Author: AggregatedNews
[ad_1] Hopes that Gov. Glenn Youngkin might sign a bill legalizing retail sales of marijuana in Virginia faded fast this week as Democrats blocked one of the governor’s top priorities: the plan to bring a professional sports arena to Northern Virginia. As recently as Wednesday, according to multiple Capitol sources, the cannabis bill was being raised in closed-door budget talks with the governor as one of several Democratic priorities that could conceivably have been part of a package deal with the arena. But the prospects of a grand policy bargain appeared to collapse Thursday as Democrats revealed a budget proposal…
[ad_1] By Griffen Thorne, Attorney at Harris Sliwoski Our cannabis team has performed due diligence on countless business purchases, investments, loans, and just about every other kind of transaction you can imagine. As you can imagine, we’ve seen some pretty bad and even sketchy things over the years. With rescheduling on the horizon (see here and here), we expect to see an increase in loans, investments, and other transactions. And so we thought it might be time to look at five of the biggest due diligence red flags. #1 No cooperation in due diligence Hands down, the biggest red flag in due diligence is when the seller,…
[ad_1] Two Ohio lawmakers are looking to ease a looming financial burden on law enforcement agencies in their state that will have to replace marijuana-sniffing dogs after voters approved a plan last year to legalize recreational marijuana use. Nearly 400 police dogs in Ohio trained in the detection of marijuana will need to be retired because they cannot be reliably retrained. That means any alert they give to the presence of drugs could be challenged in court because they cannot unlearn the smell of cannabis. State Rep. Sean Brennan, a Democrat from Parma, called that an “unintended consequence” of the…
[ad_1] By Aaron Pelley, Attorney at Harris Sliwoski Mississippi’s Initiative 65 Easily one of the biggest legislative surprises of the 2020 was the passing of Mississippi’s Initiative 65, a medical cannabis bill with an extensive qualifying conditions list. In arguably the reddest and most socially conservative state in America — where only one Democrat has served as Governor since 1992, and where Republicans have a considerable majority in both houses of the Legislature — 69 percent of Mississippians gave Initiative 65 a landslide victory. It’s worth noting that this bill passed in a state where the governor called the implementation of…
[ad_1] Over 36,000 people in Hawaii arrested for possessing less than 3 grams of marijuana before that offense was decriminalized in 2019 could have all or part of their criminal records expunged at no cost if legislation to amend the state’s criminal statutes succeeds. House Bill 1595, which passed the full House on Tuesday and now heads to the Senate, would create a free state-initiated process for certain criminal records to be expunged over time, including for those arrested or convicted for promoting a detrimental drug in the third degree. More than 52,000 arrest records under that statute exist in…
[ad_1] Local legislative and litigation strategies on interstate cannabis commerce One of the notable examples of these limitations is the legacy policy to ban interstate cannabis deliveries and sales. Regardless of what state one currently resides in — even a cannabis mecca such as California that’s entirely surrounded by legal cannabis states — it’s still against federal law to transport cannabis of any kind cultivated and sold in California across state lines. Once state lines are crossed in the commission of any offense, the transportation is an additional federal offense. It is not necessarily any more or less a federal…
[ad_1] Gov. Kathy Hochul says the abundance of illegal marijuana dispensaries in New York is hurting legitimate businesses, and she’s asking social media companies to help her crack down on illegal pot shops. The space where Bar Veloce is now on Ninth Avenue may soon become Hell’s Kitchen‘s first legal marijuana dispensary. An application was recently submitted. “I think the illegal stores are making the climate really difficult right now,” said Charlie Todd, with Community Board 4. There are currently no legal pot dispensaries in Hell’s Kitchen, but you’d never know that by the countless illegal shops on almost every block. “It’s understandable why citizens … are…
[ad_1] Marijuana is illegal under federal law, but most Americans now live in a state that has legalized the drug. And most also have at least one cannabis dispensary in their county,… The post Most Americans now live in a legal marijuana state – and most have at least one dispensary in their county appeared first on Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news. [ad_2] Source link
[ad_1] Michigan wants to study marijuana’s health benefits. It’s not easy.When Michigan voters approved recreational marijuana six years ago, the measure included an innovative mandate: using cannabis tax revenue to pay for research into the health benefits of the drug for… [ad_2] Source link
[ad_1] Michigan municipalities with recreational marijuana businesses are getting more than $87 million in payouts this week from taxes on marijuana purchases as sales continue to grow. According to the Michigan Department of Treasury, 71 counties and 198 cities, townships and villages will receive just over $59,000 per licensed marijuana business within their borders, and can spend the funds as they see fit. The industry has proven a boon for many local government budgets: For Monroe Charter Township, which borders Ohio, the $945,000 cut from recreational marijuana sales taxes makes up a third of the overall budget. Marijuana money has…
[ad_1] When Michigan voters approved recreational marijuana six years ago, the measure included an innovative mandate: using cannabis tax revenue to pay for research into the health benefits of the drug for military veterans. State officials later committed $40 million. Not a single veteran has received marijuana in a trial. Critics blame federal restrictions on marijuana research. The Food and Drug Administration blocked one Michigan study into post-traumatic stress disorder, contending it’s too dangerous to have participants inhale marijuana, even though that’s how most veterans use the drug. In another series of proposed studies, it took researchers nearly two years to…
[ad_1] Democrats who control the Virginia House of Delegates and state Senate agreed Wednesday on a framework establishing a legal market for recreational marijuana, teeing up the issue for Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who has not signaled whether he will sign, veto or amend the bills. As passed on mostly party-line votes in both chambers Wednesday, the measures would have the marketplace up and running by May 2025, administered by a state Cannabis Control Authority. Retail sales would be taxed at a rate of 11.625 percent — higher than the 9 percent tax rate in nearby Maryland. “This is one…