Author: Chris Casacchia

[ad_1] A medical marijuana company in Florida is challenging a $1.3 million biennial renewal fee approved by regulators last December and backed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Sanctuary Cannabis, which operates five MMJ dispensaries in the state, argued the fee hike was “an exponential increase” from previous assessments and is seeking an administrative hearing with the Department of Health, according to the News Service of Florida. The fee increase is more than 22 times the $60,000 biennial fee operators have been paying for license renewals since the program launched six years ago, the news service reported. Sanctuary’s petition shows that…

[ad_1] New York regulators are expanding medical cannabis retail licenses for large multistate operators for the first time since the state launched MMJ sales in January 2016. The application window for “registered organizations” opened Oct. 31 and will run until 5 p.m. Dec. 19, according to a notice from state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). Registered organizations, New York’s version of MSOs, will pay a premium to enter perhaps the nation’s most untapped retail marketplace, which currently has only 26 operational licensed adult-use retailers in the entire state, nearly one year after launching adult-use sales. Applicants must submit: A nonrefundable…

[ad_1] The Emerald Cup’s marquee winter event that celebrates small craft cannabis farmers in Northern California and connects them with prospective buyers across the state is being canceled this year, according to sources familiar with the situation. The Harvest Ball Festival, which has drawn more than 13,000 attendees to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds the past few years, will forgo this year’s installment as event organizers focus efforts and resources on the Emerald Cup’s 20th anniversary event in the San Francisco Bay Area in the spring of 2024, sources told MJBizDaily. Harvest Ball organizers hadn’t announced specific dates for this year’s…

[ad_1] Wide-ranging legislation that took effect in Oklahoma this week included a two-year extension of the state’s moratorium on issuing licenses to new medical marijuana businesses. House Bill 2095, which was signed into law in May by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, extends the MMJ licensing moratorium from Aug. 1, 2024, to Aug. 1, 2026. The legislation also grants the Oklahoma attorney general’s office, the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control and the state’s Bureau of Investigation authority over MMJ law enforcement. State investigators have shuttered hundreds of illegal grow operations since voters in 2018 approved an open-market MMJ program,…

[ad_1] California’s latest legislative session is shaping up as a mixed bag for the state’s marijuana industry. Cannabis businesses scored a key victory after Gov. Gavin Newsom over the weekend spiked a bill that would have imposed new marketing and packaging restrictions on marijuana products. But the governor also nixed an industry-backed measure that would have permitted marijuana cafes, dealing a major setback to retailers and consumption-lounge operators. Meanwhile, social equity applicants, licensees and advocates are celebrating the passage of Senate Bill 51, which provides social equity operators more time to get their businesses up and running. Newsom has until…

[ad_1] An administrative hearing to weigh the merits of a massive marijuana product recall in Missouri has been pushed to December. Missouri’s Administrative Hearing Commission was set to hear arguments from cannabis regulators and Delta Extraction, but a joint motion between the manufacturer and state attorneys extended the hearing to Dec. 1 at the earliest, the Missouri Independent reported. Missouri regulators suspended Delta Extraction’s marijuana business license on Aug. 2 and accused the company of sourcing materials from an unlicensed facility. Then, on Aug. 14, the state recalled roughly 62,000 marijuana products infused with distillate from the Robertson-based company, including vape…

[ad_1] State law enforcement in Northern California seized thousands of illegal marijuana plants and nearly 2,000 pounds of processed cannabis with an estimated value of nearly $37 million. The operation, led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), confiscated 41,082 cannabis plants and 1,841 pounds of flower from an unlicensed cultivation operation in Oakland, an agency spokesperson told SFGate. The regulator valued the unlicensed products at $36.9 million, although government estimates of cannabis raids are often inflated. Still, it was one of the largest enforcement operations in the San Francisco Bay Area this year, the agency said. No…

[ad_1] More than half of Arizona’s 26 social equity retail licensees are poised to miss a key deadline to open their cannabis shops by Sunday, Oct. 8. The group of operators – currently numbering 14 – could face penalties for failing to meet the state-mandated deadline. Those sanctions could include having their licenses revoked. But state regulators have indicated that they won’t go that far and will instead give the dozen or so social equity license holders more time to get their retail businesses up and running. Arizona is the latest market where social equity license holders and applicants are…

[ad_1] New York regulators on Wednesday will launch an application window for several types of marijuana business licenses, with a priority on social and economic equity (SEE) applicants. SEE applicants include those “from communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of past prohibition, minority- and women-owned businesses, distressed farmers, and service-disabled veterans,” according to the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). The OCM plans to issue as many as 1,500 licenses for cultivation, retail, processing and microbusinesses. The vast majority – between 500 and 1,000 – are designated for retail dispensaries. Here’s a breakdown on the approximate number of other licenses…

[ad_1] A Texas appeals court has upheld an injunction halting a ban on delta-8 products in the state. The ruling by the 3rd Court of Appeals allows businesses such as Hometown Hero CBD to continue selling delta-8 products in Texas, according to the Dallas Observer. The Austin-based company and plaintiff filed an emergency motion and was granted the injunction in November 2021, according to its website. “As we celebrate this significant court decision, we are thankful for our industry partners who have joined us in the ongoing fight to stop unlawful bans of delta-8 and other hemp-derived cannabinoids not only…

[ad_1] A powerful former Republican politician and medical marijuana regulator in Michigan was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison for accepting bribes of more than $110,000 while leading the state’s MMJ licensing board. Rick Johnson, the state’s House speaker from 2001 to 2004, pleaded guilty in federal court in April to accepting bribes while heading the state’s Medical Marijuana Licensing Board from 2017 to 2019. “I am a corrupt politician,” Johnson told the judge Thursday during his sentencing, the Associated Press reported, citing The Detroit News. Johnson was also “fined $50,000 for soliciting and accepting bribes” as a former…

[ad_1] California lawmakers approved several cannabis bills during their recently concluded session, including legislation to help social equity entrepreneurs and consumption lounge operators – plus a measure to impose major limits on labeling. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until midnight Oct. 14 to sign or veto any bill. Dozens of marijuana-related bills were introduced during the legislative session, including one to protect mainstream employees who consume cannabis. “There were the usual 40 or 50 bills that we were tracking or lobbying on or both,” Ellen Komp, deputy director of California NORML, told MJBizDaily. Meanwhile, tax relief that the industry has demanded…