Governor Charlie Baker’s blanket ban on nicotine vaping products remains in effect but is on shaky legal ground, after a judge ruled Monday that officials likely overstepped constitutional bounds by enacting the policy before affected businesses and members of the public could weigh in. Ruling on a request from vape companies to lift the ban […]
Policy & Legal
Medical marijuana popularity surging in Illinois as revisions in law allow greater access for patients
The medical marijuana program in Illinois is seeing record growth since changes in the law greatly expanded the program and made it easier for patients to participate. More than 87,000 patients have qualified for the program since stores opened in November 2015 — including a spike of almost 37,000 in the fiscal year ending June […]
Thousands of Missourians can now use marijuana as medicine. They just can’t get it legally — yet.
When Matthew Prater drives, he keeps his marijuana out of reach in a sealed container labeled with a state-issued number certifying he has a legal right to possess and use marijuana as medicine. “If I get pulled over I tell them I have a card, am in possession and where it is — and don’t […]
Slow rollout in marijuana sales costs Maine revenue and jobs
From legalization to legal sales, Maine is inching toward the slowest adult-use marijuana rollout in the U.S., with economists saying the three-year wait for stores to open will have cost Maine more than $82 million in taxes and 6,100 industry jobs. The delay has caused some investors and industry experts to take their dollars and […]
Recreational Marijuana Would Create More Than 100,000 New Jobs in Florida, Study Says
The number of jobs related to hemp, cannabis, and marijuana could increase more than sevenfold in Florida by the year 2025 — that is, if recreational marijuana gains approval in the November 2020 election. The prediction comes from a new study on the cannabis industry conducted by New Frontier Data. “Assuming full federal legalization, New Frontier Data […]
Average medical marijuana user in Ohio is older than 40
More than two thirds of Ohio’s medical marijuana cardholders are older than 40. They have more of the conditions that make them eligible for its use and are less likely to be subject to drug testing at work. The stereotypical marijuana user is someone in his or her teens or early 20s. But most of […]
Keeping Your CA Cannabis License: Get a Compliance System
Cannabis businesses must demonstrate they have the capability to be legally compliant as a condition to issuance of their state and local licenses. That compliant moment is only a glimpse of the business’s life, but it cannot be a fleeting thing, as periodic inspections can make or break your business. Depending on the license type, […]
A Democratic takeover could make Virginia more marijuana-friendly. But legalization may still be years away.
Ever since Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize marijuana in 2012, cannabis-skeptical Republicans have controlled at least one chamber of the Virginia General Assembly. In a few months, that could change. If Democrats win full control of the statehouse next month by gaining four seats, Virginia would enter unknown territory on marijuana […]
Beto Promotes Legalized Marijuana During Democratic Debate
During a discussion about solutions to the opioid crisis during last night’s Democratic primary debate, Beto O’Rourke suggested that when pharmaceutical companies go low, we should get high. The former congressman from El Paso said a veteran he once met wouldn’t have gotten addicted to heroin if the veteran had been prescribed marijuana instead of […]
‘Gold standard’ bill to legalize recreational weed in Pennsylvania
Two Pennsylvania state senators introduced Senate Bill 350 in Harrisburg on Tuesday and it contains just about everything a cannabis advocate would love. There are provisions for growing cannabis at home, expungement of all cannabis criminal records, pizza-like delivery of marijuana to your door, and a bar-to-entry set so low that just about any Pennsylvanian could […]
Mexican Senate set to pass bill to legalize marijuana in next few days
Mexico’s Senate will vote for a bill to fully legalize marijuana in the next few days, a key lawmaker told Reuters, marking a major step toward changing the country’s approach to the drug by removing it as a source of income for violent drug gangs. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a leftist critic of Mexico’s […]
California Industrial Hemp Measure Becomes Law
Senator Scott Wilk, representing the 21st Senate District, announces Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 153 (SB 153) into law. SB 153 ensures California law is in full compliance with changes to federal law regarding the cultivation of industrial hemp. SB 153 requires the Secretary of the California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA), in consultation […]
Hundreds in KC area vie for marijuana licenses. Here’s where they are hoping to open.
After months of research and preparation, then more than 18 hours spent uploading documents to the state’s medical marijuana application portal, Stacy Glazer is anxiously waiting. The company the 52-year-old Kansas City native formed with her older brother — Mandala Corp. — is now in the running for four of the coveted licenses Missouri will […]
The push to unionize cannabis workers in California
Weed workers across the country are unionizing, and California just made it easier for them. On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a requirement that all cannabis stores enter into so-called “labor peace agreements” as soon as they have 20 or more employees. California is now one of two states — New York is the other […]
Have $95 million? Two Florida medical marijuana licenses are for sale
In a move uncharacteristic of the cannabis market in Florida, an Atlanta broker is searching for the next owners of two highly sought Florida medical marijuana licenses. Aubrey Logan-Holland, the CEO of a relatively new firm called Blue Dream Industries, is listing the licenses, or “paper” in industry speak, for about $95 million in total. One […]
Breathalyzer for cannabis, backed by Philly investor, could be a ‘game changer’ for legalization efforts
When New Jersey lawmakers debated earlier this year whether to legalize recreational use of marijuana, the Garden State’s police organizations were adamantly against it. The cops said that legal weed might lead to an explosion in the numbers of impaired drivers operating under the influence. And the police would be caught flatfooted trying to tell whether […]
Mexico May Be Just Weeks Away From Legalizing Marijuana
Last year, we saw marijuana history made many times over. Canada became the first industrialized country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana nearly one year ago, while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its very first cannabis-derived drug. The latter is a pretty big deal, considering that marijuana remains a Schedule I (i.e., illicit) […]
Information Update – Health Canada warns of potential risk of pulmonary illness associated with vaping products
OTTAWA, Oct. 11, 2019 /CNW/ – Health Canada is advising Canadians who use vaping products to monitor themselves for symptoms of pulmonary illness (e.g., cough, shortness of breath, chest pain) and to seek medical attention promptly if they have concerns about their health. In the wake of the recent cases of severe pulmonary illness and […]
