Author: AggregatedNews

[ad_1] Thailand will ban recreational use of marijuana by the end of this year but continue to allow its use for medical purposes, the health minister told Reuters in an interview. After Thailand became the first country in Southeast Asia to free up medicinal use in 2018, and then recreational use in 2022, tens of thousands of cannabis shops have sprung up in an industry projected to be worth up to $1.2 billion by next year. Critics say piecemeal rules were rushed out and adopted within a week of decriminalisation, and the government has drafted a new law to regulate cannabis use that is…

[ad_1] A new study analyzed several years of surveys on increases in marijuana and cannabis consumption. People who frequently smoke marijuana have a higher risk of heart attack and stroke, according to a study published on Wednesday. The article, published in The Journal of the American Heart Association, is an analysis of responses to the U.S. government’s annual survey on behavioral risk from 2016 to 2020. The respondents answered health questions, including reporting their own health problems related to heart disease. About 4 percent of the respondents reported daily marijuana use, which the researchers suggested raised the chance of a…

[ad_1] Legal retailers are struggling to get their footing in the face of a much larger illicit market. Gov. Kathy Hochul visited New York City on Wednesday to drum up support for her latest proposals for shutting down the unlicensed marijuana shops that have exploded in number in the wake of the legalization of recreational cannabis. There are more than 400 illicit weed shops in Manhattan alone — outnumbering Starbucks stores in the borough and far surpassing the few dozen licensed cannabis retailers in the entire state. At a news conference at the governor’s office in Midtown Manhattan attended by…

[ad_1] By Griffen Thorne, Attorney at Harris Sliwoski, California’s cannabis taxes are a disaster, with no end in sight. I’ve written about the state’s tax problems extensively, but today I want to talk about what the state can do when it comes to tax collection. Late cannabis taxes? Get used to hefty penalties If a licensed cannabis business fails to timely or fully pay its cannabis taxes, it will owe a substantial amount higher than the actual tax amount. Specifically, the state’s cannabis laws mandate a penalty of 50 percent of the unpaid amount, on top of the 10 percent general penalty payable for late tax…

[ad_1] In the seconds before the first state-regulated cannabis consumption lounge would open at Thrive Cannabis Marketplace near the Strip, Clark County Commission Tick Segerblom prepared for the occasion. Segerblom, a lawmaker who has long advocated for the advancement of legal marijuana, held a joint in his hand while standing next to Mitch Britten, the CEO of Thrive. When the clock on Friday hit 4:20 p.m. — a revered number among those in the cannabis culture — the two men lit up the ends of their joints and took a hit. Smoke and Mirrors’ debut at 2875 S. Sammy Davis…

[ad_1] New Hampshire’s latest cannabis legalization effort is moving toward familiar territory: approved by the House but with uncertain chances in the Senate. That crossover has historically been perilous; the Senate has consistently voted down cannabis legalization efforts. This time, supporters feel that they may have critical momentum, after Gov. Chris Sununu said for the first time last May that he would be open to signing a bill that followed certain conditions. But the latest version of the bill – which uses a model that would authorize 15 retail locations run by the state’s Liquor Commission – has also sparked criticism from…

[ad_1] The state Senate has voted to pass the original, stricter version of a ban on the widely available, hemp-derived “diet weed” products that induce highs similar to marijuana. House Bill 1125 had originally targeted a wide swath of products. The gummies, vape pens, pre-rolled joints and smokable flowers can be produced using high concentrations of the psychoactive chemicals present in miniscule amounts in industrial hemp, or using synthetically derived versions of those same chemicals. The chemical concoctions are an unexpected outgrowth of the legalization of industrial hemp at the federal level. The federal legality of the natural intoxicants made the…

[ad_1] Oregon’s struggling cannabis industry endured another difficult year in 2023, and there’s no indication conditions will ease in the foreseeable future. Prices remain severely depressed, under $4 a gram for 11 consecutive months. Sales fell by nearly 4% last year. And harvests remain elevated, which means supply is likely to continue outstripping demand – making life tough for those who grow and sell recreational marijuana. “Given these market conditions of oversupply, (retail) saturation, and stable consumer demand, low prices make it difficult for businesses to be profitable,” the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis wrote in its most recent report…

[ad_1] By Griffen Thorne, Attorney at Harris Sliwoski California has a population of nearly 40 million, six years of cannabis licensing, but only has about 1,200 licensed dispensaries. These stores are mostly spread out in highly populated areas like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and so on. The problem is that many California cities still prohibit cannabis licensing, even in places where a majority of the locals approved the state’s recreational cannabis program in 2016. This is a massive problem and is one of the key reasons the illegal market thrives. Let’s look at why that is the case and what…

[ad_1] In the dead of night last April, state drug agents in Oklahoma intercepted an 18-wheeler rumbling east toward the Arkansas border smuggling 7,000 pounds of marijuana hidden in security camera boxes. The weed was from licensed farms in Oklahoma, according to the State Bureau of Narcotics. But the driver was heading to New York, where his cargo could fetch millions of dollars among legacy street dealers and new, rogue dispensaries that make up the illicit market, officials said. The episode, which was part of a broader crackdown on Oklahoma’s rogue operators, offered a glimpse of a troubling trend that…

[ad_1] Cannabis advocates say President Biden is missing an opportunity to sway young voters with his reluctance to take bigger steps to legalize marijuana at the federal level. The Biden administration has opened several avenues for marijuana reform including issuing federal pardons for simple possession and starting the process of potentially rescheduling marijuana’s status under the Controlled Substances Act from Schedule I to Schedule III. But those measures have failed to excite advocates, who say Biden is falling short of his 2020 campaign promises and failing to address the disparate overcriminalization of the drug that has unduly impacted minority communities. Progressive lawmakers…

[ad_1] The state has levied more than $25 million in fines against unlicensed smoke shops for selling cannabis products since last year, but so far only a minuscule percent of those fines have been collected by both the state Tax Department and the Office of Cannabis Management, THE CITY has learned. The two agencies were granted greater authority last year to enforce the 2021 cannabis law and began joint raids against smoke shops for selling cannabis products without a license last summer. They levy and collect fines separately, however. Fines may be levied against individuals who operate the smoke shops…