Latest Cannabis News: September 29, 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 medical marijuana legalization initiative that will appear on Mississippi’s November ballot is being targeted by two medical associations that are pushing voters to reject the policy change. Mississippi State Medical Association (MSMA) and American Medical Association (AMA) are circulating a sample ballot that instructs voters on how to reject the activist-led measure.
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Nebraska: Nebraska activists on Monday announced they are filing a new medical marijuana ballot initiative after an earlier version got shot down by the state Supreme Court this month. While advocates are disappointed that the state won’t have the opportunity to enact the policy change this year, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana didn’t waste any time putting together a new initiative that they feel will pass the single-subject test and appear on the 2022 ballot.
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Medical:

Arizona: A group of Catholic bishops in Arizona have come out against Prop 207, the ballot measure that would legalize recreational marijuana in our state. Legalized weed “sends a message to children that drug use is socially and morally acceptable,” the Bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference wrote in a joint letter, published September 25. “As people of faith, we must speak out against this effort and the damaging effects its passage would have on children and families.”
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Arkansas: Arkansans have spent $154 million to acquire 24,067 pounds of medical marijuana since the first dispensary opened in the state in May 2019, according to Scott Hardin, a spokesperson with the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission. The medical marijuana industry continues to grow in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley, with 8,416 pounds of medicine sold in the region alone since August 2019.
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Hawaii: The state has approved two more cannabis dispensaries in the islands. After an onsite health inspection, the Department of Health gave the greenlight to Hawaiian Ethos on Kanoelehua Avenue in Hilo, along with Noa Botanical’s third shop, which is located in Aiea off Kamehameha Highway. These new dispensaries are the 14th and 15th licensed ones in the state. The state said as of Aug. 31, there were a total of 29,475 medical cannabis patients and 2,445 caregivers registered statewide.
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Minnesota: Minnesota’s Second Congressional District election has been delayed due to the unexpected death of the Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate Adam Charles Weeks. Secretary of State Steve Simon indicated the Legal Marijuana Now Party has until November 10 to choose a replacement for Weeks. Dennis Schuller, with the Legal Marijuana Now Party, said the party has not determined who would be the candidate on February ballots but that the party would meet in the next couple of weeks to choose a replacement.
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Recreational:

Colorado: Colorado marijuana regulators are closer to creating new business licenses for eligible entrepreneurs who lack funding, with the micro-license applications expected to become available early next year. The Colorado Legislature passed several laws over the last two years to address the lagging social equity and diversity in the state’s marijuana program. The new micro-license applications are now expected to be ready by January 1, 2021, according to the MED, and could be used for marijuana dispensaries, growing operations, and infused-product manufacturing. To be eligible, applicants would have to fit one of several qualifications connected to communities impacted by drug prohibition, including annual income and proof of direct harm related to the War on Drugs.
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Massachusetts: The Cannabis Control Commission filled in the blanks Thursday of its long-discussed marijuana home delivery rules, agreeing upon a framework that creates two types of delivery licenses and settling on a timeline that would have new cannabis industry rules in place in about a month. The CCC adopted draft delivery regulations Thursday that would create two distinct delivery license types: a “limited delivery license” that would allow an operator to charge a fee to make deliveries from CCC-licensed retailers and dispensaries, and a “wholesale delivery license” that would let an operator buy marijuana wholesale from cultivators and manufacturers and store it in a warehouse. The licensees would augment retail stories and serve as a new means for people to acquire recreational marijuana.
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