Latest Cannabis News: September 1, 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:

Virginia: The state Senate approved a bill August 28, 2020 that would prohibit search and seizures based solely on the odor of marijuana, which activists say is a step toward ending adverse enforcement against marginalized communities. Senate Bill 5029, introduced by Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, passed on a 21-15 vote.
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Medical:

Florida: Florida has approved licensed medical marijuana dispensaries to be able to produce THC-infused edible products. The Florida Department of Health issued emergency guidance on its Office of Medical Marijuana Use Wednesday that allowed them, but with some restrictions. For example, the edibles must be a geometric shape and are allowed to be in the form of a lozenge, chocolate, drink powder, baked goods or gelatins, with some ingredients barred from use.
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Louisiana: Louisiana has quietly revised its medical marijuana regulations in a way that should open fresh opportunities for cannabis entrepreneurs. In August, three new laws went into effect to expand and support the state’s medical marijuana market, one of the fast-growing cannabis markets in The South. The most impactful is a new law that allows physicians to prescribe cannabis for any patient, not just those with a handful of specific medical conditions. The law states that physicians can prescribe medical marijuana for “any condition” that is “debilitating to an individual patient.” The other law makes dispensaries immune from prosecution, provided they are licensed by the Louisiana Department of Health and have patients who are using medical marijuana. The third law encourages financial institutions to extend services to state-licensed medical cannabis businesses.
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Missouri: A new law that took effect last week is intended to make edible, marijuana-infused products sold to Missouri medical marijuana patients less likely to appeal to minors, according to a news release from the Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association (MoCannTrade). The new law won’t allow manufacturers to use shapes like animals, fruit or cartoon characters for their products. However, the products may be manufactured in geometric shapes, such as circles, squares or rectangles, according to the release.
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Oklahoma: Advocates for legalizing a commercial recreational marijuana program in Oklahoma gave up their bid for November’s election because of the difficulty of collecting signatures during the coronavirus pandemic. “We have been put in a position of choosing between attempting to give Oklahomans an opportunity to adopt critical marijuana and criminal justice law reforms or protecting the health of ourselves and our fellow Oklahomans,” ballot initiative co-backer Ryan Kiesel told The Oklahoman.
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Recreational:

California: A federal court has ruled that California regulators must comply with a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) subpoena demanding information about marijuana businesses. DEA initially asked for unredacted documents concerning three licensed cannabis distributors and people associated with the businesses last year. The state declined to comply, prompting the feds to take the dispute to court. California officials argued that DEA failed to adequately explain the relevance to an investigation and providing the documents would violate state privacy laws. In response, the agency disclosed in a court filing last month that the materials were relevant to an ongoing investigation into possible illegal importation and transportation of marijuana oil from Mexico by certain licensees.
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Maine: Thirty-eight applicants are competing for the 20 city licenses available to operate adult-use marijuana stores in Portland. Four of the applicants who met the city’s Monday deadline for seeking a license want to operate a medical cannabis shop in Maine’s largest city, while the rest would sell adult-use marijuana. Under the city’s licensing scheme, medical and adult-use retail shops would be treated the same under the city’s zoning laws and licensing regulations.
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Massachusetts: During a meeting on Friday, August 28, 2020, to comb through bundles of outstanding policy questions, the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) voted to allow delivery companies to source the marijuana and products they offer for delivery from CCC-licensed cultivators and product manufacturers on a wholesale basis. Delivery licenses are available exclusively to participants in the CCC’s Social Equity Program and certified economic empowerment applicants, and the commission voted Friday to increase that exclusivity period from two years to three years.
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Oregon: Oregon broke its record for marijuana sales in July, another example of how the industry isn’t just weathering the coronavirus pandemic—it’s thriving. Last month, the state saw about $106 million in medical and recreational cannabis sales, marking the third month in a row that sales exceeded $100 million. That’s according to a recent report from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC).
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