmakers and local municipalities, Massachusetts marijuana regulators are moving forward with plans to allow a new class of weed delivery business. During a three-hour meeting Tuesday, the state’s Cannabis Control Commission approved some “contentious” changes to its draft regulations, allowing standalone recreational marijuana retailers without storefronts to deliver products to customers’ doorsteps.
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Michigan: City leaders on Monday unveiled proposed regulations for the operation of recreational marijuana shops, with controversial provisions to give residents priority. City Councilman James Tate joined with Mayor Mike Duggan and members of the community for a press conference at City Hall to present Detroit’s long-awaited ordinance for recreational marijuana, which guarantees no less than half of all licenses awarded will go to legacy residents.
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