Latest Cannabis News: September 15, 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:

Nebraska: The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a medical marijuana legalization initiative cannot appear on the state’s November ballot following a legal challenge. While the state rejected that argument, the local police officials took it up in court. Lawyers for both the sheriff and supporters of the measure—including state Sens. Adam Morfeld (D) and Anna Wishart (D)—made their respective arguments during a hearing last week. The court released its final opinion Thursday, determining that the proposal does in fact violate the single-subject rule and cannot proceed to the ballot.
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Texas: Texas’s top agriculture official, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said during a visit to one of the state’s three licensed growers of low-THC medical marijuana last week that he supports expanding the current limited compassionate access program to include more patients who could benefit from cannabis—including those who would use it for toothaches. The Republican elected official stressed that while he doesn’t endorse non-medical use of marijuana, “if someone has a condition that this chemical should help, they should be able to use it.”
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Virginia: Both chambers of the Virginia legislature this week approved bills to help people clear prior marijuana convictions from their records. The state Senate passed legislation on Thursday that would provide individuals with an opportunity to have cannabis possession convictions expunged—one of the latest in a series of marijuana reforms that legislators have advanced during the summer special session.
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Medical:

Arkansas: Currently, Arkansans on average spend $600,000 every day on medical marijuana purchases. A business that wasn’t in the natural state until May of last year is now selling, according to Medical Marijuana Commission Spokesperson Scott Hardin, on average $600,000 a day of medical marijuana. “This is an industry that’s really thriving in a tough economy,” he said. “We are fairly confident that medical marijuana sales will exceed $200 million in the next 12 months,” he said.
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Florida: Edibles are hitting the medical cannabis dispensary shelves in Florida, launching a new market segment that could generate up to $250 million in sales in the first full year. If edibles wind up accounting for 20% of the total medical marijuana market in Florida, that could place edibles sales at roughly $250 million in 2021, the first full year of sales. MMJ sales in Florida this year are expected to reach $775 million-$950 million, up from an estimated $475 million-$575 million in 2019.
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Iowa: Iowa medical cannabis regulators are opening up a license for a second cultivator/processor to replace multistate operator Acreage Holdings, which dropped out of the market earlier this year. The license could be critical for the 2-year-old program, which is struggling to be economically viable, partly because of high product prices.
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Missouri: The first-ever transfer of cannabis revenue to a state veterans fund just place, with more than $2.1 million routed from the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to the Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC), where it will fund health services for those who have served in the military. The payment comes just ahead of the opening of Missouri’s first medical cannabis dispensaries, which regulators said Friday are expected to begin business later this month.
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Montana: Organized opposition to the legalization of recreational marijuana in Montana has emerged, the Missoulian newspaper reported on Thursday, September 10. The Montana Contractors Association, a builder’s group, opposes two state measures to legalize adult-use cannabis on the grounds that it would result in unsafe workplaces and a reduction in the number of available workers. Another organization against legalizing recreational marijuana, Wrong for Montana, was formed this week and focuses on what it calls the “societal ills” of m, which has been legalized for recreational use in 11 states. The contractor association’s CEO, David Smith, said it would help finance Wrong for Montana’s efforts.
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New Jersey: In addition to voting for president, U.S. Senate and House, New Jerseyans will also decide whether to amend the state constitution to permit those 21 and older to use marijuana. The amendment also allows for the state to set up a regulated market for marijuana. New Jersey would become the 12th state, along with the District of Columbia, to legalize recreational marijuana, if the question succeeds.
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New Mexico: The governor of New Mexico again agued that that marijuana legalization represents an economic opportunity for the state, especially amid budget shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said at a press briefing on Thursday that the state needs to “look for innovative ways to increase economic activity. Recreational cannabis is one of those areas where that’s $100 million,” She said, “It doesn’t fix it, but it plugs one of those holes [and] potentially would be enough to do a whole lot in the Medicaid gaps.”
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New York: Marijuana legalization is among the proposals that a coalition of New York county officials recommended on Tuesday as a way to offset economic losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) report on closing budget gaps includes a brief section stating that adult-use cannabis legalization “will provide the state and counties with resources for public health education and technical assistance.”
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Ohio: The number of Ohio medical marijuana patients who have purchased products from state dispensaries increased by 3.4% between July and August, new figures show. In August, 103,642 patients were registered with the state and have bought marijuana, according to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program. This number isn’t quite 1% of the state’s population of 11.7 million.
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Oklahoma: The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority presented the proposed changes to its Food Safety Standards Board on Monday, including one that would prohibit drinking alcohol and smoking or vaping medical marijuana on a marijuana business’ premises. Violations could get a business license revoked. The rule will be brought back to the food safety board next month. Rules to standardize fines, clarify packaging restrictions, and track waste disposal passed muster with the food safety board.
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Utah: The last major court dispute over Utah’s controversial Proposition 2, legalizing medical marijuana, is over — for now. Patient advocates announced Monday they were ending what remained of a lawsuit filed against the state Legislature’s 2018 move to replace the voter-approved Utah Medical Cannabis Act with its own House Bill 3001. The lawsuit originally asserted that state lawmakers had acted “in collusion” with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in subverting Prop 2, but those claims were later withdrawn.
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Recreational:

California: California took in a record $208 million in excise, sales and cultivation taxes from the cannabis industry in the second quarter of 2020, but growth stalled at 2.5% over the previous quarter – the lowest rate of increase since marijuana tax collections in the state started in 2018. Cannabis sales taxes were the bright spot with 12.1% quarter-over-quarter growth; excise and cultivation tax revenue fell 5.6% and 4%, respectively.
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Vermont: The Vermont House gave preliminary approval on Friday to a bill that would provide for automatic expungements of marijuana convictions and allow people to possess and grow more cannabis without the threat of jail time than is currently allowed. Under the proposal, those with convictions for marijuana possession of up to two ounces, four mature plants and eight immature plants prior to January 2021 would have their records automatically cleared. Those who receive expungements would be notified by mail.
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Washington: Washington state regulators are believed to be among the first in the nation to take a closer look at an issue that has bedeviled cannabis growers and sparked costly lawsuits targeting the marijuana industry: odor emanating from growers and processors. The state is forming a Marijuana Odor Task Force and seeking an outside expert to advise regulators on the possible impact of cannabis odors on human health.
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