WOODBRIDGE, N.J. – Sarah Drum saw the medical marijuana industry coming to New Jersey and jumped at the chance to be there from the beginning. Her workplace, a former chain electronics store, used to be the place people came to buy televisions and DVD players. But last year, nearly 2,700 patients with glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, […]
Policy & Legal
Legal Marijuana Is Making It Harder to Search People’s Cars
Drug policy experts often say that the health risks of marijuana use are relatively minor compared to the steep costs of marijuana enforcement: expensive policing, disrupted lives, violence and even death. Law enforcement agencies, however, have often been at the forefront of opposition to marijuana legalization. One reason is that the drug, with its pungent, […]
Arkansas to Begin Accepting Medical Marijuana Applications Next Week
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas’ medical marijuana industry will ramp up in the next week, with the state poised to accept applications from potential patients, growers and distributors. Beginning Friday, the state Medical Marijuana Commission will accept applications from those hoping to grow or supply marijuana, while the Health Department will take applications from […]
Massachusetts House Passes Major Overhaul of Marijuana Law
After several years of ceding marijuana policy-making to a voting public eager to adopt a more permissive approach to the once completely illegal drug, House lawmakers on Wednesday took the reins of the sticky issue, passing a bill to overhaul how the state will regulate the retail market of the intoxicant. The legislation approved 126-28 […]
Mexico Just Legalized Medical Marijuana
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed a decree this week legalizing medical marijuana. The measure also classified the psychoactive ingredient in the drug as “therapeutic.” The new policy isn’t exactly opening the door for medical marijuana dispensaries on every corner. Instead it calls on the Ministry of Health to draft and implement regulations and public policies regulating “the medicinal […]
California Seen as a Force for Solving Banking Business Dilemma
One of the most pressing issues of the cannabis industry continues to be banking. Just Tuesday, June 20, the Marijuana Policy Project, a cannabis advocacy and lobbying organization, announced that they were going to be shut down by PNC bank. This was an organization with a 22 year line of business with PNC, and some […]
Nevada’s Retail Marijuana Start Date Could Be Delayed After Judge’s Ruling
CARSON CITY — A Carson City judge on Tuesday ruled in favor of alcohol distributors in a dispute with the state Tax Department in a decision that could delay a planned July 1 start date for recreational marijuana sales. The injunction issued by District Judge James Wilson reverses the Tax Department’s decision to allow more […]
Pa. awards 12 licenses to grow medical marijuana
Pennsylvania officially launched its medical marijuana industry Tuesday, awarding licenses to 12 growers, including two firms in Berks County, but none in Philadelphia or its suburbs. Many of the winning firms featured political and financial heavyweights linked to out-of-state cannabis powerhouses, each coveting a market expected to be worth up to $150 million the first […]
Here’s Everything You Need to Know About New Jersey’s Push for Marijuana Legalization
Although a topic in Trenton for three years, the campaign to legalize marijuana in New Jersey officially begins Monday when a Senate committee will discuss how the potentially billion-dollar industry should be regulated. So what will it take for you to be able to legally buy recreational pot in New Jersey? Gov. Chris Christie is vehemently […]
Banking Help is Coming – But Stay Alert to Compliance Details
There’s little doubt that passage of the Secure And Fair Enforcement Banking (SAFE) Banking Act by Congress would be an enormous step forward for the cannabis industry. For those unfamiliar, the bill, introduced by Colorado Congressman Ed Perlmutter earlier this year, would prevent the federal government from penalizing banks that knowingly serve state-legal cannabis businesses. If passed, […]
