Author: AggregatedNews

[ad_1] Colombia’s Senate voted down a measure to approve the sale of recreational cannabis to adults late on Tuesday, although supporters including the government of leftist President Gustavo Petro said they would continue to pursue legalization. The South American country already allows some cannabis derived products, such as oils and creams, to be made and sold for medicinal uses, while legislation passed in the 1980s and 1990s allows consumption and the cultivation of up to 20 plants. But sales of the drug for recreational purposes are illegal and opponents of legalization celebrated the bill’s defeat as ensuring the protection of…

[ad_1] Lawyers for the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority took a seat at one of two tables before a judge as the morning sun splashed through the hexagon-shape windows of a first-floor makeshift courtroom inside the state agency’s building near the state Capitol. The second table was empty, reserved for the owners of a Muskogee marijuana dispensary that recently had been shut down by the state agency over numerous violations. The hearing was a chance for the dispensary owners to appeal the shutdown order, but after 15 minutes of no one showing up, the judge ruled in favor of the authority. The…

[ad_1] The Delaware State Senate confirmed Robert Coupe, a former superintendent of the Delaware State Police, to become the state’s first marijuana commissioner, who is tasked with standing up the recreational marijuana sales market. The Senate voted 19-0 Wednesday afternoon, with two absences, to approve Gov. John Carney’s nomination of Coupe. Carney has repeatedly voiced his concerns on marijuana legalization on the health of young Delawareans and other implications of driving under the influence. But the governor decided to “pocket approve” a law passed by the General Assembly this spring, as he thought “we spent far too much time focused on this issue.” Carney’s…

[ad_1] Missouri could be seeing green when it comes to the medical and recreational marijuana industries. Since marijuana is not legalized on the federal level, banks and credit card companies typically won’t allow plastic to pay for marijuana. But the Missouri Legislature passed a bill this year that would get rid of this barrier. Sen. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, said his bill would also allow cannabis shops to keep their cash in bank and money accounts without getting in trouble with the feds. “We’ve kind of created a complex dichotomy where you have these products being sold legally, but it’s…

[ad_1] By Jack Scantom, Attorney at Harris Bricken Last month, Washington governor Jay Inslee signed SB 5367, a largely unpublicized bill “concerning the regulation of products containing THC”. Among other things, the bill amends the definition of “cannabis product” in the state’s Controlled Substances Act to include products with any detectable amount of THC concentration. Selling such CBD products will require licensure by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB), effective July 23, 2023. The WSLCB is set to vote on initiating the rulemaking process under the state’s administrative procedures act on July 21. Although rulemaking won’t commence for…

[ad_1] When Michael Casacci received a cannabis growing license for his Buffalo cultivation company, he was under the impression that small farmers’ businesses would have a significant head-start ahead of the large multistate companies on New York’s medical market. But as the state’s Cannabis Control Board considers proposed regulations that will control New York’s legal weed market, some growers are realizing that they may soon have to start competing with these medical operators for shelf space. New York has 10 operational medical Registered Organizations, all of which are vertically integrated companies that are well capitalized and have years of experience…

[ad_1] Choubey has been held up fighting for local and state permits to grow cannabis outdoors — a method of weed production that farmers and researchers say creates less environmental pollution and uses significantly less energy. One year into the legal cannabis industry, there are still no outdoor cannabis farms in New Jersey. In an industry where barriers to entry are already notoriously high, Choubey said there are few people willing to spend the time and money to try to get permission to cultivate outdoors, despite its sustainability and benefits to the environment. “We’re the only ones — because it’s…

[ad_1] Joe Pakuris watched what he called fairness and common sense unfurl over his retail marijuana dispensary Tuesday as workers high above Interstate 95 raised a billboard for his Mother Earth Wellness shop, one day after Gov. Dan McKee legalized outdoor pot advertising. Pakuris’ advertising strategy won’t stop at just five billboards over the interstate. “I plan radio, tv, everything – print, bus wraps, whatever I can do to catch up and let people know we are here and Mother Earth is here.” Why can RI’s pot dispensaries only now advertise outdoors? It’s been a long time coming for Rhode Island marijuana businesses, hamstrung…

[ad_1] New York City’s unlicensed weed bodegas far outnumber licensed shops by about 250-to-1, according to city estimates. But that isn’t stopping Gov. Kathy Hochul from pouring resources into cannabis crackdowns, as efforts to get the legal industry off the ground continue to sputter. While Hochul’s tactics so far focus on hitting unlicensed shops with fines and civil actions, marijuana arrests are also on the rise again in New York City, after falling sharply just after the drug was legalized in March 2021, according to NYPD data. That’s thanks, in part, to raids on stores that Mayor Eric Adams has…

[ad_1] Minnesota’s legal marijuana market could generate $1.5 billion in annual sales by the end of the decade and serve more than 700,000 consumers a year, according to a new market analysis from one of the nation’s top cannabis law firms. While retail marijuana sales in the state likely won’t start until January 2025, Vicente LLP predicts sales will balloon from about $550 million that first year to $1.54 billion in 2029. That trajectory would mirror other states that legalized recreational marijuana. “It’s going to be an amazing opportunity for people interested in the adult-use cannabis market,” said Travis Copenhaver,…

[ad_1] By Simon Malinowski, Attorney at Harris Bricken The news tricked out slowly, then all at once: New York has settled the Variscite litigation, and the injunction prohibiting Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses in the Finger Lakes region has been lifted. The settlement was approved during the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) meeting on May 30, 2023, paving the way for new CAURD licenses to be issued. For a brief refresher (a more detailed synopsis here), Variscite commenced litigation in September of 2022, seeking a judgment declaring the CAURD program unconstitutional based on the Dormant Commerce Clause. Judge Gary L. Sharpe granted Variscite’s…

[ad_1] Over the past decade, medical and recreational marijuana has become more widely accepted, both culturally and legally. But in sports, pot can still get a bad rap. Recreational weed has been the source of disappointment and disqualifications for athletes — like Sha’Carri Richardson, a U.S. sprinter poised who became ineligible to compete in the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for marijuana. But that may soon change for college athletes. An NCAA panel is calling for the association to remove cannabis from its banned drug list and testing protocols. The group, the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects…